US House passes ‘indefinite detention’ bill
THIS SHIT REALLY PISSES ME OFF, AND IT SHOULD PISS YOU OFF TOO… Welcome to the Police State: http://bit.ly/v12TVV
Obama’s “Twisted Version of American Exceptionalism” Laid Bare
Oh and this: http://bit.ly/ta1fDH
After nearly nine years, low-key ceremony near Baghdad marks end of of war that began with invasion to topple Saddam.
What’s next? http://bit.ly/vVKiNA
Obama says US influence will turn from the Middle East towards the “vast potential of the Asia-Pacific region”.
Now that we’re “done playing” in Iraq, here’s what your next “4 years” as an American might look like: http://bit.ly/soFrL6
An Open Letter From Internet Engineers to the U.S. Congress
Whats beautiful about the internet, is its FREE: t.co/xUsUMvOV
“Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales wants to blank out all pages of the online encyclopedia to oppose the pending SOPA anti-piracy bill in the US. Wales, who has asked the Wikipedia community for input on the idea, fears the bill could seriously hurt the Internet and thinks that blanking out Wikipedia will send a strong message to lawmakers.”
We’re approaching the era of “Data Prohibition”. It’s BAD, and it’s important people are aware of whats really happening in this war. Theres a few things that are great about this particular method of protest: One, Wikipedia can make a great example of how terribly bad this SOPA idea is to people who may be totally unaware that its even happening, so that they can SEE BY EXAMPLE how terribly bad an idea it is. Two, it’s just RAD to see people with this much sway (not a celebrity or a politician, but someone with real ‘currency’ in the information world) take a stand publicly against what is obviously an attempt to protect the pockets of those in the entertainment industry who have friends in high places. While some feel that Wiki shouldn’t take a political stance on anything (to which I would argue that wikipedia should NEVER TAKE A BIASED APPROACH on any certain subject within its pages of data) I do believe as the purveyors of such a wealth of information, it’s in theirs and our best interest that the sanctity and safety of such data is protected at any cost.
PREFACE: if you dont like space, or exploration, or working together while advancing your species… please dont read this youre wasting your time. im sure theres an amazing sale at wal-mart youre missing out on…
So…
I’m in Orlando. It’s 12:38 AM here, the 3 hour time difference id forgotten about illuminating why I’m not at all tired… I can’t sleep, I’m restless… I’m here to hopefully witness the final launch of the NASA Space Shuttle program (STS-135).
Image courtesy of NASA
Friday July 8th, 2011. The weathers been terrible… they say 30% chance of good weather for launch. I’m thinking I’ve come all the way out here for nothing.
(we left about 3:30AM friday morning, on a bus ride that took nearly 3 hours to go about 40 miles, due to all the traffic…)
This means that were not regularly ferrying US citizens into space anymore. This makes me sad… Very fucking sad. The pilot lights gone out. To someone like me it’s like the Library of Alexandria being destroyed. AGAIN. it’s knowledge and work and goals lost forever… AGAIN…
Obviously NASA and it’s work are not simply fading into nothing, only say, 90% of its staff are. So all the big brains are looking for work, rather than applying their knowledge and skills to the benefit of our collective conscious.
Very. Fucking. Sad.
I think the problem is… it will cause them and us as a species years to catch back up to the momentum we once had.
But this bird will fly, eventually, and it will mean something to those of us who look to the future, those who realize were destined to explore the unknown…
And then… she did.
A fiery spear thrown to god to challenge his grip of humanity.
I stood beside myself.
(watch the video, i sound like a fucking 5 year old. its amazing.)
Now, riding back on a ragged-ass bus from a once in a lifetime experience… And my travel buddy Adam and I can’t help but laugh at the fact that it’s pissing cats and dogs here, near our hotel in Orlando, and it’s hot and sunny back where we just came from:
Titusville and John F Kennedy space center…
Aerial shot of the Vehicle Assembly Building and the launch site, courtesy of NASA
September 12th, 1962.
I wonder what JFK would think about this. How would he feel knowing that his great speech, his motivational address to the nation that commanded us towards the moon so many years ago, now exists as barely more than a sound-byte. And it’s effects have nearly run out of steam beating themselves against a wall of growing American unconsciousness and selfishness.
Funny how as a nation we could better ourselves if it meant that we would appear superior to another nation and avoid subjugation, but we can’t seem to just do it for ourselves and the betterment of all human kind.
What I saw today was the culmination of thousands of years of human ingenuity and application of the mind to the laws of the universe.
This creature, the Space Shuttle as we call it, is nothing short of a human engineering marvel, nearly a miracle it even ever existed, a testament to our race… Yes, built by America… But remember the whole point of America is that it’s made up of all races, with a desire to work together and think freely, right?
I saw so many employees of the space center over the last 2 days… Making presentations, sharing information, prepping astronauts for launch, and most of all fighting for understanding.
Their message was clear: Don’t forget us. Don’t forget what we’ve done, what we wanted to do, and that we will still be doing our damnedest, even though if in a diminished capacity.
The spin is that NASA will go to work on more of the future tech that we need to reach the moon again, and mars and who knows what beyond… And that the private and commercial sector will take over a lot of the work of ferrying people and cargo around in space.
The true downside here is that you can tell that’s not really what they want.
The ISS is only “complete” because it had to be, for PR sake.
When was the last time you looked at your house and said “this home is done. It needs nothing more.”? NEVER! Your home is a constantly evolving entity, upgrading technology and living space… How else does Home Depot stay in such good business? How outdated is the space station going to be in 10 years of were not continuously building and modifying it at the same pace we have been? Sure the other nations will still be involved, it is the International Space Station after all… but what about our contribution? And why have we collectively made the decision to leave it up to others to help carry out whats left of our vision?
If we think America is really so damned important… why aren’t we leading the charge? Why this valley in the history of our space exploration, while were still working on “whats next”?
Anyways… I’m skeptical, and scared. I wish I wanted to have children. But I’m terrified for what the world will be like and what little they may have to look forward to. My generation lacks the optimism of the generations before, is bare of the hope and community that was once so prevalent in our nation. And this is a sadness, a sickness we’ve bred ourselves, slowly cooked over a fire in hells kitchen, built to brew fear and silence amongst the people.
I hope I’m dead wrong.
But I saw something today… I saw men and women leaving themselves and their families behind, to go forth and learn. To shake and pound their fists and challenge the gods to a battle of wits. To ask the burning questions, to stare the creator, the spark of the universe in the face and say “I am not afraid of the unknown.”
For them, I am thankful.
When that chariot rose over the tree line, my eyes teared up. Not just from the unexpected brightness of the horsepower screaming out the muzzle of the rockets. But because I was proud, and jealous, and humbled…
That candles been lit 135 times. Only 134 times did it make it to space, and only 133 times did it come back in one piece.
Remember them, those that survived. Those that died. Remember what NASA and all of the worldwide space agencies have done for us all. Keep their courage close to your heart, and their dreams close to your imagination…
Now go make something of yourself.
“Change is difficult, but you can’t do something else, you can’t do something better, without it.”
- Bob Cabana
(pilot on STS-41, STS-53 and mission commander on STS-65,STS-88)
The ground has been shaking quite a bit in my world over the last few months, and I intend to share…
As per usual, I’ve been day dreaming what I think are some pretty sick changes to the layout of the site, and to the way I can present all this info to you…
And I’ve gotten Zach and Kelley back to the drawing board to put the screws to the whole thing…
Some shit is obvious, some subtle.
But it’s all coming, whether you like it or not, god dammit.
“This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.” – T.S. Eliot
i woke up pretty early this morning (im on vacation mind you)… and to my surprise my neighborhood hadn’t been swallowed up into the pits of hell…
fundamentalism… hmmmm…
i wonder sometimes if these cats are praying for (see what i did there???) the world to end so they get a do over… because THEY been fuckin up all kinds of shit in their own lives, and maybe they’re too lazy to right their wrongs and make something good come out of it. they figure “hey, if the world ends, they ill have a clean slate and a fresh start, and the shitty way ive been living my life wont matter anymore and no one will be any the wiser!”
LOL
fuckin chuckleheads.
anyways… i couldn’t help but spend the last couple of days (even thought they weren’t really “the last couple of days” hahaha) thinking about life, the world, and if i was to die today… how would i feel about it.
Los Angeles never looked so good.
BOOM POW
i think id feel pretty good… granted theres a hell of a lot of shit id still like to do… build a house, farm my own crops, experience a tour of the world playing my own music, release my nSLASHa app… and theres sooooo much more art i want to make…
the list goes on… but most importantly, ive lived my life the best i believe i can, and ill continue to do so. perhaps this judgment day is young, and the world just isnt ending until after sunset or some shit… but ill still be here, doing what i love, and doing what i can to be a decent and honorable meat puppet, until the very last minute…
i hope youll be doing the same.
if i could make a suggestion, go out and stock up on tonights liquor early, your local reseller may run dry a little quicker than normal today.
4/29/11 - where do i begin… (the genesis of “half-LIFE”)
i really hate it when i see people flaunt shit.
i get really pissed when people do the “look what ive got” dance… i cant fucking stand that shit.
and its typically because the people that came before them as it were, flaunted the exact same shit. i believe in this particilar case, it was money. i believe i was sitting on the couch working on my portable, and the tv was on. the lady i was with at the time had some sort of music video staion on, and it was some kind of (what they pass as hip hop) video playing. you know, the “get your ass to the club and get saturated on my vodka” kind… oh and you better bring the hos.
do not come to the club without hos.
i prefer people to just be… and not aggressively over-exert their ego onto unsuspecting others. “free range rude” i think hannbal called them.
from what im told (cause i wasnt fucking there, duh) hip hop started cause cats couldnt afford new records and other shit to make music, so they just mashed up new tracks from their existing records and just rapped about whatever the fuck was on their mind at the time.
so now that its come full circle and hip hop and rap are, as far as the general public is concerned, a lifestyle and marketing engine, all theyll get (unless they dig deep on the web) is lifeless, sequenced drivel, excessive obsession over jewelry (which i think is total fucking comedy on a dude, dude) and clothing with more logos and labels per square inch than time square.
unfortunately that lifestyle obsession mentality seeped into the minds of other pop acts… and these days theyre all fucked, in all genres.
thats cool, enjoy it if thats what youre into i guess…
so ummm yeah… i saw some shit like that (you can imagine) and started thinking… and started talkin shit on paper. i thought “how can you really live a life whilst constantly aiming for someone elses goals? i mean how the fuck can you become yourself, when youre so fuckin busy trying to be someone else? and why the fuck are you just drooling in line, waiting for the person in front of you to get off of the celebrity cock so you can slob it up, JUST LIKE THE LAST MOTHERFUCKER?”
(verse)
you
you make me sick
fumbling behind them
with lips that drip to lick your masters (shhhh)
they
they are a lie
smoke and mirrors designed to pacify
why do you let them kill you willingly?
to me its totally obvious. these poor fuckers are DOOMED. cycles of bullshit, a flash in the pan, and then a wasted life, that led to nothing in particular besides, you guessed it, more bullshit. i thought these cats were trying to get away from the bullshit and “keep it real?”
(side note: has anyone actually figured out where they are keeping “real”?)
if biggie said “mo money mo problems”, is it that no one was really listening? but people quote that shit all the time… i know they hear it… wheres the disconnect? we must all actually think he was full of shit then, right?
whoops.
well this tracks for the followers.
to make an example: i wonder if you took all the yachts, helicopters and fancy ass cars that are furnished for these overpriced and glorified “capitalist porn music videos” over one year, how quickly you could repair the deficit thats destroying public education in the US…?
i wonder what the world would look like if students were more focused on gold stars than gold teeth?
or maybe we could send it to japan and help take care of that one nuclear problem thingy that i heard about over there… didnt they have like, an earthquake or something? or didnt somebody crash a boat with like, some oil on it or something… and a few birds got oil on them? – jesus.
i wonder exactly how much money planned parenthood needs to get by state to state for a year…
(chorus)
WHY?!?!
how can you be
so happy strung to the hands of gods
that you cant see?
some days i feel like music is such a dishonorable bullshit pastime, and i wish i would have studied and tried to learn more… wish i could contribute to humanity as a whole.
yeah that makes me a weirdo, i get it.
oh well… guess i better get money instead. anyway, what club we gonna hit up tonight?
PS: (if youre curious about more compelling and suggestive current hip hop, try this)
