Occupied Territory

Perhaps not as brilliant as the Ron Paul blimp being weighed down by too much gold, but still... XKCD never fails to deliver:

Why I love Wikipedia

If you are looking for unbiased, fact-based encyclopedic knowledge, Wikipedia might not be your best bet.

If, however, you are looking for a synopsis of "Baby Got Back," with such pearls of wisdom as

Mix-a-Lot also briefly touches upon the roles that ethnicity, nutrition, and physical fitness play in determining the shape and size of the female buttocks. He recommends that any exercises performed should be limited to the abdominal area. He cautions against a fitness routine strenuous enough to diminish the heft of the gluteal muscles. Though he offers no broad dietary guidelines, Mix-a-Lot contends that the dish "red beans and rice" is an important food staple for maintaining healthy buttocks.

then you've come to the right place.

Culturally and Musically speaking, there are times I feel like I live in the wrong century. But the Internet more than makes up for it all with its never-ending supply of humor.

Long Time, No See

Well, I haven't posted at all this year. The few readers I had have all quit checking, I'm sure.

That's okay. I post largely to air my thoughts, anyway.

Just to give a quick synopsis of my year thus far... I bought a house. It's a complete fixer upper. So far, I've finished the Master Bedroom. Next up is the Guest Bathroom. After that, all I have left is the Master Bathroom, Master Closet, Guest Bedroom Number One, Guest Bedroom Number Two, Kitchen, Wine Cellar, Living Room, Deck, Landscaping, and a Privacy Fence.

I'm on the Five Year Plan for fixing it.

My computer died early on in the year. I haven't had a computer that worked well since I quit using my iMac five years ago. I've had two friends build me computers that were supposed to be awesome. Both sucked ass. I just bought a cheap computer from Wal-Mart. So far, it's worked far better, at under half the price. Go figure.

Most importantly (to me, at least), I got engaged. Being in a relationship is both more challenging and more rewarding than I ever anticipated. And I thought it would be both.

So yeah. I have a computer now. Let's see whether I can stay online long enough to get this blog going again!

Taxation, and Social Contracts.

I have stated in the past that taxes are inherently a form of theft, and social contracts are a bunch of bullshit. After thinking on it further, I was wrong.

Let's start with taxes. If you are an anarchist, you believe all government is bad, and all taxation is theft (you cannot run a government without some form of taxation). Many people believe libertarians are anarchists. Some are. Most aren't. I am not; I believe government has a legitimate function; to protect your rights from others, and protect others' rights from you.

The place where taxation becomes theft is when it involves taking your money for the purpose of giving to others. What's the difference, you ask?

Well, first you have to understand what I mean by rights. We have come to associate "rights" with "needs" or even "desires" as in "I have a right to food, shelter, basic medical care, TV, affordable transportation, etc." These are needs, or desires. I do not believe on any respect that they are rights. All rights are freedoms *from* something, not something being given to you for free.

You have a right not to have your things stolen.
You have a right not to be forced into slavery.
You have a right not to be cheated or lied to in business.

I could go on, but these are rights to *not* have things done to you. And that is what government should be there to do. Defense of the borders? Good role. Policing the streets? Good role. A system of courts to administer justice, and jails to house the lawbreakers? Good role. These are all legitimate. And they require taxes.

So no, I don't think taxation is inherently theft. But when it comes to government providing goods and services, then yes. I think it is always theft. Every time. And any government program which involves providing goods and services is funded by theft.

Are all government programs bad things? By no means. I love the space program. I drive on our highways. That doesn't change the fact that I believe they are illegitimate, funded by theft, and should never have been administered by the government. I also believe that the free market (were we to have one) would provide much, much better.

Even the government programs that you love, that I love, if they provide goods or services - even these the most statist among us would admit are hopelessly inefficient, bloated, and poorly run. Government by its very nature is wasteful, since it spends money not its own, generally on people not its own. There is no and can be no incentive to provide efficiently.

So what percentage of our taxes is theft? I don't know; I'd have to
A) analyze our budget exceedingly closely, and
B) trust that the numbers provided are accurate
and neither of those seems like a winning use of my time. But on a guess, I'd say probably 95% of our tax dollars are theft, taking money from one person, then giving it to somebody else, after taking a cut.

When the mob does that, it's despicable. When the government does that, it's somehow supposed to be better. Not in my opinion.

But just because taxes are generally theft, or usually theft, or almost always theft, doesn't mean it's ALWAYS theft, or even inherently so. Where the money is used makes a difference in legitimacy.

So, that takes us to social contracts.

Now, here it's a matter of terminology. Most people use "social contract" to mean something that is accepted by society, and is considered okay because of majority rule. I reject that. The majority is usually wrong. And when I find myself in the majority of almost anything, it makes me immediately question whether I know enough to have a valid opinion.

People will use the term "social contract" to signify a vague thing that allows them to get whatever they want, or feel is just. Nowhere do they have a copy of this social contract. Nowhere can they define this social contract. But they'll use it to push for Universal Health Care, Gun Control, Prayer in Schools, banning Gay Marriage, or any other pet cause they believe either has a majority behind it, or that they believe is a moral imperative.

Again, I reject this. If you cannot show me a contract that I have agreed to live by, it does not exist. If there is nothing spelled out in black and white that I have agreed to, it does not exist.

So what social contract do I believe in? For there is one. I have agreed to it. I have sworn to uphold it. I have studied it extensively. I think it is one of the finest contracts ever devised. It is called the Constitution of the United States of America. By living in this country, I agree to live by its constitution. It is not vague. It does not permit the fickle wind of public opinion to change its fundamental principles.

If this country were to return to the social contract signed on September 17, 1787, we would once again take our place as the champions of freedom that we once were. We could return to the prosperity that freedom brings. And we would be freed of most of the theft that our government currently engages in.

Updated Classical Music List

So I've been away a bit longer than I intended. The reasons are

A) My computer crashed. Again. But I think I've solved the problem this time (though I'm now in the process of re-installing all the programs I use, plus trying to recover all the files... AAAAARRRRGGHHHH!!!!)

B) I'm buying a house. And that takes a good bit of time.

Anyway, I've been given some great suggestions, and I'm adding a lot of them here. Not all, though. The purpose behind this list is not to collect the best classical music, the most beautiful, the most moving, etc. It's to compile a list of the most famous works (famous by music, not by title). Works that people have probably heard at least once, if they have any exposure to classical music.

For that reason, I'm leaving out one of my favorite composers, and this might lead to a fist-fight with my brother-in-law Ed (I hope not; he'd kick my ass). But I can't think of any Mahler pieces that non-music snobs would recognize. Which is a shame. I don't know - feel free to weigh in on this one, maybe I just need some more voices. Other than the ones in my head. Shut up, Lews Therin!

Anyway, the idea is that if somebody wanted to kinda get a feel for the most mainstream of classical works, this would be the list to go to. We have lists like this for popular music in the dueling pianos world - Brown Eyed Girl, Hotel California, etc.

So here goes round number two.

Bach:
Prelude in C, Well-Tempered Clavier book one
Air on a G String
Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello
Toccata and Fugue in Dm

Beethoven:
Fur Elise
Piano Sonata No. 8 in Cm, Op. 13, (the Pathétique Sonata)
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C#m, Op. 27, No. 2, (the "Moonlight" Sonata) - first movement
Piano Concerto No. 5 in Eb, Op. 73 (the "Emperor Concerto")
Symphony No. 5 in Cm, Op. 67
Symphony No. 9 in Dm, Op. 125

Bernstein:
Candide
West Side Story

Chopin:
Nocturne in Eb, Op. 9, No. 2
Waltz Op. 64, No. 2 in C#m
Scherzo No. 2 in Bbm, Op. 31
Fantaisie-Impromptu in C#m

Debussy:
Clair de Lune
Reverie

Dvorak
Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 and Op. 72
Symphony No. 9 in E, "From the New World" (Op. 95, B. 178), (New World Symphony)
Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191

Faure:
Requiem in Dm, Op. 48

Gounod:
Ave Maria

Grieg:
Suite from Peer Gynt
Piano Concerto in Am, Op. 16

Handel:
Messiah
Water Music

Liszt:
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Liebestraum (No. 3)

MacDowell:
"To a Wild Rose" Op. 51, No. 1

Mozart:
Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K 331, last movement (Rondo alla Turca)
Sonata in C, K 545, first movement
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467
Le nozze di Figaro
Die Zauberflöte
Serenade No. 13 for strings in G, K. 525, (Eine kleine Nachtmusik)
Requiem Mass in D minor K. 626
Don Giovanni
Ave Verum Corpus

Mendelssohn:
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64

Rachmaninoff:
Prelude in C#m
Vocalise
Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm, Op. 18
Piano Concerto No. 3 in Dm, Op. 30
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in Am, opus 43

Rossini:
William Tell Overture
The Barber of Seville

Saint-Saens:
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78

Satie:
Gymnopedie No. 1

Schubert:
Erlkonig
Six Moments musicaux, D. 780 Op. 94

Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker
The Year 1812, Festival overture in Eb, Op. 49 (1812 Overture)
The Piano Concerto No. 1 in Bbm, Op. 23

Wagner:
Ride of the Valkyries

I swear I thought of a dozen more over the last two weeks, but I didn't write them down.

Anyway, I'm having fun with this, and it's making me listen to some great music again, which I should do more often.

The Ultimate Classical Music List

I've been gone for awhile. And as usual, it was because of computer problems. Someday I'll be rich enough to have a computer that always works. But until then, well, every time I start to get my readers back, I go AWOL.

So, I've been thinking for awhile now. There are pieces of music that I consider vital to being a well-educated individual. But I never have sat down and made a comprehensive list. Now is the time to rectify that. But I'm not going to be able to make a complete list, so every Sunday for awhile I'm going to repost this, and hopefully each week either I'll think of more, or people will suggest more works in the comments (although people tend to email me more than comment).

Here are the ground rules; it's not about how "good" the work is. It's more like the greatest hits. It should be a song that most people will recognize, even if they don't know where it's from. An example of a piece that shouldn't cut it is the Beethoven Third Concerto. It's actually my favorite of the five, but it's not highly influential. It's not well-known. And if you're not familiar with it, it won't make me think any less of your classical knowledge. The Fifth Concerto, though - that's another matter. Also, if it's popular because of weddings, don't put it on there. We already know those. Pachelbel. Damn you.

Almost all the ones I can think of are either orchestral or piano works. This may be due to my background - so if you're a vocalist or instrumentalist, I especially hope you'll chime in on the vital literature that I'm just not thinking of.

So, for the first week, here's my list.

Bach:
Prelude in C, Well-Tempered Clavier book one
Air on a G String
Six Suites for Unaccompanied Cello

Beethoven:
Fur Elise
Piano Sonata No. 8 in Cm, Op. 13, (the Pathétique Sonata)
Piano Sonata No. 14 in C#m, Op. 27, No. 2, (the "Moonlight" Sonata) - first movement
Piano Concerto No. 5 in Eb, Op. 73 (the "Emperor Concerto")
Symphony No. 5 in Cm, Op. 67
Symphony No. 9 in Dm, Op. 125

Chopin:
Nocturne in Eb, Op. 9, No. 2
Waltz Op. 64, No. 2 in C#m
Scherzo No. 2 in Bbm, Op. 31
Fantaisie-Impromptu in C#m

Debussy:
Clair de Lune
Reverie

Grieg:
Suite from Peer Gynt
Piano Concerto in Am, Op. 16

Liszt:
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2
Liebestraum (No. 3)

MacDowell
"To a Wild Rose" Op. 51, No. 1

Mozart:
Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K 331, last movement (Rondo alla Turca)
Sonata in C, K 545, first movement
Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467
Le nozze di Figaro
Die Zauberflöte
Serenade No. 13 for strings in G, K. 525, (Eine kleine Nachtmusik)
Requiem Mass in D minor K. 626

Mendelssohn:
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64

Rachmaninoff:
Prelude in C#m
Vocalise
Piano Concerto No. 2 in Cm, Op. 18
Piano Concerto No. 3 in Dm, Op. 30
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in Am, opus 43

Saint-Saens:
Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78

Satie:
Gymnopedie No. 1

Schubert:
Erlkonig
Six Moments musicaux, D. 780 Op. 94

Wagner:
Ride of the Valkyries

Okay, what am I forgetting? Fill me in! (I know I especially need more operatic works)

The United States? Really?

Eight years ago today, we faced an unprecedented assault. And as a nation, we came together in a way that I had never witnessed in my lifetime. Even through the horror and loss, it seemed like the birth of something new, a patriotic fervor and pride that could wipe away the tarnish of our increasingly corrupt and bankrupt country.

On that day, who was not proud to be an American as we watched the firefighters giving their lives to try to save others? Who was not proud to be an American when they heard the story of flight 93, sacrificing themselves to prevent more deaths? Who was not proud to be an American when the Red Cross said they didn't need any more donors, because so many had stepped up?

On that day, I was sad at the loss. I was furious at the attackers. And I was proud of my country.

I don't think I've been proud of my country since then.

I know, I know - I have heard that if I don't love this country, I should just leave it. And that brings me to my post title. Are we really the United States? If so, what are we united about?

Pre Civil War, the States were considered sovereign, and signatories to a constitution resembling an alliance more than anything else (an oversimplification, of course). The literature consistently referred to these United States. Afterwards, with the solidification of centralized federal government, we were referred to as the United States. A subtle, but important difference.

But both Pre and Post Civil War, there were common things that united us as a nation. A love of liberty. A distrust of government power. A respect for individual accomplishment. A tradition of self-reliance. Stories of Johnny Appleseed, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin. A musical heritage that came later to include not just patriotic songs, but cowboy music, folk songs, dixieland, ragtime, and jazz. Easter. Christmas. Thanksgiving.

Now, what unites us? A quarter of this country celebrates Cinco De Mayo. The rest don't even know what that is. Thanksgiving and Christmas have become co-opted as commercial entities with no real meaning (if they're even mentioned. Easter has gone into hiding, except as a time to eat chocolate. Mmm... Cadburry eggs.

I can't think of a single thing that we agree on as a country. And just as telling, there's something that I think is more prevalent now than ever before; hate. It's not enough to disagree anymore. Now you have to have hatred for the opposition. You have to call them names. You have to imply that they are idiots for daring to disagree with you.

And you have to lump people into easy political categories whether they fit there or not. And if they're in the same category as you, you have to support them, whether or not you agree. If they're in a different category, you hate them. And everything they stand for.

Politically, I can't think of anything that unites California with Texas. Massachusetts with Alabama. New York with Montana.

So I ask you, in all honesty - what unites these states now? What do we have that we should be proud of right now that we all share? This isn't rhetorical - I'm searching for an answer here.

Now, to go back to something that I wrote earlier... If I don't love what this country has become, why don't I leave it? Because pride in my country is not the most important thing to me. My family lives in this country, and nothing tops that. I have a career in this country that I love, and the only thing that tops that is my family. And I have hope; hope that when the house of cards comes crashing down, we can rebuild something better. Something built on say, the Constitution of the United States.

But for now, are we united anymore?

A Worthy Cause

I can think of no more noble cause than this.

The goal of Project Pterosaur is to mount an expedition to locate and bring back to the United States living specimens of pterosaurs or their fertile eggs, which will be displayed in a Pterosaur Rookery that will be the center piece of the planned Fellowship Creation Science Museum and Research Institute (FCSMRI). Furthermore, the rookery facility will establish a breeding colony of pterosaurs in order to produce specimens that could then be put on display by other regional institutions or church groups.

Enough said.

NASSA - the untold story

Some people are going to be offended if they watch this. So feel free to turn it off - this is one of the best parodies I think I've ever seen.

The Limits of Power

I've been trying to mostly avoid the political issues, as they can get somewhat tiresome. But I just read an excellent essay by Anthony Gregory titled "Obama, Bush, and the limits of Power," and thought it worth passing along.

Two key paragraphs:

Constitutions alone cannot limit government. The overwhelming bulk of what the federal government is engaged in, from imperial wars to drug prohibition, from Social Security to Medicare, is unauthorized by the Constitution, and yet they persist. What matters ultimately is the Constitution in the hearts and minds of the people. So long as the American public supports unconstitutional actions, such actions will commence. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, as Jefferson noted. The Constitution spells out great limits on the government, but without the support of the people, the document loses its teeth.

and

...given the stark similarities between both political parties, at least in their leadership, as well as the nature of government itself, it will not do for folks to condemn Obama as Big Brother and a would-be dictator while simultaneously defending torture, more war, and the Bush administration; nor does it make sense to oppose Bush and all he stood for while virulently backing Obama, who's brandishing Bush's executive power grabs, continuing his foreign policy, bailing out the same financial interests and seeking to control more areas of our lives. Can a reorientation of the American public, along more coherent ideological lines, be achieved? If ever there was a time for us to make our case, now is it.

It is not a Republican vs. Democrat problem. It is not a Right vs. Left problem. It is a freedom vs. government power issue. It seems like more and more are waking up to this reality... But it is too early to see whether enough are coming to terms with this to make a difference.

Thought for the day...

I am not a conservative.

I am not a liberal.

I am not a moderate.

Why is it that these are my only societally approved choices? Why are all others considered ridiculous, fringe, kooky, or irrelevant?

Like, you know?

I stole this from Ed Gonzales who put up this clip from Steve Farber's blog:



Actually, I do believe there are other uses for these terms. For instance, when I say "you know" or "you know what I'm saying," I'm searching the face of the person I'm conversing with, seeking to see whether they understand and/or agree. If not, I'll rephrase the statement. And I use "like" more than I should, but it is often instead of "for instance," "nearly," "almost," "resembling somewhat" or "approximately." It's like, kinda the same thing. You know? No. Okay, let me put it another way...

I also use it instead of "uh" as a time filler in my sentences. As I'm searching for the words to say exactly what I mean, I say "like." It is no better, possibly worse than "uh." But I do it. When I haven't started speaking yet, I say "How shall I phrase this?" This drives some people crazy. But then, if I say nothing as I'm thinking of exactly how to phrase it, they generally assume that I'm going to say something bad or negative.

My father uses "and" repeatedly as a time filler. I do wonder if he does it for the same reasons as me. Then again, I've never asked. Maybe I should.

I don't speak at the same rate at which I think. I do read at that speed, which tends to make people assume I'm lying, speed-reading, or skimming. I usually think very, very fast, and on multiple topics at once. This makes it somewhat difficult to converse, as I'm probably finished with one thought and on another entirely by the time I finish a sentence. I have to keep circling back to the sentence in my head.

This sometimes. Leads to strange. Almost... Shatner-like rhythms. Inmyspeechpatterns.

I've never really done a great deal of public speaking. I wonder sometimes if I'd be any good at it, or terrible! I don't get stage fright at all, and I don't get nervous. Those are usually the main liabilities for public speakers. But I come with (probably unique) liabilities of my own!

Speech is a very, very fascinating thing. On the one hand, it must evolve. On the other, some branches of evolution should not be protected as endangered, but merely allowed to die. Like the dinosaurs, or the woolly mammoth, or "Ebonics." You know?

If I were to tag something...

If "Twilight" was about Dragons

(and contained more fisting)

Courtesy of Cracked.com

Enjoy

In Defense of Sonia Sotomayor...

Words I thought I'd never say.

Yeah, I am opposed to pretty much everything Sonia Sotomayor stands for. But she's caught some flack from conservative circles for her lack of defense of the 2nd amendment, specifically saying that she doesn't think it keeps individual states from creating their own laws that restrict the rights of gun owners.

She's right.

The constitution was always intended to be a restriction on the role of federal government, NOT state. The idea of the founding fathers was that the states would be sovereign, and members of a voluntary union. This was considered clear until the Civil War, when Lincoln decided to eliminate the voluntary nature of that union. And yes, if you disagree, be prepared to have some documentation, because I can provide plenty on my side. No? Okay, just scoff. Ignorance is bliss like that.

After Lincoln, there started to appear more and more amendments to the constitution asserting the role of the now sovereign federal government over the subjugated and subordinate state.

But this doesn't relate to the 2nd amendment. It was specifically aimed at the federal government. You can read the words of the people who wrote it - it was clear as day in its purpose to them, and should be to us. And strangely, it seems like it was clear as day to Justice Sotomayor.

Now if only she'd get around to reading the 10th amendment... *sigh*

Second. Best. Video. EVER!!!!!

The best video ever is of course the literal version of "Total Eclipse of the Heart."

It's no secret that Muse is one of my favorite two bands (the Eagles being the other). But then I saw the video to "Knights of Cydonia," and it made my Muselove that much more intense.

The only problem? Now I wanna watch the movie!

Hi yer Edjukayshun iz good, 2.

What would you do without proper resorces?

Yes, yes they do...

The glories of a public education.

Bob Basso as Thomas Paine

Texas Job Interview

A man seeking to join a Texas Sheriff's Department is being interviewed.

The Deputy doing the interview says: "Your qualifications all look good, but there is an attitude suitability test that you must take before you can be accepted."

Then, sliding a service pistol across the desk, he says: "Take this pistol and go out and shoot six illegal aliens, six ACLU lawyers, six meth dealers, six Muslim extremists, and a rabbit."

"Why the rabbit?"

"So much for the attitude test," says the Sergeant. "When can you start?"