I just finished Volume 6 of Brian Wood's DMZ. And like any good junkie, I'm already looking for my next fix. Brian Wood owns me. He's even made me like vikings with his Northlanders Series (Sorry, Dandelion).
Volume 7 of DMZ, titled War Powers, won't be released until September 8, 2009. It looks like I'll have some time to do some reading (I need to catch up on Northlanders) or better yet, some writing.
*Frustrated Sigh* September.
2.16.2009
SCIENTOLOGY PIRATES
The torrent site PirateBay seems to have jumped on the Scientology bandwagon. They're now offering a full range of links to materials related to the Church of Scientology, most of which are labeled as having been banned from somewhere.
The last time I posted about skinheads, they were Indonesia's version of the original "working class" skinheads. The kind who championed worker's rights. Sure those skinheads are the ones who gave rise to the first racist skinheads, but I doubt most of them knew it was leading to that.
These are the other skinheads.
In Russia, over the past few years, there's been an incredible upsurge in anti-immigrant sentiment and neo-nazi groups. At the center of this is the NSO, Russia's ultranationalist "political revolutionary" party. Think of them as the Super Saiyans of Nazism (yep, that's how its spelled). The NSO subscribe to pretty much the same ideals that started the original Nazis on their way. They feel threatened by what they see as an unlawfull occupancy of Russia by immigrants of all colors. They feel that most, if not all of their socioeconomic problems can be traced back to the brown people. This isn't made any better by the low priced (often free) college education that many immigrants, especially African ones, can receive in Russia.
They've begun a massive propaganda campaign utilizing everyone's favorite political tool, online flash videos (i.e. Youtube, Megavideo, etc). But instead of slandering the names of the brown people they consider their opponents, THEY BEAT THEM TO DEATH. And then there are the training camps.
Honestly, there's nothing I could say about this that the above video couldn't say better. So watch it. Beware.
1.30.2009
EXAMPLES OF RACISM IN COMEDIC MEDIA
Bugs Bunny: this clip has been banned because of...well, just watch.
Sony Commercial: Because Caucasians Are Just Too Damn Tall
Song Of The South: To be fair, ANYTHING from Song of The South is completely offensive.
The Fucking Crows: Enough Said
1.25.2009
KEFFIYEH (THE MASS DEBATE)
Hipsters, Arabs, Klansters, Border Patrol Nazis, Africans, South Asians, guess what? It's a fucking scarf. That's all. There's honestly so much debate over the wearing of a scarf that people seem to feel has a built-in terrorist connotation because some of the Billion plus people who have been wearing them for generations have decided to make the wrong decisions in life.
These scarves have always been around and have always been equally entrenched in local fashion as they were in local function and local militancy. While they do, in fact, sometimes make a statement, the vast majority of these scarves are just...scarves. With a pretty cool pattern. And that should be enough. There shouldn't need to be a longstanding debate over what they mean. They MEAN to keep your head, face, and neck covered, like all scarves, whether it be because the sun and sand are out to get you or because that bank really need robbing or because everyone else is doing it. It doesn't matter. Get over it. And don't make arguments without research. If you were to walk into a debate with an argument based on your neighborhood ignorance, you'd deserve whatever loss you got.
Adam Freeland (Download his song We Want Your Soul) did an Obama remix of the Daft Punk song Aerodynamic and everyone needs to hear it. The videio is stop motion and features enough vinyl toys to build an army. Check it out.
And thanks to WeLikeItIndie for letting me rip this off.
1.12.2009
BLACKHALF.COM
BlackHalf.com is a social/political site and online shop that (obviously) deals with issues regarding the 2008 Presidential Election and Barack Obama. Their main product is the tshirt above, which voices it's support for Obama by stating that "I Voted For The Black Half". The site's blog keeps up-to-date on political news related to Obama and the Presidential Inauguration, even mentioning a rumor that Jay-z is planning to run for mayor of new York City this year (no clue if that's true).
The students of St. Lawrence University are taking part in an online community/ blog experiment called The Weave. On the site, they cover a number of topics that I assume they also cover in their courses. So far, I've read articles and commentaries on social issues, race, religious conflict (most recently, the actions of Israel in Gaza), and politics. Good stuff. Interesting ponts of view from some of the future leaders of America. Check it out.
A political cartoonist that goes by the name Latuff has a blog full of his cartoons depicting his views of events that have happened since the United States invasion of Iraq in 2002. Check it out. http://tales-of-iraq-war.blogspot.com/
1.10.2009
NOT REALLY SURPRISED
Turns out, and I'm sure everyone sort of expected it, that Prince Harry Windsor of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is kind of a dick. Whatever. Link to the original Guardian UK article
AND I'LL FORM...THE HEAD!
There were two Voltrons. One, the Lion Voltron, lives on in our hearts for all eternity as the way that "megazords" should be. The other, Vehicle Voltron, was...well, crap.
This has been the subject of countless debates, arguments, fistfights, and murders. Basically, everything you need to know about a person is tied to Voltron they prefer. It's the original Facebook versus Myspace argument. As insensitive as this sounds, maybe Rodney King was a Vehicle Voltron fan. It would explain a lot.
The Islamic holy day of Ashura is a worldwide festival of Shia Muslims acknowledging the day of the death of Husayn ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. During this festival, Shiites are often know to beat themselves bloody in respect for the wounds inflicted upon the father of their branch of Islam. This practice is considered extremely controversial.
President-Elect Barack Obama has selescted Leon Panetta to be the new director of the C.I.A. This decision has been criticised because of Panetta's lack of experience in intellegence.
When I was in elementary school, I used to see a list on all of our classroom doors of books that had been banned from schools around the country for various reason. It occurred to me that we were reading a lot of the books on that list. Years later, I realize I'm glad we were given the censored books to read. Not only were they , in most cases, good, but theideas and atmosphere it created during my formative years is probably a huge part of why I believe in civil disobedience and freedom of speech so strongly.
My new side goal is to write something so good and so revolutionary that it has to be banned. Because banning and censoring is only goingto increase the interest.
I can't even find this remotely funny. It's disgusting and there had to be someone who knew when they released this lovable children's classic that they were. and will forever be, completely in the wrong.
It's apparently based on some classic American story (and most of those are full or irony and bigotry).
I want this to be an open discussion, so leavea comment(s) about it, read the previous, let me know what you think.
1.01.2009
WHO'S NAILIN PALIN?
Adam Cadre, the author of Ready, Okay! posted this completely real, un-doctored, candid photograph of Sarah Palin and John McCain, probably after they got the news about Obama. I don't know where it came from, but it needs to be shared with the world.
12.30.2008
HOLY CRAP
12.27.2008
ASIAN SKINHEADS
And so it seems that there are now skinheads in Asia. Indonesia specifically. And before we marvel at the inherent irony of such a situation, no, they are not racist skinheads, but 1980's-London-working-class skinheads.
The working class skinheads, from whom all skinheads can attribute their mitochondrial DNA (not really), were essentially started by the gruff and disenfranchised British working class of the 70s and 80s and like all trends, snowballed into something notorious when some members of their ranks took to blaming immigrants for a lot of their problems and set out to "change their minds" about staying in the UK. This aggressive image that became associated with them led to racists and neo-nazis in North America adopting the skinhead style, which they used to intimidate. Anyway, one thing led to another and now they're gearing up for a racial holy war or something equally tacky.
Even then, it seems a little strange, considering how new Indonesia is to this whole popular culture thing. But I guess that in being young and disenfranchised while being introduced to movies and television from bygone eras that feature characters in the same predicament, the Indonesians found something they could understand and identify with. In general, the skinhead archetype looks and even sounds pretty cool (original form only), but like everything known by more than two people, it has be warped.
My new Brtitish obsession, the two part miniseries event about British-born siblings, Sohail and Nasima, who find themselves on opposite sides of the post 9/11 and 7/7 ideologies and war on terror. AMAZING.
So the election was yesterday. I spent the hours I was at work anticipating going to the polls. When I got there, luckily there was hardly a line anymore and I was in and out in less than 5 minutes, thanks in part to Connecticut's new paper ballot/ "Scantron" system, which allows people to fill the ballot out with a marker in a multiple choice test format, but one that, you know, changes the world.
I spent the night watching MSNBC becauseI just couldn't help myself. I stared down the countdown clock as each batch of states closed their polling districts and revealed which candidate won their electoral votes. I called and texted literally EVERYONE I know to make sure they were as nervous as I was. I Twittered (tweeted? tweetered?) my heart out, probably developing carpel tunnel syndrome in the process.
In the end, when the score jumped from 207 to 284 for Obama, I woke my elderly grandmother and yelled at her (sounds harsher than it is).
AND THEN WE WON FLORIDA AND VIRGINIA! Democrats NEVER win Floridar and Virginia.
My name is Tervel Andrews and i want you to believe in me. I'm a writer (i try), artist (i also try), and hater (i excel) looking to share my mind with the world, doomed to continue to create if only for my own sanity.
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