God, Please Save These Troubled States

I'm not making this up. I swear!

We've all seen President Bush reject SCHIP legislation because it's too costly, and then immediately ask Congress for billions of dollars to fund the war in Iraq. There were many facepalms and headdesks that day. (Were you one of them? Maybe I should start a support group for all of us who have suffered immense physical pain due to the Bush administration's constant stupidity and absurdity.)

So imagine my surprise reading this teaser bit on Yahoo:

• President Bush ratcheted up his confrontation with Democratic leaders Wednesday, laying out what he said is a stark ideological divide between a fiscally prudent, free market-loving GOP president and a Congress that aims to raise taxes and nationalize health care.

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YOU ARE NOT FISCALLY PRUDENT AT ALL, YOU STUPID IDIOT. HOW IS SPENDING TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON A MISGUIDED, FALSIFIED WAR FISCALLY PRUDENT?

I simply don't understand this anymore. Never in my lifetime has corruption and moronic logic been so blatant to me.

Read through the rest of the article. Bush is now taking shots at the Democratic Party; while I'm not their biggest fan at all, you've got to atleast appreciate that they've done something since holding the majority in both houses.

But bah. This is sickening.

Reading Stephen King as a pre-pubescent mess was very much an act of rebellion for me. I was a raised in a non-denominational (but needlessly strict) religious household. At a very young age, my personal boundaries were hammered into my skull: No sex. No violence. No blasphemy. No swearing. No no no no no no.

I first picked up Night Shift, King’s first short story collection, at a yard sale down the street from me for only $3. But I didn’t ever read the book in the open, for fear of my mother taking it away from me.

Looking back now, a lot of these stories seem to have their premises ripped off of other movies and a ton of H.P. Lovecraft pieces. But goddamn, they were so fun. The morbid matter at hand in “Grey Matter.” The twisted “solution” provided by “Quitters, Inc.” The overall creepiness of “I Am The Doorway.” And “The Lawnmower Man” is so patently absurd, it scared the shit out of me as a kid.

I moved on to his novels after that. I read The Stand first, which my older brother had left behind after he moved. I was hooked. I moved on to It. I’ve still never quite read anything like it.

I’ve read most of his books, but I gave up on him somewhere around the age of 17. And not until earlier this year, when my friend Ty recommended I read Skeleton Crew, did I read anything by Stephen King.

“The Mist” is the collection’s first story. It’s more of a novella (clocking in just over 120 pages) and I had to read it again immediately upon finishing. After a freak storm covers a small Maine town in a blinding mist, things begin to appear and attack survivors housed in a local grocery store. It’s apocalyptic view of the world, as well as it’s believable characters, sold me. To date, it stands as my favorite piece written by Stephen King.



So imagine my joy to learn that, of all people, the wonderful Frank Darabont would be directing the film. He’s already successfully adapted The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption. And, for a story that’s so fiercely loved by King fans, I can’t imagine a more perfect person to be manning the wheel.

For those who have read “The Mist” and enjoy it as much as I do, you won’t be disappointed with this film adaptation. It’s a nearly word-for-word, plot twist-by-plot twist identical reading of the novel. But what I found most impressive was Darabont’s  ability to capture the overwhelming aura of this situation.

As with the novella, the movie is shot almost entirely in one setting: the local grocery store. During the day, the store is brightly lit. Darabont alternates between shots of individual aisles and wide overhead shots of the entire store. By giving us a full look of the entire set, the claustrophobia sets in. We know exactly how much space there is and we know exactly where everyone (and everything) can hide.

The first scene with one of the mist’s “creatures” takes place in the backroom of the store. After a generator malfunctions, two local men (and store employees) goad a young man (Norm) out to clear whatever is blocking it. This is against the urgings of the main character, local artist David Drayton (played wonderfully by Thomas Jane).

As the first tentacle slipped under the rolling gate, I wasn’t really impressed. This is the only special effect in the whole movie that didn’t work for me. Actually, the part simply looked unfinished and, having seen the other scenes that use CG-effects, this seems to be the case. But, this aside, the scene is a great representation of the mounting chaos that is present in the character’s environments.

As I said, later uses of CG are spectacular. The mutant flies? Fascinating. The pteradactyl-like creatures? Spectacular. But it’s the movies’ spiders that are absolutely horrifying. Maybe it’s my old phobia coming back to haunt me, but spiders that can burst out of a human’s body and shoot acid cobwebs are fucking terrifying to me.

But what separates this from normal horror fair is the acting. Let it be known: I fucking LOVE ensemble casts. And this cast is absolutely perfect. Darabont has cast a group of people who so gloriously resemble the exact type of people King envisioned in his novella. After seeing the film, I can’t picture anyone else as Mrs. Carmody. (Marcia Gay Harden is completely evil as the religious fanatic who calls the “disaster” the End Times, as prophesized in Revelations.) Nathan Gamble is a perfect Billy Drayton. (I’ll call it now: that kid is gonna appear in a ton of movies.) And Toby Jones embodies the meek, yet heroic character of Ollie Weeks very well.

Knowing there are so many people stuck in the grocery store makes the movie all the more exciting. There are simply that many more variables to take into account as the creatures in the mist begin to realize there are people hiding in the store.

I won’t spoil the ending for those who have never read the novella. But if you’re a fan, be forewarned. Frank Darabont hasn’t so much changed it as he has added on to it. The movie, save for a few tiny fluctuations, is an exact copy of the story, right up to Stephen King’s ending. Darabont’s addition, however, will deeply divide fans of the novella; it’s a huge risk for the man who has so faithfully adapted King’s stories in the past. The addition completely changes the mood of the film to be one of the most depressing endings I’ve ever seen. (To give you an idea, if you thought David Fincher’s Seven was a dark movie, The Mist seems to have been penned by Satan.)

But that’s all I will say. I stand by Frank Darabont’s adaptation, beginning to end. This is a smart, psychological horror movie that’s every bit about the gore, the terror, the monsters, and adding brains to the story. I wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. The ending, if anything, simply makes sense. Hell, any movie that gives me nightmares about its subject the night I watch is a good piece of cinema to me.

Richard, myself, and RenegadeMartian are staying in the shadiest hotel ever, The Greek Isles. Apparently, there's some crazy convention here that has all the hotels booked. We're right down the street from the Hilton and Circus Circus. And like....a few miles from Ronald's vegan donuts. And that's all that matters.

Thievery Corporation is playing a show at the House of Blues tonight. I'm meeting up with Kron to catch them. Then it's all day music tomorrow!

GOGOL BORDELLO
MASTODON
MIA
IGGY AND THE STOOGES
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
DAFT PUNK

They'll be taking up my day. Life is good. Vegas still sucks.

More stuff after I get back from Thievery Corp!

Follow along by joining the official Vegoose Community!

As far as I know (and correct me if I'm wrong), this is the first full album release by a longtime Buzznet user! And after giving the tracks a few spins on MySpace, I'm totally fucking sold.

Lapsed + nonnon have created a fascinating bit of low key hip-hop matched against bubbling, muted electronics. The album, The Death of Convenience, came out this past Monday, October 22.

This is the third outing from Lapsed and my first real experience with Dave's music. When I read his blog about the album release, I headed over to his MySpace to check out a few of the tracks.

"Dead End Stare" (which features Buck Dexter) jerks along at odd time intervals, bursting with bits of atonal key chords. The low end bass beats are muted, quiet, yet perfectly matched against multiple drum lines. Dexter flows against this stark landscape; for me, it's clear to hear Nonnon's musical influences bleed through to his turntable scratches and his minimalist break about halfway through. It's a creepy atmosphere for a song, but the vocal lines and beats hold it in line. I like this. It doesn't sound like any hip hop I've been exposed to.

"Kill The Messenger" opens with a twisted and refracted vocal line, which descends into some polyrhythmic beats struggling to make an appearance. Nonsense (a most underrated MC from the UK) gets the first verse and I'll be damned if this doesn't sound fantastic. When the bass finally slips in, I'm reminded of the simplistic and powerful lines Reznor wrote under some of the songs on The Fragile and With_Teeth. Vocal lines morph into presence at the end of the song, mixed in with the distorted beats and dischordant electro-beeps.

The volume swells and instrumental lines of "Hapless Plastic" are subtle, but add so much texture and depth to the track. It's a remix by Ra and it's all over the place; the turntable freak out midway through the song is controlled by a steady bass line and keys. The beat rumbles along steadily, even if everything around it is in chaos.

Even if their previous efforts may have been more focused on electronic experimentation, one thing is clear: The Death of Convenience is a hip-hop album, through and through. But it's simply in a league of it's own. I definitely plan to spend some more time with this (as soon as my copy arrives, that is!)

Please visit www.adnoiseam.net and nab a copy of this album. Not just because nonnon rules, but seriously. Check this out and expand your musical horizons.

(I tip my hat to Shakes for directing me to this.)

Names. 755,000 names. Not people; just names.

How absurd is this? How much more ridiculous can this possibly get?

• One record reflects one name but not necessarily one person.

This means that any aliases a person may have, no matter how common they may be, gets put on the list. Meaning if you happen to coincidently have the same name, you're going to have a fun time trying to fly in this country.

But you know what's most horrifying about this? When the United States fucked up ever-so-gloriously in the case of Maher Arar, who accidently shared the same name as a real terrorist, they sent him to Syria, where he was subjected to years of torture. He's been cleared of all charges and Canada has agreed to pay him $10 million for his ordeal. Condoleeza Rice admits we fucked up.

BUT WE STILL LEFT HIM ON THE WATCHLIST. HE STILL CAN'T COME INTO OUR COUNTRY.

We are doomed.

I love horror movies. And I love feeling creeped.

So imagine my excitement to read Roberty Berry's 100 Scariest Movie Scenes for 2007. (He did it last year and I wanted to see what he changed this time around.)

The list of movies on the left side are all clickable and, when applicable, you can actually watch the scene in question.

But whatever. Lists usually suck and aren't that fun to read. What I love so much about this one, though, is that a movie can appear multiple times for specific scenes. (The Exorcist and The Shining are prime examples, as both those movies have more than one scary scene.)

Beyond that, I also love that there are non-horror movies on the list: A ton of David Lynch (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and Mulholland Drive FTW!!!), that creepy Pink Elephant freak-out from Dumbo, the big "secret" from The Crying Game, and "Large Marge" from Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

There aren't too many changes the second time around. The two main differences, though, make the list so much more genuine to me.

At #7 is the Gurney Ride through Hell from Jacob's Ladder, one of the most underrated horror movies of all time. I first picked it up on a whim a couple years back. The entire idea of the movie creeped me out and by the time the twist ending became clear, I was blown away.

But Berry's #1 choice is SO EXCELLENT. I know David Lynch is pretentious and fucking crazy, but I love Mulholland Drive so dearly. And that Winkies dream sequence is terrifying. The still camera and some wonderful character acting give the scene such a pervasive aura of suspense; as the dream slowly begins to come true, you're gripped. And the final moment? I once watched it with a girl who actually began to cry while watching it.

Now that's scary.

My complaints (and recommendations!):

-The scene in Lost Highway where Bill Pullman is confronted by the man with the white makeup all over his face. To this day, I have a hard time watching this scene. It's so fucking creepy, and not in a fun way.


-Like 40 million scenes in Who Can Kill a Child? Totally underrated and mentally mind-fucking horror movie from the 70s about a couple (one who is pregnant) who go to spend a weekend on an island off of Spain. They come to discover that all the adults have been murdered by children. Seems like such an absurd concept that it can't be scary, but through the use of bright, open spaces, and some incredibly creepy child actors, I was curled up into a little ball by the end of it.

I could only find a trailer for it:

-The basement torture scene from Frailty. Another missed gem of a horror movie. The kids and Bill Paxton are INCREDIBLE actors and that's what makes this movie work. I prefer the flashbacks to the present-time plot, and boy, it's a doozy.

Imagine if your dad told you he was murdering people in the name of God. You revolt against him, because that's an absurd notion, so he FUCKING LOCKS YOU IN A CELLAR FOR A WEEK. Holy crap, amazing.


-The final confrontation between Clarice Starling and Buffalo Bill in Silence of the Lambs. If you've never seen this movie, promptly jump off a cliff.

Any others you'd recommend?

I grew up (for most of my life) in Riverside, CA. Here's a map:


As you can see, Riverside is just southeast of Ontario and far east of Los Angeles. It's pretty much a desert, in most ways, with the exception of the Hidden Valley Wildlife Preserve, which ran behind my house. The Santa Ana River runs through it, so it's surrounded by thick foliage, most of it a bamboo forest.

Here's one of the main entrances to the park


It's pretty desolate. If you've seen my Los Angeles to Riverside biking video, the end of it is a great example of the area I lived in. Lots of rolling hills and dry brush.

This meant that every year, as summer started, we always had to prepare for brush fires. The infamous Santa Ana winds that came down off the mountains make for a brush fire nightmare.

I experienced my first brush fire in 1994, when the hills around my house caught fire. I remember thinking how fun it was to hose down the house and the grass in the backyard as ashes fell down on me. This was my initial reaction, of course. But I fully understood the danger of the predicament when I was told to pack a box of my most favorite belongings, in case we had to leave.

I empathize so dearly with those that are suffering because of these fires. They're terrifying, mostly because you feel so goddamn helpless.

So how can the rest of you help out the half million people who have been displaced?

Run on over to Shakespeare's Sister and read this detailed post about the different charities and organizations you can donate to that will provide IMMEDIATE assistance to those in need. This is a great opportunity for your kindness and generosity to help someone RIGHT NOW. I just donated $20 to the Red Cross, even though I'm nearly broke! I know that, even if it seems like chump change, it helps.

Make sure to check in with your friends out here in Southern California and see if they're ok. Give your emotional support too! Anything helps.

I can't even fabricate such nonsense if I tried.

I just want to remind you that President Bush vetoed children's health care because it cost too much.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Children's health care costs too much.
The U.S. cannot account for a billion dollar Iraq contract.

Nope. Still makes no sense to me.

If you recall my blog about Ann Coulter last week, you know that I believe we shouldn't ignore racist fuckwads in the mainstream media. We need to address their hysteria. We need to acknowledge what they've said...and then promptly destroy it with logic, reason, and tenacity.

I've blogged about him many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many times in the past.  But easily, this has to be one of the most despicable things I've ever heard:

• We come back to the center of the melting pot, that we're all one America, that just because I disagree with you doesn't mean you hate America, and I love America. We all love America. We just disagree on how we should function, what we should do, big government, small government. It doesn't mean you hate America. I think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.

You son of a bitch. I know scores of people who are suffering because of these fires. Not a one of them "hates" America. How can you even say such a thing? You realize most of the areas hit are rich and very, very Republican?

It is about time for someone to can this asshole. I've had to re-write these sentences over and over again, because my rage and anger causes me to have such base reactions to what Glenn Beck has said.

I want him to experience racism. I want him to experience homophobia. I want him to experience the fear of having a forest fire come dangerously close to his house. Have you ever had to box up your personal belongings? I once had to stuff my favorite possessions into a single back pack when I was 11. Ever had to do that?

Glenn Beck is a man of privilege. And he continues to rub that in our faces. For this, he doesn't deserve a second of air time ever again.

I'm not even going to lie; as soon as I read this over at PunkNews, tears hit my eyes.

I fucking ADORED this band growing up. And when they broke up, even thought I have loved the products of that split, I felt like a large part of my adolescence had passed as well.

BUT OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG. Is it possible that I may finally get to see material from The New What Next live????

This is, without a doubt, the best news of 2007.

Well, hello there Dumbledore! Your creator just outed you.




Yes, yes, I know. The nerve of that gal! Though, we have to admit: we're really not all that surprised. I mean....well, come on!

Could this be the start of the real Net Neutrality war?

If so, Comcast has thrown the proverbial first stone; they've directed their aim to high speed internet subscribers who are attempting to share files, regardless of what those files are.

Here's an example of what happens, using BitTorrent:

• Comcast's technology kicks in, though not consistently, when one BitTorrent user attempts to share a complete file with another user.

  Each PC gets a message invisible to the user that looks like it comes from the other computer, telling it to stop communicating. But neither message originated from the other computer — it comes from Comcast. If it were a telephone conversation, it would be like the operator breaking into the conversation, telling each talker in the voice of the other: "Sorry, I have to hang up. Good bye."

The company blocks the files you're downloading (or uploading) right before it finishes, which amounts to kicking you in the nuts just as spread your legs wide open.

• Matthew Elvey, a Comcast subscriber in the San Francisco area who has noticed BitTorrent uploads being stifled, acknowledged that the company has the right to manage its network, but disapproves of the method, saying it appears to be deceptive.

  "There's the wrong way of going about that and the right way," said Elvey, who is a computer consultant.

And this is clearly the wrong way. How so?

• Comcast's interference affects all types of content, meaning that, for instance, an independent movie producer who wanted to distribute his work using BitTorrent and his Comcast connection could find that difficult or impossible — as would someone pirating music.

Great. They've resorted to elementary school tactics. Now, children, if you don't stop stealing music, no one gets to download!

But all the more disgusting to me is the fact that Comcast didn't even inform their own subscribers that they were instituting this policy:

• Comcast subscriber Robb Topolski, a former software quality engineer at Intel Corp., started noticing the interference when trying to upload with file-sharing programs Gnutella and eDonkey early this year.

  In August, Topolski began to see reports on Internet forum DSLreports.com from other Comcast users with the same problem. He now believes that his home town of Hillsboro, Ore., was a test market for the technology that was later widely applied in other Comcast service areas.

  Topolski agrees that Comcast has a right to manage its network and slow down traffic that affects other subscribers, but disapproves of their method.

  "By Comcast not acknowledging that they do this at all, there's no way to report any problems with it," Topolski said.

YOU ASSHOLES.

I currently use AT&T's Wireless at my house and, despite random connection problems every so often, it's pretty damn quick. But if I find out that they've started to block files as well, I'll have no qualms about switching to another service.

As far as the horror genre goes, there’s nothing I look forward to less than the vampire movie. Putting aside Interview With A Vampire and The Lost Boys, I don’t like vampire movies. At all. (Though my fellow Buzznet writers are telling me that I need to see Nosferatu and The Hunger. We’ll see.)

I simply don’t find anything interesting or, more importantly, scary about them. I credit that to how stylized they’ve been portrayed, both in the romantic sense and how they’ve become a parody of themselves. I mean, really. How long has it been since the vampire genre has been reinvented?

Much in the same way that 28 Days Later invigorating a mostly stale genre (though not in the best ways), 30 Days of Night is set to inject life into the vampire horror genre by re-creating a monster through realism.

I attended a press screening of 30 Days of Night at the Sony Studios. (I also feel it would be a disservice to NOT mention that, despite my antics at the MTV Movie Awards last summer and despite being told I was banned for life from all Sony functions, I got to attend this screening. In three short words: neener neener neener.) I’d never attended a press screening before; every movie preview I’d seen was through Nielsen and other screeners that give out free movie tickets outside different places throughout Los Angeles.

To be frank, I wasn’t expecting much. I’m not a fan of vampires (as I’ve already beat into your head) and, after having to suffer through his performance in The Black Dahlia, I’m not a fan of Josh Hartnett. Suffice to say, I was doing this simply to see what it was like and to see if David Slade (of Hard Candy fame) could replicate the success and artistic direction of the graphic novel the movie is based on.

(Photo credit: Kirsty Griffin)

The movie opens rather cryptically with the sight of a ragged and clearly maddened man stumbling upon the town of Barrow, Alaska. Located at one of the furthermost points north, the town experiences 30 days of night as the earth tilts on its axis away from the sun. On the eve of this yearly event, hundreds of people leave the town in a mass exodus of goodbyes and insincere hugs. It’s only 30 days, their faces seem to say. The movie, bright and nonchalant from the opening, slips into darkness as an off screen force slaughters an entire pack of sled dogs.

It’s at this point that the systematic darkness and hopelessness begins to take over the film, both in sight and feel. David Slade succeeds from here on out. In this respect, he controls what you see and how you’ll experience the coming onslaught.

And “onslaught” is really an understatement. As you realize that the residents of Barrow who have decided to stay behind for the month of darkness have been cut off from the outside world in every respect, the dread starts to creep in. This is not to suggest that this is an original technique; I’ve seen plenty of recent and older horror movies apply the same technique. (The Hills Have Eyes and The Silence of The Lambs first pop to mind, with their effective use of isolation and foreshadowing.)

When the vampires first take to the screen, they’re all seen in passing: They’re quickly jumping from roof top to roof top, in plain view of the viewer, but unbeknownst to the characters on screen. They surround a lone man and we only see shadows as they attack him, ripping him to shreds. They scream with ferocity as they drag a wife under a house.

(Photo credit: Kirsty Griffin)

The first full glimpses I got of the creatures is when I realized I was not in for a typical ride at all. Like the bastard children of an Aphex Twin video, their faces are distorted, eyes pulled to the cheeks like teardrops. Mouths are disfigured and even their teeth look like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Using some ingenious make up techniques and the actors’ natural faces, I am introduced to a brand new breed of vampires. (And Danny Houston is the greatest vampire ever.)

Simply put, they are not fucking around. When the rampage occurs and the vampires stop coyly jumping on roofs, the chaos is captured through use of some awe-inspiring and shocking aerial shots. The town slips into mayhem and the over-stimulation of my senses sent chills down my spine.

David Slade is not taking this lightly. The survivors, stranded and confused, try their best to outsmart these creatures, but Slade has crafted a set of monsters that are intelligent, fierce, and….holy hell. They are so goddamn fast! Utilizing almost entirely physical stunts instead of CGI, they seem natural, instead of creations of a computer wizard. In addition, they speak an entirely fictional language based on “feeding and hatred,” according to Slade.

(Photo Credit: Kirsty Griffin)

John Hartnett and Melissa George, the leads in the movie, play a recently estranged couple who are forced to confront their own distaste for each other in the face of an existential crisis. (And, I’m shocked to admit this, but I really enjoyed them.) Does it really matter that they still have feelings for each other as the apocalypse is destroying the world around them? And make no mistake, for the town of Barrow, Alaska, 30 Days of Night strikes me as quite the nihilistic adventure. The film is gritty, egregiously violent, and leaves you with a bad feeling in your gut. Eschewing a great deal of horror movie clichés (or simply following a cliché with a "Holy-God-what-was-that?" moment), Slade instead seeks to attack you with realism: Why is it that the hero is undamaged? Why do children always end up ok? Why are the handicapped protected? Slade knows this just isn’t possible in the world we live, so be prepared to see some fairly shocking scenes. (Most notably, halfway through, a scene with a 10 year old girl that found me groaning out loud.)

By shrouding the movie in darkness, you’re left unable to tell the passage of time, with the exception of small titles every so often stating what day it is and the physical changes in the characters. As I had mentioned before, this puts the director in control and Slade’s vision is ambitious and terrifying.

Not that there aren’t faults with this movie; the violence is a little much at times and there is some horrific gore that’s unsettling. I think it detracted from the story a bit at times, but I suppose it’s just Slade taking the movie to it inevitable realism and nihilism at the same time. But I definitely winced at what ultimately happens at the end of the confrontation between Josh Hartnett and Danny Houston, because it’s the only bit of completely unrealistic violence in the whole movie.

 There are a few totally bogus lines (the 10 year old girl scene has a particularly stupid line). The acting isn’t Oscar-winning, yet I rarely found myself laughing at ridiculous lines or awkward dialogue.

(Photo credit: Kirsty Griffin)

I’ll say it now: 30 Days of Night is a sleeper hit. I don’t presume to know how well it will do at the box office, but this is such a fun and disturbing horror movie. By realizing that something new had to be done with the genre, David Slade has created an entire world of vampires that’s refreshing and realistic.

And totally freakin’ scary.

(My hat is tipped to Shakes, as usual, for directing me to this incredibly interesting blog piece this fine morning.)

It's become incredibly easy to dislike Ann Coulter. While legions of fanatical right-wing pundits and morons worship everything that comes out of her mouth for speaking "the truth" and "telling it like it is," I'd like to think that a good portion of the people who hear the things she says think she's a total nutcase. (She is, just in case you weren't sure.)

Like clockwork, every time she comes out with a new book, she has to drum up the attention surrounding her by making egregious and ridiculous statements. She's like the annoying bully in elementary school who, when ignored, finds increasing methods to turn the class's focus right back to them.

One of the key methods of combatting bullies, we're told, is to ignore them. But, after reading this fascinating editorial from Leonard Pitts at the Miami Herald, I'm going to agree: We have to stop ignoring Ann Coulter.

• Last week, Coulter said that in her perfect America, everyone would be a Christian. She said this to Donny Deutsch, who was hosting her on his CNBC program, The Big Idea. Deutsch, who is Jewish, expressed alarm. Whereupon Coulter told him that Jews simply needed to be ''perfected'' -- i.e., made to accept Jesus as savior. Which is, of course, one of the pillars (along with the slander of Christ's murder) supporting 2,000 years of pogroms, abuse and Holocaust.

  I suspect the reason some people believe that kind of ignorance is best ignored is that they find it difficult to take it seriously, or to accept that Coulter -- or those who embrace her -- really believes what she says. After all, this is not 1933, not 1948, not 1966. It is two-thousand-by-God-oh-seven, post-Seinfeld, post-Gore-Lieberman, post-Schindler's List. We no longer live in the era when open anti-Semitism could find wide traction. This is a different time.

  But time, Martin Luther King once observed, is neutral. Time alone changes nothing. It is people who make change in time. Or not. So you have to wonder if this determined sanguinity in the face of intolerance is not ultimately an act of monumental self-delusion.

  While some of us are cheerfully assuring one another that They Don't Really Mean It, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports that the number of hate groups in this country has risen by a whopping 40 percent in just the last seven years. If you had spent those years, as I have, jousting in print the agents of intolerance, you would not be surprised. It would be all but impossible to quantify, but I've noted a definite spike, not simply in the hatefulness of some people, but in the willingness to speak that hatefulness openly and without shame. What used to be anonymous now comes with a name and address.

The disturbing trend Pitts speaks of has spread so quickly (and quietly) to all corners of the world. Even here on Buzznet: think of your experience here in the past year. Haven't you noticed how quick people are to express ridiculously racist, homophobic, sexist, and flame-baiting comments in forum discussion? (I must admit that this is also due to the anonymity of the net and the fact that we have a ton of prepubescent teen girls on the site. Ha!)

But this is neither here nor there:

• So this is not about bashing conservatives. It is, rather, about challenging them, and all of us. Within living memory, we have seen Jews in boxcars and blacks in trees and silence from those who should have been shouting. They pretended it wasn't happening until it already had.

  So, what about Ann Coulter? What about the push-back against diversity, pluralism and tolerance, that she represents? I keep hearing that we should just ignore it.

  My point is, that's been tried before. It didn't work.

While his "Jews in boxcars" imagery is a bit much for me, his point still stands: Why should we allow such statements that degrade public discourse to stand?

His suggestion (and one I wholeheartedly agree with):

Point out Ann Coulter's terrible logic, lack of facts, and insane bias and make fun of the asshole.

So I officially dub this the "Make Fun of Ann Coulter" thread. Get on it!

I realize that there's not much you can do with the genre of punk rock; I will not declare that it's dead, because I've seen quite a few bands over the past year that continue to interest me and prove that punk can still be relevant. (The South Bay's Dangers are a prime example of that.)

What I like so much about A Wilhelm Scream isn't that they're reinventing the genre of punk that mid-90's Epitaph bands dominated. Listening to Career Suicide, I feel that AWS are more confident that they can create a melodic punk record that is intellectually challenging as well as musically impressive.


It's hard to pinpoint exactly what this record sounds like. I hear Bad Religion. I hear the Descendents. And I hear a whole lot of metal. Updates from the band earlier this year claimed that their follow-up to Ruiner would be faster than anything they'd written before.

They're not lying. With the opening riffs and vocals of "I Wipe My Ass With Showbiz," you know that they mean business. Breakneck guitars, Nuno Pereira's rough and catchy vocals (cleverly harmonized with guitarist Trevor Reilly's back ups) grab your attention. "Mother, I sold my soul for management," Pereira sings in the chorus, and then we're all treated to a blistering solo, followed by harmonized guitar leads. Just a minute into the song and it's over.

This immediately leads into "5 to 9," the album's first "single." It's not unfamiliar territory for the band; it's just so goddamn fast! What they do manage to master this time around is the art of the odd tempo. Listening to this song, the timing shifts all over the place, from one distorted riff to the next atypical chord. The chorus features the now perfected vocal duo of Pereira and Reilly, who have never sounded better.

But it's the third song on Career Suicide, "The Horse," that truly represents how diverse, smart, and impressive this album is. A blinding riff stops at the opening verse: "I am just waiting in a room / I only sleep but half the time." Behind this? Newcomer Brian Robinson taps out perhaps the most ridiculous bass sweeps I've ever heard. When the guitars begin to harmonize over that, it's a moment of pure instrumental bliss.

The song moves on to some beautifully sung choruses and then breaks halfway through, almost becoming a separate song again. Guitarists Reilly and Chris Levesque hold nothing back. Muted riffs, tremelos, hammer-ons, pull-offs, tapping: It's all here and gloriously strapped together.

This is why Career Suicide succeeds. Instead of sounding like a tech-punk mess, Reilly's structures, coupled with some infectious vocal lines, make this speedy album sound relentless and calculated. Each lyrical line, each guitar lead, every bass run: It belongs exactly where you find it.

"Jaws 3, People 0" is another perfect example of this. Pereira's drill-instructor vocal duties assault your ears (in a good way); it's clear that these boys know how to string together long passes of lyrics in such a short time. The songs are so fast and so much is stuck into every passage, but, once again, nothing is jumbled. After a midsection with 4 separate solos (!!!!!) comes one of my favorite parts of the album: Those melodic vocals I've come to adore so much.

• Oh, when I saw them floating out to the river,
  the cold inside my stomach was a hunger to me.
  And if the devil makes a mess of all the raw meat,
  Let him be.
  
  Oh how my captain sailed it straight up the middle,
  but the crooked lines are quicker when you're snorting them in.
  Because if the devil's at your door you leave it open.
  Let him in.
  

It's hard for me to write this review without delving deep into every song. I don't skip a single track, beginning to end. The chorus to "These Dead Streets" is so anthemic that I can't wait for them to tour 'round these parts. "Get Mad, You Son of A Bitch" and "We Built This City! (On Debts and Booze)" are epic and will inspire fists pumps and pile ons. This is surely one of the best albums released this year.

But my favorite song? The anti-Mitt Romney jam, "Pardon Me, Thanks a Lot." The most straight-forward of all the songs, it lambasts the politician's horrific economic policies that have so negatively affected his hometown. AND IT IS SO GODDAMN CATCHY!

Ok. I'll stop. But get this album. It's great to bike to. And run to. And have mosh parties and sing-a-longs in your bedroom to. Get on it!

These just don't stop, do they?

• Brown County GOP Chairman Donald Fleischman has resigned his post, says a spokesperson, after being accused of enticement and fondling of an underage boy, reports the Green Bay Press-Gazette Saturday.

  Fleischman, 37, is free after posting a $20,000 bond on September 28. "My client is innocent of the charges," says attorney Jeff Jazgar, who "declined to discuss specifics."

  "Our plan is to get some witnesses to testify and present enough information to dismiss the case."

  The boy was found by police in Fleischman's home on two occasions in late 2006 while being sought as a runaway from Ethan House, a home for at-risk youth. Now 17, he says he stayed with Fleischman at his house and a cabin, where he was provided with alcohol and cannabis, and regularly fondled.

  On November 19, 2006, according to a September 7th complaint obtained from the WisPolitics Courtwatch Blog, the boy in question was found hiding in a bedroom closet, and a pipe was found in the house, which tested positive for THC. Shortly after, on December 8, 2006, Fleischman said he was trying to convince the boy, discovered again in the home, to turn himself in as a runaway.

  Fleischman faces two counts of child enticement, two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a child, and one count of exposing himself to a child. He returns to court on October 29.

The bizarre (and unbelievable) justifications are my favorite part. The boy just "showed up" and good 'ol Fleischman was just trying to convince him to leave!

By fondling him?????

Sigh.

Just so you guys know, I'm also going to be honest as well. I'm not really gay.

I'm just trying to find out why gay guys act the way they do. It's just research!

Really, things continue to get more and more exciting in the Nine Inch Nails camp. Head on over to NIN.com for this lengthy update from Mr. Trentypants himself:

• Here's some information on Y34RZ3R0R3MIX3D.
  We are releasing it on Interscope Nov 20th through the traditional retail outlets. There are three different formats:
  
  DIGITAL DOWNLOAD
  iTunes, I assume Amazon's MP3 store (I'm the last to know about these things) and maybe others. This should be priced "regular", whatever that now means.
  track listing for these:
  
  1. gunshots by computer: saul williams
  2. the great destroyer: modwheelmood
  3. my violent heart: pirate robot midget
  4. the beginning of the end: ladytron
  5. survivalism: saul williams
  6. capital g: epworth phones
  7. vessel: bill laswell
  8. the warning: stefan goodchild featuring doudou n’diaye rose
  9. meet your master: the faint
  10. god given: stephen morris & gillian gilbert
  11. me, i’m not: olof dreijer
  12. another version of the truth: kronos & enrique gonzalez müller
  13. in this twilight: fennesz
  14. zero sum: stephen morris & gillian gilbert
  
  
  VINYL
  A nice package with three discs. Good quality vinyl, blah blah blah - really it's just cool. The package is a six-panel gatefold vinyl jacket to match Year Zero along with an insert.
  track listing for this configuration:
  
  Side 1
  1. gunshots by computer: saul williams
  2. the great destroyer: modwheelmood
  3. my violent heart: pirate robot midget
  4. the beginning of the end: ladytron
  5. capital g: epworth phones
  
  Side 2
  1. the warning: stefan goodchild featuring doudou n’diaye rose
  2. meet your master: the faint
  3. god given: stephen morris & gillian gilbert
  4. vessel [mix 1]: bill laswell
  
  Side 3
  1. capital g: switch
  2. me, I’m not: olof dreijer
  
  Side 4
  1. the good soldier: sam fog
  2. vessel [mix 2]: bill laswell
  
  Side 5
  1. capital g: ladytron
  2. another version of the truth: kronos & enrique gonzalez müller
  3. in this twilight: fennesz
  4. zero sum: stephen morris & gillian gilbert
  
  (no Side 6)
  
  
  PHYSICAL CD / DVD ROM
  This costs a bit more than "regular" and contains a CD that has exactly the same track listing as it's DIGITAL DOWNLOAD counterpart (see above). The package is a six-panel digipak to match Year Zero along with an insert. It also contains a DVD ROM (not a movie) that contains every track from Year Zero in multitrack format for you to do with what you please. Mac or PC.
  
  We've included:
  Pre-formatted for Apple GarageBand
  Pre-formatted for Ableton Live (Mac or PC)
  Demo version of Ableton Live (Mac or PC)
  Generic WAVE files at 16 bit 44K that can be loaded into any audio editor
  
  I can make this easy for you: if you just want to hear the tracks as cheaply as possible, get it digitally. The highest fidelity will likely be Amazon (through legal means).
  If you want something that's aesthetically cool and will enhance any collection, get the vinyl. Trust me, it looks great. The extra tracks are fairly minor embellishments to the whole (and surely someone will upload them instantly).
  If you want higher quality tracks legally, a nice package AND a complete multitrack of the whole record, get the physical CD / DVD ROM.
  
  **insert comment from NINSUX: "I thought he said all the multitracks were going to be posted online, now he wants us to PAY for them??"
  Relax, friend. One second after this package goes to the manufacturing plant someone will kindly upload those missing multitracks and everything will be OK. If they don't soon enough for your liking, just yell loudly out the window and I'll do it myself.
  
  As for the record itself, I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. Remix records can be disposable garbage (of which I myself have been guilty of to some extent) but this collection feels good to me. I reached out to heroes, friends and strangers. I encouraged those I approached to do anything and insert themselves as much as possible into the track. Some of the stuff that was done earlier led me to choosing other people to balance things out. The Pirate Robot Midget mix is a fan's work - I thought it was great, it filled a need and I asked permission to use it here.
  It's always interesting for me to hear my work reinterpreted - I hope it is for you as well.
  Upon the release of this, we will be launching the first portion of the new nin.com at
  remix.nin.com
  We have been working on this quite a while now and I think you'll like it. It will begin as a home for listening to, sorting through, discussing and uploading remixes the community has made. Hopefully it will be as elegant, useful and fun to use as we envision.
  
  TR

OHMYGOD. A digital download PLUS a three-disc vinyl PLUS a CD with all the raw tracks provided for your mixing enjoyment??????

THIS IS WONDERFUL. DOES IT GET ANY BETTER?

Yes. Because now Trent's recording the follow up to Year Zero.

SWOOOOOOONNNNN.

Yep. I couldn't be happier that I am gay.

I first came out in the summer of 2002. I was in Hollywood with my friend Jovany and we were wandering around the city after catching Rilo Kiley at The Knitting Factory. (I still have that ticket stub at my house somewhere. I'll find it later and post the exact date.)

I don't know what finally triggered the courage in me to tell the truth. I know a great deal of it was that I knew Jovany was gay and a very accepting friend. But a large part was the overwhelming unhappiness and pressure that was consuming my life. I was lonely. I was lying to myself and to my friends around me.

Jovany accepted me. The next few people I told, before it spread like wildfire, were very understanding as well. But my joy didn't last long. I grew up in a very conservative area of Riverside. The population was pretty much split among Catholics, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and non-denominational Christians. This created a breeding ground of ignorance and homophobia.

I was outed in church. I was not given the chance to have my own moment to explain myself and my feelings to people I cared about. After that moment, I lost about 75% of all my friends. People simply didn't want to talk to me anymore or have me in their life.

But for the first time in my life, I simply didn't care. The friends who wanted to stay in my life were true friends. Perhaps my coming out experience was bitter sweet, but it's helped me to become who I am today.

So what can you do to help your friends?

Let them know that you care and that you support them, no matter what their sexual orientation is. For me, this was the most important aspect that led to me coming out. I confided in the people I knew didn't care whether I was gay or straight. I knew I could trust them.

Let other people who aren't gay know that you support gay rights. Wear an equality shirt. Speak up in class if someone uses homophobic language. Attend rallies and marches for gay rights. Sure, the coming out process really depends on the individual coming out, but it always helps to have straight allies who are accepting! Most importantly, get involved!

Here are a few videos I've found on various blogs further explaining the need and purpose of National Coming Out Day!


Created by the Human Rights Campaign

Here's TR Knight speaking for GLAAD:


This final video is perhaps one of the more disturbing things I've seen. It deals with "ex-gays" who marry in order to prove they're straight. Why is this important? Because these men, who clearly have issues themselves, were scared into the closet because of the society we live in. Organizations that try turn gay men straight prove to be more damaging to every person involved.

Stay aware. Stay involved. Help create a world where gay men and woman can co-exist with heterosexuals in peace.

Happy Coming Out Day!

There was a moment after reading that where my brain simply stopped working. I expected my anger to swell or, on the other hand, my apathy to dominate my brain.

But I couldn't feel anything. About 5 seconds after this wave of nothing hit me, I just shook my head.

The Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division (US Dept. Of Justice) said the following after being asked about new legislation being pushed that would require specific Photo ID in order to vote:

• Unbelievably, the Chief of the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, John Tanner, contends that while it's "a shame" that elderly voters may be disenfranchised by new Photo ID restrictions at the polls because many don't have driver's licenses, minorities don't have to worry quite as much. Why? Because "minorities don't become elderly the way white people do. They die first."

I'm sure your brain has just ceased all normal, rational functions as well. Take a moment. If you want, click the source link above and wach the first video. About 1:30 is where the fun starts.

If you've returned or bravely pressed on, I applaud you. Such blatant ageism and racism is known to curb motor functions for a brief period of time.

Really, that's what this is. It's bad enough that Tanner supports the Photo ID bills that the GOP party is pushing so hard to pass. It's bad enough that he admits it will negatively affect elderly voters and then proceeds to not give a rat's ass.

But stating that minorites die before white people? That line is do deliciously ignorant and evil that I sit here, at a loss for words, trying to understand how any human being could believe something so......

Stupid.

(Hat tip to Shakes for re-posting this.)

And really, after all the crap he's been through, he should be.

Swing by NIN.com to read a brief statement that was actually posted yesterday.

• Hello everyone. I've waited a LONG time to be able to make the
  following announcement: as of right now Nine Inch Nails is a totally
  free agent, free of any recording contract with any label. I have
  been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the
  business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very
  different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a
  direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate.
  Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008.
  Exciting times, indeed.

After repeatedly hassling label heads, leaking his own music, not including the label in his projects, and bad mouthing them in the press, Reznor is free from any label. And, if the interviews he's given in the past couple months have said anything, any NIN fan is really in for a treat in the upcoming future.

Last week, Radiohead announced a direct-to-fans, pay-as-you-wish album, with both a digital release and a physical package. With NIN label-less as well, are we witnessing a revolution? Are the artists finally going to turn the tide, grab the label honchos by their ties, and let them know that the power of their music is in their hands?

I could not be more excited this fine Tuesday morning.

Because, when I think of Jesus, I think of destroying the Covenant with grenades.

• Across the country, hundreds of ministers and pastors desperate to reach young congregants have drawn concern and criticism through their use of an unusual recruiting tool: the immersive and violent video game Halo.

  The latest iteration of the immensely popular space epic, Halo 3, was released nearly two weeks ago by Microsoft and has already passed $300 million in sales.

  Those buying it must be 17 years old, given it is rated M for mature audiences. But that has not prevented leaders at churches and youth centers across Protestant denominations, including evangelical churches that have cautioned against violent entertainment, from holding heavily attended Halo nights and stocking their centers with multiple game consoles so dozens of teenagers can flock around big-screen televisions and shoot it out.

I'm most fascinated and concerned by the blatant sleaziness of this campaign to win the faith of America's youth, mostly because, by all appearances, aren't these two items completely compatible?

I'll ultimately have to agree with Nicole Belle over at Crooks and Liars, though.

• Oh, I don’t know….one would think the line has been crossed when one is encouraging kids to kill (even if only virtually) to bring them to Jesus.  This is a whole new take on “WWJD” that sadly reflects more on our society than religion.
  

I guess I just don't understand how these people can do this. You lure kids in by allowing them to play massive gaming tournaments and then....tell them about Jesus? Huh? Is it true that we're so lazy as a society that we have to use violent video games just to get anyone to pay attention?

There is nothing occupying my free time more than this game:

Boxhead.

The goal?

Kill zombies.

I am warning you now: You won't stop playing this game for weeks.

For enjoying Winnipeg's The Weakerthans so much, I sure don't follow their updates very well. So imagine my surprise a couple months ago upon hearing that, 4 years after their last album, I'd have a new batch of Weakerthans songs.

I doubt there are many of you here on Buzznet who even know who they are, so a brief history lesson: There is a band from Canada called Propagandhi. They are perhaps the greatest living punk band in the world. John K. Samson played bass for them and sang on a few songs. (Those songs, found on Less Talk, More Rock, tend to be my favorite on that album.)

Following that album, John left Propagandhi and, looking to form a more melodic band with introspective lyrical inspiration, created The Weakerthans. Voila!

What do The Weakerthans sound like? That's a little harder to peg. Punk ethics mixed with pretentious-less indie. Add some folk. Add some country twang. Add incredibly heartbreaking "lyrical fictions." You're just starting to get the picture now.


Reunion Tour, released September 25th on Epitaph, is a bit more upbeat than all three of its predecessors, so if this is your first listen to this band, take note: This is a (small) departure from their previous work, but not anywhere near enough of a change that it doesn't sound like them at all.

The album opens with "Civil Twilight," a song about the ruminations of a lost chance. It's a mid-tempo indie jam with delayed guitar techniques and, hearing John's vocals and lyrics after a four year wait, it's a welcome sound. The chorus is full, lush, melodic, and the distorted guitar tone is epic.

"Hymn of the Medical Oddity" is more familiar terroritory for the band and a favorite of mine. Featuring plucked guitar notes and a solid rhythmic beat throughout, it's an ultimately crushing song about wanting to be remembered as more than just another sick patient. John routinely bases his songs on people he's known and have passed through his life; in this case, we're introduced to a character who "idle[s] in some parking lot, smoke[s] half a smoke and ask[s] St. Boniface and St. Fratel, 'Preserve me from my past.'" John continues to sing, over more subtle bass notes and gentle guitar chords, "Make them remember me as more than a queer experiment, more than a diagram in their quarterly. Make them remember me."

If this isn't enough to split your heart in two, there are many more. While lyrically, each of the songs seems to stem from a specific person or incident, it's rather satisfying how often the lyrics can instead represent something that's happened to the person who is listening to it.

Take "Relative Surplus Value," for example. With riffs that reverb like a discarded Morrissey b-side, the song's midsection reminds me of forcing myself to talk "business" at jobs I've had in the past, regardless of how I actually feel that day:

• They're all waiting impatiently. Touch my name tag and say, "Hello." I'm too tired to smile today. Squeak the chair once, take a deep breath, straighten my tie, and say, "What's the damage?"

As I had mentioned before, most of the album is more upbeat than I'm used to, but this doesn't distract from the solid instrumentation or lyrical sincerity I've come to love from this band. "Tournament of Hearts" pulses along with a driving beat of confidence, which juxtaposes nicely with the theme of reluctance from the lyrics. This is also a similar theme found in the first "single," "Night Windows." A poppy bass line bounces along behind words of regret and longing:

• But you're not coming home again, and I won't ever get to say, "Remember how sorry I am that I miss the way it could be?"

But where this album truly soars are in two of the slower songs and the album closer, "Utilities." Midway through the album is, "Virtue The Cat Explains Her Departure," which, as has been done in the past, is a song from the point of view of a cat. The gentle keys and guitars support the lyrics of a cat longing to remember feeling loved by her owner. Is my heart broken yet?

Not quite. But listening to "Bigfoot," near the end, just about does. An almost entirely acoustic song about the scorn a man received for claiming to have seen Bigfoot, it doubles as a revelation for anyone who has ever felt as if no one believed them. Simply put, John has never sounded better; his voice is crystal clear, breaking through the strummed chords; yet, if you listen closely, you can hear his voice break, ever-so-subtlely, as if he's relating to us his own experience of living in a small town as a social outcast.

At this point, completely captured by Reunion Tour, the batch of songs closes with the country-fueled, "Utilities." Improved by leaps and bounds from the demo I had heard of this song, this could be The Weakerthans greatest musical achievement. Slide guitars twang, basses smoothly glide along, and John sings about the desire to feel wanted, to be used, to have any sort of purpose:

• Got a face full of ominous weather; smirking smile of a high pressure ridge. Got more faults than the state of California. And the heart is a badly built bridge. Seems the most I have to offer doesn't offer much. Make it something somebody can use. Make this something somebody can use.
  

Perhaps the title Reunion Tour is really just a reference to a reunion with all of these feelings of regret, loss, uselessness, and despair. It's been 4 years since the last Weakerthans album. It doesn't sound like it, though; this is the band at the top of their game. With a band that's so hard to categorize and describe, yet creates music so fulfilling and passionate, it's no wonder they're one of the most respected bands in Canada.

I can only hope that they're one day just as respected here in the States.

If you'd like to review music for Buzznet, make sure to join our Buzznet Album Reviews group and start writing your reviews!

A big thank you both to Wonkette, the most hilarious political blog on the planet, and to Shakes for pointing me there before I got to my RSS feed of it.

1. Bush declares Oct. 1 Child Health Day: "Our Nation is committed to the health and well-being of our youth. … My Administration supports programs that give parents, mentors, and teachers the resources they need to help and encourage children to maintain an active and healthy way of life."

2. Bush vetoes children's health care bill Oct. 2: "President Bush on Tuesday vetoed legislation that would have extended the coverage of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), objecting to the additional funding that the expansion would require. … The measure would have extended SCHIP, which was created to provide health insurance to poor children, and allowed children currently not eligible to be covered as well."



EDIT: FamilyUSA released a new ad condemning Bush's veto.

I hate linking to TMZ or even caring enough to write about this, but Brit ain't got her kids no more.

Can't say I feel sorry for her, but what a bummer to those two kids. Also, how is it a good idea to give them to Kevin Federline?????

Sigh.

And I fall so deeply in love with this band all over again.

Surprising fans and the industry, Radiohead will release their 7th album, In Rainbows, on October 10th. You can preorder both the digital and vinyl versions of the album HERE.

The vinyl boxset runs around $80 (and there will be no packaging waste), but you can enter in whatever price you desire for the digital download next week.

Meaning you can enter $00.00. Or $20. Or whatever you feel.

This is monumental. They're sure to make money from the boxset and, in releasing an album this way, they've completely taken control of their music.

It's absolutely genius and we can only hope other bands (though probably bands with established followings) will follow suit.

RADIOHEAD RULES YOUR LIFE.