Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Friday, June 24, 2005

Another worthwhile "Fred"

Fred about the war in Iraq and what it takes to defeat the U.S. Military.

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Fabchannel

A brilliant link to loads of registrations of live-concerts from Paradiso and De Melkweg, both in Amsterdam. Want to see John Cale live?

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Notice of absence

Sorry, been absent a while. My partner had to undergo emergency-surgery so my mind was somewhere else than here.
Everything looks like it went o.k. though, so after the band-gig on friday I'll see what I can post. Michael Jackson needs another blog-entry, to say the least.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Do not broadcast this??? O.K. Here's another one for all the intolerant religious suckers.

Source

The other day the national broadcastingcorporation aired a program that was very critical about religions. Well, you would say, we live in a free country. Not according to some conservative fundamental christians in parliament over here in Holland. NooOOooo!

Here's one especially for all those people(who won't read this blog anyway but what the hell...).

It's old but it's still good.


This morning there was a knock at my door. When I answered the door I found a well groomed, nicely dressed couple. The man spoke first:

John:"Hi! I'm John, and this is Mary."

Mary: "Hi! We're here to invite you to come kiss Hank's ass with us."

Me: "Pardon me?! What are you talking about? Who's Hank, and why would I want to kiss His ass?"

John: "If you kiss Hank's ass, He'll give you a million dollars; and if you don't, He'll kick the shit out of you."

Me: "What? Is this some sort of bizarre mob shake-down?"

John: "Hank is a billionaire philanthropist. Hank built this town. Hank owns this town. He can do whatever He wants, and what He wants is to give you a million dollars, but He can't until you kiss His ass."

Me: "That doesn't make any sense. Why..."

Mary: "Who are you to question Hank's gift? Don't you want a million dollars? Isn't it worth a little kiss on the ass?"

Me: "Well maybe, if it's legit, but..."

John: "Then come kiss Hank's ass with us."

Me: "Do you kiss Hank's ass often?"

Mary: "Oh yes, all the time..."

Me: "And has He given you a million dollars?"

John: "Well no. You don't actually get the money until you leave town."

Me: "So why don't you just leave town now?"

Mary: "You can't leave until Hank tells you to, or you don't get the money, and He kicks the shit out of you."

Me: "Do you know anyone who kissed Hank's ass, left town, and got the million dollars?"

John: "My mother kissed Hank's ass for years. She left town last year, and I'm sure she got the money."

Me: "Haven't you talked to her since then?"

John: "Of course not, Hank doesn't allow it."

Me: "So what makes you think He'll actually give you the money if you've never talked to anyone who got the money?"

Mary: "Well, He gives you a little bit before you leave. Maybe you'll get a raise, maybe you'll win a small lotto, maybe you'll just find a twenty-dollar bill on the street."

Me: "What's that got to do with Hank?"

John: "Hank has certain 'connections.'"

Me: "I'm sorry, but this sounds like some sort of bizarre con game."

John: "But it's a million dollars, can you really take the chance? And remember, if you don't kiss Hank's ass He'll kick the shit of you."

Me: "Maybe if I could see Hank, talk to Him, get the details straight from Him..."

Mary: "No one sees Hank, no one talks to Hank."

Me: "Then how do you kiss His ass?"

John: "Sometimes we just blow Him a kiss, and think of His ass. Other times we kiss Karl's ass, and he passes it on."

Me: "Who's Karl?"

Mary: "A friend of ours. He's the one who taught us all about kissing Hank's ass. All we had to do was take him out to dinner a few times."

Me: "And you just took his word for it when he said there was a Hank, that Hank wanted you to kiss His ass, and that Hank would reward you?"

John: "Oh no! Karl has a letter he got from Hank years ago explaining the whole thing. Here's a copy; see for yourself."

** From the desk of Karl **

1. Kiss Hank's ass and He'll give you a million dollars when you leave town.
2. Use alcohol in moderation.
3. Kick the shit out of people who aren't like you.
4. Eat right.
5. Hank dictated this list Himself.
6. The moon is made of green cheese.
7. Everything Hank says is right.
8. Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.
9. Don't use alcohol.
10.Eat your wieners on buns, no condiments.
11.Kiss Hank's ass or He'll kick the shit out of you.

Me: "This appears to be written on Karl's letterhead."

Mary: "Hank didn't have any paper."

Me: "I have a hunch that if we checked we'd find this is Karl's handwriting."

John: "Of course, Hank dictated it."

Me: "I thought you said no one gets to see Hank?"

Mary: "Not now, but years ago He would talk to some people."

Me: "I thought you said He was a philanthropist. What sort of philanthropist kicks the shit out of people just because they're different?"

Mary: "It's what Hank wants, and Hank's always right."

Me: "How do you figure that?"

Mary: "Item 7 says 'Everything Hank says is right.' That's good enough for me!"

Me: "Maybe your friend Karl just made the whole thing up."

John: "No way! Item 5 says 'Hank dictated this list himself.' Besides, item 2 says 'Use alcohol in moderation,' Item 4 says 'Eat right,' and item 8 says 'Wash your hands after going to the bathroom.' Everyone knows those things are right, so the rest must be true, too."

Me: "But 9 says 'Don't use alcohol.' which doesn't quite go with item 2, and 6 says 'The moon is made of green cheese,' which is just plain wrong."

John: "There's no contradiction between 9 and 2, 9 just clarifies 2. As far as 6 goes, you've never been to the moon, so you can't say for sure."

Me: "Scientists have pretty firmly established that the moon is made of rock..."

Mary: "But they don't know if the rock came from the Earth, or from out of space, so it could just as easily be green cheese."

Me: "I'm not really an expert, but I think the theory that the Moon was somehow 'captured' by the Earth has been discounted*. Besides, not knowing where the rock came from doesn't make it cheese."

John: "Ha! You just admitted that scientists make mistakes, but we know Hank is always right!"

Me: "We do?"

Mary: "Of course we do, Item 7 says so."

Me: "You're saying Hank's always right because the list says so, the list is right because Hank dictated it, and we know that Hank dictated it because the list says so. That's circular logic, no different than saying 'Hank's right because He says He's right.'"

John: "Now you're getting it! It's so rewarding to see someone come around to Hank's way of thinking."

Me: "But...oh, never mind. What's the deal with wieners?"

Mary: She blushes.

John: "Wieners, in buns, no condiments. It's Hank's way. Anything else is wrong."

Me: "What if I don't have a bun?"

John: "No bun, no wiener. A wiener without a bun is wrong."

Me: "No relish? No Mustard?"

Mary: She looks positively stricken.

John: He's shouting. "There's no need for such language! Condiments of any kind are wrong!"

Me: "So a big pile of sauerkraut with some wieners chopped up in it would be out of the question?"

Mary: Sticks her fingers in her ears. "I am not listening to this. La la la, la la, la la la."

John: "That's disgusting. Only some sort of evil deviant would eat that..."

Me: "It's good! I eat it all the time."

Mary: She faints.

John: He catches Mary. "Well, if I'd known you were one of those I wouldn't have wasted my time. When Hank kicks the shit out of you I'll be there, counting my money and laughing. I'll kiss Hank's ass for you, you bunless cut-wienered kraut-eater."

With this, John dragged Mary to their waiting car, and sped off.

Opium

We used these John Watts lyrics for one of our songs. Needless to say we will credit the man himself if we ever manage to release the record. The original song is called 'Watching you' but it turned into "Opium" when we worked on it...

Sixteen turkeys squashed together underground
Sixteen eyes preparing not to meet
Don't you read his paper or he'll shake the thing about
And never touch a woman with your feet

Don't think I didn't see
Don't think I didn't
Don't think
Don't...

I've been watching you
You've been watching me now
I've been watching you
You've been watching me now

Everybody's equal on the moving stairs
The businessmen rub shoulders with the street
Shifting for position to observe the girl's behind
It's really not that hard to be discrete

Don't think I didn't see
Don't think I didn't
Don't think
Don't...

I've been watching you
You've been watching me now
I've been watching you
You've been watching me now

A black man in a hurry stumbles into me
When I fall he offers me his hand
A crowd of eyes has gathered looking mortified
There's no United Nations in this town

I've been watching you
You've been watching me now
I've been watching you
You've been watching me now

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Upcoming man

He says "I'll be the same"
"With fortune and fame"
Here is a man who knows how to bend
the rules of the game

On his way to Heaven he's going through Hell
He works under pressure, not feeling too well
Upcoming man,
Upcoming man

He's telling me
he wants to be free
But he works like a slave right down to the grave
When will he see?

On his way to Heaven he's going through Hell
He works under pressure, not feeling too well
Upcoming man,
Upcoming man

What will remain
of fortune and fame?
When you're old and gray
how will they say
did you play the game?

Ye Good And Olden Days - Cave a.k.a. Zork

This is the first computergame I was addicted to. It was on a Texas Instruments minicomputer and we just called it Cave. It turns out that it was made by what later became Infocom and was officially called Zork. For some of the history behind the game and the company go here. To download free copies of Zork I, II and III go here.

And if you need help(and you will!!) you might find it here.

You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

Lonely heart - first draft

Running away from the city where it started
Trying not to think of his friends ‘cause they had parted
What can I say? The illusion’s far from over
What can I say, it’s not all crimson and clover

Standing on the corner where the old school used to be
The carpark of the supermarket took the place of history

Lonely heart and lonely soul
Not much to care for and no one to hold
Lonely heart, and lonely soul
No direction and no goal…

Running and running finding no place to hide
The grass turned out to be brown on both sides

Lonely heart and lonely soul
Not much to care for and no one to hold
Lonely heart, and lonely soul
No direction and no goal

Monday, June 06, 2005

Looking for the map

Some you lose and some you lose
That’s as it is and as it will be
Your freedom and your right to choose
May lead to riches, lead to poverty

All those lonely people,
out there on their own
Trying to make this world a place
that they can call their own
Making sure of everything,
securing every step
Lost in all eternity
and looking for the map

I’d like to save a soul, lend a helping hand
But paranoia has become the master of the land
I’d like to see you through the troubles that you’re in
But caring for each other seems to be a mortal sin

Drum 'n Bass

Solid Air can be seen live on stage, friday june 17th at the Cafe Kwatro in my hometown Alphen aan den Rijn.


Drum 'n Bass.

Heisenberg rules,
random facts connect
Quantumstate prevails
and my free will is protected
I take a look at this
and change the state it’s in
Oh, to predict the future
Where to begin, where to begin?

Unser lieber Gott wurfelt nicht
Unser lieber Gott wurfelt nicht

Take away order
Give nothing in return
We set the fire alight again
and we still watch it burn
Blame some singularity
It happened long ago
All else is chaos
As far as we know, as we know…

Unser lieber Gott wurfelt nicht
Unser lieber Gott wurfelt nicht

Heisenberg rules,
random facts connect
Quantumstates prevail
and my free will is protected
I take a look at you
and change the state you’re in
Oh, to predict the future
Where to begin, where to begin?

(c) Solid Air.

Random thoughts about the American system

Is freedom as defined in America only for americans or is it a universal principle?

I do not visit the U.S.A. For one : I would have to get a damned retinascan-passport although these things have not even been tested, are bloody expensive and Do Not Work Properly. If I don't get one I won't get into America. Although I do not have anything even remotely like a criminal record I am treated as one by default. If you do not call that curtailing people's right to freedom, dismantling the 'innocent until proven guilty-idea' as well as spreading paranoia and hate of foreigners I don't know what is.

Further more there are numerous stories in the american press(from left- to rightwing in this case) that are either all lies or that contradict any 'everything-is-hunky-dory'-opinion. There is no way in Hell that you can call someone like for instance Jerry Pournelle left-wing yet one can read scattered stories there about 90-year old pure american grandmas getting into trouble over a knitting-needle. Stories of people not allowed to carry a nailfile on a plane... As Robin Williams joked in december 2001; "What are they thinking? YOU! Take this plane to Washington or the bitch loses a cuticle!"
Not having plastic cutlery on the plane anymore, by Jove! Ever tried to eat with one of those crapthingies? They break if you handle them without love and affection. How is one supposed to force a plane down with a plastic fork?

It has gone to the extreme and I have to admit immediately that, although the european countries have not gone that far yet, they are definitely following a lot of the American rules. I believe strongly that politicians just love to spread this F(ear) U(ncertainty) and D(oom). It keeps the people on edge and insecure. I also think politicians should be booted out of office for this kind of behaviour as it is the exact opposite of what they are supposed to work for. But of course nowadays the people/voters are there for the government, not the other way round...

Now I wish to make it plain; No, I have not travelled the length and breadth or the U.S.A. although before 9/11 I had plans to do so during a long vacation. The plan was to hire a van or something and just drive into America. Because do not get me wrong ; I believe there is much to be seen and enjoyed in the U.S.A. and much of it seems beautiful to me. And I'm not just talking about mountains and other landmarks, I'm also talking about the people. the culture, etcetera.
I also believe that politicians do not define a people, they only define the "image" of a people to the outside world. Europe consists of a couple of dozen countries and they are all very different. Hence my objection to people trying to define Europe as a whole. The new European Constitution was flagged down by the people and every country's people had different reasons for it. Europe is a quilt of nations at best.

However; although I do not consider the European Union a democratic institution at all, the same can be said for a big chunk of the American system. How come that if a president is "lucky" and several judges in the supreme court die, he gets to completely change the outlook of the Supreme Court for who knows how long? How can it be that one person can rule over his own political grave? After 8 year he is gone and if this president has been able to get lets say 3 judges elected they could be there for ever. As a matter of fact ; your supreme court justices typically grow to be very old. If you consider the U.S.A. to be a complete and utter democracy(for instance), how can it be that the winner takes all in politics, thus shutting out a(usually) very sizable minority? That is called a Republic and that is what the U.S.A. is. It may be a democratic republic but a republic it remains. Compare this to the Netherlands where the winner does not get all, he gets exactly what he deserved; proportional representation. This forces compromise into the system and prevents stuff like those idiotic Fillibusters that the american democrats now have to use to get compromises from the republicans.

I do not think that America is the 'baddie' of the world as so many others do outside the U.S.A. but neither is Europe. And it is disturbing to see how so many americans assume so much that just isn't true while at the same time responding incredibly protective when it comes to the pitfalls of the American system. Both are far from perfect and - to put it a bit extreme - it does not do to glorify the one crucify the other.

TM.

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

TM's advice

En niet vergeten om NEE te stemmen vandaag...

(And don't forget to vote NO today.)