Rated B: history

Showing posts with label history. Show all posts

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Lockdown, Pt. 1

I am still hamstrung by Internet-related issues, such as Blogger trying to force me to allow i18n-cloud. appspot. com in this browser window to post images or video. I have no idea what that is, nor have I seen it before, nor do I want to use it (whatever it is). Google [dba, Blogger] also wants me to sign-in to a slew of Google services I do not use and do not want, including Google Play, Google APIs, et. al.

I believe there is a workaround but, yet again, I am unable to access The Weirding at all, which complicates matters. I'm certain these issues are related but have no idea as to how, nor have I figured out how to block/remove/restrict them yet. I planned to take the computer in for repair back when I last posted, then the COVID-19 outbreak occurred.

I actually was very sick for several weeks, with an extremely dry and forceful cough, high temperatures, and so on, but it appears to be tied to the weather and is most likely a sinus infection or simple cold/flu. OTC medicines and a shitload of vitamin C got rid of the cough (mostly, it's productive when it occurs now and I'm not having long, hard, barking fits like I was) and fever, and my ears are draining, which is not indicative of the virus.

That said, I definitely could have contracted it but, either way, I sequestered myself indoors a week or so back -- a few days before this became a media sensation and political football (to borrow a buzzword) in the US. I'm not sure people are taking it as seriously as they should, though traffic has thinned significantly, according to people with whom I've spoken. I have not left my house in almost three weeks now, except to check the mail.

I have taken measures to avoid all Russian, Iranian, Chinese, and North Korean operatives, which is remarkably easy, in case you wondered. I heard that Nashville is on lockdown and that there is a petition requesting Governor Bill Lee expand that statewide, which he has not done. In fact, no Southern GOP Governor has issued a statewide lockdown as of this writing. Governor Abbott volunteered Texas' septuagenarians for death, to which I say, "Okay, Boomers!"

Fuck 'em; they're Texans and we need the beds. I suggest turning Six Flags Over Jaysus into a temporary shelter-in-place old folks' home / morgue -- at least until Easter, when all of this will magically be over!

There is a COVID-19 crisis unfolding in Tennessee and around it -- Louisiana is quickly overtaking New York as the epicenter of the US outbreak as I write this -- but it is unlikely to turn into the nightmare we're watching across the rest of the world for another week or two. I plan on staying at home the entire time, mostly inside.

I'm going to post when I can and work on these computing issues, as well as catch-up on my subscriptions. I read the last four issues of the original Daredevil (2019) run and I have the newest incarnation lined-up and ready to go, along with DKIII and Golden Child. I also received the latest Weird Tales a while back and hope to get into that, too. I'll at least post some music for the foreseeable future.

I suggest Pluto, Xumo, and Al-Jazeera for COVID-19 coverage, as well as Merlin, Young Dracula, and the original Being Human. It looks like Pluto is finally running some different MST3K episodes, so I hope they get some new RiffTrax, too. The NHK (Japan) channel is a really unexpected blast, as well!

Stay inside; limit your IRL, personal interactions; do your very best to avoid beaches, public transportation, hiking trails, and fatal viral infections; and wash your hands often. "We're all in this together," but all of you need to be in this together over there --- - ---- - --- ->

© The Weirding, 2020

Sunday, January 19, 2020

No Apologies (*)

In going through old posts, I realize that I have, at times, been particularly hard on some people (mostly celebrities) and projects (mostly shit). No, it's true.

My views on a lot of things, especially political and social issues, have changed a lot, too -- some entirely. But I'm not taking down those posts and I'm not "updating" or whitewashing them to reflect the changes in my opinions. I'm only updating them to cash-in on recent developments and popular opinion.

Those posts were written by a different person in a different time; a time which, in retrospect, may have been Big Media's Last Gasp:

MySpace was bigger than Facebook, which wasn't even available to the public until 2008 or so; YouTube had only been online for one or two years; I don't think Twitter had even launched yet. Hulu didn't launch until 2008 or 2009 and Netflix still sent DVDs to your house because DVDs were still A Thing. Blockbuster was still bigger than Netflix back then!

The 24-hour cable news cycle was in full-swing; streaming media wasn't even A Thing until at least 2008-2009 and didn't become a serious contender until 2015 or so; tabloid blogs were all the rage (remember Perez Hilton?); people still went to the movies because Hollywood made more than just superhero films; and chicks like Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, and (the real) Paris Hilton were fucking crazy!

I'd forgotten how nucking futs Britney went! It wasn't just an off-color, or "tone-deaf," remark or two -- like the ones that kill careers today; she went off the rails for a while there. Remember when they sent a chopper to Paris Hilton's house -- and broke into regular programming to show it in real-time? Like it was an earthquake or 9/11. They're Impeaching the sitting "President" right now and I don't think they've interrupted regular programming for that!

I don't feel bad for reacting to those things like they were the end of the world -- that's how they were presented! TV, movies, and even cable TV were huge parts of American pop-culture, and our daily lives, which is how (and why) tabloids and sensationalized news stories about famous people got started in the first place. I still largely believed things the talking heads on TV told me about war, politics, health, and other important issues, and few of those outlets had a notable online presence (and none of them should).

Those posts were written 10+ years ago and everything was different then -- including me. I can't apologize for those things. I started to apologize for piling-on to Britney Spears, for example, but I'd entirely forgotten about her skipping court appearances for custody of her children and serving her mom with papers on the set of her little sister's TV show. Shit, I'd forgotten her little sister ever had a career (in entertainment)!

The things I felt, thought, and said back then were shaped, not only by the events themselves, but by the media, the constant coverage, the proliferation of tabloid websites, the mainstreaming of it all, and a thousand other things -- most of which I've all but forgotten!

I certainly did go too far sometimes, but who didn't? That's not an excuse, that's just the way things were back then. Remember Perez Hilton? I was in competition with major players who had major backing from major corporations, all of whom went much further. And, again, a lot of that was some unprecedented shit and the drama was ramped-up by the traditional media by at least 1,000-fold.

Hell, I sometimes go too far today and I'm okay with that. The world's a fucked-up place and the morons running it are War Criminals with zero oversight. Most days I wake up, I'm (pleasantly) surprised that people aren't running wild in the streets -- which would hardly be an "overreaction," should they start.

For those who weren't around then or haven't noticed, the "news" cartels have simply replaced pop-culture celebrities with politicians. And blogs have largely been replaced by social networks. Traditional media is still as toxic as it ever was and its effect on viewers is evident on social networks today.

Keep this in mind when, five or 10 years from now, you re-read people railing on "Cancel Culture" and "#[everything]SoWhite," because these things, too, will be forgotten. Not the events or people, but the context in which they are taking place, and the things that are said in the midst of the fray will read entirely different once removed from that context.

So, if I hurt anyone's feelings or upset them, I didn't get their Twitter account removed or break into regular programming to show my chopper hovering over their mansion. That's an important distinction. Blogging, the Internet, TV -- everything was entirely different in 2008, 2010, 2012, et. al., and the context in which those things were written and those events took place matters.

I take full responsibility for the things I have said but I feel no responsibility to apologize for being fooled, swept-up by current events or my emotions, nor anything like that. All of that just makes me human, and I can't really change that.

© The Weirding, 2020

Friday, January 03, 2020

Malevolent Creation - Malevolent Creation

Malevolent Creation - Malevolent Creation

Malevolent rarely gets the attention they deserve, as they were definitely at the forefront of the early Death Metal scene and contributed greatly. My only guess is that it has to do with their thrashy style and just general timing: When this album debuted, bands like Deicide and Cannibal Corpse had already laid claim to the Tampa Bay/Morrisson Studios sound and NYBDM was just beginning to lay waste to the industry.

Chords -- fifths and thirds, most notably (haha! I love this shit) -- and an intentionally sloppy, garage/live-band sound began to take hold in what (in retrospect) I can only guess was the producers' best strategy at maintaining sway in an arena increasingly owned by actual musicians. Yet, Malevolent Creation's single-string philosophy yielded nothing in the way of aggressive progression and beat-down breaks.

It's easy to forget, but Death - Human, Obituary - Cause of Death, and Morbid Angel - Blessed are the Sick were in heavy rotation (on my friend's mom's mini-van's CD changer) at the same time as Malevolent Creation's debut album. They were right there at the start, with that bright, light-string shit that still -- 25+ years later -- sounds like no one else.

Except Slayer and also Metallica and Megadeth. And also Anthrax.

Whatever the case, Malevolent Creation's first couple of albums remain stalwart examples of actual Death Metal -- before it started being divided into a countless multitude of sub-genres.

© The Weirding, 2020

Wednesday, October 09, 2019

Halloween Man Road to 20 Years Kick-Off Party

Commemorating 19 years and more than 100 issues of his original Texas comic book series, Halloween Man, creator, Drew Edwards, is throwing Halloween Man Comics' "Road to 20 Years" Party at Flamingo Cantina on Saturday, October 19^th.

Proceeds will be donated to nonprofit groups, Girls Rock Austin and Outyouth.

Get your tickets now @ https://halloweenmancomicsparty.eventbrite.com.

© The Weirding, 2019