Santorum Offends Me on Many Levels

This offended me on many levels. Would you like to see them? OK....

A) It's an extension of the classic Republican Anti-Education propaganda. Somehow, in Santorum's mind, higher education is bad. Of course, if more people had a higher education, they'd be smart enough to see through his ignorant rhetoric.

2) "Good , Decent Men and Women" want what's best for their children, and have their attending college as a goal. Santorum is encouraging poor and middle class families to encourage their kids to remain poor and middle class. That's not what America's about. As a conservative, Rick should be clinging to that "American Dream" of this being a country where your children can have better opportunities than their parents, and can rise to be more than their parents were.

D) I'm not going to get into class warfare here. I come from a working class family, and I admire and respect people who get up every day and work a full day to provide for their family. But it isn't "Snobbery" to acknowledge that some careers are on a higher echelon than others. I talk often and have camaraderie with the custodial staff at my school. They're "good, decent" people, and I have the utmost respect for them. But many of them would say in a heartbeat that they wish they could have gotten a better education and done more with their lives, and they all want more for their children.

Conspiracy theorist that I am, I wonder why Santorum, and many other Republican candidates, are trying to uplift and instill pride in a person who is uneducated and doing what they end up having to do for a living, rather than what they want to do for a living. Boosting self -esteem is one thing; deluding people into thinking that lower level employment should be everybody's dream reminds me a little bit of the feudal system.

4) Remaking children into their parent's image, and not Obama's. What could he mean by that? True, he could mean that Obama will indoctrinate college students into the ways of Liberalism. It's not like there are "Young Republicans" clubs on college campuses across the country. It's not like there are secret societies at some Ivy League schools that breed then next generation of Republican politicians. Oh, wait,... there are. In fact, my experience has been that as much as Liberal political activity happens at college campuses, there is also a lot of Conservative political activity. So, that's what he said; but is it really what he meant by remaking children in Obama's image; or could it be something else?

Perhaps he meant that kids should not be raised to dream of being a successful law school graduate? Or a community organizer who helps struggling families in the city? Or heaven forbid, we raise kids to dream of someday being President of the United States? Is that what he meant by "Obama's image?" I hope not, because if dreaming of achieving the highest office in the land is a bad thing, let me remind you Rick... THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!!!

No... That's not what I think he meant. What is it about Obama, that he could be concerned that people will learn to appreciate? Hmmmm.... Oh, that's right... he's an African American!

I think he was talking in code to his fellow bigots. What he meant to say was, "I want you white people to remake your children in the image of ignorant white people, and not to be tolerant of a successful Black man." One big thing that ALL higher education DOES do is expose you to other cultures, different ideas, and encourages critical thinking. It's not unheard of for a person to go off to college, and come back with a very different, less closed-minded view of the world. Unlike Santorum, I don't believe that that's a bad thing. I understand how someone with prejudiced views would want to avoid anything that might challenge those views, or imply that they might be wrong. But again, I don't believe that that's a bad thing.

So, it's official: I hate Rick Santorum. I used to view him as a poor ignorant asshole who enjoys spewing his disgusting point of view everywhere. But now that he is taking on Education, and he's got a room full of fellow ignorant hate mongers applauding him for it; now it's personal. I also used to feel kinda bad for him because of what Dan Savage did, adding a secondary meaning to his name. Not anymore. I now realize that this scumbag deserves it. And as disgusting as the google results of his name are; that's nothing compared to how horrifically disgusting I find his ignorant agenda.

Music Review - Nightwish - Imaginaerum

I'm finding that many of the albums I listen to this year aren't necessarily bad, so much as; as it is said, "Meh." Same ol', same ol' pop stuff; usual country twangin' about getting drunk and screwing; typical hip-hop pre-processed drivel. What I'm looking for when I select something to go into MY collection is something original, different, unique. Or if not completely original, something that expresses creativity, emotional authenticity and/or musical complexity. The problem there is that many, many bands and music artists are doing things that have never been done before; but there's a reason why that is... because it's terrible. I'm seeking a unique, original group that is ALSO, for lack of a more eloquent term, GOOD.

When I first looked up the new album from the Finnish metal band Nightwish, I did my usual first song sample. It is a tune called "Taikatalvi." It's a strangely Slavic sounding lullabye. Certainly something I would turn from, but it kinda hinted at being a mere introduction to the album, so I tried out the second track, "Storytime." WOW!

Nightwish infuses heavy metal with virtually EVERY other style of music in the world. And I do mean EVERY other style. "Storytime" brings in orchestral hits to accompany a driving metal riff. Vocalist Anette Olzon's haunting voice, which we didn't hear on "Taikatalvi," croons out a beautiful melody over the musical bedlam underneath it. Then at the Chorus, a quite unique combination of rock and classicism permeates through a seven line refrain. (Talk about unique.)

This was followed by "Ghost River," in which Olzon's beautiful Sarah Brightman-like tone is interrupted by Guitarist/vocalist Marco Hietala's screaming, more metal grunts. Then "Slow, Love, Slow" brings it down into something very light and Jazzy. "I Want My Tears Back" incorporates some Celtic Bagpipe-y accompaniment.

What I'm saying is, in listening to the album, if you suddenly don't like what the band is doing, such as on the truly weird "Scaretale," just track forward, and something awesome will appear. These bizarre changes of pace aren't just to be different either. "Imaginaerum" is intended to be a full length feature film extravaganza. There is a storyline, and those moments of dissonance or frightening horror are to serve the imagery. The final track ends with actual poetic dialogue which you can't help but listen to because of how mesmerized you are by that point in the song.

"Imaginaerum" isn't perfect, a few tracks will be skipped by me often; but it's unique and creative enough to warrant multiple listens on my mp3 player.

First New Music review of 2012!!!! - Ani DiFranco

I was taken aback as I listened to new releases these past two months. Could there be THIS much terrible music out there. Sadly, yes. Yes, there is.

As much as I love nothing more than ripping untalented losers a new one; I'm trying to keep positive, and focus on what's good. I'm also living by a resolution I kept last year: Thou shalt not listen to mediocre music. What I'm searching for is stuff that really gets to me, impresses me, and that I can forsee listening to all through the year. I'll be writing about the ones that I fall in love with. And in December I'll consider them all for the best of the year. So, here's the first one for 2012

Ani DiFranco - Which Side are You On? 
I once belonged to an improv group that performed at a poetry night at a coffeehouse. I won a Worst Poem contest there, because whereby the other poets brought in things they wrote that were supposed to be good, but ultimately they weren't really satisfied with; I set out to write a truly horrible poem. This revealed to me a simple truth about poets. They NEVER STOP WRITING. Any little thought can be expressed through poetry, and by extension, through a song.
Ani DiFranco is this type of songwriter. She's no longer at the beginning of her career when she has picked the best of the best from her earliest work; she's now recording new material on a fairly yearly basis. The songs aren't so much ideas that need to come out, as they are thoughts she meditated on that particular day. But here's the thing, DiFranco is so freakin' good at this, that everything she writes turns out to be musical gold. Either that, or if this is just the stuff that isn't terrible, then she is a "poem-every-day" type of writer. She segues easily from lightly philosophical to loudly and harshly political. From arty, complex musical works, to folky protest songs.
A warning: she's very feminist and quite Liberal, so if political content differing from yours is a deal breaker for you, you may close your mind off to some of her subject matter. But for the open minded enjoyer of great music, check it out.