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May 30, 2005

apocalypse again

So my last gig was quite the mixed bag. Though turnout was low, I did have a great time and my sister Sue took some great photos (also see flickr feed to the right). And while the rap sections of the performance were strong (I rehearse these pieces compulsively), the improv was pretty dodgy due not just to technical issues (plagued), but also to a lack of inspiration. After talking this out with my friend Maria a bit, I decided that my improv skills are just not strong enough to be trying to create new joints from scratch on stage while still trying to worry about levels, software stuff, etc. So I'll be looking at the possibility of sketching out some riffs, melodies, and mapping out some of the flows to create some direction to these jams while still maintaining a live and spontaneous element.

As far as the turnout, hmm. I'm thinking late on a Thursday night is not the best for fans of exaltron. What about early on a Friday? Or early on a Sunday night? Leave me a comment below if you got your ears on and let me know when you would prefer to get your exaltron on.

Posted by exaltron at 05:43 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

We Are the Hamptons

Ok, this is cool: my mom just won a photo contest with this photo of a young girl receiving a dance trophy at the New Hampshire Highland Games

(a kind of annual Scottish-fest that my parents used to drag us to every year and which I now look back upon with more than a little nostalgia, as well as a chuckle when I consider that our family's other "backgrounds"- Irish, English, German- don't seem to generate quite the same level of cachet).
But the point is, I really like this photo, the expression on the young lady's face is what can only be described as solemn joy, a kind of unselfconscious meditation on the meaning of her ass-kicking highland dance, mixed with a bit of man-this-little-statuette-is-really-getting-his-disco-on and a smidgen of why-exactly-am-I-being-made-to-wear-this-towel-on-my-shoulder-I-mean-am-I-gonna-be-pressed-into-dishwashing-service-after-this-or-what?
Way to go Mom, we support you and also collectively glom on to your success!

Posted by exaltron at 02:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 21, 2005

No More Tiers

I found this piece particularly depressing: an article in the New York Times about Jacques Chaoulli, a Canadian doctor and "gadfly" trying to argue that the Canadian health care system violates Canadians' constitutional rights. If you're unfamiliar with the intricacies of the Canadian system, it not only taxes the bejeezus out of all citizens to pay for crappy health care, it also includes (I would even say necessitates) outlawing any private contracts for almost all types of medical care. That means no matter how much money you've earned, saved and sold all your star wars action figures to scrape together, you get to wait in line with everyone else for that life-saving surgery you need...

In the case of Chaoulli, this meant that he was fined and harassed for creating a house call service with other Canadian doctors that filled a hole in the Canadian system. It seems no capitalist "monopoly" is as threatened by tiny upstarts as the Canadian health care monopoly. The mere thought that any doctors or patients should be allowed to trade outside of the system based on their own interests and ability to pay is regarded as antisocial. The reason is made clear in this editorial: that the best, the most rational doctors will pursue their own interest and seek out the best situations. They will break free of the shackles of "duty" to the public and be free to trade as individuals. Just as hundreds of the best and brightest doctors leave Canada every year for more choice and freedom in the US, so will they leave the state-run system when a private "tier" inevitably offers better choices. The opponents of a two-tier system know this and state openly that they are against this type of individual empowerment of doctors who are now safely squashed under the thumb of government.

But isn't health care a right? Shouldn't everyone receive care when they need it, regardless of their ability to pay? This sounds really nice, but arguing that this is a moral, fair way to address the need for health care ignores the true nature of this service. Health care is provided by individuals, specifically taxpayers and health care professionals. To argue that somehow this service- the product of individual effort- can be distributed on the basis of need, without regard to the basic rights and interests of the individuals who provide it, shows either extreme ignorance or complete disregard for justice.

There is no difference between health care and other goods and services that are traded in society, such as food and shelter. We all need these things at some point or another in order to live. But no sane person these days suggests that you shouldn't be able to have a better house, eat better food, or provide more safety for your family if you earn more money. Only in the most oppressive socialist and communist regimes is this kind of "equality" enforced. Like all industries, health care advances are made by individuals seeking profit, taking risks, thinking and acting as free individuals. The more we treat the providers and subsidizers of health care as serfs and slaves with no right to consider their own interests and negotiate as individuals in a free society, the less advancement we will see in the health care industry.

The fatal error that Dr. Chaoulli makes is in arguing that he should be able practice privately because health care is a right under the Canadian constitution. But it is precisely that guarantee that necessitates the curtailing of voluntary interactions in order to stop the "diversion of resources" from the state-run system.

If I had more time I would explode the myth that the US health care "system" is a free-market one. The US system is in fact highly overregulated in almost every aspect in some way or another. This article from Mises.org does a great job of laying that out.

And don't even get me started on the ban on selling organs.

Posted by exaltron at 01:10 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 12, 2005

cuz we gonna rock this place..

...if you a thug put a sock over your ugly face
no need to disgrace the whole human race
you like death so much, so let's give you a taste

This is from a hot little number called "fun1", of which I've just posted an excerpt here (for more on the background of this piece, check out my original post).

Interestingly, the New York Times had an exceptional editorial today that touched on this same theme: the glorification of death and thuggery in hip-hop that has prevailed since around the time NWA dropped "Straight..

..Outta Compton". Reading this editorial, I couldn't help thinking about how everyone in hip-hop is so obsessed with authenticity and staying true to the roots of hip-hop, and yet I strain to come up with one example of the founding fathers of hip-hop rapping about the glories of murdering other crack dealers or pimping their hoes. Imagine The Sugarhill Gang spitting lines about how many bullets they were gonna put in your triflin' ass, or Whodini flossing about how much product he could move. While no one would doubt that Eric B was one tough mf, his most intimidating lyrics were about his murderous skills on the mic. Run-DMC, Kurtis Blow, UTFO, I just can't think of one major hip-hop artist that wouldn't be totally embarrassed to be associated with the likes of 50-Cent, The Game and the rest of these so-called entertainers.

There was something about that first wave of hip-hop that was just so positive and inspiring, and I think that stuff tends to inspire my stuff more than most of the current stuff. To be fair, a lot of the stuff I've heard from Mos Def, Jay-Z, The Roots, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest (I'm starting to realize I'm not exactly a "head") is mercifully free of any romantic notions of violence and crime. I tend to think that smarter listeners will help lead the way back to the real roots of hip-hop. Cuz if they don't, I am gonna have to put some serious lead in these fools. And that's word.

[added 5/14/05] The Wall Street Journal has a similarly themed article that goes into much more depth here.

Posted by exaltron at 09:15 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 04, 2005

Bono the Benevolent

Gosh, I can't wait 'till I'm a rock star, so I can scold world leaders for not flushing enough of their citizens' wealth down the toilet. Apparently Bono dissed his former homie, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, going so far as to admonish thousands of concert-goers...

..to call his penny-pinching ass on a private number (not so private anymore since Bono had them project the number on a huge screen) and harangue him for not giving enough of their confiscated cash to the Third World. It seems the pompous popstar is not satisfied with Paul Martin's commitment to destroying untold billions of dollars of private wealth in the name of the public good on the domestic tip. If he were really committed to equality, he would take more of that shakedown money and funnel it into economies even more backward and socialist than Canada's. I mean, what's the wait time for an MRI in Canada, three months?. These people are living high on the hog, I say a little more privation would build their character. Not that Canadians are lacking any character, no sir.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't mean to make light of the suffering of people in the third world, or suggest I'm indifferent. But when you look at the facts, ie, that wealthy countries have been sending billions of dollars their way for decades, with no demonstrable effect, save to augment the otherwise precarious power of dictators and bloodthirsty warlords, you start to think maybe it's time to rethink this whole aid thing. There's nothing moral about taking billions of dollars of confiscatory wealth from free citizens by force and bestowing it upon those who are poor because they are living under a backwards system of government. The most moral thing for our leaders to do would be to denounce socialism and statism in all its forms and point out that Americans and other citizens of freer countries have wealth because they are free, not because they are lucky or more "imperialistic".

Private charity has its place, like when you donate a goat to a poor family on behalf of your Mom for Mother's day, because hey, it's easy, and she likes that kind of stuff, and my friend's friend works there, so I know we'll get a really awesome goat. But the point is charity should be voluntary, it should be about people who earn money giving it to people who are temporarily unable to do so, and it should be recognized as such. Pretending otherwise is not helping anyone but a blowhard like Bono.

Posted by exaltron at 11:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 01, 2005

Apocalypse Then (with artsy photos)

Thanks to all who came out last Tues for the gig at Apocalypse, I was very happy with the turnout as well as the performance, despite a coupla glitches. Most egregiously, I was so stressed about doing the vocals in a public venue that I completely forgot to pack up the mouthpiece to my trumpet. Luckily the trumpetronics fans were very understanding and only a few beer bottles were hurled at me. I got a few comments about the sound, which apparently was pretty distorted, probably due to the fact that I didn't get a chance to do a soundcheck.
But the best news of the night was that the bartender/booking person asked for my contact info so she could bring me back. Of course I'm already checking out bigger and better venues with decent PA systems, but I'm sure another gig at Apocalypse will help me work out the bugs a bit more.

Speaking of bugs, the CD release is being pushed back until at least next month, I won't even give a date, since my promises are basically worthless at this point. But the deal is, I'm trying to figure out if I can justify investing a large chunk of cash to do a serious run of the CD with graphics, shrinkwrap, etc. and questioning whether I'll be able to sell either 500 or 1000 CDs with enough of a push. Any input on this would be welcomed.

Now what kind of self-promoter would I be if I didn't post some photos of the gig? Check out these thumbnails and click on them for larger photos with my insouciant commentary. Special thanks to Sophia Nam for these most artistical and tastefulicious shots.

Posted by exaltron at 03:26 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack