Untruthful

Playing detective! Uncover the corperate scum's secret plot!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007

I just stumbled upon this little article by a Julia Havey (apparently, more than just a name, this is no normal Julia, this is "Julia Havey, Author"). It opened my eyes, it really did. I didn't know before this, that APPARENTLY, soda pop can do damage to my teeth (along with every other sugary product, not to mention cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, and METH). But this article isn't about meth or any of that small time shit. THIS IS ABOUT COKE. They're building an empire on tooth decay and "unfair" advertising. Thats right, the advertising is unfair. They use words like "choose, buy, live" among others, to coerce you into buying their product.

Little did I know, I didn't even like Coke. That is, until Julia opened my eyes.
Nor did I know that "August" was sometimes spelled "Augst." (must be something AUTHORS do, thats why you and I don't understand. Julia is an author).

Now heres what set me off, why I'm tearing this bitch down.
"Oh, the deceit, (I mean persuasive advertising), just continues in full force"

Oh fuck! Persuasive advertising?! That could... oh god... that could almost... FUCK... that kind of advertising might actually make consumers more likely to buy a product! Quick someone tell Jesus! He'll ride down from heaven, high-five all the soccer mom's that write this kind of make-pretend "I can talk about something political articles" shit, turn the big nasty corporations into pillars of salt, turn their SUVs into ponies, then do a quick walk in on The Oprah Winfrey Show and talk about how it really was necessary, after all, we need to look after the children's best interests.

I know, that last paragraph was a bit incoherent, but you get the idea. It pisses me the fuck off. How could a grown person be so goddamn naive? Oh wait, I forgot, she's a woman. Silly me.

But seriously, read this pile of shit article she wrote
She really should be a detective! We're all so blind!

Posted byJoe at 4:06 PM 0 comments  

Labels: article, coca, coke, cola, corporation, hate, me, off, piss, shit

Finally, an absorbing hobby
Monday, April 09, 2007

So I've decided on a very time consuming hobby. Digital music production. I know I've talked about it before, but I'm prettttty sure I'm sticking with it now, so I thought I'd explain it. I'm aort of happy about it, but I'm also starting to dread getting sucked into this as a pastime.

Anyway, digital music is no simple thing. You need to make use of tons of software, and invest in boatloads of hardware to make it work, and even after that, you need to muster the creative energy to crank out a few tunes. I think I have plenty of the creative juices to squeeze out, unfortunately I've never been one to enjoy spending vast amounts of money, nor do I enjoy reading manuals and learning very very task-specific technical knowledge. I am, however, quite handy with electronics, so I'm not too worried.

I've been browsing the world of production software off and on for about 4 months now, and just tonight I finally found exactly what I'm looking for. I found out what programs and hardware, specifically, that Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails' frontman and creative force) used to produce both With Teeth, and my new favorite album ever, Year Zero: Native Instruments. Native Instruments is one of the leaders in digital production. I used their website to find the basic info on what I need to do what I want, and where to get it, and how to use it, etc. Anyway, after gathering all that info, I found that all of these programs are extremely complex, and I was going to need an in-depth tutorial, rather than an overview to figure them all out. So it was off to my good friend the Wiki. Gotta love piles of information.

So essentially, I'm in the learning stages of digitally producing my own unique sound. In the meantime, I'm also teaching myself piano, and making sure not to slouch in my guitar and singing skills.

Whats my goal? I want to express my opinions and emotions in a large, evergrowing body of musical compositions. I've already got a growing stack of lyrics, and once I get down this computer shit, I'll have a medium. Then what? Then I'm gonna share it with everyone! And maybe if lots of people like it, I'll get a couple fans. Can never have too many of those. I'll keep posting my progress on piano, vocals, guitar, and this computer stuff so you'll all know when to expect some music. And hey, if you wanna help, let me know, I'm sure theres something you could do.

Posted byJoe at 10:58 PM 0 comments  

Labels: digital, guitar, hobby, instruments, learn, music, native, piano, production, sing, vocals, wikipedia

Isohunt, DRM, and All That RIAA Shit.
Monday, April 02, 2007

For those of you who still spend money on media, this may be a bit of a surprise, but tons of people are saving a buck by illegally downloading content. Movies, music, games, applications, books, you name it. If you can put it on a computer you can get it.

But this short blurb doesn't really have much to do with what you can get. Its who you're getting it from. Everybody remembers Morpheus, Napster, and Limewire. All those programs are bullshit compared to the numerous bittorrent clients available now. Essentially the way it works, is the more people that are downloading, or hosting the file, the faster you download. So if what you want is popular (like... for example... 300 in HD quality), you're in luck, and you might be able to download it in under 2-3 hours. I've downloaded albums in under 2 minutes.

What do I use? A client called Bitlord and a search site called isoHunt. I recommend both for the aspiring media pirate.

But why write this article? Because pirates are winning. The RIAA was all suing the shit out of everyone, and the concept of DRM (Digital Rights Media) was being slapped on everything. But suddenly, everything did a complete 180. iTunes is dropping DRM, and Zune (Microsoft) is soon to follow suit. Furthermore, headlines about the MPAA selling record numbers of DVDs, and the reviews of the rising popularity is demolishing the argument that media piracy steals money out of artists pockets.

Apparently, people don't just like the content or the idea. This all suggests... oh god... that people like THINGS they can touch and hold?! Who would have thought..?

Posted byJoe at 6:12 PM 2 comments  

New Piano! And Some Other Shit.

Haven't posted in awhile. So I thought I'd freshen things up and do a bit of 'splainin. I've been writing a lot less lately because I've been busy as hell. Literally, mountains of work. I had to save my calculus grade for the quarter last week (from a 32% all the way up to a 62% in a couple days). Aside from that, I've been moving around a bunch too. We had senior retreat in Wisconsin somewhere, then immediately after that I had to goto the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire to tour and to take my placement testing.

The campus was bomb as hell. Definitely looking forward to headin' out there next August.

Aside from all that, I've really been just sitting around. I've posted a lot less on this particular blog mainly because now I have two! I got a new cellphone that happens to have a spiffy little camera on it. So I started a mobile picture blog. You can check it out at mobileblogged.blogspot.com

Oh yeah. I also just got me a brand spankin' new, 88 key Casio Pravia keyboard. Got the weighted keys and everything. Been playing the shit out of that, as well as working on some new vocal and guitar skills with the help of my dad and his double kick drum (mostly screaming :P). So, needless to say, the past couple weeks have been quite musical. Lots of lyric-writing too. Suffice to say, that I have hardly been a slouch.

Anyway, I'll get back to writing on this shit a bit more often now that things have cooled down.

Posted byJoe at 1:31 PM 0 comments  

Freestyle Lyrics
Sunday, March 25, 2007

Posted byJoe at 6:33 PM 1 comments  

Labels: daly, freestyle, jam, joe, john, lyrics, song, video

Morning Glory
Saturday, March 24, 2007

A new video, and a blog on last night's events:

Watch, comment, and rate it on YouTube

The video is a freestyle guitar and vocal performance by John Kaplan, Chris Daly, and I. I was inspired for some strange reason, to sing a strange song about an animal called a "Wildabeast"

Why? Morning Glory. Seeds that anyone, even a small child could buy, from any store that specializes in gardening. The seeds and the flowers contain a chemical known as LSA or d-lysergic acid amide. This chemical is generally considered a precursor to LSD, but in my experience with it, it is very well a force to be reckoned with on its own. In case you're wondering how closely the two are related, LSD contains a chemical called lysergic acide diethylamide. I later read that LSA is, in quantity, 10-15% as potent as LSD, but large quantities would have to be consumed (of the seeds, since they have only trace amounts of LSA in them) in order to gain some type of psychedelic effect. 350 seeds turned out to be enough. It turns out that each seed contains about 1ug (1 microgram, or .0o1mg) LSA. That means we took in .35 mg of LSA. The average "hit" dose of LSD in the 1960's was 100-150 ug. Using the data that says LSA is 10% as potent as LSD, then we took in 2.3 - 3.5 hits of acid. Menards sold me drugs.

As for the effects; more that I had anticipated. The seeds were very bitter, and upset my stomach quite a bit. I nearly vomited. However, I found that when I went outside, the fresh air helped my nausea disappear almost completely. I breathed deeply.

Suddenly I noticed an odd feeling. A tingling sensation at the back of my neck, like someone was watching me. I felt the presence of a handful of people walking around me. It sort of felt like walking around in the mall, but not being able to see all the people. I felt like I might bump into someone, so I walked slowly. Suddenly, I felt one of the negative effects I had been warned about: a leg cramp. I promptly laid down. It was late, and the moon was out, as well as the few stars that had managed to outshine Saint Paul's light pollution. They all appeared to be moving about, slowly migrating across the sky. I was getting cold. Shorts had been a bad choice. I decided to go back inside.

Once inside, I felt somewhat claustrophobic. My nausea came back a bit, but not nearly as bad as before. I drank some water to settle my stomach a bit, and then went off to socialize. The effects were no longer slowly approaching, it was difficult to walk, and I could hardly hold a conversation without bringing up some strange topic, or using some sort of imaginary word. I felt unusually social. I couldn't seem to run out of things to say. Then I heard something beautiful: a guitar. My guitar, in fact. John was playing it. We decided to write a song. We soon found out that the seeds had both amplified and warped my creative abilities. I said so many strange, half-coherent things in my some 10 minutes of freestyle jamming, I don't know where it all came from. I also enjoyed story telling very much that night, and thus my song vaguely resembled an epic tale.

Time seemed to be moving quite slowly, for the whole night seemed to last something like 10-15 hours. I actually went to bed quite early (around 1am), and managed to wake up to a very unpleasant hangover/comedown, as well as a limp from one particularly bad leg cramp. The effects of this hangover lasted a full 24 hours.

Was it worth it? Yes. This experience vastly changed my perspective on psychoactive chemicals. And though I don't have any desire to completely quit using such substances, I really can't bring myself to use them as frequently after this experience (at least, with out some guilt). It changed my views on music, and on frequent use of such substances, and most importantly my views on my own mental health. I have no doubt, that if I were to eat those seeds more than a few times annually, I would go insane.

I hope this was a helpful little story. If you plan on using the seeds, please let me know, I can give you all the info you need, and maybe a bit of advice on how to go about it :)

Posted byJoe at 4:13 PM 0 comments  

Labels: acid, amide, drugs, freestyle, glory, guitar, jam, LSA, lysergic, morning, performance, seeds

Ten Days in South Korea (Part I)
Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Well first, let be preface this by saying two things:
1. If given the opportunity to travel to another country (*preferably not Canada or Mexico), take it, its the experience of a lifetime.
2. I haven't written in awhile, so expect this to be long.

I'm finally back, and I'm glad about it. Korean foods and smells were starting to bug me, and my funds were running low. Korea may not have been a key spring-break destination, but it was fun nonetheless, we didn't party hardcore, though we did party. The reason I say "not key" is just because getting sloshed is alot more fun on the beach, not because of the drinking age (because we didn't get carded once at the liquor stores, only at the clubs :/).

Anyways, I'll do this sort of systematically.
First off, The Flight:
It was long. The way there was about a day or so, counting layovers and whatnot. The food was less than desirable, conditions were cramped, it was hard to sleep, etc. On the upside, international flights include a "Personal Video System" on the back of the seat in front of you, so we all enjoyed movies like Casino Royale, Happy Feet, and Deja Vu on our way to and from South Korea.
Upon arrival, we went through customs (your shit gets searched, fill out a few forms, get passport stamped, blah blah blah), and were off on our way to our dwelling for the next few days, Dan's Aunt's apartment:
The apartment was located in a somewhat remote area of Seoul. So we had to pay quite a bit to get around sometimes. Taxi and subway are the primary modes of transportation in Korea, and I think its safe to say that each of us spent in the range of $100+ on transportation on our trip. Anyway, the apartment was quaint. A small, cozy little place with no bed. In Korea, everyone sleeps on the floor (Seriously, we went to a five-star hotel, used the keycard to open our room, and found 2 legless chairs, and a blanket, ready to be rolled out onto the floor). Dan's aunt was a very religious woman, in fact at some point in her life she had considered the celibate status of nun. That said, the house was filled with religious icons. She had a statue of Mary, pictures of Jesus, candles, a chalice, robe, communion wafers, bells, and a few other choice instruments of god. We could have said a mass had we wanted to. Needless to say, we fucked with all that shit, and everyone had a few drinks while Jesus was watching.

The next day, we met with Dan's uncle OJ and his friend Wendy, who would be joining us on some sightseeing. But I'm too tired to finish this now, and I have a shitload of homework. More in part 2!

Posted byJoe at 8:32 AM 0 comments  

Labels: break, country, culture, five, flying, foreign, hotel, korea, south, spring, star, travel