Monthly Archive for March, 2007

Eat the Rich

Published
by
Bryan
on Saturday, 17 March 2007
in Political
. 0 Comments

I really wanted to do a full blown post on the recent death of a 15 year boy during the gang fight on State Street, and how this incident is revealing the systemic racism that permeates the culture of Santa Barbara (see some of the comments posted to The Independent’s article on the tragedy), but I don’t have the energy. There are times that Santa Barbara is an unbearable place to live, and it’s incidents like this that bring out the worst of the worst of what this town has to offer - and I am not referring to the “gang members” or whatever bullshit racial stereotype into which certain parts of this community want to lump these kids.

This town is obsessed with keeping its touristy, beach oriented, hey-there-used-to-be-a-soap-opera-named-after-us image untarnished. When incidents like this occur, you see lots of people scrambling to pace blame on someone else - like the teachers, police, parents, etcetera. However, keeping this image alive comes at a high price. You need cheap service labor to keep that industry going - and when the median price of a home is over $1 million, those workers aren’t going to live in the best conditions. And guess what, abject poverty breeds this kind of violence. Coupled with the fact that most of the people who work service industry jobs just so happen to be Latino - well, draw your own conclusions.

And when you talk about affordable housing, you really bring out the crazies (Blogabarbara, “Home is Where You Park It.” March 7, 2007), as all sorts of wackos will scream how subsidized housing is “socialism”, or how that “development is ruining the image of Santa Barbara”, because providing affordable housing and improving the quality of life for a population on which your economy depends isn’t a better alternative to have kids killing each other in the streets.

On a side note, I dealt with this same racist, pseudo-environmental, NIMBY nonsense when I sat on the Isla Vista Project Area Committee and the IVRPD.

I guess I had the energy after all.

Top Ten List: 16 Mar 07

Published
by
Bryan
on Friday, 16 March 2007
in Music and Notes
. 0 Comments

Jennifer returns from Oaxaca today, so I am busy cleaning the place so that it doesn’t look like I fell back in to my old ways. The apartment isn’t too bad, as my philosophy tends to be that my place shouldn’t look like a meth den unless it actually is a meth den. (For the record, our apartment is not a meth den.)

On to the Top Ten List:

10. Sharp Leather Walkin’ Shoes, The Makers, Psychopathia Sexualis
9. Satellite Of Love, Lou Reed, Transformer
8. While My Guitar Gently Weeps, Marc Ribot, Rootless Cosmopolitans
7. Helium Reprise, Tin Hat Trio fea. Tom Waits, Helium
6. All For You, Aceyalone And Rjd2, Magnificent City
5. Some Things Never Fail, The Black Halos, The Violent Years
4. It’s All Gravity, E-40, Grit And Grind
3. Space Station, Midway, Fist Full Of Quarters
2. Hands Off, Jimmy Soul, If You Wanna Be Happy… The Very Best Of Jimmy Soul
1. Condoleezza Check My Posse, The Majestic Twelve, Schizophrenology

Funny story: I occasionally make a mixed CD for Jennifer - for long trips, or just because. At some point last winter, we were listening to one of these CDs and Condoleezza, Check My Posse came up. She immediately hit the next track button, and I complained,”But that’s a really good song.” She responded, “Yes, it is, but you have put that song on every mixed CD you’ve made me in the last six months.” Of course, being the idiot that I am I didn’t believe her. Sure enough, we checked the track of every CD and this song was on all but one of them.

Well, I think it’s funny, so sue me.

I also want to thank The Majestic Twelve for linking to my site. Very cool of you guys to do that, and it’s much appreciated, assuming you haven’t alienated your fans by linking to the site of a rambling lunatic.

In return, everyone who visits this site should go to their site and check out Schizophrenology. It’s a damned good album.

Top Ten List: 9 Mar 07

Published
by
Bryan
on Friday, 9 March 2007
in Music
. 0 Comments

So as promised, here’s the top ten list for Friday, compiled by the intense computations and statistical analysis that occurs in my brain. Yeah, it’s pretty much just random selection of music I like, as I am fortunate I can tie my own shoes.

10. Hounds of Love, Kate Bush, (Title Track)
9. Get On Down, Da Bush Babees, Ambushed
8. Make It Betta, The Angel fea. Tre Hardson, No Gravity
7. Better Off Without A Wife, Tom Waits, Nighthawks at the Diner
6. Cold Beverage, G. Love & The Special Sauce, (Self-Titled)
5. Empty, Metric, Live It Out
4. I Love L.A., Subtle, A New White
3. $10 Bill, Cop Shoot Cop, Ask Questions Later
2. C.R.E.A.M., Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
1. Hooplas Involving Circus Tricks, Say Hi To You Mom, Numbers & Mumbles

Say Hi To You Mom is one of the best bands I’ve heard in a long while. I don’t know if they raise or lower my pretentious indy-rock street cred, but… whatever.

Cingularly frustrating

Published
by
Bryan
on Wednesday, 7 March 2007
in Notes
. 0 Comments

So I got a new cell phone, as my old one was one the verge of death. In defense of the good old Motorola V551, I hated it and got much joy in treating it with horrific brutality. If I dropped it on the ground, for example, I tried to give it a good, solid, “accidental” kick before picking up. I just hated that phone. I think the phone lasted the full two years of my contract just to spite me.

So I was off the my service provider’s retail store to get a new phone. I despise dealing with sales people. Having worked retail through high school and college, I understand the position these folks are in, but I still dread dealing with almost anyone who works on commission. The young woman at the store had serious salesmanship, and hence, I had a conversation with her that went like this (with some added commentary on my part):

Me: “So I would like this Bluetooth headset.” (Can’t drive and use a cell phone anymore.)

Store rep: “Oh, you don’t want that one.” (Strange, but this is the one the sign in YOUR store recommends.)

Me: “I don’t?” (These aren’t the droids we’re looking for.)

Store rep: “Oh, no. You want…. lemme see… you want this one!” (Do I have “idiot” tattooed on my forehead?)

Me: “This one is 33% more expensive than the other one.” (Yes, I do.)

Store rep: “Yes, but it’s so much better. That’s the one I own.” (A remarkable coincidence.)

Me: “So what makes this one better than the cheaper one?” (Really, I’m looking for any reason to be ripped off.)

Store rep: “I just like it better. I can give you 15% off, but no more.” (Except that reason. Sorry.)

So I didn’t purchase her highly recommended headset. I got the ever-important SIM card swapped to the new phone, and I was out the door - convinced that my new cell phone and I would live happily ever after, at least until it is time to renew my contract in two years.

If only it had ended there.

When I got the new phone up and running, I tried to import my computer’s address book to the phone. This was fairly easy to do with my V551 - and by easy, I mean I had to hack the sync utility to get it to work. After some effort, I finally got my address book to sync with my new cell phone. And by sync, I mean all of my numbers were erased in my computer’s address book.

All of them. Gone.

At least, I like the Bluetooth headset.