Lo-Fidelity

Many years ago, I decided to start a collection of American communist paraphenalia. The catch was that items had to be pro-communist. Sure, there’s all kinds of stuff out there talking about the red menace, but it’s not easy to find things that say “vote communist” as if it were a valid choice. I’ve found two.

Truth be told, I’m not a collector by nature so perhaps I haven’t searched as hard as I might have for pro-communist collectibles. But I think it’s sad that so much effort is required. I think it’s sad that an alcoholic gambler like Joseph McCarthy could ruin careers just by calling someone a communist without any evidence to support his accusations. But then, the right-wing has had more than its share of reactionary nut jobs who grab power by appealing to people’s fears.

Take, for example, the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act of 1956. Here was an innocuous bill to fund mental health services in the territory of Alaska. Prior to this act, Alaska had no mental health services, and state residents had to travel to Portland, Oregon for treatment. The act proposed to fund services locally by means of a land grant. The selling of mineral and forestry rights would provide a revenue stream. The bill had wide bi-partisan support, but then controversy erupted.
The American Public Relations Forum, an anti-communist women’s group from Southern California made an observation and jumped to an incredibly stupid conclusion:

“We could not help remembering that Siberia is very near Alaska and since it is obvious no one needs such a large land grant, we were wondering if it could be an American Siberia.”

They claimed that the act would allow the government to grab people off the street and send them to “concentration camps” in Alaska on the flimsiest of excuses. That would be a gross violation of civil rights, but, of course, the act said no such thing. On the other hand, I guess they felt that what McCarthy was doing was okay. As a bunch of housewives and anti-communists in pre-feminist America, it wasn’t their careers that were in danger.

Well, I decided I wanted a t-shirt that said “vote communist”. Ever since George Bush stole the presidency in the “election” of 2000, I’ve had no faith in the American electoral process. And, of course, there is no valid communist candidate for which one might choose to vote. But that doesn’t mean I can’t wear the t-shirt. So, once again, using my trial copy of Xara Xtreme, I drew a fist. It took me hours, but I was quite pleased with final result.

Unfortunately, my trial copy has now expired so I won’t be drawing any more t-shirt designs unless I pony up $90 to buy the Xara program. It’s something I’m considering. Click on the fist if you’d like to buy a shirt and help fund this purchase. If not, that’s okay. I do have a job.

A few months ago, I came across a podcast on podcast alley called “Blast the Right”. After reading the description, I quickly subscribed and have not been disappointed since.

Being a left-winger in Tulsa, Oklahoma is no easy task. Even most of the lesbians I know are republicans. One friend of mine, who had spent some time in the military and had her brain screwed up, was supporting Fred Thompson in the early days of the 2008 election. I suppose now she’s for McCain.

So it is refreshing for me to be able to listen to someone like Jack Clark and know that I am not alone in the world in my political views. I moved to New York City when I was 18 and my first girlfriend was from Staten Island so his accent doesn’t bother me. Jack claims he does not have a radio voice, but I disagree. I guess my move also influenced my political views because I had none before I arrived. Living in NYC in the 80’s, I soon learned to hate Ronald Reagan, and I still do, even though he’s dead.

If you are looking for a liberal voice, “Blast the Right” is the podcast for you. If you are a conservative spy and want to know how liberals think, “Blast the Right” is a must. You can listen to the most recent bi-weekly program, but I would suggest at some point checking out podcast #56 entitled “Class Warfare, International-Style: The Right Wing’s Assault Against the World’s Poor”. This talks about the Bretton Woods conference and the start of the IMF and World Bank. It inspired me to do some research of my own.

Thanks, Jack, and keep up the good work.

I saw on IMDB that they are currently remaking this movie with Keanu Reaves and Jennifer Connelly. Apparently the new film focuses on being kind to Mother Earth rather than preventing nuclear holocaust. I think that’s a good message. Now more than ever, we need to develop sustainable technologies or we may not have a culture left. Given Hollywood’s tendancy to focus on visual effects rather than story-telling, I don’t have particularly high hopes for this film, but I am glad that Tim Burton is not directing.

My daughter drew what I perceived to be a very cute robot and I recently turned it into a vector drawing using a trial copy of Xara Xtreme. Xara is a great program for creating web graphics and the like. I also have Paint Shop Pro which is good for formatting but unwieldy for drawing. I liked the little robot so much that I put it on a t-shirt and bought one for myself from Cafe Press. Here’s a picture of the robot. You can click on it to see what the t-shirt looks like.

What makes this music so great is that it is exactly as it should be. There is nothing you could add that would make it better, nor is there anything that needs to be taken away. His later ambient work is, of course, more minimalist and good in its own way, but, while I often find myself in agreement with the philosophy that ‘less is more’, I doubt I will ever like it as much as I like this album.

Realizing for the umpteenth time how much I like this music prompted me to think about my top ten list which heretofore has never existed. Unlike the John Cusack character in the movie “High Fidelitiy”, I am not a list maker by nature nor even, if truth be told, the type to blog. But I’ve decided not to let either of these factors stand in my way.

One problem that has always prevented me from making such a list is the idea of deciding which album deserves the number one spot, so I’ve decided to rank them in chronological order rather than favorites because, after all, different moods deserve different songs. Here it is then:

1. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969)

2. Brian Eno - Here Come the Warm Jets (1973)

3. Patti Smith - Horses (1975)

4. Kraftwerk - Trans-Europe Express (1977)

5. Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979)

6. Liz Phair - Exile in Guyville (1993)

7. Radiohead - OK Computer (1997)

8. Elliott Smith - XO (1998 )

9. Stephen Trask - Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)

10. Sleater-Kinney - The Woods (2005)

A quick glance at this list shows that the musical choices span four decades. A more detailed examination reveals a curious phenomenon: not a single work from the 1980’s has made my top ten. Why is this? you ask. In a word, Reaganomics.

I moved to New York City in 1982 and lived there for four years. In 1986 I moved to San Francisco where I remained for three years. These are inarguably two of America’s best cities. But by the end of the decade I’d had enough. I moved to Taiwan, married a local, had a kid, and really had no intention of ever returning here. An unfortunate series of events brought me back to my home town some thirteen years ago and I don’t know if I’ll ever get to leave again.

I was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer last May and, except for a little pill that I am to take daily for the next 5-10 years, I have finished treatment. Chemo and radiation have turned my mind to sludge. Maybe the fog will lift soon. Maybe the cancer won’t come back. The important thing is I finished my top ten list. I always wondered what it would like.