neurological dryer lint

wolves in wolves' clothing

here's the thing about NOFX. they kind of topped out, settled on a trademark sound about ten years ago, and seem to have been making the same album since then. here's the other thing: they've all been great. cleverly written, great melodies, solid production... so how does this disc bore me so quickly? i'm pretty surprised they're still around - i think a lot of bands get to this point, make an album or two, and move on to something different, a new challenge.

that said.. the problem isn't the disc, it's my own short attention span. it's a great disc, and if you're a fan of the band, or of political punk rock, or of silly punk rock, it's worth picking up. it won't be a classic, because it's no different than their last five full-lengths. but they're not trying to make classics - they're just churning out quality albums and having fun with it.

good night and good luck

our generation needs this movie. we need to know that there was once a time when the newsmedia was a positive force on our country and the safety and intelligence of its citizens. 2006 america stares at the screen, blithely nods its collective head, zombielike. at the events going on around the world and inside its borders. at the tragedy of war and a confused, stumbling government. and the newsmedia spoon-feeds its slack-jawed stupor with stories about tom cruise and katie holmes.

edward r. murrow and his team helped to steer the senate back to sanity by countering mccarthy's rampant paranoia with an honest, open, fact-driven debate. you watch this movie and wonder what a focused, responsible, intelligent newsmedia could do in our current situation. you wonder what it would be like to watch someone get on national television and speak openly against a FUD-driven machine. what would we do if another mccarthy stepped up and began a panic-stricken campaign now? would our media fulfill their role? or would the anchors shuffle their papers, fidget nervously, and avoid rocking the boat, so as not to scare off the corporate sponsors or invoke the targeted wrath of the government?

you can't quote murrow enough:

We must not confuse dissent from disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof, and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear of one another; we will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason. If we dig deep into our history and our doctrine, we will remember we are not descendant from fearful men. Not from men who dared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of the republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves as indeed we are - the defenders of freedom where ever it still exists in the world. But we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his - he didn't create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it, and rather successfully. Cassus was right: the fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.