fanfare much?

Sometimes when I hear about a pop singer who's tearing up the charts right now I feel the need for a little research. I read a bio or two, even watch their music videos on youtube. The last part is a bit odd. I can see watching one, but I have a tendency to hit up quite a few, all the better to...what? Not enjoy it? You all know, or can at least guess, that I hate the music industry and hope everyone who prefers to think of music as a commodity gets bitten by a monkey.

Yeah, you heard me.

Despite that, I do respect someone who manages to make it in such a horrible place, especially if he or she manages to maintain a semblance of creative control. Plus I actually do like some pop music, such as Kate Nash or the majesty that is Gobble Gobble.

But Taylor Swift, the subject of tonight's investigation, doesn't make the cut. Like I said, while I have no problem with her brand of inoffensive country-ish music, I didn't enjoy listening to it for the past half hour. But I did. I watched 'You Belong With Me' (it's the one that goes "she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts" and so on) three times. Not because it was good, nor because it was so bad it was funny.

It's as if I feel some sort of obligation to at least kind of know about mainstream music. Maybe it's some sort of roundabout superiority trip, or even a skewed sense of fairness--giving her a chance. Not listening to the radio and avoiding MTV (if they even play music anymore) means I'm exposed to someone like Taylor Swift sideways--through random snatches that our celebrity culture manages to force down my throat. I knew quite a bit about Taylor before hearing her music, able to wager a guess at what she sounded like--we're even on a first name basis on this blog. One listen would've been enough to confirm or deny my expectations, it is for the myriad of bands that are actually recommended to me. Friend says, listen to this band, you may like them. So I listen, if I do enjoy it I may check where they're from and how many albums they have, that's where it ends. But for music I don't like I afforded far more interest for the details.

Another sure stop in the research train is how they got noticed--mostly to confirm my cynicism for the manufactured stars or to give a little cheer for those who managed to make it on their merits. I also check the age, Taylor being two years younger than me. Some kind of validation, probably.

I think I delve into this info because musician fame baffles me a little. There are bands whose music I am admittedly obsessed with, jamming their records at an incredible rate. But that's the music. The people themselves, while I'm sure are neat, aren't the focus of my attention. When I had the chance to shake hands with vocalist of one of my favorite bands I obviously thought it was cool--but as much as I geek out over the music, I can't muster the kind of shrieking enthusiasm millions of people have over Taylor, the girl. So my forays into this fame are at least partially an attempt to understand what's so interesting about it. Why we should value who she's dating over what she's writing. And I keep coming up empty handed.


In other news, this is apparently my 100th post, having had this thing for over two years. I'm celebrating by reposting the link to Gobble Gobble's Myspace. I don't care what floats your musical boat, you are a click away from one of the most strange and wonderful listening experiences of your life. Do it.

furrow this, jerks

One of the many things that annoy me is cultural hierarchies. The very idea that some genres or mediums are inherently more intellectual or worthy is ludicrous and plain snobbery.

So many of us have this hang up that art should somehow be morally improving, or that the gap between art and simple entertainment isn't microscopic, if it exists at all. Forget that! Art is itself.

(tangent: if you agree that art should reflect life as accurately as possible--like many, many artists do--what sort of effect does that have for reality tv?)

Take Batman. An almost perfect depiction of obsession over the years, and an interesting take on justice (seeing how he breaks the law in order to preserve it). He also beats bad guys up and swings from rooftops. I like both those things and prefer to get them from one source. Furthermore, the amount of dirty puns in any Shakespearean play is mind boggling.

So let's stop enforcing rigid definitions of quality based on class and money. Good art tears itself from the page/screen/speakers/whatever and grabs by the collar. Bad art doesn't. There's a lot of middle ground but none of it has to do with the genre or medium.


To completely change the subject, I went through a few older posts of mine and in one I express a hope for a robot uprising by the end of UBBT 6. All I have to say is: whats with the slacking, robots?

and you ask why we're all doomed

Now, I usually consider infomercials a source of misguided comedy. But even I have limits.



This is real. HD Sunglasses are a real thing you can buy. For only twenty dollars you can have a product which makes no sense. For only twenty dollars you can officially admit you're a drain on society.

I ever see someone wearing these hip, "euro-designed" monstrosities...oh man, they are getting such a lecture.

Let's all calm down with something great. And why not make it another embedded video!



ps- shamwows are actually pretty amazing. i'm just saying.

after the fact introductions

Downed internet yesterday makes Jack a dull boy.

Also means a late posting.

Guess I haven't introduced myself properly to the UBBT 7 crowd. So here we go:

Having trained in Kung Fu since I was thirteen, it's hard to imagine my life without it. Because of this, I thought I was pretty hardcore until I joined UBBT 6 as a student member. The test completely changed the way I approach my training and also allowed me to take those lessons into my life and the lives of those around me. Now, I see every part of my day as training--taking every opportunity I see to improve as a person. For me, 2010 means moving to a new city, starting new school and just generally being awesome. I also plan on pushing myself beyond even the scope of my current abilities and mindset.

Now that's a pretty one sided picture of me, so to set the record straight I will say this: I'm a rowdy punk rocker and as cynical as a person can get, but I'm also stoked on life and ready to fill every day with meaning.

so...that happened

Getting off the plane, I was fresh faced (re: half-awake) and excited for more time in China. I gave my passport to the immigration official with an extra warm greeting (mostly because I was excited to be there, but she was also really cute). She looks at my picture, nods, flips to my visa. Says "huh?"

Around this time the fun began.

Turns out the office manager at the academy I was staying at screwed up, extending my visa in November as I had asked but neglecting to get the one that allows for a re-entry. An honest mistake and easily forgivable. I figured I would have to sign a form, smile sheepishly, maybe get her on the phone as a last resort. Well, after a half hour of discussion I was politely but firmly escorted by one Air Canada employee and three cops (who seemed thankful for something to actually do) onto the next flight to Vancouver.

Including takeoff and landing of both flights, I'm guessing my second trip to the People's Republic clocked in at around an hour and a half.

So I'm back in Van, staying at my friend's house, chilling for a few days until sorting out a flight back to Edmonton. I don't think I'll be heading back to the Orient anytime soon. Not only do I have no money I was told it would be a good idea if I didn't apply for another visa until at least a year had past.

Lesson learned. The bureaucracy of China may be disorganized and chaotic, but if you lack the proper paperwork they don't screw around.

circular endings

1000 pushups, 1000 situps.  Hangouts and real talk with my friends. 

A little bit of vegan chinese food.  

Beating mega man 2 on the NES in one sitting.  

New year and new ubbt.  Good start.  

Speaking of ubbt, here's my requirements:

UBBT 7:  even more ultimate, I guess?

The core:

-Blog once a week

-No quitting!

Keeyah!:

-at least 1 hour a day of mindful, constant practice

-Devise and achieve two variations for all applications, one varies intent (that is, outcome), the other the original attack (for example, a defense against a kick is now against a hook).  At least 50% of original moves must remain.  Perform two sets (on different days) of 50 repetitions of both variations and the original application.  This is because I've realized that I had trained mindlessly for a large chunk of my martial arts career.  Just doing the moves is insufficient, I need to understand them in both mind and body.  

-Learn the Tai Chi short form

-A once a month revisit of all curriculum techniques

-1000 reps of Kempo.  

-500 reps of three section staff, culminating in a blindfolded performance and a newly designed form. 

-224 reps a year of all other forms (4 a week), including weapon and Shaolin forms.   

-At least half of daily practice must be applications or techniques, including kicks.  

-15 minutes a day of mediation

-20 minutes a day of Tai Chi.  

-Partner stretching 5 times a week: toe touching, shoulders, hips, back and splits.  Starting with 30 seconds each, increasing by 5 seconds every month.

-The four dynamic stretch kicks (stiff swinging, inside/outside cyclone, side swinging) for warm up every day before practice.  

-Conditioning every day

Check out my biceps:

-200,000 pushups.  Dear me, that's a large number.  

-200,000 situps.

-Power training three times a week.  This will be around 1 1/2 hours of shaolin style brutalization, geared towards building fighting strength and endurance. 

-Biking at least 40 km a week, whether stationary or real world.   Includes two sessions of at least 15km.   This may go up--I'm just pulling a number out of thin air for biking.  

Starting new things:

-Start a new martial art, but not until at least June.  I need to get into a good practice routine before branching out again.  

-Take a reality based self defense course, one that focuses on the psychology of self-defense. 

-Receive instructor certification in the UBBT anger management course

-Start or join a motivated hardcore band that practices regularly 

Pen and Paper:

-Write (creatively) for at least 30 minutes a day. 

-Write at least one good story a month.  A longer one (~10000 words) can be worked on for two months, but the key is more output than usual.

-Write at least one high quality, academic style 10 page paper in August as a warm up for school. 

-Write 5 essays over 5 pages on the assumptions and mental habits of a particular area of my life. 

-Write a 10 page paper summarizing the major historical paradigms (using Kuhn's writing on science) of the martial arts, with emphasis on the past 50 years.  

-Write a 10 page paper on the current attitudes and paradigms of the martial arts, analyzing the business, the influence of sport fighting and mma, and which (if any) of these paradigms the UBBT is challenging. Also summarize the fundamental approaches to training most take, and suggest new, little used, or combined ones the community could benefit from.   

Community:

-Consistently (once a week at least) volunteer in an organization that promotes real, local good. 

-Contribute to (heavily) or lead at least 5 community projects.  At least 3 must be unaffiliated with Silent River.  

-Encourage and help promote shows in Vancouver, with the aim of  developing a more thriving punk and hardcore scene there.  

-Reject consumerism in my daily life as thoroughly and practically as I can.  Use tactics such as dumpster diving, growing my own food/making my own stuff and trading communities.  When I do buy things, preference to local, DIY or used goods.  Heavily promote the benefits of this lifestyle to others, possibly through organizations.  

-1000 acts of kindness

-Reduce my plastic and disposables usage to a minimum level (this will  begin with a one month evaluation of how much I use)