The Kallipolis

Butch Walker at the 40 Watt with Ponderosa

2010-03-07T13:20:00.011-05:00

So if you haven't seen my last entry, you may want to check that out first. Click on the title of the entry to see more photos!

Ponderosa opened for the Black Widows last night. I had listened to a few songs on MySpace, but had not heard them live. They were a lot of fun and definitely looked like they have a lot of fun together. I actually re-met an acquaintance of mine, John Dance, who plays keyboards with the band. He'd been in a couple bands with my good friend Mike London, and it was nice to see him again.

So last night's show was possibly the most fun Butch Walker show I've ever been to. Athens is a fun town for any venue, but especially for Butch--lots of people come in from Atlanta, and if you've ever driven down 316, you know that you actually have to want to drive to Athens to even attempt to come up. The show was high energy all the way through--no typical solo Butch acoustic set in the middle. I used my phone to text myself the set list throughout so I could get time length on each song. What I did was text myself the second I recognized what song was coming up (usually within the first five seconds or so), so the times on here will give you an idea of how much time was spent on storytelling and improv.

1. Going Back/Going Home (10:32)
2. Closer to the Truth and Further from the Sky (10:37)
3. Uncomfortably Numb (10:41)
4. Pretty Melody (10:45)
5. Trash Day (10:50)
6. Vessels (10:54)
7. Laid/The Taste of Red (10:58)
8. Canadian Ten (11:06)
9. Here Comes The... (11:10)
10. Ponce de Leon (11:16)
11. House of Cards (11:22)
12. She Like Hair Bands (11:26)
13. Race Cars and Goth Rock (11:29)
14. Maybe It's Just Me (11:35)
15. Best Thing You Never Had (11:39)
16. The 3 Kids In Brooklyn (11:51)
17. They Don't Know What We Know (11:56)
18. Rich Girl (Hall & Oates Cover) (12:02)
19. When Canyons Ruled The World (12:06)

The camaraderie between the band members on this tour is just amazing--the friendship between the Let's-Go-Out-Tonite's was palpable on stage, but was nothing compared to this. Between the smiles, the quick swapping of instruments, and the communal bottle of liquor, it was clear to anyone watching that these men are amazing friends.

So the set list as you can see was pretty well balance over the last four albums and 1969's "Maya". No Marvelous 3 stuff or "Left of Self-Centered" songs, but definitely the most upbeat set list I've ever witnessed at a Butch Walker concert.

The cover of "Rich Girl" was an absolute surprise. When Butch got out the banjolin, everyone assumed they were going to play "You Belong With Me," and he even kind of playfully mocked us for that. The banjolin really added a fun component to the already awesome Hall and Oates song.

He closed the show with Canyons, which is pretty rote at this point. Ponderosa came back out to help get the audience pumped. Canyons is not usually my favorite song, but it definitely is fun for getting the audience involved. This time was really special, though. Even after the band had left the stage, the audience was singing the boys v. girls round at the end and Butch came out to conduct us for a while.

After the show, we were told where the bands were going for drinks, so we headed over first to Manhattan Cafe and then to Little Kings Shuffle Club to see the bands hanging out. Ended up back at the Manhattan to say goodbye to some folks before getting home around 3 AM. All-in-all, it was a wonderful night. I got to hear "House of Cards," which was really the only thing that could have left me disappointed. The 40 Watt is such a great venue and it was just amazing to do something so quintessentially Athens even after living here as long as we have. If you haven't picked up "I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart" by now, you really should. I swear you won't be disappointed.

Butch Walker at Criminal Records

2010-03-06T13:32:00.011-05:00

Apparently this really is just becoming a Butch Walker-related blog. Not quite sure how that happened. I haven't read ANY of the reviews for "I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart" on purpose to try to write a unique review... though I will admit I've picked the album over relentlessly with my brother. I'll try to give him credit when his ideas come through.

So living in the greater metro Atlanta (yes, for the purposes of this entry, I am including Athens in the greater ATL) affords one some Butch-related perks. Namely that you can drop everything and go to a private show at Criminal Records with about 24 hours notice.

For those of you who missed it, there was an event at Criminal Records on 03/05 for the release of Butch's new album "I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart." Basically, for every copy of the cd/vinyl you bought, you got a (not exactly) free pass to a small show at CR last night. Standing room only--probably around 200 people there. Small, intimate, perfect venue for actually getting to meet and greet.

Onto the album itself first: LOVE it. I'll have to be perfectly honest--Sycamore Meadows didn't really do it for me. For me, in many ways, the albums have kind of steadily declined since "Letters"... A lot of the sound that drew me in with Marvelous 3 is just missing after Letters. I loved a lot about "The Rise and Fall," but there are songs on there that I haven't listened to since the first listen-through. Then "Sycamore Meadows" came out, and I was really stoked, hoping for a return in some ways to some of the fun stuff from "Left of Self Centered." There are even more songs on that one that I skip (Summer Scarves, Song for the Metalheads). I actually walked out of the show at The Loft that they did in November 08... It was an acute disappointment (especially after the Center Stage show previously). Jesse Malin was fantabulous and wonderful, but Butch et al just felt stale, bored, and not happy to be there at all. Doesn't help that The Loft is a G-d awful venue. Then, I was supposed to go to the show at the 40 Watt in Athens last April, but ended up having to go to a conference last second.

So honestly, I went into "I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart" with a lot of trepidation--coming behind my least favorite Butch album and after a mediocre show at The Loft, I wasn't expecting a lot.

I was wrong. So very wrong.

Butch is back, and while it's not the bombastic electric guitar riffs and rock tambourine of old, it's a great album. "House of Cards" is by far my favorite song--its ELO-style backup vocals, Butch's almost Lennonesque (my brother pointed this out) tones (think the high notes on "Watching the Wheels"), and catchy pop beat are amazing. I'd love to hear it on the radio. "Temporary Title" is way up there for me, too. The background vocals are excellent and I don't miss the lack of Marvy 3-style guitar. The acoustic guitar adds something absolutely amazing to it.

The two pre-releases, "She Likes Hair Bands" and "Trash Day," are excellent. I definitely like "She Likes Hair Bands" more--catchier and you've just gotta love the hand claps. Trash Day is good--watch this video from Fox 5 if you want to see a fun rendition of it (fun in that the newscaster can't say "Trash Day" properly...).

And I've gotta say, a few of the songs I was kind of "meh" about I now love having seen them live. That's really the consistent thing about any of Butch Walker's music, regardless of his genre changes--he's such a dynamic performer, and unfortunately a lot of that is lost in studio. Like "Pretty Melody" for instance. Album-wise, it's got a great ELO-style intro (seriously, was someone in the mixing room listening to some Jeff Lynne?). I didn't *dislike* the song by any stretch of the term, but it really wasn't one of my favorites. Until I heard it live last night, and then I was sold.

So, back to the show last night. I had gotten the album last week before finding out about the show at Criminal Records. Needed to get passes for myself and a friend, so I bought myself a copy of the vinyl and a copy of the CD for my brother. Drove into Lawrenceville and met up with my buddy Suraj. We ended up getting down to Little 5 around 6:30 or so. Hit up CR to get the CD and vinyl to make sure we had our passes and then ventured down to Junkman's to suit up (I was in some serious need of concert gear--I'd come straight from work). Got in line around 7:15--doors opened after 8:30. Met up with some fun people in line.

If you've never been to an in-store at CR, you've really missed out. The acoustics are surprisingly good and the ambiance of the room is amazing. Everyone that's there *wants* to be there--unlike larger concerts where you get a lot of noobs and boyfriends dragged along to hold purses.

The best part about last night: the kids. There were several tweens/teens there, including one little boy around 10ish named Christian (who was there with his younger female cousin). Christian was probably the only person at a concert who has ever been shorter to me, so when he asked if he could get in front of me, how could I possibly say no. This kid was just too damned precious for words. I asked him if he'd ever been to a show before, and he told me it was his first concert ever. I melted. He then informed me that Butch was "his hero" with such a serious look on his face that I wanted to hug him. His parents probably would have flipped their shit, though, lol.

Butch and the Black Widows played mostly new songs last night. Unfortunately, they did not play "House of Cards," so hopefully they'll play it tonight. The Black Widows (and can I just say I love the new band? Fran's my hero--I'm so glad he's back!) opened with "Trash Day" last night. They also played "Pretty Melody," "Canadian Ten," "They Don't Know," and "Don't You Think Someone Should Take You Home." They closed with "The 3 Kids In Brooklyn," which I honestly think I'm going over the live feed from last night to make this set list for y'all, and you can actually hear me and a couple of my friends yelling out "garrr" in pirate voices between "Canadian Ten" and "They Don't Know"... *blushes*. Had to be there.

After the show, the band went back into the office for a second, and then came out to bust down the stage. I got to talk to Fran for a second, and he let me get a picture with him. Then Butch let us get pics and autographs. I've been to several shows over the years, but never got this opportunity. My brother actually won the biggest fan challenge on the last tour and got to meet him before the show. Butch was very kind and gracious, and I really appreciated getting to thank him.

Part two of this will go up after tonight's show :) If you'd like to see more pictures, please click on the title of this entry!

----------------
Now playing: Butch Walker - House of Cards
via FoxyTunes

University of Georgia Institute of Women's Studies

2008-09-30T11:44:00.004-04:00

I am a graduate student at the University of Georgia completing an MA in Religion. I am also working on a graduate certificate in Women's Studies.

I went to Converse College for my undergraduate degree. At Converse, I was surrounded by women who truly wanted to learn. These women were articulate and poised, and some of the most intelligent women I have ever known. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a perfect learning environment. Some of the bureaucracy got in the way of the education there (like a series of bronze statues placed around a campus instead of convincing those donors to use that money to renovate the older dormitories). But the learning environment was strong.

The University of Georgia has a unique opportunity to make a statement showing their support of the ever growing Women's Studies department on campus. The building the department is currently in shambles. I am working currently on my second and third WMST courses, neither of which are housed in the Benson Building, the Women's Studies building on South Campus. This building is an embarrassment to the University of Georgia. It's dilapidated and falling apart. The building is full of mold, asbestos, and rats. Its one classroom is set up in an awkward fashion based on its size and does not lend itself to learning. The room for the library is insufficient in size and seats relatively few students. Most of the classes taught under the WMST title are taught outside of the building, and many are taught completely across campus. The building is not easily accessible from any of the major bus routes.

A petition is circulating on the Internet calling on the University to act on this matter. Please take the time to review and sign this petition.

Petition
Article from the Red and Black

"Glitter in the Gutter" - Jesse Malin

2008-09-05T16:13:00.009-04:00

So in my last post I discussed Jesse Malin's performance prior to Butch Walker's show at Center Stage in July. I bought Malin's "Glitter in the Gutter" (hereafter called "GITG") probably the day after that post. I am in love with this album (proven easily by the fact that Jesse Malin jumped into the "Top Ten" Artists on my last.fm stats).

Malin's a lot like Butch Walker in that something is definitely lost from his live performance when his music appears on an album. Honestly, I need to buy Malin's "Mercury Retrograde" to see what a live album sounds like. I don't remember him being as nasal live as he seems to be on GITG. As I've been typing this, I downloaded his first album (2003) "The Fine Art of Self-Destruction" on Amazon (sorry Jesse, I know how much you dislike iTunes/Amazon/etc. and what it's done to local mom&pop records stores--I just couldn't wait). Already it doesn't sound nearly as nasal as GITG. But let's not get bogged down on this...

So even with less energy than a live performance, Malin still rocks my socks on GITG. I purchased the Deluxe edition which includes the tracks "Megan Don't Know" and "Gimme a Revolution". Starting out with "Don't Let Them Take You Down (Beautiful Day!)" is perfect for this album, which for me is a non-stop, upbeat musical experience. Not that there isn't anything subdued on the album--"Lucinda" slows down some of the forward movement of the album, and his cover of The Replacements' "Bastards of Young" makes you stop and truly listen. The peak of the album (if albums have a shape like they teach you in English class: exposition, rising action, climax, blah blah blah) for me is "Little Star". I flippin' love this song. I loved it live and I love it on the album. I can't help but dance in my chair every time it comes on. "Prisoners of Paradise", "Tomorrow Tonight", and "In The Modern World" are three other personal favorites.

There isn't one track on this album I purposely skip over because it sucks or doesn't flow with the album. BUY IT. And try to buy it new if you can--Jesse Malin deserves support for putting out such fabulous music. And for being an absolute sweetheart to his fans.

Here are some places you can support Malin:
Official Website
Myspace
Facebook

I'll try to post something that doesn't relate to Jesse Malin or Butch Walker soon. I do listen to other music (see the aforementioned last.fm profile). My recently purchased albums have included XTC's "Nonsuch", Sara Bareilles' "Little Voice", and the "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" Soundtrack.

Speaking of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog", if you haven't seen it then SHAME ON YOU! :)

Butch Walker with Jesse Malin

2008-07-27T09:24:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the terrible hiatus y'all. I have no good excuse so I won't make up a bad one.

Went with Ryan to see Butch Walker and Jesse Malin at Center Stage in Atlanta last night. If you're a Butch Walker fan in the Metro ATL area and you weren't at one of his two shows this week, shame on you. It honestly was the best performance I've seen.

Doors opened at 8; show started at 9. Jesse Malin played for about 45-50 minutes from songs from songs from his three main solo albums. Songs included Wendy, Brooklyn, Hotel Columbia, Black Haired Girl, Bastards of Young (which he came out into the audience for, and had the standing-room only audience sit on the floor during), and Riding on the Subway. Jesse was very engaging on stage. He played guitar primarily and was accompanied by a very pretty, very talented female piano player (whose name is escaping me and I feel like a total jerk). This was the first time I'd ever heard his music, and I was very impressed. Butch and Darren came out to accompany him during one of his songs, which was really cool.

After Jesse's set (during Butch's "When Canyons Ruled the World" - not my favorite song, so I went to get some air), I wandered out into the lobby and he was selling merch and signing autographs. I grabbed Ryan and we introduced ourselves. He pointed to my "chai"necklace and remarked that he was "a member of that Tribe!" Fabulous :). I asked him to sign my ticket and he was very nice about it, signing both of our tickets. I felt bad about not buying a CD or at least a button, but given that these were the most expensive Butch tickets I've ever paid for... AND how stupid-expensive gas has gotten , this graduate student didn't have the means. In spite of being the tool who asks for an autograph and then is like "kthxbai you're awesome" without buying anything, he gave each of us a new sticker from his "Glitter and the Gutter" album (very glittery and shiny; will probably be going on my car today) So yeah I've been Googling/Myspacing/Wikipedia-ing/Etc.-ing Jesse Malin all morning and will definitely be getting some of his music soon.

Now, onto Butch. OHHH man, I was not prepared for how awesome this concert turned out to be. It started around 10 PM and began with Butch solo for several songs. He was playing songs off his heavily anticipated album "Sycamore Meadows", including Vessels, Atlanta, and 3 Kids in Brooklyn. He played many other new songs, reading the lyrics because some of them were that new. He gave us a taste of what the "One Man Bad" tour would have been like (oh and other than citing "personal reasons" he did not elaborate on why the tour was canceled) by looping several instruments on stage and playing an entire song himself - quite hilarious. He played Mixtape (and Diary of a San Fernando Sexx Star I think - he may have done it with TLGOT's) and Joan as part of his solo set and for fun invited several fans up on stage during Grant Park to play as his band.

After a little over an hour, The-Let's-Go-Out-Tonite's! came out with him and played. Songs included Uncomfortably Numb, The Taste of Red, #1 Summer Jam, Maybe It's Just Me, Best Thing You Never Had, Don't Move, and Race Cars and Goth Rock (with the requisite explanation about his ex-wife--a funnier, tighter version of the story). TLGOT's seemed much tighter on stage than during previous shows. There was a new guitar player and a new percussionist (think rock tambourine)/slide guitar player. Darren Dodd, Wes Flowers, and Randy Michael were there. Fran Capitinelli played on a few tracks with him (I think it was Fran - it was someone off "Letters"). The show was really gearing up when Butch gave the band a break.

Butch went to the piano and began a lengthy narrative of the history of the Marvelous 3, discussing how he, Slug, and Jayce came to be a band (including practicing in the FOP building in Rome, haha). He then segued from the conversation into the beginning of Cigarette Lighter Love Song. He began the song on the piano, as he had for the Tabernacle show last April. When he moved to the mic to bring the band back, Slug and Jayce came out. At least 50 sets of eyeballs fell out from the shock. There was a collective intake from the audience followed by the loudest scream imaginable. They finished the song and also played Indie Queen (which took Butch a second to work out on his guitar, lol). Slug and Jayce then left and TLGOT's came back out. It was disappointing to see them play for so short of a time, but given that I became a Butch fan after the Marvelous 3 broke up, it was an amazing experience to see them play together. Butch played a little longer and left the stage. For the encore he played one song: When Canyons Ruled The World. He had the audience sing along round-style. The band left the stage and he stayed out for the standing ovation.

Ultimately, it was a fabulous show. We stayed afterwards in hopes of saying hey to Butch, but it didn't end up happening. We met several very nice fans both in line and after the show. In total, I had three separate drinks spilled on me, so it was the total rock experience. As I said earlier, I was disappointed that the Marvelous 3 didn't play longer (and that my camera died before they came out!!! gah). Or even better would have been to continue turning back the clock and have Chrystina Lloree come out for some Floyds Funk Revival/The Floyds goodness. I would have liked to have heard more songs off “The Rise and Fall…” as well. Furthermore, he didn’t play one 1969 song, and I would have liked to have heard a few of those songs live. All those criticisms aside, we had a fabulous time. Jesse Malin was the first opener for Butch that I didn’t sit through asking myself “When the hell is this guy gonna shut up so Butch can start.” Jesse was absolutely worth hearing and I’d love to see him play again (or with Butch! A collaborative work between them would freakin’ rock too!). Butch’s voice was perfect – he was hitting notes I didn’t know he could hit! I’m totally stoked for the fall tour now and can’t wait for “Sycamore Meadows” to come out.

I'll leave you with my copy of his audience participation version of Grant Park. The quality of the video is total crap; I apologize in advance. You get the point though (it gets brighter after the first 2 minutes or so).

what i've been up to

2007-07-24T09:09:00.000-04:00

this summer has been rather insane. between classes, work, and planning for school this fall, i've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. monday nights have been spent at Walker's Pub in downtown Athens with the girls, the gays, and the fiancée (and the occasional non-aligned heterosexual male). dollar wine night is the best idea ever.

i've been cooking a lot. kind of got inspired by a local blog which y'all definitely should check out:

Recipes for a Postmodern Planet

Sarah Beam, the author of the blog, is fantastic. she posts wonderful recipes along with disucussions of her day-to-day activities. and the pictures of her son are adorable :). i found her blog when i was looking for a recipe of the Flying Biscuit's Creamy Dreamy White Cheddar Grits (btw if you live in the greater Atlanta area and you haven't been to the Flying Biscuit, get your tuchas in gear. i prefer the one in Candler Park). I made the grits and Sarah's recipe for french toast for dinner last nite. you can find both of those recipes here.

in other food news, i decided to make salsa verde this weekend. not a huge batch, just about 6-8 ounces. needless to say, ryan and i killed the entire bowl in about 30 minutes. so i made more yesterday. i used this recipe, and it's fantabulous. i added a bit of extra cilantro and jalapeños, just because i like that extra flavor. but seriously, try it. i may have some for breakfast in an egg burrito!

New blog

2007-01-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

Hey y'all it's been a while. Not much to say. Been spending a few days in NE Ohio, Munroe Falls to be exact.

Honestly the only reason I'm typing right now is to post a new blog, from a good friend Caraleigh Brady. She and a few friends are taking a worldwide trip right now and are posting pictures, commentary, etc. on a semi-daily basis. So far they've been to Amman and Bangalore. Other than that I have no idea where they are going. Check it out HERE. I'm also adding it as a link to the side.

Hope y'all had a great Christmahanukwanzikkadanyulefestivus (I really need to figure out a way of incorporating those last two in there....). I'll prolly start updating again once school starts back up (Jan. 8).

IMPORTANT NEWS FLASH!!!!

2006-11-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

Poor Sir Elton (taken from here):

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Elton John's latest Australian tour got off to an inauspicious start when the British pop superstar had to leave the stage briefly to be sick, local media reported Monday.
John was about to perform "Crocodile Rock," one of the most popular songs of his four-decade career, Sunday when he felt unwell and left the stage in Brisbane for about five minutes.
"I thought I'd better chunder (vomit) in the toilet than all over the front row," Australian Associated Press quoted John as telling his audience of 15,000 fans.
John, 59, is making his 12th tour of Australia and had been on stage for about two hours when he became ill. He returned to the stage for another 45 minutes without further inconvenience.

A tour spokeswoman said the veteran entertainer had been suffering from an upset stomach.
"He got it out and got on with it," the spokeswoman said.

I hope I never do that while teaching......

Mr. T is alright with me

2006-10-11T07:44:00.000-04:00

I missed the whole A-Team thing. I was one when the show went off the air, and it was never something my parents were really into. So, when I see Mr. T on TV, yeah I usually giggle. I mean, even away from the A-Team, his character is fun, and if nothing else memorable ("I Pity the Fool!")

This morning I was checking the TV Guide online to try to find something to watch and I saw a link to this article. The link to the article said something like "Mr. T shows no interest in doing an A-Team movie." I went to the article with a pissed "stupid Hollywood actors" mentality and I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. Mr. T actually had good reason for not wanting to do the film. But that is not why I'm posting about Mr. T.

Mr. T is known for wearing massive amounts of bling at all times (my favorite nod to that has to be the Friends episode ("The One With The Prom Video") where Joey gives Chandler a watch: "Yeah, it's easy for you to say, you don't have to walk around sporting some reject from the Mr. T collection. I pity the fool that puts on my jewelry...I do, I do... I pity the fool that..."). I'd noticed recently he'd stopped doing that, but I really hadn't thought anything of it. TV Guide apparently noticed too

TVGuide.com: How come you don't wear the gold chains anymore?
Mr. T: That happened after Hurricane Katrina. Watching the people suffering, I said I would never wear my gold again, because it wouldn't be right. I want people to know I have a heart of gold, not just the gold around my neck.

Y'know, most people will probably read that and roll their eyes. I know tons of people that helped out in their own small ways during that crisis. And if this is how Mr. T felt he needed to Hurricane Katrina, then that's cool with me. Good job, Mr. T. Others may not appreciate your gesture, but I do

The Devil Made Me Do It!!!

2006-08-29T22:05:00.000-04:00

And today's craziness:

Apparently Hitler and Stalin were possessed by Satan. Because clearly, in light of the doctrine of free will, human beings can't do anything that evil. Yes, moderately evil things, but nothing THAT evil.

Does this statement by the Vatican do anything to help ease the pain of those who actually survived Hitler and Stalin's regimes? Or comfort the families who lost loved ones?

I can't believe the best thing the Vatican was able to come up with to explain Hitler and Stalin's actions was "The Devil made them do it!"

That is all.

transliteration issues

2006-08-19T09:41:00.000-04:00

So I have a 10:10 Hebrew Bible course with Richard Elliot Friedman (who until very recently was at UCSD but just got to UGA like.... 6 days ago) MWF this semester. Yesterday we covered Gen. 1-3, and spent a ton of time looking at the name of G-d in Hebrew: YHWH or י ה ו ה for the Hebraically inclined who may be reading (that actually is important for later on in this article, so keep that visual in mind).

In English translation, whenever YHWH is translated to English, the word we generally get is LORD (in all caps to deliniate it from 'Adonai, the Hebrew word for lord). A tradition arose after the time of Biblical Hebrew of not saying or writing the name of G-d out loud (which leads to a wonderful tradition, especially in Orthodox traditions, of saying the word "hashem" or "the name" whenever the word YHWH is present in a reading--G-d becomes "he who must not be named"). So, ultimately, the actual pronounciation of G-d's name was lost.

Anyways, When the Tanakh was originally translated from Hebrew to Greek, the translator was awesome about handling the name of G-d. Rather than translate as the Greek word for Lord (Kyrie: Κύριε ), the translator left YHWH in Hebrew. So, for all of you who need a visual (in English), it would have read like this:

Exodus 12:36: And the DROL had disposed the Egyptians favorably toward the people....

So, it read along Greek Greek Greek Hebrew Greek Greek Greek. Remember, that Hebrew is written RIGHT-TO-LEFT, so the translator literally would have had to pick up his pen, then write backwards (for him), pick up his pen again and continue on in Greek.

An error in translation occured later. Another Greek translator came along, and was presented in the middle of the Greek with י ה ו ה. Not realizing that Hebrew was a right-to-left language, he transposed the closest Greek letters visually: Π Ι Π Ι (pi iota pi iota), written of course left-to-right.

An thus the "pee-pee" Bible was formed.... I'm not kiddin' y'all...

Yes, ultimately, potty humor is the highest form of humor.

Proteges

2006-08-17T10:19:00.000-04:00

The world is full of proteges. I happen to consider myself a protege of my major advisor from my undergraduate degree, Dr. Joe P. Dunn, Chair and Charles A. Dana Professor of History and Politics at Converse College. He wrote this originally for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal on 15AUG2006, but it has since been posted at About.com. I really can't summarize it, as my lack of knowledge on the Vietnam-side of the argument would lessen the overall impact of any summary. That being said, just for a taste of the article, let me say that it discusses the strategic planning and political ramifications of both the Vietnam War and the 2nd Iraq War. Anyone interested in this subject should seriously read this article.

Kevin Barrett

2006-08-03T07:59:00.000-04:00

I'm currently watching FoxNews's morning show, Fox & Friends, and they're interviewing a man named Kevin Barrett. He is a professor who most recently taught at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, teaching an Intro to Islam course at that institution. Barrett states that 9/11 was an "inside job", that there is no evidence of hijackers on those planes, that Bin Laden is dead, and that Bush isn't in control of anything.

According to Wikipedia, he converted to Islam in 1992. Apart from this, Barrett has absolutely no scholarly background in politics or religion, and is not qualified to teach Islam on the college level. Barrett has a French and English background with a PhD in African Languages.

Barrett flat out stated that the entirety of the 9/11 Commission Report was wrong. He doesn't believe the evidence/tapes proves that there were any hijackers on the planes, and went on to specify that the angle of the shadows in the second tape was incorrect to the time of day being taped, and that this couldn't possibly be a real tape as it wasn't released by the government until two years after the attack.. He states that the phone calls from the planes were not real because you can't make phone calls from 30,000 feet (the planes would have been much lower prior to impact...).

The University of Wisconson apparently got in some heat about hiring Barrett, coming out with a statment justifying the appointment.

Barrett stated that the entire 9/11 plot could be uncovered just be simply asking 3 questions:

Who was acting Commander-in-Chief that day?
What happened to Building 7?
Where were the fighter jets?

I have one question to ask in response to this: Where is your decency, Barrett? If you have a theory that the government purposely planned thousands of deaths for its own policy issues, that's fine. But, for G-d's sake, bring these to the table in a decent and tactful manner. The US allows us freedom of speech, and Barrett has full right to his beliefs and to express them. The families and friends of the 9/11 victims have gone through enough pain without you publically coming forth with poor evidence blaming those who are supposed to protect us. If you truly think that this occurred, Barrett, don't glamorize it or use your theory to make a name for yourself, as this truly makes a mockery out of the deaths that day. Go through the proper channels.

At least they tried...

2006-08-02T19:02:00.000-04:00

Google found this article for me today. The article refers to a "National Muslim Fun Day" being planned for September 17th at Alton Towers, a park in central England. The day was to be a day where Muslim families could come and enjoy the park in a way that would be in line with their beliefs. Separate male/female rides, halal food, and a dress code required for all people attending the park that day.

I really think this was an awesome idea. According to the article, England is home to 1.7 Muslims (3.4% of the population). This is an amazing gesture that other countries I believe would do well to consider. I found some varied responses to the event from the Muslim community:

http://www.islamicaweb.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52155
http://www.militantislammonitor.org/article/id/2068
http://maniacmuslim.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8342

oh and this one rather pissed me off: http://islamophobic.blogspot.com/2006/07/muslim-only-day-at-uk-theme-park.html

The event was cancelled, however. Islamic Leisure, the organization planning the event, was unable to sell the idea and Muslim Fun Day was cancelled due to lack of interest. I am highly disappointed by this. But, nonetheless, it was a great idea. Many will probably say that there is no reason for a day like that and that it's unfair to the rest of the population to cater to the minority of the population, if even for a day. But there is some precident for events of this type. For example, since 1991, Walt Disney World has been hosting (unofficially) Gay Day, an event which attracts 100,000+ GLBT individuals yearly. I honestly think days like this help increase awareness of groups. While I'm not attempting to say that events such as Gay Day has been the main event sparking the increased acceptance of the GLBT community in society, I will posit that possibility that group-themed public events do give people outside of that group the opportunity to see a group of people they may not understand in a situation that is similar to their own (whether that be riding the Dumbo ride at Disney, or eating shawarma at Alton Towers). It is disappointing that National Muslim Fun Day was cancelled due to lack of interest. It's interesting to note that while Islamic Leisure has stated that it will refund the tickets they did sell, they also have not been answering their phones today.

another suggestion

2006-07-31T20:55:00.000-04:00

hey y'all. i've got another suggestion for you. David Bayne is a good friend, a brilliant guy, and he's also freakin' adorable. so go read :). it's also in my links list so go ahead and click away!

i never bothered to explain the other people in my links list. Ryan has been one of my best friends for a while now annnd has the (un?)fortunate pleasure of currently dating me. a political junkie of the highest caliber, go here if you have any interest in ohio politics, politics in general, or if you just feel like being nice :).

Salim is brilliant. period. global review and instantreplay both belong to him, so go take a look.

ok i've covered all my bases now :).

Hey! Go look here!

2006-07-28T15:15:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all. My brother (webmaster of this webcomic) sent me a link to a blog today entitled "Blogging the Bible". At first glance it's pretty interesting. I've put a link to it in my links section but I did want to call attention to it. Seriously, go take a look.

I read the news today oh boy...

2006-07-27T10:43:00.000-04:00

Some interesting things in the news:

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L27662839.htm - According to Reuters, there have apparently been at least 36 messages from bin Laden/Zawahri since 2001. This is a pretty interesting chronology of the messages aired on al-Jazeera this year.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5220388.stm - A heatwave in France this summer has already claimed the lives of 64 French citizens this summer. According to Former VP Al Gore, global warming is caused by CO2 in the atmosphere. Could it be that all the hot air coming out of the French government is actually causing localized global warming over Gaul? Either way, this is quite a sad day for France. France now has to live with the knowlege that the American South is better equipped to cool off its citizens than France is. Switzerland is having its own problem with the current heat wave, namely how to properly care for the animals in the Zurich zoo. But, never fear, "zookeepers said they [have] been serving the animals ice creams made of berries, meat and bones to cool them down."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5217438.stm - I am always curious as to handle articles like this one. While I understand why it may be difficult for a German security force to guard the Israel-Lebanon border, the fact remains that current German soldiers should not have to feel guilty or be kept from doing their jobs because of the errors of the past. German soldiers have done amazing security work in recent years, especially in the Balkans and Afghanistan. The current situation Israel/Palestine/Lebanon should in no way be compared to the Holocaust, and it is almost a disservice to German soldiers to not give them the chance to put the past behind them by doing their jobs now. If Germany feels that it should be involved in this peacekeeping mission, it should not have to make the decision because of the past but rather should be able to make the decision based on where they stand currently. But, history will win out I'm sure. No one can see past the Holocaust anymore.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5218164.stm - I'm a horrible human being for thinking this was funny, because it really isn't, but the irony was too much even for me. Picture this, Wednesday, Liberia. Monrovia to be exact. Four world leaders (Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and of course Liberia) sitting around, prolly noshing on something. Suddently, and without warning (as sudden occurances usually are), FIRE!!! The ironic part? This was the first time in fifteen years that Monrovian streetlamps had been turned on... This is horrible, it really is. But it is funny....

And that's the way the cookie crumbles...

Judas?

2006-07-25T00:46:00.000-04:00

Yeah, so sometime this school year all of the announcements regarding the newly rediscovered "Gospel of Judas" began coming out. Being so wrapped up in trying to graduate I really didn't give this the attention it deserved. So, with nothing better to do this summer I started doing some homework.

After reading this gospel I can't say that I'm at all surprised at it. It reads like a typical Gnostic text. In this text, Jesus has secret knowledge of the universe that he imparts to Judas, which makes sense in a Gnostic text as gnosis itself means (secret/hidden) knowledge. Some interesting parts:

"He began to speak with them about the mysteries beyond the world and what would
take place at the end. Often he did not appear to his disciples as himself, but he was found among them as a child."

"The disciples said to [him], “Master, why are you laughing at [our] prayer of thanksgiving? We have done what is right.”
He answered and said to them, “I am not laughing at you. are not doing this because of your own will but because it is through this that your god [will be] praised.”
They said, “Master, you are […] the son of our god.”
Jesus said to them, “How do you know me? Truly [I] say to you, no generation of the people that are among you will know me.” - This I found to be very interesting. In the canonical Gospels, Christ is often asked if he is the son of G-d etc., and his answers vary. This Gnostic text is peppered with Christ referring to G-d in this way, as if the G-d of the apostles was different from his G-d.

(Jesus speaking) [Let] any one of you who is [strong enough] among human beings bring out the perfect human and stand before my face.”
They all said, “We have the strength.”
But their spirits did not dare to stand before [him], except for Judas Iscariot.

Jesus seems to give preferential treatment to Judas throughout this gospel, especially when it comes to imparting important knowledge of the universe. No other apostles are named throughout this gospel; when the other apostles do speak it is as one. I also was shocked to find that there wasn't a more direct command from Christ telling Judas to have him offed. From the hype that I do remember coming out of this, I was surprised, and even slightly disappointed, that there wasn't a conversation like the following:
"Hey Jude."
"Hey Josh, what's up?"
"About those damned Temple officials that want to kill me."
"Are they seriously up to that again?? Geez, what about it?
"Yeah, I want you to go turn me in."
"WTF?! Why!!??"
"BECAUSE I SAID SO! The prophecies aren't going to just fulfill themselves y'know!!!"
"Yeah, so, you want me to kill the son of G-d... Very funny, Joshua... You realize people go to Hell for stuff like that."
"You're not going to go to Hell... We're Jewish, Judas, we don't believe in Hell."
"Oh yeah..."
"Besides, you have to do this, Jude. Without you being forced to kill me, the Calvinists would have no basis for their dogma!!!"
"The who?"
"Don't worry about it.... Say, you have a tiny bit of bread and fish layin' aorund? I'd like to get started on dinner before the other 11 disciples get home. You know they're not going to catch anything without me helping...."
[end scene]

So yeah, as usual, I'm really not seeing where the hype was. Sure, it was an interesting read. And I've always been one to root for Judas. It's not his fault that the entirety of the Tanakh woule have gone unfulfilled without him. I'm not the only one who feels this way either:

Lyrics to "Damned for All Time/Blood Money" from Jesus Christ Superstar
Lyrics to "Until the End of the World" by U2

So that's pretty much all I've got. I'll leave you with some interesting links i came upon while researching this stuff:

Wikipedia - Barbelo
National Geographic Site on the Gospel of Judas
"A Gospel in the Gospel of Judas?"
"The Gospel of Judas - Some Observations"

jews and muslims and christians, oh my!

2006-07-11T10:39:00.000-04:00

So gmail found this article for me. basically an op-ed piece on the Jews and the Persians and how neither party really has any right to hate the other.

I love when writers smack politics and politicians in the face. seriously, people. Anyone who thinks that Muslims and Jews have absolutely nothing in common really needs to get their head out of their ass and come up for air at some point and look around them. The Hebrews and the Muslims both got their start at the same point: Abraham sacrificing Isaac/Ishmael to El/Allah. Both are political religions: each have a set of law (Mosaic/Shari'a) and a political structure that cannot be separated from the religion itself.

So this article points out the major points of the common history of the Jews and the Persians. It recalls how Judaism would not exist in the first place if it hadn't been for King Cyrus' decree 2500 years ago that the Jews needed to leave their Persian bondage, return to Israel, and rebuild their temple. Israel as a state was all but gone at that point. Cyrus is the only reason it came back. Ahmadinejad's statements that Israel should be blown off the map are ridiculous, when looked at in this light. Furthermore, Olmert's statement that a nuclear-armed Iran is an "existential threat to Israel." i'm sorry, but if someone had a nuclear weapon pointed at me, I think that's when the threat moves from "existential" to "imminent." Not that I honestly think Iran would be dumb enough to actually blow up Israel. Nevertheless, I may have to send Olmert's speechwriter a Hebrew-to-English dictionary.

The article moved foward from King Cyrus, but, as always occurs with me, I started getting bored. Much past the BC/AD (or BCE/CE for all you nuts out there) and I start getting bored.

That's OK, b/c the Muslims reading this entry were going "A.D.? Who's he??"

foray into politics

2006-07-06T11:34:00.000-04:00

i guess you'll never be able to take the tongue-in-cheek political analyst out of me.

i found this article on the Discovery Channel website today. basically a discussion of how ancestry.com has recently digitized all of our census records from 1790 to 1930 (excluding 1890 b/c this was burned in a fire. no information can be released from 1930 on as that information is protected under privacy law). for anyone out there interested in geneological studies, a simple search of someone's name now also brings up all their census info. pretty damned cool if you ask me.

in doing this research, however, it was found that President Bush and VP Cheney are in fact distantly related... ... ... ...

...
...

... ... ... ...and after living with this administration since January of 2001, we're supposed to be surprised that this country is run by West Virginiaesque administration?? i think not.

the article also explained that Lee Marvin was related to Robert E. Lee. makes sense, b/c Lee Marvin is a total badass! haha. Tom Hanks is related to President Lincoln, which is pretty bitchin' because I too am related to Lincoln. not too shabby for me :).

but in all seriousness, they say that geneticaly speaking the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. the US has rules that keep people from the same state from running on the same Presidential/VP ticket. we probably should petition Congress to push for a Constitutional amendment requiring a background check into genetics to ensure we're not just keeping politics in the family... well, any more so than the Bush's already have...

wow

2006-07-03T02:39:00.000-04:00

this blog has been ridiculously neglected.... starting in august i'll be in the masters program in religion at the university of georgia. so, what i'm thinking is that this blog will become a corner for me to discuss my masters work, random tidbits of athenian culture (of the georgia variety rather than of the greek variety), the occasional personal note, and political science stuff that catches my eye. my masters program is in hebrew bible/old testament history, so much of the entries will be on that subject. as always, leave me some lovin'!

mathematic proofs, AIM, and the red sox;)

2004-10-20T21:50:00.000-04:00

all you NEU ppl better love me for this one;)

Matt (9:37:41 PM): ::tries to help meg with proofs on the internet:: this is hard.....
Holly (9:37:58 PM): proofs=awesome
Matt (9:38:51 PM): proofs online=horrible
Matt (9:38:57 PM): proofs=easy
Matt (9:39:01 PM): ah
Holly (9:39:22 PM): here's a proof:
yankees=suck
red sox=awesome
yankees < red sox
Matt (9:40:13 PM): you forgot the theorem suck < awesome
Holly (9:40:25 PM): true
Holly (9:41:08 PM): so here's the proof: if: the Yankees suck and if: the Red Sox are Awesome and if: sucking < being awesome then: the Yankees < the Red Sox
Holly (9:41:42 PM): ;)
Matt (9:42:04 PM): exactly

foreign policy

2004-09-29T11:29:00.000-04:00

not much going on in the life of holly. thought i'd share to you some interesting stuff i learned in amer. for. policy this week:

swaziland--bus drivers are taking to raping women on the bus that wear miniskirts. 3 men have been convicted for the gangrape of one woman, and three other women have come foward. many other women have had their skirts ripped off in the bus depot by these busdrivers. the bus drivers say that miniskirts cause lustful thoughts. furthermore, women who wear miniskirts want to be raped, so they're just giving them what they want. it is interesting to note the women of swaziland for all intensive purposes wear the clothes of women in the west. miniskirts were introduced to swaziland in the 1960s, thus the miniskirt isn't a new fad. side note: swaziland is the last absolute monarchy in sub-saharan africa.**

england--blair does not apologize in the least for ousting saddam hussein. however he does state that the intelligiance proving that he housed WMD was not correct. i know this is common knowledge, but i just found it interesting, as blair has thus far been bush's best supporter. while i suppose he still is, it surprises me that he would come out with this statement when bush has not made a similar statement. it was discussed in class that he merely pushes away the question or outright defends his position when asked, and thus far hasn't quasi-apologized to the american people.

jordan--king abdullah states that he does not think the upcoming elections in iraq will be fair. he does not think that iraq is ready for such elections, and any outcomes will be incorrect in some manner. as one of bush's closest ally's in the region, this is not good for bush. sidenote: king abdullah is meeting with jacques chirac this week in france.

so that's just a couple of things that interested me this tuesday in american foreign policy. surely not the most interesting occurences over the last few days, but noteworthy nonetheless.

**realize this has nothing to do with US foreign policy, it was just an interesting (but nonetheless horrifying) story

the leader of the free world

2004-09-26T14:24:00.000-04:00

kids, it's pictures like this that let me know that deep down, we're all safe:

heheheheheheheh........

sub-saharan africa

2004-09-21T16:07:00.000-04:00

so i was rather excited when i found out my region to discuss in american foreign policy was sub-saharan africa. it was a region i was vaguely familiar with, but could easily learn a lot about. discussed this with phil d'agati, and it seemed like it'd be full of topics. plenty of stuff (most of it very unfortunate) happens in this region: border disputes, emerging democracies, genocide. yet nothing i've brought up so far has been really very relevant. i thought that the new national government in somalia (which i read in the article was the last country in the world to have a nat'l gov't) was relevant, but apparently it wasn't...

while lots of stuff happens in this region, very little of it actually affects our national security. honestly. i've been doing the required reading of the NYTimes and the CSMonitor, as well as doing google news searches, and the best i've been able to come up with is locusts, locusts, locusts....

furthermore, dunn gave the sudan to the middle east group (aka we don't get to discuss darfur), though on every list i've pulled up on the internet the sudan is considered sub-saharan africa...

so seriously here's my report for this week (forgive the inarticulateness of the writing, as these are just notes to jumpstart my brain):

1. Chad (9/17/2004)—US Marines have been training Chadian soldiers for approximately 6 weeks in counterterrorism basics. US has also been training soldiers in Nigeria, Kenya, Somalia, Niger, Mauritania, Mali, Senegal, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. All part of a plan to cut down on the number of terrorists that get their training in Africa. Part of Bush’s greater War on Terror.

2. Uganda/Sudan (9/19/2004)—Ugandan troops kill 25 fighters of the Lord’s Resistance Army in southern Sudan while pursuing the LRA’s leader, Joseph Kony. The LRA has been attacking civilians in Uganda for 18 years. The 25 fighters were part of a group of 50 around Kony; this information was given by a deserter from the LRA.

3. Chad (9/20/2004)—Frenchmen Alain Gachet has perfected a method of finding water deposits below the Sahara. Gachet has yet to dig a dry well. This new technology is saving millions of dollars in aid to sub-Saharan African nations and making it possible to build cities farther into the desert.

4. Rwanda (9/21/2004)—a RC priest, Athanase Seromba, went on trial today for the genocide of 2000 Tutsis. These Tutsis were members of his own congregation. He ordered Hutu collaborators to bulldoze a church that they were hiding in. Has pleaded not guilty to genocide and crimes against humanity to the UN war crimes tribunal in Tanzania that is prosecuting him.

so what does all of this have to do w/ US national security? absolutely nothing. 'cept that maybe we can build bases in the sahara now b/c there's a better way of finding water and that Uganda finally seems to be honestly attempting to stop the LRA, which is good if they ever want to stop killing Ugandans and start killing us. training the chadians and all those other africans helps us stop overextending ourselves militarily, so that's good. and finally, the rwandan priest thing just pisses me off more than anything, as honestly folks, any priest that can do that to his own congregation is disgusting.

so yeah, that's sub-saharan africa from 9/14/2004 to 9/21/2004. if we had darfur, it'd be a hell of a lot longer... sorry for the rant, but honestly...:(

oh, and there are still locusts in western africa. how could i forget??