Plugs . . .
There is a new 8 1/2 by Eleven as well as a new Fetus-X. Also you need to read Dr. Murks uproariously funny recent blogs. First read his sports blog on the Randy Moss trade and the state of Boston sports and also read his slang primer of alternative ways to say breasts, add a few of your own.
Also, Malach is a huge fan of Bill Simmons. You need to read his blog on Moss, and the rest of the draft.
Happy Birthday Memere.
We love you, your great grand kids love you, and we hope you have a wonderful year
You are Listening too . . .
Penny Lane, from Magical Mystery Tour, by the Beatles. Actually Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever are both from the Sgt. Pepper recording but were pulled and done as a double sinble, then added to Magical Mystery Tour. Both songs are very interesting, as they are basically the same subject, one from McCartney's point of view, the other from Lennon's. It shows the marked difference and split their music was developing into. It was brilliant to market them together. As a general rule, McCartney was writing very smart pop songs, and Lennon experimenting more. McCartney's songs were generating more hits also. This also created a division among Beatles fans. Malach admits he is more of a Lennon guy, but McCartney was genius too.
First Magical Mystery Tour. A strange album and an even stranger movie (I saw in once in college, but I was a little drunk). The album was a double EP in the UK, and a regular 2 sided studio album in the US (EP did not generally do well in the US). The first side of the album was the soundtrack to the movie, side two contained previously released singles, All You Need is Love, from Our World, and a song for the upcoming Yellow Submarine movie. Much of the music on this album were sessions from earlier albums. It is a strange mix of songs, from things like Hello, Goodbye to I am the Walrus.
The movie itself was a huge disaster one of the only disasters The Beatles had in their career. The hour long movie was specifically created for television, and was a flop. Critic totally panned it, but as time has passed it became a sort of cult classic.
Much of the movie was concieved during an acid trip. There was no script, just a series of handwritten ideas, drawings, and sketches. Much of the movie was stream of concious. The basic plot was a group of people were on a bus tour. During the tour strange things begin to happen at the whim of several magicians (The Beatles and road manager Mal Evans). It is really something you have to see.
While the movie was pretty much destroyed critically in the 60's it has become a bit of a classic, with it's concept, and is a favorite of Stephen Speilbergs.
Penny Lane is a semi-autobiographical song, about a street in Liverpool, where Lennon and McCartney grew up. They would meet as teens at the Penny Lane junction to catch the bus to get to the center of Liverpool. Needless to say, the theft of Penny Lane street signs over the years caused local officials to begin painting it on the side of buildings. The song describes all real and actual places in and around Penny Lane. The song goes through a number of temporal stream of concious moments with McCartney describing sunny weather, rain, Rememberance Day, Summer, and Fall.
Penny Lane's music is very similar to The Beach Boys God Only Knows, which is one of McCartney's favorite all time songs. It is especially notable of the sections of the song, attrubuted to McCartney; the block piano chords, and the rythmn of the base.
Also used was a piccolo trumpet solo, which was the first instance of it's use in a pop song, and that instrument is now pretty common. McCartney was inspired after lackluster solos of other instruments by a Dave Mason performance he heard on the radio. Mason agreed to do a solo for this song. Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields both had extremely influential early"music videos".
Becuase of the song, the real Penny Lane, basically a bus route, became a trendy art and shopping district, which it still is today. In addition in 2006, Liverpool attempted to abolish street names recognizing people of the slave trade, of course Penny Lane was one of them, named after James Penny. Ultimaltely, city elders decided it would be unwise to change the street name.
Penny Lane began setting the groundwork for soft rock, and pop of the 70's. It also begins to show The Beatles slowly moving back to some of their earlier pop garage rock. Magical Mystery Tour is also a very strange transition album from Sgt. Pepper to the White Album.
See what the Yankees do?
They turn people evil. And you know, I don't really see this Steinbrennae press conference as a huge vote of confidence. Hey Joe Torre, if the do fire you, what better way to get some revenge but come work for the Red Sox as a bench coach? Sox are off tonight.
Malach Quote/Video of the Day
I am Malach, and I remeber this video from the early days of MTV.
Happy Birthday Memere
I'd love to turn you on.
No Plugs.
See I told you it was a day of rest.
Randy Moss.
So, for those of you that did not know, Randy Moss was traded to the Patriots today for a 4th round draft choice in this years draft. Needless to say I am pretty speechless. Many were shocked. But before I begin on my why Randy Moss will fit into this team argument, let me give you two things. 1. Moss restructured his contract to come play here, instead of the $9 million he was owed, he cut that to $3million plus incentives, so does this show a change of attitude, time will tell. 2. Bellichick has NO ISSUES cutting any player, no matter the talent, who does not fit in . . see Jonathan Sullivan, Doug Gabriel, Lawyer Milloy, etc, etc.
The Patriots, who have already had a killer offseason, have added the following players beyond Moss. Adealius Thomas, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Kelly Washington . . . Remember also, they were 1 first down away from going to, and probably winning another Super Bowl . . they did this with Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson out, Lawrence Maroney hurt, and a 3rd reciever (Reche Caldwell) as their number 1, and 4th reciever (Jabbar Gaffney) as their number 2.
Why will this work and what will it do. Well, Stallworth and Moss now become the best receiving tandem in the Bellichick era, and have the potential to be the best tandem in the league. The Pats have taken plenty of malcontents: Rodney Harrison, Corey Dillion, Brian Cox, and turned them into team players. Dillion is perhaps the best example. Dillion quit on Cincinnati when he was no longer the man, he was sick of losing, and had a bad attitude. That changed with the Patriots. Even now, when he knew he was being replaced by Maroney, he did not put up a whine fest, he just asked to be released. Moss, has quit on teams, he has been on a really bad team in Oakland, and in Minnesota, they couldn't get anywhere deep into the playoffs. One thing about Moss, he wants to win. Imagine to, Moss made Culpepper, Culpepper has not done it without Moss . . . Imagine if Moss can do the same to Brady, already one of the best quarterbacks of all time. The Patriots player police themselves and guys on that team, don't put up with malcontents
Again, here is the Bellichick system. You play hard, you play for the team, if not, you get benched and eventually discarded. Everyone is the same . . the man has even benched Richard Seymour. This is Moss best chance to help cement his hall of fame status.
Only time will tell, but I am damn excited.
Some more Beatles stuff.
We will be moving out of Sgt. Pepper tomorrow. The Beatles get very interesting. They start to break down as a band, and there are many causes for it. They also make some of the most innovative music of all time.
After Espstein died, their business affairs began to unravel. They spent a bit of time healing in India, and upon their return, McCartney and Lennon formed Apple Corps. Dissention began to really develop in the band, and their were many factors: Lennon and McCartney different ideas about the Beatles musical direction, the introduction of Yoko Ono into the band's dynamic, Harrison want more of his own songs, and the division between the band about who should now manage their affairs. We will go more into this later.
Hugo Chavez
Publicist, Castro Administration.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Best record in the league. Seriously, this a very good team, better than the 2004 version. Mood: Happy
Malach's Quote of the Day.
Thank you to every American who has not sued me so far. - Sacha Baron Cohen
I am Malach and are you ready for some football?
I read the news today Oh Boy!
Plugs
Sunshine 33 is up with a questions and a bit of advice for the buckos.
You are listening too . . .
Perhaps the best song every created by The Beatles, or anyone else for that matter, and a song that defintely had a huge influence on all music to follow, A Day in the Life, off Sgt. Pepper . . . .
Before I get into this song, a little bit about Malach and this song. Malach has always been a Beatles fan, even though I was born in 1972. Mom and Pop both listened to The Beatles, though neither were really a fan of their stuff after Rubber Soul. I find this strange, Mom and Pop have very good taste in music and introduced me to things like Janis Joplin; Jimmy Hedrix, Johnny Guitar Watson; Simon and Garfunkel; The Beach Boys; Jan and Dean; Otis Redding; and a host of 70's soft rock classics. As The Beatles became more rock oriented and experimental, my parents lost interest in The Beatles stuff, along with stuff that came after in similar genre (The Who, Led Zepplin, The Doors etc). It wasn't until High School and College that I really started getting into The Beatles on my own, especially their post-Rubber Soul stuff. While I was familiar with many of their radio friendly later hits, I never really listened extensively to any later albums . . . then one day I heard (or for that matter really listened to) A Day in the Life. I got so excited about that song, I dove into much of their later stuff and was hooked. A Day . . really opened my eyes to how great a band The Beatles actually were.
As for the song. One thing that is immiediately notice in this song is a 50-50 Lennon/McCartney split in it's creation, their last real collaboration and one of the only ones in recent Beatles memory. The song is a merging of 2 partial but complimentary compositions began seperately by the two. McCartney's fragment was plastered right in the middle of this Lennon song. Featuring impressionistic surreal lyrics, innovative production techniques and a complex arrangement including a cacophonous, partially-improvised almost otherworldy orchestral crescendo, the song is considered to be one of the most ambitious, influential, and groundbreaking works in music history.
The story of the song and it's creation is also pretty much agreed upon by all The Beatles. Lennon began kind of free from writing of a song based upon the days version of the Daily Mail. The lead story was about the fatal car accident of Tara Browne a socialite and friend to the band. In addition another story that caught his eye was a plan to fill over 4,000 potholes in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire. Lennon took us on a trip form those point of inspiration. McCartney then added the piano of his part of the song, and began singing a song about a morning commuter, almost as fill in lyrics, until they all agreed that is some strange way, it fit really well with the song. McCartney had tried the song on it's own, but hated it, and he too felt this was the perfect vehicle for the song. McCartney explains the song as a wistful recollection of his younger years. McCartney is also given credit for the line "I'd love to turn you on" which transitions into the crescendo. Lennon loved the phrase, and immediately added it. Lennon added a wordless vocal part to transition back out of the McCartney section of the song back to Lennon's.
The biggest problem was how to fill the transition between the two parts of the song. The song sections were seperated by 24 bars and basically only consisted of a repeated piano riff and an assitant, Mal Evans, counting the bars. The assitant's vocal was treated by copious amounts of echo, creating a early sort of crescendo. The transition ended with an accidental recording of an alarm clock. It was to be edited out, but fit so well with McCartney's section it was left in.
McCartney was the one who suggested that an "orchestral freak out" might be what the transition ordered. So, they brought in a 41 piece job, and ordered them to freak out. George Martin was concerned that traditionally trained muscian wouldn't know how to freak out, so he wrote an extended atonal crescendo to follow and also encouraged imporvisation within that guideline of the written piece. Martin basically created a crescendo for each instrument to start at it's lowest note, and in 24 bars reach it's highest note within E major. Of course the orchestra though he was mad.
As the orchestra practiced McCartney tried to lend a hand. They spent most of the day recording, took the best 4 recordings and mixed and overdubbed it, with brilliant results, probably even better than they imagined they could get.
The last crescendo ends in perhaps the most famous final chords and piano chords of all time. A loud crashing end to a amazing song. Lennon, McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Martin, and Mal Evans, simultaneously playing an E-major chord on three different pianos. The final chord was manipulated to last nearly a minute by increasing the sound level of the tape as the chord faded out. Recording levels were turned so high that the sound of papers rustling, a chair squeaking, and someone saying "Shhh!" can all be heard. Some claim you can even hear the Abbey Road Studio air conditioning. Immediately following the chord is a sound too high for most humans to hear, though many animals can. It was added for the bemusment of Lennon to irritate owners dogs. Immediatley after that comes one of the most famous pranks in music history. The Beatles added a ending groove (remember we are dealing with vinyl here), that would not allow most needles to return to their begining point. The groove consisted basically of laughing, gibberish, noise, and a highly sped up voice saying "never could see any other way". What would occur is the needle would hit that groove and settle into it, repeating what you hear at the end of this track, over and over into infinity, unless the needle was manually reset. People have tried to interpret this loop, but no one really has come close, and The Beatles themselves claim it was just random pieces of recording thrown together.
The song was actually banned by the BBC as they felt the song promoted drug use. Both McCartney and Lennon have denied this, staing it is based on a newpaper and some dream like elements, though they have never said drug use did not influence the song. Officially the song was never unbanned by the BBC but like a lot of stuff that has been banned, it has been forgotten and has been played extensively over British airwaves in the past 25 years. The song (and this album) also become a intregal part of the "Paul is Dead legend", but that is later for this history (1969).
Controversy also followed this song in the wake of the September 11th attacks. This was one of the songs Clear Channel banned from it's airwaves as to "not upset Americans" after the attacks. Yeah Clear Channel is weird.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Well, I knew they had to lose one to the Yankees sooner of later. Mood: Still great.
So.
What kind of second mortgage do you think this guy has?
Damn!
You can buy absolutely anything at Wal-Mart!
OK.
I always though you could not bring you Ipod, Cell Phone and such to class. This may surprise you but Malach is also for school dress codes.
Malach's Quote/Video of the Day.
I am Malach and I don't know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
Will YOU still need me, when I'm 64?
Plugs.
A new 8 1/2 By Eleven is up. Strip 524.
Check out Community Autism Resources first podcast! Malach is the producer and consultant for this podcast. Yeah it's fun getting paid for stuff like this.
Also, if you want to keep track of Malach's softball team, go the the Sandlot Softball League website, Malach's team is the Kombucha Mushroom People or KMP. As of this writing, they are having a MySQL database issue, but Tim, who runs the site should have that cleared up ASAP.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Wow, do the Yankees look bad. They have a killer offense, but their pitching is atrocious. And Dice-K. This guy is going to be amazing. Look at it this way . . he went from the Japanese league to the American League East. The Japanese is a step above AAA, and he has moved into the toughest division is baseball. As he adjust, he is going to be amazing. The Mood: On Top of the World.
NFL Draft.
Now that's some quality Saturday Morning viewing. Nice to fold laundry too.
I wonder.
Was he that incognito in life too? Also reminded me of a conversation had with Ma and Dad after Uncle Franks funeral about when they die, and cremation and such, and me telling Dad, hey, remember Weekend at Bernies? Yeah, I'll post pictures someday when that happens.
So, I like to scan Wikipedia.
Even though I hate the Wikinazis. A lot of time, I like to start with an article and then link over to a new article. I don't remember what I was looking for, but I ended up on snuff films. That lead me to an entry for the film Snuff. That in turn led me to the Video Nasties. So looking over the list, I have seen: Evil Dead, Faces of Death, I Spit on Your Grave, Last House on the Left, Shogun Assassin, and Xtro. I know have a list of must see movies. And now you know just how cultured Malach is. I have even seen Redneck Zombies. Also surprisingly I have never seen any of the Guinea Pig films . .
Phillip K. Dick?
Yeah, wait until they try and adapt some of his drug addled schizophrenic pieces.
Malach's Quote Video of the Day.
I am Malach and WHERE'S MY MONEY?
Would you lock the door?
Plugs.
There is a new 8 1/2 By Eleven up. Also, Malach has a new post at the WoW, about the new controversy about Curt Schilling and his bloody sock. I just left a link and a comment at Schilling's blog, so their might be a ton of responses there (comment 101). Here is Malach's feeling.
While Schill is a bit of a publicity whore, he is not a scam artist. He has too much respect for baseball and it's history to do something like that. I also can't picture Schilling who is obsessed with a schedule on the days he pitching, taking time out of said schedule, especially in the playoffs and world series to doctor up a sock. Also the other part that seems really strange is why Thorne would say nothing for two years. As of now there is a retraction from Thorne. Also if you know anything about Mirabelli, he is a bit of a practical joker, and razzer.
It is nice to see this has cleared up a bit.
Your are Listening too . . .
When I'm Sixty-Four, of the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's . . . In one way a cute little song, and a bit strange to be on this album. Again, remember the context of the song. 1967. Very unique compared to much of the music out then. So, what about the song. The Beatles themselves remember that McCartney had penned a version of the song when he was 16 during the Beatles Cavern Club days. The Beatles even played it back then, they used it as a soft song when the electricity or their amplifiers broke down.
The song was obviously about aging, and appealed to many of the parents of The Beatles generation. Why it took them this long to record it? No one has ever really said, and why for this album? Who knows. The song instrumentation feature the famous clarinet duet, that is unique for this song and give it it's cute sing songy signature. In addition it feature piano, cello, chimes and some electic guitar. Lennon liked the song, and said he could have never written a song like this. McCartney also slighty sped up his voice in a attempt to get it to sound younger.
Overall a very strange and interesting song for this album.
Bombing Abortion Clinics. .
Wow, this is so 80's, what next? Gay Bashing? I have always found it strange when religious zealots will kill people to save the unborn, or kill people to make a terrorist statement. Do any of you idiots actually read the teachings of Jesus or Mohammed?
Stephen Hawking.
Congrats on you first zero g experience, see you in space.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Two in a row from the lowly Orioles. Yankees again this weekend. Willie Mo . . . man if the boy could learn to hit a breaking ball. Mood: Mad about the sock.
Malach Quote/Video of the Day
Overall the rap that we're exposed to is maybe 15% of what's out there. What the major companies have done in the last few years is find out that they couldn't find any more Whitesnakes. They took a look at their marketing budget and put it behind hip-hop and figured out how to make it pop. - Chuck D
I am Malach, and here it is, blam, and you say goddamn, this is a dope jam.
For the Beneft of Mr. Kite!
Plugs.
A new 8 1/2 by Eleven, strip 522. And let me tell you, there is nothing like a Canadian based webcomic, having and entire strip dedicated to hockey, eh?
Beatles History, 66 - 67, Sgt. Pepper era
Sgt. Pepper took 120 or so days to record, and in that time several significant things occured. Their manager Brian Epstein merged with the Robert Stigwood Association while retaining sole control over the Beatles. As of March 11th of that year, there were 446 recorded and released version of the song Yesterday. Also in that month, McCartney in a very messy relationship with Jane Asher, meets for the first time Linda Eastman, who would later become his long time wife. After the release of the album, McCartney caused a bit of an uproar by announcing he has experimented with LSD. This seemed to shock much of the world (anyone listening to their recent music?). About a week later The Beatles performed live in one of the highest rated TV events of all time with All You Need Is Love on their 2 hours TV special Our World. This was done during the height of the Vietnam conflict.
To further addled the establishment, The Beatles and Epstein signed their names to a full page advertisement that declared: "the law against marijuana is immoral in principal and unworkable in practice." The list included a number of artists, actors, authors, doctors, and politicians also. They also began their first experiments with eastern meditation and religious thought.
One of the most painful incidents, and a turning point for this band, was Epstein death from an overdose on August 27 of '67. You will see with later years and albums, The Beatles begin to disintegrate without Epstein as the glue holding them together.
More history at a later date.
Interesting Ethical Debate.
Texas v. Gonzales. Of course Texas, the US most killing state, wants the kid ventilator pulled. Mom of course, loves her baby, even though the baby is essentially dead, and waste resources. Where do you stand?
This is in a way similiar to the Terry Schiavo case. On one hand, the optimist in me is to say let the kid live as long as he can, you never know what tomorrow brings. The rehab part of me sees the kid as a lost cause.
And so it begins.
We will soon see just how crazy Phil Spector is . . . is he OJ crazy? Ike Turner crazy? Brian Wilson Crazy?
The View . . .
OK, can't stand the show, can't stand Rosie O'Donnell, but I will miss the little controversies that come up from time to time.
Another reason to be glad Captain America is dead.
He gropes women, get's into bar fights, and sells drugs.
Nice.
You know, I make fun of Canada alot eh? But this should be done in the US, eh? Slowly converting my house to these bulbs also.
Well that nice to see.
Pirate attacks were down in the 1st quarter of 2007!
BAD JOKE ALERT!
So Heather Mills got booted from Dancing with the Stars. She did not have a leg to stand on.
Malach's Quote/Video of the Day
I am Malach and LGBNAF.
"Manny Just Being Manny"
First the plugs.
You Are Listening Too . .
Lennon than McCartney. The entire song is based upon a promotional poster for a circus Lennon purchased at an Antiques shop (Poster is at left). It is perhaps, beyond a Day in the Life, the most musically complex song on the album. In Lennon attempt for the song to have a surreal carnival atmosphere, multiple recording sessions featuring organ noise, harmonica, and overdubbed guitar were used. Lennon told George Martin, he wanted "to smell the sawdust on the floor" in the middle eight bars of the song. In an attempt to do that Martin and sound engineer Geoff Emerick spliced in calliope and circus music, Lennon was not happy. In a sort of frustrated inspiration, Martin and Emerick chopped up the slice into random pieces with scissors, and re-assembled it at random. Lennon was fairly critical of the song, but in 1980 did state the song was "pure, like a painting". This song was one of three songs banned from the BBC for it supposed drug references. "Henry the Horse" at the time was known slang for heroin, but Lennon always denied this.I am Malach and when I'm called off, I got a sawed off, squeeze the trigger, and bodies are hauled off.
No Blog tonight
Sorry.
Wife has a ton of work to do, and has the PC. I do have a plug or two though. First Malach explains Red Sox Nation a bit and strip 521 of 8 1/2 by Eleven is loaded.
I am Malach, see you tomorrow.
Fixing a Hole
No plugs today.
And on the 7th day, Malach rested.
You are listening too . . .
Fixing a Hole, the Beatles, off of Sgt. Pepper. Very interesting song, explore some of the sing songy circus music they used over much of the album, and the overall circus them of the the Lonely Hearts Club Band psuedonyms. This song was the first song not recorded at Abbey Road Studios while they were recording for EMI records . . . reason, the studio wasn't available that night. Weird looking back on it no? Some interesting overdubbing of McCartney's lead vocal.
Some weiredness about the songs recording. The night they were going to record it a strange man showed up at McCartney home, claiming to be Jesus Christ. McCartney invited him in for tea, then to the studio . . . he never said a word, and left after recording. I suppose your could do this back in the late 60's. Imagine trying this now.
A common theory is that the song is about heroin, but according to McCartney the song was "another ode to pot". He also stated at various times that the song was about letting your mind loose to wander freely, fixing an actual hole in the roof of his home, getting high and watching a road crew fix a hole in the street, and a few other statements over the years.
Some very interesting organ and bass work, adds to the pyschedlic and surreal nature, along with a significant tempo change, with a screaming guitar with some feedback. Nice guitar solo, and good harmonizing.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Games going on now, but I promised several people to write a Red Sox Nation, the mental illness article. Tomorrow on the WoW. Just him 4 homers in a row.
MMMMM.
Missing Children.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Ok, some people and or organization have WAY TOO MUCH MONEY. And I typed this in 8 seconds, with a bum finger.
I wonder what is intentional.
When MSNBC has an article called Black holes exhale enormous gas cloud . . Am I the only one who thinks this is a attempt at humor?
Malach's Quote of the Day
I am Malach and I line my walls with brimstone also.
And that is dying.
RIP Uncle Frank.
I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,
spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and startsf
or the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and strength.
I stand and watch her until, at length, she hangs like a speck
of white cloud just where the sea and sky come to mingle with each other.
Then, someone at my side says, "There, she is gone
"Gone where?
Gone from my sight. That is all. She is just as large in mast,
hull and spar as she was when she let my side.
And, she is just as able to bear her load of living freight to her destined port.
Her diminished size is in me -- not in her.
And, just at the moment when someone says, "There, she is gone,"there are other eyes watching her coming, and other voicesready to take up the glad shout, "Here she comes!"
And that is dying...
-Henry Van Dyke
My Uncle Frank's funeral was today, and it was a beautiful ceremony. It is nice to reconnect with people and relatives you haven't seen in a long time. I might have more to say on this at a later date. It makes one reflect on what one has, missed opportunities, and cherished memories.
Some memories, if not for Uncle Frank having very intelligent children like my cousin Franco, Malach never becomes a Dungeons and Dragons fanatic. Summers at their beach house in Mattapoisett. Long drive to Concord, that was always fun playing with my cousins.
Plug.
Sunshine number 31 is up. Yes, it is an intentional spelling, I think.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
What did I say, at least 2 out of 3. The pitching is awesome. The mood, getting cocky.
UFC tonight on SPIKE.
Free PPV on Spike tonight at 9PM, US only. If you have not seen any MMA, watch it, you will enjoy it. CroCop has some nasty kicks, Arlovski's pretty good too if his head is on staight.
Malach's Quote of the Day.
I am Malach and time to watch some beatings
RIP Uncle Frank
Plugs?
Lucy, lots of rumors about this song the most obvious being the abbreviation of the song, LSD, which I assume we all know what LSD is. The Beatles at the time were very heavily into LSD and other drugs. First look at the image at left. This is a image done by Lennon son Julian when he was nursery school and three years old. Julian described the picture as "Lucy - in the sky with diamonds". Lennon claimed that is where he got the title from, and did not make the connotation with LSD until it was pointed out to him.I am Malach, and Lucy rocks.
Ismail Ax
First Plugs.
8 1/2 by Eleven has updated with strip 519 after a bit of a hiatus.
VA Tech.
OK, I haven't really commented on this, and have listened to everything from right wing nut jobs, to sympathetic mental health technicians, to people who want to blame video games and the ease of gun ownership, to the kid's parents. Some are even blaming Islam. I will try and tackle some of these issues, as well as give you some of my opinion.
It is plainly obvious from seeing the videos, reading some of the writing, and hearing some of the descriptions of this kid, he had some mental health issues (anyone who does something like this has obvious mental health issus). He his whole delusions of matyrdom, his affect . .
It bothers me that someone who was a "imminent danger" to himself and others, was released into out patient services, but it is not surprising in a over worked, under funded, mental health system in this country. As someone who is a director of similar services, I can just show you by my programs budget and my salary, a salary and budget that is 1/3 of what it would be in a different field.
Cho Seung-Hui's parents, what responsibility do they have? That is hard to know. They are "hospitalized" right now. Had they tried to help him? Possibly, but if he was severely mentally ill, there isn't a real lot they could have done to change his behavior beyond meds and couseling. And at this point he's 23 years old, living at college, what real control did they have over him now? There were some pretty obvious signs prior to the shooting in his behavior, but it was either written off, or when reported basically ignored.
But here's the problem . . how many thousands of kids are there in world like this one? Depressed, emotionally broken, anti-social? I bet there is at least one in about every school. I knew quite a few over my years of schooling (no not the Angry Piper). How easy is it for some like this to do that same thing? I can walk out side my office right now, walk into the ghetto this office is in, and buy a gun within a half hour, any gun I wanted too; you don't have to do it legally, though I could also easily do it that way. I will give MA credit, they have some very strict gun laws, and you can see, that MA ranks lowest in murders per 100,000 in the US, including the District of Columbia. But millions of people own guns in this country and they don't go on shooting rampages, and if someone has no record, and passes a background check, they too can own a gun. Look at Canada, you have the freedom to own firearms there, and things like this rarely happen there.
Violent video games? I love and have played Doom, Quake, GTA and such. Yeah they are violent, and yes, it is a release to drive a bus down the street of Liberty City and wipe out 40 people, but is just entertainment, and BILLIONS of people play these games. My 5 and 3 year old understand the difference between real and unreal, right and wrong in terms of TV and video games, why can't a 23 year old?
Unfortunately this will not last one, the next one will probably be worse to try and out do it. Look at Columbine, if it were not for the propane they had set up in the cafeteria not going off, they would have killed a ton more kids, closer to the Bath School House bombings of 1927. This guy used two hadguns . . . imagine if he used something like a H&K MP5, which are nasty weapons are rather easy to comeby. And NBC airing this footage would not make any difference. Don't blame them, any news outlet would have done the same thing, or it would have showed up on YouTube.
As for Ismail Ax? Don't know, but it is a power embueing psuedonym, like Malach the Merciless.
And as Chris Rock said about Columbine: "Who gives a fuck what they was watching? Whatever happened to crazy?"
Why I have been recently busy.
Malach has been chosen as the keynote speaker for the local Catholic Charities Appeal (yeah don't laugh). Not only that, I will be appearing in their local and national advertising. So most every night this week, I have been our late giving speeches and shmozzing with the higher ups in the Catholic Church. Yeah, and I haven't even been struck by lightning.
I might reprint the speech at the WoW, we'll see.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
This is truly going to be a awesome year . . Yanks this weekend. Excited.
Ohh Goody.
More religious nutballs. Look at David Koresh, his message and compare it to Cho.
Look at New Hampshire Go.
Yeah, this will pass . . .LIVE FREE OR DIE!
Malach's Quote of the Day
I am Malach and the women fight for my delight.
Sorry
Home late, tired, no blog tonight.
I am Malach and I will do something special in the morning.
It was twenty years ago today!
Plugs.
Sunshine number 30 asks, have you lost something?
There has also been a ton of cool recent activity at the WoW, read it and enjoy. If you want to join the WoW, contact me.
As for the finger, it is doing much better, especially after watching the latest episode of Deadliest Catch. I wrote a 15 minute speech today (more on that later) and it did pretty well, so I will see how this blog goes.
You are listening too .. .
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, off of the album of the same name by the Beatles.
What can I say about the album? Well the album has been voted not only the best Beatles album, but the best album of all time by a number of music magazines and resources, their magnum opus if you will. Is it so to someone like me? I like the White Album better, but I can why this album is considered in that way.
Immediately upon the albums release it meet with critical and popular success. Innovative from everything to the music and recording to it's famous album cover (a good list of the people and things is on the cover is located here).
Sgt. Pepper was the first of the Beatles studios albums after they stopped touring. Sgt. Pepper took them 129 days to record, by far the longest period ever for a Beatles recording. This album was also a culmination of everything before, and took off from the many experimentations of of the Revolver and Rubber Soul album. Much of the stuff the Beatles were exploring with avant garde, acid and psychedelic rock, eastern music, recording techniques, and strange music, culminated with Sgt. Pepper.
Technically, Abbey Road was advancing as a studio rather rapidly because of the Bealtes. The way the were mixing this stuff on a 4 track recorder, made the development of 8 track recorders speed up (with the first one being invented after the release of this album). Because of the noise generated by this type of recording, the Beatles were one of the first band to use Dolby Noise Reduction.
The Beatles also made extensive use of exotic instruments and sounds on the album; the sitar of course, clarinet, string orchestras, echo, reverb, and double track recording, as well as backward masking, and reverse recording. The album also has their first heavy use of piano and organ.
The album was also a sort of concept album, about a fictional band by the same name. McCartney came up with the idea of creating fictional alter egos for each band member, and base the album upon a show this band was giving. Thus the album starts with the title track introducing "Billy Shears" and runs right into A Little Help From My Friends. There is a reprise at the "end" of Sgt. Pepper which reintroduces the concept. Then, weirdly A Day In The Life follows.
Strangely, the beyond that, the Beatles sort of abandon the whole concept, with many of Lennon's songs not even related to the rest of the album. There is no real overarching theme to the album, but it is one of the earliest version of a concept album/rock opera.
There is a lot of possible drug reference in the album as a whole, we will get into that later. The album itself has an obvious trippy feel.
It can be also argued that this is the last album the Beatles worked of a a real cohesive unit. You will see in later albums, walk outs, argument, and petty head butting matches with later albums. Brian Espstein died 2 months after the release of this album, and that began a end to the cordial relationships, and again, more on that in future blogs.
As for the title song itself, written mainly by McCartney, it is a concept song, an introduction if you will to this fake band. So notable things beyond this, an admitted Hendrix inspired lead guitar, a french horn section, and lots of sampled noise. The song ends abrupty on the CD version and leads into A Little Help From My Friends.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Dice K is going to be good, he just not getting any run support right now. Mood: Disappointed but hopeful.
Well fingers done for now . .
I leave you with part three of Mr. Deity.
I am Malach and the Bishop loves me (not in that way pervert).
Somewhat back on track
First, plugs.
The only one today is a new Fetus-X in which Millikin explores the race war.
The Finger.
Feeling a bit better, still uncomfortable typing, so blog will still be a little worse than usual. I did, work a bit on The Wraith today with the fake holiday and all. I will get him finished by the end of the week.
The Beatles.
Again, involves a bit of research and typing, especially since I will be starting Sgt. Pepper, so we are still holding off on that right now.
The Holiday?
Yeah, today is Patriot's Day in MA. We had our massive Nor'Easter, tree toppled across the street, but no power outage. The Boston Marathon was today in about the crappiest weather ever for the event, though I do believe it snowed one year.
USA #1
So we broke two records today, deadliest mass shooting ever in the US, as well as the deadliest school shooting. USA #1.
Seriously, this whole thing is a messed and really bungled by local law enforcement. They are still not completly sure if it was one or two shooters. Should of locked the school down after the first incident.
Wow.
Another reason not to fly NorthWest.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
This pitching staff is going to be something special. Mood: Estatic.
OK.
Are there really still people who own bidets? And yeah, I would be pretty pissed if it caught fire.
Malach's Quote of the Day.
I am Malach and I am the lizard baron.
OWCH!
Plugs.
Sunshine number 21 was loaded, and Hex basically did a portrait of Dr. Murk with this one. Hex also got me another 20 or so cartoons.
Also, Friday Night RPG Cartoons number 1.9 is also loaded.
My finger.
At the request of several fans, including one who claims to be a doctor, here is a pretty good picture of the gash on my index finger.
Now, it hurts much less, than it did, and I can somewhat type today. What you don't see is the gash continues around the finger (right side) to the finger nail. I sealed up pretty nicely if I do say so myslef. I also stabbed the middle finger next to it, but that ones looking good today and no where near as devestating. I have full feeling in the finger tip (as I can attest while I type), which is a bonus. It probably needed several stitches, but I wasn't about to wait around the St. Luke's emergency room for 4 - 6 hours for 4 - 6 stiches.
So, what happened? I was cleaning our very expensive razor sharp Cuisinart knives. Those of you that own Cuisinart know how strong and sharp they are. I was scrubbing some crud off a blade (they are not dishwasher compatible) and my fingers got in the way . . . whoops. I am lucky it was only a steak knife and not the the Santoku Knife (yeah that would have been a bit of a mess. I was also pretty lucky I did not do this with my Multi-Tool which has a knife designed to cut bone. Kudos to Cuisinart by the way for making such high quality knives.
So, that leave us with perhaps a smaller blog for the next few days, as typing is not nessecarily painful, it just takes three times as long to type this stuff.
As for a Beatles update, we will see tomorrow. I am starting Sgt. Pepper with the next update, and want to do it right.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Add Lester to this pitching staff, and they are going to be frightening. Mood: Happy.
Rain Rain.
Go away. No Sox game today, and they have messed around with the schedule for the Boston Marathon tomorrow.
Hey, doofuses.
They don't call 'em Sea Lions for nuthin'.
A little shout out.
To Mr. Jackie Robertson.
RIP Do Ho.
RIP my Big Kahuna.
Malach Quote of the Day
I am Malach and thanks to C.Rag for the vid heads up.
No Blog
Injury alert.
Malach just about sliced off the top of his right index finger today. Finding it very hard to type. We will see tomorrow.
I am Malach and I didn't even do the hospital.
Tommorrow Never Knows
No Plugs Today.
Seriously none.
You Are Listening Too . . .
Tomorrow Never Knows, by The Beatles off one of their masterpiece albums Revolver. What can we say about this song, beyond amazing, and one of their best of all time.
First you need to imagine the context. You have heard most of Revolver over the past couple of weeks. This songs is the very first song recorded off that album in April of 1966. That is right 1966. Listen to this song. How modern does it sound? Beck could be doing this song today, and it would not feel outdated. This song is a precursor to industrial, trance, techno, hip hop, and fusion. It was done again in 1966. No samplers, no computers, no synthesizers, no drum machines. This song is one of the reasons The Beatles stopped touring, how do you reproduce a song like this in 1966. For comparison, what was popular in music at the time?
The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel; Paint It Black - the Stones; These Boots Are Made for Walking - Nancy Sinatra; (You're My) Soul and Inspiration - Righteous Brothers; Monday Monday - The Mamas and Papas ; It's a Man's Man's Man's World - James Brown; Strangers In the Night - Frank Sinatra; Good Vibrations - The Beach Boys; You're Gonna Miss Me - The 13th Floor Elevators; etc.
Wow, some amazing music, but nothing like this song.
The song was mainly written by Lennon, and even though being the first recorded, it is the last track on Revolver (Imagine, your thoughts in 1966 as this song closed the album). Obviously a very experimental and expressive song, it is a very good lead in to their next album, Sgt. Pepper, as this song definitely explores psychedelica.
The inspiration for the song derives from the book The Psychedelic Experience
This is one of the only Beatles songs where the title does not appear in the song. According the Lennon at the time, he was unconfortable with the spiritual nature of the song, and gave it a throw away title based upon a Ringo Starr malapropism. The original title it has been noted was The Void.
The recording of the track, the sounds you hear are a combination of highly compressed drums, reverse and backward guitar rifts, processed vocals, and looped tape effects. This is the first Beatles experiment with tape loops. Some of the more prominent loops include the "laughing seagull" (McCartney laughing, played backward, and sped up) and the sitar loops. There is also a very weird backward guitar solo. Even more amazing is the piece was mixed on a four track recorder. 16 tape machine were also used, the condensed to get all the noise for this song.
The song was a precursor to some more experimental Beatles stuff, including Revolution 9 and Carnival of Light. It also brought helpinfluenced some of their late classics including Day In The Life and the side two of Abbey Road.
Just amazing, and still fresh 40 years later, enjoy this one buckos. This is the song, that will really expand many people thoughts about The Beatles who are only familar with their more popular stuff.
How convenient.
So tell us MC Rove, 5 million missing emails? How does that happen? Nothing is virtual world is ever truly deleted unless someone has the knowledge to do that. Oh well at least no one there has had an affair, or gotten oral sex from an intern.
Google that monster.
So they buy Double Click for $3billion and change. I am telling you, I would part with this website for say $250,000 . . .
Let the Sue fest begin!
Anna Nicole just won't die. Well, not literally.
Spy Games.
In your local Chicago Elementary School.
It nice to see . .
that Hugo Chavez in Fidel Castro's publicist. That is why I love him so.
Even the Birds . .
Want Dick Cheney dead.
So Dubya . .
voted down the stem research bill becuase " . .resist temptation to manipulate life". OK, riddle me this, how many lives have been "manipulated" by Iraq?
So the Pope has a new book.
And in this book he criticizes the capitalist system, and the power of the rich over the power . . . uh, Ratzy, you ever look at the Catholic Church? You guys have more treasure than a pirate. Of course he would hate capitalism, being a nazi and all.
Hey China.
Yeah good luck with that.
Malach's Quote of the Day
I am Malach and I have just given you yet another reason to want to kill Carl Rove . . . . and for that matter, Colin Mochrie. MC Malach signing off, word to your mother
Today in Sunshine
Yeah, I don't understand it either.
The newest Sunshine is up, number 28. Yeah, I don't understand it either, you can contact Hex about this one.
In awesome news Injustice Clown is back, I need to reset up the links to it, one of my faves.
RIP, Kurt Vonnegut
The literary world lost a gem, a genius, and a big time voice in Kurt Vonnegut today. Another amazing literary voice silenced in the past year. RIP Kurt Vonnegut, RIP Robert Anton Wilson.
Riddle me this.
First, I am not a fan of Imus, and personally think his show suck. But Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, you like to right injustices correct? Where were you when this was happening?
As for Imus, why now? Imus has spouted racist, mysogynist, and anti-semetic things for years, and when do you go after Howard Stern (who I am a fan of).
You know . . .
There is just something really cool, yet very disturbing about killing someone with a chainsaw.
T-Rex.
Nothing but a big Chicken. Just more evidence of evolution my fundamentalist brothers and sisters. Man, nothing but an evolved ape.
Hey let's start a rumor.
Malach is the second coming of Jesus. Let's see how far we can take this one.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Rain, rain, go away.
RIP Drew Bledsoe.
Oh wait, I forgot your career died in 2001. Seriously, Bledsoe helped build this current Patriots dynasty. He was at one time a GREAT Quarterback, and is a hall of famer.
Museo Alameda.
You must see there collection of Sombreros. OK, so now I apologize to the Latin Community for that comment, please don't fire me . . . . I need a siesta. Oh, and you can put this cartoon up there too.
WOW.
This would of been huge news in like 1986.
Malach's Quote of the Day
The only difference between [George W.] Bush and [Adolf] Hitler is that Hitler was elected. - Kurt Vonnegut
I am Malach and I am he.
For No One
No Plugs today.
But I am close to finally finishing the latest and last Wraith comic. I say last, because, my webcomics only slightly pay the bills, and I must focus on the two most popular, Fat Bug and JesusMan!. I would really like to release one episode of each per month, and that has become hard with three titles. So, The Wraith is going on indefinite hiatus, until webcomics become my full time job. Sorry Wraith fans, and yes there are a lot of you. The Wraith is the thrid most popular comic in the Stool Sample Webcomics family, but something had to give.
You could always sponsor me . . . .
You are listening too . . .
For No One; The Beatles, off the album Revolver. Depressing song no? Obviously about the dissolution of a love relationship. Written solely by McCartney, it pretty much sums up his failing 3 year relationship with McCartney which would end about a year and a half later. Neither has particularly commented much on their time together, but by all accounts it was a fairly rocky relationship after the first year. I would imagine many can associate with this song, it perfectly describes many a relationship gone bad.
Again, solely a McCartney piece, in fact, only Ringo was the other Beatle to contribute to the song. McCartney sang, played piano, bass, and clavicord, Starr drums, and tamborine. The French Horn solo in the middle of the song was contributed by Alan Civil, and McCartney encouraged him to push the instrument beyond it's normal sound level, hence the strangness of the horn sound.
As for Lennon and Harrison, both love the song, with Lennon commenting he felt it was on of McCartney's best songs ever.
Imus.
Malach does not normally do this, but he reprinted a column by Jason Whitlock on the subject over at the WoW. Extremely well written and insightful. As for Imus, MSNBC finally had a good excuse to dump him.
Man.
Am I glad I never joined the reserves. Of course Dropping My Daily Stool Sample live from Iraq would be a trip.
Stem Cell Research.
Ok what bothers me most about the thinking of "destruction or endangerment of living human embryos" is what do we do with these thousands of unwanted embryos? You have legal abortions in this country, and legalized Invitro, so I ask you again, don't you want to get the benefits out of these embryos that are basically going to be destroyed anyway?
Wow!
We could solve all the world's energy issues by tapping into the hot air that will out of this debate.
NYC is a DMZ.
I don't know why anyone would be shocked by this. Ever been to Manhatten. You walk out of a building or a car to the smell of exhaust, you eyes leak, nose runs, until your get used to it.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Well Dice K mania fell flat on it's face today, and this kid pitching Seattle, Hernandez is impressive. Oh and some advice to Sox fans. If you are going to make signs for Dice K . . . please illustrate 2 dice, and not 1 die. You see 1 die make die k, or basically dyke. Our mood: Anime Sad.
Middle America is so kooky.
Creation Museum is now open! Malach is opening the Gravity Is Not Real Museum in 2008. It is very interesting that over the past 40 years or so the Catholic Church has become the voice of reason and mediation.
Malach's Quote of the Day
I am Malach and I am not your stepping stone.
Anna Nicole's baby daddy, and Kudos to Roger Godell
But first, the usual plugs.
There is something new from Twisted Darkness, and essay of sorts called The Basis of a Belief. Yes it not fiction, but 'tis interesting. Also wish Hojo a Happy Birthday.
So, Larry Birkman it is.
So he not only inherits a young baby daughter, but a multi -million dollar estate . . . All, for doing what a ton of guys have done over the past few years, Anna Nicole Smith. What a country!
Kudos to Roger Godell.
For suspending the two biggest assmunches in the NFL. Now hopefully the Player's Association will but out of the verdict. NFLPA, fighting this is NO WIN situation for you.
Some more Beatles.
Compare this currently song, to the Dinosaur Jr. song on my MySpace. Can you not see the influence the Beatles had on 1990's music?
Imus.
Let me get this straight, the first name of the Rutger Ladies B-Ball Team Captain is Essence? Imus might not have been too off base with his comments, I would have called them drag queen wannbes. Essence? Yeah, just like one of my Drag friend who calls himself Divine while in drag . . . or one of my clients stripper friends who claims he name is vixen.
This is what the US needs to do.
More diplomatic nation building like this in the Middle East. It is kind of getting interesting. You have a split in the Middle East. You got Egypt, Isreal, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and even at times Syria in one half, and the huge mess that is Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan on the other half. The Middle East needs to start policing itself more, with secular and not religious leaders.
Speaking of Iran.
I also find it interesting that Iran is smack dab in the middle of Iraq and Afghanistan . . which are supposed to be at least US controlled . . . no wonder they like to fug around with the world.
Uhh, just a thought.
Instead of holding a massive war games off Guam, why not just do some real war in the Persion Gulf?
MySpace and the First Amendment.
Interesting, especially since so many people use the internet as a psuedo diary. Wait until you see my MySpace profanity laden tirade.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
I always thought the Josh Beckett would be an excellent pitcher with some maturity. I see 18 and 5 this year for him. And the offense came together pretty well today. Tomorrow, Dice-K, versus Ichiro. Our Mood today: Excited!
What?
I see it is still the early 1900's in some parts of the US. This is insane!
Malach's Quote of the Day
I can't believe I gave my panties to a geek. - Samantha Baker
I am Malach and I must get back to Deadliest Catch.
Yes, my bird can sing
Toilet Plugs.
Sunshine has updated, and those of you who like conspiracy theories, will love episode 27. This is one of my faves.
And you need to see Baby's Got Book.
You are listening too . . .
And Your Bird Can Sing, by the Beatles, from Revolver. Another insteresting song from this album, quite a bit different than anything they had done before, more in tune with later stuff. The song was completely written by Lennon, and by all accounts one of Lennon's least favorite songs he ever did.
Suprisingly the is a favorite cult song of many Bealtes fans, including myself. Very inventive, and 30 years ahead of it's time musically. It has a dual harmony lead guitar intro (performed by McCartney and Harrison) and moved the band closer to rock and roll. There is also a folky version of this song off one of their anthology albums, and through the whole song, Lennon and McCartney giggle hysterically.
Lyrically it is a obvious psychedelic surreal vision of life. The Beatles themselves never really commented on the cryptic lyrics, and several theories are popular, including Lennon singing about his failing marriage to Cynthia Lennon is a sarcastic way, singing about a singing mechanical caged bird she bought for him.
Very interesting song for someone my age, I hear a lot of early REM, Pavement, Sonic Youth, Buffalo Tom, and such in the song. Again, Lennon hated the song, but the song is a very influential cult classic.
I will play two more off Revolver and then we will move on.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
This is going to be a good team. The pitching is going to be really good, and the offense will come around. Red Sox fans make this comparison. At this point, the Sox have played 6 road games, in some nasty weather, and are 3 - 3. Their team ERA is 3.53. They have had little to no offense. The Yankees have played 5 at home in nasty weather and 2 - 3. They have had tons of offense and have a team ERA of almost 6, and their staters are 9.53. Our mood: Sedate.
IMUS
Who cares, Imus sucks, pull him off the air cause he sucks.
Wow.
Just in time to cure our seafood shortage. Manatee, yum!
Ahh, Anna Nicole.
You know she could bore us much longer. My bet is the Pope.
Disney v. Winnie the Pooh.
Pooh poos on Disney's money parade.
Malach's Quote of the Day
It is true that liberty is precious—so precious that it must be rationed. - Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov Lenin
I am Malach, and my bird is green too.
I know what it's like to be dead . . .
Some plugs.
Sunshine number 26 has been loaded.
Also, fans of Allison Randall. She is having her first show from April 6th to the 28th at ArtWorks! in Downtown New Bedford. The opening night is Saturday, April 14th, 3PM to 5PM. Malach will be there.
It's been really cold all over.
A MLB game got snowed out in Cleveland yesterday, it's frosty in the capital. Hasn't been too bad in the North East though. All though it is 36 right now, it has been close to 50 most of today.
NorthWest Airlines.
Well, I have taken NorthWest. Rather enjoyed their flights. Never new the worked blue.
Imus.
I hope they take him off the air, more for the fact he sucks.
The Mood of Red Sox Nation.
Julian Tavares is going to drive me nuts.
Malach's Quote of the Day
I am Malach and todays quote is dedicated to Dr. Murk.
