Politics is Bullsh*t

Those who crave money and power above all else are a**holes, that has always been my opinion.  Working in the media for 28 years, I have never met a politician that I trusted any farther than I could throw him or her.  The false outrage over a politician who is caught in a lie is also bull; lying comes with the job of trying to please everyone, all the time... just to get into an office where they will disregard all they said during the campaign and focus on collecting money from various sources/groups and staying in office.

Being one of the most brutal election seasons I have witnessed, I worry about what my Facebook feed will look like two days after the election.  Hopefully, friends will realize how little a change in our President affects this country.  It doesn't.  The "talking head" at the top of our government is still a slave to big business interest groups and has his hands tied by Congress.  The Senate and the House of Representatives are the real problems. If you want governmental change, start with the Congress, and you will have to go no further.

Instead of telling me how bad the other guy is, how about promoting what your candidate can do for the country.  Be positive or keep quiet, hate gets us nowhere. The next time "your candidate" looks into the camera and says "I can do this or that"...remember their job is supposed to be about "We The People". 

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Is this really what these politicians want?  Or is it about money and power?

All that being said, do your own research and vote.  At least you will have a voice in the election and the right to bitch, or celebrate, after.  If you don't vote, you are also part of the problem. Apathy kills. This is no longer a two party system of Democrats and Republicans, more like the informed and the sheeple. Those who do their own research versus those who "drink the Kool-ade" and actually believe what a politician says to be truth. Which are you?

As my mother taught me, you should not speak of religion or politics in mixed company because those are the two subjects where most people cannot put aside their own beliefs long enough to have an intelligent conversation. All this intolerant, asinine political banter makes me ill and I am tired of wasting my time on it.  After this, I will go back to posting about rock bands, movies, games and books. I guess, to me, creativity and art matter.  Lies and corruption do not.

Speaking of creative, I love this:




Joss for president!
He does his own dishes, even after directing The Avengers!

(The Avengers has set or tied numerous box office records, including the biggest opening weekend in North America and the fastest film to gross $1 billion. The Avengers grossed $1.51 billion worldwide, and is the third highest-grossing film of all time. The film was released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on September 25, 2012. A sequel to be written and directed by Whedon is scheduled for release on May 1, 2015.)

Rock your day!  (-']

VANISHER: I love this band (video)

Welcome to my new feature, I love this band.  Each post will highlight a band or artist that may be flying (or has flown) under your musical radar. 

This first one is about a fairly new band from North Carolina called Vanisher

Needless to say, thanks to my career choice I hear tons of new music every week. When something rises above the average and begs to be listened to multiple times, I know I have found something special.  So it went with Vanisher "Unbound", after first listen came a second and third, etc...  it demanded my attention.

I cannot find much info about the band on their sites but it seems they changed their name a couple of years ago to what could be a reference to a semi-obscure comic book villain from X-men #2 in 1963.

As heavy as the band appears, they never lose sight of the melodic elements.  Songs take strange and intriguing directions, yet remain catchy and driven.  This is a 21st century hard rock sound with tight playing and hooky melodies.


Check out the debut track from their new album:


Reaction (from Unbound)






Here is something from their EP, a video they obviously had fun making.


Martyr To The Flames (from The Buried Alone EP)







And, just in time for Halloween, I found this Metallica cover:

Of Wolf And Man (Metallica cover)






If you are still not convinced to download their debut album, here is a sampler...

Album sampler

http://vanisher.bandcamp.com/

I believe in this band enough that they are getting played on both of my radio stations: http://RockfileRadio.com







Future posts will include artists both new and classic....just a little off the "beaten path".


Thanks for stopping by and sharing the love of music! (-']

Evil Dead: Can a remake be great? (video)

Remakes are everywhere, some are good, some are ok...most are terrible. Which brings us to a new remake that sounded like a really, really bad idea.  But...

I remember watching the original Evil Dead (1983) on VHS and being a little freaked out by it.  What Sam Raimi, his cast and crew created was a truly original horror film...especially for it's time.  The gore, the deadites...the tree scene!!

When Evil Dead 2 (1987) came along, it was basically a remake of the first with a bigger budget plus the addition of black comic elements.  And who can forget the brilliant, over-the-top, second portrayal of Ash by Bruce Campbell?

Army of Darkness (1992) was an actual sequel to Evil Dead 2, had a bigger budget but dropped most of the scariness to become an action/horror/comedy.  After its release, we heard rumors or another sequel or maybe even a remake of the first.


Fast-forward twenty years, Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell are producing the remake and promise it is NOT a horror comedy.

“This is for the fans,” Campbell said. “We’re not some random cigar-chomping producer looking for a horror movie to remake. This is our baby.”

“The movie is not funny,” he explains. “The movie is old-fashioned, retro horror. There’s not a snappy line in the whole movie. The first movie wasn’t like that and this is a remake of the first movie. He’s matching the tone of the first movie which is not har-de-har-har.”

“It’s going to be a horror extravaganza,” he says. “Not in terms of size, but in terms of the intensity of the horror you will experience. This movie is going to blow the fricking doors off. It’s just five new actors and a nasty book they should have left alone."



As much as I thought a new Evil Dead would suck... this trailer seems to prove otherwise. It is NSFW and very gory...you have been warned.




I would love to hear your thoughts on the trailer.  Here's hoping Evil Dead rocks when it hits screens next April!!

For more, visit: http://www.deadites.net/


And this is my BOOMSTICK!

Just give me the truth

 
I have never been a particularly political person, but I vote. I do my own research and cast my vote, hoping for the best. Living outside the U.S. 2001-2005, I gained an whole new appreciation for our country and how others view us. (Especially during and after 9/11.)

Over the last decade, technology has given the public and the media a little too much "insight"...and things seem to be getting worse. Everyone has an opinion, but the "facts" those opinions are based on are very suspect. You certainly cannot trust the candidates to tell you the truth, they are too busy trying to make you like them and, as a result, get elected. And, since the news media now picks sides... where do you turn?

As I watch my Facebook news feed fill up each day with vile, nasty and more importantly, untrue statements made by my politically minded friends (on both sides), I look for sources of truth amid the crap...someone had to be checking the fact-checkers, right?

Well, I found this Pulitzer Prize winning site launched in 2007, who seems unbiased in their attempt to find the truth amongst the B.S.. And like a breath of fresh air, things become a bit clearer.

Visit http://www.politifact.com if you want to know what is real versus manufactured, no matter which side you support.



Off my soapbox and back to rockin'...

Kamelot - Sacrimony (Angel of Afterlife) [Official Music Video]

Tampa's Kamelot return with a new album (featuring a new vocalist, Tommy Karevik) next week! So far, Silverthorn sounds quite tasty!

Here is the first track and video:



I will review the album as soon after it arrives as possible!

Cheers