My beautiful wife posted a link to Rock the Vote on her website and it reminded that I had yet to register to vote. Feeling silly, I decided to take action. Three months later, I came across her website, again, and realized that I still hadn't done this. It's not a hard process, and Rock the Vote is a fine place to get it done if you are still wondering, "How do I register to vote?"
Many are trying to encourage us to not vote, or to vote 'none of the above', this year. That may sound like a find sentiment, but I think it is an elitist attempt to feel superior without actually solving any problems. Big issues are at stake and the President will be influential in many important issues during our lives. In the next 8 years I plan to buy a house and settle on a career. Do I want a President who will raise taxes? Who will make way for more terrorist attacks? Who will fight for the unborn? Reduce government spending through earmark reform and the like?
These issues are important to me and probably to you as well. That's why we should go to the polls and vote.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
You Were Wrong About George Bush
You said Bush would run for a third term. It's not happening.
You said Dick Cheney would run for President. He is not.
You said Bush would re-instate the draft. The last person to try to bring back the draft was a democrat, last year.
You (and Kanye) said Bush is a racist. As this article points out, Bush hired more minorities than Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, or Ronald Reagan ever did.
You said he was guilty of putting Valerie Plame's life at risk because her husband opposed invading Iraq. You were mistaken.
You said Bush was behind 9/11, but no one believes you, including Bill Clinton, the intelligent guys over at Popular Mechanics, and a conspiracy nut who believes in Chupacabra and UFO's, but not this nonsense about the government planning 9/11. (link contains profanity)
You were wrong.
You said Dick Cheney would run for President. He is not.
You said Bush would re-instate the draft. The last person to try to bring back the draft was a democrat, last year.
You (and Kanye) said Bush is a racist. As this article points out, Bush hired more minorities than Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, or Ronald Reagan ever did.
You said he was guilty of putting Valerie Plame's life at risk because her husband opposed invading Iraq. You were mistaken.
You said Bush was behind 9/11, but no one believes you, including Bill Clinton, the intelligent guys over at Popular Mechanics, and a conspiracy nut who believes in Chupacabra and UFO's, but not this nonsense about the government planning 9/11. (link contains profanity)
You were wrong.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
How to Perform Well at an Open Mic
I go to a lot of open mics. I've been to one or two (or three) a week for the last year and a half andI can tell you what you need to know so that you don't end up being 'that guy/girl who sucked at the open mic.'
Don't Play Long Songs - This is possibly the most fundamental mistake. Open mic is not the place for your Magnum Opus. The crowd has already heard a lot of soul-searching acoustic guitar ballads at this point and someone with a very long song only irritates people.
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! Just be quiet if you feel like talking and start playing something right away. The audience is made up of other musicians who are only there because it's polite to stay for the other artists; they don't care about you. Limit your words to 'my name is____, my website is www.______ and my next show is at ____'. Nothing else. We don't care. When you ramble on you look very unprofessional and people assume that you are not a serious musician. This can cripple your performance before you strum a note. Shut up and play, then leave.
Don't Play Long Empty Chord Progressions. This happens too often. Some guy sings a verse, then strums the chords with no vocals for a minute. I'm sure he's thinking, 'a guitar solo could go here' or something, but it's extremely boring for us. You need to have your songs arranged so that the crowd is not just waiting for you to stop wasting their time with your pointless G- C - D drudgery. Even a young music student can learn to shorten boring sections of a song. (It is OK to play chord progessions that sound good, we are only complaining about chord progessions that are boring without something to go with it.)
Don't Scream/Yell. Sounds obvious, but too many people (young and old, actually) don't get it. You're not performing a stadium show. When you shout 'Yeeeehaw!' or yell your vocals you are doing so in a small space with a sound system that doesn't handle those types of sounds. You will be horrified to see that people listening will actually cover their ears and sometimes leave. Sure, lots of good music involves screaming. Open mic is the wrong place for it; you need to tone it down a bit.
Know You Limits and Keep it Simple - There is a guy I know who plays a nice, simple song at open mics in my area. It's an easy song to play and sing, but everyone remembers it and wants him to play it again and again. This guy knows his limits and keeps things simple. I have seen others try to sing their highest notes and play songs that they can't handle and they look foolish doing so. They might be better musicians than the friend I mentioned, but his performance always stands out. Last night, a young lady was playing guitar and singing with a friend. She is not very experienced on the guitar and made a few noticeable mistakes, but the songs were good and the musicians kept playing and smiling through the mistakes. It was a better set than most of the other groups that played even though her guitar playing was weaker. They arranged the set to accommodate Their skill, in doing so, a weaker musician carried a very strong performance that the more experienced musicians in the room didn't usually do.
Don't Leave Until Everyone Has Played and Buy Some Coffee - This is critical. When you are finished, stick around. It's not fair for you to leave so that the last people to sign up have no one to play for. It's rude and it won't get you any fans. In fact, those present will tell people not to go to your shows. Also, if you are at a coffee shop (where most of these things are held) you should make a habit of buying some coffee. Some venues do not allow certain acts to play because at open mics those particular acts don't buy anything and don't stick around for the other artists. (There are some expections, here. Sometimes you have to be at work early and can't stay all night, it happens. Also, at one location, the person who serves drinks was rude to me so I'm not buying anything there ever again.)
In Conclusion - Don't ruin your musical career buy being that jerk who screams long songs at the crowd, then leaves right away and never buys anything. By impressing people at an open mic and being friendly, you will encourage people to attend your shows. It's slow, but you can build fans this way who tell their friends to check you out at a show, and that's what you're trying to do.
Don't Play Long Songs - This is possibly the most fundamental mistake. Open mic is not the place for your Magnum Opus. The crowd has already heard a lot of soul-searching acoustic guitar ballads at this point and someone with a very long song only irritates people.
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up! Just be quiet if you feel like talking and start playing something right away. The audience is made up of other musicians who are only there because it's polite to stay for the other artists; they don't care about you. Limit your words to 'my name is____, my website is www.______ and my next show is at ____'. Nothing else. We don't care. When you ramble on you look very unprofessional and people assume that you are not a serious musician. This can cripple your performance before you strum a note. Shut up and play, then leave.
Don't Play Long Empty Chord Progressions. This happens too often. Some guy sings a verse, then strums the chords with no vocals for a minute. I'm sure he's thinking, 'a guitar solo could go here' or something, but it's extremely boring for us. You need to have your songs arranged so that the crowd is not just waiting for you to stop wasting their time with your pointless G- C - D drudgery. Even a young music student can learn to shorten boring sections of a song. (It is OK to play chord progessions that sound good, we are only complaining about chord progessions that are boring without something to go with it.)
Don't Scream/Yell. Sounds obvious, but too many people (young and old, actually) don't get it. You're not performing a stadium show. When you shout 'Yeeeehaw!' or yell your vocals you are doing so in a small space with a sound system that doesn't handle those types of sounds. You will be horrified to see that people listening will actually cover their ears and sometimes leave. Sure, lots of good music involves screaming. Open mic is the wrong place for it; you need to tone it down a bit.
Know You Limits and Keep it Simple - There is a guy I know who plays a nice, simple song at open mics in my area. It's an easy song to play and sing, but everyone remembers it and wants him to play it again and again. This guy knows his limits and keeps things simple. I have seen others try to sing their highest notes and play songs that they can't handle and they look foolish doing so. They might be better musicians than the friend I mentioned, but his performance always stands out. Last night, a young lady was playing guitar and singing with a friend. She is not very experienced on the guitar and made a few noticeable mistakes, but the songs were good and the musicians kept playing and smiling through the mistakes. It was a better set than most of the other groups that played even though her guitar playing was weaker. They arranged the set to accommodate Their skill, in doing so, a weaker musician carried a very strong performance that the more experienced musicians in the room didn't usually do.
Don't Leave Until Everyone Has Played and Buy Some Coffee - This is critical. When you are finished, stick around. It's not fair for you to leave so that the last people to sign up have no one to play for. It's rude and it won't get you any fans. In fact, those present will tell people not to go to your shows. Also, if you are at a coffee shop (where most of these things are held) you should make a habit of buying some coffee. Some venues do not allow certain acts to play because at open mics those particular acts don't buy anything and don't stick around for the other artists. (There are some expections, here. Sometimes you have to be at work early and can't stay all night, it happens. Also, at one location, the person who serves drinks was rude to me so I'm not buying anything there ever again.)
In Conclusion - Don't ruin your musical career buy being that jerk who screams long songs at the crowd, then leaves right away and never buys anything. By impressing people at an open mic and being friendly, you will encourage people to attend your shows. It's slow, but you can build fans this way who tell their friends to check you out at a show, and that's what you're trying to do.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
While We Were Watching the Olyimpics - A Timeline to the Georga-Russian War
This isn't very in-depth, but I've been reading up on the conflict in Georgia and I put together a simple timeline to help myself understand what's going on. This is an ongoing issue, so this timeline is going to be out of date soon, but it might bring you up to date if you haven't been watching.
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1991 - Georgia declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
1995 - Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two separate regions within Georgia, begin to break away from Georgia amidst ethnic violence. These two states claim independence, but are never recognized by the U.N. This begins many years of fighting within the borders of Georgia between the Georgian government and the separatists. Russia openly supports the separatists in their efforts to be free of Georgia.
August 7, 2008 - Georgia sends their military to South Ossetia to capture their capital. Georgia claims to be doing this in response to recent violence led by the South Ossetian military; South Ossitia denies starting this conflict.
August 8, 2008 - While most of the world was watching the Olympics (and many European government leaders had scheduled vacations) Russia sends ground troops to South Ossetia and Abkhazia to support the separatist fighting and sends air support as well. Putin claims he is preventing a genocide and trying to keep the conflict from entering Russia. The Russian military seems to avoid entering Georgia territory, keeping its fighting within the borders of the breakaway countries.
August 11, 2008 - Georgia pulls its forces out of South Ossetia. The Georgian military has been defeated by the superior firepower of Russia.
August 12, 2008 - Russian President Medvedev calls for a halt to military action in Georgia, saying that the South Ossetia region is secure. On the same day (today, actually...) Georgia reports further Russian attacks. It is later confirmed that Russia is finishing the fight in Abkhazia, hoping to secure that region, as well.
----------------------
That's all for now, I might update this as events unravel, but let's pray that it ends peacefully and soon.
-----------------------
1991 - Georgia declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
1995 - Abkhazia and South Ossetia, two separate regions within Georgia, begin to break away from Georgia amidst ethnic violence. These two states claim independence, but are never recognized by the U.N. This begins many years of fighting within the borders of Georgia between the Georgian government and the separatists. Russia openly supports the separatists in their efforts to be free of Georgia.
August 7, 2008 - Georgia sends their military to South Ossetia to capture their capital. Georgia claims to be doing this in response to recent violence led by the South Ossetian military; South Ossitia denies starting this conflict.
August 8, 2008 - While most of the world was watching the Olympics (and many European government leaders had scheduled vacations) Russia sends ground troops to South Ossetia and Abkhazia to support the separatist fighting and sends air support as well. Putin claims he is preventing a genocide and trying to keep the conflict from entering Russia. The Russian military seems to avoid entering Georgia territory, keeping its fighting within the borders of the breakaway countries.
August 11, 2008 - Georgia pulls its forces out of South Ossetia. The Georgian military has been defeated by the superior firepower of Russia.
August 12, 2008 - Russian President Medvedev calls for a halt to military action in Georgia, saying that the South Ossetia region is secure. On the same day (today, actually...) Georgia reports further Russian attacks. It is later confirmed that Russia is finishing the fight in Abkhazia, hoping to secure that region, as well.
----------------------
That's all for now, I might update this as events unravel, but let's pray that it ends peacefully and soon.
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