August 31, 2005

Media reenforcement of stereotypes

When minorities do it, it's "looting". When whites do it, it's "finding food".

Compare the two:
http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/480/ladm10208301530

http://news.yahoo.com/photo/050830/photos_ts_afp/050830071810_shxwaoma_photo1

EDIT:
Yahoo has removed the offending story, here's a screenshot of it before it's removal.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 11:06 AM

August 30, 2005

Those worst is yet to come

Looks like the hurricane damage is far from over in New Orleans.

The levee protecting New Orleans from Lake Pontchartrain broke last night and water is pouring into the city. As of now, 80 percent of New Orleans is flooded and some areas are under as much as 20 feet of water. The water mains have broken and contaminated the drinking water.

If you want to help, please donate to the Red Cross.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 01:57 PM

August 29, 2005

Damn

I really hope New Orleans survives the hurricane. It's my favorite city in this damn country. All those amazing old buildings could all be gone soon.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 10:27 AM

August 26, 2005

Sometimes I amuse myself

It's 11:30pm...is it obsession that makes me tweak my mix the night before a show?

"I think the high-hats need to be .02dB louder here".

Hmm...maybe.

BTW, thanks Mike, Mike, and Jeff for letting me borrow the amp for tomorrow. Mine is going to have to undergo surgery again soon.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 11:37 PM

August 23, 2005

Where's the media?

Why isn't the national media covering this bullshit?

A rave in Utah was busted over the weekend by the National Guard with helicopters, machine guns and tear gas. People were forced to the ground at gunpoint and attacked by dogs. Others were beaten.

Here is a video someone got of the event and also some first hand testimony.

If you are outraged by this excessive force, contact the Utah state goverment here:

http://www.utah.gov/government/contactgov.html

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 01:49 PM

August 20, 2005

New Shows

I'll be performing two shows in the upcoming weeks. I hadn't planned on playing out at all until the new album was ready but these are both for worthy causes.

I'm a bit nervous as I haven't played out since January of 2004. Divine Reich rehearsed for 6 months and had shows booked but we never actually played them.

Practice has been like meeting up with old friends and making some new ones. We'll have a couple of new songs in the set and some old favorites.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 07:44 PM

August 19, 2005

Sausage

Our new cover seemed to work out okay last night in practice, I just need to tweak the live mix a bit. It's still a little too quiet compared to the other songs in our set. It'll be interesting to see if anyone recognizes it. I'm sure a person here and there in the industrial scene would but

I bought some turkey smoked sausage and cooked it up as part of dinner the other night. The package says "New, better flavor!". It tasted just like regular smoked sausage in things like jambalaya but I noticed by itself it just wasn't as good as the beef sausage. I guess it has less fat, which is good but how much better for you is it really?

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 11:03 AM

August 17, 2005

Color me surprised

The latest version of Soundforge, Soundforge 8 finally lets you run VST plugins and they put CD Architect back in.

This is excellent news for me because now I'll be able to do more audio processing inside Soundforge instead of hopping around between three different programs. It seems like I just got used to using version 7 not too long ago.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 11:04 AM

August 15, 2005

It's coming

We had a long practice yesterday, worked on reviving some old songs we haven't played in forever and added some new songs as well.

There are two shows coming up in the immediate future that we'll be announcing soon. Both will be benefits for worthy causes.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 10:23 AM

August 11, 2005

Huh

Very interesting.

I walked into Hot Topic yesterday to buy a friend a gift and I noticed that there was a compilation CD out that used one the posters I created for a Deviant show as their album cover.

I don't know whether I should be pissed or flattered.

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 10:05 AM

August 01, 2005

Recess

Today President Bush bypassed the Senate's block of John Bolton's nomination to the post of UN Ambassador by using a rule that allows for "temporary appointments" while Congress is in recess.

Two years seems like long time for a temporary position. When I think of a "temp job" I usually think of those 2 week deals where you are some person's copyboy until while Bob is out on vacation.

In any case, this reminds me of a movie I saw once.

"The US Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the President has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.

But that's impossible. How will the President maintain control without the bureaucracy?

The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station."

Posted by D' MacKinnon at 11:27 AM