Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Personal All-Time Favorite Albums (not ranked)

Thought I'd share with you my all time favorite albums. These are albums I periodically revisit in full, some of which I've been listening to since High school. This list is in alphabetical order (as I don't see any point trying to rank them) in the following format:

Band name (Release year) Album title

Bad Religion (1988) Suffer
Colorfinger (1990) Deep in the Heart of the Beast in the Sun
Cracker (1993) Kerosene Hat
Everclear (1995) Sparkle and Fade
Foo Fighters (1995) Foo Fighters
Gogol Bordello (2005) Gypsy Punks: Underdog World Strike
Gov't Mule (2001) The Deep End, Vol 1
Jane's Addiction (1987) Jane's Addiction
Jefferson Airplane (1967) After Bathing at Baxter's
K's Choice (1996) Paradise In Me
Kominas (2010) Escape to Blackout Beach
Live (1994) Throwing Copper
Mad Season (1995) Above
Modest Mouse (2004) Good News for People Who Love Bad News
Murder by Death (2006) In Bocca al Lupo
Pixies (1988) Surfer Rosa
Red Hot Chili Peppers (1995) One Hot Minute
Sublime (1996) Sublime
Temple of the Dog (1991) Temple of the Dog
Tim Armstrong (2007) A Poet's Life
Toadies (1994) Rubberneck
ZZ Top (1999) XXX

Honorable Mentions: Select Tracks from:
Everlast (1998) Whitey Ford Sings the Blues
Everlast (2000) Eat at Whitey's
Nightwatchman (2007) One Man Revolution
Nightwatchman (2008) The Fabled City

Monday, February 8, 2016

Transcript: On Human Nature and Tribal Leadership

On Human Nature and Tribal Leadership :: https://youtu.be/CfQwGcR3Wxg

This is Captain Yardbird, I wanted to share with you guys some thoughts I've been tumbling about for some time now.

Free Will is a concept our species has been struggling with since we could. And, Basically I'm going to ramble about a couple of areas that limit our Free Will by predisposing us towards certain behaviours.

The areas I will focus on are Sexual Biology, Neurology, and Socioeconomic Environment.

From there I will segue into the concept of Tribal Leadership, as laid out in a book by the same name, and how we use that to better our Environment. With that said, I will tackle a couple definitions.


I believe that Confirmation Bias is the greatest Scourge on Humanity. Don't bother me with the Details. Fuck You and Fuck Your Facts.

Most people seem to go through life, more or less on Autopilot. They have a conceptual framework governing, How they believe Reality to Be. So while on Autopilot, one never gives this much thought. They don't question their own Perspective.

So when presented with Observable Evidence, Pieces of Reality, that disagree with our Perspective, we tend to dismiss these. When they become Persistent, we tend to respond with Hostility, we may even play an Active Role in Suppressing these Subjects among our Peer Group.

We respond this way because We're attached to our Perspective Emotionally. It factors into our Identity as Individuals. So when presented with Evidence against that Perspective, we take it as a Personal Attack against our very Being.

So I'd like to present some Further Reading to you, which I will do often in this Presentation. Links will be in the Description. A Transcript will be on my Blogspot.

Stardusk, the Thinking Ape posted a vid in recent history called Say No To Pie In The Sky. He, like most of the YouTube channels I will site today, is one of my favorite Content Creators.


Vernaculis also put one up about the same time called #NewCultValues. I've been very impressed with this young man. He's well on the path of Evidentialism.


Speaking of which, a channel which has been inactive for some years, Evid3nc3, did a series which I would like to point Vernaculis to. Why I Am No Longer A Christian is the series title.

It ends on the Conclusion, the Thesis of Evidentialism, even going into the Epistemology of it. So if you like the Nuts and Bolts of such things, Please go check it out.


Next I would like to give a broad definition to Red Pill. For me, a Red Pill is any piece of Reality which most find, at the very least, discomforting. The Red Pill is about pursuit of Understanding of the Dark Places most of Humanity seems to choose to Ignore. Consequently there's a certain loneliness about it.

One of the most important Red Pills I took, was when I dove into the understanding of Cluster B Personality Disorders. I dug into that mess long before looking into the Red Pill of Gender Relations. I did so largely out of self preservation, as, along my Life's Journey, I have kept company with a few, truly Predatory personalities, of quite different backgrounds.

But on to the Meat of this. Humanity, like the rest of nature, is not inherently “good” or “bad.”
An individual is really shaped by a number of different areas that create, mitigate, or bolster a variety of predisposed behaviors.

Firstly, members of the MGTOW community have done some excellent work in describing the Gynocentrism inherent to our Species.

It is argued that we value women over men due to our sexual dimorphism and the evolutionary process. Here I'd like to point you to Colttaine's video
MGTOW: A Unified Theory of the Human Condition.
Go check it out. I could not do it justice here in simply trying to summarize.


I'd also like to bring up an article from the Economist, Feb 7th, 2015 titled, Cads and Dads. The article discusses the finding that Promiscuity and Fidelity are equally prevalent to eachother, and across both genders. That is, Women and Men cheat in roughly equal measure. It is likely that a Man may raise the child of another, even unawares.


Next, I find highly important the subject of Neurology. Shaped by our genetics and life experience (childhood, lifestyle, diet, abuse, trauma, drugs), your Neurochemical Climate in your head predisposes you to various behaviours as well. For example, I personally have Asperger's Syndrome, and there are many areas of Social Finesse which I just stumble my way thru handicapped. Tho I have learned how Not to take miscommunications arising from this personally, I take much care to express myself precisely, and periodically I may overdo it as a result.

So back to Red Pills and Cluster B Personalities, a Gross percentage of the cluster, are Socially Predatory creatures. I find their Existance blows massive holes in many Ideologies out there. Any In-Group you can come up with regardless of the Creed, Ethnicity, Race, anything else, status as Trans or Otherkin, whatever the fuck. Any such In-Group will have a percentage of Cluster B Predators.

I would imagine that the Victim Economy is largely dominated by such individuals. They are equally at home as Preachers as they are as Pimps. I believe Mark Twain said “Religion is the last refuge of the Scoundrel.”

So this area of Psychology by itself really nullifies, In-Group Preference, shows it to be a Farce, a Mal-Adaptive behaviour to be Scrapped. The Idea that, if you Identify with my chosen Demographic, then, You're the Good Guy, and some one else, outside the group, is Not. These Interpersonal Predators are always the Bad Guy, and they are in Every Demographic.

I find that strict Voluntaryist Liberarianism, Intersectional Feminism and Social Justice, and NeoConservatism are but a few of the Ideologies, what I like to call Postmodern Religions, which are equally guilty of Confirmation Bias, and equally guilty of ignoring the impact of Cluster B Personalities on their various In-Groups.
For Further Reading:
The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout is a fantastic introduction to this topic.


I would also point you toward Kati Morton's channel for general psychology info. She's a licensed Therapist and an active YouTuber.


Spetsnaz is another channel, focused more specifically on the issues of abuse, trauma, and isolation, from the male perspective in Western culture.


so Now I'd like to move on to Environment. I think our behaviour, how we treat eachother, is ridiculously subject to the Environment we find ourselves in.

To illustrate, Racism, the dictionary rather than the intersectional definition, really Breeds strongest in Poverty. When you have a population that is unable to produce self-reliance and subsistance... Squalor creates shitty people. We treat eachother like Shit when we have nothing better to do.

So when you grow up around shitty people, and you are exposed to multiple demographics, other ethnicities, religions and what not. When your life experience of people in these other groups is limited to the worst, It is very easy to come to the conclusion that All Members of that Group must be Shit. This is essentially where Racism stems from.

Affluence, Cultural Assimilation, Cross-Pollination, these are the things that really breakdown and destroy Racism and related Prejudice, albeit in a slow process. And Here I would point you to the Angry Foreigner's Video “Immigrant rape statistics in Sweden”


On Misogynist Cultures and Gynocentrism. In the Apocalyptic Landscape, in Societal Collapse, places such as the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. In cultures such as this, Gynocentrism rears its head in a strange way, in that, among such people, Men are Disposable Tools for your In-Group, or Threats to it. Your In-Group has Soldiers, Working-Stiffs, Human-Doings in its Men, and Valuable Property in its Women, as they are Reproductive Vessels. Such an Arrangement serves the continuation of the Species.

Gynocentrism, as Colttaine's video describes it, and as CS MGTOW's video “Gender in post government societies” illustrates, is made for such a Landscape. A collapse mimics the Iron Age and the Neolithic. This is the old stomping ground of Gynocentrism. In truly Hunter-Gatherer Societies, war and murder are rampant.


In the Economist article Noble or Savage? I quote “usually around 25-30% of adult males die from homicide.”

It goes On “Not so many women as men die in warfare … because they are often the object of the fighting”


Now that I've brought you to that Dark Place, I want to relate to you a concept that Describes how our Species manipulates and betters our Social, Political, and Economic Environment. Tribal Leadership by Dave Logan, John King, & Halee Fischer-Wright describes a series of Stages of Tribal Culture, each characterised by the language we use and the Interpersonal Relationships we build within each Stage.

Here I will point you to 2 Ted X talks by Dave Logan, in the Low Bar. I hope you will find them intoxicating.



Individually, we are members of multiple tribes, each with its own culture, sometimes multiple stages of culture. So we are always engaging across different stages.

A Tribe is defined as a group of people numbering 20 to 150. The members of your tribe are people in your phone, people you stop and say hello to on the street. The tribes you are part of form through fimilial ties, the workplace, and, increasingly, the Internet.

The 5 Stages, again, are defined by their Language and their Behavior.

Stage 1 is summed up in the phrase “Life Sucks.” People experiencing this stage are Alienated from Others. Tribes in this Stage respond to the world with Despairing Hostility. This is the culture of Prison Gangs, and Societal Collapse. The book estimates that some 2% of American Professionals operate here.

Stage 2 declares “My Life Sucks.” The member recognizes that Others' Lives don't suck. These are Apathetic Victims who engage in very Cynical Humor. They are hourly associates at Walmart, They are characters in Office Space. Some 25% of American Professionals experience their work this way.

Stage 3 says “I'm Great” with the background whisper “and you're not.” 49% of worplace professionals operate in this Stage. Members are OverCompetitive, expressing their pride thru a Veil of Humor, and always Striving for Dominance. They form Dyadic relationships, that is one on one, controlling information as if they were the center of a wheel, and their peers the Spokes. In Stage 3, one feels that they can't depend on any of their peers to execute tasks correctly.

Stage 4 is characterised as “We're Great” and “they're not”

22% of American Professionals are members of such Tribes. They take on the further characteristic of holding dear to the Tribe's Identity, Core Values and a Noble Cause, which I'll explore more later in this vid.

Stage 5 states that “Life is Great.” It operates similarly to Stage 4 but, it has no enemy in competitor tribes. This Stage is typically shortlived, as it seems to require an Universally Valuable work or task which would benefit mankind.

So now that that Summary is out the way, I want to point out that it is Very Harmful to label someone as Stage 2 or 3 or whatever. This is counterproductive. We all experience different Stages at different times. The best way to helpe someone better themselves thru this lens is to teach them the Concept in Whole. Give them the fuckin Book!

So, Let me discuss the dynamic between Stage 2 and Stage 3 Tribes. The relationship between the two is one of Inherent Conflict but a definite Codependancy. Members of Stage 3 tribes tend to hire underlings who exhibit Stage 2 culture. Of course then the Stage 2 employee begins to say “My Life Sucks because my Boss is a Dick.”

I remember a time when I worked for walmart, and whenever I asked questions, suggested we could do things better a different way, Superiors would look at me like I was a fucking monkey. They were Awesome, I was Not, and my job was to shut up and do what they told me.

I'd like to point out here that Gamergate essentially arose as a Stage 2 culture. My Life Sucks because the Gaming Press … are corrupt, stifle conversation, tell me I suck, declare that my identity is dead … etc., fill in the blank … This is why it had the life it did.

I think it's easy to look at a lot of the internal Gamergate controversy, the infighting, as cases of individual personalities growing into Stage 3 culture, and sometimes attempting to lift their peers with them. But the rest of the greater Tribe, in their Cynicism, found it easy to rebel against this.

Tho a shining example of Stage 4 behaviour developed out of one of these bouts of Infighting. Sargon of Akkad's #GamerGate Teatime Stream, in November of 2014, strove to mend Personality Clashes which had been brewing for some time. The organizers reminded all involved “we shouldn't be bickering amongst ourselves... We Have an Enemy in Common for Fuck's Sake!”


The book terms such an event, an Oil Change. They describe it as a process for the tribe to work thru 3 Questions. What is Working Well? What is Not Working Well? What can the Tribe do to Make Those Things Work?

The authors caution that, Stage 2 dominated Tribes will voice greivances with no real desire to fix the problems. Groups at Stage 3 will find that oil changes degenerate into, well, witch hunts.

“Only when the tribe is aligned on core values and a noble cause does it have a basis to assess its behavior, find shortcomings, and restore its focus on its principles.” pg 179

But back to questions of Stages 2 and 3. Niko Choski is one of my absolute favourite Content Creators, and in his Mental Prison videos, and indeed many of his videos, and in his conversations with Dark Knight, and Spetsnaz, he seeks to Elevate men out of the squalor of Stage 1 and really Stage 2, and into Stage 3, out of “My Life Sucks” and into “I'm Great,” which is really the realm of Self Actualization.


Stage 3 is where you learn to master your work, your craft, your art. It's where you turn Pro. Niko, as set apart from many MGTOW community channels, isn't simply focused on My Life Sucks, he wants his viewers to not only protect themselves from risks, but to really find themselves and do Well. I think for this he caught enough shit that he needed a vacation. I'm very glad that he's back, with or without the label.

I believe CS took a hiatus at that time for essentially the same reason. He dares to have a greater conversation beyond “My Life Sucks,” and not everyone's ears are open to that, unfortunately. Here I remind you of my description of Confirmation Bias and Red Pills....

Now as one develops up into Stage 3, and really own it as Sargon and Milo Yiannopoulis have, There comes what the authors call a Tribal Leadership Epiphany. And here a person experiences a number of internal statements and realizations which may come all at once or they may stretch out over the course of a career, but they are described as follows:

Nothing That Matters is Personal.

Stage 3 has No Legacy

Stage 3 winnings are Small

Have I been a Leader up til now? Or just a Manipulator?

I'm Tired (of the Stage 3 game)

During this epiphany, the subject begins to see Others Perspectives on Themselves, and they don't Like it.

This is how one graduates to Stage 4 thinking. One learns to trust others, and recognize their strengths. So here one learns the value of the Triad.

Maggie, Richard, and Boceephus are a Triadic relationship. They value maintaining honesty with eachother. Furthermore, each member takes a personal responsibility in helping maintain the opposite leg of the Triad. That is, Bo helps ensure that Maggie and Dick's relationship remains healthy. Maggie puts the same effort into Bo and Dick's relationship. Dick is responsible for Bo and Maggie.

This is the building block that the most effective Tribes are made of.

Another important hallmark of Stage 4 and 5 Tribes is they have what the authors call Core Values and a Noble Cause. These things only work if they're Universal, that is the Values and Cause must be of benefit to all Humankind, to be Core and Noble.

Dave Rubin illustrates this in the majority of his interviews, where he seeks at some point to establish with is Guest that they hold Liberal Values in common. The Noble Cause appears to be to better establish and ensure an Environment friendly to Free Speech, that the societal conversation may not self censor, so the conversation can be of the utmost Quality and Honesty.


The Stage 4 mentality of his Show become especially obvious to me when Dave had on Kelly Carlin, and they discussed her House Parties in which she essentially brokers Triadic relationships with her guests.

Dave Rubin also consistently identifies the Regressive Left as the common enemy in his Interviews, as they stomp on Free Speech so hard, and vilify those who don't help shore up their chosen Narrative.

So I don't have a lot to say about Stage 5, as I have not experienced that even tangentially, tho it is on my bucket list. You should read the book.

I will Digress for a moment on Rogue Tribes. The book describes these as having Non Core Values, and an Ignoble Cause, that is that the Cause and Values do not hold Universal benefit for all Humankind. I will argue that Collectivist viewpoints inherently beget Rogue Tribes, as they would trample on the individual for the “well being” of the group. Here we find Intersectional Feminism, and the other Postmodern Religions, Conspiracy Cultures, Al Qaeda, and Hitler. Such Values and Causes justify Criminal or atleast AntiSocial Behaviours. There's a reason the term Feminazi was coined.

With that I would Bid you Good Night

Saturday, July 18, 2015

Documentaries, Youth Naivete, Pro-Am Porn and Prostitution...

Been needing to write this one for a little while now, I suppose, as it's been waking me up in the night lol. Watched Hot Girls Wanted in recent history, and I really enjoyed it, in the way I tend to enjoy things that pull on your emotions and make you think.

I'm really glad that it has gotten the attention it has, as I believe the subjects I'm discussing here never get enough. Hot Girls Wanted is, I think at it's core, a fantastic portrait of Teenage Naivete, and a study on one of the avenues thru which it gets exploited regularly.

In this country, far too many kids finish high school and head into the world with zero clue about the reality. Partly as a result, a certain percentage of them end up dead or in prison within the first few years, usually over substance abuse (this is highly apparent for those of us who graduate with a group <100, as we hear about every single one of our classmates).

So I think it's really important that our young people get exposed to reality, that documentaries such as this need their attention. Perhaps they can better navigate the coming pitfalls. So with that in mind, I'd like to point you to two more doccies on a related subject, which I strongly recommend.

Whores' Glory is a film published in 2011 by the now deceased Michael Glawogger. It takes the viewer on an un-narrated journey through the prostitution industries of Thailand, Bangladesh, and Mexico. And it's fuckin heavy. I watched it sometime in 2012, and I recall needing to take breaks in the film, just to chew and digest the imagery and commentary from the subjects.

Tricked, is much more pointed, and squarely at young people like the girls in Hot Girls Wanted. In Tricked however, they are Truly Exploited, in the sex trafficking industry of America. Tricked will tear your heart out. Go watch it.

Currently Tricked and Hot Girls Wanted are both available to stream thru Netflix.

I want to point out a couple items. The difference between Porn and Prostitution, in my mind, is the Consumer. In one industry, they pay to Spectate, in the other, they pay to Play.

Also, I tweeted recently that I'm happy that Wrong Way by Sublime, was a radio hit, given it's subject matter of lolita prostitution. A song about such a taboo subject, that most people don't want to think about, making it to fucking Radio amazes and delights me :)

Monday, July 6, 2015

Sunday, May 31, 2015

My Sound System - Rig Rundown (small to medium sized venues; indoor/outdoor)

Alright, so before moving to Austin last summer, I was in a small(er) town out in the boonies for a few years. The most important part of that particular purgatory was running live sound for my brother and sister's band for ~3 years and 2 dozen gigs.

Here's a rundown of my current setup.

The keystone to my rig is this Biamp 1221, manufactured between 1979 and '83 I believe. Love using it. It's old spring reverb tank is a pleasure.


Next I've got two homebuilt racks, this one goes stage side. The 75ft, 24 send, 8 return Mic snake is arguably my second most important piece. I need to refurbish the fan end of it. Some of the connectors are pretty corroded. The replacements are gonna come from Monoprice.com (gold plated!).

The amp in this rack is a Samson Servo 300, and it runs my monitor. Then there's the power conditioner. Venues with noisy electrical grids are a pain in the ass without these.

Here's the monitor: from a Harbinger powered mixer PA (a dinky one that ran 4 channels)

I make my own mic and instrument cables; here's the current iteration of my inst cables. The connectors are gold plated from Monoprice.com. The bulk cable's from GLS Audio aka Orange County Speaker aka speakerreapair.com

  My Mains by Yamaha:
 
 I plan on replacing these in the near-term with something heftier. Leaning towards active speakers.

My board side rack. Art EQ-351 (for the mains, mono). Behringer Ultragraph Pro FBQ1502, this one's brand new from Sweetwater, gonna use it on the main two vox mics for Parlor Tricks next weekend. Peavey PV 215EQ, what I had been using on two main vox, will now be on monitor send + whatever else.

I've got a few other odds and ends, stands, etc. GLS Audio instrument mics (been really happy with these).

Anyway that's pretty much it yo

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Memorial Day Weekend + Sunpilots (2012) King of the Sugarcoated Tongues

Having a great weekend this Memorial Day. Gave a virgin listen last night to The Sunpilots' 2012 album. Threw on headphones, one take on the whole bit straight thru. And it's been a little while since I gave a virgin listen to an album this strong! I'm very happy to have downloaded it.

Love a good concept album, and this one pulls no punches. In places, particularly “3 Minutes to Midnight,” and “Sex and TV,” I'm reminded of Live circa Throwing Copper and Mental Jewelry. There were a number of songs I found myself saying "damn I wanna see this one live!"

So anyways, if you're not familiar with these guys, and you like prog rock, or just rock in general, CHECK THEM OUT.

On to the rest of my weekend so far. For lunch I had a medianoche sandwich from one of my favorite North Austin restaurants, the Cuba Sandwich Cafe. I always have to get fried plantains when I go, too!

Afterwards, went longboarding around Capital Memorial Park. It's a gorgeous, well kept cemetery facing I-35's north bound frontage road between Howard and Wells Branch. The topography's very flat, so it made for a leisurely ride with a little pumping and a lot of coasting.

So then I watched Mister Metokur's new vid. It's a wonder the subject has been about his business so damn long. You'd think he'd been shot by now... the abusive fuck.

Anyway, been a good weekend, gonna figure out how to insert LEDs into a dynamic mic, send it phantom power, and achieve an effect similar to the one found here in this 21 Pilots video...

Sunday, May 17, 2015

#TwinPeaksShooting


9 Dead. 18 Injured. All of these casualties were complicit in the skirmish. Bullet holes littered all over. A good percentage of them issued from Police firearms.

The amusing thing is, the police heard about the gathering of rival 1%er gangs at this Twin Peaks location. They set up around it, cordoned off the area. The bikers knew they were there. NFG. No Fucks Given. They got into it. It escalated very fast, from “fists and boots, to clubs and knives, to guns.” The police heard shots fired and shot back. Doesn't appear that the bikers shot at the police at all, just each other. More kept pouring in to the area over the afternoon, getting detained on access roads and in front of Cabela's. A right fuckin' mess, this.

I'm seeing that 5 biker gangs were involved. Vacqueros, Valerosos, Cossacks, Scimitars confirmed. Don't know who else yet. Hospitals are locked down. Waco is crawling with Troopers, Sheriff's Deputies, city cops, FBI. I wouldn't be surprised if they got ATF in there too.

My thoughts are that this is kicking off a biker war with some long term ramifications. I don't know what kind of relations these groups have with other criminal organizations (prison gangs, cartels, etc.) but I'm worried they will be calling in all allies. Seems like from past examples of biker wars, they don't tend to spill over into other “industries.” At the same time this is Texas, 2015. The cartels have a stake here. La Eme. ABT. Historically biker gangs make excellent mass transport contractors for illicit goods like hot guns and meth. I'm curious, and don't know enough about it.

Was visiting with my roommate about things. He's a bit of a self taught expert on conspiracy culture. His bet is that Alex Jones is going to see this as a deliberately planned pretext for the Feds to launch Jade Helm into a real martial law umbrella over the state of Texas.

My roommate just informed me police scanners are available as public streams over the great interweb. I told him I wanted to know what McLennan County dispatch is chattering about. Tho scanner streams for Waco are down tonight, but not McGregor or Lorena (porque?). Apparently overnight staffs in some stores in the area are being told not to come to work.
Gonna be a weird night for Waco.