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 :)

Decline of Western Civilization unboxing

Just got in the Decline of Western Civilization box collection from Shout! Factory

Gonna Screen the First one tomorrow night!

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

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...

#TwinPeaksShooting

#TwinPeaksShooting

#WacoThugs

#Waco

#WacoShooting

#WacoConventionCenter

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.

I Know A Smile

I've come to love a smile
Not by it's wearer
As I've not
Met them all
But by its message
As there is only one

Do you know the smile?
That's fleeting
But sincere
That accompanies but a flash
Of eyes
Wide yet reserved

Do you know the smile?
A look away; a letting go
Saying "Thank you"
And "I'm sorry"
Without so much
As a breadth

I know the smile
That flutters
Hesitant, before
Departing on the wind
As so many little feathers
Off and away

Do you know the smile?
That says "I see you"
"Though I know I shouldn't"
And it lets go
As should you
I know a smile...

4/23/15, @ the Balkan Cafe, Austin, TX