What A Let Down

By Jason Sundin

Obama has been running a Really dumb campaign lately. It is a let down to all the people that thought that his false hopes where true. Since my last post he has gone back on taking big money for his campaign. He states that he will not be able to compete with McCain but as of any one who cares and would vote for him another tv add is not going to sway us and make us change our mind. People that are going to vote for McCain are not going to vote for Obama. This is a though shared by many liberals, and to me to shoot for swing voters is dumb. We need a truly liberal president. One that would never bring Hillary Clinton along. We voted him in over her for a reason and its upsetting to me to see that as soon as he has the nomination he turns his back on any promises that he has made. The Fact is we need to take big money out of the election nothing will change until this is done. As Americans we have a responsibility for our government, and to let it get out of hands like this says nothing more then our forefathers have let us down and we have to make this right. The fact is i am still going to vote for him like many other and i ask you to as well because if we give the presidency to McCain is to nuke to world our self's. If you vote for a man well knowing of what he has done like bush, you have that blood on your hands. We all do if we voted or not for letting that go on in the white house for so long. Not standing up and taking America back. Its almost like to claim yourself patriotic now is to align yourself with a bunch of right wing bible thumping fanatics. But no where not like this, but when you get in that little booth you voted that way. Let a mad man control our country for 8 years and start wars, make bad judgments, say outlandish things in public with out any repercussions towards him. I don't know, but i do know Obama is the lesser of two evils. I just don't know how much less. That bothers me. It bothers me that we have taken our freedoms and flushed them down the toilet and let big business control our government. In my last post i stated that i hope he is honest about his words. I like many people was in the haze of hope that he gave us. Now i just feel dumb for ever putting faith in anyone that could win the democratic nominee.

Stunt the Growth for Ignorant Superstitions

By Chase Langdon

Recently in Haywood County the bill was passed for liquor by the drink. This is a great thing for drinkers and non-drinkers alike. For one, I can get a whiskey with my meal if Amber and I go out for a change. For another, we will get better restaurants that have bars and couldn't come to Haywood county because we couldn't sell liquor by the drink. It always seemed like we had to drive 40 mins just to get to the closest non-censoring record store(via not walmart). Now we will be getting a best buy and more restaurants to make Haywood county grow and the economy with it.

What was stunting this growth? Nothing more than a Christian foundation that alcohol was evil and no one ever should drink it and If anyone does they were going to hell. They also thought that no restaurant could come if there were to sell it. What is this prohibition? Not quite actually...I think Its all about face. Its all about the goody fronts that these hypocritical bible thumpers put on. They put those "vote no" signs in their yards just for show. Just so their church cousins don't think bad of them, but they just like everyone else want to go out and have a drink, but don't tell preacher brown! I bet, they are out fucking their sisters and their kids right now. You know the bible thumpers are really the scum of the earth, and the preachers kids and the bullies and sluts in the schools.

Fuck That! Give me a Maker's Mark on the rocks please!

Cheers!

Delusional Love

By Jackson Cooke

Love is a scam. I've decided that "love," in its conventional sense, is nothing more than a creation of man, much like God. Gordon Gekko had it right when he described love as nothing more than something than an idea that was created to keep people from jumping out of their skin. People live their lives in search of love, in search of that person that will make them eternally happy. The problem with this is that they overlook the true person that will make them happy and that is themselves. There is no point in looking to anyone, other than yourself, for happiness. As of late, I've almost given up on the idea of finding "love" because it would do nothing but hinder the glorification of myself.

There is something to look forward to, but it's not a necessity, but the problem is that it's different than Romeo and Juliet's definition of "love." It is what I refer to as inter awareness. It is, essentially, two people that totally understand themselves, understanding each other but in the form of a relationship. Inter awareness replaces love. You can have inter awareness for friends or for significant others. What I'm looking for, and have been for quite some time, is a woman that totally understands herself and when she meets me, will understand me and we can connect on that level. This level is higher and more complex and intimate than any "love" that some idiot thinks they are experiencing. I'm discussing the notion of a higher level of affection based on logic and thought, not of emotion, which is what traditional love is based on. One could call inter awareness logical love, but using the L word is bastardizing a great concept.

Granted, when I meet a girl that I experience inter awareness with, I will tell her that I love her, but that's only brevity issue. But let's analyze "love." It's collectivism. We are talking about a concept that people claim they are experiencing, but is it really? I have no right to tell someone what they are feeling, but let's look at what love typically involves. First and foremost, it is about emotions. Illogical feelings that cause people to act irrationally, what is the appeal in this? I'm sure it feels great to experience "love" with someone but trying to enforce your will on someone and attempt to control them seems counter productive. I'm discussing the idea that throwing your reason to the wind and letting emotions take the reigns is ridiculous.

Because I care greatly about someone does not mean I want them to live by my standards. This is a typical interpretation of "love." One attempts to impose their views on religion, politics drugs and alcohol, amongst many other things when they are in "love." This is simply ridiculous. If someone is getting fucked up on drugs and alcohol constantly, then leave them. It is up to the individual to make decisions about substances and not up to their significant other to change them. Just leave them and find another person that holds the same opinions about substances, or someone you can tolerate with their intake.

Inter awareness is beyond all of this. It's just about respect, understanding and a connection. Some may say that is what love is about, the problem is that they don't respect, understand or connect with themselves. This is much more important and what one must do to experience inter awareness. It has nothing to do with emotions. Emotions will flourish when they are ready, with inter awareness, but this is a type of affection that is based on a logical attraction, not blind love.

Blind love is just as ridiculous as blind faith. Love is just as ridiculous as God. They are both fake, made up ideas. Humans made up these ideas because if you focus on love and God, then you will not focus on yourself and it's another hit to the individual which will dismantle collectivism. Love fades, people's emotions fizzle out but they stay in these bullshit relationships because they are comfortable, but here's something that doesn't sound so pessimistic: logic doesn't fade. It will always be there and if you have a relationship based on logic and respect, then it will feel fresh, always. You will not be trapped in something that drives you insane and if you want to bail, then that person should understand because they understand and respect you.

I'm not able to reform society, government, or religion, so I know I will not be able to change the scope of relationships, considering most people put so much emphasis on emotions, but this is what I will do with myself and it just makes sense.

Discard love when you discard God, it will be more liberating than you could imagine.

originally published on Liberty and Individualism

Barack and Roll

By Jason Sundin

I do not know what it is about this man, but Barack Obama somehow is seen through all the bullshit. This man came from nothing and compared to his running mates was an underdog. Almost to the point where even now if your watching Fox News they still only talk about the Clinton's. But as we all know Fox News has not been known for telling the real stories from time to time.

This is my opinion on this, if he wins he will be the 44 president. If you do the math on that it over 200 years for us to put a black man in the office. That means it has taken this long for our society to get over hate, which this is a big step for us as a nation. It truly is. In public opinion he does well. He did a lot of good things in his career and is trying to shake it up from what i can tell. There something in the way he speaks to the country as a whole and unifies them unlike anyone has in a long time. He points out the basic facts that everyone sees, that we as a country have a ton of short comings and need to change the way to think and do business if we're going to survive for our next generation.

I really like the fact that he has made it a party rule to not take money from lobbyist. I don't think the mass public understands how big of an issue that is. Lobbyist take away from our views and our beliefs because they are backed by "big business" and pay a ton of money to not let the general consent of the public get in the way of there goals. Honestly any politician in my opinion that takes money from lobbyist should be removed from office. There's a name for that it is called a bribe, and last time i checked that was against the law. But this somehow gets pushed to the side and not talked about. I do not think that this is how our government should be ran. It makes me fucking sick to think this is how we have let them get control of our life and our government.

To me it is not patriotic to sit aside and let this shit happen. You can claim that you believe in our country but if you voted for George W. Bush, you sold out our fucking country. For what? What have we gained since he has been in office. A shitty check was cut in half if you actually work that just put the country in further debt. When it comes down to it, I think most Americans wouldn't mind paying a little more on there taxes if it meant that they would get health care when they're sick, if they where hurt and couldn't work they could get help and still live like a human being, I think everyone deserves that right. It's a human right, that's why his donations are a good idea. It says that if you believe in what I say then give a little money, $5 bucks, whatever you can. But it brings a bigger idea in that we have control, it puts it back in our hands, and this is proof that it works.

Americans can think for themselves and no matter what is said on the networks they are starting to see through it for what it is. This gives me hope. That all his campaign is about HOPE. I think our country can use a little. I haven't heard anyone else offer us hope. I'm not saying it going to be easy but it's at least something to work towards. He has got my vote! I just hope he is for real about what he speaks.

Q&A with I Was Totally Destroying It

By Jason Sundin

First off I saw these guys at the Cats Cradle with Cursive and they took the show best band there by far. Sorry Cursive don't get mad at me if you read this! But i had to get a chance to take to them before they are gone on the road for the summer and this is what i got. Probably one of the nicest guys I've ever got a chance to talk to.

Can we start with
your names and what you each play?

I'm John Booker
and I sing and play guitar, Rachel Hirsh sings and plays keyboards, Curtis Armstead plays guitar,
Martin Anderson plays bass, and James Hepler plays drums.


How long have you
been a band?

This band came
together in January 2007, so we've been together for about a year and a half
now. James and I had been playing together for a couple of years before that,
and the rest of the band were from some of the bands that our old band played
with at that time. When that band(En Garde) called it quits, we called on these new
friends to round out the new lineup.


I saw you guys with Cursive at
the Cats Cradle, since that show how would you say that your fanbase has grown?

Our fanbase since the Cursive
show in May 2007 has grown from "nothing" into "something"- that was our second
show ever! So we didn't really have a fanbase at all at that point, just friends or fans of
our old bands who came to the first show. It's been a fantastic year or so,
getting play with some great national acts, and all the best bands in the
Triangle. We've been lucky enough to play with amazing local acts and expand our fanbase by stealing
bits of theirs!


What would you say your influences be in the
music you make?

We all have so
many bands and artists that have influenced us- I think one big one that we can
all agree on is Superchunk. We're all big fans of the local history
of music in general- all the greats- Polvo, Archers of Loaf, Hellbender, Spatula, and
so on. I listen to SO MUCH music and it all has influenced me- some of the
biggest and most important names would be: U2, The Beach Boys, The Cure, Rocket
From The Crypt, Foo Fighters, Brian Eno, The Sea And Cake, Motion City Soundtrack, Zwan, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Jon
Brion, Spoon, The Outfield, Huey Lewis & The News, Elvis Costello, The
Pixies, Saves The Day, The Who, Motown, Jazz- that's barely the tip of the
iceberg. Curtis and James agree with me on most of that stuff- the 3 of us have
very similar tastes. Rachel is into all that, and a lot of more recent quirky
indie rock, and lots of classical music- and is also HUGE on 80's music, as am
I. Martin's faves are 70's icons like Springsteen and Neil Young. But seriously,
it goes way beyond that too- believe it or not, I listen to tons of ambient
music, krautrock,
lots of experimental weird stuff- as much as I listen to embarrassing pop hits!


When you write a song how is it done do you come up with music first
then the lyrics or do you normally have an idea for the song already in your
head?

This can get
complicated- Rachel and I are the primary songwriters- initially- and then the
rest of the band adds their spice on top of the general idea. People tell me the
way I write is fairly unusual. I used to do what most people I know do- come up
with guitar parts and riffs and throw them together and then eventually write a
melody on top of whatever you have there. I still do this sometimes, but I find
that process can make the melody suffer and seem secondary- and since we are in
a lot of ways a "pop" band, I think the melody is the most important thing. So
most of the songs I've written for this band start with me holding a guitar and
strumming a first, random chord, that fits the vibe I am aiming for at that
time. Then a melody starts coming out of my mouth and I find the chords that
follow the changes in the melody. I find the changes that please me melodically
for a verse, a chorus, a bridge, etc- and throw it all together. Sometimes I'll
write a backing guitar part that I hear melody from as well. That's generally
how I write the pop songs that I bring to the band as mostly completed ideas,
but lately it's been changing. Rachel has written a lot more songs for our
upcoming album- she is a lot more of the "normal" approach of coming up with
chord sequences or riffs and then putting a melody on top later. And some of our
best songs happen when Rachel or I have an idea we can't finish and bring it to
the other person, and it's a very collaborative effort with us finishing the
songs 50/50. Those are really the most exciting moments, and there's a lot of
those on the record we're about to record this summer.


Any funny
stories you would like to share from the band?

Hmm- none that come to
mind right off the bat- but I'm sure I'll have tons by the end of this summer-
after our 3 week US tour, recording for a month straight, and Rachel, Curtis and
myself moving into a house together next month! It's gonna get nuts!


I see you have a us tour going on now with quite a few states on the
bill how did you go about setting it up?

We decided to do a
June/July tour back in January- we mapped out how long we could be gone and
where we wanted to hit. It's a very ambitious quest for a first tour- we're
going all the way to the west coast and back in under 3 weeks. It hasn't been
easy booking it, and nothing like this ever goes exactly as planned, but we've
been really lucky with some of the shows we've gotten. Basically we just booked
it using connections we have from our past bands or people we know in the music
world somehow. Our California shows, for example, I was able to book because I
lived in San Francisco for 4 years and played in a band there- a lot of my old bandmates are still
playing there, so we're playing with their current projects, and other friends
on that coast from my time out there. Other shows we were able to hook up
through exchanging shows with bands that needed help here- we met a great band
this Spring from Idaho who needed our help with an NC show- so we hooked them up
and they are helping us out with Idaho- a state we otherwise had no idea how to
book. It's a lot of networking and just staying in touch with people you meet on
earlier tours you've done. We've been lucky to meet a lot of rad and helpful
people over our musical careers.


You are as of now unsigned is that
correct and if so is there a label that you are looking at?

Yes, we are
currently unsigned. There are a couple of beginnings of things with labels
popping up, but really nothing to speak of at this point. We released our first
album ourselves, and it was great and I've done it many times before with other
bands, but our goal is to record this next album this summer and shop it around
to record labels throughout the fall. We've got a few big names working with us
on the production of this record, and they plan to help us with the label
shopping process. Who knows how it will turn out- the music industry is very
strange right now. It'll come out at some point, even if we just end up self
releasing again, but we want to pursue these other options first and try to find
the right home.


What bands are you planing on playing with on the
tour?

We're playing with
a handful of bands I haven't heard yet, but some things we're really looking
forward to are: playing with Ryan Ferguson in San Diego- he was in a band a few
years back that we all love, called No Knife. We're also playing with our
friends Max & The Marginalized in Los Angeles, and my old bandmates goofy but
awesome new hard-rock side-project band, Leather Feather. haha. We also are looking
forward to seeing our new Idaho friends again, the band Finn Riggins. Oh, and a rad
band from Ohio called The Story Changes.

There are a lot of bands that
have came out of Chapel Hill how do you feel being kinda thrown in there with
some major bands so soon in your career how do you feel about it?

Like I said
before, we are huge fans of the history of the Chapel Hill music scene, it's
what we were raised on- Martin was so inspired by bands like Superchunk that he and his
friends started their own local record label, Trekky Records. The rest of us started bands of our
own. James and I have been playing in the scene for well over a decade- we were
lucky enough to be in cool bands in the 90's that got to hobnob with a lot of
the rad bands working at that time. And of course the tradition continues of
amazing local artists- a lot of the shows we play half
energize-me-to-play-better-and-even-more, but sometimes they make me just go
"damn, I'll never be as good as so-and-so's band!" It's a slightly competitive, incestuous,
creative melting pot and we're just happy to be a part of what's going on. I
think it's safe to say that the songs stand for themselves around here.

They are going to be playing a ton of show coming up. You should go check them out!

There Myspace link is http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=148830077

The War On Drugs

by Jason Sundin

Noam Chomsky states that the term war on drugs is an example of synecdoche "simultaneous understanding" referring to operations against suspected producers, traders and/or users of certain substances. What this means is we are the enemy. The war is on us much like W's war on terror. To them anything that is done against the grain so to speak is not going to be allowed in our society today. Honestly this is not a society i want my children to grow up in in fear because in the past years we have seen how worse it has gotten and us the community has been taken out of the equation.

When was the last time they put it to a vote for us to choose and this goes with many things like gay marriage. I think we should have this right. But there's a reason that they wont let us have it. There a reason that if you have over an ounce its a felony. The same reason that people with a felony can not vote. What they afraid of that they have to take away peoples basic right of free speech. If we took half of the money out of the war and put in into rehabilitation programs for drug use to me that would be beneficial to society in a whole. Instead of just letting that part of society fall down into the cracks. They should call it was it is the war on the lower classes and as long as they can keep the system like it is and keep the money into big business and and the government and do what the do best as in worry about themselves instead of what we put them in office for in the first place us. They're quick to forget about the people that have placed them where they are.

This makes me angry, it does. Last year I was taking my girlfriend out to dinner and I didn't leave my stuff at the house like I should of. I was driving in Smithfield, N.C. I got pulled over for what they said was a tail-light being out and not thinking that they where lying i was polite and did not fight with them. With them say that all was well and I wouldn't get a ticket they forced a search on my car. I was not speeding. I was not doing anything and I didn't have a tai-llight out. Knowing that I had Nicole with me I didn't fight I told them where my weed was, I got arrested for possession of over a half of ounce. When they took me to the police office the lead cop showed one of his fellow rookies and the rookie snatched the bag out of his hand and ran to his fellow officers and showed it to them calming that they never seen anything like that before. Is this the war they had in mind. They got really excited about it for wanting to keep it off the streets from children. Is this the protection that we need. Who will protect us from the police when it come down to it.

After the officer retrieved the bag from the officer he calmed that i wouldn't have to go to jail because it was only two grams over the half ounce mark. But there hollow promises did nothing as he said it there was a female officer sitting there after what she did with the guilt on her face know i would go to jail and what they did was wrong. I was pulled and forced a search on because i was at the wrong place at the wrong time and they felt like picking on someone. Over time she will learn not to feel that guilt to hold it back because this is how we are training our officers of the law. This is what our tax dollars are going to. We pay for this whole system and have no control over it I think Its time for change.

Do You?

The 1st Whack

By Chase Langdon

Think to yourself that you know nothing at all, you were in a coma from the moment you were born until you were 20 years old. You learn to walk and eat and shit and piss all in a white room. Then you are let outside not telling you anything about whats to expect. A thunderstorm arises and you see lighting strike a tree and then almost instantly thunder cracks so loud and intense that it shakes the ground. You are scared out of your mind and Don't know what to think so you assume that the sky is angry thing you see a bright ball of light. That must be vengeful being that is angry with you, you begin to worship ball of light and bring it much scarifies to keep it happy with you so you do not fall subject to its wrath.

Sounds ridiculous right? Well this is the first try, a philosophy we like to call religion. Religion is our first try at explaining the unexplainable before we knew better. The ball of light is no god but a ball of intense heat and gas that our solar system surrounds and the lightning is just molecules attracting and repelling.

I was once a believer in these irrational ways of thinking. But I now know better. What I don't understand will be a mystery to me until I or someone finds a natural explanation. No assumptions. Without this religion, religious violence would only be but a mere memory. That would be a day of peace I do believe.

When I say, "I am an atheist" I mean I do not believe nor accept any religion now, past or future. I do not believe in any spiritual teachings or superstitions at all. No ghosts, no spirits, gods or angels. I may read about them, watch movies about them, but we all enjoy fictional writings don't we? I find it funny when I see the sections in bookstores "Religious" and "Religious-fiction." Wouldn't all religious books be religious fiction?

The next whack is science and educational hypothesizing. Don't just make up what you think the reason of the unexplainable. Let it be a mystery until it is reveiled as a fact.

Free Speech Machine

By Chase Langdon

Free speech, it is a right that is so often looked down upon. As Americans, as a democracy this is a very important right. As Americans we can say what we want when we want where we want an there is nothing that anybody can do about it. A fellow American can kick us out of their bar or make us leave their store, but the government cannot arrest us for what we say or think.

Free speech is one thing that keeps us separated from the totalitarian governments setting us apart from oppression. This is what this online zine, blog, newspaper, or whatever you would call is for, I'm just going to call it "a free speech engine." Every thing that you can think or say is worthy of being thought or said, just for the simple fact that it is your own. The word copyright is misconceived by most. Once a thought is thought by anybody it is copyrighted at that instant, but of course there is no way to prove it without buying a document saying such information.

Bottom line, use your right for speech and thinking, it will make you happy to know that you cannot be told what to think or say ever again. You will never be the same, I promise!