Sometimes you have to stand up and be counted

I am reminded of the importance of standing up for your beliefs and the importance of not allowing anger and rage be the only voices in the world when I hear an older gentleman rage on about 'CNN'. He objected to the fact that it was on a TV in the world. He raged that it was the "Communist News Network" and it didn't deserve to be on the air where people could see it. Another time the news was flashing and I believe President Obama was answering 'tweets' on Twitter from the public that day. Another man watching the same screen (I think this TV was on FOX this time) called the President a 'F**king Idiot'. This annoyed me so I turned to this fellow and thanked him. I said he reminded me that I needed to wear my Obama shirts more often. And he had reminded me of the need to stand up. These kind of people, these public rage pronouncers believe that everyone believes in what they believe in and that their rage has the majority voice out there. A curious thought since President Obama, as alluded to by the honorific - was actually elected President by the majority of the people who voted in last election.

The funny thing there is that all of the Obama haters somehow think that Obama voters (me for one) will be silent in the face of their supposed righteous rage. The other funny thing is that these same folks believe that there is one election that counts above all - the election which brought a majority of Republicans to the House of Representatives. That Election apparently was a holy election and the goals of that Majority in one house of Congress must be obeyed. Humm. Still a Majority of Democrats in the Senate and still a Democrat as President but the immovable object in Politics these days is the Tea Party supported Republican members of the House of Representatives.

Still, these folks think that since the Bush Recession continues it now belongs to Obama, that their view is the only view worth listening to and that their obsessive, hate filled rage at President Obama is widespread enough that they can rage in public, rage like pscycopaths, rage and you and I won't stand up. Well, you know, I ordered my Obama 2012 tee shirts and car magnets - car magnets since these are the kind of people who will vandalize your car for not having the same hate filled rage they believe in. The magnets go on the car when I alone am in the car and come off when my car is alone. My Obama shirts stay on me, I can stand the dirty looks and can protect myself against the cowardly ragers. And most importantly, I can show that others will stand up and show a different opinion because once upon a time and again in the future we might be able to actually have different opinions without hostility toward each other.

Save the Tata's! Breast Cancer Awareness Poster

A whimsical, non Politically Correct take on Breast Cancer Awareness.

Major Pentatonic Scale Formula - G Major Pentatonic, 6th String Root

Well here is the next chart I have, suitable for printing and posting on the wall of your practice room. The G Major Pentatonic, 6th String Root. I know the reason it says 6th String Root is because we're on the Sixth String to start and it's the Root of this Pentatonic in G Major. The Cool thing here is that the shape is the Second Shape of the Five Shapes of the Pentatonic. And as such, you can play 12 Major Pentatonics by just moving your Root on the Sixth String up and down that string, follow the Chart, put your finger on the Root you want. Fascinating. Nobody has explained to me why you can do a Major Pentatonic starting on the Ab since that's a flat or on the A#. My mind easily boggles and I'll just take this on faith for a bit. The Scale Formula is R (Root), 2, 3, 5 and 6. Pretty simple, none of those scary b's (flats) or #'s (sharps). For where this fingering is shown, starting the Root on the 6th String, third Fret - the G Note - the rest of the notes line up pretty nicely in this instance. R,2,3,5 and 6 translates into G, A, B, D, E. (and then repeats across the Fretboard) Peach keen and just this much short of Fabulous! Ah, discussions with actual people can be found at the TrueFire.com forum - right about HERE

G Minor Pentatonic, 6th String Root with the Minor Pentatonic Scale Formula

Created a couple of Pentatonic Scales for my study. I have a G Minor Pentatonic, 6th String Root with the Minor Pentatonic Scale Formula on it. I actually think it's starting to drill in my head which is a lot for someone like me with no musical background or skill. My basic plan includes hitting my head against the wall until something sticks. And finally something is sticking. To celebrate, I created these Pentatonic Scale Graphics to show the toehold I've got now. This first Scale, the Minor Pentatonic Scale consists of five notes. In this minor Pentatonic Scale I have the Root (R) , the flatted 3d Note, the 4th Note, the 5th Note and the flatted 7th Note of the scale. Additionally there is the fact that this uses one of the five Pentatonic Patterns, it uses the first pattern. Very cool indeed. Part of why I mention that it's something to grasp onto and a great help in being able to learn the notes of the neck. It is a help because I can take the Scale Formula and in the position the graphic is at - the G Minor Pentatonic Scale and I am able to see the notes across the Fretboard in this instance. Along with this memorizing the notes along the sixth string makes sense. And then the notes along the fifth string also makes sense. By that time you can actually internalize the note structure and find the notes to the fourth string, the third string, second and first which is a mirror of the sixth string. Most excellent. This chart and a bunch of other guitar charts I've done can be found at the TrueFire.com Forum where all manner of better guitarists than me reside in their nongigging time. Well worth your time to go and see and learn from. If you like my charts which are suitable for printing and taping up to the walls of your practice area, give them a look. This chart is one you can click on and make bigger. From there, a save to your harddrive and printing up and there you go. Hope you find it as interesting as I did. And for the course this is derived from please check out the most excellent 'Efficient Guitarist' by Marc Schonbrun.

I was struck when looking at Elena Kagan that she looked like Dick Morris and Rosie O'Donnell. So naturally I sought out proof of this Celebrity Love Child possibility. And Sure enough, with the pictures put side to side it does seem to be a possibility. Whether she would make a good Justice on the Supreme Court is another matter. One that doesn't really matter, she'll be replacing someone of a similar liberal philosophical outlook and so the net result will be no change. I don't know if the Republicans can get enough traction with the idea of her as a inexperienced person but you never can tell. Like anyone who has had aspirations to be a Justice, she has worked very hard at not making waves. Not making waves means we'll find out for sure what she thinks and believes when she's on the Court writing opinions. As it's been for some time now.

You know, it's an amazing thing being labeled and put into a little slot depending on what anyone knows about your politics or your background or whatever. I've given my opinion on Illegal Immigration and the curious thing is according to everyone who has read my opinions I am a Conservative Nativist Gay Bigoted White Man (as you can see by the hat - a sure sign of my hostility to Hispanics and a sure sign that I'm a Tea Party Neocon Racist. It's fascinating to read the replies to my considering opinions. None of the replies I've read address those opinions but there is never an end to the discussion about my personal life and the Militias I belong to. Fascinating and disturbing at the same time. Discourse, the exchange of ideas is not something done all that often, people don't seem to know how to do it any longer. It's a hateful, hate filled world out there online and in real life, only online everyone is willing to slander, slur and otherwise be offensive. Well, as a Hispanic fellow who has not only voted for Obama but I even bought the Tee-shirt and who is not gay I'm not a member of any Militia, I don't like the Tea Party for a number of reasons and who is not a Racist - I still don't like or agree with any amnesty for Illegal Aliens and do agree with a level of Cultural Assimilation rather than the cultural Balkanization I see with the Hispanic Community in the United States. Things that put people in opposite camps inevitably end with a 'us versus them' mentality on both sides. Anything that allows that to continue - like sending students home who have American themed clothing on regardless of whose National Drinking Holiday is being celebrated is not helpful. Simple and clear.

A small tiff with Charles of LGF -

My first post expressing my disagreement with sending kids home who came to school on Cinco de Mayo who had the gall to wear American themed clothing: An incomplete version since it's hard to find everywhere folks have said said nasty things to you.

Cinco de Mayo is a social holiday here in the United States, not a national holiday or a day of remembrance or any sacred religious holiday. It's a drinking holiday like Mardi Gras is a holiday in the United States - it's a Drinking Holiday! This crap about offending some group of Americans here by wearing American Themed clothing is ridiculous. Its America, the United States of America - we don't take our flag down because Mexico has a holiday or France or Italy or Ireland has a holiday. In fact - those groups as much as they celebrate their heritage here also celebrate their American heritage. Columbus Day has Italian and American flags flying, St. Patrick's Day has Irish and American flags flying, it's only here where we have a group of people hostile to America that we have the fear of 'offending' them by showing our American Flags on their drinking holiday. That's all you need to know here, and it's all the more reason to fly those flags and wear those cloths on the Mexican drinking holiday. If you don't like or are offended by American flags in America then I've a got a door for you and don't let your butt hit it on the way out.

By Windupbird

re: #564 gadlaw

why do nativist conservative types always wear hats like the one in your avatar? Is it the appearance of noble toughness?

re: #454 celticdragon

I have to agree. If the school is going to send kids home who wear tee shirts with national flags...then send them all home, including those with Mexican flags.

Exactly what those folks said. It's America, American holidays are celebrated, others are noted and every one of these ethnic drinking holidays are celebrated all around with Columbus Day Italian and American Flags, St Patrick's Day with Irish and American Flags, Octoberfest with German and American Flags, Mardi Gras with French and American Flags and any others I'm forgetting. It's a celebration of culture, National foods and drink not this Declaration of Independence of Mexicans from the laws and culture of the United States that it's become thanks to the nonsense spouting PC crowd. If Hispanic people are offended by American flags then they don't seem to be assimilating to the country as every other ethnic group has and they need to consider going back to where they emigrated from and where they can go throw rocks at the American Flag like everyone else does. Charles is way off base here and fundamentally flawed in his analysis, such as it is.

As usually happens when I bother to type in a comment at LGF, I'm attacked for my point of view. Fair enough. Of course it would be fair if the attacks ever reached the substance of my points but that's not the way the LGF folks roll. It's always a variation of the personal insult. Here we have the main guy, "Charles" giving me the business and like someone who likes violence and cocks his arm back asking if I 'want to be hit' when it's him who wants to do the hitting. He asks if I want to be banned. Banned for disagreeing and not providing the proper level of subservience to this particular Nero in his Rome. Also with his 'flounce' comment he's saying I'm gay. Previously he said I was a closeted bigot. Calling someone a bigot of course is a argument ender. If you are a bigot or a Racist there is no reason to address the substance of the arguments. The argument is whether or not it was proper for the School Authorities at Live Oak High School in sending home the students who came to school with America themed clothing on Cinco de Mayo. He thought it was and I thought it wasn't.

re: #738 Charles

Was that a flounce? I'll be happy to block your account if that's what you're asking me to do.

Flounce? I think I have a Bingo now. Yes indeed, I've been called a racist, a bigot, a Republican, a Democrat now I'm gay. Great. And threatened with banning for saying what I believe to be the truth. Do whatever you want, it's your fiefdom here. And you prove my point again, you've spent so much time dealing with skinheads, Islamists and the extremes of both sides that your reflexive answer to my points is that I'm either bigoted or gay.

I come here because you usually provide more light than smoke and I usually can agree with your analysis and conclusions or at least understand you point of view. In this case, getting back to what I think the issue is - the practical way to assimilate is to not have authority figures - the school administration, kowtow to what are in fact racist sentiments of the Hispanics who have taken Cinco de Mayo and turned it into a day not to celebrate Hispanic heritage but to separate and intimidate nonhispanics. Having experienced racism myself by white people who consider me too Hispanic and by Hispanics who consider me too white your viewpoint seems to me to be naive.

As long as the idea is to have people in this country act as "Americans" with the spectrum of American political and cultural viewpoints, then we should not condone things which tend to Balkanize us. Cinco de Mayo is as culturally relevant as St. Patrick's Day and should be celebrated exactly that way. As it now, it's a day of confrontation and kicking kids out of school for wearing clothing with American flag themes on them on this 'special day' and it only does exactly what has happened - making it a flashpoint and a confrontation. My grandmother, who was born in the US, spoke mostly Spanish and spoke spanish to me. Her children went to school and learned English and to be American and were successful in life. If this nonsense was going on then I doubt very much that any of that would have happened. The well meaning liberal ideas of how to deal with these things does more harm than good.

And here is another response by a good lap dog at that site - like the guys who save internet Maidens in Distress there are those who rise to the defense of their fearless leader. This guy took offense at me noting the 'you're gay' slander with a helpful bit of knowledge that 'everyone knows' about 'flounce' being something other than a gay slur. And in the end he helpfully mentioned that while I'm not gay, I'm a mentally ill troll.

re: #777 WindUpBird

You understand that "flounce" has nothing to do with gay anything, it's a slang term on blogs, and this one in particular, that means you threw a digital tantrum about the direction the blog was taking or the opinions expressed therin, spilled all your walnuts over the internet, and left.

As for me, I'm actually gay, a REAL LIVE HOMO ON THE INTERNET, so please don't try and pull some OH NO I WAS CALLED GAY concern troll bullshit like that here, it's just going to be mocked. You weren't called gay, you were accused of being a whiner. Which you are.

You have the most entertaining persecution complex I've seen in some time, congratulations, you must be very proud.

Thanks kindly for the proper slang blog term for flounce. I have never seen it used as anything other than a term used against gay people or people you want to accuse of being gay and as a way to belittle and minimize someone. It doesn't have anything to do with you being gay, congratulations on being comfortable with yourself and best of luck. I don't spend a lot of time reading when insults are traded back and forth so perhaps you are right as to the 'special' meaning of that term on blogs. As for whining, you know, when you provide a answer to someone's rhetorical question and you don't like the answer I guess 'whining' is a good enough term to use also when you have nothing to say to the point. Another way to dismiss the point being made. Why would I whine and why would I care? I express my point of view, rather than argue the point your basic form of discussion is to slander or otherwise attempt to belittle someone. When they point that out, call them whiners. But you saying so doesn't make it so. And now, again rather than discuss the points, you diagnose me a mental illness. Very entertaining and more reflective of you than me. I give my point of view, give my reasons for having my point of view. The thoughtful response is that I'm a gay bigot racist - I'm paraphrasing and shortening to the salient points here. I'm not saying please feel sorry for me or woe is me, I'm saying that's the level of discussion here. That's my opinion. Not trolling, just not letting the slanders just sit there unanswered.

Response from Sharp over their Blu-Ray Incompatability IssueThank you for contacting Sharp Electronics Corporation. An update is being developed to a

I will give Sharp the brownie point for answering quickly and boos and hisses to 20th Century Fox at www.foxconnect.com for creating this crappy mess in the first place. The 'reasons' for screwing up the Blu-Ray and the DVD is supposedly to stop or slow pirating. Well guess what, I can right this second online get either the DVD, the Blu-Ray or a avi or xvid or any type of video in high quality that I would want. Thanks Fox! Treating your customers like criminals who deserve to be treated like criminals so you pretend to make it hard for those who 'pirate' the movies you sell.

Thank you for contacting Sharp Electronics Corporation.

An update is being developed to address issues with this title. When it is available, it will be posted to the following website:

http://www.sharpusa.com/CustomerSupport/ProductDownloads.aspx

As content providers are always changing their copy protection methods, periodic firmware updates may be necessary to maintain compatibility. It is possible for some recently released movies to be unsupported for a brief period if time while an update is developed. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your patience with this issue. Unfortunately, I have no release date for updated firmware at this time.

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Avatar (Two Disc Blu-Ray/DVD Combo) Glitch Filled Disaster

Glitch FIlled Time Eating Mess, April 25, 2010

By	gadlaw (Erewhon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Avatar (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo) [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

The movie itself is fun, an experience and an event that I went to see in the Theater a couple of times. This Two-Disc Blu-Ray/DVD Combo is an absolute disaster and not worth the headaches it causes. First of all the DVD is blurry. I know that DVD is supposed to be less sharp than a Blu-Ray version of the same movie but in this case it seems as if they made a concerted effort to create something extra blurry. I've seen DVD's that are as sharp and clear as their Blu-Ray counterparts so I know it's not a limitation of the material at hand. It seems almost purposeful to me and if it's not on purpose then it's incompetence because either way you have a inferior DVD product.

Now let's talk about the Blu-Ray disk. I have a newer Blu-Ray player and it was unable to play this disk. A Sharp player, I was told by the disk itself that I would need to 'update my firmware' in order to play this disk. How many times have you had to 'update the firmware' on your DVD player? Never right? It just worked. With this technology they wait until there is a must buy DVD and tweak their product, making many Blu-Ray players unable to work and you need to be technologically proficient to do the updating. Computerless people are out of luck I would guess. Well, I am proficient with the computer and found an 'update' for my Blu-Ray player which after a few hours of trying to get the unzipped file on a USB Drive I was able to update the player. Great. I put in the Blu-Ray disk and a third of the way through it I am confronted with a glitch. The scene selection dialog and the graphics for it come up every minute for two hours of the movie. I can press the menu button when it comes up and the menu comes up, the scene select graphics fade, I press the menu button again, it goes away and the scene select graphics pop back up to cover a third of the screen. It does this for the second two thirds of the movie. I find as I google it, sure enough, it's a verified 'glitch' that affects some Blu-Ray players and not others.

You need to return this two disk disaster and get your money back. It's a defective product on both counts, the DVD and the Blu-Ray disk. I don't even know what sort of extra DRM and other 'enhancements' they needed to make to make your Blu-Ray experience more slow and painful but that's what they did. Return this Turkey, complain to the manufacturer of the movie or don't buy it at all. It's really a disaster.

Arizona's Efforts to Stem the Tides of Chaos

You know, I am Hispanic and I support Arizona's efforts to regain control of their state. If you were in Mexico you couldn't be without your 'paper's and if you were illegally there you better believe that you'd be arrested. But somehow in the United States we're supposed to continue to follow the liberal ideals where you cannot even ask a illegal if they are illegal since to do so would be to somehow against their constitutional rights - rights they don't have as illegals, rights that nobody has when it comes to being lawfully stopped by police. If I drive I have my licence, my registration, my insurance proof - my 'papers' and I'm expected to carry those when I drive. Why is that? There is a lawful need that my society has determined in order to keep social order and for my protection. So in Arizona, in order to keep social order and for the protection of the citizens of that state and of every other state who comes to Arizona to vacation, they are asking for papers. Wow, how unAmerican of them. Do I want to buy a pack of cigarettes? A beer? Papers please. Do I want to cash a check or perform a financial transaction, use a credit card, buy COLD MEDICINE? Papers please. Arizona has a major crisis of violence and social disorder happening, they can't ask for papers to see if you're in the United States legally? Absurd. And the critics don't live in the real world. Something needs to be done, someone is doing something finally. I hope the rest of the Border states do something similar. Get the gangs out, get the illegals out and return social order and safety to the people who live there.