I can still remember, back in the seventies, taking a road trip through Mexico and being a bit taken aback by the number of little guard shacks along the way where we, and all other travelers, had to stop and satisfy the federal police.

That could never happen in the US, I thought. And sure enough, our guard shacks are much larger and more imposing.

Modern Era being say, last thirty-forty years but not the last fifty to seventy though. He's as fantastic a composer for the formulaic music he creates-I agree he ranks among the greats of cinematic composition but his claim to fame being so ingrained in pop culture with Star Wars for me means he kinna squeaked-into the realm of 20th century American composers like Copeland. Bernstein, or Gershwin. I dunno, he's more like a Howard Shore or Hans Zimmer for me, not quite reaching the all-star team of 20th century long-haired first-stringers.

Maybe I'm simply prejudiced against the all-consuming cheese-fog of Star Wars, Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, etc. Maybe I'll try the experiment of listening to one of his compositions without the backdrop of a film. No wait, see I did that-In 77' I bought the double LP of the Star Wars soundtrack (yahhh, I was frikkin' 12) and got bored with it-Never get bored listening to Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite or Ravel's Bolero, though!

Now, I don't know why I have so much trouble explaining this but I still really want you to understand that I'm not excusing this mom's actions.

The only thing I'm saying by suggesting her reaction is normal is this:

If I was skating through a public park, not watching where I was going, and I ran directly into someone's kid with a fucking weapon made of wood and steel, knocking them to the ground (except of course for their gravity-defying head), the first thing I would expect is for that parent to come at me.

I would be apologetic, just like the guy in the video because I would know it was ENTIRELY my fault. What I wouldn't do is try to explain to them that I actually bear only seventy-percent of the responsibility and that they shouldn't let their kid stray out of arm's reach in a park.

Sure, I would defend myself because I wouldn't expect that they were just going to immediately forgive me and think only about their shortcomings as a parent. I would defend myself because I still have the right to be safe in a public place, regardless of my actions.

What would I not do though? I wouldn't hit them with a fucking skateboard. Especially not the one I just hurt their child with. I wouldn't do that because I would know the only excuse I had was the petulant, middle-school refrain of "she hit me first!" I wouldn't do that because it would escalate the situation even more and I don't like to use violence to solve my problems. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself without hitting someone's irrational mother.

And then there's the question of pressing charges. Which for some reason to me is just laughable.

Was the lady wrong? Yeah, absolutely. Was she crazy? Maybe temporarily, it might have had something to do with someone running into her kid. I know a lot of people might not have acted the way she did (I would certainly have been more concerned about my own kid than the skater) but I know a lot of people might have FELT the way she did.

I just still don't think her actions were so far from what a person could expect after being a dumbass and skating directly into a little kid.

Maybe I don't get it because I'm an overprotective, irrational parent. Judging by how many times you referred to the child in the video as "it" however, maybe I just shouldn't expect you to understand my side either.

Indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population worked wonders when our army was engaging non-military forces on the Balkan back in the days. No better way to create a self-perpetuating low-intensity conflict than killing village elders, with a couple of women and children sprinkled in here and there.

If you treat a population like your enemy, they will become your enemy -- that's the lesson they drew from it. But hey, that was seventy years ago. Nowadays, a decade is more than sufficient to forget any hard-earned lesson.

A deep constitutional scholar such as yourself probably already knows this:

"For more than a hundred years, the answer was clear, even if the words of the amendment itself were not. The text of the amendment is divided into two clauses and is, as a whole, ungrammatical: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” The courts had found that the first part, the “militia clause,” trumped the second part, the “bear arms” clause. In other words, according to the Supreme Court, and the lower courts as well, the amendment conferred on state militias a right to bear arms—but did not give individuals a right to own or carry a weapon.

Enter the modern National Rifle Association. Before the nineteen-seventies, the N.R.A. had been devoted mostly to non-political issues, like gun safety. But a coup d’état at the group’s annual convention in 1977 brought a group of committed political conservatives to power—as part of the leading edge of the new, more rightward-leaning Republican Party. (Jill Lepore recounted this history in a recent piece for The New Yorker.) The new group pushed for a novel interpretation of the Second Amendment, one that gave individuals, not just militias, the right to bear arms. It was an uphill struggle. At first, their views were widely scorned. Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, who was no liberal, mocked the individual-rights theory of the amendment as “a fraud.”"

source: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2012/12/jeffrey-toobin-second-amendment.html

I love King Crimson but out of all the prog rock bands my favorite was Henry Cow. They were an experimental prog band from the mid seventies, highly anti capitalist and took me a long time to get into. Like most awesome shit, My favorite prog song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=374qf7xCFkY , Beautiful as the Moon - Terrible as an Army with Banners . A couple of members were in Slapp Happy that Faust played in, in the early seventies. Fred Frith in the late seventies left Henry Cow and put out a really amazing experimental prog album called Gravity.

>> ^artician:

>> ^Deano:
http://news.google.co
m/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19740927&id=EYY0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=7qEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2860,3762583
According to this article he suffered injuries during the scene which took 3 months to film.

HE suffered injuries? What about the crocs? That was kind of shitty that they used real animals, I really thought it was faked.


Apparently he wrangled the creatures and was very good at that.

There's no way you'd be allowed to do this today and rightfully so. The seventies were a different time, as we're recalling a lot in the UK right now...

I definitely would not call this emo. It seems to be more influenced by minimalism and seventies german space rock. It may not require amazing talent, but who cares about talent when they have a vision and a desire and passion to make it come alive? This is the sound of universal life.

>> ^chingalera:

promote
...because I would enjoy an enlightening discussion on the subject of anyone's innate ability to produce soothing or otherwise beneficial tones on objects at hand, be they electronic, percussive, etc.
This video is like watching a camera on at some folks place that have a variety of musical apparatus around. They probably have distilled spirits or were at the very least, inspired by the same.
It's probably cold outside.
Not much to do but shiver.
Suns gone for weeks at a time.
This dirge transmits and set the mood. I'm cold. Time to make popcorn and ribs.

>> ^Samaelsmith:

Wow. Some of those people from the seventies give me hope that maybe the world isn't getting dumber after all, it's just always been this stupid.


WORD

Wow. Some of those people from the seventies give me hope that maybe the world isn't getting dumber after all, it's just always been this stupid.

>> ^Fletch:

Beijing may have ruined it for all future Olympic host cities, but that was the most boring opening ceremony I've ever seen. I kept switching over to "Deadliest Catch" repeats. And Paul McCartney? "I wonder if he'll sing 'Hey J...' yep, there he goes". At least the audience participation limits the amount of seventy year-old sour notes they are subjected to. Tell me that wasn't hard to watch. It was entertaining the way "FOX and Friends" is entertaining, or the way running your tongue over a painful canker sore again and again is entertaining.
By the way, Elliot finally came through and found the crab, to the relief of his crew.


Yeah. Meh for that one after seeing Beijing, China, in 2008 (why did the I delete my high definition (HD)'s recording?). The industrial revolution's ring forge was cool and nice bassy music. James Bond (007) skit wasn't that great either. At least Mr. Bean's skit was funny, and he should have been in the whole opening ceremony! Not enough special effects and colors!

Will anyone be able to 2008's summer game's opening ceremony? Oh well. Thanks goodness for recording to avoid watching 4.5 hours of it and its commercials/advertisements (ads.)/spots! What happened to Dr. Who (excluding the audio)?

Beijing may have ruined it for all future Olympic host cities, but that was the most boring opening ceremony I've ever seen. I kept switching over to "Deadliest Catch" repeats. And Paul McCartney? "I wonder if he'll sing 'Hey J...' yep, there he goes". At least the audience participation limits the amount of seventy year-old sour notes they are subjected to. Tell me that wasn't hard to watch. It was entertaining the way "FOX and Friends" is entertaining, or the way running your tongue over a painful canker sore again and again is entertaining.

By the way, Elliot finally came through and found the crab, to the relief of his crew.

>> ^schlub:

looks... awful

Olivia Munn AND the Super Troopers guys? Are you high? This looks AWESOME! The sexiest woman on earth (after Ana Kasparian) and the guys behind the greatest portrayal of troopers since Ponch and John set the bar oh so high in the late seventies! This is WIN!

Hey Cricket,

I just made an opinionated comment on your post and then realized it is posible that you may mis-interpret my contempt.
My umbridge is not with you or your post but with the News agencies that seek to exploit information and sensationalize the news.

An opinion that got away from me

Cheers



In reply to this comment by Sagemind:
I was just reading a huge article yesterday on what a bullshit story this is.
The uranium wasn't weapons grade and these reactors are common to research facilities such as large companies (as mentioned) and universities. The idea that this was top secret is also untrue as it was common knowledge back in the seventies while it was in use - they just haven't used it in such a long time, people just forgot about it.

I wish I could find the article and comments again but the truth is, I don't remember how I came across it in the first place.

Now the news outlets are picking up the story and sensationalizing the crap out of it - as they always do. "Breaking Story - This just in!!!" - who cares - not me. Inform us with some real news instead of misdirecting us with the bullshit stories.

I was just reading a huge article yesterday on what a bullshit story this is.
The uranium wasn't weapons grade and these reactors are common to research facilities such as large companies (as mentioned) and universities. The idea that this was top secret is also untrue as it was common knowledge back in the seventies while it was in use - they just haven't used it in such a long time, people just forgot about it.

I wish I could find the article and comments again but the truth is, I don't remember how I came across it in the first place.

Now the news outlets are picking up the story and sensationalizing the crap out of it - as they always do. "Breaking Story - This just in!!!" - who cares - not me. Inform us with some real news instead of misdirecting us with the bullshit stories.