What the Hell Is Going On?

The countdown has started. There are two hundred and fifty one days until the election. Bush and the conservative right see the end is coming. This must be why things are going to hell so quickly right now. Apparently they have decided that they need to cause as much damage as possible in the time they have left. At the very tip of the iceberg we have things like new media censorship and obscenity laws. I was pretty sure that Larry Flint and others went to court and jail many times to change those to what they are now. This is quickly changing. Howard Stern is gone, who knows who is next. CBS is apologizing for damn near everything and MTV is trying to be more family friendly. I think they are taking the "it takes a village" thing a little far. Next we have gay marriage. Bush is trying to get an amendment to ban this. This would be the first amendment to the Constitution since Prohibition that takes away as opposed to granting rights. We all saw how well Prohibition worked. On top of that we have new laws being passed about fetal rights, a not-so-slippery slope to the end of Abortion. And lastly we have a whole lot of people bitching about Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. Everyone is saying how it is too graphic and, my favorite, the Marque de Sade's version of the death of Jesus. Last I checked Jesus was not beaten to death with down filled pillows. He died a horrible and gruesome death. For being a founding tenet of most of these critics beliefs they sure don't like to remember it. It is ok to say "Jesus died for us" or to hold up "John 3:16" posters at sports games, but if people actually see it they can't deal. What is a young liberal guy to do? The answer: Vote as soon as possible. Sure we can't get rid of the critics and the crazy right wingers, but maybe we can stop some of the other madness. The news these days is so depressing but you have to pay attention so you know what to fight. What are you outraged by these days? B.

You're Kidding, Right?

For some reason that I will never understand Maxim Magazine has chosen Landsharks in Broad Ripple as the Bar of the Month. I am shocked, amazed, and horrified. Obviously they have never been to this bar. Although it is cool to have a bar from Indy in Maxim, why Landsharks? Anyone who was ever been there knows that it sucks. At best it is a sleazy meat market with a shitty dance floor and really bad live bands. I mean Ryan Jacobs played their regularly for God's sake. In the article they claim to have girls dancing on the bar and girls in bikinis, this is just a lie. Okay, the girl at the beer tub does wear a bikini top, but no girl has ever danced on the bar. I don't even think it is possible. Of all the bars in Indianapolis, let alone all the bars in the country, how did this shit hole get the nod? I respect Maxim. I respect what they have to say. I find it humorous and insightful, but this is over the top. Matt has said that he is going to write a letter to Maxim in hopes that they realize the grave mistake they have made. I say we start a letter writing campaign. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, anyone you know. Maybe we can get this place publicly shamed to point they have to close their doors forever. Granted the bars on the strip in Ripple are not known for their outstanding class, but there has to be something better than this. I like drinking. I like seeing live bands. I like dancing. There are a million places I would do these before Landsharks. We live in a sad world when this can happen. Does no one have standards anymore? Let me know what you think. B

The Color War...

We do not live in a black and white world. We try tool fool ourselves sometimes with newspapers and arty photographs, but in real life we have color. Some people are born with a natural knack for color. Some people spends semesters of their collegiate life studying color theory. Some people are color blind and have an excuse. I am none of these. I am color illiterate. Things like shade, hue, tint, and saturation elude me. I live in a Roy G. Biv world. Unfortunately there are millions of other colors that I know nothing about. No wonder the majority of my wardrobe consists of greens and blues, with an occasional daring foray into a red, purple, or orange. I can not match colors in my clothes and I definitely can not decorate. I guess this is why I have spent all of my art energy in the black and white world of music and literature. This is my dilemma. I can not color coordinate my blog. I have tried, I hate everything I come up with. I have used sites with long lists of css color names, color wizards, and web color wheels. None of this has helped. So I am going to start a contest. The person who can come up with the best color scheme for my blog gets the prize and trust me it is a good prize. All suggestions are accepted, however if it is bad, you will be publicly humiliated. The only rule is no pink or lavender. Other than that anything goes. I know I have some artists friends out there, hell I am even dating an artist. I don't know how she can date a color-challenged person like myself. She must be very patient. I look forward to seeing everyone's cool ideas. The winner will be announced at the end of the week. Have fun! B

Monday Quiz...

Hey Everyone! I've decided to change things up a little up a little and have a Monday Quiz today. Adriana sent me this and I thought it was kinda funny. Give this a whirl. Are you a Yankee or a Dixie? B.