God is Good, God is Great

I arrived at the Bergstrom International Airport a few months back and realized, much to my chagrin that I had forgotten to pack any sort of on-flight literature. Luckily, I had time to browse the newest releases in the airport BookPeople. None of the book titles caught my attention until I saw Christopher Hitchens’ new book entitled “God is not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything”.

I picked up the book (with its obnoxious, glowing yellow cover) without reading anymore than the title and was soon on my way to learning more about religion than almost TEN years of studies at parochial schools had taught me. With a very intelligent and satiric tone to his writing, he shows the reader the darker sides of what arguably the most important social institution of mankind.

If you are looking for a challenging read with a great reward for knowledge at the end, “God is not Great” will enlighten any reader willing to take a step back and re-examine religion as a whole. One of the strongest aspects of the book is that he doesn’t focus solely on one religion but dissects almost all major religious faiths and then gives you verifiable facts to back up his claims.

Readers that enjoy a sharp, witty tone will appreciate Christopher Hitchens latest book whether they agree or disagree with his arguments.

It's Always Sunny in my DVD Player

After over a year of not having cable, I am plugged back in but still only watch a few shows with an almost religious fervor. One of those shows is the outlandishly satirical series “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” which airs every Thursday night on FX at 9 pm.
About two weeks ago, I made the wise investment of purchasing the first and second seasons on DVD and my roommate and I have been kept in hysterics by this edgy sitcom ever since. After I bought the DVD, I began looking up information about the show when I found my schoolwork too tedious to keep my attention. My favorite little morsel that I found about the show is on IMDB.com who describes It’s Always Sunny under the Tagline: It’s “Seinfeld” on crack.
The show is based on 4 (ass-hole) friends who are constantly arguing with each other about a vast array of topics: abortion, underage drinking, welfare, gun control, etc. They take these issues to extreme measures to prove a point about societal problems. For instance, in one episode, brother and sisters Dennis and Dee want to go on welfare but in order to do so they need something circumstantial in order to achieve welfare status. Queue Dennis and Dee getting addicted to crack in order to fulfill a welfare requirement.
Ever since the cancellation of “Arrested Development”, one of the most ingenious ideas for a sitcom ever, television has been in need of a program that will push the boundaries of ‘acceptable programming’. Although the Fox network has one of the longest hit/miss columns among major networks in terms of successes and failures, with “It’s Always Sunny”, they’re helping keep television from reaching an inevitably stagnant existence.

One Train I Wish I'd Missed

Blasphemous, purely blasphemous, that I have heard critics and move-goers alike say that 3:10 to Yuma (starring Christian Bale and Russell Crowe) is the best western since Unforgiven.As a student of the western film genre, I would arue that Unforgiven, with it's genuinely skillful acting and well-developed script, propelled itself to becoming the best western of this generation.

So naturally, I was elated to hear that a new western of the same magnitude had arrived in theatres. Then, I sat through the re-make of a perfectly well-done 50's western. Of course there aren't many liberties the director can take in changing a classic but the script could have used some serious work. Christian Bale's acting was on par, as per usual, and Russell Crowe did well too, but some of the cheesy lines he said were just too much. E.g, a cheesy, recurring pick up line that he uses with every girl he encounter,"What color are your eyes? Green, I knew a girl with green eyes once that looked just like you." Really Russell, I think you're better that that. I, along with two friends, walked out of the movie feeling jipped of our $6.25 and wanting those last two hours of our lives back.

The best part of the movie was the preview for the next Daniel Day-Lewis movie. There Will Be Blood looks like a gut-wrenching, no-holds-bar movie show-casing the themes of religion, greed and corruption. Not a good sign when the best part of your movie-going experience is a trailer.

"Phish" is "Dead", Welcome STS9

The Grateful Dead bore the weight of jam music on their shoulders for more than a quarter century when a new, young act popped up in Vermont, Phish. Many followers of the Dead started to drift to Phish shows after seeing the Dead seemed stagnant. The death of Jerry Garcia in 1995 solidified Phish on top of the Jam food chain with SCI (String Cheese Incident) and WP (Widespread Panic) nipping at their heels. Now, in 2007, Phish has made their final break and so has String Cheese leaving the door wide open for a new jam scene and a new kind of jam band: enter STS9 (Sound Tribe Sector 9).

Sound Tribe Sector 9 is gaining major momentum in the Jam music world utilizing a vast array of sounds including the standard guitar/bass/drums/keyboard sound while utilizing laptops to add a trademark sound. This past weekend, STS9 played Friday, September 14th at La Zona Rosa followed Saturday night by a PA set (a rarity among Sound Tribe shows) which was even more electronically influenced with all the members on laptop/keyboard/synthesiser. But just when the electronic sound seemed to be losing its effect on the crowd, Hunter Brown (lead guitarist) would pick up his six string and Zac Velmer (drums) hopped onto an ordinary 5-piece set and fuse the two sounds together. They followed the Friday and Saturday nite shows with an afternoon performance (1-2pm) at Zilker Park for the Austin City Limits Festival. I was not able to attend this show but after having seen STS9 upwards of 20 times, one hour in not nearly enough (there usual set is 3 sometimes 4 hours) and at a daytime show they can't exhibit their dazzling light show produced by Saxton Lights.

I talked to a friend who had toured all over the country this summer keeping up with both SCI and STS9 and she told me after both Friday and Saturday night that what she had seen in Austin topped anything she had seen all summer. And I can believe it; every concert I see them they give me something new and different, whether it is a new song, sound or even visual (they have pioneered the way for live art at concerts). So in the end, if you are getting bored with your music and would like to add a new sound to your life, try Sound Tribe Sector 9.

On Monday, September 10th, the anti-war activist Reverend Lennox Yearwood was injured and hospitalized after being forced to the ground by six police officers. The Reverend, who after standing in line to watch the Congressional hearing of General Petraeus was skipped, proceeded to protest with the officers as to why they would not let him enter. (He was wearing an "I love the people of Iraq" button at the time). He was arrested for disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer. Before they could detain him at the police office; he had to make a quick stop to the hospital after the six officers broke his ankle while he "allegedly" resisted arrest. Anyone who has seen footage of the incident should be wary of what is happening to our 1st Amendment rights which seemed be violated twice in the case of Reverend Yearwood.

The Uncapturable Banksy

For those of you who have not yet heard of the infamous Banksy, I will do my best to shed light on his devious, yet seemingly politically motivated acts of graffiti and mass-pranks. From what organizations, both artistic and governmental know about Banksy, he is in his late 20's and he hails from possibly Bristol or Redland England. He is world-renowned for his politically satirical graffiti art and his daring pranks or 'art stunts'.

Although he (and his crew) are technically fugitives, (his face has only been seen by two interviewers), he is still able to sell his artwork through his manager. His work 'Space Girl and Bird', which was commissioned by the British alternative band Blur, sold for 288,000 pounds. His works has sold anywhere from 25,000 pounds to nearly 300,000 pounds. According to interviews though, he could care less about the money, he enjoys the emotion his art evokes from people and the risk that comes from being in his 'line of work'.

Aside from traditional graffiti art, Banksy also thrives on what are known in the art community as 'art stunts'. Two prime examples are when he and his crew replaced 500 of Paris Hilton's newly released CD with copies in which he had changed the images of to those of a topless Paris Hilton and remixed and changed the songs, with the help of Danger Mouse, to titles such as "Why am I Famous?" and "What am I for?". Probably his most daring art stunt happened during a tour he mad to L.A. He and his crew took a sawed-in-half phone booth and cemented it into an empty parking lot, however; the building adjacent to the parking lot was that of an unmarked FBI building. He is also famous for hanging his own artworks in museums such as the Met, the Museum of Modern Art and the British Museum in London who ironically left his work hanging.

Banksy has helped to inspire a new generation of artist into bringing their beliefs of politics and religion into their art and to take risks in doing so.