Merry Christmas/Happy Saturnalia

From Der Schatten and the Fetching Frau Schatten, Merry Christmas: Like I said a few days ago, belief or proper denomination is not required to enjoy a paid State and Federal holiday; to eat well; to visit with family and friends, and just generally to enjoy the company of loved ones. (And presents...don't forget, everyone likes getting new shit!).


See you boils and ghouls in a few days, until then, let's have some punk mood music as you tuck into that first glass of booze and watch "A Christmas Story" for the fourth time today.

The Vandals' 1996 Christmas Classic "Oi to the World", with the title track for you...

Give back to the one who's always been there for you: "Christmas Time For My Penis"

"Grandpa's Last Christmas": Be nice; they'll soon be dead.

-d.s.

Alphabetical of Simple Pleasures: K-O

Once again; great things to give as gifts, pamper yourself, or be a snob...all for $30 or less! Also, it is worth noting, that I am not paid for any of these endorsements. This is a 100% non-commercial venture. I just try to share the love to whom I can, when I can.

Enjoy. You can also peruse Parts One (A-D) and Two (E-J), respectively.


K-Pak Deep Penetrating Moisture Reconstructor

At $18-$24, this is an absolute essential for those living in dry areas. More importantly, for you poor bastards stuck in the cold, dry, frigid, snowy/icy, windy weather gripping most of the country, you know how much havoc is wrought on your coif. This is pricey for just over on ounce, but no conditioner on the planet does so much, with so little, so fast for your frozen locks. Obvs, not for every day use.

Macallan Fine Oak 10

This one cheats a bit (usually retails for about $32...but, let's pretend anyway). Macallan is a Speyside/Highland scotch, usually known for its 12 and 15-year varieties, and excellent amber coloration. The "Fine Oak 10" is, as you'd guess, an aged oak, 10-y.o. version, and, is an excellent mid-priced entry, replete with complex flavors. Let's hear what "Spirit Journal" magazine says shall we, upon giving this top shelf booze four- out of five-stars:

Pale golden yellow color is pure and clean, the initial aroma reveal supple, buttery, and piney aromas. The palate entry is honey sweet and silky.

If that doesn't make you thirsty, I don't know what will....

Library Card

Where iTunes is 20th Century par excellence in musical cataloging, it doesn't have shit on the original master organizers: Libraries(ians). From Alexander and Athens in Greece to Athens in Georgia, libraries are the repository of human knowledge, belief, innovation and imagination. A city has no soul unless it has a library; and, if there is one thing on this earth that can change a child forever it is a trip to the library (the summer reading programs are brilliant, and life-changing --growing up as a desperately poor child, I can personally attest to this fact). Best part is, as a taxpayer of the county/city, your membership is usually free, and, if not, libraries (and supporting them), represents the single best $5-$10 you'll ever spend. Ever.

H/T to the Fetching Frau Schatten for reminding me of this one :)

The iconic NYC Central Public Library...

 

Nordstrom "Smart Care" Flat Front Slacks

Simply put, I love Nordstrom's slacks. American Eagle makes jeans and chinos that actually fit like a glove, no tailoring required. But, for everyday business slacks that fit that way, it's a tougher bill. This is where the "Smart Care", machine washable, flat front, no iron-required, business casual slacks are perfect, and fit perfectly. Nordstrom quality; great fit; low maintenance, and affordable during the Labor Day sale ($27.99-$45.99, after 40% off).

Pleats are for suckas, yo.

Ono

You probably know this fish better as Wahoo, on the mainland. However, the Hawaiian word for this critter is "Ono", which means "good to eat" or "delicious". And, it is absolutely both of those things. A mild, firm fish, with little gaminess and a pleasant texture, it is exceptionally versatile for grilling, and is excellent sashimi style as well. Local caught Ono goes for about $13.99/lb, prices on the mainland are as high as $24/lb. Either way, meet the Sea Bass' equally delicious cousin. 

The redder the better. Look at the core of this thing...it's practically a tenderloin.

-d.s.

How did I miss this?

Cracked on Ingmar Bergen

Paging Antonius Block...

I love me a good Bergman film; grainy black and white movies, usually with the incomparable Max von  Sydow, beautiful women, two hours in the dark exploring the post-modern crises of faith in a cold, uncaring universe. Cracked has a beta topic index, where readers can create their own sort of dick joke Wiki. 

The entry RE: Ingmar Bergen is some special kind of awesome. Be sure to check out the full entry, but below is a snippet of the Bergen Drinking Game

Now that you know everything you need to know about Ingmar Bergman, you can Netflix a few of his movies and play this game with your buddies:
One Drink

• a character appears in a mirror
• two characters have a dialogue while at least one is staring an the abyss
• Max von Sydow murders someone who totally deserved it
• Something makes no fucking sense

Two Drinks

• a character questions the existence of God
• a character has a moral crisis
• Sven Nykvist is a genius

Well done. Well done.

DAMN; thursday got off to a late start

Not for the day; I was up at 4:00 (per my usual, as of late). Rather, I got a late start on this. Hell, it's almost siesta time on the East Coast.


Anyway, please enjoy some Mira; an excellent dark rock band, labeled "goth" by Metropolis, but I'll let you make that judgment call....

I love her voice; not as somnolent as Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star), but just as emotive, and actually with a bit better range.

Incidentally, this is one of the best "fuck, we've broken up" songs evah. 

Lyrics here, for those wishing to heap a lil' misery on themselves this Holiday season.

-d.s.

Alphabetical of Simple Pleasures: E-J

You know the drill: Items under $30 which anyone on a budget can use to themselves.

Yesterday, we ran through Audible books, Chardonnays, Djarum Blacks, Badger shaving brushes. Today, we'll cover a bit more ground. After all, this is not just a self-love primer, but may also provide some gift ideas to those of you with a (not-so) secret aesthete in your lives...Even better: you won't break the bank.



Eternity Shower Gel (for the guys)

Your author has serious problem with a lot of fragrances; the vast majority of scents are too abrasive, too artificial, and don't enhance body chemistry and pheremones very well. One notable exception is Calvin Klein, who does a great job with colognes for men that are rich, subtle, smell like a guy, and a class-act at that; not a truck-stop goon splashed in Brut. My personal fave is Eternity. Not just the cologne (about $50 for 2 ozs), but also the bath gels which transform even hungover louts into an all-day, olifactory sex machine. Priced nicely at $27.50 for a 2.5 oz bottle, it will last months.

Feria Starry Night by Loreal

This is the holy grail of all blue-black, Level 3, hair dyes. The color is sumptuous, rich, shiny, healthy and -surprisingly- not as fake looking as one would expect for an OTC hair dye that has so much blue sheen underneath it. Also, even for an ammonia-based product, it is gentle on the scalp and roots. While I am pretty much consigned to Natural Match these days (when I have the chance or time to do so), I cannot recommend this product enough for the discerning Goth. Priced between $11-$19, and worth every penny.

Gun Oil Lube (for that special lady).

Let's be adults here for a second: sex is natural, fun, cheap, enjoyable, invaluable to our mental, emotional and physical well-being, and is the "canary in the mine" for relationships. So, we need to discuss when exhaustion, mental or physical concerns, aging, or good ole' mother nature is not fully cooperative. What happens then? Try this: Gun Oil Lube, a silicone-based, non-irritating lubricant that is hands down the very finest one on the market...for a variety of applications. Will not interfere with condoms, most toys, or do bad things to your special parts. Non-scented, and easily the least viscous surface on the planet. They must use this stuff to grease microprocessor parts. It is that good...and a little bit goes a long way without worrying about constant reapplication...even if engaged in por anus sexual contact.

It sadly is expensive. For $30, you can probably afford the 4 oz bottle, although I have seen the 16 oz version on sale at Amazon for about $35 (regularly well over $50). Seriously, if you buy one thing off the Alphabetical, make it Gun Oil...you can thank me later.

Hermes Neckties

This French tie manufacturer is a secret gem to those who love good neckwear. While not as expensive (usually) as Hugo Boss, you can find some Hermes products that range well over $100. However, the classic Hermes red power tie is a must for any professional's wardrobe, and, for exactly $29.99 online at iOffer, it meets our $30 criteria too. If you're really lucky, you can find occasional lots of these badboys on eBay for about $25 per tie/per lot.

Classic Hermes red power tie...every man should own at least four such power ties, and you can't go wrong with the Hermes label.

 

Itunes

Free. Absolutely, 100% free. Infinitely expandable. Categorically brilliant in its organization, and fully cross platform. This is a true gift; from streaming m3u's (such as GothMetal.net) to powerful file conversion, to organization that makes my OCD heart flutter, to CD/DVD labeling and design, to a wealth of free streaming content, to the powerful app and iTunes stores; this baby does it all. Go take a look around this ubiquitous application, realize how very little resources it requires for all that it is, and can do. Then marvel that it is free. iTunes makes me a better person (well, at least a happier one).

Jisatsu Circle

Right up front: This isn't for everyone. This is a dark, damned depressing, damned violent manga about life and stress in Japan schools; and unrelated (seemingly) suicides. There was an award-winning, ground-breaking (but nauseating) film better known as Suicide Club, which may actually be more depraved than the 6-issue manga. Suicides. Lots and lots of suicides. The gorier the better. Nevertheless this is a suspenseful WTF read, and for fans of horror-mystery, you could (and would) do far worse than this foray into the macabre. Splatter fans, particularly, will love the movie. Incidentally, the film is $14.99 from Movies Unlimited; the Mangas are priced at $13.50 per on YesAsia.

Told ya'....not for everyone.

 

Incidentally, Part One of the Alphabetical is here. 

Happy bargain hunting.

-d.s.

All I want for Christmas is...

Something nice and dainty; with a lil' bit of ribbon and red; maybe some soft; and, ultimately very, very pretty? Perhaps with some sort of floral arrangement?
 




Ah-ha!

 ....

.....

Happy Kwanzaa/Hannukah/Christmas/Saturnalia/Yule...

Hope you get everything you're looking for.

(and, if you're exceptionally attractive, I'm sure Der Schatten can work out a lil' something to put under your tree...if you've been naughty).

-d.s.

Wednesday before Saturnalia...

Incidentally, Happy Belated Solstice.

Hope those of you on the N. American mainland got to see the first full Solstice solar eclipse since 1630. We're in the midst of an out-of-season Tropical Cyclone that has everything funky, rainy and windy...and the odds were good we weren't going to see anything in any event.

Be that as it may, hope you had a good one, and everyone is getting ready for a nice few days off for Christmas (belief not required to have a paid holiday!).

This morning's selection is a bit off the beaten path: Skull-crushing, blasphemous industrial from Ministry. Enjoy, won't you?

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant Album: "Psalm 69" and this here live title track!

wh00t!11!

What a fucking great start to Wednesday...

-d.s.

Alphabetical of Simple Pleasures: A-D

Life is not about the accumulation of stuff, nor about the pleasures that material goods and wealth can bring. As we all know, especially for younger professionals, life is really about paying back $100,000 of debt to that evil bitch, Sallie Mae.

I digress, however. While money doesn't buy happiness; money can buy small things, simple pleasures, that bring a glimmer of sunshine into an otherwise darkening world.

Herein, I present a few of the simple pleasures in life, all priced under $30, that make me smile, and can make your day/week/month a brighter place...



Audible Membership: $7.49 first 3 mos/$14.95 thereafter.

Absolutely essential for the bibliophile. If you're like me, you love to read, but your schedule is hectic, and can only snatch 45 mins or so of free time to read a book. Try Audible. Perfect when doing laundry, bathing, getting dressed, commuting, cooking meals, cleaning, even while going to sleep (we all love a bed time story).  A miserly $15 buys you a new friend each month in the form of a "credit". With tons of great $5.95 sales throughout the year, member gift certificates, and a wealth of deals, Audible is easily the best $15 you'll spend in a month.

Badger Bristle Brush

Unless you're an antiquated lumberjack, society generally wants most white-collar, non-academic  professionals to be well-groomed; which includes, naturally, shaving. For some it's a chore. For others, like me, it's a pleasure. Irrespective of your stance on shaving, nothing --and I mean nothing-- gets your regions softer, more pliable, and gives you a better shave than a good old-fashioned badger bristle brush and some nice cake soap. Sure, it takes a bit longer, but it is a nice ritual, it smells nice, and your skin will thank you.

The "Pure" bristles are about $28 on Amazon; the "Silvertips" feel like a lover's caress, but are about double that. Good cake soap, such as is found at Pioneer Heritage Shoppe, runs you $14, and lasts about 2 months!

Chardonnay

The reds get all the press: Cabernets get the money; merlot keeps Olive Garden in business; zinfandel gets the girls; and chianti goes well with fava beans. But, for my money, no wine beats the exquisite complexity of a nice chardonnay. So many varietals, there are literally as many complexities as your cravings could request. Some like their chards fruity, others crisp, others biting and sweet. Not the Shadow. Rather, I prefer mine to be earthy, rich, warm, with an oaken or buttery finish. And, man, is there a deal for you. Chateau St. Jeanne Sonoma County Reserve Chardonnay (2004), for the fantastic price of $27.99. If you want a complex every-meal wine, or one perfect by itself, one suitable for "polite" company, yet inexpensive enough to treat yourself to on occasion, this Orgasm-in-a-Glass is what you have been waiting for.

Djarum Blacks

Fantastic kretek cigars. Retail for about $7-$12 depending on locale (but, available in bulk for $30.99 per case at Tobacco General online). Mild, micro-clove with a well-sauced filter; finely-balanced, beautiful blend of Indonesian spices and Turkish 100% pure tobacco. Good tobacco, good cloves, great deal...and go perfect with earthy beverages such as black Sumatra/Kona Peaberry coffees, amaretto and zinfandel. 

-d.s.

Jesus Christ...

...what color were you?

 For pure LOL material, I prefer Dane-Jesus up there with the pale blue eyes and strawberry-blonde hair...

With Christmas rapidly approaching, I thought I'd take a minute to talk about Jesus. Let's ignore the fact that there's not even compelling record evidence to suggest that he even lived, as a corporeal person; and let's ignore the fact that he doesn't even arrive in Christian literature until a century after his death; and let's ignore that like about a dozen other virgin-born deities, parthenogenesis isn't possible with human beings; and let's ignore that if Jesus actually existed, he was likely not born in our December.


Let us, instead, think about what Jesus looked like. The above is my favorite one, because a pale, Teutonic Jesus just strips the entire veneer off of what Jesus ethnically was, and where he purportedly was born. Jesus was, if anything, a Jew...a Semitic male from Judea.Gonna' be hard for the Christians to accept this one, but he was meant to fulfill the line of David, to resore the Kingdom, to fulfill the Jewish prophecies and to break up the influence of the priest-class. If nothing, Jesus announced that he was the Messiah of Jewish prophecy.

So? ever seen a Semitic male, born in Palestine or Judea, to a Turkish mom? (Mary was from Ephesus in present-Turkey).

These lovely ladies are Turks...in present-day Ephesus.

...and....

This is a contemporary Semitic man, from the ancestral regions of Judea/Palestine...

So, how did we get the image of Jesus of as a Saxon warrior? I like to think it's a few products, really. One, is pure racism. For the same reason Jesus is always shown painted over in his genital region...a circumsized penis is too Jewish for the Christian class to handle. Another reason, I suppose, is that people want their gods to look like them (except for me...I prefer Cthulu, tentacles and all). Combine these two things: One a desire, and two a white-washing, and you get some odd results...

Crunk Jesus...

Welsh Jesus...

  Turko-Grecian Jesus (pretty damned close, probably).

and, what I think is most likely...this forensic reconstruction of a 1st Century Semitic Male....

This is your real jesus. An ethnic Jew of the 1st Century, with unkempt hair, curly beard, etc.  Let's see what the Bible thinks, shall we...RE: the family reunion in heaven.

DAD: His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

SON: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze

So, give our first century guy some white in his hair, and he is God. Take away the white from God's hair, and he is Jesus. Seems perfectly rational, and reasonable to me...Now, get over your pasty Jesus, people, and realize you are worshipping a very ethnic, very provincial desert god of prehistoric extraction. And, if you want, tell him happy birthday this Saturday...

1968 Sixty Minutes on Jesus' appearance. Anachronisms abound in this decidedly whiter America.

-d.s. 

Tuesday just lost all productivity...

...replaced the Wii with an XBox360 last night (it was my self-selected xmas gift :) And, weird dreams seem to have passed me by for an evening. Good thing the year is winding down, and all of my projects are not time sensitive, it permits me to now obsess about other things.


Speaking of which, please enjoy Clan of Xymox's "Obsession"

Probably more of a synthpop offering than one of the Clan's darker fares, but still, you fully expect this song to be in a really cheesy 80s movie...maybe featuring Andrew McCarthy or on a disc with the Thompson Twins.

In either case, there's nothing wrong with that.

-d.s.

Florida prosecutors pick on cripples; grandstand wildly.

About a month ago, I wrote a scathing piece on the chilling effect of private corporate censorship by Amazon against the creeper who authored the "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct".

Therein, I argue that 'tis better to provide legal, if not socially acceptable, fora for pedophiles to learn how to curb their appetites and stay within the law, than it is to permit unpopular, grotesque, but-legal speech to be chilled by any entity; much less a private one.


Seems like the author of that book, Philip Ray Greaves II, is back in the news today. This time for a reason that should pretty much anger anyone who gives a shit about criminalization of speech, police entrapment, and the politicization of the law.

Yep, he looks like a creeper too.

Obviously, not the most popular client to have...

From MSNBC:

Polk County sheriff's deputies arrested Philip Ray Greaves II hundreds of miles away from Florida at his home in Pueblo, Colorado, and charged him with violating Florida's obscenity law.

Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said his office was able to arrest Greaves on Florida charges because Greaves sold and mailed his book, "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover's Code of Conduct," directly to undercover Polk deputies. Judd says Greaves even signed the book.

Read that again, and process it. What Florida did was solicit Greaves to sell his book in their jurisdiction, where it is deemed criminal obscenity and indecent. Now, the problem is, the book isn't a crime under federal law, nor was writing, manufacturing, or selling it (or its contents) a crime in Colorado, where Greaves lives and where he was presumably minding his own business now that the furor has died down.

There is entrapment, and then there is entrapment. Normally, it is not entrapment if the police solicit someone to do something which is criminal. The reason being is that they are just taking (allegedly)  advantage of the defendant's proclivity towards committing a criminal offense. If someone is trying to do a murder for hire, drug deal, extortion racket, etc. entrapment wouldn't be a defense.

But here, the man writes a vile book, and is literally solicited to commit a crime that he likely did not know was even criminal to begin with. Even worse, the "crime" alleged by Florida is ordinary commerce...that he engaged in legally in Colorado, using the Federal interstate mail system...legally. Even worse than that, the "crime" is repulsive speech whose sale is criminalized in Florida. Just speech, that's it. And interstate commerce, apparently.

But, how do we know it's grand-standing and not a legitimate prosecution. I dare say the presser released by the Polk Co. Sheriff's Department says it all.

"If he will waive extradition, it's my goal for him to eat processed turkey on Christmas Day in the Polk County Jail," Judd said. * * * "If we can get jurisdiction ... we're coming after you," Judd said. "There's nothing in the world more important than our children."

 Yea, that's pretty much what I think of Sheriff Judd...

Lookit. This is repulsive, vile, stomach-turning...you name the adjective. But Florida is on rotten-ass ice here. 1. Colorado shouldn't even extradite him, as this was not a crime. 2. There are serious pre-emption issues here as well. The State used the feds to entrap a guy into a state level crime that is not a federal crime. The crime revolves around commerce. Well, Skippy, this commerce is interstate. Good luck with that one. 3. It's criminalization of speech for fuck's sake, and may be revisited by some very high courts very soon. 4. While communities have a right to police and protect THEIR CITIZENS, the 1st Amendment doesn't cease to be relevant. More important, Florida has no interest in this political prosecution because the crime was manufactured by Florida and brought into their jurisdiction...by Florida officials themselves. 5. Notice is going to be a big big problem. Generally ignorance of the law is not an excuse; however, when the criminality is the exercise of a fundamental right, and the commission of the crime involves participation in interstate commerce, how on God's earth could Greaves know he was engaging in criminal behavior?

 

Besides, perverts always look like pervs. Every lil' kid has built-in molester-radar.

Nevertheless, Greaves is an easy punching bag. Just like the Feds go after Assange because they cannot go after the N.Y. Times, Florida attempts to prosecute another person extra-territorially, who also committed no crime. Why? Because it's ass-fucking lazy, it's cheap populism, it's interference with legitimate law enforcement, and it's a helluva' lot easier than investigating and prosecuting the real problem here: Real Florida pedophiles who have committed unspeakable, unforgiveable violence against real Florida children.

This shit is just window-dressing.

-d.s.

The bittersweet dream...

Of a big bore V-8 speeding down an endless ribbon of highway, wind whipping caressing me like a lover, the painted desert further painted on the reflection of her sunglasses, her bright red lipstick and tousled hair, a radio that never sounds bad. She half-climbs into the backseat of the black convertible, as the wind worries at her dress.

We are young, reckless and utterly "ima wo ikiru"..."being", living in the moment with no past and no future, and an aimless, rudderless love for life itself.

Mood music. The excellent Danish punk, gothabilly band, Volbeat.

The first car we've encountered on this lonely highway, speeds us by. The driver's tie is at half-mast, bags line his eyes which show a far-away look of deep concentration on the road and whatever else lies heavy on his mind. In the backseat, a bored child's face is pressed against the glass. I try to smile at her as we pass, but no light comes to the little girl's eyes, and we're quickly forgotten.

And then the dream dies around me. What was perpetual sunset, is now a descending darkness. I feel the night's chill set in, and realize that I brought nothing to keep me warm. I begin to become consciously aware of the heavy lump in my pocket where an empty wallet lies. I worry as the gas needle drops faster than gravity would seem possible. What once was whimsy on her face turns into a cold distance, and furrows unconsciously gather in her brows. There grows a distant pang somewhere in the pit of my stomach that isn't attributable to growing hunger alone. I start to think about -not this moment- but the moment's that must come tomorrow, and the preparation that must be done now so as to live in that future, rather than this moment.

And, it's a dream. A bittersweet one; an irresponsible one; an impossible one. 

It is, in short, Rousseau's notion of the liberated individual; the spirit freed from the strictures of everyday society. And it leaves me gasping for breath as I choke against the tethers that I only occasionally feel, but which I've leashed about myself in an effort to stave off uncertainty.

A dream juxtaposed against a very real sacrifice. That is what I'll tell myself today, anyway.

-d.s.