Amanda Palmer: Oasis In Exile


As our listeners already know, the show does what it can to stay light hearted while delving into the kinky world. Recently a friend of Certified Sound tipped us off to a song and accompanying video that had gone unnoticed to the almost all seeing eye of I, DJ Certified. Now for those that remember the music of the show I’m not one to criticize or give musical advice. However, if you have the time and the means let us recommend: Who Killed Amanda Palmer. As the name may lead you to believe the album from the vocalist of the Dresden Dolls Amanda Palmer but wait there’s more.

By now, you may be wondering why we’ve taken such a liking to this album. That can be summed up in a word: Oasis. Not that the wankers from across the pond are directly involved, but they do play a key role in this. As you’re cruising through take a tour of track 10, then go back and listen again. Here I’ll help you out:

So are we taking a stab at rape? Making fun of abortion? Well, yes. Now ask why. Here’s a snippet from Amanda’s blog:

WHEN YOU CANNOT JOKE ABOUT THE DARKNESS OF LIFE, THAT’S WHEN THE DARKNESS TAKES OVER.

Also see:

you’re damn right this shit makes people uncomfortable.
it makes people uncomfortable to hear ANYONE talking about abortion and rape bluntly, much less talking about it LIKE THIS….

and i think it makes people uncomfortable to hear the truth about a very real and sick situation:
if you don’t know – or have never encountered – a teenager who is going through intense heavy experiences (like rape, abortion, eating disorders, abuse, fill-in-the-blank)
and is laughing these things off like THEY DON’T MATTER, then you are not ALIVE and AWAKE and living on this planet.
IT’S HAPPENING EVERYWHERE. i see it all the time. it’s called being a confused teenager. it’s real. it SUCKS.

abortion is serious. rape is serious. lots of things are serious. do they think i’m blind?

the song isn’t even so much ABOUT those topics, it’s about denial, it’s about a girl who can’t find it in herself to take her situation seriously.
that girl exists, everywhere. you probably know her. you’ve probably met her. you might be her.

Straight from the artist and that’s the real tragedy. During a tour of Jolly Ole’ apparently there was a spot of bother with this song. No stations were willing to play the song. The label rep goes so far as to suggest changing tempo, and mood to make Oasis more acceptable. One would think that, of all places England would understand irony and possibly subtext considering the intricacies of ‘proper English’. Then again what can I say? I am but a humbled yank.

If anything comes across, at least for me, it’s this: Pay Attention. Just because something is no longer making headlines doesn’t mean it does not happen anymore. The BBC did breakdown and gave airtime to Oasis on channel 6 but if you check out Amanda’s blog you can see the list of stations that have refused this work, including of course MTV. (Insert quick shot at them not playing any videos.)

If we don’t question then no one is held accountable. If we don’t listen then the answer is meaningless. As always, we don’t have all the answers. Just never forget to think. Don’t be afraid to be heard and if people don’t want to hear what you have to say it might mean it needs to be said.

Amanda Palmer’s Blog

Who Killed Amanda Palmer

We’re all worried, we’re all in pain. That just comes with having eyes and having ears.

- Mark Hunter, Pump Up the Volume

and just ‘cause they call themselves experts
it doesn’t mean sweet fuck all…

- Amanda Palmer, Who Killed Amanda Palmer “The point of it all”

Quote of the Day


Courtesy of Harvard professor Niall Ferguson in Vanity Fair:

The motto “In God we trust” was added to the dollar bill in 1957. Since then its purchasing power, relative to the consumer price index, has declined by a staggering 87 percent.

That’ll make you laugh for a few seconds before you curl back up into the fetal position and get depressed again.

(Thanks to Lexi for the quotation!)

If it’s broken, then fix it!


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Last week, you may recall our coverage on Tom Chick’s “5 Ways MMOs are broken” and Scott Jenning’s rebuttal article. This week brings a new story to the table of rebuttal with Trembling Hand’s author Tim writing a post on his 10 ways to fix the problems with MMOs. Tim is in full agreement with Chick on how broken MMOs are these days, as he too has felt the wear and tear of the genre. Tim’s newest post, however, points to the many areas where MMOs could improve, such as added AI to monsters, removal of classes and levels and moving towards skill based systems, and even something as simple as…

If it’s broken, then fix it! originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Coke Superbowl ad says: Get a life, buy soda… nerds


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What’s apparently a sign of social ineptitude? Playing online games. At least according to the Coca Cola company, who last Sunday ran an avatar-themed advert that carried with it a strong message: Stop wasting your life with online games, and drink our acidic, sugar-infused soda instead. You can find the commercial after the cut, along with some more slightly baffled commentary….

Continue reading Coke Superbowl ad says: Get a life, buy soda… nerds

Coke Superbowl ad says: Get a life, buy soda… nerds originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Is World of Warcraft a religion?


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Just when you thought you had heard it all, MMO gamers are now being called religious zealots. According to Theo Zijderveld, a grad student at the University of Colorado, gamers who experience online worlds “like World of Warcraft and Second Life” are doing so to transcend their physical bodies and “realize a new identity in cyberspace”. This is not exactly news to us, but it’s the connection to religion that becomes interesting. In his 72-page Master’s thesis entitled Cyberpilgrims, Zijderveld cites the four dimensions of religion for his cause: community, ethics, culture and emotion. “The…

Is World of Warcraft a religion? originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Thoughts on Super Bowl advertisements


Let’s get it out of the way, shall we?

Most of the commercials were “meh”.  Budweiser had the usual cute animal spots.  GoDaddy showed off their 12-year-old sense of humor. (and believe me.  I respect that.)  Doritos and the “Crystal Ball” spot had the best commercial…

What really got me was Cash4Gold.com.  Ok, it was funny to dig up Ed McMahon’s bones, and nice of them to give Stanley Burrell (aka MC Hammer) a ride from his day job at the car wash in order to pitch for C4G and remind us all of how old we have become since the last time either of them were relevant.  But c’mon.  “Mail us your vaulables in a clear plastic envelope and we’ll send you a check for how much we think your jewelry is worth”???  Seriously?  Mail them gold and silver and trust them to cut you a check for a fair amount.

Really?

I know this will come as a shock to most of you, but apparently this is one giant scam!

I recently came across an article called “Confessions of a Cash4Gold Employee“  The article itself is poorly written, which tells me that there is a better than average chance that it’s legit.  After all, if you were very smart, would you have gone to work for Cash4Gold.com in the first place?

I especially liked this example given.

For ex: Sally Smith receives a check for $27.86 for a Rolex watch(which we don’t issue value for), a class ring, a ring with diamond chips, a pair of earrings with emeralds, as well as a few sterling silver pieces, and maybe a few items that were really of no value

Ok… I appreciate that the economy sucks.  But seriously, anyone who sends a freakin’ ROLEX to these people deserves what they get.   The author goes on to describe how customer service routinely doubles or triples the amount of money given to people who call in to complain.  After all, paying an additional 50 bucks for the Rolex is still a net profit for the Cash4Gold folks.

Of course, since the “refiner’s kit” they send you is insured for a maximum value of 100 dollars, it is easier for them just to say “It got lost in transit” and have the insurance company pay you off.  Predictably enough, this is apparently a common practice at C4G as well.

Don’t be a sucker, kids…

The Daily Grind: Mixing your worlds


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We actually got this image from one of our readers, Neadric, who mailed it in the other day. He had apparently been waiting on a raid in World of Warcraft, and decided to play some Lord of the Rings Online while he waited. Of course, the thing is that this isn’t terribly uncommon around the virtual offices. Personally, I know I’ve run as many as three at once, although most of the time it’s just two. My regular mix is EVE Online running alongside another MMO – generally World of Warcraft, City of Heroes, or Lord of the Rings Online lately. But this raised the question amongst the staff – how…

The Daily Grind: Mixing your worlds originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Nah, I ain’t dead yet.


Yeah, I know it’s been a geologic era since I last wrote anything.  Between the holidays, birthdays (pretty much all of January) and various other goings on, I haven’t had a lot of time to say what’s on my mind.

Rest assured, that is going to change, very soon.

For now,  suffice to say that I’m back in the gym (more details to come) and life is getting somewhat close to normal once again.  We recently had to change web hosts, so if you see any unusual behavior on the site, please let me know ASAP.

-Grim

PETA’s Banned Super Bowl Spot: Bat shit crazy, but more entertaining than the game.


For those that watch the game within the game you may have missed what would most certainly be the best play of the night. PETA those wacky euthanizing animal lovers have put together what only amounts to the greatest commercial ever. Although, I have to admit I have n0o clue what it’s about I just think the day of the asparagus has finally donned, no longer brushed aside for the carrot, potato or cucumber. So without further ado:

So there you have it. The true way to fill the inner crisper. As one may have suspected it’s not to soon for the parodies and responses to start popping up:

Till next time my loyals.