hipster hop

If Hip-Hop is dying, this is certainly keeping it in hooked up to life support ...
Seriously? .... seriously ... ?
What confounds me more is not these idiots doing this, but ALL THE PEOPLE SITTING AROUND WATCHING! But I guess when your hip-hop history is confined to "that one song Aerosmith did with those guys in the 80s", "Flava Flav (in reality show format)", and "Will Smith" it's not too surprising this would pass as .. well, passable ...



via look at this fucking hipster

blago clones

I know this story dropped yesterday, but just heard the NPR article interviewing her on "All Things Considered". She comes across just slightly less of a megalomaniac and crazy than our own disgraced politician. You can find the audio online, here's a transcript. My favorite parts are her being confronted with straight-away questions and not just ignoring them, but feigning complete ignorance.

MR. SIEGEL: Yes, but the reports – I don’t know how partial they are, but they are based on people who have seen transcripts of wiretaps. And they’re very detailed. One, The New York Times reports today that in a call, the caller offered to get Haim Saban, a big political donor and a supporter of Israel, to tell Nancy Pelosi that he wouldn’t donate money if you didn’t get the chairmanship of the intelligence committee.

REP. HARMAN: (Chuckles.)

MR. SIEGEL: Any conversation like that, ever?

REP. HARMAN: Well, how do we know?

it's a yes or no question Jane. christ.

time travel

Sadly, I have thought of this more times than I should admit....
Click To Grow!


also, this guy has already been on the Colbert Report so this might be old news but it still looks cool.
Music That Makes You Dumb

RE: american idolz

So last week I put a post up letting people know I'd be sharing the stage with Official American Idol Taylor Hicks. I was nice. I didn't go off on a rant about the insanity and shallowness that IS American Idol, or the fact that a show centered around creating music as a commodity is the antithesis of what MUSIC IS. No. I was nice. I gave the guy the benefit of the doubt ... and I wouldn't even feel compelled to write this post if not for this comment left in the last post ...

For the sake of women of every age in America, plez post the after-effects of your experience with His Hotness. OK?

Well, here's my experience; Taylor Hicks is a joke-ass has-been without a lick of confidence in his being.

But why? Why the hate? Well... not so much hate as disgust. Disgust at seeing a man who does have some base talent letting "The Business" utterly consume him. Allowing the paranoia in to a point of insecurity that results in a decision to NOT ALLOW THE OPENING BAND TO HAVE HORNS.
What?
Yes.
Apparently Taylor Hicks and management had nothing better to occupy their time with then to literally stop our group from playing with all members. Let me explain; We are an nonet, standard rhythm section (2 guitars), singer plus 3 horns. For some reason this fact caused great agitation amongst the Hicks management team prompting the head honcho to shout "Either they play as a 5 piece or they DON'T PLAY AT ALL". So, politics always wins over common sense and the production team got in line and did whatever this LA dickhead asked. Which was not allowing me and the trumpet player on stage as well as making sure the bands' level was much much lower than Hicks (I'm aware this is a common practice in clubs, to boost the overall sound level with each opener so that the headliner is loudest but this was some overtly rude behavior, telling the sound guy what to do, etc).

To me, these are the signs of a bloated tick in his death throws. A sort-of "If I'm going down, I'm taking everyone with me" attitude. I can say unequivocally that this irrational action is the cause of great insecurity by everyone in the Hicks camp. Because as Hicks' popularity wanes, so does their chance of steady employment. They have watched their empire crumble into the hollowed state it is today. Once filling 1000+ halls, Hicks is now lucky to fill a 300+ room which is a fate I surely do not envy. But it is a fate brought on by cheaply attained fame. Surely, the winner of a popularity contest cannot hope to retain the fame and glory of that prize forever. As anyone living in America is aware, the appetite for "new" and "different" (even if it just a topical difference with no real change underneath) by Americans is insatiable. When you're product is less based on art then "what sells" and you're career is determined by record label execs and phone-in votes all I can ask is: What do you expect?

Still, this does not excuse the behavior we encountered. Merely because our band was BIGGER (read: not better) we were reduced in order to ensure that Hicks would shine with all the shimmer of an oil soaked otter on an Alaskan beach. I wish those guys best-of-luck but hope to never have anything to do with them ever again.


oh. and ... YAY FOR NO MORE PRESIDENT CHUMPS-A-LOT! YAY FOR PRESIDENT HOPES-A-LOT!

i think we know who we're talking about here

This was on Wonkette yesterday, but I only had a chance to watch it with sound today ... and it's so insane it requires re-broadcast here ... This guy (McCain spokesman Mike Goldfarb) is seriously at the end of his rope, making accusations of Obama with no backup ... the whole time with a very George W Bush-ish smirk on his face ...

brilliant.

pink ties

Well, august 2008 will probably go down as the slowest bluntest month to date (see, you might think that we all have broken arms [except pimpernel] but really, its just me. your other contributors have fully functioning extremities, and are just lazy as dirt.) I have been spending a whole lotta time on the 'ol 'puter, but its been on this page, the NY Craft Beer Week site I designed. It's up and running, and quite impressive, if I may say so. Not just the design/functionality, but the event itself is huge. Literally crap-loads of beers, breweries, and bars participating. Any NY readers should definitely consider going. Everything takes me 3x-5x times longer then it should which is why I've only been working on that.

anyway, here's some stuff to gander at.

ignore the authors captions, they're not funny. the images are though.
check out this weird academic-ish article about reggae. cause the drastics is in it. huh?
so livejournal has a really shitty rip off of blogger's "post secret". it's called "secretpost". how original. anyway, i found this and it made me hate angst more than ever. grow up kid.
Detroit is an interesting town ... must watch until 3min mark


aight, i'll try to get back on this.

yeah, it's called "checks and balances"

it's what that whole "US Constitution" thing is sorta-kinda based on ...

Judge rejects Bush's 'absolute' immunity argument against subpoenas

even MORE of that LIBERAL slant

Pretty awesome that this didn't get picked up by most of the major news networks ...

Police found right-wing political books, brass knuckles, empty shotgun shell boxes and a handgun in the Powell home of a man who said he attacked a church in order to kill liberals "who are ruining the country," court records show.

Inside the house, officers found "Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder" by radio talk show host Michael Savage, "Let Freedom Ring" by talk show host Sean Hannity, and "The O'Reilly Factor," by television talk show host Bill O'Reilly.

holy christ, is it 1890?

3 Pennsylvania teens charged in fatal beating of immigrant

WHY DOES THE PRESS LOVE OBAMA SO MUCH, AND HATE OUR FREEDOMS MORE!?

The Media has LIED LIED LIED TO US!!!!!!! They interviewed a registered college Republican and then typed out on the teevee screen that he was a MEMBER of the USC Young Republicans! THE LIES!!!!!!!!!!!!

"I've never met him, heard of him, talked with him, nothing," USC College Republican president Ben Myers told ABCNews.com.

Myers said he's infuriated with CNN, and argued his group is attracting a lot of support on campus.

this is the TOP story under Google News "US" section right now.

and to put this into perspective
Fox's Shively falsely suggested Obama has been a Christian for only "two decades now"
Fox News calls Michelle Obama "Obama's baby mama"
"A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab?"
Liz Trotta: Osama, Obama, they should both be killed
Michelle Obama: Angry Black Woman
Obama: Madrassa Schooled Muslim

i.d.i.o.t.s.

Why do I feel like 90% of my time on The Bluntest is spent pointing out what idiots people are.

here's my latest find of idiocy, courtesy of "Luke Boggs a writer living in Alpharetta"

his story Obama's frequent regrets may make us sorry

anyone with a 3rd grade education (even an American 3rd grade education) can immediately see through/debunk this "article" ... my heightened annoyance stems from the combination of this being on Google News' main page and me being on my 5th beer. my favorite quote ...

So what jumped out at me was how quickly Obama regretted his decision. And that, in turn, made me wonder how often the senator has regretted other choices. Answer: pretty often. (Googling "Obama" and "regrets" yields more than a million hits.)

(the "decision" Obama regretted was to put his kiddies on the teevee)

Ol' Boggy then goes on to describe exactly three (3) times Obama has "regretted" something. One (1) for each year 2006-2008. First off, 3 regrets in 3 years for someone who is NEW to the scrutiny of the public eye is a pretty good record. Especially since one of the "Regrets" listed was letting his daughters be on Entertainment Tonight, or whatever show it was. I dunno, maybe there's a direct link there to National Security Policy I'm just not seeing. Just because Obama acknowledged making mistakes doesn't indict him as the only politicians who DOES make mistakes. Bush's M.O. has been the political equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and screaming "NAHNAHNAHNAHNAHNAH". Really, all of this makes me wonder; what is with this strange national obsession against a president showing humility? I understand the current precedence (of at least the past 8 years) is that our Commander-in-Chief does what he damn-well-pleases and not-never-no-how apologizes for anything. But ...... I mean, even conservatives don't like Bush anymore, so what gives? Have people already forgotten what happens when a head strong president does what he wants? We end up in 2 quagmire wars with no end and no purpose, a faltering economy and a severely damaged ecological state. If this is the best The Right can come up with against Obama, they should take those McCain campaign bucks and hire Karl Rove back. Though he's so busy ducking subpoenas from Congress he might not have time ...

oh, and i'm just taking a break from freelance work right now ... s'only reason i'm up and mostly sober at 3am ...

########ADDENDUM

the folks over at Bad Idea Blog read the same article and had a similar reaction.

Ding-Dong ...

The evil witch is dead

In nearly every account of Helm's death I read there is inevitably some soundbite/quote from a "man on the street" saying "Well, you might not have liked what Helm's stood for, but at least you knew where he stood." ... Is this seriously all we expect from our politicians these days? Not that we really need a refresher course on how much of a backward thinking - bigoted - pig-headed - sheep-raping - asshole of a douchebag - stupid-face Jesse Helm's was ... but let's review ...

From the beginning, Helms was schooled in the political device of using race to propel white conservatives to the polls. As news director for WRAL radio, Helms supported Willis Smith in his 1950 Senate campaign against Frank Porter Graham, the former president of the University of North Carolina. The campaign theme was that Graham favored interracial marriages. "White people, wake up before it is too late," said one ad. "Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races." LA Times

Helms was a tireless advocate of life and family values. As the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Helms proposed in 2001 to scrap USAID and its pro-abortion policies and allow private and religious groups to take over its work. Helms also denounced CEDAW's attack on "Mother's Day," which the convention viewed as a matter of discrimination.
Some nutjobs - yes, let us ONLY honor those women who give birth. they are the only ones contributing to our society, and properly know the place of women: as mothers, nothing more.

After being the target of a protest during a visit to Mexico in 1986, Helms said, “All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction.” BeyondChron

In an article written by editor Bob Windsor () entitled "Jim Hunt is Sissy, Prissy, Girlish and Effeminate," the publication made the outrageous claim that Hunt, while a student at N.C. State, had a "pretty young boy" as a lover... Windsor had merely "printed rumors," Helm's said, and admitted that he could not verify whether the charges that Hunt was gay were the "truth or factual in any way." Windsor compared the story to Hunt's unsubstantiated assertions about El Salvador that had labeled Jesse Helms "a murderer by proxy." "I never accused Hunt of being a fag," Helm's said. Reason Magazine (Jim Hunt was the incumbent Governor of North Carolina Helm's went on to defeat in 1984)

Wheeeee! America!

But hey, we here at The Bluntest aren't so one sided. Here's some fun with everyone's favorite Black bigot, Louis Farrakhan! I recently acquired 2 sealed copies of Farrakhan's 1984 release "Let Us Unite" released on A.V.C. Records (no combination of Google searches yielded any result on this label). The album is truly awful and consists of 2 different songs, one on each side followed by a radio-edit version (4 tracks total) and Farrakhan's (then) baby-face smiling oh-so-pleasantly at you from both the cover and back. The A-Side is like a really slow calypso groove and the flip is some straight 80s R&B. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise to those of you familiar with Farrakhan's Calypso Career! Yes, in the 1950s and 60s before becoming an "Islamic" activist and Hitler-Youth candidate, Louis Farrakhan was known as "The Charmer" releasing a handful of solo albums as well as being included on compilations along side calypso mainstays "Lord Kitchener" and "Duke of Iron". Follow that page all the way through for some good times, and to also remember what the internet was like in 1996. Real Media? Seriously!? People still use that!?!? Here's a ton of info on "Mighty Charmer's" singing career courtesy of NLISATT (that of course being the National Library and Information System Authority of Trinidad and Tobago). Louie seemed (seems?) to have a fascination with the transgendering as well, evident in a tune focused on this guy/gal Christine Jorgensen. Is She Is, or Is She Ain't highlights the widely publicized sex-change operation Jorgensen underwent during the 1950s. Listen to the words if ya don't buy it.

And in accordance with the "African Name Generator" I have unshackled myself from the White Man's Grip and will now be called Zaghawa. Please update cell phones and address books accordingly.

I think I speak for 95% of Americans out there, White and Black: Lou. Get back to singin' man. Seriously.

on a (kaiser) roll ...

i don't think vogue is being racist, but if you wanna read a bunch of dumb comments from oversensitive white folks, click that image!

i read 90% of the comments and what no one even MENTIONS or CONTEMPLATES is; maybe the original photoshopper of those 2 images just thought they looked similar and that it was a funny coincidence ...

i mean ...
really ...
vogue's photographers did not spend the day pouring over WWI propoganda to figure out how they could drop a subliminaly racist image onto the cover ... plus that original image is a representation of GERMANY not BLACK FOLK ... also gonna go out on a limb here and guess that WWI propaganda posters aren't as ingrained in the american collective consciousness like they were, say, in 1918 ...

seriously people, take the tinfoil helmet off now.

art or idiocy ?

idiocy!

Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself “as often as possible” while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.

all this at bush's alma mater!

keffiyeh

i know i'm not the first to be snarky about this, BUT ...

this is a keffiyeh (here being worn my arafat)


it is a "symbol of Palestinian nationalism"

NOT
A FASHION ACCESSORY
YOU WICKER PARK
HIPSTER FUCKS!!!!!!!!


idiots.
*note: asian girlfriend shown in picture, keffiyeh not shown in illustration

and i know i shouldn't be presumptuous, but it's clear what the "rationale" is. "i'm wearing this to show my solidarity with the palestinian cause." it is probably a safe bet that the extent of knowledge, for most of these douches, on the palestinian cause is that "uh, yeah, well, they used to live in israel and now they don't and the israelis are like, really mean to them." i exaggerate. but it still begs the question "what have you actually DONE!?" ... ie: have you attended public discussions/lectures on the conflict? supported resolution funds? read the history to understand the roots of palestinian displacement ? at least spoken up when hearing uninformed or hateful comments ? i am no saint when it comes to the whole "practice what you preach". i am a staunch supporter for the removal of our current occupation in iraq. however, i have not done much to make any real difference except spout off whenever opportunities arose (living in chicago, it's hard to find a war supporter), and used my "power" of vote to attempt to make a difference. my point is that simply wearing something does not immediately dictate a sympathetic stance with a cause. now obviously i am making a blanket statement, but it is rather disturbing when i see revolution turned into fashion, because fashion (in most "developed" countries) by definition is vain, and one of the ways in which "vain" is defined ... "without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless". not to mention that is once again turning a revolutionary image into capitalist gain. urban outfitters carried keffiyehs for a while in 2006 but pulled them after controversy and concern that they "supported sympathy for terrorists". here's a story about that.

you know the media is portraying a biased image if a traditional cloth worn for hundreds (thousands?) of years by the same people that (arguably) jesus christ drew lineage from is only equated with terrorists.