http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Fri, 20 Aug 2004 12:07:41 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/ Phillip WinnSunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. 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Administration0@blogcritics.org Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/20/120741.php GarybibbIllegalMain Entry: [1]il·le·gal Pronunciation: (")i(l)-'lE-g&l Function: adjective Etymology: Middle French or Medieval Latin; Middle French illegal, from Medieval Latin illegalis, from Latin in- + legalis legal Date: 1538 : not according to or authorized by lawSimple enough to understand. Not according to or authorized by law.Thousands Of NYers To Lose Licenses Over Phony Social Security Numbers By Art McFarland (New York-WABC, August 18, 2004) — Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will soon be hoofing it. They are having their drivers licenses revoked for allegedly providing bogus social security numbers.Providing bogus social security numbers is illegal. Right? Last time i checked it was.There have been demonstrations outside City Hall today proving that this is a controversial issue. At the heart of it is the fact that you have to have a Social Security Number to get a driver's license in New York State in most cases. But the DMV is set to confiscate nearly a quarter of a million licenses from people who allegedly provided phony state documents. That state effort has drawn a strong response on both sides of the issue. Drivers who are ineligible for DMV cards say the crackdown is going to far.By ineligible they mean illegal immigrants.Supporters see the crackdown as a weapon against terrorism. Sally Regenhard is the leader of a group that supports families of 9/11 victims. Sally Regenhard, Mother Of 9/11 Victim: "The 19 hijackers had a total of 60 drivers licenses among them. We have to obey laws in this country, we were so lax before 9/11." ,Sally,you're the best. I couldn't have said it any better myself. Gee, i wonder if those hijackers had bogus social security numbers? Could be. . .But immigrants and their supporters say the crackdown threatens their livelihood and amounts to discrimination. Giovanni Puello, Legislative Staff Member: "We feel that it is counter-productive to require a social security number for people who do need their cars and trucks to provide for their families and provide for themselves." No, it's not counter productive. It's the law. Problem is, the minute you are an illegal alien you are breaking the law. Then by providing a fake SS number, you are breaking the law x2. It's counter productive to waste time by going after illegals who shouldn't be here in the first place and then break even more laws. The courts time can be much better served.Fernando Mateo, Community Activist: "We should give them the opportunity to surrender those licenses, at least within a 90-day amnesty program to clean the system out once and for all. Hunting them down is alot harder then asking them to voluntarily surrender them." Supporters for some of the immigrants are calling for a system that would provide driver licenses for people who don't have social security cards. There will be more demonstrations and more hearing on what has now become a national security issue. No no no no no no no no. No. Did i mention no? Hey let's just give licenses out to people in other countries to while we are at it. We'll just seek them out and give them a license for no apparent reason. Does anyone out there really think that an illegal would voluntarily give up their license? What drugs is that guy taking? Fernando you are a retard and i am sorry to all the retards for comparing him to you. Christ on a Krispy Kreme donut people, if you are illegally here, you do not deserve a license. Period. Ugh. Politics18869@blogcritics.org Fri, 20 Aug 2004 12:07:41 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/13/115537.php Garybibb"I don't want to be, i don't want to be me. . .anymore"- Type-O-NegativeYah think that's how Jim McGreevey is feeling right now? Supposedly he is feeling in very high spirits since his admission that he is gay and had an extramarital affair.What about his wife? His kids? His family altogether?Big deal McGreevey is gay. Good for him. It's great that he got the lie he was hiding all these years off his chest, but i am sure that doesn't make his wife feel any better. The poor woman was paraded up in front of all the media yesterday,why? Why couldn't McGreevey just go out there on his own? Was he using her like he's used her these past years?Let's face it, McGreevey didn't want to come out and say he was gay years ago because he would not be able to further his political career. By getting married and having children he gave off the image of a normal family man. Hell he was even divorced once, look at how normal that is.Even amid the rumors that followed him throughout his political career, albeit quietly, he was always able to point to his family and go;Look, i'm not gay! Kids, wife the whole deal !!! I'm not gay no way.His family was his backup plan. To me that is selfish and it's just not fair. Did he ever for once think of the trauma inflicted on his family if anyone ever found out? It's not like he is Jos Schmoe in suburbia, he was the friggin Governor. Big difference there.What if she knew? What if his wife knew about this and hid it herself? That's just as wrong.This doesn't end with his family now. He is a gay Governor and his every move will be scrutinized even more. Every more he makes unitl November 15th is under a microscope. Take for instance the issue of gay marriage.If he legalizes gay marriage, he will be applauded by the gay community worldwide. Of course then those against gay marriage will say he legalized it merely because he is gay. If he doesn't legalize gay marriage then the whole gay community will call him a traitor. Then this will give fodder to the anit-gay marriage people. They can say, Look, not even a gay Governor wants to legalize gay marriage. It's a no win situation.Don't get me wrong, i do feel bad for the guy. It's a shame that you can't be openly gay in this day and age, and still be able to be the Governor. It's sad that he had to go about announcing he was gay in this manner. I just don't believe that what he did to his family is right. He mislead them, and used them, which is far worse than any extramarital affair he could have.The only thing one can hope happens from this ordeal are new lines of dialouge opening up. This is sure to cause alot of debate for a long time. Debate that is so sorely needed. So, what have we learned today? Politics18623@blogcritics.org Fri, 13 Aug 2004 11:55:37 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/04/191646.php GarybibbWell, those darned terrorist and their chatter are at it again. If you haven't seen the news at all, or if you live far away from the NY, or DC metro area, pretty much we are under lockdown. Seems some detailed intelligence suggests terrorists want to target financial institutions Washington, D.C., New York city and get ready for this. . .Newark, NJ.Damnit I live 6-7 blocks away from Newark. It's bad enough that I was in NY when they blew up the towers, now they want to go back to NY and go right nest door to me as well. These feckin bastids don't give up do they?I had to think to myself, why in the blue hell would they even bother going to Newark? Do they not realize that Newark in and of it's self is a warzone much like the middle east? 4 police officers have been shot there in the past month alone. Most of the neighborhoods look like something you would see in Iraq after a few bombs fell on the place. Only difference is the towns in Iraq were not bombed by the people who actually live in them, whereas Newark. . .Then the nice reporter man on the news told me that the terrorist were targeting the Prudential Plaza building. Again i found myself thinking. . .There are actually big companies still left in Newark? Wow. Then they showed me a picture of it and i soon recognized it. Being that I have been driving past the Prudential Plaza alot recently doesn't make me feel all that comfortable either.Now they are saying that the preferred means of attack would be car or truck bombs, maybe even carried out by women. Crikey.The rush hour traffic is bad enough in Newark without having some terrorist fouling it up even more. A woman terrorist driver is twice as bad. She would be putting on her makeup so she would look good when the bomb went off, trying to get her 1241234 children in the backseat to be quiet, all the while driving with her knees. It would be awful x2.Couldn't they pick a town like Sussex, NJ ? It's rural and we wouldn't miss that many cows.Again I found myself thinking, of a complete and utter ridiculous conversation the terrorist were having when deciding what cities to bomb;Ahkbar: lalalalalalalalalal Toolbar: lalalalalalalalala Ahkbar; so we have NY and Washington DC, what other city should we choose? Toolbar; how about this on here on the map? It says New. . .ark. Newark. Didn't those Christian infidels have a man who built an ark. Maybe this means they are going to build a new ark and forget about us! Ahkbar; lalalalala you are right! Let's bomb this new ark before they have a chance to complete it. Wait I have an email from a Gary Bibb. He asks us to not bomb a Newark Bears Stadium. Says he likes to go watch the baseball games there. Toolbar; isn't he the one with the crappy blog? Ahkbar; yes he is. So now we bomb it twice! lalalalalalalal Toolbar; lalalalalalalalalalalalalalalala Fubar; lalalalalalalalalalalaThere are so many other areas they can bomb in Newark, why bomb the downtown area? By bombing other parts of the city they would be doing us (humanity) a real service.So I guess now we all must wait out this orange alert thingy. My guess the end of the orange alert would coincide with the November elections. Especially if GW is elected again. Which reminds me, I should send the terrorists off another email asking them to not bomb, as this may guarantee GW an election win. That would be so much worse than them bombing us again. Politics18283@blogcritics.org Wed, 4 Aug 2004 19:16:46 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/08/01/232707.php GarybibbOk, so this is better late than later i suppose. In late 2003 Anthrax released the album, We've Come For You All, and barely anyone noticed. Tis sad i say. Even i didn't hear of it really and i have been listening to Anthrax since Spreading the Disease. The old days of big hair, thrash riffs and Joey Belladonna are long gone, and many thought that Anthrax was also.Going back a few years to the whole 9/11 ordeal. it wasn't know at the time whether or not Anthrax was going to stay a band. Even if they were, would it be the right thing to change the name due to all the terrorist going ons? Suffice to say they did keep the name(there's a good pic on the inside cover teasing the situation) and never did change it to Basket Full of Puppies like they had joked they would.So here i am in August 2004 reviewing a cd that came out in 2003. Why you ask? Because i picked up my copy 2 weeks ago and i simply cannot stop listening to it. There is simply not one bad song on this album.This has to be one of, if not thee heaviest Anthrax albums ever. Not only is it heavy, but it is very diverse. Songs like Cadillac Rock Box or Safe Home really make you see what great musicians they are. Plus with the addition of new guitarist Rob Caggiano, it lets Scott Ian do what he does best and that is rhythm guitar. John Bush's vocals are as tight as ever. Accompanied by the rest of the rhytm section of Charlie Benante and Frank Bello, sonic bliss if i do say so myself. Actually Charlie's drumming on this album is off the charts. I am so glad that Anthrax never split up, they've done so much for metal music over their 20 year career it would be a shame to see them go. Think about where rap metal/nu-metal would be if it wasn't for Anthrax-Public Enemy back in the early 90's. Anthrax was never afraid to be different no matter what the popular opinion was at the time.If you were an old Anthrax fan from way back, or maybe you've heard of them but thought they were too old and washed up. . .go get this album. It will rock your socks off, and probably your neighbors too if you crank it loud enough. Music18150@blogcritics.org Sun, 1 Aug 2004 23:27:07 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/07/25/233421.php Garybibb"Why did Bush knock down the towers?"No it's not me asking it. This is a line in a song called "Why?" by a rapper known as Jadakiss. The line has caused alot of controversy recently and has been edited out on some radio and video spots, including MTV (duh). Now, I may not be the biggest fan of Dubya, but I don't think he knocked down the towers, but that's a whole other story for another day.Jada had this to say about the line in the song: "I just felt had something to do with that," Jadakiss says, referring to the events of Sept. 11. "That's why I put it in there like that. A lot of my people felt that he had something to do with it." That's just great Jada, but why make a song called "Why?""I was thinking, 'What's the one thing that everyone has in common? Questions.' Everyone asks why, so I decided to write a song asking questions that everyone wants to,". Wow, this guy is good. He makes so much sense. Hey, what else you have for us Jada?"I wanted to make a song that could appeal to a broader -- and not only the hood," he says. "I wanted to make something that would touch people at home in white America." (translation, his album sales haven't been that great, he wants more money)You go girl. I am touched.You've hit me at home there Jada.So much so I wanted to see what other questions you asked in your song "Why?"Why you ain't stackin' instead of tryin' to be fly Why at the bar you ain't take straight shots instead of poppin Crist' Why you gotta do eighty-five percent of your time Why they didn't make the CL6 wit a clutchIs everyone with me on this? These are all questions I'm sure we've wondered about from time to time. Oh wait! There's more. . .Why ain't you a thug by choice Why are you even alive Yea, and why they gon give you life for a murder Turn around only give you eight months for a burnerIf i knew I could get all my political news from a source like this, why read or watch the news? Can anyone be taking him seriously? That's just sad if they are. If you are trying to make a political point, why throw it in there with all that other garbage. The line in the song is nothing more that a controversial money maker. That's why it's in there. Eck. So, I now leave you off with another lyric from this world renowned political pundit, humanitarian and philosopher. This is from a song called "Show Discipline":Now gangstas live, gangstas die Grab ya guns, soldiers ride (show discipline nigga!) Kill ya moms, kill ya pops, kill ya seed Kill ya girl (Its principle nigga!) Sell ya crack, sell ya coke Sell ya E, sell ya smoke (you hustlin nigga!) Grab ya nine, grab ya pound Grab ya tec, grab ya pump (you bustin at niggaz!,wha) Music17868@blogcritics.org Sun, 25 Jul 2004 23:34:21 EDT http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/04/01/151734.php Garybibb Generally, I hate plunking down my cash for video games. Too many times have I bought a video game and it has just sucked. A total waste of $50. More often than not I will rent one. By doing this I save a few beans and if I don't like it I don't own it.Well I actually bought one game recently and have been playing it ever since. The game is The Suffering for XBOX. While it's not the most advanced game out there, it sure is one of the most fun.You play as Torque, a man sentenced to death for slaughtering his family. Once Torque arrives at prison, things start to get weird and basically all hell breaks loose. Torque must fight his way out of prison all along the way finding clues about what has happened in the past at the prison, and also what really may have happened to his family. This game is everything Resident Evil could be. Plenty of scares abound. Plenty of ammo to blast all the baddies and the ability to morph into your own monster adds a really nice touch. With creatures designed by Stan Winston Studios (Alien, Predator) how can you go wrong?So what are you waiting for? Go get this game. Just don't hurt anyone trying to get it. And if you are a parent, be forewarned, there is some really harsh language in this game. I mean really. I was shocked. Ok I wasn't, but it's still bad like Chris Rock HBO special bad. Gaming14300@blogcritics.org Thu, 1 Apr 2004 15:17:34 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2004/03/28/234449.php GarybibbLooking for the soundtrack to the next presidential election? Look no further than, Boysetsfire. Boysetsfires album, Tomorrow Come Today is a breath of fresh air in a time when most music is filled with nonsense and has no message or direction. Boysetsfire are out to wake people up to the goings on in our government and our surroundings.This CD is so political it actually came with a warning that the views of the album were not neccesarilly those of its record company or employees. Ouch. Take the message on the inside cover: "Watch what you say, shut up and wave the flag, support the President because that is the right thing to do and, by golly, we did elect him. Lies. The President select took over in one of the most daring coups in modern time."Do you think they are a little more than mad? I do, and it shows in their music. Raw, powerful and melodic. A definent choice for any metal fan or anyone looking to try something new. Expand your mind and give them a listen. Music14156@blogcritics.org Sun, 28 Mar 2004 23:44:49 EST