Good lord, our soxors were properly roxored.



Like I said, three bands:



Powerglove - Totally fun. Huge foam armor'd shoulders and boots and stuff. Giant inflatable Batmo and Piranha Plant ("Planto"). They played a short set, and I recognized pretty much every song. The audience was apprehensive at the sheer cheese factor until they played the theme from the Ultimate Weapon fight in Final Fantasy VII. That was it. Everyone was sold. Fun times.



Turisas - Oh. Hell. Yes. That is the only multiclass bard/barbarian band I've ever seen. They look like vikings. Fur, armor, giant beards, braids, red and black warpaint all over their faces. A fiddle and an accordion (with a hot blond viking girl accordion player). They played folk metal, with jigs and reels and drinking songs. I would love to party with this band. They are the kind of guys you want to be sitting at a big wooden table with a whole bunch of grog and meat! Ruaggh!



Dragonforce - God damn unbelievably fun. They have a ton of risers all over the stage and all of their instruments are wireless, so they were always running around and being badass. The riser in the front of the stage had a big fan blowing up, which mattered, since every member of the band had ridiculously long hair (ass-length curly hair? check). Yeah, this band rocked every which way. So much fun. Got in a mosh pit with a bunch of 12 year olds. Mercedes kicked one. Rawk! The musicianship of this band is freakin' incredible. They are all amazing. They all play ridiculously fast and precise. And they are having fun too.



Damn that was fun. Woo!

I have some things that you might be interested in, which no longer have a place in my apartment. They are thus:



1) A whole heap of foam swords, shields, and a few other sundry weapons. They are quite sturdy and quite suitable for smacking people in relatively moderate contact environments. The equipment is all from Edhellen Armoury and is great fun. I don't really have any use for it, and perhaps you do?



2) A nice wicker pickinicking basket.



3) A set of wood carving supplies and tools. I have a bunch of knives, rasps, chisels, bits of wood and sundry other things that can definitely get you started on carving your own wooden stuff. I haven't really been carving for a few years, so it is time to pass these implements on to someone else. Will it be you?



Let me know if you are interested in any of this stuff. If it doesn't go to you, it goes to strangers. And I've heard we aren't to talk to them.

Ok, folks, the Time has Come.



Dragonforce is going to be at Stubbs on Wednesday. You want to go to this show. It will be even more Epic than you can believe.



It is an early show (doors at 5:30) and it is outdoors, so it should be over by 10pm, leaving your Wednesday free to go do other things afterwards.



http://stubbs.frontgatetickets.com/choose.php?lid=25033



Dragonforce:





Turisas:





Powerglove:

In his victory speech, President Elect Barack Obama called for a new spirit of service and sacrifice in our country. I think this is one of the most critical parts of the election for me. I care about this more than the platform he's running on. I care about this more than his charisma. I even care about this more than the symbolic statement that his Presidency can make to the world.



I have a fundamental mistrust of government. I don't believe it typically operates in alignment with the good of the people. I am not, however, convinced that a lack of government results in a better system. Libertarians and ancap folks, I am unconvinced. Socialists, I am unconvinced. So when I say that I care about the renewal of a spirit of service and sacrifice, I mean that I see our best hope, regardless of our government, is within the hands of the people.



If we, personally, don't make this country great, then how can we expect a government to do it for us?



I know that to some of you I am preaching to the choir when I say to help your community, your family, your friends, your country. I know some of you already do a great deal. The majority of us could do more. I am not applying guilt for your lack of civic involvement, though. There are myriad ways of being part of the myriad solutions we want and need, and more of your are participating than perhaps you know, at least in my opinion. I want you to know that I recognize that volunteering, that making the world better, that helping people is not easy. It is hard work. Like Nobodobon says, though, it isn't the vegetables, it is the desert. Volunteering is its own reward, and the pay-it-forward attitude of community and civic-centric activities results in a better life for us all.



We know this. Most everyone knows this. And yet they don't do as much as they could.



The problem is not that people don't want to help. The problem is not that they don't have the time or the money or the drive or they are too selfish. Sure, some people are, but I don't see that in general. The problem is that they don't know how. The problem is that starting is too hard. The barriers to entry make it difficult to see where you can make a difference.



If you want to change the world, make it easy for others to help you do it. Take them with you. Show them how. Make it a habit for them as well as for you.



Take me with you.



And, conversely, if you need help, the spirit of service and sacrifice suggests that you should make it as easy as possible for others to help you. Asking for help needs to be as much a matter of national pride as providing that help. I'm not talking about handouts. I'm talking about true help. The request for help needs to be as sacred as the help itself. Getting help from your community is as much your civic duty as providing that help.



Ask me for help.



Help me.



This election process has been more transformative for me than I previously realized. You'll likely see a lot more of these things from me in the future. There are a lot of you that are further along in this process than I am. I expect leadership from you. There are a lot of you who don't know what to do. Ask us. Ask missdeekupps. Ask reinaness. Ask patrissimo. Ask triath. Ask everyone you can.



This is America. How can I help you?

In contrast to the previous post, wherein I attacked two of the longest standing American political organizations and the structures which created them, this post is a bit more positive.



And it again talks about two things.



In this case, the two things I want to talk about are "Liberal" and "Conservative", though I don't think that those words are sufficient for the concepts I want to discuss. I want to talk about the competition between two abstract groups:

1) Those who want to change the bad things

2) Those who want to protect the good things



Now, on the surface, it seems like these two groups have a lot in common. They want things to be good. In fact, they generally are complementary, and in no way have to fight. But they do.



They fight because it is difficult to figure out what is good or bad, and so they end up as:

1) Those who want to change things (especially bad things), aka Explorers - the political and social Offense

2) Those who want to protect things (especially the good things), aka Preservers - the political and social Defense



A great many arguments can be framed in this sense:

* Women's right to vote - Explorers say "yes, please". Preservers say "no, thank you".

* Stem Cell research - Explorers say "yes, please". Preservers say "no, than you".

* Lowering Taxes (Preserving existing wealth) - Explorers say no. Preserves say yes.

* Requiring a prescription for certain drugs - Explorers No. Preservers Yes.

* Speed Limits - Explorers No. Preservers Yes.



So in general, explorers try to change things, even if they are going well, and preservers try to keep things the same, even when they are going poorly. It is this inefficiency that results in a conflict between the two, and both are necessary to get a good result. Yes, clearly we should all be supremely wise and always know the difference between right and wrong and good and evil, etc., but that doesn't really work.



The role of the explorers is to forge new political and social institutions. To try new things and to fail at them. To err on the side of smashing something good, in the chance that you might discover something better. They increase innovation, which generally increases prosperity.



The role of the preservers is to protect the things that are working. To keep them working well, and to make sure that they don't get lost. They seek to err on the side of keeping something bad, in the chance that letting go of it will be worse. They increase stability, which generally increases prosperity.



If it is too easy to throw away something bad, or too hard to create something good, we have a problem. Furthermore, if we attack the people in the other roles, instead of their ideas, then we make a cultural divide that prevents us from coming to compromise solutions, and encourages scorched earth, winner-take-all, political infighting. Argument is good. It is important. We don't know the answers. The more we talk about them, and try them, and refine them, the better they get.



I am an Explorer. I seek to create new political and social constructs, sometimes more actively than others. I am willing to sacrifice security for freedom. I am willing to shake things up. The idea of dramatic social and political change appeals to me. I hereby renounce any animosity towards any Preserver acting in good faith. I will often heartily disagree, but that isn't a compromise. It is an important aspect of synthesis.



It is critically important for these two groups to respect each other. The Preservers need to let the explorers try things and fail, and occasionally let them take risks. The Explorers need to abandon bad ideas when the Preservers demonstrate that new isn't better. Both sides need to reframe their arguments to try to understand the root cause of their disagreement. Both sides are often right, and often wrong.



If you think that a black person has no right to be the president of the country, regardless of other qualifications, you are wrong. Explorers have figured out that freeing, empowering, and working with black people has made our nation better.



If you think that communism, as implemented in Russia through violent revolution and then totalitarian socialism was good, you are wrong. The Preservers figured out that our government worked better than theirs in nearly every respect, and acted accordingly.



I am an Explorer, and when I Go Off the Reservation, Preservers, it is your responsibility to reign me in, and mine to allow it. When I Strike Gold, it is my responsibility to bring you along, and yours to allow it.