LAST NIGHT

Last night's Jay Brown Memorial Show at Logan's was awesome. We played with Lesbian Fist Magnet, The Keg Killers, The Hoosegow, and Alcoholic White Trash. I saw many faces that I don't see except for this one night, and saw some I hadn't seen in fucking years! It was a full house, and overall a positive night, despite it being such a shitty start to the new year. It amazes me how such a group of social pariahs can be so supportive of each other, raise money for a good cause, and yet mainstream society would vilify them.The whole "judging a book by it's cover thing", I suppose.
   There were five former AK-47 members in the crowd! Holy crap, I've been doing this for a long time. And it was great to see all of them.
   So I want to thank Hoon, Ange, Roy, Rick, the inestimable Scott Henderson doing sound, and everyone else who had a hand in making this happen. And of course, former bandmates Rob, Jodi, Darryl, Jessie and Luke for being there, and for being so great. I look forward to seeing you all again, and hopefully soon. Much love.

TOMORROW NIGHT

Tomorrow night is the annual Jay Brown Memorial and Cancer Clinic Benefit Show at Logan's. We'll be playing with such luminaries as The Keg Killers, The Hoosegow, Lesbian Fist Magnet, and Alcoholic White Trash. Despite the various bands coming from vastly different punk/hardcore traditions, it's always a great time, and for a worthy cause. This year's show is all the more poignant due to the passing of long time artist/skateboarder/musician, Jamer. It seems that he was a friend or acquaintance of everyone in this godforsaken town.  It will be a time to remember, a time to forget, and for many, a time to get totally fucked up. For me, it will be a time to reflect on how precious our time together is, and how wonderful and crazy our little scene here in Victoria actually is. I hope to see you all there.

WHERE LOGIC GOES TO DIE

Last night a couple of pimply faced tie wearing teenaged boys rang my doorbell. I answered it, and they immediately began by saying, "We're christian missionaries from..."It was at that point that I cut them off by saying, "We're not interested, but thank you." No problems, no argument. It was actually kind of sad to see lives destroyed so young.
   This reminded me of a discussion I was involved in a couple of days ago. We were discussing the major monotheistic religions, when one of the folks there says, "My husband doesn't believe in any of it." And one of the other people says, oh so solemnly, "Not believing is also a form of belief". That's when I spoke up. I basically said, it's not the same thing as believing in a virgin birth, that the earth was created in six days, and that the universe is only a few thousand years old. The difference between most religious people and atheists, is that the "true believers" think they have all the answers already, so there's no reason to look any further. Why seek out any more answers, when it's all there in one handy little book? But if your god is telling you to be pro-life, but it's okay to kill everyone who disagrees with you, it's time to rethink. If your god justifies stealing land that people have lived on for thousands of years, he's an asshole. If your belief system says to forgive child molesters, fuck you. If you take seriously the word of someone who preaches peace and tolerance, but had no problem being on the CIA payroll, and whose system upheld slavery, then you're an idiot.
   I actually have no problem with religious people who are open to real discussion, and who want to alleviate the great suffering of the masses for real, and not just through acceptance of some divine word.
   Good bye.

GRIEVING

The grieving process is usually composed of various stages. From sadness, to anger, back to sadness,and eventually making your peace with the situation and finding closure. Right now I'm at the anger stage of things. Not with Jamer, although ultimately it was his decision to use the drugs that took him out, but with whoever the "friends" were who helped him  get the drugs. Was it "friends" who helped him get the shit? Were any "friends" there when he took his final hit? I know of at least two people who tried to reach out to him when they saw how badly he'd been doing lately, but almost everyone knew of his battles with depression and addiction. So what kind of a fucking asshole would've helped him  get the dope?
   I fucking hate drugs and alcohol. Most of my friends drink, some smoke weed, but from a societal perspective, I despise all of that shit. I know substance abuse is just the symptom, used to cover up and run away from deeper trauma. But I still hate it. I hate the society and social system that keeps producing such desperation and destruction in such outrageous numbers. I do not hate the addict. I hate the addiction.
   Jamer left behind a legacy of creativity and good memories. Most people who remember him will do so with a smile on their face. Too many brilliant young minds have been taken away from us way too soon. He is already missed.

ANOTHER LIGHT GOES OUT

Two days ago saw the passing of yet another creative,intelligent, beautiful, caring individual. Jamer was one of the bright lights of the local skate, art, tattoo and music scene. He was an artist no matter what he put his mind to. Idiots might think skateboarding is not an artform unto itself, but fuck them. Go watch a fucking UFC match. Jamer had flow. And sadly, like many people gifted (cursed?) with an abundance of raw talent and intelligence, Jamer had his own demons to fight. He encapsulated both the best and the worst of the skate/underground music and art scene. I mostly admired the "Fuck the law, I'm going to have fun " attitude of the '80s skate/punk scene, and no one captured the insanity of the era better than Jamer. Whenever something like this happens, it makes us think about how precious our friends are, and brings us all together, at least temporarily. It's a time for reflection, and a time to renew our vows to not forget each other. Andrew Morrison wrote a beautiful and touching article about our friend. Please read it here:
http://scoutmagazine.ca/2012/01/12/rip-james-jamer-lindsay-who-had-about-him-all-the-airs-and-manners-of-a-man/comment-page-1/
He will be remembered at the Jay Brown Memorial show on the 27th of this month, along with all of the other fallen comrades from years gone by. Be there if you can.
   See you all soon. Peace.

SOME FUNNY SHIT

So, even the specialized bomb squad cops are douchebags? Surprise, surprise. Read....

B.C. RCMP officer sues co-workers in bomb squad after doll explodes

Postmedia News Dec 31, 2011 – 12:28 AM ET

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By Susan Lazaruk
VANCOUVER — An RCMP officer has filed a lawsuit against two fellow officers in the bomb squad unit, the RCMP and the province of B.C. after a mechanical doll he kept at his desk was rigged to explode, which disfigured him to the point of requiring hand surgery and hearing aids in both ears.
Cpl. Tyrone Hempston suffered “severe injuries” after returning from Christmas holidays to his desk at the Explosive Disposal Unit in Delta on Jan. 4, 2010, where he noticed someone had tampered with his “Dirty Bertie” mechanical doll.

“He sat down and picked up the doll, held it in both hands close to his lap, then switched it on and it exploded,” according to the writ filed in Vancouver Supreme Court of B.C.
The writ claims unspecified damages for physical injuries and nerve damage to his hands that have required “numerous surgeries,” hearing loss and tinnitus in both ears, chronic post-traumatic stress disorder, sleeping and anxiety disorders and “nervous shock, anguish and loss of faith in his colleagues.”
Hempston’s lawsuit alleges Cpl. Nigel Blake and Const. Martin Simpson “conspired to shock” him by placing a “high explosive” SD-100 detonator that had been confiscated from a U.S. film company trying to bring them into Canada and turned over to the EDU for disposal.
“Both the defendants Blake and Simpson knew or ought to have known . . . a SD-100 . . . (is) a dangerous explosive that should not be used for recreation and that their actions were in violation of the unit’s zero horseplay policy,” the writ stated.
It alleged they showed “reckless disregard for the probability that the explosive in the doll would detonate in the plaintiff’s hand.”
Hempston, 44, was off work for several months over the past two years and continues therapy for PTSD, taking anti-depressants and massage and physiotherapy and may require further surgery and can no longer type or write for long, the writ said.
Hempston would have been eligible for full retirement in September 2011. He is also suing for lost past and future wages.
None of the allegations have been proved in court and the defendants have three weeks after being served to file a response.
The lawsuit includes the federal attorney general, which is responsible for the RCMP, and the provincial solicitor general under which the RCMP is contracted to the province.
Postmedia News

Posted in: Canada, News Tags: RCMP

WAKE UP AND GET OUTSIDE

It's now 2012, and if I hear one more asshole talk about how the Mayans predicted the end of the world this year, I'm going to end theirs. You are not wise, or showing any depth by repeating what countless other new age shitbrains are saying. Please think before you speak. Okay, now I'm asking too much.
   For the new year, how about you stop texting everywhere you go, with that stupid shiteating grin on your face that makes me want you to eat your fucking phone through busted teeth? Get out of the fucking house. Talk to people. 
  I'm going to start the new one with what I think is an awesome observation by Chairman Bob Avakian of the Revolutionary Communist Party.

On Choices... And Radical Changes

First, people don’t make choices in a vacuum. They do it

in the context of the social relations they’re enmeshed in

and the options they have

within those relations—which

are

not of their own choosing. They confront those

relations, they don’t choose them.

Two, if people feel for whatever reasons that they want

to choose to harm themselves and others, we’re going

to struggle with them—but we’re not going to blame

them. We’re going to show them the source of all this

in the system, and call on them to struggle against

that system, and transform themselves in the process.

Just because a youth “chooses” to sell drugs, or a

woman “chooses” to commodify herself sexually,

doesn’t mean that they chose to have

those choices.

And there is no other way besides fighting the

power, and transforming the people, for revolution

that all this will change for the better. Blaming

the masses for bad choices just reinforces the

conditions that they are oppressed by.

In sum, people do make choices—but they

make them enmeshed and confined within

social relations that are not of their choosing.

We have to bring into being different social

relations and conditions so that masses

of people can act differently and relate

differently to each other. Fundamentally,

that takes a revolution which is aiming for

communism.

Bob Avakian

Chairman of the

Revolutionary Communist Party, USA

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