Invader

Back in Black

Back in black, I hit the sack
I been too long, I'm glad to be back
Yes I'm, let loose from the noose
That's kept me hanging about
I keep looking at the sky cause it's gettin' me high
Forget the hearse cause I'll never die
I got nine lives, cat's eyes
Using every one of them and runnin' wild

'Cause I'm back
Yes, I'm back, well I'm back
Yes, I'm back
Well, I'm back back
Well, I'm back in black
Yes, I'm back in black

AC/DC - Back in Black

Yes, the site is back, and in black, as it were.   I'm back from the dead, after 14 months.  I'd love to say that I was off writing a book, or curing some disease, or teaching children how to read in some primitive corner of the world, like Equatorial Africa, or Bangladesh, or the Florida Panhandle.  But, really, I was just bored with the notion of blogging.  However, eventually, I found myself yelling at the television, or the radio, or the newspaper, or the internet, or passing cars, or the sky, or vending machines, or... well, you get the idea... just a little too often, and decided I needed to get this site up and running again, if only to keep the seething ball of rage inside me from growing to the point where it's able to begin subsuming entire organ systems.

As for the nature of the site... I'll probably still write about politics, but there'll be much more of an emphasis on music, including, hopefully, some MP3s.  I have too short an attention span to write exclusively about one topic, so I'm hoping that diversifying the range of subjects encompassed by this blog will keep me from posting once every three weeks, as was the case in the months before my hiatus.

So, welcome back, to my few faithful readers, and welcome aboard to any new suckers visitors.   I promise I won't let you down again... as much.

P.S.  "Back in Black" has to be one of the weirdest songs in the history of rock, lyrically speaking, seeing as it's Brian Johnson essentially claiming that he's a reincarnated Bon Scott (for those of you unfamiliar with AC/DC, Johnson replaced Scott, the group's longtime singer, after he drank himself to death in early 1980 (not really that bad a time to off yourself, in retrospect, seeing that as in doing so, you would avoid experiencing the cultural abyss that was the 80s) ).  Not that I'm knocking this move - rock is all about bold statements, and there's nothing quite so ballsy as claiming that you are not merely the replacement - but in fact the resurrection - of the guy whose job you took.  But, could you imagine, say, if Nirvana, after Kurt Cobain killed himself, went out and found someone who resembled, in voice and in appearance, their former singer (like that one kid from Silverchair, or that other kid from the Vines - funny how the two biggest bands to come out of Australia in the past ten years were both Monkees-esque Nirvana knock-offs) and continued on, while claiming their new frontman was the rebirth of their former one?  It's not a totally apt analogy, since Scott wasn't the band's main songwriter, but, still.

But, don't get me wrong.  I'm not knocking AC/DC.  In fact, I'd say they're one of the only still-active "classic" rock bands that I would actually go see in concert.  Normally, I try to avoid seeing acts far past their prime, for the same reason I don't believe in open-casket funerals: I'd like my final glimpse of someone, or some band, to be of them still full of life.  (And, sorry, I don't care how much the critics say that Mick and Keith have still got it, I'd prefer if my memory of the Rolling Stones performing live is at Altamont in 1970, or Madison Square Garden in 1971 (albeit on video, in Gimme Shelter, and Get Your Ya-Yas Out, respectively - I was around four when they released their last worthwhile record), not at Key Arena in 2005.  I refuse to allow my memory of the swaggering, debauched, Glimmer Twins of the early 70s to be replaced by the ambling, dessicated Geritol Twins of the early 2000s).  But AC/DC have this odd, timeless quality about them, having been, in essence, writing the same song over and over since their mid-seventies inception.  Barring differences in fidelity (and the aforementioned change of singer), it's hard to differentiate a song off of Stiff Upper Lip (their most recent release) from one off of TNT (one of their first).  You'd think that perhaps they'd have worked in drum-machines and synths in the 80s, or given the whole "alternative" thing a go in the 90s, but no.  And who can really blame them, given such a signature sound.  Consider that plenty of bands rip off the Beatles, or the Stones, without a complaint from fans or reviewers, but if a band dares to imitate Angus Young's unmistakable syncopated guitar leads, they're written off instantly as an AC/DC knockoff (ahem, Jet, ahem).   They've got a de facto patent on their songwriting, so why should they give it up?

P.P.S.  If you were wondering, the above are AC/DC Back in Black lounge pants (because nothing says laying on your couch eating Cheetos and watching Must-See Thursday quite like "You Shook Me All Night Long," say) available at WebUndies.com 

The Tri-Cities: The Bomb

I'm back from several days in Washington state's Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland), where I helped my brother get ready for his move to Los Angeles. He's spent the past two years in Kennewick, working as an in-the-field camera operator for the local NBC affiliate, and now he's moving up to the big leagues (and hence, at his going away party, I dedicated a karaoke performance of Rush's "Limelight" to him. This delighted a few of the locals, one of whom commented "I didn't know anyone who came of age after the 1980s knew about Rush." I assured him there were a devoted few among my generation dedicated to keeping the memory of dorky 70s prog alive.)

Some interesting facts about the Tri-Cities: It is home to the largest nuclear waste dump in the Western Hemisphere, as well as a high school with what may be the most un-P.C. mascot ever - one that puts all the "Indians," and "Chiefs," and "Tribes" of the world to utter shame. I refer here to Richland High, home of the "Bombers" - a name chosen to honor the nearby Hanford nuclear plant, which supplied the plutonium for the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki. In fact, in case there exists any doubt as to what their name refers, their "mascot," if you will, is a mushroom cloud. No joke. Makes you wonder if the high school near Dow Chemical's former napalm manufacturing facility has, as its mascot, the "Fightin' Flesh-melters."

Suffice to say, my brother is pretty happy to be moving on.

Blogrollin'

I've added a few sites - some political, some not - to my blogroll. Among the new additions: the unholy triumverate of World O'Crap, Sadly, No!, and The Dark Window; the equally snarky, but somewhat overlooked Talent Show; the ubiquitous Boing Boing; and two music blogs (possibly the only two music-related sites worth reading, to be honest) - Coolfer and Stereogum.

In the case of the political blogs, I have given them hilarious nicknames, a tradition long-kept at this site (and one shared by our Comedian-in-Chief, so you know it's not just funny, but ha-ha funny). See if you can guess which is which!

AWOL

No, this isn't about our President's exemplary military service record (though you can read plenty about that here -- link via Orcinus) Rather, it's an apology for my absence. I recently moved from Brooklyn (where I've lived the past three years) back to Seattle (where I'm originally from), so my life has been a bit topsy-turvy of late, and I haven't really had either the time or the energy to maintain a blog. Amazingly, however, the site still seems to be generating a fair amount of traffic, especially as gay marriage has come back into the news, and - for god only knows what reason - if you google "gay marriage" and arguments, my post, "The Non-Arguments Against Gay Marriage" comes up on the eighth page of results (for a time, back closer to when I wrote it, it was actually on the first page).

As for the predictions regarding Fahrenheit 9/11 in my last post, wayyyyy back in June. Well, there were a few protests against the film here and there, but nothing significant (proving once again that the Freepers - who had discussed taking all sorts of actions against both Moore and his film - are, by and large, full of hot air). It did indeed break the box-office record for a documentary. And the mainstream press was, surprisingly, reasonably kind to both the film and its audience. So, 1 for 3. Which would be a pretty good average, were this baseball.

Anyhow, I should be posting regularly from now on, both here and over at Catch. (In fact, I just posted something there this evening about Nerve's silly idea to have members of its personals network blog about their dating experiences - check it out).

The Revenge of the Return of Invader

I had the interweb delivered to my home, so now, I really have no excuse not to post eighteen or so times a day. Expect updates on what color socks I'm wearing, what my cat is doing (right now: chewing on my toes), and if I get around to it, maybe - just maybe - my thoughts on politics and society.

Invader: The Home Edition

In response to criticism of Invader's original design (specifically of the white text /black background - in the words of one reader, "white on black makes my eyes bleed"), I've reconfigured the site, in what I hope is a more reader-friendly manner. The color scheme is an homage to the Commodore 64, a computer to which, as a kid, I devoted probably 75% or so of my free time (the remaining 25% was spent collecting Garbage Pail Kids, reading Choose Your Own Adventures, and building a BMX course in the greenbelt behind my family's house). The new logo is also an homage (well, OK, more of a rip-off), to Activision, maker of many of my favorite C64 games, such as Pitfall and the underrated H.E.R.O. Hence, just as the original Invader was a tribute to my favorite arcade games of the early 1980s, so the new one is a salute to my favorite home video games of that era.

I've also decided to broaden the scope of the site somewhat, to incorporate commentary on pop culture, societal issues not necessarily related to politics, and sports, among other things (not that I haven't commented on these before, but, as Dubya likes to say, I'm going to codify them, as official topics). I figure, why limit myself to discussions of politics, when I can blather on about almost anything?

I also may be adding another author or two to the site. I just don't have enough original thoughts (or thoughts I'm foolish enough to think are original, anyhow) to keep up with the rest of the blogosphere.

So pull up a bean-bag chair, grab a Shasta from the fridge, put on some Rush (the band, not the guy) and enjoy a few rounds of Invader: The Home Edition.

Back in the Saddle

I apologize to regular readers of this blog (all three of you) for the fact that I haven't posted anything in a while. I've spent much of the past month either sick (first with the flu, then with strep throat) or busy with work, so I haven't had either the time or the energy to do much writing. Fortunately, things have settled down, so I should bestowing my genius upon the world on a more regular basis.

[ NOTE: As a bit of a sidebar, my traffic over the past month has barely waned, in spite of a lack of new posts, due largely to the popularity of The Non-Arguments Against Gay Marriage. It's been linked to more places than I can count, and probably accounts for at least 75% of the hits I've gotten recently. If Invader were a band, this would be its chart-topping single. I just hope I don't turn out to be a one-hit wonder. ]