110 days, I wondered what it would be like.
Open hearts and open minds;
the blind leading the blind.
Everything will be fine…

Who is the US fighting in Iraq?

Source: InformedComment

49.5% - Sunni Arabs: “Often motivated primarily by the opportunity to earn some money from the resistance leaders”

24.5% - Takfiri Sunnis: “Fundamentalists who do not consider Shiites to be Muslims and who believe they may be harmed with impunity”

17.5% - Shiites: ‘Militiamen, both fundamentalist & non-ideological paid employees’

7.5% - al-Qaeda: ‘Self-identified al-Qaeda. Most of these fighters are probably not really al-Qaeda in the sense of pledging fealty to Usama Bin Laden or being part of his organization; they are using “al-Qaeda” to mean “bogeyman”: i.e., ‘be afraid of me”

1% - Foreign fighters

Opinion polling still shows a majority of Sunnis favoring the separation of religion and state
Source: New York Times, 2007/08/25.

So the war against al-Qaeda isn’t really against al-Qaeda.

Maybe this is just good script writing. Maybe it is all subtlety and slight of hand.

You can be certain that this momentous event does not reflect all the people of said nation, nor is it necessarily an accurate representation of the contestant’s character. You can be pretty sure however, that it’s hilarious.

Chris Jordan has some photos for you to see. Pictures & Words that give you an idea of the state of consumption in North America.

Observe:
Building Blocks, 2007

16 feet tall x 32 feet wide in eighteen square panels, each sized 62×62″.

Depicts nine million wooden ABC blocks, equal to the number of American children with no health insurance coverage in 2007.

With figures drawn for scale reference:

Partial zoom:

Zoomed closer:

Detail at actual size:

 

Toothpicks, 2007

60×99″

Depicts 8 million toothpicks, equal to the number of trees harvested in the US every month to make the paper for mail order catalogs.

 

Plastic Bottles, 2007

60×120″

Depicts two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Cigarettes, 2007

60×82″

Depicts 65,000 cigarettes, equal to the number of American teenagers under age eighteen who become addicted to cigarettes every month.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Jet Trails, 2007

60×96″

Depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Cell Phones, 2007

60×100″

Depicts 426,000 cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones retired in the US every day.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Pain Killers, 2007

60×80″

Depicts 213,000 Vicodin pills, equal to the number of emergency room visits yearly in the US related to misuse or abuse of prescription pain killers.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Handguns, 2007

60×92″

Depicts 29,569 handguns, equal to the number of gun-related deaths in the US in 2004.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Paper Bags, 2007

60×80″

Depicts 1.14 million brown paper supermarket bags, the number used in the US every hour.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Plastic Bags, 2007

60×72″

Depicts 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Denali Denial, 2006

60×75″

Depicts 24,000 logos from the GMC Yukon Denali, equal to six weeks of sales of that model SUV in 2004.

Detail at actual size (this is the far left corner of the lake):

 

Prison Uniforms, 2007

10×23 feet in six vertical panels

Depicts 2.3 million folded prison uniforms, equal to the number of Americans incarcerated in 2005.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

Installed at the Von Lintel Gallery, NY, June 2007

 

Cans Seurat, 2007

60×92″

Depicts 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Office Paper, 2007

60×87″

Depicts 30,000 reams of office paper, or 15 million sheets, equal to the amount of office paper used in the US every five minutes.

Detail at actual size:

 

Valve Caps, 2006

10×25 feet in five vertical panels

Depicts 3.6 million tire valve caps, one for each new SUV sold in the US in 2004.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Ben Franklin, 2007

8.5 feet wide by 10.5 feet tall in three horizontal panels

Depicts 125,000 one-hundred dollar bills ($12.5 million), the amount our government spends every hour on the war in Iraq.

Partial zoom:

Detail at actual size:

 

Shipping Containers, 2007

60×100″

Depicts 75,000 shipping containers, the number of containers processed through American ports every day.

Detail at actual size:

The top three songs on the Bear’s Top 8 @ 8 this evening were an interesting batch:

3. The Pretender - Foo Fighters has got to be the catchiest rock song I have heard on the radio in a year.

2. Money Honey - State of Shock has got to be the most unoriginal rehash of pop-rock ideas I have heard since the last time I listened to the radio.

1. I Don’t Wanna Stop - Ozzy Osbourne, give it up man. Whether you ‘wanna’ or not, please stop.

Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream
I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been
To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen
They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed

Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, whose sounds caress my ear
But not a word I heard could I relate, the story was quite clear
Oh, oh.

Oh, I been flying… mama, there aint no denyin
Ive been flying, aint no denyin, no denyin

All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground
And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land
Trying to find, trying to find where Ive been.

Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream
Heed the path that led me to that place, yellow desert stream
My shangri-la beneath the summer moon, I will return again
Sure as the dust that floats high and true, when movin through kashmir.

Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails, across the sea of years
With no provision but an open face, along the straits of fear
Ohh.

When Im on, when Im on my way, yeah
When I see, when I see the way, you stay-yeah

Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when Im down…
Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, well Im down, so down
Ooh, my baby, oooh, my baby, let me take you there

-Robert Plant

If you are at one venue twice this month, make it Zaphod Beeblebrox, Saturday August 11th and Thursday August 30th.

Two of this scene’s most developed and entertaining bands will be putting on exceptional shows that are sure to remind you why you started listening to music in the first place.

Travel by Owl’s members have been presenting your ears with grooves and melodies in different projects for over a decade. The whole, however, is greater than the sum of its parts. Trevor James’ lyrics speak only the truth and these stories will reflect your image better than any mirror. The strong vocal melodies will guide you if you get lost along the way. Allen’s thoughtful guitar lines breathe refreshing modesty where well placed notes speak volumes beyond attention-seeking noise (see: an endless handful of other bands). Tyson Heiseler fleshes out dense grooves that move your feet; you know you’re missing half of the subtleties. Jamie Kronick does what drummers do best: He lays it down. Loud & heavy. Soft & heavy. Fast, slow, whatever’s going on, it’s heavy and you find yourself gravitating towards the stage to see what all the groove is about.
Between the four of these players there isn’t much missing except you, the one who experiences- the one who goes home a different person.

Jonathan Chandler has been refining his words and his music longer than you have been considering the subjects he presents or the notes he chooses. He once performed solo at the Roxy on Elgin in a candlelit room of fellow life explorers; the stories he told, the words he used and the tones that brought it all out moved every person in that room to silence. Ask yourself when the last time everyone shut up for an acoustic guitarist was. And this time there will be a full band of accomplished and disciplined musicians.

Not only is this the Jon Chandler from Keep Yourself Good Company; the Jon Chandler who has co-written and produced numerous artists in the area. This is Jon Chandler at his finest, presenting you his own work on his own terms. August 30th is the CD release for Chandler’s solo debut record: Amos the Transparent’s “Everything I’ve Forgotten to Forget” and will include performances by other national incredibles, Everlea, who have just released a wicked new album themselves.

The idea here, is that you have the opportunity to see some great performances. Don’t miss out.

Travel by Owl
Zaphod Beeblebrox
Friday, August 11
w/ The Junction & Mark Wilson

Amos the Transparent CD Release
Zaphod Beeblebrox
Thursday, August 30
w/ Everlea & more…

p.s am i biased? hell yes. but do me a favor before you decide and check these shows out

Andrew Spearin is a and PhotoJournalist studying at Loyalist College.

He is currently in the Balkans working on an assignment for The New Yorker Magazine.

You can read about his experience at his blog [here] .

Playing with the JW-Jones Blues Band, performing “Gambler’s Blues” at the Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival
Portland OR, Wednesday, July 4, 2007 [Independence Day]

JW Jones : Guitar & Vocals
Jesse Whiteley : Hammond Organ
Mike St-Jean : Drums