Hammer Mill Days

What is all the ruckus about? I told you we were bringing equipment with us. And no, we don't need unicycles. We can get around on our own two feet, thank you very much. That's the problem with interstellar tours, my friends. A billion opportunities for misunderstandings. No shortage of those, particularly when you're traveling with the two Lincolns (posi- and anti-), as we appear to be out here on Big Green's vaunted [INSERT NAME HERE] INTERSTELLAR TOUR 2011 . Anyway, here's how it went down this week: 10.25.2011 - Our first full night on Kaztropharius 137b . If anything, it's quiet - too quiet. Keep forgetting that there's no atmosphere here, ergo, no sound. (Or is it "air-go; no sound"? You decide.) We strummed our way silently through about a dozen tunes. The denizens of this strange little rock appeared partial to "My Bed", one of Matt's dream-sequence numbers. They pick up vibrations from our instruments via the floor of the ...

It's almost November, and the occupations are continuing. With so much bad news on so many fronts, this is a little bit of good. Movements often emerge at the most unexpected times, in the most unexpected ways. And while the titanic unfairness of our economic system (as currently operated) should lead us to expect a massive uprising, I think we have experienced so many years of seeing so little reaction to outrageous assaults by the powerful that we have come to believe the response will never come. Well, the occupation movement is a response; how broadly it will resonate has yet to be seen. I think it's worth remembering that in Egypt, in Tunisia, and likely elsewhere, it was economics that really lit the fire under people. Torture in police custody, exclusion from meaningful political participation, persecution of minorities ... abuses of every kind and character were endured by Egyptians - not without resistance, mind you, but without broad outrage. It wasn't until Mubar...