Oasisband.net

Oasisband 3.5 on its Way

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Thu, 14 May 2009 23:58:04 CST

As the title implies, Oasisband 3.5 is in the works. I know you and I know what you are thinking: “But Jesse, Oasisband 3 was never fully completed”. And you're right, but the work I invested in Oasisband set me up with a decent framework to base other sites off. The problem was it lacked sophistication. It was written awkward and weird, inheriting mistakes from someone learning PHP and MySQL while creating it.

During work on other sites the framework has matured and blossomed into something wonderful. Fully encapsulated modules, much simplified image management, clean up of stacks. I plan to open source this framework at some point in the future, the preemptive name being “phrame” with the note that this is just a codename until something more suitable is found.

Also, as a side note I intend to use this framework on my other site as well, PHPStandards.net which is a work in progress.

Last Life in the Universe

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 09:05:50 CST

I’ve mentioned several times before watching a movie strictly for atmosphere. If any move I’ve ever seen has been worth watching for Atmosphere, its Last Life in the Universe. By Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, the director of 6ixtynin9 (Ruang Talok 69), it’s a truly whimsical, slow yet perfectly paced film.

The film revolves around a suicidal, obsessively clean Japanese man working as a librarian in Thailand. Through a set of slightly winding circumstances he finds him self

...tbc

Re: Oasisband.net Gently Sobs for America

drewdgross@gmail.com(Andrew Gross) — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 09:25:28 CST

Moved from a comment to a post by Jesse Donat

Well I was looking to log onto the server because I wanted to update my Ipod as I forgot to do it before coming. But since I can´t find the ftp server I might as well make a comment on this dead website.

Currently we have no understanding what the media´s role is on the cognitive development of kids. The only studies that are done in this area are studies that attempt to get kids to consume more media and how to go about doing it. But what we don´t know is whether or not kids immersion into the media makes them more or less susceptible to subconsious control through the media.

Does completely omnipresent, unregulated, ever sophisticated, and incredibly addictive forms of media make children better consumers, less like to think creatively and develop resistance and revolutionary attitidues towards our current system of massive thought control...well I would have to think so.

The fear that you might be addressing Jesse is that the government would start playing a role in what kids and others are able to access. Sure, this seems like the common cold war fear that the federal government will be censoring us in order to believe that they are our masters and we should simply lie down and obey.

But on the other hand, what does a completely unregulated media system mean. It means the people that are controlling what we have access aren´t even people that we elected. They are people that are responsible to a system of capitalism that cares not for the individual, cares not for society, but only cares for an increase in the share value for the next quarter.

On one hand we have the federal government regulating, and on the other hand we have a bunch machine like capitalists regulating. It seems necessary that the two forces at least try and balance one another, at least there needs to be some conflict between these two forces. One tries to create new and ever more addictive media, and other tries to think about the consequences and if it believes those consequences are atrocitious they should try and do something.

Rampant government and, or rampant industry provide no hope for a future where the individual is able to think and act freely. Government regulation is a small pebble amongst a massive culture of thought manipulation.

Peter Schiff on Obama Economics

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 23:15:04 CST

I don't like to use Oasisband just to post things, but this is worth a listen

Oasisband.net Gently Sobs for America

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 19:36:01 CST

If you haven't already noticed, there is a tear in the upper left. Shame on you, America, for making Oasisband.net cry! Vanity and fear have brought onto this country a great pestilence. We'll see if Oasisband outlasts another president. One not even elected for a day already talking about censoring media.

I would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have. Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included. But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would.

And even if the industry does do some responsible self-policing, there’s still a role for the federal government to play. We need to understand the impact of these new media better. That’s why I supported federal funding to study the impact of video games on children’s cognitive development.

September 2008 Update

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:51:33 CST

Oasisband.net has not had a post in forever, so here it goes. The Obloglog is, and has been for quite some time, 95% functional with posting everything but images and movie reviews (mostly because movie reviews *require* posting images...) completed. I think the community just fell out in the down time between OB2 and OB3 because not only has no one posted anything, but we have not had a single comment I didn't write since OB3 went up.

Other news, I got my drivers license today, finally. This was my second attempt, the first time featuring me turning from the wrong lane of a one way into a two way... see: here.

It Approaches

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:58:05 CST

After a long hard weekend of fighting with code, the new Obloglog (writer admin) is nearly complete. There are some unresolved issues / inconsistencies with the way foreign characters are handled, ie: my review of Amélie... but I'm working hard to figure these out as well as some issues with the manner in which post attributes function, but writers will soon be able to post again without bugging me!

Update: Very Rough Version is Online!!!

A Midsummer Nights Update

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:28:30 CST

As you've probably noticed updates have been slow to non-existent lately. A lot of this has been my hectic life as of late. I would like to get some more work in on the site now that my kidney stone is gone and things are starting to settle. First order of business is to get the Writers admin working. I have absolutely nothing to do this weekend, so we'll see if I can't knock that out. I've also got some restructuring I'd like to get in, but one thing at a time.

Fifth Letter to Jesse

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 20:27:30 CST

We are really not all that different, we are both people who really don't meet people. This is probably because of our own faults. These things need to be corrected in my opinion but we are both stubborn or maybe passive is a better word (well is it for you). I've been trying to change or at least adapt these last few years and really I have no idea how. People seem resistant and I count you among them but frankly you should have the time. You can be almost impossible to draw out and I hope you can see that I have tried/am trying. Even you have to think its a bit odd that I have to wait until your completely sleep deprived to talk about anything. Why lie and say you haven't read my letters? Why not just say you have nothing to say? I feel that this is all coming off as too aggressive but its hard. I've been trying to get to know everyone I knew in high school. I see you falling for all the girls I had crushes on in high school and you know what I think to myself? Thats incest. Its the lack of people we know and really they all are beautiful and it's almost a pity as it keep me complacent. Well then what advice do I have for you? Well its not a lot and I'm not sure how useful it will be. Get your drivers license and get out a bit and act when ever possible. I'd rather regret doing something then regret doing nothing and I always regret doing nothing. (actually this might conflict with advice I've given in the past and I think my error was there and not here). I'm surprised you had such a good time in Japan actually. I mostly find that things are mostly the same everywhere and that there is immeasurable beauty where I am. . . but then again I don't get out much ether. I like to talk big, I like to play the sage and it all works out when I'm questioned constantly, when nothing I say is taken as solid. I don't know how much more I have to say at the moment and I feel that this letter was rather weak. . . Well I'll respond to every question and every response as soon as I can.

The Fifth Letter to Jeff Forshee

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:26:08 CST

Let me begin this by stating that I have in fact read every letter you have ever posted to Oasisband and have claimed otherwise because frankly, I've had no idea how to respond to them, with that in mind, I hope we can spark the conversation back up, because I need it. How about you?

I am beginning to realize just how poor a medium the Internet is for human emotion, and beginning to question my attachment to it. Questioning if it made me this way, or if I was this way all along. I honestly cannot remember. I am severely detached. I remember events with precision. I remember in exacting detail a look someone gave me at a party, body movements, the feel of a touch, but rarely dialog. More often than not memories are just symbols of the deep meaning I take from the completely meaningless. If I do recall dialog its usually just the general sense of the conversation, although under certain occasions I remember in exacting detail the tone, the pattern of breath, every last detail of what was said. These are the moments on which I base my life.

Lately there are days where I put serious thought into becoming an Alaskan fisherman. Its completely senseless, I would be lucky to survive a day, but the harsh work in the minimalist environment provokes some kind of primeval need deep within me, something sitting in a desk typing for eight hours a day just isn't doing for me.

Well my father is having heart surgery tomorrow, and I am majorly stressed at the moment. Times I feel like this I used to draw, and it was what I consider some of my best. More and more I find my self heading to bed rather than embracing the anxiety for what its worth, and doing something with it.

This is going to sound completely insane, but I miss the depression of unemployment. I miss the creativity it caused. Now that I am gainfully employed, and am not in complete desperation for social contact, I have dulled.

I'm heading to Japan in about a week and a half, I get mixed signals from you on Paul taking the hint. I hope though it will mean huge growth for me as a person, as it will in fact be the not just the furthest, but the longest I've been away from home. I'm homesick already.

Your Friend Always,
Jesse Gordon Donat

Late Night - Update

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 05:19:03 CST

Just a little note before I head to bed, working on restoring most of the missing Oasisband 2 stuff, users pages are kind of back, The Medium / PM5MT is uploading right now and has been moved here: http://medium.oasisband.net and all goes well will be fully functional when I get up in the morning (pending a possible redesign). Obloglog for the writers soon, my attribute system is proving a pain to write an admin around.

OB3 is Live!

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 23:44:30 CST

As you have probably already noticed Oasisband version 3 is live. There's quite a bit left to do yet, but frankly, I was sick of looking at the old one. If you're one of the crazy few using IE6 I feel sorry for you because frankly, I didn't make this site to work in IE6 at all.

As for the few remaining writers, a new version of the Obloglog is heading nearing completion, and you'll be able to post again fairly soon, I can get anyone their login info who needs it.

I'm arguing with my self over if I should, and which rich text editor to use. I built one based on a friend at works, but it has some flaws.

This isn't quite what I had planned, but it is certainly a stepping stone to better things. If anything the new database will empower us to do a lot more. There are several design elements in the works, certainly some art-deco-ing. A prettier footer, and integrating a search box into the header.

Any way about it, things are going to get fixed. I realize I forgot about Omnipresence when my widget broke, hehe. That'll be fixed soon.

Nana 2

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:29:30 CST

I hesitate to say I hated this movie, because I didn't. I want to hate it, I desperately want to hate it. I can't though, mostly because if anything it did get me thinking.

This film was the polar opposite of the first which I reviewed a little over a year ago. Whereas the first was artful and creative with its character construction, they knew with this film that the characters were already built our and despite being put into very straining situations there was very little character growth. Heck, the whole play of how the number 7 connected the two Nana's was almost completely avoided, although I imagine some could argue this is a good thing.

One of the oddities of this film is of the six main characters, three were played by different actors than in the original film. I honestly didn't even notice, save the fact that I was wondering why Ryuhei Matsuda's character had received such a bit part, as he was one of the larger focuses of the first film. This was why I did some research and found out that it wasn't even him. They do their best to mask this by hiding his face for most of scenes he is in, often having his back to the camera, or more creatively having him reading while wearing a baseball cap.

This film, in stark contrast to its predecessor, is largely a series of unfortunate events and ends on an exceedingly sour note. The climax of the film involves the happy go lucky Nana finding out she is pregnant. Having recently dumped the guitarist from Trapnest (whom she only sought in a moment need) for the guitarist from BLAST who genuinely cares for her, she is uncertain which is the father. The guitarist from Trapnest (Takumi) offers to marry her, and after some reluctance she agrees. She moves in with him just in time for him to leave on a 6 month tour. While Trapnest gathers outside, the lead singer makes a comment about how Takumi has a wife in the UK, though this fact is never again mentioned. At the end of the movie, Nana cries while holding the other Nana, realizing she has ruined her life.

When the credits rolled I was genuinely surprised, expecting some kind of at least semi-happy resolve.

The movie ends with everyone's life in shambles.

Not only for the massive change in direction, but the genuine lack of style which the other film pulled off fairly well, I have to say this film didn't even come close to living up to the first film. I was genuinely disappointed in this film.

As I've told people with the original Matrix, if you liked it, don't see the sequel, the same applies to this, unless you enjoy seeing characters and concepts you've grown to like being terribly abused.

We Have Release Date

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 22:29:30 CST

The new site is coming along quite well, although its not up to "the dream" yet, not even close, but any way two ways about it its better and more maintainable than the current site. Theres not that much left to do before I'd be happy with a launch, I'm currently fixing some database stuff, I need to get some major work in on the Obloglog, finish up the comics section, get some preliminary work done on the users pages and maybe improve the way movie reviews work a little, but really end of the month is a doable goal.

It is actually something of a forced launch date as our gracious host is shutting down this server, and has intentions of migrating us to a new server with all the latest bells and whistles (PHP5, MySQL 5, etc) and I figure why monkey with the old site to make it work on the new server when I've got this shining new one. So as it stands, expect the new Oband sometime around the first of the year!

-Jesse Gordon Donat

Nearly Mandatory News Update

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:29:30 CST

Oasisband has been under some neglect as of late, but I assure you the promised new site is still under active development. There are a number of things I want to get working prior to the new site going live, one of the most challenging as well as most important of these is the completely rewritten admin. There have been some challenges as of late, and some things going on in my personal life which have hindered my work on the site. I am still optimistic for a launch by the end of the year. I’m sure as many of you are well aware the shout box has been constantly attacked by spam bots for the last few months. I’ve taken steps to protect it currently, and the one coming will be far better protected. Thank you for your patience.

Excommunicated

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 22:29:30 CST

** This is a letter I wrote to Brittany a few days ago and I am posting it here with her blessing. This is an old story told here with far too much poetry and far too little truth but I do hope somebody gets something out of my rambling style.**

"I seem to be addicted to something that doesn't really exist.
I have embarked upon withdrawal
and I am very fearful of what the withdrawal symptoms will be."

This has been the mantra since I left high school. Religion is a powerful thing and a powerful thing to be with out. Religion is a natural absence a void. Religion ushers creation into being. This is why I am the way I am here. I lack nothing. I, precisely and there is no over stating this, lack nothing. I lack this void, this view that there holes that need filling, or at least I have lost most of the things that used to remind me. Now I have the ideal that we should all be able to know each other (or at least a few of us could know each other). I seem to have lost hope in it, maybe not completely but the meat of it is gone and the bones are brittle. I falsely remember what was. I remember studying film and books and the night. I remember actually being forced a few times a day to be social, though I'm not sure I remember it fondly. And I remember talking, really talking, frequently. That frequency is no longer frequent, it is some static value and, as such, holds no value. I seem to be drawn towards what was (or what I convince my self what was). I'm too obsessive about such things and I fear how these obsessions make me look. I often fear you'll be jealous because she is in my dreams more often. Though I've known you to be stronger and more understanding then that, I still fear it to be true. It's a real shock being here now. Gross's mom said once that all I have ever done was talk and I guess thats strange but thats how I lived for years. Then after grade school I didn't get enough so I turned to books, movies and Andrew to fill the void. . . the Religion I had been all but excommunicated from. Of course this is after being gloriously depressed and starting the cultivation of my (self-reliant/anti-social) tendencies. I learned to wait in jr. high. I found that I could destroy my self with thought, that enough of it would make me ill and that I still preferred it to some people. . . they made me ill too. And after high school it all happened again. It was her again the high-priestess herself excommunicated me this time by handgun and by bloodshed was I excommunicated. Despite my will I could no longer pray in that church. I had no time to, and no willing brothers and sisters. And I can't look back for fear of losing what little of me is normal and turning completely to salt. Not to say I don't dream of it, half (and only half) unwillingly. But that is how we got to talking it was her again. It's always her that knocks me so fantastically off guard and who has convinced me to drop my guard entirely. . . Not that I've managed to implement that conviction. And all my work has done me so little good. It allows me to be wounded by those would-be brothers and sisters who I would give everything for and who seem to have no more then a passing interest in me. And so be it! 'So be it!' I chant again and again. Excommunicated and shattered what else is there to chant? Somewhere I have a brother and I have you. But I still lack that void, I need to be reminded of my Religion and those reminders are few. Sex is one and I hope that doesn't sound crass. But like all too many things there is more in it then there seems to be for other people. The future it rolled up into it and there is something tantric in it. A slightly false religion to be sure but not completely without merit. So forgive me my masculine transgressions because they are few to begin with. Most people have a hard time thinking of me as anything but sexless. Sex is nothing, precisely nothing, and conveys want almost without target for me. So forgive me if I seem depressed or distant. I am void-less and drifting and without Religion. But I am OK I have you, my love who will read my rantings and hopefully understand the sentiment among all the misleading words.

New Site: Update

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 23:15:22 CST

Despite what some of you might think, I have indeed been hard at work on Oasisband.net version 3. Its nearing completion with just a few hurdles still standing in my way, but I figured I'd post an update for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Its quite an improvement from the screenshot linked in the last post. Check it out here.

Any feedback is welcome!

Two Letters

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Sun, 17 Jun 2007 21:37:52 CST

In the interest of posting something here are two of my recent letters demonstrating how completely bi-polar I’ve become in my isolation up here. Notice that they are only hours apart. Though this is nothing new. Comments more then appreciated.

6/10/2007 Jeff Forshée
“The Dark Broadcaster.”

I never feel like walking around at night here. I always used to back home. Why am I such a failure as a person? Other people can get along to some degree. From the vary begging though I’ve only been kin to people who turn to drugs, who are just generally unknowable, who are cold, or who (in my mind) have committed acts of horrible violence. The few I’m left with are not enough though I am truly thankful. . . For both of you. . . The night sky seems to hold only sorrow for me. . . Maybe it would be different if it weren’t framed by my window. I won’t find out for awhile its hard to drag myself out side. . . No one interests me out here, they seem hollow. . . Maybe I make them hollow. They don’t seem to think like me. I’m sick of always being the only one of me in a room and I wish this didn’t cause me to think I’m better then these people. How many words do you speak a day? You know I said something to the TV today and then felt horribly depressed. . . It was the third best conversation I would have that day. If it weren’t for Brittany I wouldn’t speak at all. I might through my voice out giving a four minuet speech next week. Even the few people remind me of people I’ve already failed with. I’m not even sure I’ll leave the apartment this weekend. I miss real summers until I think about how it was never really all that much better. People always left me alone never asked me to do anything. . . But I guess that’s my fault. Everything I learned I learned too late. Catholics have it easy you know? I’ve been stumbling around for years and haven’t found anyone new to confess to. If I come down will you have time for me? Or will we push things off like always? God I miss the discovery and the night. Up here all the alternative seem worse then the loneliness I have now. I can’t even cry up here. What’s the point. My emotion has no affect on anyone up here. . . I’m just broadcasting into the darkness. . . As I was born to do. . .

Miserably yours,
The Dark Broadcaster.

6/10/2007 Jeff Forshée
“Someone is receiving.”

Dearest brother,
Someone is receiving. Even when we think we are playing to the night sky, broadcasting into the darkness, someone is receiving. What a glorious revelation, dearest brother. My frequency is much higher here. The highs and lows move quickly. Here I do not dwell, even if I am grief-stricken and joyous in turn I dwell on neither. Maybe some day I will learn to be so perfectly alone, but when I see you next we should raise a glass and hope that skill will be of little use. And raise another to our silent brothers and sisters, both known and unknown, whom we wait for and whom we hope for. Know that someone is receiving, dearest brother. All this force of hope has to go somewhere. Last night I was crushed. My morbid fantasies got the best of me. In my mind I had lost her. . . She was gone. I saw my self at her funeral, dearest brother. I asked “Do you even know who you lost?” not understanding why the world hadn’t stopped. I cried last night in a fit of psychosomatic sorrow. I felt all 150 square feet of my apartment close in on me. I didn’t know what to do I couldn’t weep and I was still unhinged by this imagined grief. At one thirty in the morning I stared at the ceiling with that pain you get in your chest when you cant quite cry and the phone rang. It was her. She couldn’t sleep. Life is the greatest parable, dearest brother. I heard her voice and for a moment night was night again. I talked to her and the sound of each other made us both feel at ease. Even alone as I am, in this plastic night, someone is receiving.

Your brother,
Who Sees Perfection In Coincidence.

Keeping You up to Date

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:00:00 CST

With work and what not, getting in updates has been a little hard lately (notice, its been 3 months for news on the homepage, jeeze. Well heres an update, Click here for a preview of the new Oasisband.net Its a work in progress, and as such not all the details are set in stone, but of the several designs I've had in the last two years this is certainly the best. Its built out for the most part, I just need some motivation to actually redo the database structure to get along with the new simpler design. relocating some of this stuff isn't going to be a walk in the park. Its going to allow a lot more freedom though, reviews of anything with any attribute you can think of. I hate to say it, but a large piece of my database design I've been working on is based on the OSComerce attribute mod, though greatly simplified. Heh, making carts is starting to mess with my mind.

Samaria

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 CST

I’m trying something new this review, I’m writing it while I watch the movie, I have the movie playing on my secondary monitor, and I’m typing it on my primary.

This movie reminds me a lot of Install, but it’s a far more serious, far more Korean version. Lately it seems that South Korea is pushing out far more decent film than Japan.

This movie starts out with two Japanese school girls, one of which is prostituting herself, and the other one managing the money and getting her men. They plan on going to Europe, and there’s an undertone that there might be something more there, that they may be in love. This is indicated at least to me when Jae-yeong tells Yeo-jin that she thinks she’s in love with one of the Johns, Yeo-jin becomes increasingly Jealous.

Yeo-jin makes Jae-yeong promise not to fall in love or even learn anything about any future Johns and Jae-yeong reluctantly agrees. The next day they go out to the next man, Yeo-jin is supposed to be standing watch for police, but she gets distracted by a man bugging her, and the next thing she knows she sees officers running into the apartment. Jae-yeong, with nowhere to go decides to jump out the window. She falls, lands flat on the ground. Covered with blood she orders Yeo-jin to carry her. Yeo-jin runs off with her on her back to a hospital. There we are told they’ll be lucky if she makes it the night.

Jae-yeong demands to see the John she was in love with before she’ll give them her parents phone number. Yeo-jin runs to find him, only to find he refuses to go unless she’ll have sex with him. She crys and reluctantly agrees, thinking of her friend on her death bed. When they finally get to the hospital Jae-yeong is already dead.

This sets forth the plot of the rest of the movie, whereas Yeo-jin in an attempt to understand Jae-yeong, decides to return the money to Johns, and in the process have relations with them.

It should be noted that her father starts out as the perfect single parent, making her breakfast and encouraging her to do well in school, and this is as much a study of the affect on him as the effect on her.

Her father notices her actions, and rather than stopping her, doesn’t let her know he’s on to her, and takes action against the Johns, with increasing levels of violence, first just breaking a bottle and telling the guy to get lost, to humiliating them in front of their family (which they subsequently commit suicide) to out and out murdering them.

It’s no masterwork, but it’s on par with Oldboy for the new kind of Korean ultra violence though not in such a quantity.

Visually, there’s one scene that really struck me and I’m uncertain if its on purpose or not, but her father pulls a car off a side road onto a highway, and there are maybe 3 arrows point left, and he turns right. The scene lasted maybe 10 seconds, but it was practically silent and something about it just struck me.

Also, this firm features what is certainly one of the worst night filters I’ve ever seen. I had assumed she somehow ended up underwater until I discovered what was really going on.

One last note, her father is a Christian, so I’m uncertain if they’re trying to say something with that or not, but he’s always talking about Miracles and such.

Hopefully next review will be on the new review system I’ve been building, which should allow us to review almost anything.

The end is certainly bitter, I won't say much more than that, just that despite my feelings that the film was mediocre I certainly don't regret watching it.

Update: Police Shoot 92 Year Old Woman. Here's my take, what is yours?

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 19:25:29 CST

http://www.mpp.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=glKZLeMQIsG&b=1847069&ct=3829713

Man am I happy I checked digg today. Not only are thoes pigs in all senses of the words going to jail, but two of the three are charged with no less than:

"felony murder, violation of oath by a public officer, criminal solicitation, burglary, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and making false statements"

Man this makes me smile. Not only did they plant marajuana there, but they murdered a 92 year old woman, and they're going away for a long time. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Paul. Straight from the article:

"I'm sorry," the 35-year-old said, his voice barely audible. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter, violation of oath, criminal solicitation, making false statements and perjury, which was based on claims in a warrant.

So one of the three gets manslaughter, other two are looking at murder. Awesome! For once, some good news to put on atimes.

Hmmmmm

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:14:28 CST

Do you ever dislike the fact that your hard to know? I mean I think that in relation to all the other people we know we must be fairly close. But I don’t know that much about you and I don’t know that you know that much about me. We are both plagued by nostalgia well maybe you aren’t 'plagued' or don’t realize that you are yet. I think your really in a good position. You lack little and understand your needs. If now is a time of opulence so be it. Now is the time to move though, slowly at first, towards what ever it is that you want. I actually wish you would ramble about your self more often. I think you are one of the most egoless people I know. . . Well just thought I should write something and was spurred on by a bad day.

I don't see the point.

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 22:37:14 CST

Just a random thought before I head to bed to maybe try and start a conversation. I read on Digg just now that Burger king is going to start killing their Pork and Eggs humanely… firstly, how do you inhumainly kill an egg? Secondly, what, if any is the point of “Humane” killing? Killing is killing, no matter how nicely you kill something its still dead, and any suffering it may have gone through is negated. I honestly don’t see the difference… I mean for instance if you were going to kill me, would it matter how you killed me after I was dead? With that I’m heading to bed

Jeeze...

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 00:00:00 CST

I was going to work on the site tonight, and then boom, my testing server dies. GAH. Not only that, but due to me being lazy, there were still hundreds of calls to the testing server from Oasisband, and I've spent the last 45 minutes fixing those. No ETA on when the other server will be back up, Hopefully before the weekends over. Oband should actually be faster than ever now though.

A Fourth Letter Back to Jeff - Relevance

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 23:00:32 CST

Let me pretense this by saying it may seem a little random, but there is some kind of method to this response, though its hidden to even I. I want to try not to just answer back / counter point your questions / points, but that’s how it usually goes.

I think we’re as close now, despite any physical distance, as we ever were; I’m a hard person to know, certainly. I think events to me have deeper meanings to me than most people, possibly because I have so few. Having a job and being around people has certainly helped settle my restlessness, but its still there. I’m no advocate of organized education either; I believe it has a more of a uniform-ing, dulling effect on a persons mind than anything else. That’s not to say I don’t like education, it’s just that I prefer self-education. My job is basically PHP and MySQL Did I learn either of those at Brown? Didn’t touch them. I learned those from my own endeavors. For Oasisband. Joel has certainly made a huge impact on my life. Its strange how searching shoutcast for “They Might Be Giants” and stumbling upon a station called Edogg can change the course of a person’s life so drastically. He’s hosted Oasisband graciously for years now. He’s been there whenever I had questions, logical or philosophical. It was he responding “Learn PHP” to my bothersome “I’m Bored…”’s combined with him giving me my internship that no doubt got me my job. How can I repay such a man? That bugs me actually.

This next thought I’ve been meaning to get out there for a while, but didn’t have a proper medium, so I figure now is as good a time as any. I’m not happy unless I’m sad. When I have no reason to be down, I don’t know what to do with my self. I’m not sure if it was the stress or the vicodin or some combination thereof, but one of the strongest memories I have are the few weeks after I got my wisdom teeth yanked in September of 2004. There was such a strong sense of hopelessness; I had been shipped out to the middle of nowhere, all my friends scattered around the country, I hadn’t been accepted into any of the schools I applied to and was getting yelled at constantly by my mother about it, and to top it all off the constant physical pain. It’s just a part of my life I think about every single day. The only up side to it was we still had Voom then. I miss Voom. It’s strange. I used to love Aqua Teen. I watched a few episodes yesterday on DVD before I went to sleep, and it did nothing for me. I literally sat there thinking “How could I have liked this, its stupid” They made the same joke three episodes in a row, where meet wad just wanders off, then says “Staring:” some random movie star as though it were the title of a movie.

I still dream of High School. Its for this reason I’ve bought all this Penny Arcade memorabilia, the books, this cup, the shirt over there. Penny-Arcade to me represents something to me. A good time in my life. My mind connects everything though. I connect Mountain Goats with Chipolte with Oblivion all because of that day after Gross’s appendix blew and you guys came to my house. Its crazy too, where there are no connections, my mind needs connections and draws false ones. My verbal memory is fantastic actually, one of the best things I have probably, and I can remember almost every IM conversation I’ve ever had. My brain though doesn’t connect these to where I was at the time, but rather I for some reason connect completely unrelated places. There are many conversations I had on AOL back in seventh and eighth grade that for some reason my mind has connected with West Jr. Highs library. I can think of several right now that are connected with that small section of Paul’s House between the stairs and the Pool Table. As I stated though earlier, everything means something to me. Not in the crazy sense of someone else I know, but in more of a crazy sentimental way. I take deep meaning from Parties large or small. Most of the things I’ve bought on my spending spree of late, excluding the DS and Games, have been more for sentimental value than actual want/need.

Well I’ve rambled on enough for now I suppose. I always feel like an egomaniac when I write these… Its all I I I, Me Me Me… I’m really the only person I know though. I feel as though I should mention you more, perhaps we are drifting. I haven’t mentioned everything I wanted to, but its getting to the length where if I hadn't written it I might not read it, so it’s a good point to end.

Your Friend Always,

Jesse Gordon Donat

Fourth letter to Jesse Donat

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 23:20:35 CST

It has been awhile. . . For a lot of things it has been awhile. I’ve been reading over my old letters I have probably close to two hundred pages of them all told. But maybe only 3 or so letters to you. Odd I think. We used to be close didn’t we? Maybe that’s just nostalgia talking. I do remember watching blue but you have to realize I had maybe two years of that with gross over and over. Maybe that will explain how close we are. So why are we so far apart? I think its mostly physical distance and as much as you don’t want to hear it a driver’s license dose solve some of those issues. But I think your doing better then you think. If you still think that other people are maturing faster then you know that the grass is always greener. I mean you have a real job and a permanent place to live. That’s more then most people have myself included. But I don’t think you would agree. Your in a good position though if your good with your money you can go to 'real collage' if you want (though if your making good money I’m not sure I see the point( then again I've never been the advocate of education)). Well work your way up the corporate ladder and then you’ll have the money to buy time to work on what ever you want. Well I don’t know what else to say. . . I’ll be around if you need of me. I have infinite patience if only finite wisdom.

Yours in truth,
Jeff Forshée

40th Letter to Gross

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 23:19:10 CST

**After a few extremely optimistic letters to Gross we had a snow fall up here and spring was pushed back. People who would actually read this probably know who is in my dream though maybe not well enough. As a point of interest I’ve almost finished compiling all our correspondence (there are still a few hand written notes and two major hand written pieces missing) if anyone wants a copy let me know.**

Let us be realistic its still February. My false spring explodes into tinny white flakes. Things are slow and lonely, sometimes I still see my self as that fool on the hill. When you become a wise fool like me atop your own mountain you will learn that you only want to come back down. . . Where the people are. But you have been there before we may even have climbed a few of those mountains together. I thought of a false parable to admonish you slightly for not writing but I’ll let it die. I’ve lost the want of little bouts of anger its hard being this level headed. Its Sunday and already I’m waiting for the weekend. Are you coming back for break. In my mind I wont see you for a year or so. Sadly not that much different then what its been in the more present past. I dream recently:

A childhood friend and I prepare for a long journey. We sit on the step near the front door. She is a frozen soft drink. She whispers “Do you want to know me?” from somewhere in her plastic body. I say that there will be time for all that later.

I awake knowing as much as when I fell asleep. I feel hollow after dreams like that as I stumble for my notebook in a painful half strong resolve to record my own hollowness. At least I am actively sleeping. Perhaps that’s all I ever do. I am truly obsessive and tether myself to the past. Only the women haunt my dreams though. You know in a desperate moment I wanted to drink deep from her? I hesitated. I faltered. How do you tell someone you want to drink deep from there being? How do you say “Yes, I want to know you” and have them understand? How do you get them to ask “Do you want to know me?”? It only seems to happen in my dreams. . .

Eternally Thirsty,

Your Brother

Atimes and Other Improvements

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 00:00:00 CST

Atimes was really looking dated, so I fixed it up some, and at the request of some bitching, I updated the comment box. I slso swapped out the comment box on the Insight page for this new psuedo-standard one. To come: Major improvments to the site and obloglog.

Social Atrophy

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 22:19:48 CST

**(A note of no importance to no one in particular)**
In the last few years I have almost tried completely to remove myself from my school. And its interesting I’ve found it impossible to be completely unknown even if its just as ‘that guy’. I’ve convinced myself that I’ve learned something in the last few years and it’s lead me to believe that there is more to people then they let on. This however seems to distance me further from what I think they are. All this has just furthered my want to study people and really I’m not sure what good that does. Most people don’t seem to think that being a subject is a superlative. And maybe I’m just mucking up the language to think otherwise. But it seems the deeper and deeper you suppose people to be the less and less of them there seem to be. The resistance to any kind of closeness seems stronger then logic would dictate. And I have always been a slave to logic.
I find myself thinking I’ve hit the bottom, that there is no more to discover here. It’s fairly painful to invest so strongly in something that you discover is not Truth. I am rebounding, trying to figure out at what point I went astray, but my view is muddled. I try to recreate what I found the first time with little luck. I try to be as honest as possible but I don’t think people know quite how to react to it and I never know how much force to apply.
So why all the letters? They calm me to an extent and they show me where I’ve been and how little I’ve changed. I’ve trained myself to talk endlessly at a brick wall and wait patently for an answer. I’d like to actually do something here but I’m really out of ideas as to what that would be. There are a lot of people that I’d like to be closer to but its in my nature to wait for them. But then how many of us are here waiting. .

I dream of electric shoes

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Sun, 21 Jan 2007 22:24:00 CST

*Another letter to gross. Nothing even that interesting but thought I’d post something. If anyone wants a letter from me just ask and I’d be happy to write one.

We are equal distances from all things. I only say one thing but I will retool and calculate so that it will come out closer to what I mean. Glory and poetry seem to seep into my being. Slowly petrifying anger and fear. I am calm. I’m ready to start a pop band. We will speak to the public in there language about things that don’t need saying. This is not debasement its just a beat you can dance to. I want to be that guy in the local bar who you think sounds alright. I want to be lots of things. I’m more then fine with where I am. I have direction even if I have no speed. I’m far more curious about how others are moving. I write to waste my time and to mark the peaks and valleys of my oscillations. My mind is working all the time and out side the realm of ‘normal’ thought. I am brilliant in this if nothing else. I dream of electric shoes that will keep a beat for me and brilliant noise summoned by a flick of my wrist and a long chain of steal boxes. I dream so that my failure seems farther off. I can’t play love, or friendship, or sadness, or frozen milk on any number of strings.

It’s been an interesting first few weeks back here. I brought no pedals, only the clean Casio, and the normal dozens of acoustic instruments. I’ve been working on the technical aspects of my playing trying to memorize the fret boards of several different instruments. I’ve been exercising my hands constantly. I think I’m improving little be little but its left me with a lust for noise and a tangle of cables running into everything. And my damn comp keeps crashing so I suppose here is as good a spot to end as any.

We'll Be Back

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 00:00:00 CST

As you've probably noticed the page looks a little funky. We were hacked a few days ago, and Joel has disabled writing (ie: updating the counter) until he figures out what caused the problem, and how to fix it. He's talking about moving us to a different server, which should be interesting. We'll be back to normal soon though.

Adobe: STFU. Time Warner: Let our Culture Go.

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 00:38:09 CST

The topic this surrounds is genericide, follow the Wikipedia link if you are unfamiliar with the term, get to know it, and realize the freedoms it entitles us all to. Example: the lowly Aspirin. You may not realize it, but Aspirin is a brand name, and in many other countries it has to be called by its generic name “Acetosal” In America if a trademark becomes part of the culture, it is subject to genericide.

Adobe is terrified at the prospect of Photoshop becoming genericized. So much so they actually released this insulting sheet (Thanks for the link, Alek) [link] on how the term “Photoshop” can and cannot be used. I quote now from this sheet

CORRECT: The new features in Adobe® Photoshop® software are impressive.
INCORRECT: Photoshop's features are impressive.

“Trademarks must never be abbreviated.” Do they honestly expect people to say Adobe every time they refer to Photoshop? What right do companies have to control how we refer to its products? Could I make a product whose name took half an hour to pronounce, and then be upset when people don’t bother to use its full name? This is completely ridiculous.

As a side note I’ve been meaning to write a post for a while now on how Copyright should be subject to genericide. Lets look for example at the Birthday Song. It was copyrighted in 1935 and not set to expire until 2030 (thanks very much Sonny Bono). Anyone who had any legitimate reason to gain from that song will be, and probably already is long dead. You have to admit that the song is part of our culture. How can someone own and profit from our culture? That’s just wrong. I argue that when something becomes part of the culture, part of how we live, and so common that a thought is never even given to where it came from, its copyright should be null and void.

Secondly and even more pointedly, it’s a 4-line song, 3 of the lines are identical. How can that even be copyrightable? It’s literally a copyright on two sentences, one of which is missing a word i.e.: Insert Name Here. There should be a minimum length on what is copyrightable. How can you copyright that, it’s a common saying. If anything has ever been disserving of ridicule, this is it.

Time Warner, it is your turn to step up to the plate. Don’t be a dick, let “Happy Birthday To You” go. Uhoh, I just posted 3/4ths of the song by saying the title, fuck... Its in quotes though, I should be fine. Thoes of you curious to the full lyrics can find them here: [link] .

One final note, this is the first Oasisband post of 2007. Heres wishing this year be better than last! Godspeed.

Xbox 360 Initial Review

pauljohnson17@gmail.com(Paul Johnson) — Mon, 25 Dec 2006 04:30:05 CST

Seeing as how Jesse's review of the 360 Controller has been up for months, I figured it was time for another review... The 360 itself

Pros: I love the dashboard, not only can you listen to your own music at any point during a game, but its actually somewhat intuitive. The 360 can finally rip music off burned CD's which was a major reason xbox 1.0 never really saw much use as a music player. The Controller is comfortable as heck, and the wireless thing is really nice and so far the battery life (the wireless controller uses 2 AA's) has been great, but I'm probably going to invest in some rechargeables. All in all, I do like that Microsoft decided to use AA's instead of some proprietary battery, far cheaper and easier to replace them that way.

The graphics are great, I've played Gears of War and the graphics are a deffinete step up from xbox 1.0, ps2, etc. Not only does the console have plenty of speed, but loading times are minimal compared to xbox 1.0. I also like the fact the 360 will have an add-on HD player, because i don't have or need HD-dvd, nor do i want to spend another $200 for one.

Cons: The HD is a bit small, while 20 gigs seems like a lot for a console, once you start ripping your own music onto the thing, it starts to pile up. I'm not anywhere near running out of room yet, but I can definitely see it happening to those with more impressive media collection. I'd like to see either a larger HD available, or an adapter allowing you to use a regular computer HD which would see storage capacity limited only by the size of the HD's available. I'd also wish they'd left the start and select buttons where they are on the xbox 1.0 controller, never realized how nice it was having them to the side till now. While in general I do like the dashboard, it'd be nice if you were able to customize the button settings for entering information. It'd also be nice to be able to fast forward and rewind within songs.

Nitpicking: I wish the controller was just a tad larger, like the size of the S controller that is standard with xbox 1.0, It's not that the controller is too small to use, but would be nice if they beefed it up just a bit.

Slow News Day

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 CST

Ever wanted to buy a PS3 from me? Now you can!!! Click Here!

Hugo Chavez Dictator on the Rise

pauljohnson17@gmail.com(Paul Johnson) — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 11:53:57 CST

Funny development from South America, Hugo Chavez fresh off wining elections in Venezuela plans to rewrite the constitution down there to remove any limitations on the time he can spend as president. Somehow this scares very little of the international community. Looking back on world history, all dictators have been rather quick to make sure there are no limits on how long they could stay in power. Venezuela?s constitution has this pesky clause restricting how long one can stay in power. For Mr. Chavez this is just not gelling with his "revolution," what to do. Ahh of course, lets rewrite the constitution. This has long been a favorite technique of the world's dictators, and Hugo Chavez is a dictator masquerading around as a man of the people. The BBC has quoted him saying that he intends to stay in power till 2021! 2021! You can disagree with the policies of the United States as much as you want, but Mr. Chavez also intends to completely socialize the Venezuelan economy. While Mr. Chavez has decided to ignore history, others like myself will take a second look. Socialism works only when no one has any desire to improve their standing in life beyond the average. Every communist nation, China, North Vietnam, Cuba..., there are those with power who live a better life than those without. Socialism doesn?t work because inevitably a small percentage of the people are able to concentrate power. Mr. Chavez has also decided that he will send his oil to China instead of the US, because he "He does not wish to have his democratic credentials, his style of government and his socialist project scrutinized internationally." (from BBC). Gee if I was a dictator in disguise I sure wouldn't want my government policies scrutinized internationally. Though I guess that?s the benefit of dealing with a Communist Nation (China) who has no regard for the policies of who their dealing with instead of one that does. Turns out for the United States, this whole doing the right thing and caring about the policies of the people your trading with is a really huge pain in the ass, but I guess that?s why we?re so loved.

BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6212430.stm

Eternal Recurrence

drewdgross@gmail.com(Andrew Gross) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 23:25:04 CST

Here is an excerpt from my Junior Thesis, I submitted this with my resume for an intership in the spring. If you are interested in reading the rest of the 70 pages, I am more than willing to email you the rest of it, when it is done (2 weeks from now). It is sorta political, I guess . . . figured I haven't posted in a LOOONGGG time, so here goes:

The Eternal Recurrence

“Two paths meet here; no one has yet followed either to its end. This long lane stretches back for an eternity. And the long lane out there, that is another eternity. They contradict each other, these paths: they offend each other face to face: and it is here at this gateway that they come together. The name of the gateway is inscribed above: ‘Moment.”
“All that is straight lies,” the dwarf murmured contemptuously. “All truth is crooked time itself is a circle.”

This excerpt from Zarathustra is Zarathustra’s first encounter with what he and Nietzsche will later to refer to as the eternal recurrence. What is incredibly interesting about this section is that not even Zarathustra, the one who is great heights from the rest of humanity, is able to understand the message behind what the dwarf, the proclaimer of the recurrence, is trying to say. Zarathustra is unable to hear the eternal recurrence and he tries to dismiss it, he feels that this dwarf is a bad omen, preaching to him something terrible that must be rejected. The Dwarf explains to Zarathustra, that time is not a linear pattern, a history with a beginning and end. But rather time itself, is like the Overhuman, in that it is a process, in which we must both engage in this process as well as accept it. But at the outset, though, we can see that Nietzsche realizes how difficult the eternal recurrence is, and is probably admitting that he himself, although presented with the notion many times, was not at first able to understand it. Thus, the readers must be very careful when trying to understand this philosophy—it is one so delicate, yet intricate, that we can not afford to mishear Nietzsche when he speaks of the eternal recurrence.
The eternal recurrence effectively serves as the opposition to hedonism and nihilism in a world without repressive, dogmatic morality and the absence of God. Richard Avramenko argues that once Nietzsche created the eternal recurrence as an opposition to repressive notions of truth (specifically, Christian notions of truth), there becomes a large void. In Avramenko’s essay he is specifically referring to a void of friendship in that Nietzsche effectively denied any sort of ground in which friendship can form. As Avramenko says, “The whole of Thus Spoke Zarathustra can be understood as Zarathustra’s quest for a type of friendship that can grow out of this groundless ground.” I agree with Avramenko here that Nietzsche both created a void with the eternal recurrence and also tried to fill that void with the recurrence. So, when Nietzsche chooses to deny the conceptual truth of good and evil, it leaves a huge vacancy for what humans should do. Nietzsche fills this void with the eternal recurrence. The idea is that every action, or every way that we live our lives will occur over and over again, eternally. This serves as Nietzsche’s beyond-morality moral system—if we are truly able to joyously say ‘yes’ to every action we take, then we are headed towards the overhuman. Essentially then, the eternal recurrence serves to give a path for humans to try to become the overhuman—to understand the process of subversion and creation, which is the overhuman, without falling into nihilistic despair.
As Avramenko points out in his essay, the eternal recurrence is not exactly something that westerners are easily able, or even willing to accept:
“With the declaration of the eternal recurrence, Nietzsche is introducing uncertainty and unpredictability. It would thus be better to refer to the eternal recurrence as a flavor. It is a flavor for which we must develop a taste. The eternal recurrence, as Nietzsche well knows, is a tough pill to swallow and this is precisely why he calls it ‘the greatest weight.’”

To begin with the notion that time is anything but linear is problematic for the Western ear. Avramenko places Nietzsche in a debate with Augustine who argues, referring to cyclical theories of time, “even when it [the soul] has attained wisdom; it must proceed on an unremitting alternation between false bliss and genuine misery. How can there be true bliss, without any certainty of its eternal continuance?” Augustine’s reaction to cyclic notions of time demonstrates a very Christian and western understanding of how time functions, and furthermore, a reality that is dependent upon having God and a heaven to obtain when time has ended for a specific human being. Yet obviously, Nietzsche rejects the Christian morality and God himself. Not only is Nietzsche creating a philosophy to fill his ‘moral hole’, he is also directly responding to and refuting typical Christian understandings of time, existence, and ‘right’ action. The eternal recurrence seeks to dislodge the authority that Christians have assumed and display a direct contradiction of it, both to fulfill his own philosophy and to engage in irony. To argue that Nietzsche believes we need to authoritatively accept his eternal recurrence and abandon the ‘inferior’ Christian notion, is completely outside of Nietzsche’s project. Instead of choosing one over the other, Nietzsche asks us to develop a taste for the eternal recurrence. Whether or not the eternal recurrence is ‘true’ or ‘better’ is of no real consequence, but by developing this taste, or ability to hear the recurrence, we are able to see the ironic nature in all human things and head up the mountain towards the overhuman.
The eternal recurrence serves not only to disrupt a Christian notion of time, but it also serves to disrupt any sort of linear, rational, or higher truth. The eternal recurrence renders it impossible for there to be definitive truth or a values system that transcends time, space, geography or even relativity because the eternal recurrence exemplifies a system with no actual truth, but rather truth as a process, something that must be constantly created and destroyed in order for the elimination of repressive notions of truth, and leave the Dionysian, or the positive, liberated aspects of mankind in their wake. Truth, value, and morals can not be habitual or long-lasting under this system; as the Earth itself does, they must be always changing, engaged in a process of creation and destruction—plate tectonics. In the Genealogy of Morals Nietzsche warns us of any words that do not take part in this process of creation and destruction because they will try to lead us to single goals, aims or meanings. “The whole surface of consciousness must be kept clear of all imperatives. Beware even of every great word, ever great prose! The organizing idea that is destined to rule keeps growing deep down . . . it prepares single qualities and fitnesses that will one day prove to be indispensable as means toward a whole.”
After looking closely at these words and trying to understand what they mean, we now must ask the same question that Nietzsche asked himself towards the end of his second essay in the Genealogy of Morals, “What are you really doing, erecting an ideal or knocking one down?” And Nietzsche responds to this question:
Have you ever asked yourselves sufficiently how much the erection of every ideal on Earth has cost? How much reality had to be misunderstood and slandered, how many lies have had to be sanctified, how many consciences disturbed, how much “God” sacrificed every time? If a temple is to be erected a temple must be destroyed: that is the law—let anyone who can show me a case in which it is not fulfilled!

With this we can now look at the rhetoric of Zarathustra and Ecce Homo and look for the subversive and ironic process in which Nietzsche tries to both create and destroy systems of values, truth, rhetoric, and inquiry. But we must listen closely, and dissect with delicate fingers as to not try to find the new idols and ideals that Nietzsche is creating, but to look to see how he moves outside of the truth-game altogether. Nietzsche’s divergent rhetoric is arguably the most difficult part of Nietzsche’s works to truly understand, but by not understanding this essential quality of Nietzsche, it is not possible to hear Nietzsche.
Before we move away from the fundamentals of Nietzsche’s words and concepts, and move into his rhetoric in general, we must take into account the Overhuman and the Eternal Recurrence and their affects on language in general. For Nietzsche, language can have no transcendent truth, but truth in language is similar to the Overhuman and the Eternal Recurrence in that it is able to obtain some form of human truth through a process of creating and destroying. Essentially then, language is not transcendent, and as Tuska Benes argues, it is only adequate if we forget that we created language and that we created truth. “Accepting the illusion that words referred to things allowed early humans to live in mutual trust. The invention of truth thus had ‘pleasant, life-preserving consequences’ Society, however, had thereby exchanged a set of lies for the truth.” So with a language that humans have created they were able to become social creatures, they could move away from, repress, basic primordial desires. But for Nietzsche, this conversion from the base creature to the social creature brought with it inherently negative, inherently repressive, and inherently forgetful forces. In the Genealogy of Morals, Nietzsche allegorically compared this social change of human-creatures “well adapted to the wilderness, to war, to prowling, to adventure,” who had to repress those instincts to effectively live socially to sea animals coming out of the water who had to “walk on their feet and ‘bear themselves upright’” —the skills that the sea creatures had developed for marine life became unnecessary. This shift from primordial language to a socially ‘meaningful’ language helped humans to adapt to their new surroundings, but it also meant that humans forgot that there was no truth, and instead believed that the truth and language that they had created was somehow transcendent. “Faith in truth depended for Nietzsche on a process of forgetting. People had to deny and repress the actual origins of language in order to believe in the accuracy of its representations.” Society, today as we see it, is fundamentally established on the fact that we have forgotten that we have created truth, language, and god, because “acknowledging the rhetorical foundation of words would have automatically destabilized the edifice of truth built upon them.”

Works Cited

Avramenko, Richard. “Zarathustra and his Asinine Friends: Nietzsche on Post-modern, Post-liberal Friendship.” American Political Science Association. Chicago, Annual Meeting: np., 2004. 1-30.

Benes Tuska. "Language and the Cognitive Subject: Heymann Stienthal and Friedrich Nietzsche." Language & Communication Vol. 26 Issue 3/4 (Jul 2006): 218-230.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. On the Genealogy of Morals. Trans. Walter Kaufmann. New York: Random House, Inc., 1967.

Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for None and All. Trans. Kaufmann. London: Penguin Books, 1978.

A Response to Jesse about the Police Shooting of an Atlanta Woman

pauljohnson17@gmail.com(Paul Johnson) — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 04:03:08 CST

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/10374909/detail.html
Jesse,
Instead of taking your news report at face value I went around and have found several differing reports of the shooting.
According to WSB-TV, the local ABC affiliate in Atlanta, not only was there a marked Atlanta PD car in front of the residence but the narcotics officers who worked the warrant case were wearing police vests of the same type as those commonly worn by swat teams. I'm going to assume that this woman was not an idiot and bothered to look out one of the windows in her house facing the street. Seeing the Police car, when someone at the door claims to be police, you have even more of a responsibility to make sure who you're shooting at. I agree that had they just blindly broken the door down without announcing themselves the woman should have shot back no questions. But they did announce themselves and had a marked police presence. This stuff about how the police were wearing street clothes is just a smokescreen.

Police Shoot 92 Year Old Woman. Here's my take, what is yours?

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 10:21:56 CST

Woman, 92, dies in shootout with police - CNN.com I try not to just repost news, but I wanted to add a bit of my spin to this. Tell me your thoughts on this, as Paul seems to believe the police were completely justified in this.

Police arrive at a 92 year old woman’s house, in plain clothes rather than police uniforms.
- For all I know, Sting may have been out there.
They yell through the door “Open up, it’s the Police.”
- I know that I see a bunch of people with guns, who don’t look anything like police outside my door, the last thing I’m going to do is open up, not to mention this woman had people pretending to be police try to break in before.
The police, not dressed at all like cops, break down the door. The woman opens fire, and hits 3 of them, before getting shot down.
- As far as I’m concerned, if the police had no reason to be there, which they didn’t (they didn't find any drugs) , the woman had no reason to believe these were real police. You break into someone’s house, not at all wth the appearance of police, with your only proof of being the police being claiming to be the police vocally, as far as I’m concerned the owner of the house has every right to defend their property.

I’d also like to add some comments from a digg.com post I found highly insightful.

Comment by anonymoustroll

Yeah... that's pretty funny... she tagged each one of them (and I bet they took a good long pause trying to figure out "what the hell?" before gunning her down)... too bad she wasn't a better shot.

...but here's the thing: this stinks to high heaven; here's why:

> had a legal warrant and "knocked and announced" before they forced open the door

1 - every last one of us knows that "knock and announce" means "knock with the door breacher" and "announce your presence with a flash-bang". Perhaps it need to be "knock, announce and identify yourself to the upstanding citizen that you're prepared to shoot" (and give the citizen time to verify your credentials). Innocent until proven guilty pretty much ends when the warrant is served.

> Kathryn Johnson, was the only person home at the time, and had lived there for about 17 years.

2 - cops need to be less tactical and more strategic. Perhaps if someone had done their intelligence homework and looked at the power/phone/water/gas/cable/etc. bills they'd see *WHO* they were about to take into custody. Seems to me that they just don't know what the fsck is going on and prepare for the worse (and guess what... they get the worse outcome... surprise). You know, those warrants for paper searches aren't as sexy as the "real thing", but maybe there'd be three cops without bullets in them and one grandma who's still alive if they'd taken the time to do their homework.

> Neighbors and relatives said it must have been a case of mistaken identity.

3 - well, you know what they say... hindsight is 20/20. Good thing they had the "right" address. This is what happens when good people live in bad neighborhoods, etc. etc, cliches ad infiniutum.

> I'm sure she panicked when they kicked that door down

Don't discount the possibility that they may have been fed incorrect information (never actually trust anonymous/CI intelligence sources... always verify, cross check and do your due diligence). Obviously they weren't going off any type of reasonable intelligence. So, gun nuts beware, if I want you out of my neighborhood, all I have to do is dime you out for some heinous crime from the anonymous comfort of a payphone and a pseudonym.

Comment by theblooms

don't blame her for shooting back at all. She had been on the receiving end of criminals posing as cops many times in the past. Your home is your castle, and in America (at least in the majority of states that respect the Bill of Rights) you are allowed to defend your castle by any means necessary.

This whole thing with cops executing warrants like this has GOT to stop. Cops are supposed to be civilians. In this day in age, they are not. They are paramilitary with fully automatic weapons and tanks. Yes, tanks. We have all seen them. Police departments in the US have more tanks than most nations. Fucking ridiculous. If a situation is so god-damed dangerous that you need a tank to serve a warrant, you need to call the National Guard in. Seriously.

In even the WORST possible situation, you can always surround a house and wait for the bad guy to come out. He WILL come out eventually.

These 3 cops need to be prosecuted for murder. Mistaken identity is NO excuse for busting down someone's door and shooting them. I GUARANTEE if someone busts down my door, they will be met with a hail of lead. How the hell do I know who they are? People impersonate cops all the time.

May this lady Rest in Peace. I will pray for her and her family.

Am I wrong on this? I'd like to know your thoughts.

Well...

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 00:00:00 CST

We're not dead yet, though looking at this chart of our hits as of late, next near. How do we draw hits? What would you do? Anyone who wants to write awesome content or knows someone who can write, or has amazing ideas for the site get a hold of me: here.

Nana

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 00:00:00 CST

I’d just like to start this review saying I got this movie because it has Ryuhei Matsuda ( 松田龍平 ) in it, of Blue Spring and Collage of our Life fame. Some of you may know he is my favorite Japanese actor. He had a strange part in this film, managing to be a major character, but having perhaps four lines. Also, I’d like to note the way he held the guitar seemed awkward in such a way as to seem almost identical to something straight out of Guitar Hero.

This movie is apparently based off a popular Japanese Manga, and in fact made for a extremely popular movie in Japan. I had no idea of this while watching it.

This movie focuses on two women named Nana, who though complete opposites, through anomalous circumstances became very good friends. [Back Story Explanation for those of you who are lacking in Japanese: Nana while being a Japanese name is also Japanese for the number seven. Hachi is Japanese for the number eight, and also a common name for dogs. The gothic Nana renamed the other Nana “Hachi” informally to keep them from getting confused and because she said the preppy Nana acted like a puppy.] They meet on a train to Tokyo, which becomes stuck for several hours due to high snow. Hachi is heading to Tokyo to be closer to her boyfriend who is going to art school in Tokyo, Nana is moving to Tokyo to pursue her dream of being a famous singer. After reaching Tokyo they head their separate ways, only to meet up again when looking for an apartment when two real estate agents show them the same apartment. Number 707 nonetheless. After some arguing about who should get the apartment, gothic Nanas friend who is with them suggests they live together, and with little ado they agree.

The movie ends up first going off first into Hachi’s immediate romantic life with her boyfriend, and then moves on to Nana’s past and her coming to terms. Nana was in love with Ryuhei’s character “Ren” when they were in a band together “Blast”, but they separated when Ren joined a new band “Trapnest”, which we latter find out has become a huge hit, whereas Nana’s band has only met with marginal success, and the man they got to replace Ren looks like a Japanese Bob Dylan no less. From reading about the original book Blast was supposed to be extremely punk whereas Trapnest was supposed to be more mainstream rock. They both in the movie though come off as very generic soft rock though, which is kind of lame.

From the visual side of things the movie had a very romantic feel; for example nine times out of ten when someone is outside it was snowing, and flash backs always happened to be in the winter (though this is quite possibly because the movie was filmed in a short period of time). The inside of the Nana’s house was white. White and snow are a recurring theme to the film.

The songs they sang were cheesy at best, mixing Japanese and english in the same sentance, as I described to kern “Blah blah blah I love you blah blah blah baby!” as it would be to the casual listener.

Overall the movie was decent for those of you saps who like pointless foreign romance/lost love flicks.

Sony Sues Lik-Sang Out of Business

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 03:34:14 CST

Online video game and electronics store extraordinaire Lik-Sang is no more thanks to continuing lawsuits by Sony. Their most recent lawsuit in the UK, over PSP exports threw them over the edge. Sony is quoted as saying: ?ultimately, we're trying to protect consumers from being sold hardware that does not conform to strict EU or UK consumer safety standards, due to voltage supply differences et cetera;? This is complete, for lack of a better term, bullshit. Lik-Sang provided the same universal power adapter that was sold world wide.

I, as well as many gamers world wide morn the loss of Lik-Sang where savings were king. I my self had meant to purchase Xbox extensions cords for pennies on the dollar, but have been denied this at Sony's hand. This is one gamer who will never purchase a Sony console. Heres a link to Lik-Sangs Out of Business Notice

Survive Style 5+

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 00:00:00 CST

This movie is hard to describe. It has five main plots, hence the name, that in the end work them selves together. One interesting aspect of the film is that as it introduces plot lines, it visually numbers them on screen. It begins with a man burying his wife, his wife being played by the beautiful half Japanese, half Spanish Reika Hashimoto. He returns home to find his wife sitting at his kitchen table, which sets up what is to become a pattern for his plot. Next we are introduced to a woman who works in advertising and a hypnotist who are in bed together. Throughout the film the advertising woman has a number of "Visions" of commercials. Some are quite humorous while others just make you say "What!?" The next plot is kind of a comic relief plot… do you really need a comic relief plot in a comedy? I don't know, but it basically involves a group of friends, where a Japanese man is terrified of the prospect that his really ugly, male, friend is in love with him. Next we are introduced to an English hit-man and his Japanese assistant on an airplane on their way into Japan, whereas he causes quite a ruckus on the airplane harassing a flight attendant about her purpose for living. The last plot involves a man who visits the hypnotist, is hypnotized into believing he is a bird, and the hypnotist is killed by the hit man before he is un-hypnotized. This was my favorite plot, and the way in which it connects to the first is pure genius.

The imagery and colors of this film were beautifully intense. It felt… surreal. They do an amazing job though of making you not realize how strangely colored things are, which the end result gives the film just an amazing feel. For instance the airplane the hit-man came over on was bright pink, but I don't believe I noticed until reviewing the film just now.

The soundtrack includes some interesting choices, all very rhythmic, sometimes with the scene seemingly moving to the beat. There's an amount of western music I haven't seen in any other Asian films. The soundtrack adds greatly to the feel of the movie.

Overall I recommend the movie highly. It was greatly entertaining and beautifully composed. It was a distinct comedy, which I see few of, but I found it highly enjoyable.

Fixed Feed Amoung Other Things

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 00:00:00 CST

The oband feed has had some slight repairs, as if anyone but I cares. Also, I got tired of "Best Night Ever"'s being mixed in with my Best Week Ever video feed, so I made one that filters them out... here...

Completely Senseless Killings...

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 00:31:35 CST

While atimes isn't meant to just percolate news from other sites... this stuns me... all I can say is "WTF, Mate?" I am shocked and appalled by this...

Christianity learned the dangers of blind devotion painfully, Islam risks repeating history

pauljohnson17@gmail.com(Paul Johnson) — Sat, 16 Sep 2006 05:36:15 CST

The Pope has recently stirred up a "whirlwind of anger" in the Muslim world because several people have misinterpreted his words regarding Islamic Jihad. While I have nothing but the complete respect for the Muslim Faith, I have nothing but contempt for the attitudes of quite a few of its believers. Islam really is a beautiful religion. It has the capacity to help its followers live a right and honorable life. However, many in the Muslim world refuse to honestly critique their faith and those who follow it. I believe Christianity went down a similar road a few hundred years ago, we call this the crusades, inquisition, take your pick. The point is in the name of God Christians did some really ungodly things. Fast-forward to the present and Christianity has learned the importance of self-critique. After all there is nothing more dangerous than unquestioning devotion to a cause.

Poet and philosopher George Santayana's quote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" seems especially applicable to the current state of world affairs.

While the vast majority of Muslim's are logical, understanding, rational people; there exists within Islam (as with every religion around the world) those who refuse to honestly reflect upon their faith. In Christianity those who spew such nonsense and urge blind devotion are kept well outside of the mainstream. However for reasons I do not yet understand, the media and the world at large give those who spew such nonsense their 15 minutes of fame again and again and again. It is about time that the rational majority of Muslim's take their faith back from the radicals who tarnish their faith. Christianity has already walked down the path of blind devotion; I can only hope that it is not to late for Islam to learn from Christianities mistakes.

(((BRICKS)))

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Fri, 15 Sep 2006 00:52:45 CST

nested parentheses and other idiosyncrasies

Just one quick letter and then I’ll start. It’s been two weeks and I still haven’t started. . . Its been longer three maybe is more accurate. This place feels better this year the trains don’t weep like I remember they did. I am settling into my own but the change needs to come faster than its coming. I always have a hard time studying I just can’t start. Tomorrow I’ll start. Tonight I have work to do. I’m going to be broke sooner then later but I can see what I want in this place and I am left inspired to no subtle degree. I live on my own I bake my own bread and cook my own food I wake up to a woman I love at least a few nights a week. If not for the damned university I am a farm house and a walnut grove short of . . .(We need a word for this and for some reason Heaven seems to come up short like you said its impossible) ‘The Walnut Farm’ and I’ll readily defend that it is here on earth. Its not so far from where we are now. I am thinking of doing an English paper on The Great Tower and the Debasement of Language. I don’t know if this is a good idea. It’s far to much for what he’s asking but I don’t know what else to do it on. It has to be personal And what’s more personal then how two people interact? Heh. The radio show is actually going to happen. Far less effort then I would have thought. Friday 4-6 AM. I need a name for the show if you have any ideas. Seems like I can see gleaming of something in the distance but the hurtles don’t seem to be any shorter or fewer then they were. How are you? And I mean how goes it? Seems the closer we are the more we (at least I) worry. Everything else is, for the most part, static. I’ve written a few songs in the short time I’ve been here and am finishing up a few more: Weekends(written in all of ten min about Fargo and drinking), Atlas revisited( you heard this one ‘all the good Christians’ (I can’t not say Chris-Tions hope fully its idiomatic(that’s the right word right?)))*Ah nested parentheses*(at least they are idiomatic) Lullaby No. 1 (for an unborn daughter) Lullaby No. 2 (electric) (this one might need your help its. . . Maybe ‘brooding’ is the word like your on the edge of tears). I tried to write a song about the tower didn’t take. But there’s Art in there somewhere I’ll find it sooner or later. Where are you going to grad school (or working when your done)? Too early to think about these things maybe. But I’m in a planning mood. I imagine a porch some where and all things falling in place. . . Magic until science explains it.

May the vast open horizons great you as pleasantly (I like that),
Your Brother.

-------------------

"The ice is near, the solitude tremendous -- but how calmly all things
lie in the light! How freely one breathes! How much one feels beneath
oneself!"

"He believes neither in "misfortune" nor in "guilt" : he comes to terms
with himself with others; he knows how to forget -- he is strong enough;
hence everything must turn out for his best."

"It also seems to me that the rudest word, the rudest letter are still
more benign, more decent than silence. All who remain silent are
dyspeptic. Rudeness is by far the most humane for of contradiction and,
in the midst of effemincacy, one of our foremost virtues."

"Oh, I found it, my brothers! Here, in the higest spheres the fount of
pleasure wells up for me! And here is a life of which the rabble does
not drink."

Brother, the sweetness in your verse swells me. You have already seen
with the greatest of solitude and I rejoice that you are able to look
with a gay heart. Don't remeber one or the other but forget both as it
is often hard for us to do. If Heaven is as easily found in the coldest
of days and the darkest of skies as it is in the Sun at self, only then
could I call that porch Heaven. Brother, I have binding myself and then
unravelling myself, I have been making circles but only escaping into
greater ones. I reach clarity everytime that I have completely missed
it. I have despised words and then I make love to them. But I think I
have come to terms with my own happiness, it is the same as my own
defeat, but still I look forward to a day of rest. I wish to drink from
the water that runs from the highest mountains and the from lowliest
caverns, and even I find my stream I don't know if I will find a place
to drink from it - I am sick of creating worlds, thoughts and grammars,
I simply want to dance with the ones that will always be there.

Work hard brother, we are but clay - we can only be molded until we are
too hard to feel.
Andrew.

Every Brick Independent or Answer the Damn Questions

Our letters don’t seem to follow each other I’m going to have a hell of a time trying to put them in order(and I will try). I find it odd that you never answer my questions. I know you must read every line several times. We both must. Your Nietzsche (I assume) has me still worried. His thinking seems flawed to me but I am no expert. It has been my experience that it is not the cave that creates the new ideas but the act of rushing down from the mountain in itself that calls the Muses. Well I must remember to be more artless. Do not forget the people, the real ones I mean. And maybe I mean everyone by that. I will have my first radio show on Friday at 4AM. My attempts to try and reach out have crammed me into a tiny room at 4 in morning with no one else around or even awake. I am enjoying this in the fullest. In the end I think people need to find me. The resistance the other way is almost too much to over come. I think the Catholics have ruined heaven for you. What’s the point of having a word for something no one can have or visit? It is only on cold dark days that your Heaven exists, dear Brother. On warm days we have God’s green earth and no Heaven can compare to that, to what is. . . Hmmm but we argue semantics and definitions. We should start a film or some other grate work. I feel that at least this is coming closer to poetry. I’m tempted to try my hand.

“Every brick Independent” The Mason said.

“How do you mean?” The Brick responds.

“Close proximity is a fault. Mortar makes the wall.”

“But ‘close’ is relative is it not?”

“Symmetry,” He said to the Brick “We both shaped and set that president long ago” as another layer compounds the other.

“So I’m bound to they that I can never touch” The brick said realizing his situation for the first time.

“You sound sad for someone surrounded by bothers” the Mason quipped, grinning and content.

“I guess it is my lot to accept but tell me” the Brick said “what’s the wall for anyway?”

“Every brick Independent” The mason said.

Heh. . . Well what do you think? Crappy little story but it shows my faults quite well. I like the idea but my skills are dull oh well.

Waiting for answers to my damned questions,
. . .

----------------------

I wish I had a sentence to describe how a sentence will never quite
express what I want to say . . . I guess this sentence is the best I can
do.

To answer your questions: I am doing, I do not want to say to much,
because I know that if I write the feeling down that feeling takes on an
appearance to be much more concreted and real that it actually is. But
as the ash falls from my cigarette, I am tired, the only rest I get is
to read Nietzsche, but even doing that is becoming difficult. I am tired
of listing in my mind and on paper all the things that need to be
ACCOMPLISHED, the list perpetuates itself and it wants only more.

I know why you don't get Nietzsche, you read pieces, excerpts, quotes,
or maybe even full books. You need to drive w/ Nietzsche around the Lake
as we do. You need to drive around the Lake with everything that I send
you. It makes no sense, it has no purpose but it is something beyond all
of our descriptions.

My point on Heaven . . . we can use the term Heaven, but why use a term
that has been beaten, molested and torn apart to express
(_____________). Why dont' we call it the porch, that is all I need to
to be anyways.

I like your poem - but I don't have much to say, I have lied to you too
much already today.

I don't know what I will do or where I will be after I graduate Jeff,
but I hope I will never be here again. And if I must stay here, in this
physical spot, I hope that I will have a porch here.

"May the vast open Horizons greet you pleasantly" (I like that too)
-From an inscription on my wall

Forshizzle In The Hizzel For Rizzel

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 00:00:00 CST

First off I have a radio show on KNDS 4-6 am Fridays. Second I?m not calling it that no matter what you do. Here is the crappy web site if you want to check the stream Listen to me screw up should be fun! Also I need a name for a show, so any ideas get them to me!

Feed Me

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:00:00 CST

Oasisbands new RSS feed is operational after much fighting. As Paul put it "They dont like you, seriously, saw an aritcle about it on the web, 'RSS2.0 hates Jesse Donat' they were very in depth" I intened tto fix it up some over time, as it was a little hackishly thrown together. If you're using Firefox you can subscribe by clicking that icon on the right of the address bar, or you can use an external reader. I'll put a link to it in the side bar later. It can be found here: link Also, if you're using Firefox, but wish to use an external reader, Feed Your Reader is a great extension, available here.

Dear United Nations: We Need Freedom of Thought as a Human Right

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 12:47:31 CST

"British historian David Irving has had his conviction for denying the Holocaust upheld by the Austrian Supreme Court... The historian was also on trial for claiming the November 1938 Kristallnacht pogrom, when Nazis attacked and torched thousands of Jewish businesses and synagogues, was not the work of Nazis but of others who had dressed up as stormtroopers."(Cite BBC News) I've talked about this before, but making it illegal to question history is THE MOST fascist thing possible. I don't agree with this mans views, but imprisoning him simply because he doesn't believe something is completely ridiculous.

Steve Irwin Died Today

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sun, 03 Sep 2006 00:00:00 CST

Steve Irwin, the "Crocodile Hunter" one of my favorite crazy bastards died today messing with a stingray. As Mike says “That'll teach him to fuck with stingrays” (cite BBC News) He will be greatly missed by young and old alike.

A Simple Response

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 20:22:59 CST

Every one you know seems to be maturing? Who are these people? If you don’t think your mature enough for a “real collage” you might be surprised. . . You will be surprised. The growth your looking for may just come with a new situation. I really do think that putting your self in the freshmen dorms and just kind of jumping headlong into the whole thing would be a big help to you. (I didn’t really get that chance living in the hotel 75 for my first semester) This is as I’ve said before also selfish on my part (assuming you would come to NDSU) because I want you up here. I don’t think we ever had enough time to really get to know each other which is odd because its been along time. I guess I don’t understand how Brittany and the driver’s license makes us not be peers any more. That just doesn’t make any since to me. As for bleu I don’t remember that moment as clearly as you because I’ve had so many of those moments. That’s really how me and Gross got so close we studied film, probably a few hundred or so. Art has a way of unifying people. Its just a way of saying the unsayable. The people I know are what dives me forward its simpler for me to do things for other people then to do for my self. But do not fear; fear eats the soul. So come up to Fargo you might learn something and the change of scenery might do you good. Well do something anyway your not going to win this race standing still (and you probably already know that).

Yours in ten minuets or less (or your pizza is free),
Jeff Forshée

A Muddle of Writing Containing Offensive Thoughts on China Among Other Things

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 02:16:16 CST

I had a conversation with Andy Borne a while back where I said something to the extent that the only way to keep America on top was to keep china poor by any means possible. He called this Malthusian and frankly I have to agree with him, and more so with Malthus. While his equations may not have been correct, there was no way he could have predicted the advances of the late nineteenth and twentieth century. Don’t give me any of that optimistic “we’ll find a way” bullshit, we are draining the topsoil at a staggering rate, and as if to add insult to injury we are beginning to use food to power our vehicles (think ethanol)? Do you have any idea how many calories it takes to power a car? By pure food value a gallon of ethanol has 244,939 (cite: http://reddit.com/info/drah/comments) That’s enough to feed 122 people for a day or more… to get you what? 25 miles? Blasphemy. I’ll come back to why I hate ethanol in a later post. Anyway, back to china. Simply put they need to be kept poor for the worlds sake. Think of the energy demands that would be put on the world if 2 billion Chinese suddenly lived the extravagant American lifestyle. The world simply couldn’t take it. America needs to stop importing Chinese goods, for import is undeniably dragging down American Business, and a huge piece of the Chinese import is from Wal-Mart (despite me liking their anti-union policies) and they need to be stopped. As much as I enjoy the utopian idea of a completely free, self regulating market, we’re not ready for it, theres too much imbalance, and buying things from china puts American companies out of business, or worse yet sold to China. In example, RCA’s Television Manufacturing Division. Well that was random, but it’s a post.

Love and Kisses
Jesse Donat

A Third Open Letter to Jeff - People I Could Name

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 08:35:23 CST

Here I am, 7 am, unable to sleep, so I figured I'd give a go at writing you a letter. It's come to my attention lying here staring at the ceiling, that it bugs me more and more as times go by how everyone I know seems to be maturing while I sit here stagnating, and honestly despite being two years out of high school, I don't believe my self mentally mature enough for a real college. While most everyone I know has been off making new friends, learning social skills, having the times of their lives, I've just been dawdling away my life because of some mistakes I made in high school and the time thereafter…

Another thing that part of me is trying to talk me out of saying is that part of me spites Brittany. She's never done anything to disserve ill feelings, and quite honestly has always come off as downright nice, but the childish part of me see's her as someone taking away a friend. I don't mean any offence by this, its just a… I suppose subconscious reaction. There is a selfish part of me that honestly wants to hold you back, part of me that didn't want you getting your license. Part of me that wants to keep us peers, so I can have someone I can relate to, but I digress.

I've spent this last week moping around, knowing everyone was going off, a couple of them never to return, and with Paul gone likely never seeing a good number of the ones who do return again anyway. I've been unable to sleep most of the week, and that’s led to a lot of reminiscing. For some reason the one moment that keeps coming up in my mind is when we watched Bleu in Gross's basement. You probably hardly remember it, but something about that crystallized in my mind, and is remembered as one of the highpoints of my life.

I just want you to know, never let me or anyone else for that matter hold you back, as if I could. I hope no offence was taken to this latter, none was meant. This ended up being a lot more honest than usual, perhaps more honest than I want to be, but oh well.

Wishing you the best,
Jesse Donat

For Democrats its Less Truth, More Bush Bashing

pauljohnson17@gmail.com(Paul Johnson) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 23:14:04 CST

As many of you are aware, the British Intelligence Service and Scotland Yard disrupted a major plot within the last few days to blow up ten commercial airliners traveling between London and the United States. President Bush is right to indicate that this plot is proof that we are a nation at war. The Democrats on the other hand have crawled back into their little ball of nonsense. The right honorable gentlemen Sen. Edward Kennedy was quoted by the BBC saying: "It is clear that our misguided policies are making America more hated in the world and making the war on terrorism harder to win" (link). The left actually believes we are fighting an enemy that would just leave us alone if we "played nice." Instead of acknowledging that we face an enemy more determined than any we have ever faced, the Democrats care little about the truth and more about bashing the President. Al-Qaeda has been determined for the better part of two-decades to bring America to its' knees. I'm highly skeptical that they're just going to stop because we leave them alone.

As long as there are terrorists who desire the US?s demise and countries that harbor and promote terrorism against the United States, we are a nation at war. Diplomacy must always be the first recourse when dealing with a dangerous regime but the 1990's were proof of Iraq and Afghanistan's refusal to deal the US and the UN in good faith. Approximately 10 different Security Council resolutions (I have an earlier post documenting this) were passed during that decade that called for negotiations and then military action should Iraq defy the resolutions. Each time Iraq violated a resolution, instead of taking the promised action, the Security Council simply passed another resolution telling them they had been "bad." In the case of Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they simply refused to negotiate in good faith all together. Diplomacy was given 10 years and nothing in the way of progress was made. The world simply has a weak stomach for leaders who follow through on their promises. This is why the world hates President Bush, and why I have no regrets about voting for him.

New Comics Up!

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 00:00:00 CST

After much waiting new comics are up (Over 150 comics now (woot)). Two by me and the rest by me and Meka (the difference should be painfully clear). More on the way soon so keep checking. I did my part not the rest of you lazy bastards post some thing.

Letter to Gross: We build Bridges

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 12:42:14 CST

I started a letter in my head. It began: “You know the sound that a pulley makes banging against a flag pole? That is how I feel right now.” It will not have a middle. It will not have an end. Sad dreams of distant happy tomorrows. I find myself arguing with the clock instead of working on art and the New Language. Car ride home with Tina and Michelle. Said blissfully too much. Contented. Just failed my driver’s test. Always calm about these things. I will have no problems next time. (Though that won’t be for three weeks so if I do me and the clock will come to a head.) Next year spreads out wide in front of me. The summer will have been a good one. I have been called a nice guy and a poet both by people who would know. Some one needs to yell at me to get music and comics up. Though it seems there really aren’t any fans of my music. Just called nick asked him what the deal was. . . He said who is this. . . I told him all else remains a mystery. Said he was at work told him to call me back. I found my self laughing through the whole conversation. Very Buda I think. Nick seems cornered I think, says “now is not the best time I‘m at work” is there anything more then yeah haven’t talked to you in a year. With the new language we build houses (aedificare) and bridges it seems. Could this turn out the same as our rift? Seems to good. But I am in high sprits now. I have a woman and a guitar there is love to make and songs to write. May the vast open horizons great you as pleasantly.

Yours in truth,
The eternally waiting, Jeff Forshée

Install

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sun, 09 Jul 2006 00:00:00 CST

I read a yearly summary of movies which had Install in its top ten. The movie begins with Asako, the main character, daydreaming in English class about talking to a boy in a clock tower. The teacher wakes her up and asks her “Who were you with in your dreams” which struck me as an odd question, to which Asako replies “Your Sweetheart” and then running out of the classroom. Folowing this, for reasons unknown to us, Asako decides she doesn’t want anything she owns anymore and hauls it all out to a dumpster outside her apartment. A 10 year old, Kazuyoshi, sees her throwing out an Apple Classic computer and asks if he can have it, which she allows. On a further chance encounter she finds out that the 10 year old is filling in for a sex worker in a chat room, which sets the plot in motion for Kazuyoshi to become Asako’s 10 year old cyber pimp. As the plot, or really lack thereof develops, Asako looses respect for men, has a couple of cheesy dreams and doesn’t go to school for several months. Its not until several months later when her mom finally discovers her room is empty that everything begins to fall apart. Also, in usual asian film style, there is a confusing subplot involving the boy whom she was dreaming about in the beginning of the film.

The music of the movie maintains a strangely upbeat and strongly Japanese form, even at some rather akward for the situation, very much adds to the style of the film.
Overall the movie was decent, featuring a number of amusing moments, though I wouldn’t put it in the top 10 of last year by any means.

The Seventeenth (But First Open) Letter to Andrew Gross

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Wed, 05 Jul 2006 01:03:20 CST

Kafka died a few days ago. The fear that I would slip away with him was overwhelming. Couldn’t sleep. Thought I wouldn’t wake up. Instilling a perfect fear of death. Unable to operate under those conditions. So the fear lays dormant. The fishing is good here; It sustains me. I am half looking forward to and half dreading next year. Maybe the system will give me the forward motion I need and have needed for a long time. I miss people. . . I don’t know weather that is specific beings or just in general. What is our deal? Most friends are “there for each other” and that really doesn’t apply to us. . . At least in the conventional since. We have to much hesitation. Far to much. I realized the other day that when I die (or before hand) that people will be able to understand me at least in some since. I will have left behind letters and diaries and music for anyone willing to look for it. This makes me content. I had a dream the other night Shatner was a room mate of mine we were close but didn’t talk much he died and I had to take care of his dog. . . Felt more emotion then I have in awhile. I won’t have enough money for everything next year. I will run out of food money near the end of the year que sera sera. I should update the medium page I have more then a few songs. I want to mix the failure with something half good and that may take awhile. I am afraid of what you said before. That were done talking. I don’t really know what to do about that. I know there are things you don’t know but I’m afraid you will have to ask for them. As any one can and no one does. People seem to have a fear of these public forums for things like this but we know the truth is. If we have transcended anything it should be lies.

Still Here

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Tue, 13 Jun 2006 00:00:00 CST

Though updates have slowed a little, we are still here and will continue to update the site. Jeff has a number of new comics lined up as well as an insight article from a long time Oasisband member who has never written anything before.

Babylon Or a Man With a Boat

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Mon, 22 May 2006 22:29:05 CST

Babylon Fading

The story of Babylon has always interested me. it’s a theme in most of my artistic works that doesn’t show up as often as it should. Its always been my belief that it was not language but understanding that was shattered. And that is of course far more horrible. Now I also believe that this is just a story. I shutter to think that anything anyone calls God could do something so infinitely cruel. My point is that this is something that need to be fixed. We must all learn to communicate better. even if it’s a web of person to person connections that work its far better then what we have. This is what I refer to as “the new language” at some points. Really its just a greater personal understanding and a willingness to tell the truth. The truth is. That is the new language. Most people don’t seem to have a desire to know other people. All men are islands some of us build boats. The doodling and what not are most important because your truly creating something regardless of how crappy it is. I hope someone actually reads. I hope they point out how foolish and idealistic I am (as long as they do it well). Who else can we pull into this? Any one else want in? No? Ok then. . .

Yours truly,
A man with a boat.

Black Vogue

noradbase@gmail.com(Aleksandr Shnayder) — Sun, 07 May 2006 00:00:00 CST

This film truly is an odd affair, though not the oddest that I have witnessed by far. While viewing this work, one can't help but think firstly of an experience akin to the treacherous road one travels while on a quest to mine the holy ore out of the great vaginal canals; trying to overcome the evil mythical beasts around every corner attempting to end the impure quest to penetrate deeper into the magical cavern. The miner speeding up with each step, as each step brings him closer to his ultimate satisfaction. The greed overcoming his emotions, he will begin to foam in the mouth like a psychotic horse about to be shot. He becomes ever more clumsy and vulgar in his work obsessed with his primitive need for gluttony, and soon forgoing all respect and decency for the great spasmodic hole, the vagina. As the films rolls on, the mind travels to thoughts more relevant to daily existence. More specifically, the role of technology in creating the great divide in interpersonal relationships. The duality of the situation cannot be missed, where on the one hand communication is increased yet true meaningful discussion drowned out to be replaced by talk of absurd and meaningless daily activity. The golden age of knowledge, and the dark age of wisdom. The alienation of one human from another, as well as a human from his own humanity. The contemporary ritualistic tribulation of finding a path for existence in this newfound post-modernist condition now becomes the new daily game. The quest for meaning never ends, as there is no meaning to be found. Like a blind man in a cave we stumble until we reach the limits of our mortality and leave this place. How funny, stupid and worthless this journey is. A journey mirrored in this cinematic work. A work not to be missed and that can be views for free by going here

Freedom

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Thu, 04 May 2006 18:29:02 CST

I promised Paul a post so here it is.

Quoting The Superficial (link) (not the best source, I know)

Democratic Assemblyman Ted Lieu has introduced a bill that would prohibit the selling, leasing, or distributing of an ultrasound machine by California manufacturers to anyone other than licensed medical professionals, after it was publicized that Tom Cruise had purchased one for use at home with Katie Holmes.
"If someone sees Tom Cruise buy one, they think this is the thing to do," Lieu said. "This is a public safety measure. There's really no medical reason for an untrained person to use this machine."

Despite this, quoting Wikipedia: "There are no substantiated side-effects documented in studies."

Why make something illegal that has no harm? That?s not freedom, that?s not capitalism, that?s totalitarianism. Laws are to be kept to a minimum, and there to protect us, not there to keep us in our place. They want to take away our rights, one by one.

A Second Open Letter Back to Jeff Forshee

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Tue, 02 May 2006 04:09:51 CST

One thing that’s been bugging me a lot lately is what’s the point of doing anything at all. For example, I’ve always liked to doodle/create, but I know there are probably billions of people out there who are magnitudes better than I. What’s the point is what I just can’t figure out. And yet I continue, but why, what drive to I have when I know I’ll never be good. I can’t even draw a straight line as well as my father. Is that because he was a draftsman? I don’t believe so, I’ve seen his high school works and the technics behind even some of the simplest things beat anything I’ve ever done. If I had just an ounce of that talent. Playing video games falls somewhat in this boat too. They are in no way productive. I gain nothing by playing them so what is the point. At least when I do something artistic I have something pretty in the end to look at. I don’t game nearly as much as I used to, even Oblivion, I am nowhere near as into as you. I collect, I have many many cartridges, discs, roms, etc that I don’t play. Whats the point of that? Some kind of just collection urge? I collect images, I have a folder full of just stupid images like a japanse guy with a frog on his head, do I use them for anything? You’re well aware how many 8 balls I have, how many lava lamps I have. I have seven graphing calculators Ti-82, Ti-83, Ti-83 Silver, Ti-85, Ti-89, Ti-92, and a Color Casio one. Three of them are within reach. What do I need these for? You know I have a huge movie collection; I have something like 300 movies, what percent have I actually watched? It’s pretty small. There is some kind of hording instinct in me.

On Of fear and the golden rule, for me it wasn’t a fear of pushing myself upon people perse. I guess I just always valid humbleness. I always liked just solid color shirts myself. During high school my mom would go to the store and come back with shirts with skulls and shit on them (I’ve no idea why she thought I liked that), but now I wear just solid colors. Yesterday I was at target wearing red shirt, khakis, and got asked “do you work here?” twice. Today, blue shirt, khackies. My fear of color is gone, I don’t know what happened. Its reflected in my art, in what I wear. Etc. There’s still no excuse for the color yellow though, ever.
It’s more of a tendency to think everything I ever do is a mistake, especially in a social context, rather than to think I’m forcing myself upon people, though I have to say I agree completely on the point that the people who isolate themselves, myself included want things thrust upon them. As you know, I am completely indecisive. This too roots from my complete fear of mistakes. I don’t make the mistake, its not my fault. And yet theres part of me that wants to take charge, like in a group, people argue about who does what, I just want to yell ‘shut up, I’ll do it all myself’ I dislike working in groups because it never fails that someone isn’t going to pull their weight, its just the entire basis of groups.

The concept of work is something that drives me insane. What is life really other than a period of time we get to exist, and we trade portions of it to someone else, for things to keep us existing.

Now for just a random whine. Deviant art’s gone completely to hell, no? There’s an option now to disallow critique. What’s the point of posting your art on the web if you’re not trying to improve, if all you want is praise because you believe yourself perfect. I take offense to the pure idea of this.

In response to of school and educators, if not teachers, perhaps instructors.

As for questions of you, I have no idea. This is another one of my weaknesses. An x-girlfriend who shall remain nameless during the processes of dumping me informed me that I knew nothing about her, which was true, she asked me what her favorite color was, I had no idea but I wondered at the time why that was even relevant.

What do I want of this open letter writing experience? More than anything just a place to vent I suppose. I don’t get to talk to people much. I don’t get to converse. I go to school and the only people I really have any kind of conversations with are the instructors and that’s only ocasionaly. Then I come home where my mothers idea of a conversation is her whining on and on, everything having to do with the context of her. Having a conversation with my dad is little better because hes stubborn as a mule, if he has an opinion on something he sticks to it, you argue otherwise and he basicly just says no, this is how it is, which can be very frustrating. Then I get on AIM to have a conversation, and It ends up usually as an argument with Borne or just a lame ‘Sup? Not Much’ conversation, or lack thereof as it were.

Well this was completely randomly tossed together at 4am this morning. I’m not sure who knows this, I know Borne does, but I have a lazy eye and when I get tired it becomes increasingly hard to control. My eyes right now are looking in two completely different directions and neither in focus. On the love at the end of my previous letter, it was more along the lines of uncertainty as to the spelling of something more extravagant such as ‘Sincerely’ but it was not overly uncomfortable to use.

Oasisband Services

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 00:00:00 CST

Omnipresence goes public! I've added a new page to the site "Oasisband Services" which is currently just Omnipresence. Omnipresence is a notepad like tool that can be used either as a standalone application, or through the services page to keep track of notes between multiple computers, (school, home, work, etc) Personally I use it to keep track of things between my laptop, my tower, and my parents machine. I had found myself keeping text files on my desktops to keep track of notes and thought "There has to be a better way" so over the last Year Omnipresence has developed into its current form. All Oasisband writers have accounts, though the ones I don't have email addresses for (Chris Franson, Hans Kuder, and Nick Miller) might have trouble with their accounts. If anyone needs their passwords, the password recovery system will send it to the email address we have on file, though they may be outdated. If anyone needs assistance just email me (donatj@oasisband.net) and I'll be more than happy to help.

Xbox 360 Controller - For Windows

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 15:54:09 CST

For Christmas this year, I got a wired Xbox 360 controller. I had asked for it, so it was not unexpected. I do not own an Xbox 360, but the controller is usable with a pc. I have been meaning to write a review for a while, so here it goes. Microsoft is trying to push the Xbox 360 controller as the new "Standard PC Controller"

Pros:

Most Comfortable Controller I've ever used.
Works great with a Dreamcast emulator.
Supported by newer games with zero configuration necessary. (Marc Ecko's Getting Up, support expected for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with first patch)

Cons:

*With Microsoft's driver, the same axis is used for the L and R analog triggers, making using both at the same time impossible.
*Also, with Microsoft's driver, they use a new system for programs to use the controller, only allowing the newest games to use its force feedback function. So far the only game I've found where the vibrate works is Marc Ecko's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.
The D-Pad is lame, not good for SNES/NES games that need any level of accuracy.
The Four button arrangement rather than 6 as the N64 controller, makes playing N64 games awkward.

Note on *: There is a 3rd party driver which fixes these problems, allowing older games with Force Feedback support to use the vibrate and mapping the controller differently. It though is simply a hack of a driver for the original Xbox controller, and at least last time I tried it was exceedingly buggy.

Honestly, most computer games are designed to be played mouse and keyboard. I've tried a number of FPS games with it, and quite honestly I won't be trading in my mouse and keyboard anytime soon. However I am looking forward to trying it with Oblivion.
Overall, I give the controller an 8/10 rating. (BTW, new rating system on the way)

Second open letter to Jesse Donat

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 22:53:32 CST

Of School and educators: I was once told that collages are a wealth of knowledge for one reason and one reason only. The freshmen come in with some knowledge and the seniors don’t leave with any. I believe the proper response to that is to laugh and cringe at once. You are right in not calling them professors. I like that it shows respect for the language. But you are wrong to call them teachers. They do not teach. They educate. Teachers are respectable beings they will take you hand and pull you along. An educator will throw you to the wolves. This subject causes me much stress probably more then anything else. I’ve been going through and reregistering and I get something akin to your “lunch line fear.” I see years of my life bridging off of a single instant. . . Almost paralyzing.
Of fear and the golden rule: Fear makes us do funny things. Fear makes us not do things. I have found that a good chunk of my life was a product of trying not to push my self upon people. My guess is that you share a some what similar philosophy. Early in life this really affected me. This is why I ware earthy tones and clothes that lack any sort of markings. I also make almost no sound when I walk. I thought that the sound of footfall was even pushing myself on people in some twisted way or another. I became am observer. But remove your self and think. This isolation is obviously self destructive but more then that it is illogical. People want to have things thrust upon them. The people who isolate them selves more then the rest. I’ve been trying to put myself out there more often. Though I tend to latch on to people harder then they can bear evidently.
Of the new language and warm bodies: When to people really get to know each other an odd thing happens. The definitions of words are refined. Things only mean one thing. Confusion is more or less eliminated. This speed of understanding is truly comforting. A new language develops only perceivable by the people that created it. I find that some terms do need to be added. The first was the concept of “warm bodies.” People only exist once you get to know them the rest of these things are just warm bodies. Which is not to say they aren’t comforting. They just aren’t people.
Of questions and continuation: What do you want of this? I’m not sure I have an answer to that anymore for most people. I only know that people are more comforting then the warm bodies I have to deal with day in and day out. I hope this back and forth continues. I hope it branches out. Feel more then encouraged to ask any question of me. People never ask enough important questions. What did you mean by “Love: Jesse Donat”? Just a letter ending maybe? Love is a powerful word but I use it more often these days. . .

Brick

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 00:00:00 CST

Brick is an oddity as it?s a sort of film noir revolving around a group of high school kids. The dialog of the movie is the sort that smacks you across the face and leaves you either loving it or hating it, in that it is stunningly out of place for high school students, and would be far more fitting in a 1950?s crime drama. For about the first third of the film I was sitting there thinking "What the hell is this I'm watching?!" but I soon realized to just flow with it.

The film began with this perfectly fitting kind of indistinguishable yet completely coherent clanging music unlike anything I think I've heard before, as the main character, Brendan, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt of "3rd Rock from the Sun" fame, standing over a dead body in a culvert, who you soon find out is his ex-girlfriend Emily. The film flashes back to two days earlier, where he learns she was in some kind of unknown trouble. He spends the next portion of the film trying to find out where she is and what kind of trouble she is in, until ultimately coming across her deceased body two days later. He decides to get vigilante justice against those who set her up, working his way into a drug ring and putting himself in grave danger on several occasions.

The movie was quite enjoyable overall. As mentioned previously, the language takes some getting past, there are several spots of "extreme emotion" where I couldn?t help myself but laugh at what ends up being very inappropriate times to laugh, similar to that found in the movie Saw

As a side note, the only other song I remember throughout the rest of the film sounds awfully similar to a Joanna Newsom song with a note extended for dramatic purposes, and bothered me throughout.

We Severed All Ties

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sun, 09 Apr 2006 00:00:00 CST

Back when the stars aligned and we created Oasisband, we used Geocities for hosting, Namezero as a registrar, and Blogger for posting. We have now successfully moved away from all of them. The news page (you're reading) was the last page to be moved to my posting system.

Well, this weekend a lot has happened with the site. Firstly you might notice the new main page. Internet Explorer hates it, I plan on writing some code to catch if you're using IE, but for now I suggest you upgrade to Firefox or at least the IE7 beta. The new pages are all going to be XHtml Transitional Compliant, though thus far I believe the only pages that are are the main page and Oasisband Insight. A number of pages look really ugly at the moment, but rest assured they'll be fixed. Also, if anyone actually uses Narwhal Email anymore drop me a line. donatj@oasisband.net else I shall be sending it the way of the They Might Be Giants page.

Server-side as well as application-side coding of the new version of Omnipresence has completed. There will soon be a "Oasisband Services" page (to possibly replace the crappy software page) which will include the awesome downloadable version of Omnipresence as well as a web based version (at forshizzles request). PS: Oasisband Writers can download an advance version right now here.

The Album Reviews Page is nearly ready to go mainstream. It's in the sidebar now as well as the new and improved in vogue screen. Some links still don't work and the page alignments is still a little off, but expect to see it working in full by the end of the week. Also, many of you have been whining at me to get the search up. It's just about ready as well so be patient.

The image server is soon to be implimented sitewide. You can see an example image here. This will allow all the writers to easily include images inline in their posts.

Also, you may have noticed some kind of bot was spamming the crap out of the shoutbox. That should be fixed now, but the cost is you can no longer use @'s in the name of the shoutbox, I guess not really that big of a deal.

An Open Letter to Jeff Forshee

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Sat, 08 Apr 2006 22:40:22 CST

In writing my response letter to Jeff I decided to go about it in a more classical approach. I wrote it on a mechanical typewriter.

Click Image to Enlarge

No Such Thing

forshee@oasisband.net(Jeff Forshee) — Mon, 20 Mar 2006 00:00:00 CST

This is a monster movie more in the way of Alice in Wonderland then Attack of the Giant Sea Thing from Space (It has both a blond in pig-tails and a mad scientist). The story is of an old alcoholic monster who just wants to die and a secretary turned dominatrix(well not really but you'll know exactly what I mean when you see it). The whole movie is about as nonsensical which in my book is a big plus. Now don't get me wrong don't expect Lynch like surrealism. This is a fairy tail for adults. A genre that has not really been explored at all. Now just because it's a fairy tale doesn't mean its at all simple. This is one of those films that you can read into however you can just be content with what's there. I really like this film I saw it on TV and was just kind of pulled in. I liked it more then my rating shows. it's a hard movie to attach a number to because its so different. Many will discount this film because of the deliberate non-acting in parts (think Mulholland Dr.) and the great but goofy sound track (think if Casio made an acoustic violin) but if you want something different pick up a copy.

The Amazing Crime Solving News Anchor

pauljohnson17@gmail.com(Paul Johnson) — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 04:42:33 CST

I'm sorry, but if I see one more 24 hour news network anchor pretend like they know how to solve some unsolved mystery I'm going to lose it. These people masquerade around like security guards with an Oedipus complex. For the last time oh mighty 24-hour news anchor, you aren't a detective so report the damn news already and stop speculating. You know what a good way to identify when some news anchor is blowing bullshit 20 feet in the air? When every other word out of their mouth is "could" or "might" or "possibly." Why don't they just cut to the chase and admit that they have absolutely no bloody idea who killed Jane Doe and why. There's this pesky thing called police, and it's about damn time that news anchors leave crime solving to the people who are actually accountable for what they say and do. Because as far as I know, Greta Van Sustren or Geraldo haven't solved too many double homicides (though Geraldo did really blow the lid off Al Capone's Safe).

30,000 Hits

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 00:00:00 CST

Well Oasisband has been though a lot in its 5 years, since its inception on March 30th, 2001. We've seen ups and downs, and until several weeks ago we were not even a real domain. We were a pseudo domain running in a frame. Instead of having some kind of cheesy spectacular, I'll just tell you what to look forward to. A complete site overhaul is on the way for the sites 5th birthday. We are transitioning from HTML 4.0 to a strict XHTML/CSS system and have plans to begin offering a number of services, including but not limited to Omnipresence, a simple notepad that will allow you to keep notes between multiple computers. Moving the site into our own database allows us a few justices, for example the new Oasisband wide search (Click Here) is in the works. Also, we are working on moving to just Oasisband.net rather than www.oasisband.net as many of you may have already noticed. Oasisband is still growing and I have dreams of bringing back the community. If anyone has any ideas, or would like to write for the site just contact me at donatj@oasisband.net.

A Money Thought

donatj@oasisband.net(Jesse G. Donat) — Wed, 08 Mar 2006 15:43:03 CST

This is just something of a rant, but I think the 20 dollar bill should be eliminated and replaced with a 25 dollar bill so our paper moneys increments match our coinages increments. What?s more I think the $25 bill should feature Ronald Regan rather than Andrew Jackson, on the grounds that Andrew Jackson was not at all a good president with the 'Indian Removal Act' of 1830 and what not.

Bill O'Riley and Lou Dobbs are the banes of my existence

pauljohnson17@gmail.com(Paul Johnson) — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 23:12:48 CST

Bonjourno,

I'm here today to speak to you all fine citizens about the banes of my existence: Mr. Bill O'Riley of Fox News and Lou Dobbs of CNN. I understand and respect the desire both of these men have for bringing important news topics to the attention of the American public. Each of these men speak of topics that often will have substantial impact on the way you and I live our lives, and they believe in what they do.

This being said, Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Riley have come to embody the essence of all that is contemptible about 24 hour "news" networks. I believe it was the great man Louis Black who put it best when he said: "it takes these guys a month to bring you 24 hours of news."

And this all brings me to why Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Riley are the banes of my existence. Each of these gentlemen in the hopes of diffusing their respective viewpoints into the American consciousness literally dramatize issues to the point at which I just can't take it any more. Of the endless news stories these fine gentlemen present to you, many are very important and need to be discussed. However Bill O'Riley and Lou Dobbs would rather do that discussion for you. Almost without exception, 24 hour news network hosts cant seem to find more than 10 minutes of actual news to report so it'd be a grand idea if everyone became so paranoid about a particular issue that they never went outside, as opposed to giving people the information and letting them make up their own minds in a calm, rationale manner. While most network host do this, Bill O'Riley and Lou Dobbs are especially guilty parties. I challenge any one of you to try to sit through an entire broadcast and one of three things will happen. One, you physically won't be able to watch an entire show (personally I'm lucky if I last five minutes). Two, you will notices how ridiculously overdramatic these gentlemen are. Or three, you will get incredibly bored and change the channel after 20 minutes of mind-numbing analysis by these two fine gentlemen. (Note: It is entirely possible one or more of these things will happen). In the unlikely event none of these things happen than I strongly suggest you take a vacation and lighten up. About the only news network host I enjoy is Keith Oberman on MSNBC. His show is both informative and enjoyable, probably because he's not trying to shove his point of view down your throat (see Bill O'Riley and Lou Dobbs). Keith is what a news anchor is supposed to be, Bill O'Riley and Lou Dobbs could do well to take pointers from him.

Now I don't see the world through rose-colored glasses. We do live in a incredibly complicated world that has grown ever more connected through our advances in technology. Much of our world is deeply troubled and there is nothing worse than sweeping the bad news under the rug. That being said, how bout coming up with some reasonable solutions instead of doing nothing but repeating what's wrong with the world for an hour. Or better yet, maybe take five minutes out of an hour-long program to show people where progress is being made. I mean is that too much to ask, five minutes about where things are coming together, and I don't mean the kind of 30-second spots that you have at the end of local news broadcasts. You know, the kind about fluffy the surfing squirrel. I mean take five minutes or so at the end of the broadcast so people realize that not everything they hold dear is going to hell in a hand basket as the 24-hour news networks would have you believe. Heck by putting it at the end of the broadcast, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, etc. could still make sure that, 'if it bleeds, it leads.'

So there I was

abra0231@umn.edu(Ben Abrams) — Sat, 04 Mar 2006 16:37:18 CST

On Saturday morning (today) I was meeting my group for an accounting project on the bottom floor of the Carlson School of Management (one of the Midwest's top business schools). There's an anti-war conference going on at the school and a socialist group has a table set up. I can't help but think that maybe the socialists could be looking for a more likely audience than students who are studying for the sole purpose of profiting off of capitalism! Obviously they did not take any marketing classes, maybe because they wouldn't want to take any of those evil business classes, but who knows. Anyways, it made me somewhat upset, and Jesse wants me to post, so it is what it is.