May06

Trivium: Ascendancy Review Senate Votes For National Language What if AL Gore Had Won? US Ranks Low on Newborn Survival Power of the Executive Nuestro Himno Habeas Schmabeas Robo

 5/31/06 kZichp5
 * Trivium: Ascendancy Review**

In my opinion, Trivium is a very good metal band considering they are still at a very young age but with two records out. However, like this review states http://www.sputnikmusic.com/album.php?albumid=2643, some of their riffs are rather bland and recycled. I agree with this claim to a certain extent. Although a few of their riffs sound the same, most of them in my opinion are original and well structured. They do have some very good songs as the reviewer points out such as Like Light to Flies and Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr. I disagree completely with the reviewer in his opinion of Matt Heafy ( the lead vocalist) as vocalist. I find his scream to be unique unlike the vocalists of many today's metal bands. I also like his melodic singing a great deal, unlike the reviewer who claimed it was just plain bad, although not off key. I agree with the reviewer on his point that the solos are the highlights of the songs. "The guitarists don't mindlessly shred like many other metal guitarists, but they obviously can. They choose to play solos that accent the song and display emotion, a very commendable course of action." In my opinion, the solos in their songs take the playability of the album to a level it could not have reached without them. All in all, Trivium: Ascendancy is a good album and I have high expectations for their new album The Crusade, which will be released shortly.

 5/18/06 dconlay

Senate Votes For National Language
The Washington Post has an article about an issue that could seriously affect many of us here in Costa Mesa. The U.S. Senate has "voted to make English the "national language" of the United States, declaring that no one has a right to federal communications or services in a language other than English except for those already guaranteed by law."

Read more [|here.]

 5/14/06 dconlay

What if Al Gore had won in 2000?
Here's a what if scenario (satire) from Saturday Night Live.

Keep in mind it's all in good fun. [|Gore for President 2000]

Thanks to C&L for the video.

 5/09/06 dconlay

US Ranks Low on Newborn Survival
A CBS/AP story reports that "Among 33 industrialized nations examined in a new report, the United States tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies. Only Latvia had higher mortality figures, with 6 per 1,000, according to the report by the U.S.-based [|**Save the Children**]. "

You can read the rest of the stoy [|here.]

 5/9/06 dconlay

Power of the Executive
According to [|Charlie Savage of the Boston Globe] President Bush has "quietly claimed the authority to disobey more than 750 laws enacted since he took office, asserting that he has the power to set aside any statute passed by Congress when it conflicts with his interpretation of the Constitution."

According to [|Answers.com], the executive branch of the government is the "branch of the U.S. government that is composed of the president and all the individuals, agencies, and departments that report to the president, **and that is responsible for administering and enforcing the laws that Congress passes**." (emphasis added)

It's something to think about.


 * Update:** [|Fresh Air with Terry Gross] has an interview with Charlie Savage regarding the story. You can listen [|here].

 5/5/06 dconlay

Nuestro Himno
This new version of "The Star Spangled Banner" is causing a quite a controversy. What do you think?

[|Nuestro Himno]

(Courtesy of NPR)

 5/5/06 dconlay:

Habeas Schmabeas
I came across this story a few weeks ago and it really affected me. No matter what your position on the war (in Iraq or the war on terror) this is chilling:

[|Habeas Schmabeas]

(from [|This American Life])

 5/11/06 Eessenp4:
 * Dancing Robots and Classical Songs**

[|**Cannon rock version**] =D([|www.YouTube.com]) [|**QRIO Robots**]([|www.YouTube.com])

These are REALLY cool! The first clip is a guy that solos a classical song that you will probably recognize. The second one is a clip of 4 robots made by Sony that start out with a traditional japanese play/dance and then gets a little more modern.