From: someone@anywheret.net   
      
   "JimD"  wrote in message news:2017053010235857170-email@nowherecom...   
      
   > yesterday evening I read some blog things that meandered around to the   
   > idea that one reason music is so crap now is that our culture is turning   
   > to crap and the music reflects that.   
      
   Or to put it another way, whether it's an individual or an entire culture,   
   when crap is what's settled for, crap is the  result.   
      
   > Some would say .... that, wait, it's the other way around. That music is   
   > being used to degrade the culture.   
      
   Once the crap is accepted, it's definitely further Used to degrade.   
      
   > Haven't I heard the idea of doing that somewhere before ? In any case,   
   > once a society fractures enough that people no longer share many common   
   > beliefs or goals, things can rapidly come apart.  A house divided and all   
   > that.   
      
   Without axiomatic absolutes, all that stuff happens very easily, which is   
   why if Virtue is Not considered a Critical factor, then the better it   
   happens the sooner...Dump the RUBBISH and do it over again, the  RIGHT WAY   
   this  time!!!   
      
   > The blog was about music, and how how the various social issues that are   
   > dividing us are also making it very hard for music to reach very many   
   > people. It only appeals to this or that sub group.   
      
   With Music, it's always been like that, because everyone, no matter how much   
   they may pretend not to be, is an Individual.   
      
   Some issues are more than sufficient cause for division, and rightly so.   
   Once again, it's the Virtue factor that  matters most.   
      
   > We're seeing that with the band. It's very hard to pick new songs to   
   > cover. In particular, the " angry chick " songs are a problem.   
      
   A problem in that no one in the band likes them?   
   If so, that's a good thing, because such songs are silly, stupid, immature,   
   and childish, not to mention Disgusting.   
      
   > There's a tune " My Church " that we looked at a while back. Not an angry   
   > chick tune in a pure sense, but it does have enough anti church attitude   
   > in it that we pretty much can't do it to an adult, searching for the right   
   > word there, audience. The song isn't blantantly anti religion, but it   
   > comes close. Sing that to my dad, and he'll hear it as anti religious.   
      
   I just looked up the lyrics...another classic example of someone who has no   
   idea what they're talking about.   
   Similar situation with Norman Greenbaum's "Spirit In The Sky", or Billy   
   Joe's "Only The Good Die Young", or the one that's out now, Hozier's "Take   
   Me To Church" - got no idea of what it's all about but yet they want to   
   share their Ignorance, and Arrogance with everyone and make it look like   
   they understand when they don't - THAT's the Truly offensive part!   
      
   > He wouldn't carefully ponder the lyrics and see if there's any way he can   
   > interpret them as pro church attendance.  And that's the thing, the whole   
   > premise of the song seems "  real churches, who needs that ", written with   
   > just enough ambiguity to let one argure that wasn't the point.   
      
   The real Tragedy is when someone who is quite justifiably put off by rampant   
   political corruption and hypocrisy in church, what's *supposed* to be God's   
   house, then goes on to attack a Righteous and Holy God for how Filthy, Vile,   
   Evil, Sinful humans Pervert and Disobey His Commands! THAT's the problem!!!   
      
   > My athiest buddy, E, would say " well, being anti religion is a good thing   
   > ".  He'd say religion is the cause of pretty much all that is bad in the   
   > world.  He only see's the world from his limited lifetime, his lack of   
   > historical knowledge. He doesn't know the social functions organized   
   > religion serves, doesn't have a clue how the world would be without any   
   > sense of morality.   
      
   He's sure getting to see how it is now!   
      
   > He could look that up, but he's a lib, and educated, and he already knows   
   > everything so why bother. Anything he would find would either confirm his   
   > bias or he'd dismiss it as wrong.   
      
   That's the word, BIAS - which apparently is his *religion* ;)   
      
   > Libs are like that.  Since they know everything, got the world figured   
   > out. It's hard to get them to think.   
      
   Isn't it strange, actually Disgusting, how those who have everything all   
   figured out, are nonetheless so unable to address problems Effectively?   
      
   > Until the mechanism breaks.  Then you're eating pavement.  I'm not saying   
   > a reliable mechanism couldn't be built. But it might end up big and heavy,   
   > undesirable in a bike.   
      
   Internal multi speed hubs already exist - my 3 speed Sturmey Archer internal   
   hub Never gave me any problems at all, and the  single speed freewheel   
   locking kind I'm suggest would be even simpler and therefore all that much   
   more reliable.   
      
   > The whole point of fixies is to strip out everything and build a   
   > minimalist bike.   
      
   Might as well leave the tires off too and use something harder and   
   light...and maybe a single tiller for a handlebar...the Dumber the 'better'.   
      
   > It's an urban thing.   
   In other words, it's plain STUPID!   
      
   > Since a bike you ride in a US city has a HIGH chance of being stolen, the   
   > less there is of it, the less you lose to theft.  A cheap frame, no brakes   
   > or gears, ideal for leaving chained outside a store while you shop. Since   
   > when you come back out there's a better than good chance it'll be gone, if   
   > that's at all doable.   
      
   So bike thieves must be as stupid too ;)   
      
   > Hell, they even steal the seats, just the seats, around here if they have   
   > an adjustment that will release them without tools.   
      
   I've got, well at least it  was before some of the jel started leaking, a   
   nice big comfortable jel filled seat on my bike and my bike has a quick   
   release lock on it...but there's a little more than that - I've also got a   
   cable running through the seat hardware itself and that's bolted to the   
   bike's frame which means it'll take tools, and time to steal it as the   
   purpose I've intended for the quick release system is to adjust the seat,   
   NOT to remove it, at least not easily ;)   
      
   > In a sane, civilized world, bikes would have gears and lights and fenders   
   > and carry racks.   
      
   Yep, I wouldn't be without them ;)   
      
   > Fixies aren't sane. They are minimalist, an accomodation to the crap world   
   > we live in.   
      
   That's what I mean, settle for Crap, get Crap!   
      
   > That and ice cream :-)   
      
   I like ice cream too - keeps me young, and wiggling ;)   
      
   > This is the point. You have to be seen to eat the donuts. So no, you can't   
   > just grab some and ride off down the trail, where you might just as well   
   > toss them away.   
      
   So you Must eat donuts ;) How about if next time, it's beer? ;)   
      
   > What happens is, you complete the ride in a nice 45 minutes or so, and   
   > then can stand around and watch other people up on the podiums accept   
   > winning :-)   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)