Welcome to the Power of…

I’ll be the first to admit that as a species we are f*cked! Like f*cked beyond belief, we shoot each other, we fight, we drink, we vow to stay faithful in marriage and cheat at the first opportunity it presents itself, we f*ck each other over endlessly, not to mention destroy ourselves and our planet daily. Dont get me wrong there are a lot of decent humans on this planet but let’s face it no one and nothing is perfect and as our society continues down the shitter we as its inhabitants continue to get worse.

Yet despite the insanity amongst us all I find three things unite/inspire/affect us more then anything; tragedy (think twin towers, war), National sport (the Olympics dummy), and perhaps the the most powerful of all…music.

Music.

Almost a ridiculous thing to think about.

Really.

Think about it. Think real hard. I bet in the last 24 or 48 hours you’ve had a song come on the radio, your ipod, or been stuck in your head that has you thinking about something or someone in your life. Something so simple as a lyric in a song can be stuck with you your entire life to the point where it reminds you where you were at that exact moment and who you were with.

Among other things of course.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHH3FoJUEbg

Thanks to being reminded of this fantastic movie I posted this clip to my facebook profile and have only watched it about 100 times through the day. Arguably this is one of the best scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie and possibly the reason for this blog. Sure it’s fiction. But if you havent seen this movie you should be ashamed of yourself.

In case you haven’t however the show follows a 15 year old boy writing an article for the band Stillwater.

Music is the main factor, as this band travels through the country. All of the members of the band we get to identify, but the one that highlights is guitarist Russell Hammond. All across the country touring there were good and bad live moments, just as good offstage moments and horrible fights; fights often mended with music, like singing “Tiny Dancer”.

Why this scene? Well for me it highlights exactly the point Im trying to prove in no matter how bad the circumstance music can do wonderful things to pick you up. Music is so powerful it can force you to do things you probably wont, it can bring back memories of perished friends, it can excite you to the point where you want to get rip roaring drunk, or even get your blood flowing in anticipation of that big game you’re about to play.

Everyone has a song and in most cases we have hundreds of songs that will remind us of moments we wont ever forget.

I know I’m not alone in some of the songs that I remember,

“Tiny Dancer”, “Dixieland Delight”, “Don’t Stop Believing”, “Private Eyes”, “Forever”, hell even “Limbo Rock”.

I could spend hours recounting some of the memories or multiple memories made from just some of those songs.

I’m not sure why but I think some people over estimate how powerful it can be. I’ve been shut off from society for weeks with no contact from people, TV, yet a few solid tunes and it makes those times flow a lot smoother.

Think I’m blowing smoke, if you do sit back and relax, put on your favorite radio station (satellite radio perferably) or playlist and tell me how long you go without thinking about something that brings back a memory and smirk to your face and come back and tell me differently…

Dont take music for granted, without it the world would be a pretty stale place!

We’ve all been there. Inside, sitting, waiting, thinking, even feeling guilty on being inside on a day when it’s 25 degrees and you might actually work up a sweat from being outside. Forget the fact that for the first time in nearly a decade the wind isnt blowing either, it’s now time to get outside and not waste the day away when tomorrow it could snow. Yes I realize it’s August but don’t forget it snowed here in June this year.

So what the hell are you doing, get out there! Before you do though you should probably read 5 of our favorite summer activites to get some ideas on how you can pass the time with some friends.

#5 -- The Country/Rock Music Festival

I mentioned Rock festival in there for those that don’t listen to country. I’ll be even the first to admit that while Its usually not on my playlist a country music festival is a hell of a lot better then a rock one. Don’t bother to ask me why, I could explain for hours. Instead take it upon yourself to visit one of these events. Beers flow endlessly, women (and I guess men for the women reading this) are scantly clad, not to mention everyone is there for one reason only…Party.

#4 -- Beer Darts

You can take this game anywhere. One of two perfect games to take with you no matter where you go, whether it’s camping in the rockies or BBQ’n in your backyard this game is bound to bring some entertainment and hopefully as the contestants get drunker someone gets a dart in the leg and/or toe. Rules of the game are simple enough, each player sits in a lawn chair with a full can of beer on the ground. Player gets 3 darts to try and puncture his opponents full beer, if successful his opponent must shotgun that same punctured beer. If unsuccessful the opponent then gets three darts to do the same. Be sure to bring plenty of canned beer.

#3 -- The Slip ‘n Slide

It’s been often said that a Slip N Slide is for kids, then again I think these same people are the ones who say video games are for kids. Sure the Canadian Tire purchased slip n slide is designed for kids but the idea behind it certainly isnt. Who doesn’t like beating the heat with a nice cold dip in some water. We’ve been doing it for years

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_wBhoTbcig

unfortunately for us while our slip n slide has stretched the entire backyard of a few houses we haven’t brought it upon ourselves to record something legendary like these guys but it has been talked about. All one needs is some dish soap, maybe some Pam in a spray can, a large tarp, some beers, and of course some motivation. You want to meet some new people, take this to the biggest hill you can find and watch the people come.

#2 -- Beersbie

Similar in portability as Beer darts (maybe not as easy) one of our favorite games is playing a game of Beersbie. A fairly straight forward approach to this game. Place a beer on a pole thats planted into the ground and try and knock that beer off with a Frisbee. Dont catch the Frisbee you drink, your beer gets knocked off you drink, your beer gets knocked off and you dont catch the Frisbee you drink twice. If you catch both you dont drink and your opponent shotguns a beer. At least that’s our rules, feel free to expand on that.

#1 -- Water Pong

We here at Hotstickybun are big believers in the game of Beer Pong. Sadly enough in our neck of the woods it isn’t played nearly enough as it should. Perhaps it’s the lack of exposure in our region or the lack of motivation to build tables but we all believe every bachelor pad should have a beer pong table.

In the summer time while you could pull your table outdoors I’ll give you some advice that it is a lot cooler to have an inflatable table. I know what most of you are saying. We live in Grande Prairie, a place where a swimming pool just doesn’t exist in a house nor does it make any sense with 8 months (or is it 10) of shitty weather. To that I say, who needs a pool when you have endless lakes and rivers to use. Playing in the lake at the cottage is always a good time but floating down the river playing water pong should only be attempted by Certified Beauticians.

Let’s not forget

Let us not forget the traditional summer activities like golf, boating, and of course BBQ’n. Unfortunately not everyone can par-take in these nor do they want to. The HSB summer activities are here to help offset these problems. While someone is boating, someone else could be throwing a dart in someones leg.

Did We Miss Any

Perhaps you have a new game or an old classic. Feel free to let us know by leaving a comment below.

Now get out there, drink some beers, and Make It Rain in the summer heat. You don’t have much time

the Idiots Have Taken Over

Whether you believe it or not, the Idiots Have Taken Over

Here We Go Again

I don’t know if I would say I’m getting political again but I’m pissed again at society. There is a reason I don’t watch the evening news because it always represents the bad and focuses in on the shit. Tonight in Vancouver some man was attacked for no apparent reason and beaten over the head with a mallet, if not for the heroics of a woman he would probably be dead. No one knew the reasoning for the attack but there is a strong possibility there was no reason.

Years back when I was living in Edmonton my cousins hubby was enjoying his time down on Whyte Avenue after partaking in an epic concert at Rexall place. It was towards the end of the night when he was standing outside of Winks when he was beaten in the back with a baseball bat. Eventually the police got involved and much to there surprise they had told them that it was the 8th record of it happening that night. Turns out it was apparently some sort of initiation.

Some sort of initiation? An initiation that involves beating innocent people, male and female, for no apparent reason? Why? I’m the biggest idiot when it comes to toilet humor (this website showcases that strongly) but how in the world can someone find that “funny”? I’ve done some ridiculous things in my life that I regret and probably will the rest of my life but something like that is beyond idiocy and it worries me quite frequently to what we are walking into in the future. It’s becoming more and more frequent in today’s society that people are pulling shit like this because it’s supposed to be funny when in truth the only funny thing about is how much of an idiot they are for thinking so.

Sadly that was only one of MANY stories I could talk about. The same thing happened in an LRT station where a man was beaten nearly to death for no reason. Another man was pushed onto the tracks just missing a train as it arrived.

Something so small, yet much bigger

We've been Idiots for many years

Yet here we are shaking our heads at things like murder, assault, robbery, etc. and when we look to our apparent leaders in charge they are committing the same atrocities…and for what, religion? Oil? More Money? Are things getting any better? Probably not.

Now I’m not one to weigh in one the “War on Terrorism” because I don’t ever try to pretend I know what’s going on. I dont agree with one side or the other. Both sides have killed each other, innocents, and committed mass genocide throughout the process. And still it spreads through it’s countries people that anyone associated with the opposition is evil! I read this earlier today:

I was a 24 year old medical student in the US before deciding I wanted to see a bit of the world before I got old. I went to a youth hostel in New Delhi during summer break while waiting for a friend from law school in the the US to meet me there., In four days the owners of the guest house, who were clearly dealing heroine, decided that they did not trust me, did not like Americans, and drugged the coke I was drinking (the skin under my fingernails turned purple/blue and I got really sleepy) then they surrounded me and dropped me off their balcony which is about 2o feet (more than 6 meters) from the ground. I woke up in the Apollo hospital with a spinal cord injury and a serious skull fracture. I was airlifted back to the US to receive further surgery and I can, by Grace of God, walk now but my life will never be the same.

The question remains, as a Canadian or American would you feel nervous with a Muslim flying on a plane with you? It’s the way the world is now. No one can trust each other and we certainly don’t respect one another.

The Future

I’m often asked (jokingly) if I will ever settle down, get married, and have kids to which I more often respond “nope”. Maybe I will slip up or change my mind but to this day I don’t think it will happen. Perhaps I’m over exaggerating but when one sees what is happening in the world with the pollution, war, and disrespect for another why would you want to put one of your kids through something so shitty that’s about to happen. Society is so messed up now and it won’t get any better in the near future, money runs the Government, the people in charge get richer, so why would the people in power change to begin with?

NOFX

Never Trust A Hippy

It’s funny because a lot of the other things people find weird about me is my ever growing collection of punk rock (if that’s what its called, there’s to many names of punk rock, who cares) music I collect and listen to. One band in particular is NOFX who I’ve listened to I think since Philly introduced them to me on my way back to Calgary one summer. It’s something about this type of genre of music that I relate to and perhaps why I spend a lot of time listening to it. More so maybe it’s the reason for this epic rant.

Like any good punk rock band they have there ridiculous songs (see Liza & Louise – a great song about lesbianism) but they also have a strong voice when it comes to such big things like war and politics, as all great punk rock bands did (example, the Ramones). One song in particular, and the one I’ve named this nonsense about is Idiots Are Taking Over.

Why? Well when I listen to the song and read/watch the news it puts everything into perspective about how the idiots are actually taking over. As our society continues to evolve and invent amazing new technologies we still feel the urge to not share our knowledge with others. Would it be so hard to work together to achieve something as great as colonizing the Moon or another planet like Mars? Why is it important for the U.S, Russia, and China to all have separate space programs when if they all worked as one they would probably reach their goal faster?

Would it be so hard to respect one another?

I dont know.

What I do know is there are to many idiots making idiot decisions.

The Idiots Are Taking Over

it’s not the right time to be sober
now the idiots have taken over
spreading like a social cancer, is there an answer?

the idiots are takin over [x8]

Epic Typography Video

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOPJ90FRZHI]

It is finally upon us, for months there has been talk that the Canadian Government would introduce there reformed copyright law and without further ado a major shake up in not only the copyright law but Canadian lives is about to take place.  As it seems with most governments these days ours is about to buckle to influence from some of the United States biggest corporations and will ultimately lead to a major breach in ones internet privacy.

I’ve been talking about this for months and for anyone that reads this and just shrugs it off I dont think you appreciate the value of what this law is proposing.  We’ve all heard horror stories of US College kids, families, and even early teens getting sued for $20,000 plus as the result of downloading a copyrighted song through a P2P file sharing program (Limewire, iMesh, Shareaza etc).  Well friends if this law sees the light of day you to could be faced with the consequence of being served and having to fork over upwards to $20,000 per song.

Still not worried?  Take all the DVD’s, CD’s, legally purchased MP3′s and burn them onto a backup CD.  Guess what, you’re committing copyright infringment and if caught will be prosecuted the same.  It’s crazy to think that when one buys a product either online or at a store it still wont technically belong to you.

If you don’t think you can get caught for downloading one song think again as it could become very apparent that such companies like Shaw and Telus will now be forced to hand over the details of ones IP address which leads the bad guys straight to your house.  For years the RIAA and MPAA have requested such details on Canadian IP’s but Telus has refused saying it would be a breach in privacy.  What I do in my own home should be my own business no?

Of course there will be ways to protect yourself, *cough cough like encrypted downloads* but the fact of the matter is this law will open a door to all kinds of ridiculousness. The United States is apparently already taking action at US Customs and searching Ipods, Laptops, and Cellphones looking for any illegal material.  I’d be willing to be that having this bill pass in Canada will ultimately lead to some sort of the same situation happening at our border.  Imagine not being able to leave the country with an Ipod or Laptop because you have a few songs you wanted to listen to.

The balance of what will be illegal and what wont still remains to be seen but this will have a major effect on our everyday lives.  Even something as simple as recording a television show on your PVR may wind up being illegal.

But hey, if you dont care and get searched at customs or slapped with a lawsuit dont say I didn’t warn you.  If you are even somewhat worried visit this site www.modchip.ca/store/join/join.html and let your MP know how you feel.

Walks

Last year thanks to Benny I helped pollute everyone on Pennsylvania’s The Clarks. If you have hung out with me in the last year you’ve probably heard something play from them at the house or in the Climax and if you haven’t do yourself a favour and check these out: Born Too Late, Shimmy Low, Better Off Without You, On Saturday, Cigarette.

Sadly unless I cruise to the Eastern side of the continent I probably have a snowballs chance in hell of seeing the band live.

Regardless that was the band I was (and still am) polluting people with, I know most folks back home stick to ACDC but it’s good to expand horizons. Thanks to some drunk ass calling me at 4 in the morning last night though I’ve found the next big thing to brainwash people with.

Say hello to Joel Plaskett Emergency.

If you’ve been living on the east coast of Canada or been to a Tragically Hip concernt recently then forgive me because you’re probably wondering why it’s taken me so long to hear these guys, well I live a sheltered life so back off.

Nowhere to you
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6McNDpS0Sw]

Fashionable People
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKDgkcx9ric]

And the Early favorite, Snowed In
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6AGmoYIA1Y]

Walks

I’m not going to sit here and blow smoke up your ass telling you why they’re one of my favorite bands, I’ll let the music do the talking.

“Shimmy Low”
“Better Off Without You”
“Born Too Late”
“On Saturday”
“Maybe”
“Cigarette”
“Chasin Girls” – Dont mind the weird Japanamation, this was oddly the first song I listened to.

There is obviously many more really good songs but I cannot find a link for them on youtube, check out TheClarksOnline if you like what you see.  The next step is to tell them to release a song for Rock Band so I can get drunk and rip out the vocals.

Walks
www.hotstickybun.com

RIAA Website Wiped Clean by “Hackers”
Written by Ernesto on January 20, 2008

———————————-

Let’s just all agree that these douce bags had it coming.

Walks
www.hotstickybun.com

By Marc Fisher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 30, 2007; Page M05

Despite more than 20,000 lawsuits filed against music fans in the years since they started finding free tunes online rather than buying CDs from record companies, the recording industry has utterly failed to halt the decline of the record album or the rise of digital music sharing.  Still, hardly a month goes by without a news release from the industry’s lobby, the Recording Industry Association of America, touting a new wave of letters to college students and others demanding a settlement payment and threatening a legal battle.

Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings.

“I couldn’t believe it when I read that,” says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. “The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.”

RIAA’s hard-line position seems clear. Its Web site says: “If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings, you’re stealing. You’re breaking the law and you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages.”

They’re not kidding. In October, after a trial in Minnesota — the first time the industry has made its case before a federal jury — Jammie Thomas was ordered to pay $220,000 to the big record companies. That’s $9,250 for each of 24 songs she was accused of sharing online.

Whether customers may copy their CDs onto their computers — an act at the very heart of the digital revolution — has a murky legal foundation, the RIAA argues. The industry’s own Web site says that making a personal copy of a CD that you bought legitimately may not be a legal right, but it “won’t usually raise concerns,” as long as you don’t give away the music or lend it to anyone.

Of course, that’s exactly what millions of people do every day. In a Los Angeles Times poll, 69 percent of teenagers surveyed said they thought it was legal to copy a CD they own and give it to a friend. The RIAA cites a study that found that more than half of current college students download music and movies illegally.

The Howell case was not the first time the industry has argued that making a personal copy from a legally purchased CD is illegal. At the Thomas trial in Minnesota, Sony BMG’s chief of litigation, Jennifer Pariser, testified that “when an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song.” Copying a song you bought is “a nice way of saying ‘steals just one copy,’ ” she said.

But lawyers for consumers point to a series of court rulings over the last few decades that found no violation of copyright law in the use of VCRs and other devices to time-shift TV programs; that is, to make personal copies for the purpose of making portable a legally obtained recording.

As technologies evolve, old media companies tend not to be the source of the innovation that allows them to survive. Even so, new technologies don’t usually kill off old media: That’s the good news for the recording industry, as for the TV, movie, newspaper and magazine businesses. But for those old media to survive, they must adapt, finding new business models and new, compelling content to offer.

The RIAA’s legal crusade against its customers is a classic example of an old media company clinging to a business model that has collapsed. Four years of a failed strategy has only “created a whole market of people who specifically look to buy independent goods so as not to deal with the big record companies,” Beckerman says. “Every problem they’re trying to solve is worse now than when they started.”

The industry “will continue to bring lawsuits” against those who “ignore years of warnings,” RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said in a statement. “It’s not our first choice, but it’s a necessary part of the equation. There are consequences for breaking the law.” And, perhaps, for firing up your computer.