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Thank GOD DM has come back! Listening to this CD makes me happy. Sigh… so happy… anyway, there are several times whilst listening that I say things like “oh oh oh! It sounds like old DM from Violator days” and then people roll their eyes at me because I’m so excited about a CD.

Fair warning however, song 2, “John the Revelator” makes me angry. Not because of the message in the song, but because the lyrics are so annoying and the tune is just… ugh! It gets under your skin. ‘John the Revelator — Put him in an elevator…’ really Dr. Suess? I’m sorry if that makes me a horrible DM fan, but I just can’t deal with it. I really can honestly say, it’s the only DM song that I don’t like. BUT!!! Maybe it’ll grow on me. Maybe if I force myself to listen to it… nope. Not working. Reminds me of Elvis for some reason.

Song 3 “Suffer Well” is fab. And of course, the first release, ‘Precious’ is beyond words. Very Violator. When it comes on, I start do smile and dance. You should too.

This CD is an interesting mix of songs you can get up and dance to (at least I can) and songs that you feel entranced by. This CD does seem to go back to earlier pre-heroin addicted DM days. Not that I didn’t LOVE ‘Songs of Faith and Devotion’, it’s just… well… I don’t know. Also, the CD starts off strong, and tapers off the last few songs. They’re still good songs, but easily forgotten.

This is a really crappy review. I know. Pretty much, I’m bored. I’m listening to this kick ass CD and anyone who is a DM fan should go buy it right now.

An upper-class journalist reluctantly agrees to live on minimum wages for one month, in each of three different states (including MN!), in order to investigate whether someone really can make ends meet on minimum wage. I’m sure it will come as no surprise to you that the answer is NO; she can’t. Wages suck, there’s no affordable housing or reasonable transportation, and corporate management is just evil evil evil. Granted, the experiment was not a scientific one: she both allowed herself certain conveniences that the average min-wage worker might not have (i.e. a starting sum of money), and didn’t take advantage of other potential opportunities (i.e. roommates to reduce living costs). Even so, the book is an interesting, easy-to-read account of this woman’s journey into the land of low-wages. And not just high-school job low wages, but the land of people who are stuck in dead-end minimum wage jobs (often two of them at once!) and will be for the rest of their lives, because the system does not allow them any way out.

The strength of this book is the author’s honesty—she doesn’t pretend to be brave or noble or 100% into this assignment. The weakness, I felt, was that she didn’t take the opportunity to really explore the roots of the minimum wage problem—the history, the mythology, the forces that maintain the status quo. She certainly touches on these issues, but I would have liked them to be treated in a more thorough manner. Because the book lacks a carefully-constructed thesis, it feels a little bit like…well, just an account of her experiences. A stepping stone of the argument, but not the full path. Which is fine, but part of me was wishing for more. That said, I enjoyed the book, and—although it was pretty much preaching to the choir with me as an audience—it definitely renewed my sense of distaste about hiring household maid service rather than cleaning my own damn house.

“Proof that videogame violence isn’t desensitizing.” –Susan

I’ve always been on the fence about videogame violence. Well, that’s not true. I used to think the theory that it desensitizes children was bunk, until I played Grand Theft Auto. I never had any problems as a kid with eating blue ghosts or subsequently filleting two-legged beasties with chainsaws. When I watched GTA3 being played in my living room for the first time, I felt a little queasy about all the mugging of old ladies and the, you know, hiring of prostitutes and then slapping them until you got your money back. When I first took the controller, I ran down the streets of Not-New-York politely skirting pedestrians and avoiding hookers. By the time I familiarized myself with the map, I was sucker punching every schmoe that crossed my path and doing more than skirting the tramps. I wondered if I had been desensitized.

Of all the videogames that have shaped me as a person, DOOM is nearest and dearest to my heart. As a teenager, I used a 24k modem to connect to a remote computer in my boyfriend’s apartment and blast him repeatedly with my BFG. Sometimes, my future partner Kai (my high school boyfriend’s best friend), would take a turn at the keyboard. We developed personalized macros to improve our game and taunt each other. Years later, Kai would find my email address and reestablish communication with me with a familiar message: Die Susan! From that macro, our relationship progressed to the might-as-well-be-married-but-we-won’t-give-you-the-satisfaction status it is today.

I logged hundreds of hours not only playing the game, but also manipulating WAD files for custom games and installing modifiers such as Barney DOOM where all the demons turn into jubilant purple dinosaurs who chant ominously as they approach “I love you; you love me!” The malleability of DOOM allowed me to develop confidence in computer software that eventually led to a career in the industry.

Of course I was going to go see the movie and of course I was pleased to hear The Rock would be in it.

I expected nothing from the movie. It’s no small task to make a decent film story out of a videogame. At least, out of an old videogame. With that in mind, it wasn’t half bad. But I’m not really as interested in the quality of the movie as I am in my reaction to it. Like all movies where people run about in dark places and danger leaps out from every other nook or cranny, it had me wishing I hadn’t ordered a large coke because it meant going to the bathroom alone. The opening scenes involved people being killed violently and I felt the familiar queasiness in my stomach that I always get when people are killed violently. The queasiness that seizes me during such movies as Cube and Office Space. But I’ve certainly played my fair share of videogames–where is the desensitization payoff?

Our heros are mobbed by imps (non-fireball-throwing imps, but still, imps) and I’m afraid. They beat off the imps with bullets, plasma blasts, chainsaws, and the guns themselves, and still I am afraid. Finally, the music changes and we go on a demon-killing rampage and I’m no longer afraid! So you see, it’s not the videogames… it’s the soundtrack!

I tend to watch all movies that contain dancing. This movie was different from the average dancing movie. RIZE is actually more of a documentary.

First we meet Tommy AKA Tommy the Clown and you’re thinking “um… hip hop clowns… ok…” but you follow Tommy around and learn about his life and how he’s come from being in a gang with a bunch of thugs and gone to jail to completely turning it around and starting his own clown academy.

Stop laughing! It’s totally serious! Apparently, there are more than 50 clown groups that go to birthday parties and dance and so forth in the “ghetto” in LA and surrounding areas. It’s either be in a gang, or be in a clown group. They all have something painted on their faces, but only Tommy the Clown gets in full on clown get up rainbow wig and all.

They have competitions, dance-off style… and you learn all about how it’s such an expression of who they are and how they release their anger and anxiety through dance. We meet several members of different clown groups and hear their interpretation of “stripper dancing” vs. “Krunk”… I learned about Krunk!

Despite the death and gangs and drugs and horrible lives that several of these young adults all the way down to little bitty dancing kids have already been through, the movie shows you how strong people can be and how they can find something that makes them happy in a non-violent way. The way they express themselves through dance is amazing… very tribal.

You see struggle and angst and sadness but you also see joy and expression and release. It’s hope.

Watch this movie.

“Put it on pizza! Do it!” –Susan

Oh my god it’s so good on pizza.

Field Roast is a superstar in the vegan world. Consistantly good tasting food that fills a gaping hole in the vegan protein market between gardenburgers and nonchicken nuggets. Although the products resemble familiar butcher’s fare, I don’t think they were created for their impersonation abilities. This food is on the shelf because it tastes good and is easy to cook; its resemblance to meat products is just an added bonus for the new vegetarian or wary carnivorous guest. The connection to deli slices and sausages is also useful for it’s familiarity in American kitchens. When you buy a vegan product that is marketed as “sausage”, you have a lifetime of cooking tips already at your disposal. Where a lot of food companies go wrong is in the prioritization of appearance and realistic meat taste over actual flavor and healthy ingredients. I don’t necessarily need my burger to taste like a dead cow–in fact, I prefer it doesn’t. What I need is something that tastes good that works in much the same way as a standard meat product. Field Roast is a welcome and savory relief in a world of tasteless beef reproductions.

The Smoked Apple Sage sausages come in connected links that you have to cut and peel the clear casing away from. They hold together well and may be unnervingly similar in texture to actual meat and some longtime vegetarians may be skeptical. They can be put on the grill or browned in a skillet. You can break them apart for use in various dishes, but try crumbling them onto a homemade pizza for the best vegan version of this college food staple you will ever have.

For vegan pizza - try Garlic Herb crust dough from Trader Joes, vegan pesto (my local Wholefoods carries small jars of Radici of Tuscanny Basil Pesto) or pizza sauce from Trader Joes, top with Field Roast Smoked Apple Sage sausage broken into small bites and whatever vegetables you like (mushrooms, olives, onions, green pepper, tomato, artichoke). Cook it with or without soy cheese. If you don’t mind the casein, SOYCO Veggy Parmesan in a shake can is the best cheese alternative I’ve found.