File Under "Awesome!"

Dudes! This new Metallica video is krazy! It starts off with these, like, Russian scientist dudes. There's an explosion, or maybe a volano(?), but it's like, holy shit! how is that antelope still alive? Plus these spores, which the scientists invent to bring back a cat. But Dude, listen, it's a zombie! Oh my god, these zombies are going crazy because they don't speak Russian. So they send the spores to the US in balloons. It's like, NOOOOOOOOOO!!!! But the zombies just keep tearing shit up. So guess who saves us? The Russians! They just pretend like, oh shit, where did all these zombies come from? Here you go dudes, here's some anti-zombie shit you can spray on everything. And then at the end, you find out this spore shit is real. Seriously! Some dude's talking about it on the news. Metallica FOREVER!

TPAC 2009

After three long months of planning, it looks like TPAC 2009 is all set to go this Sunday. I'm really hoping to see everybody there. I understand the sincerity of your beliefs, but now is not the time for silly internecine squabbles. For the record, I think Zionist Bankers, The DARE program, and C-SPAN call screeners are all to blame. But let's not get sidetracked when we're so close to achieving... you know... all that stuff we were talking about last year.

I've listed the tentative schedule below. You know how it goes, gang. SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

And again, much appreciation for your continued financial support. And all those cryptic late night phone calls. I don't always understand, but I sympathize.

Tiller Political Action Conference
Myrtle Creek Elks Lodge
BPOE 1943
Sunday, March 29

10 am
Raising of State of Jefferson Flag
Pledge of Non-Allegiance
Firecrackers, Smoke bombs, maybe some shooting.

10:15 am
Open Bar

10:30 am
Panel Discussion--The Truth Is Out There: The Internet Versus Shortwave Radio
Author William Thomas, "Stolen Skies: The Chemtrail Mystery"
Tiller Resident and Small Appliance Aficionado Barret Loveman
Grover Norquist, Americans For Tax Reform
Moderator: News-Review Publisher Bart Smith

11:30 am
State Rep. Tim Freeman, R-Roseburg.
Introduction: Freedom Moonchild, Umpqua Glassblowers

12:30 pm
Potluck and Cattle Branding

2:00 pm
Panel Discussion--Tiller's Maginot Line: Securing the Jackson County Border Crossing.
Col. James E. "Bud" Freeman (Ret.), Vietnam Veterans Unaffiliated With Military
Former Douglas County Commissioner Marilyn Kittelman
David Carson, UPS Driver
Moderator: Linus Brewster, Poet/ Carpenter

3:00 pm
Tiller Book Club Meeting
Suggested Titles for 2009: The True Story of the Bilderberg Group, Dark History: The Secret History of NASA, Marijuana Horticulture: The Grower's Bible, He's Just Not That Into You

3:30 pm
Update on Tiller's Sister Unincorporated Community--Gansukh, Mongolia


4:00 pm
Demonstration by Martin Larsen, Three-time Oregon Divisional Chainsaw Sculpting Champion.

5:00 pm
Self-Published Author and Local Gold Panner Grant Basque discusses his book "Weird Stuff I've found in Coffee Creek."

6:00 pm
Dinner
Catering by Wolf Creek Job Corp.

7:00 pm
Keynote Speaker: KPIC Weather Anchor/ Reporter/ Hottie Kim Quintero (Score!)

Why Not?

P.O.S. - New Music - More Music Videos

Let's make this official. Every Friday is covers Friday. T.G.I.fracking.F.

Dude just kills "Why Go." If you're like me and consider Vedder's afflicted wail to be generally insufferable, this is actually an improvement on the original.

(Yes, Yield is a fantastic album. And who doesn't love "Even Flow?" But the rest of the PJ catalog? Bleh.)

They Call Me Rude Boy...

Dizzee Rascal's Ting Tings cover from the Live Lounge on BBC Radio 1. If you don't fancy either act this probably isn't your bag. But I back this with the Tiller Seal of Approval™.

The Case Against Jon Stewart

I recently re-watched Jon Stewart's Crossfire spectacle during a poli sci class. The prof was trying to persuade us that the media have failed in their role as a fourth estate. I'm open to that argument. But I continue to be underwhelmed by Stewart's so called ethering.

If Stewart was committed to speaking truth to power, I'm not sure why he chose Crossfire as his forum. The show got lower ratings than the early morning call-in segments on C-Span. It would have been ballsy if he had pulled his Howard Beale stunt on Hannity & Colmes (now minus the Colmes), which draws in millions of elderly Red State voters a night. But maybe he knew that his indignant routine would get more comedy mileage if one of his foils was wearing a bow tie.

Stewart is again the toast of the chattering classes after his recent evisceration of Jim Cramer. And maybe the praise is due. I'm certainly not apt to defend the host of a show called "Mad Money." But color me skeptical.

Tucker Carlson, the bow-tie wearing half of Crossfire, has a post up at Daily Beast criticizing the media's fawning over Stewart's so-called take down. The immediate inclination is to dismiss this as sour grapes. Crossfire was canceled not long after Stewart's appearance. And Carlson's subsequent MSNBC show also ended up in talking head heaven.

But I thought it was a good analysis. Maybe that's because I've always enjoyed Carlson. He's more P.J. O'Rourke-style libertarian/conservative than partisan Republican hack. And his Esquire article recounting a trip to Africa with Al Sharpton almost made a subscriber out of me.

Carlson really nails the curious rapport Stewart enjoys with the media he perpetually mocks:

The relationship between Stewart and the media is a marriage of the self-loathing and the self-loving: He insists their real news is fake, they insist his fake news is real. He doesn't take them seriously at all. They take him way too seriously. But nobody takes anybody as seriously as Jon Stewart takes himself.

One thing Carlson doesn't mention in the piece is that the Jim Cramer beat-down is something of an anomaly. As a long timer viewer, I can confirm that Stewart is rarely confrontational with his guests. William Kristol is a practically a weekly fixture. Bill O'Reilly, Rick "Man-Dog" Santorum, even Katrina bungler Mike Brown have all been given the kiddie-gloves treatment. Youtube 'em if you don't believe me. Again, Jon Stewart has had ample opportunities to berate true slime balls (like O'Reilly) and failed to do so. Maybe he chose Cramer because he knew he wouldn't fight back.

Look... I enjoy The Daily Show as much as the next Obama-voting twenty-something. But let's be honest and concede that it's generally closer to problem than solution. I'm not convinced that encouraging our nation's public servants to swing a dildo around while reciting the pledge of allegiance--or whatever shenanigans John Oliver is up to this week--is really elevating the discourse. (Familiarity with these staged scenarios leads to diminishing comedy returns. Politicians see the dildo humiliation coming from a mile away. Yes, John Oliver, I will happily take time from my busy day dealing with pressing national issues to twirl around your dildo. Anything for the kids.)

If you were genuinely concerned that politicians don't take enough heat from the media, why place one of your fake news correspondents in the limited White House Press Pool? Wouldn't this space be better served with an actual journalist asking non-dildo related questions? Yes, yes... we're all familiar with the "what actual journalists?" rebuttal.

I think Colbert has been producing a better brand of comedy for a while now. And he's a far better inquisitor. Watch the sockdologer he lays on Dinesh D'Souza:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Dinesh D'Souza
comedycentral.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Mark Sanford

D.I.Y. D.A.N.C.E.

Now your favorite Justice synth lines and Daft Punk snares are available on home row. Spell out "T-I-L-L-E-R" as fast as you can to bring da' funk.

WARNING: HYPERBOLE

Daniel - Bat For Lashes


Three posts in, this blog is already a giant time sink. My first thought after hearing the GREATEST SONG OF ALL TIME was "OMG! OMG! OMG! I have to share this with EVERYBODY!" "Everybody" is thus far just a captive audience of me.

But... whateva. My life is now split into two distinct segments--pre and post-Daniel. This is the first post of the Daniel era. Year Zero begins now.

The Electric Kool-Aid Credit Crisis

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Like so many of you in this Chinese opium den, I have avoided a thorough consideration of "The Subprime Mortgage Crisis" and its myriad economic implications. Twice I've plunged headfirst into Vanity Fair's comprehensive Fannie Mae article only to grasp frantically for antipsychotics when the trip got too heavy.

This animation was put together by an experienced head after a life-changing trip to Tibet. Using techniques taught to him by an elderly Sherpa hedge fund consultant, the animator guides us through the doors of perception and around the detritus of collateralized debt obligations. Just as the fantastic melts into phantasmagoria, enlightenment saturates the astral plane like foreclosures flooding the housing market.

Or

Hey, this animation effectively breaksdown the credit crisis for those unfamiliar with financial terminology. Check it out.

Sample Post

Tiller's National Anthem since copyright issues sidelined the bluegrass version of "Put 'Em On The Glass"