Moshing

With the Gwar concert coming up this Sunday (April 22), I've decided to (try to) explain what moshing is.  According to Wikipedia,
"Moshing, in a strict sense, is a style of dance whose participants push or slam into each other. It is most associated with "aggressive" music genres, such as hardcore punk and heavy metal. It is primarily done to live music, although it can be done to recorded music."
You can read the entire article here.
In its most basic form, moshing is a bunch of people running around and crashing into each other while a heavy metal concert is going on around them.  However, there are a few different kinds of moshing: push-moshing, hardcore dancing, circle pit, and wall of death.

The wall of death is a very violent act (hence the name) and people have been seriously hurt during it.

That video clip was from the Summer Breeze Festival DVD...the metal band Exodus playing Strike of the Beast.

The band Gwar has a different kind of moshing.  At least at the concerts I've been to.  The crowd is pushed up as close to the stage as they can get, so it's one big mass.  The fans sway mostly side to side, with a little bit of front to back.  A pit does open up in back of the main crush of people, though, and that one is the circle pit.

That's a "blood cannon" that one of the characters, Bonesnapper the troll, is spraying over the crowd.  No, I've never participated in a Wall of Death.  Yes, I've been in two Gwar pits, and I plan on being in my third this Sunday.  I have a white T-shirt ready, as most of the frequent Gwar concert-goers wear to see how soaked with "blood" (see one of my previous blogs about my last Gwar concert) they can get.  I will take pics of before and after the concert with my phone, and post them the next day.
Until then, so long.

Celtic music mixed with.....

I don't know what people's music preference is, but there's been a bit of a surge of celtic music sprinkled into other forms lately.  For instance, Flogging Molly and Dropkick Murphys are pretty much classified as punk, but with so much celtic influence and instrumentation that they've carved a niche called "celtic punk".  Click  here for the video of Dropkick Murphys song called Going Out in Style. 
Punk music probably has the best sound to put to celtic music, but heavy metal hasn't been lacking for it either.  There's a group called Eluveitie that has put out a couple albums.  Click here  for their video for Thousandfold.

The symphony orchestra playing with Metallica seemed to tone down the "heavy metal" sound of Metallica, yet it still sounded fantastic.  In contrast, I think the celtic music with punk and metal actually enhances the sound of the music, making it richer, instead of softening it.

Too much to do, so little time

I know, it's been a while.  I've been taking care of the kid, and with that and all the other Mr. Mom type stuff that goes on in a house, there's been precious little time to devote to writing.  I have a few ideas perking away, and I should be able to post in a couple days.

Remember the Veterans

Not every veteran carried a gun, flew a plane, or drove a route that was constantly trapped with explosives.  Remember, the people that do the mundane tasks of repairing vehicles, maintaining aircraft, making sure that the ships work correctly, and cooking the food are also veterans.  In the U.S. military, even the peons help make sure that things work correctly and that their fellow members are taken care of.  So, on this Veteran’s Day, make sure that you tip your hat to, shake hands with, or say thank you to not only the combat troops…but also the ones that make sure the machine runs at all.

A former U.S. Navy peon

How lazy has America become?

Let's face it, folks.  Americans, for the most part, are lazy.  Why walk 2 blocks to the store when you can drive?  Why cook a nice, relatively nutritious, home-made meal at home, when you can zip over to the nearest fast food grease joint and clog your arteries there?  I can (sorta) deal with those. 
HOWEVER...this one takes the cake:  I was walking into a local grocery store...let me call it "Really Large American National Bird", and saw a sign that made me shake my head in disbelief.  What did it say?  "European mixed hardwood" over a stack of firewood.  Right next to another stack with a sign that said "European White Birch".  ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?!?!?!  Now we are importing firewood?!  We have tons of people practically begging for jobs, and we have to send out for wood.  Instead of using an automated piece of machinery to split logs for firewood (yes, I know it's cheaper for the companies to use), put a few people to work chopping wood.  Not only would you be helping them by giving them a job, but you'd be making them healthier on top of it.  Is that BAD for America?  To most companies, it is: invest as little money as possible in material and employees, and sell for maximum profit.  I get that and understand that companies need to make money. 
On the other hand, if people aren't working, THEY aren't making money, and therefore have none to spend, and therefore are NOT going to buy your piece of crap Widget that cost you $1.00 to have built, and are selling for $30.00.  NOT GOING TO FUCKING HAPPEN!!!