DAGO's EYE In Review

Sorry yall...I have been HELLA (can we still use this word?) sick since Monday night. Some of this is old isht but I'll be back on track soon. WORD!

Music: Kevin Bacon aint got nothing on us! The Utah County CD Release Party was out of control. The Big Easy was hoppin’ Much love to everyone who came out to celebrate the release of “Nfinity”. On a different topic…As of late we have had some LESS then stellar reviews of the new CD. I would be biased and slanted with my bloggy blog if I did not include the bad with the good. Check these two out <http://www.saltlakemusic.com/> and <http://www.rapreviews.com/>

When I wrote for the now defunct GRID magazine and I reviewed ANYTHING. I made sure it saturated my mind whether it was a CD or a Comic Book. I appreciate honesty. I like it when I read something and even if I disagree with it I can see logic behind why it was written that way. I think Joe’s review from saltlakemusic.com is on point and I can see why he would think Nfinity “appears to be several albums crammed into one”…that was kind of the experiment of putting this effort together this way. On the other hand, Justin “Tha Shiznute” from Rap Reviews comes off like a new jack to hip hop culture. Granted, I know nothing about this person so to pass judgment on a review would be kind of short sighted on my behalf. However, statements like…

“It is hard to differentiate one member from another”

…or…

“Numbs create a constant abrasive feeling by being extremely repetitive when creating their hooks, so when they are bad it just draws more attention to them.”

…or…

Speaking on my first verse on “Heavy Handed”…

‘Cobra Kai references are always welcome, but to put them into context like, Still holdin' the title like some Cobra Kai mic kings" is just unimpressive. Ralph Macchio whooped their ass with the crane kick, so how did they "hold the title". It seems irrelevant, but if you decide to rap someday and are not even going to use references properly, what is the point?”.

The idea behind that line (aka my “fighting style”?) wasn’t about my fighting style or how “sweet” I think I am. It was simply a reference about how cool the Cobra Kais were. That’s it, that’s all. Nothing more, nothing less. I don’t think I sound like Roo or Gunnar or Ad Rock AND as far as writing choruses and hooks…don’t you want to be somewhat repetitive with it? Hence the name…HOOK. It’s crazy that this same site gave “The Word” an 8.5 out of 10.

Numbs “Placed” in the SL Weekly Slammy’s for 2007. We got the silver for “Best Hip Hop Artist/Group”. Thanks to all of you who voted…and big up’s to Mindstate (who got the GOLD) and Facts who “Showed”. DJ Shanty also scored the 2nd best DJ slot behind BRASS Knuckles. With my best KRS ONE voice…Shanty is “still number one!”.

The Rotten Musicians show on February 22nd was a mixed bag. I really liked the sparse and unpredictable sounds of the VCR Quintet. Shanty and Mike couldn’t make the gig so it was Fisch and myself playing RAP kareokee. Since there was like 5 groups on the bill Chase made us cut out part of our set. We did like 20 minutes.

9 To 5: What it’s going to be, I don’t know. Even with all the rushing around, where I’ve ended up is in the middle of nowhere and maybe knowing isn’t the point.

Day To Day: Valentines Day was killer this year. K-Dawg made me a lovely pasta dinner. We had some wine, took in some “LOST” and nibbled on some VEGAN apple pie (scrumptious!). She gifted me with a shirt, some S.L.’s and the DUNNY! She is such a wonderful girl. So caring and loving.

The kiddo was feeling better and now is a sicky again (can you say "Walking Pneumonia"?). We went and picked up “Viva Pinata” for the 360 as well as the Ratchet and Clank PSP extravaganza. “Viva” is one of those games that could draw you in for hours and hours. Elektra had her garden poppin’ in less then 120 minutes. R&C “Size Matters” feels a lot like “Daxter” and the older PS2 titles. So much portable fun it could make my head asplode.

Lately it seems that I don’t have to go very far from my everyday world to find experiences that expand my perception of the world and increases my level of consciousness. However, I question my hopes and wishes, my ideals and objectives in life. Have I worked effectively to attain these so far? Will I ever attain these? Am I a work in progress? I hope so. I never want to become stagnant and run in place.

Peace-DAG!

Current likes: LOST (so far this season OWNS!), Ratchet & Clank “Size Matters”, Smorkin’ Labbits, The cool "Eye of God" picture that I posted for this blog, Wolfgang Pucks soup and Halls the cherry kind.

Current dislikes: The NBA All Star Game, The “News” a.k.a. The Anna Nicole Saga and Brittany “Shears”-I’ll stick to the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, Irresponsible journalism and elected ‘leaders” who are not held accountable by the public for the crap they say (i.e. Chris Cannon, Utah County Congressman)-another reason why I live in downtown SLC.

*EXTRA* I have to say it...did anyone catch Wayne Newton's performance at the NBA Vegas Pick Up Game 2007. It was FRESH to say the least but homie is starting to resemble Jack Napier A.K.A. The Joker (first Batman).

Civil War In 30 Seconds!

*Click on the pictures to make them LARGER.

*Spolier* This will save you about $25, months of intense build up and eventually feeling underwhelmed.

Gnomes And Skeletons

Rotten will be a rockin' this Thursday night.

Elektra...

...And her SWEET St. Valentine sweater...

Who Watches The Watchmen?

Season 3.5 of “LOST” starts back up tonight (2/7/07) and I have some new observations of the show. I think my “purgatory” perspective has been debunked and based on what we now know about flight 815 it is time to re-assess what is really going on with this show. I have noticed some parallels in a couple of books…”The Stand” by Stephen King and “The Watchmen” by Alan Moore. Some of the themes that run through these are the dualistic nature of good and evil, redemption and hope. Specifically…

-Good cannot be appreciated or striven for in the absence of bad.
-Characters are not painted as irretrievably lost.
-Given the opportunity and support, anyone can salvage their lives.
-We can strive to limit the effects of evil, but it will never be overcome.
-Evil can not been vanquished, but also that it can never triumph because within its very nature are the seeds of its destruction.

Dark vs Light, Fate vs Destiny, Faith vs Science, Live vs Death, Good vs Evil…

The real question in regards to Christianity and Lost is, quite simply, they focus on that religion over any other (maybe just a BIT more then Tao or Zen). Since the show seems to meld faith and science, the known and the unknown, it's a wonder just how far the religious question will go in the show, and what it will end up meaning to the overall scheme when all is said and done, When everything is known, what will the religious symbols throughout the show represent, and how significant will they be? Certainly, the symbolism will end up being no coincidence.

And what about…???

The idea of a “Utopia” and building the perfect society Rebirth/Reincarnation
The tie in’s with Greek Mythology and Eastern faiths
The Numbers AKA the Valenzetti equation
Character connections and coincidences

Maybe it’s just that their dreams are prophetic visions that end up coming true? I don’t know…but here are some of the other loose ends that STILL need to be tied up.

-The others and how they relate to the “Outside” world
-How long the events on the Island been going on
-What exactly was the incident as mentioned in the Orientation films
-Who is the guy sporting the eye patch and what hatch was he broadcasting from
-The four-toed statue foot
-The black rock
-The monster
-The supply drops
-The Michael & Walt saga
-Why can Desmond see the future
-What is The Disease a.k.a. The Sickness
-The Others “list” and who “Jacob” is
-Where are the “children” on the island
-What are the repercussions to the Swan implosion...And why did the sky light up

I am still along for the ride...this is going to ROCK!

Peace-Dag!

The Eleven

1. “The unexamined life is not worth living”
– Socrates (470-399 BCE)

Socrates‘ belief that we must reflect upon the life we live was partly inspired by the famous phrase inscribed at the shrine of the oracle at Delphi, “Know thyself.” The key to finding value in the prophecies of the oracle was self-knowledge, not a decoder ring.
Socrates felt so passionately about the value of self-examination that he closely examined not only his own beliefs and values but those of others as well. More precisely, through his relentless questioning, he forced people to examine their own beliefs. He saw the citizens of his beloved Athens sleepwalking through life, living only for money, power, and fame, so he became famous trying to help them.

2. “Entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily”
– William of Ockham (1285 - 1349?)

Commonly known as Ockham’s razor, the idea here is that in judging among competing philosophical or scientific theories, all other things being equal, we should prefer the simplest theory. Scientists currently speak of four forces in the universe: gravity, the electromagnetic force, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force. Ockham would certainly nod approvingly at the ongoing attempt to formulate a grand unified theory, a single force that encompasses all four. The ultimate irony of Ockham’s razor may be that some have used it to prove God is unnecessary to the explanation of the universe, an idea Ockham the Franciscan priest would reject.

3. “The life of man [is] solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”
– Thomas Hobbes (1588 – 1679)

Referring to the original state of nature, a hypothetical past before civilization, Hobbes saw no reason to be nostalgic. Whereas Rousseau said, “Man is born free, and he is everywhere in chains,” Hobbes believed we find ourselves living a savage, impossible life without education and the protection of the state. Human nature is bad: we’ll prey on one another in the most vicious ways. No doubt the state imposes on our liberty in an overwhelming way. Yet Hobbes’ claim was that these very chains were absolutely crucial in protecting us from one another.

4. “I think therefore I am”
– René Descartes (1596 – 1650)

Descartes began his philosophy by doubting everything in order to figure out what he could know with absolute certainty. Although he could be wrong about what he was thinking, that he was thinking was undeniable. Upon the recognition that “I think,” Descartes concluded that “I am.” On the heels of believing in himself, Descartes asked, What am I? His answer: a thinking thing (res cogitans) as opposed to a physical thing extended in three-dimensional space (res extensa). So, based on this line, Descartes knew he existed, though he wasn’t sure if he had a body. It’s a philosophical cliff-hanger; you’ll have to read Meditations to find out how it ends.

5. “To be is to be perceived (Esse est percipi).” Or, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”
– Bishop George Berkeley (1685 – 1753)

As an idealist, Berkeley believed that nothing is real but minds and their ideas. Ideas do not exist independently of minds. Through a complicated and flawed line of reasoning he concluded that “to be is to be perceived.” Something exists only if someone has the idea of it. Though he never put the question in the exact words of the famous quotation, Berkeley would say that if a tree fell in the forest and there was no one (not even a squirrel) there to hear it, not only would it not make a sound, but there would be no tree. The good news is, according to Berkeley, that the mind of God always perceives everything. So the tree will always make a sound, and there’s no need to worry about blipping out of existence if you fall asleep in a room by yourself.

6. “We live in the best of all possible worlds.”
– Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (1646 – 1716)

Voltaire’s famous novel Candide satirizes this optimistic view. And looking around you right now you may wonder how anyone could actually believe it. But Leibniz believed that before creation God contemplated every possible way the universe could be and chose to create the one in which we live because it’s the best. The principle of sufficient reason holds that for everything, there must be sufficient reason why it exists. And according to Leibniz the only sufficient reason for the world we live in is that God created it as the best possible universe. God could have created a universe in which no one ever did wrong, in which there was no human evil, but that would require humans to be deprived of the gift of free wills and thus would not be the best possible world.

7. “The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of the dusk.”
- G.W.F. Hegel (1770 – 1831)

Similar to “vision is 20/20 in hindsight,” Hegel’s poetic insight says that philosophers are impotent. Only after the end of an age can philosophers realize what it was about. And by then it’s too late to change things. It wasn’t until the time of Immanuel Kant (1724 - 1804) that the true nature of the Enlightenment was understood, and Kant did nothing to change the Enlightenment; he just consciously perpetuated it. Marx (1818 – 1883) found Hegel’s apt description to be indicative of the problem with philosophy and responded, “the philosophers have only interpreted the world differently, what matters is to change it.”

8. “Who is also aware of the tremendous risk involved in faith – when he nevertheless makes the leap of faith – this [is] subjectivity … at its height.”
– Søren Kierkegaard (1813 – 1855)

In a memorable scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy deduced that the final step across his treacherous path was a leap of faith. And so it is in Kierkegaard’s theory of stages of life. The final stage, the religious stage, requires passionate, subjective belief rather than objective proof, in the paradoxical and the absurd. So, what’s the absurd? That which Christianity asks us to accept as true, that God became man born of a virgin, suffered, died and was resurrected. Abraham was the ultimate “knight of faith” according to Kierkegaard. Without doubt there is no faith, and so in a state of “fear and trembling” Abraham was willing to break the universal moral law against murder by agreeing to kill his own son, Isaac. God rewarded Abraham’s faith by providing a ram in place of Isaac for the sacrifice. Faith has its rewards, but it isn’t rational. It’s beyond reason. As Blaise Pascal said, “The heart has its reason which reason does not know.”

9. “God is dead.”
– Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900)

Well, you might not hear this one in a graduation speech, but you’ll probably hear it in college. Actually, Nietzsche never issued this famous proclamation in his own voice but rather put the words in the mouth of a character he called the madman and later in the mouth of another character, Zarathustra. Nevertheless, Nietzsche endorsed the words. “God is dead” is often mistaken as a statement of atheism. It is not, though Nietzsche himself was an atheist. “Dead” is metaphorical in this context, meaning belief in the God of Christianity is worn out, past its prime, and on the decline. God is lost as the center of life and the source of values. Nietzsche’s madman noted that himself came too soon. No doubt Nietzsche, too, thought he was ahead of his time in heralding this news.

10. “There is but one truly serious philosophical problem, and that is suicide.”
– Albert Camus (1913 – 1960)

Camus’ solution to the philosophical problem was to recognize and embrace life’s absurdity. Suicide, though, remains an option if the absurdity becomes too much. Indeed Camus’ own death in a car crash was ambiguous. Was it an accident or suicide?
For Camus, the absurd hero is Sisyphus, a man from Greek mythology who is condemned by the gods for eternity to roll up a stone up a hill only to have it fall back again as it reaches the top. For Camus, Sisyphus typified all human beings: we must find a meaning in a world that is unresponsive or even hostile to us. Sisyphus, Camus believed, affirms life, choosing to go back down the hill and push the rock again each time. Camus wrote: “The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.”

11. “One cannot step twice in the same river.”
– Heraclitus (ca. 540 – ca. 480 BCE)

Heraclitus definitely isn’t alone here. His message was that reality is constantly changing it’s an ongoing process rather than a fixed and stable product. Buddhism shares a similar metaphysical view with the idea of annica, the claim that all reality is fleeting and impermanent. In modern times Henri Bergson (1859 – 1941) described time as a process that is experienced. An hour waiting in line is different from an hour at play. Today contemporary physics lends credence to process philosophy with the realization that even apparently stable objects, like marble statues, are actually buzzing bunches of electrons and other subatomic particles deep down.

DAGO's S-H-O-T of the week!

Music: Numbs had a CRAZY good photo shoot this past Sunday afternoon. The local legend, Dave Tada (http://www.davetada.net) was in charge of this photo op adventure. He was commissioned by SL Weekly for this FOR an interview that they ran on us…(http://www.slweekly.com/article.cfm/souledout) I think Jenny did a great job with this but I am still confused on why people focus so much on our Utah County upbringing. Move and the way will open. The Salt Lake CD release party at Monk’s was off the heaze. The vibe from the crowd there was incredible. The energy and power was inspiring. The best show of 2007 so far. We have a Utah County gig planned for Tuesday night at The Big Sleazy. We are going to rock Lehi…Kevin Bacon style. The Slammy voting is still on and on…vote here (http://www.slweekly.com/ballots/index.cfm?ballot_id=154) It doesn’t matter who you vote for…all that matters is that LOST is back on this WEDNESDAY night (preview to come). The SL Tribune’s Dan Nailen wrote up some good propaganda on “Nfinity” and NUMBS…check those here (http://www.sltrib.com/themix/ci_5138655) & (http://www.sltrib.com/themix/ci_5088988) . Linus gave me another beat cd with this piano track, real bluesy and all. SO TIGHT! The EP will really be something. We are still in pre-production for the “Train Music” video, I’ll let you know more when this develops a little bit. The “Rotten” shows that were lined up at a venue in Bountiful were cancelled because the place GOT SHUT DOWN. I always look at Bountiful like I do Provo…the culture…for the most part can only see what they are prepared to see.

9 To 5: Maybe I have been in a groove lately or maybe it is just a comforting illusion. It’s always darkest before it turns pitch black.

Day To Day: The kid was sick this past week. Before we went to see Dr Jennifer Cox, Elektra pleaded with me that she didn’t want a shot. I told her not to worry since she had a hacky cough and sniffles. I thought maybe it was the flu. Long story short, she ended up with a positive throat culture and needed the antibotical S-H-O-T. She was not a happy girl at Daddy. I went ahead and apologized to her for the promise and asked for forgiveness. I picked her up a Labbit to ease the discomfort (http://www.kidrobot.com).

Peace-DAG!

Current Likes: Martin Kove as John Kreese from the “Karate Kid” movies (you know “Sweep The Leg”), Pan’s Labyrinth, The Boston Mooninite scandal (relax, it's a lite brite!), Sleeping In & the Ground Hog.

Current Dislikes: Madvillian (The figure) is sold out and going for $50 a pop on EBAY, Athletes who under perform when the HEAT is on, Inversion & Nasty SLC Restaurants (you know who you are!).