News Article for The Long Beach Post -
A local news article I wrote for The Long Beach Post.
[video]
African Scene
Review of William Tyler's Impossible Truth on No Ripcord -
My latest review!
In the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, I continue to ask myself why does anyone ever need to own an assault weapon? Take any of the semi-automatic AR-15 rifles that are available on the civilian market. Is a rifle with a possible fire rate of 800 rounds per minute, if fully-auto, and firing the same round used by NATO troops, needed to drop a deer?
As following any mass-shooting, the debate over gun control has hit the main stage again. As the country transition from mourning to trying to gain meaning from this senseless act of violence, the very nature of gun related violence is being examined across the country. Shootings like Sandy Hook, add to a sad and long list of mass shootings in the U.S., forcing open once again the conversation on finding a way to prevent these senseless acts of violence from occurring again, if even possible.
From the public’s initial response, comes a call for tougher gun control. According to a recent ABC news poll, 54% of Americans now favor stricter gun control, while gun advocates have called on arming more people. Jeffery Goldberg of the Atlantic, recently published an article arguing that the best way to combat gun violence is with more guns, that a better armed population will actually deter crime. In respond to Goldberg’s article the Salon’s Alex Seitz-Wald, published his own piece debunking the more gun argument, stating that there is “no credible evidence that the passage of right-to-carry laws decreases or increases violent crime.”
Foals: Holy Fire - Music Review - No Ripcord -
My review of Foals’ Holy Fire on No Ripcord.
Self-Refection
Soft Light.
How to pitch a teen romance novel.
Dear Publishers of Mindless Rubbish,
I am writing you today to pitch my next novel. The novel will be based on the genre that is a cash-cow at the moment, the mindless teen romance novel.
The plot of the book focuses on the classic tale of adventure and romance, but with a modern twist. The protagonist of the novel will be some sort of magical being, such as vampire, werewolf, or a combination of the two. According to recent marketing data, such characters are goldmines. Following the classic narrative, the protagonist will set out on some sort of quest. Such as rescuing a princess or prince, depending on your audience, or even slaying some other mystical creature that our marketing team will create. Any way you slice it, it’s pure gold.
I have years of experience as a fiction writer, turning out multiple works of mindless rubbish. A final draft of the novel, can be turned out by a collection of starving writers in less than a month. Once the movie rights of the book are sold, we can have a sequel turned out in another month. We’ll be rich in no time.
Yours Sincerely.
[video]
[video]
Hollywood.
A few years ago, I wrote an article on how lax gun control in the U.S. had fueled Mexico’s drug war, where 90% of guns recovered at crime scenes had originated from the U.S. As drugs flowed north into the U.S., guns and money flowed back south into Mexico. Since guns are heavily regulated in Mexico, criminal organizations are willing to pay large amounts of money to get their hands on guns, and their weapon of choice are simi-automatic asssult rifles that are readily available on the civilian market.
In the wake of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary, a mere few months after the shooting in Aurora, Colorado. I have a simply question, why are assault weapons still available on the civilian market? Do sportsmen really need a weapon that fires an armor piercing round, similar to the ones used by NATO combat troops? Do they need a weapon that can fire hundreds of rounds per minute to hunt deer? The answer to those questions is simply no, but sadly these weapons are being marketed as “sporting rifles” and are easily available on the civilian market. Its as easy as walking into your local Wal-Mart, where weapons like the Bushmaster .223 rifle used in the Sandy Hook shooting are sold.
The inability to control the distribution of assault weapons in the U.S., since the Federal ban on assault weapons expired in 2004, has not only helped to facilitate shootings like Aurora and Sandy Hook but has also fueled the death toll seen in Mexico. Its time for the Federal ban to be reinstated.
Mac Demarco's "2" Album Review -
Read my last write up for no ripcord!
Installation Art