Zach's New Writeups

Halloween songs (thing)

2005-10-16T09:30:09Z

Some years ago, I deejay'd for an online radio station which doesn't exist any longer. On my show, I took to doing themes. Around September eleventh of one year, I played all the songs located on Clear Channel's list of questionable songs, including a half dozen or so songs by Rage Against The Machine. When Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, I played as many songs as I could find which had something to do with weather. That was fun. One October, I decided to go for the Halloween theme for a couple weeks, so I amassed the list below.

A list of this sort is an intermittent (pseudo-annual) work in progress, but this list is arguably one of the more extensive you will find on the Internet. I welcome any and all suggestions for inclusions or commentary about present inclusions. I posted this list elsewhere on the Web when I started it, but I've noticed that E2 is one of the few places that didn't either disappear off the web or remove my list after some cobwebs developed. I've…

How To Avoid Being Something Other Than What One Is Not (idea)

2005-07-01T07:37:44Z

In contemplating the dilemma of how to avoid being something other than what one is not, it is often useful for the individual to first realize what one actually is. The state of being for an individual is crucial in facing this dilemma, and unfortunately most homo sapiens spend the lion's share of their lives either attempting to uncover the truth of their state of being, or being completely disillusioned as to the truth of their state of being due to untruths they inevitably tell themselves and one another.

If one were to describe or define oneself in terms of a political or religious context, say for example phrases like, "I am a jew," "I am a conservative republican," "I am a scientologist," or "I do what televangelists say I should do," they are under the impression that theological or political dogma dictates what one is, was, and should be. In point of fact, it is supposed…

Marathon Man (thing)

2005-06-29T05:29:20Z

Marathon Man is the name of a film that was released by Paramount Pictures in 1976, based on a novel by William Goldman which he then adapted into a screenplay. John Schlesinger directed a thrilling tale of suspense, intrigue and occasional dark humor. The story centralizes around "Babe" played with incredible passion and unparalleled sincerity by Dustin Hoffman, who goes through the journey of the story about as confused and perplexed as the audience. Babe is a New Yorker training to run a marathon, and is habitually obsessed with his daily exercise, to the detriment of pretty much everything else in his life that takes second seat to his ambition. Babe's wayward brother Doc pays him an unexpected visit, and soon thereafter Babe's life is turned upside down. Due to a predictably trite, but in this case tolerably presented plot contrivance, Babe is mistaken by enemy spies as one himself, and is chased down, captured,…

X-Day (thing)

2005-06-04T16:12:05Z

The primary holiday for any and all SubGeniuses. More specifically, this is the most important event among followers of the Church of the SubGenius. This is also the most important event in human history that never happened. Since 1953, the Church of the SubGenius was founded on the principles taught by a vacuum cleaner salesman named J. R. "Bob" Dobbs, who predicted among other things that on July 5th, 1998, X-ists would arrive on Earth via flying saucers and would destroy the planet, after causing endless torment to boring normal people and simultaneously resucing SubGenius followers and anyone they happened to like at the time. The church promised a seat on said flying saucers to any Followers In Bob who paid their dues and joined the church.

In the summer of 1998, a large congregation of followers made their way to a campground in western New York state and held a devival, as they awaited the fateful moment on the morning of July 5th 1998. They partied all…

Puzzling Evidence (thing)

2005-06-04T15:37:05Z

"Listeners are expendable."

Also known in some circles as "The More Than An Hour Less Than A Show show," Puzzling Evidence is a radio program that broadcasts from KPFA radio in Berkeley, California from 2AM to 5AM Pacific Standard Time on Friday mornings. A blatantly anti-commercial combination of talk radio and media barrage, this three hour program of cacophonic voice and sound may sound to the uninitiated as, well, cacophonic voice and sound. The show consists of an unspecified number of individuals talking sometimes to one another, sometimes to themselves, and sometimes to confused callers. These callers either call in by accident, or they purposefully call in and vainly attempt to sound as cool as the masters of the microphones. These same callers often fail, because it's difficult to hear what's going on when calling in.

The show often makes reference to dogma from The Church of the SubGenius and in-jokes regarding same, which is intended to…

5ive Days to Midnight (thing)

2005-04-29T16:02:08Z

5ive Days to Midnight is a four part mini-series, originally broadcast on the Sci-Fi channel in 'real time' mimicking the dates mentioned in the series itself. It's a story about a college physics professor and single father. He is given a curious gift from the future, in the form of an incontrovertible police file about his own death, which will take place five days from when he receives the documents. Professor J.T. Neumeyer basically becomes the metaphoric equivalent of a gallon of milk with an expiration date on it.

The story is about those five days, how he faces his own imminent demise, the ramifications of his actions, and how his choices affect people around him in a variety of ways. Perhaps close scrutiny can find predictable plot twists and a few thin threads of believability, but one cannot doubt the work's sincerity. From the beginning to end it grabs one's attention and at times is quite rivetting, while at other times it's more like a new friend elbowing…