3.31.2017

Uber's cash furnace warms my heart

This is an awesome deal for consumers, heavily subsidized by those unicorn-chasing crackhead Silicon Valley investors.
You’ll pay your activation fee immediately, but your special pricing will stay active for 30 days (or until you use all your rides).
Here’s the full list of fares. Don’t forget to add that activation fee of either $10 or $20 when doing your own math:
Boston: $1.99 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
Chicago: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.49 UberX rides
Los Angeles: $1.99 UberPool rides, $3.99 UberX rides
Miami: $1.99 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
New York City: $2.99 UberPool rides, $5.99 UberX rides
San Diego: $2.99 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
San Francisco: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.99 UberX rides
Seattle: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.49 UberX rides
Washington, D.C.: $2.49 UberPool rides, $4.49 UberX rides

3.28.2017

The Guardian - Running Out of Other People's Money

I read the Guardian's soccer coverage because it is the best. ESPN used to have the best but right before the last World Cup they changed the format of their website to target 3rd graders and I don't read their website anymore. I want to READ articles not experience a multimedia extravaganza that requires that I scroll after reading every 3 lines. So I read the Guardian. Unfortunately they post popular links on the right of their soccer articles and I made the huge mistake of clicking on this piece of blatant racism.

Of course we have racist idiots everywhere, I shouldn't click on the Guardians filth because why do I care. But I did decide to comment in their comments page of that article. I put this:
Hey Guardian, this is why I ignore your online requests to support journalism. This is ignorant filth and while I love your football writers, I hate ignorant garbage like this. Sickening!

My comment was removed and going forward this is what I see when I try to make a comment like I used to in the soccer sections:


I've lost the privilege of commenting without censorship. My comments now must be reviewed before it's made public. Censorship is cool, dissent bad, unless it's against white people, eh Guardian? Whatever, I still like their soccer coverage and hey it's free, I'm not paying for it. It did make me smile when I saw this plea for money today.
Good luck finding more - other people's money.

3.25.2017

Fun English Rant

OMG, like this is like so perfect, right?

3.14.2017

English is hard


CNBC is still hiring retarded Millenials to write its chyrons.

3.13.2017

Math is hard (even for conservatives)

Former California state legislator Chuck DeVore:



UPDATE: OK, I guess he's right whether by accident or not. Murders are every year while legislator elections are generally not, and the same people are often re-elected while nobody is ever re-murdered.

Great Chicago Music Store Closing

If there is one thing that I've learned from this election it is that we need to be more inclusive and tolerant of those of differing views like those who are demanding equal rights. The problem is that all that demand for tolerance only regards their opinions. If one has an opinion that is different then they are not only wrong, they are enemies. If one supports a different political party then tolerance is unacceptable.

An email went out yesterday from the owner of an excellent music store in Chicago that is closing its doors because of an association with Trump.

To all our music loving customers and friends,

It is with a truly heavy heart that I must write this note to all of you who have shared this journey with my wife Suzzanne and I, to create and maintain a place for world music in Chicago.

First off, I want to thank you, and thank all of our amazing friends, musicians and customers that made this journey possible through your words and actions. Thank you for being our customers, for putting the word out for us, for attending our workshops, concerts and community events. Thank you for your online sharing and support. Thank you most sincerely for trusting me to repair and restore some of your most treasured musical instruments. Thank you for everything you have done to support our humble shop over the past year and half (nearly two). Thank you from the bottom of my beating heart. Thank YOU!

When Suzzanne and I began this journey, we intended to build a business that could remain a brick and mortar location and serve our community for years to come. We have been able to make it this far, but due to circumstances we cannot control, we are unable to continue this journey. We regret to have to inform all of you that Worlds of Music Chicago will close its retail store location on April 27th, 2017.

Our country is divided like never before, and we have felt that divide personally and deeply. Over the past year our business has been the target of dozens and dozens of repeated smear attacks, boycott campaigns, harassment, online lies and most recently physical threats to our shop and person. These attacks all stemmed from Suzzanne’s attendance at the Chicago Trump Rally that turned violent last March. Since that event, a small but dedicated group of local anti-Trump activists have made us their cause de jour, making an ongoing and concerted effort to destroy our reputation in the city and threaten us, with the intent of “driving us out of town”.

My wife and I supported and continue to support our president. In any other election year, voting for one of two political major parties was not a hindrance to working with people who voted differently. As Independents, we have voted many different ways, and have worked with people who voted many other ways. It has never occurred to me, or Suzzanne, to reject others of differing political views. I have for decades worked with musicians and artists with vastly differing beliefs from mine on a daily basis. So it never occurs to me, even now, to boycott anyone’s business or attempt to diminish someone’s livelihood based on their personal political opinions.

It has always seemed to me that the point of a free country was to respect those with differing opinions. I have always shown that respect by keeping personal politics out of music and business. But this year, things were much different. No matter the efforts I took to keep all mention of politics out of my business, something Suzzanne and I felt vital to retaining a comfortable environment for ALL political types, it was not enough. We were personally stalked online, and our business was made the target of hate for our personal political choices.

Were it merely for the attacks against us, we might be able to endure. But unfortunately, those attacking us have also attacked others for MERELY ASSOCIATING with us. We have been proud to be a location where the community can come to enjoy world music, but we have heard from multiple musicians the sad reality that they have been questioned about their dealings with us, and fear being made targets or have been made targets for doing business or performing with me or at the shop. I want to thank those of you who came to me and were honest about what is happening, and your fears. But I cannot/will not be a factor in harming my fellow musicians livelihoods.

I also will not be a danger to others. When faceless strangers threaten to burn down our shop, they are essentially threatening the safety of our neighbors, and we cannot live with that fear. Suzzanne and I are tired of waiting to see if a brick has finally ended up in our window, or worse. The economic and emotional cost of fighting these hate activists has become more than we can afford.

We built this shop to serve you in 3 ways: as a resource for beautiful and quality world instruments, a service location to care for those instruments, and as a community space for sharing music through learning and listening. The hours of building and design that went into creating the physical shop were focused on making a HOME for the world music community in Chicago, a home for YOU.

We have done our best. But too many people have told us they cannot do business with us, either because of fear, or because of politics. Too many have heard rumors and stepped away to avoid conflict. Too many have been intimidated into avoiding and rejecting that home we built for you, and so we are unable to continue fighting to keep it viable. Too many decades-old friends have let politics come between us and have told us they will not do business with us, or worse, have outright smeared and attacked us online. And we have too many personal threats to us and our shop to feel safe, for us, or the community. We are scared, hurt and tired of being a liability to others. We are done.

We tried very hard to “stick it out” and keep this ugly unnecessary struggle to ourselves out of respect for all of our customers and to honor our commitment to keep politics. out of our business. Many of you are hearing about this for the first time. We are sorry to have to talk about it now, but we feel it is only fair that the community we intended to serve understand why we have been forced to close.

To everyone who has defended our honor and reputation, we cannot thank you enough. You have no idea how much your support has meant to us while we faced horrible and vicious lies and attacks to our character. Thank you to everyone who came and told us the truth about the rumors against us, and shared the vital info we needed to understand what was happening to us. Thank you most sincerely to those who took up our cause, promoted our shop, or donated to a fundraiser or event in support.

Suzzanne and I will be moving out of Chicago later this year. While we are here, I will still be teaching lessons and workshops. I am also available to do ANY repairs, re-headings or adjustments your world instruments may require. Please feel free to take advantage of the time I am still in town to get those beautiful instruments in top shape.

We will also still be a resource for purchasing wonderful world instruments online, and you can find our products on www.worldsofmusicchicago.com. We hope to be able to transform our business model away from brick and mortar to maintain some of what we tried so hard to create.

We will be hosting a Closing Party on Saturday, April 22nd. We invite you all to come and share in one last hurrah at our beautiful and beloved shop. We also have several events planned over March and April: drum circles, gong meditations, drumming and flute meditation workshops and some very special live music. We will be sharing more about these events in the days to come, and as always, information about our events is located on our Facebook page and website.

It has been my great honor and pride to create this place. It is the most heartbreaking thing I have ever done to close it. Suzzanne and I love this shop, and have loved and treasured being a part of all of your musical lives. We cannot thank you all enough for the love, trust and support you have shown us.

We hope to see you April 22nd. More details will be shared soon. Feel free to call, write or come by with questions or comments. As always, we are here for you, in music and in shared humanity and harmony.

Yours in the music, Alexander

As we as a society decide that the other party is pure evil and not a healthy check and balance in a functioning democracy, and boycotts must occur over differing political opinions, I wondered when else such negativity has caused such actions in the past. Wiki has this article to share on the issue. I know, I know, it's supposed to invalidate any argument to go THERE, but honestly the hatred that seems to exist today warrants at least consideration of when societies have been so wound up to hate in history.

3.12.2017

Let's talk Trannies...

And no, I don't mean the Transportation stocks. I'm referring to the latest social craze that is fighting for the cause of the transgender children of our country. You know, the folks that have say a 5 year old girl that might exhibit interest in Tonka trucks and the parents are off to find the hormone treatment required to turn little Sally into little Steve.

In our school system there seems to be extraordinary focus on the "inclusion" of transgender individuals. Don't get me wrong, I think everyone should be included but this cause seems to be garnering focus that might be above and beyond the other problems that exist in the schools today.

A very close relation of mine is a school teacher and administrator at a high school in one of our major cities. She has experienced this almost obsessive focus from other faculty members and administrators to "fix" the transgender inclusion "problem" but she sees so much more wrong with system than the troubles of transgender kids. She wrote in with this to say about it:
Every Friday we have a Production meeting with the other Heads and Assistants. Another Department Assistant mentioned something today about some recent production in their conservatory about transgender something-or-other. I think every day I see or hear some reference to transgender something, and I was inspired to do some searches this afternoon for statistics. I wanted to know first what the approximate size of the trans population was. 0.2-0.3% of the population. About 700,000 Americans, or about twice the number of Amish in the country.

I have seen (and discarded for lack of priority) too many emails from our counseling office with articles from the Huff post or the like about transgender issues.

I have nothing against transgendered individuals. I have known a few personally; one who as an adult actually went through the surgery to become a man. S/he is another musician who went from Jenny to Howard, and while I was on tour I was assigned to be her roommate much to her embarrassment since she had requested a single room. I felt bad for her. We didn’t spend too much time in the hotel room anyway, but I felt like my presence in the room violated the privacy she wanted to have. The people I have known have been very discreet about their situations and I had lots of respect for what their personal struggles must be.

I do have a problem with the gross over-emphasis our school puts on discussing transgender subjects while ignoring all the other issues that affect many more students.

Here is what I found out today. Have fun looking through this list.

62% of underage high school seniors have been drunk at some point

56% of teens said they talk on the phone while driving.

50% of women have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime"

46% percent of all teenage drivers admit to text messaging while driving

46% of high school students have had sex and are potentially at risk for pregnancy and STIs

40% of high school students have tried marijuana

40% of teenage females have eating disorders

Nearly one in three college men admit they might rape a woman if they knew no one would find out

33% of adolescents in the U.S. is a victim of physical, sexual, emotional or verbal abuse from a dating partner

30% of American teen girls will get pregnant at least once before age 20

17% percent of American high school students are drinking, smoking or using drugs during the school day

13.9% of high school students are obese

10% of high school students has been purposefully hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend.

9.3% of high school students smoke cigarettes

8% of teens deliberately hurt themselves

3.8% of the US population is homosexual

2.1% of the US population is Jewish

2% of the US population is Native American

1% of the world population has autism spectrum disorder

1% of the US population is Muslim

.75% of the US population is incarcerated

0.2-0.3% of the US population identifies as transgender

0.09% of the US population is Amish
It does seem that we focus on the ultra minorities when we should be focusing on bigger picture problems. I'm NOT saying ignore the trannies or discount their rights lib-tards. I'm just saying that we seem to be a society that focuses on the mouse when there are plenty of 10 ton elephants in the room that we seem to completely ignore.

3.07.2017

Democrats Fall For Obvious GoFundMe Scam On Democratic Underground



OK first of all let me say HIII WCV readers! Long time no talk to. Still fighting the good fight here in Richmond/DC, and yes I voted for Gary Johnson so don't give me any shit about this Trump crap. Now that we got that out of the way...

These days, I'm slaving away at GoFraudMe calling out GoFundMe scams and let me tell you, this shit is crazy. They steal photos from Google, they pretend to have cancer, they even make their own kids sick to put up GoFundMes. It's crazy. I get it, the economy is fucked but why are you doing this.

Today we need to talk about these threads at Democratic Underground. Some pondscum abortion-gone-wrong decided he was going to scam the democrats over there and boy did he! To the tune of nearly $2000 before he got busted. GoFundMe has since refunded about half of that, but the scammer's page still shows $847 in donations.



Dude said his brother was a longtime DU user and got in a car accident. OMG the horror. Except that never happened. And he was like SEND MONEY and DU users threw cash at him. This is the exact thing we libertarians talk about, a private safety net of generous people who will always help our own. If Negocios Loucos said he came down with cancer tomorrow I would be the first one to sell a kidney to pay for his treatment. If WC Varones was like "hey JDA, I have ass cancer and I'm dying" I would be like "I will sell my anus on the black market in Mexico so you can live, don't you worry bro." Without question.

This clown milked DU for all they were worth. "Wow! Amazing how some people take advantage of people,” read one post. “There are people who will take advantage of anyone or anything that is in trouble…I am not surprised. But it hit us here at DU..it was aimed at us.”

And it worked.

Happy Super Tuesday!