Music Review #1: Subatomic Sound System

Not many know "the Emch."

But he's legendary.

His name alone (Emch) has been the subject of phonetic discourses, beginning predicatably, "What the F.. kind of name is that?"

Emch.

It has been shouted in households across the nation, as a non-sensical, ejaculatory uluation.

The word "Emch" has been used as a verb.

"In tiger skin loin cloth, he Emched his way across the jungle canopy."

Or gerunds...

"Damn, that's some filthy Emching right there."

Maybe that's why he goes by the name of Subatomic Sound System these days.

Cuz the Emch is a sensitive soul. The Emch is an artist. The Emch is a lover and a fighter. The Emch stands for entertainment that improves the planet, and expands your mental horizons.

And Subatomic Sound System has a new albumn out; a concetration of nectars that the Emch has been harvesting for the last two decades.

Take dub reggae, like Pablo Augustus, or Lee Scratch Perry,  or newer, Rusko, then, add avant garde electronic sensibilities, say, Flying Lotus, and even 70's Miles Davis, On the Corner era, and you're getting close.

The guy has been collecting sound since the early 80's in Seattle Wa., where sanctuary and sanity were first discovered in the meliflous riffing of Randy Rhoads, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Manitas de Plata. From there, music lead him from diverse local bands like the U-Men and Killgore Trout, to the world, like Fela Kuti. I have a hard time finding music he hasn't heard, so I often challenge myself to do so- (and yeah, recently, I introduced him to Smood, and I always like beating him to the punch. In the past, I got him into Jane's Addiction. I take credit for Eddie Palmieri, and Omar Sosa, too.)

Needless to say, the guy personifies a love of music in all its variety, only insisting that it has soul.

His new albumn certainly has that.

In fact, his eclecticism finally gets served in all its variety,  pairing both Lee Scratch Perry, the dub pioneer heemself, and David Lynch, the avant garde film maker, with badass Jamaican chant masters like Anthony B.

You won't really know what to think on the first listen, because you haven't really heard stuff like it before. but after a third listen, your ear accomodates the poly-sonic vibe, senses the innate ruminations on peace and justice, and creates a desire for equally strong elixer, and an exploratory dance floor with like minded argonauts.

So, check it out. The Emch-neesh is for real.

http://www.kidult.com/news/entertainment/david-lynch-and-lee-scratch-perry-get-remixed-in-dub

Franz Schurmann: American Soul

1997.

I was a whip snap recent hire at Pacifc News Service. I wanted to write. I wanted to edit. I had that young, blind burn to succeed in my chosen profession, and wanted to do it all. I was "back from Asia," I liked to say to anyone who listened- (though it was really just a year and a half in South Korea, Cambodia and a few vacations in Japan and Thailand. I knew little more than zip about "Asia.")

Sandy Close, who hired me, set up a lunch with her husband, Franz Schurmann, and it seemed clear I was about to be measured. Measured, meaning, analyzed, plumbed, then, categorized, perhaps for job placement.

Reading his bio, I saw he had authored several works on foreign policy, most often focused on US- China relations, and original, historical analysis of US involvement in South East Asia. Furthermore, he was a professor emeritus of the Cal Berkeley History department, and spoke a dozen or so languages. This linguistist's talent enabled him to read the "ethnic press" in its original, non-translated drafts, pushing him closer to the 360 degree worldview which journalism often espouses, but rarely, if ever, strive for.

That his studies illuminated the ideas and practices of Communism from a non-jingoistic perspective, meant I was meeting one of the great portals of non-American political though in America. Here, I mused, was a person capable, actually, truly capable, if put in the right place, of changing US foreign policy in a radical direction, a direction from which the world could benefit.

At that time, I should add, I thought that such a goal- changing US foreign policy- was the only goal worth achieving in the United States.

How nice to be hired into a news agency with this visionary's values at its core, I thought. Bringing the voices of the the subaltern into mainstream news, understanding the impact domestic policy decisions could have on the world at large, educating Americans by re-inventing news, and having educated opinions impact future policy decisions. Seemed pretty clear to me then.

I came prepared; with a pen and a notebook. I toyed with the idea of bringing a hand-held voice recorder to capture the conversation. Imagine, though, that I would be sitting in front of a guy who had written extensively, reported and authored op-eds for all of the major publications, who wrote extensively about any topic that piqued his curiosity. Who would want this guy to think you were a wanna be reporter? Could be embarassing.

I imagined a DC guy, capable of walking in front of the Senate and edifying on North Korean military capacity and the effects closing US bases in Okinawa would have on Taiwanese independence.

Well, he certainly was that. But he lacked bombast. He radiated humility. He had wisdom.

When Franz and I met, across a plate of lo mein, he cupped an ear and leaned toward me- so that I would not necessarily adress his eyes, but his ear. A bit pulpy- with a wealth of hair sprouting from the interior, it seemed  a geological feature countoured by voices, music, opinions, poetry, facts.

And throughout the meal, that ear invited me to speak about a bit of everything. My mother, my religious values, how I saw plastic surgery in South Korea, what of the skeleton trade in Cambodia, and did I know about the Hmong general Vang Pao who lived somewhere outside of Fresno yet was planning a coup d'etat in Laos as we spoke?

Over the next two and a half years, I learned  the true definition of an American intellectual, plying every day people with questions that got at the subjective truths we each carried within, then tying them to the great currents of history, rather than the less palpable smoke of political agendas. He was  a vast respository for odd facts, quirky historical moments, revisionist paradigms, what ifs, why nots, and imagine ifs, which grew from a lifetime of searching for what historical certainties there were.

His often rambling and seemingly untethered ruminations ended with surpising conslusions that often reminded me of Huxley's analysis of history, which I misquote now:

 "A study of history shows only that human beings are always doomed to ignore the lessons of history and repeat mistakes. And that is the great truth one learns from the study of history."

If all of America was driven by such curiosity, what a magnificent nation we would be- searching for the artists, the visionaries, the silver lining, the most truth one can find. Catching it all through a willing ear trained to the vocubles of 12 languages!

The last time I spoke with Franz directly, was on a morning walk through the Sunset, by his home, which was his daily routine. He dubbed them these morning walks his "talks with God," where the rumination could contend with the daily grind of a news organization, where the ideas concretized from that cauldron of memory and text. I was 26, a new father, and he in his 70's, and that morning, we discussed Anthony Poshepny, the unlikely inspiration for Colonel Kurtz, Marlon Brando's character in Apocolypse Now- a CIA vet who lived a mere mile away from us at that moment who had amongst other things, recruited the hill tribe soldiers in Laos to take up the US cause, and who had orchestrated the Dalai Lama's "kidnapping" from Tibet.

I enjoyed the way we discussed the truth behind myth, the forces which shaped myth, the individual imperfections of those individuals who achieved mythological status in our culture, or in our lives. No doubt, Franz was one of those mythical people to those of us who spent time with him.

Sadly, Franz has left us, and is perhaps meandering the cosmos on a journey for the curious, a final talk with his God, that I would love to hear him discuss once again.

In the meantime, I will toast Franz, daily, and remain a devoted meanderer, chasing the newest incarnation of the curious which always seem to show itself at just the right moment to keep life wondrous.

Jeremy Lin and Bruce Lee

All my life I've wondered exactly how the world's greatest martial artist (at least in film) could be Asian, but there had never been a dominant, cat quick, ninja-like point guard, akin to Allen Iverson, or Brandon Jennings- thin, wiry, yet strong and fluid, and SO quick you couldn't stop them.

As an Asian American who played a lot of basketball, and having grown up in Los Angeles- where there are pretty good Japanese-American basketball leagues, it was never clear to me why this would be so. Not even at the college level- (though there have been more sitings than normal in the last few years.)

In fact, the premier Asian talent in basketball is Yao Ming, then Yi Jianling, followed from afar by Sun Yue, who is the shortest of them all at 6'9". The influx of height definitely changed one of the most prevalent stereotypes about Asians- that we are short. (Even I theorized that Yao et al had been bioengineered by a selective breeding process engineered by the Chinese government, something which has yet to be proven; today I take the realistic tack that if there are 1 billion and counting individuals in China, then .001% of the population should fall into the 7 foot category.)

Aside from these tall guys though, there has not been a Bruce Lee type who has made it at the highest levels of basketball.

Some will point to Rex Walters, a first round draft pick out of Kansas a few decades ago. Or even Raymond Townsend, or back in the day, Wat Misaka, the "first" Asian American in the NBA. (Check out this link to a documentary film about his life...http://www.watmisaka.com/). Heck our people are even claiming Nate Robinson's 1/8th Filipino heritage makes him the first Asian-American Dunk champ..http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZXyM0i_rlg

Cool? Yeah.

But it's not what I'm talking about here- which is a tradition of great NBA caliber Asian point guards.

See, PG's can be in the 6 foot to 6'5" range, and there's a lot of Asian guys who are that tall.

PG's also need discipline, skill, speed and quickness, traits that you'll see at every single martial arts tournament.

While it's believed that Asians can't jump, they are also fabled with ninja like verticals, so, what's the truth?

I summon Rick Noji to answer this question. This is a 5'8" Japanese-American guy, growing up in Seattle, who, strangely, I remember having more than his fair share of grey hairs as a senior at Franklin High.

Back in the 80's, Noji won not only the State championship in the high jump, (once posting a 7'4" jump), but he also won the 200 meter sprint (21.2) and the long jump (23'4") in his high school career.

Not bad.

Later, as a professional he jumped 7'7"- which was about two feet over his head. (That's actually what your average ninja does..)

Here's his bio:

http://www.wiaa.com/ardisplay.aspx?ID=513

Of course, basketball needs more than simple athleticism, often requiring a focused perfectionist's ability to learn the details of the game. Hmmm. Know any Asians like that? (I do, and I hate them all. They're the guys I had to compete with to get into a good school.)

Reasonable to think that the gym rat requirement would be met.

What else?

Good coaching and opportunity to play?

Maybe this is the hardest part- to get a great coach to believe that an Asian player has the same talent and abilities as kids from races with more proven track records. But you know what? That's not a reasonable argument. Every coach in AAU is looking for some kid who can help his team that got overlooked by those dominant, well known teams continually crushing them by double digits.

Parents? Maybe, not encouraging their kids to play basketball at the highest levels?

Yeah. Surely there are some. Surely many Asian parents wouldn't want their kids to be involved in sports at all if they've decided that their child's path to success lies in academics. And certainly, Asian parents have been stereotyped for pressuring their child to succeed academically, with cram schools, language schools, tutors, etc...

But then there are other Asian parents who do put their kids in sports, so, ...consider it a small filter- yes, Asian parents will emphasize academics over sports, particularly as a career, so the sample size is smaller.

Still, if this leaves us with 500,000 Asian kids growing up in the US alone, whose parents put them in sports, and are willing to give them the support (driving, getting them good coaching, etc.) to develop to their fullest potential, there should by now, be more than one Jeremy Lin in the NBA as a spider quick point guard.

Maybe, just maybe, Asian kids aren't raised to be leaders of kids of other races, though. And a point guard has to accomplish this, every day, every play, on the court.

Maybe that's why we haven't yet seen an Asian Quarterback, or president.

In fact, there are very few Asian Americans I have seen visibly leading individuals of other ethnicities. Bruce Lee, Guy Kawasaki, Dale Minami, a few senators, that governor in Washington. So yeah, there are a few. But there should be more. For the skills, the intelligence, the discipline, and the spirit that Asians have in abundance, their placement in positions of leadership should be higher.

But the instructed humility, the discomfort with pushing an envelope, all time honored parts of the Asian heritage as well, leaves it to envelope pushers like Lin and Lee to drag the rest of us behind them.

In conclusion, I hope that Lin is as much an inspiration to all of you as he is to me, who never did accomplish my goal of being that first in the line of many lightning quick point guards, of the Asian persuasion.

I already got Miles in three basketball camps this summer...

SAVE THE WHITEFISH!

There is a great article about the Asian carp- currently public enemy number one in the Great Lakes of America (and Canada).

The Asian carp, it seems, was introduced in the "Deep South" back in the 70's.

They were "imported" to fish farms, as well as sewage lagoons.

Extrapolating, then, the Asian carp was brought to make money, and to literally "eat shit."

Since the early 1970's, the carp "escaped" into the Mississippi River, and is now, "infesting" northern waterway, devouring the plankton upon which cherished native species rely, species which include "whitefish."

Check it here.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100719/ap_on_bi_ge/us_asian_carp_great_lakes_5

What is most interesting about this is the rhetoric is identical to that used by Arizona Minutemen in their battle against "Illegal immigrants."

"Asian carp will kill jobs and ruin our way of life," states Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox.

In his petition to the US District Courts in northern Illiniois, Cox is essentially asking for "locks, gates, and other infrastructure" to be closed,  after the carp was discovered north of  an "electric barrier" designed to "block the voracious fish's path."

Anyone want to play "Parallels in American History?" (Sounds like a fun new board game to me!)

My turn!

Off the top of my head, they include both the bracero programs for migrant labor, and the plantation based economy of the "deep south", where blacks and latinos were brought into the US to work fields, clean houses, etc. the "dirty jobs."

Most obvious, since we're talking about "asians" is the Chinese "cooley" system, when labor from China was brought to the US to build the railways, wash clothes and pick weeds.

Then, there's "chitlins"- basically, the pigs intestines which were fed to slaves, very close to eating shit.

Fast forwarding to the present,  there's the electric fence, which echo the "border" fences being erected to keep out terrorists, drug dealers and of course, the evil illegal immigrants.

There's also the Arizona law- how could I leave that out? which would allow law enforcement and a network of patriotic vigiliantes (aka- the minutemen) to act as a "gate, lock, or other infrastructure" to keep out the "invaders."

Other parallels?

That this fish has in its core a desire to succeed, proliferate, and conquer that seems to embody the American Dream at its best. A fish that, by the way, jumps out of the water to "attack" boats and fisherman. Kinda badass, really to think about these escaped shit eaters kicking everyone's ass!

As a half-Asian/ half-white man, I feel both a sense of pride, and a Nativist rage! How compelling.

SAVE THE WHITEFISH!!!

A quick glance at the comments in the Yahoo section shows that while there are some intersting ideas, like harvesting the fish and selling it "back" to "Asia" (a big continent, by the way, extending from Turkey to Japan), where it is apparently eaten, there are human bottom dwellers as well.

Here's a sample:

Joseph
"It's called "infiltration". The only thing is it's at every level in this country. All the way from diseases, to animals, to aliens slithering in, to politics, to whatever else you can think of."
 
William S
"The Feds won't keep out mexicans or fish. Just what the hell are they good at? Taxing me to death and spending money even my great grandchildren will never be able to repay!!!!!! Thanks Barry.
 
KC "This species of fish routinely major in electrical engineering, that is how they are getting by the electric fences."
 
the anti-liberal "Obama will give them amnesty, health care, and the right to vote. He will also start a civil rights protest if the fishermen step any closer to them."

Uncle Bucky Asks: Wither the Trailblazers?

So,  he who coined the "term" Peckerpole, now asks, "what's up with the Blazers?"

Uncle Buck is the guy who keeps me abreast of all things Portland- from micro brews, to bike paths, to the Blazers. So, his obsession with the Blazers, essentially what puts the city on the Map around the nation, is not out of line. But now, he ventures into the dangerous land of speculation, and consideration of the "front offices" thinking/ philosphy re: the future.

I love it- to wax philosophical about hoops. Expect some Nietzche, and possibly some Darwin as well.

Here we go. Let's start with the brain, for where the brain goes, the ass follows. And there are a few asses which need kicking in Portland.

Essentially, the Blazers have had a lobotomy. The odd termination of Kevin Pritchard, leaves a lot to be desired in Portland.

Pritchard, a guy whom many, including myself, consider one of the top three personnel guys in the league (Presti, Kupchak, and the guy in San Antonio (Buford?) also come to mind), leaving the Blazers is kind of mind boggling. If Oden had just had ONE fucking full season under  his belt, it says here that Pritchard would never have left, and there would be more talk about Portland than Oklahoma City as the Second Best in the West.

Evidence of this distentigration is already taking place: highly questionable moves, like overpaying Wesley Matthews, and sending out Martell Webster for, essentially, a tall white rookie, named Luke Babbit (the guy can shoot though), stand out.

Back to Uncle Bucky's Question though: what does the Summer League tell us about the direction the Blazers want to go in?

Bucky's smelling strange things in the winds, and says he's feeling a massive trade rolling in.

It's possible. Because in disarray, almost anything can take place. But Uncle Buck seems to be trying, as is his wont, to make sense out of disorder. He's a highly rational guy- uses the scientific method to compost his toilet paper, so, this isn't out of character.

And I like Bucky, because he assumes that if he's got a master plan, that the Blazers have a metanarrative in place too, because, maybe, they're guiding this team.

I am writing this, more than anything else, to dispute that, and offer some ideas about what may be actually guiding the Blazers in lieu of a real master plan.

So, let's accrue the details.

1) "When the cat's away, the mice will play."- Bob Marley

All those muffled subordinates, who chafed under Pritchard's domination of the Blazers? Suddenly, they are  opinionated mother fuckers- and most of them probably have zero experience or real basketball knowledge. They're suits, basketball parasites, the equivelant of a rhemora fish suctioning to the belly of a shark. They're along for a ride. Without Pritchard, suddenly the overstocked basketball pantry in Portland, looks like food that's sat on the buffet table for too long, and all the suits want to jump as high as they can on this suddenly  zero gravity planet, and rock the potlatch. Look for will and emotional baggage to become guiding principles for this transition, while Allen, a hands off owner, leans over the rail of his yacht somewhere and regurgiates his dom perignon.

2) "The Will to Whiteness" in the Pacific Northwest.

Never ever leave out context.

The Jailblazers are not too far gone. Rasheed, Randolph, "those guys" lurk in the Portland memory like dense, hazy smoke in a backalley. The race of those individuals can't be overlooked, particularly in a city that has had more than its fair share of neo-Nazis. I remember walking through down town Portland, as a non-white kid, and feeling like a pack of drunken asswipes would try to kick my ass.

Now, the Blazers have got a great set of players, leaving aside the Greg Oden porno shots for a second, but the lingering sentiment is that there are too many wild hairs on the Brazilian Wax. Guys who just don't fit in. Guys like Bayless, Outlaw, Batum, Webster, Mills, Armon Johnson, Wesley Matthews...

The flumoxed Blazer brass doesn't see how this all fits together. So they go and get spare parts from Utah (Matthews) a guy who isn't better than Webster, or Batum, or Outlaw, but who is easy to understand. A guy with a role, who you can slot in somewhere. a guy you can control. Not a Jailblazer, or a wild hair, just a role player.

So now, Outlaw is gone. Webster is gone. Batum is likley displaced.

Fernandez?

Black holes. Wild Hairs.

The only known quantities are Roy, and Aldridge. And Pryzbilla, coming off the bench in the event Oden shows up to play.

I'm telling you now, that if you gave this roster to Boston Celtics coach, Doc Rivers, he'd have them in an intelligible rotation, based on strengths, creating chemistry. Not a flumox of talent that makes bball brass' opinions suddenly matter.

Opening up the id, can often reveal long standing impulses, and frustrations. Though these suits  may have zero bball acumen, they also have a chip on their shoulder about it by now, and want to "finally" do what they've been held back from accomplishing.

More context-

One thing that I learned living in Seattle for a decade, was that in the predomiately white parts of the nation, there's a real desire to see a great white ball player- a Larry Bird. That, it seems, is a basic emotional/ racial urge which acts as a default setting for, say, uninformed basketball suits, without a lot of real knowledge of the game, who suddenly find themselves in a power vaccuum.

Without Pritchard, it's clear that that will to whiteness, to bastardize Neitzche, and probably sound slightly Neo- Nazi, has come to the fore.

Evidence?

Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster,  two of the most athletic, yet underitulized players in the NBA, are already gone. Perhaps Portland's inability to find them steady roles is contributing to what looks like what might happen to half the team over the next few years- Dante Cunningham, Nicholas Batum, Jerrod Bayless, add Patty Mills and the new PG from Nevada, Armon Johnson. Even Pendegraph.

Pritchard has put together as much talent as anyone could wish for, and yet, I'm thinking that the move for Babbit- a better version of Kyle Korver- (and probably not a better shooter than Webster, and certainly not nearly the defensive presence that Webster was/ could be,) has its history in searching for the next Bird, or, more aptly, Tom Chambers.

The Blazers dont realy have a white guy anyone can pin any hopes on. Their rotation is confusing for everyone. The talent is an unruly mess. The suits are in revolt. Perect conditions for the will to whiteness to prevail.

So let's move from context, and get back to the original question:

Can we read anything from Summer League?

In short, yeah.

Pritchard has again done his job of assembling talent. More good players are on the roster. It will be crowded, and playing time will be sparse for a lot of young talent.

Mc Millan will be the same. Not quite enough leadership. Enough excuses and reputation to hold him though a good, yet mediocre season.

Brass will no longer make sterling decisions based on basketball knowledge, and a waning influx of talent will result.

Will there be a massive trade? Probably.

Most lilely, for Oden. then Fernandez. Then Bayless. Then Batum. Maybe even Roy. (Disorder.)

If I am an opposing GM, I being to target the weakened Blazers, and play to the factions inside the eco-friendly, starbucks' drinking organizational  facade.

So yes, trades are coming. Maybe even a blockbuster. But it won't be a good one.

Unless McMillan has got a miracle up his sleeves, be prepared for a long run of 6th to 8th seedings in the West, while the will to whitenenss roils below.

What would I do?

If I'm Allen, I get those disgruntled salary men out of the building, and build around Pritchard, or someone like Pritchard. Though, to be honest, there aren't many guys with his eye for talent.

Krakauer's Into Thin Air

Picked up this book for no particular reason, perhaps due to a lull in my own personal ambitions, to read about individuals motivated by the simplest form of idealism- climb the highest mountain. It went quickly, and every time I put it down, I flashed to my own, minimal experiences of mountain climbing, or hiking into the folds of the Northwest Cascades on my own.
The sense of exhaustion, the difficulty of working in teams, the central paradox of sublimating the ego when clearly it was the ego that was the prime motive, were all clear to me. And yet, I was somehow proud to be from this strange, idealistic clan of the individual. In fact, most of my friends have paid some price or another to consider themselves part of this sensibility.
How to describe the experience of moving past one's limits, onto a slick, fractured rock face with only one's ebbing strength and the desperation of possible death to motivate?
I used to do that regularly. Probably between the ages of 19-25. Without a true, binding "vocation" to provide focus and self-discipline, without a material desire lashing me to the economic corpus bloating in the early and mid 90's, there was only discovery of my own physical and mental limitations to discover.
Without a religion, or a God to pray to and fall before, there was only Nature and Will to push me.
Having a son changed all that- at age 26. But it was interesting to see these grown men and women, who needed to continue to separate themselves from others, driven by some internal egoistic gratification that made the book compelling.
The First World Ego accompanied by the Third World Support. Perhaps nowhere more personified than there, on the face of Everest.
As I read it, I was simultaneously pulled in, and relieved that I was not experiencing this myself. Leaving the book to play with my children, then returning to the self-flagellation that propels each of these individuals gave me the balance to both tolerate the day to day grind, heavy with oxygen, and to appreciate the deprivation required to appreciate what I had.
But such a trapeze walk speaks of deeper ambitions still writhing, alive deeply in some unlit place.
Krakauer's gift is to allow each of us to see bits of ourselves in the climbers on the Lhoste Face, the psychological cwm we continually spin within.

Miami Heat 2010-2015

Le Bron, Wade and Bosh, with Chalmers and Pittman rounding out the starting 5. I've mentioned Pittman before, and I believe that the guy is going to emerge as the fourth Heat- the guy that makes the team legendary. Similar to the emergence of Rondo.
He is exactly what the Heat needed to have- bulky, deceptively quick post player who can and will score.
In fact, it's almost as if Riley drafted knowing that he'd have the Three in the bag already.
Consider the second round role players picked by Riley. Pittman, to start, as a Kendrick Perkins type around the basket. Then, Javaris Varnado, the leading blk getter in NCAA history- similar in some ways to Rodman defensively. Add to that DeShaun Butler, who could've been a lottery pick if he had not injured his knee- a small forward to can bang, dunk and hit the outside shot- often compared to Caron Butler, and you can see that Riley drafted to fill the holes on the roster he now has.
While losing Beasley is tough, as he'd have been a nice 6th man off the bench, or even a starter, if Wade or LeBron take over the point, the possibility of replacing him still exists with a lower salary player. Mike Miller, off the bench?
When all is said and done, I can't wait to get my Heat- Laker ticket next year. Gonna be basketball at its highest levels- like a Redeem Team scrimmage..