Built To Spill

Saw a band Friday, October, 29, 2010 at The Fillmore here in The City. Named "Built to Spill" from Boise, ID, this was a first for me though they've been around since 1992 in one form or another.The band is made up of leader, singer/sonqwriter/guitarist Doug Martsch; Brett Netson, a second quitarist who played some leads andslide; a third guitarist Jim Roth who, when I could hear him, played slide too. All three traded lead and rhythm parts. The band was rounded out with Brett Nelson on bass and Scott Plouf on drums.

Their sound, as one can imagine with three talented guitarists, was a powerful wall of ringing quitar sounds. I thought the mix was a little muddled, though it could be my own defective ears. I could occasionally pick a lead or other tuneful lick from Martsch or Netson but to my ears, Roth pretty much stayed in the background. It did get pretty powerful when all three guitars played together.

Lisa Simpson (I may have misheard the name) added another voice for a few bars on one tune and a violinist introduced as being with "Camper Van Beethoven" joined them on another. The name of the violinist may have been Daniel Blume. Both 'Simpson' and Blume certainly seemed capable and appeared to fit in quite well but I could really listen to only a few notes from from each as the mix, in my opinion, was not very good.

I've learned that "Built to Spill has released 7 albums to date, the last being August, 2009's "There Is No Enemy" on Warner Bros. I don't know any of their songs but I understand that tonights show was most likely comprised of material from that album. The songs were pleasant, one I thought may have be in 3/4 time, something I like and something unusual for a rock band. In the band's early years I've read that they began to be associated with the Northwest Indie scene but I wouldn't know much about that. One of their founding members, drummer Andy Capp passed away in his sleep in May of 2006 but the band flourished tonight. It was a lot of fun.

Back At It

Just experimenting here with a new blog post after a long absence.

I just signed up for twitter today. Search for me with my email: ring.mike@gmail.com

02/3/08

Senator Dianne Feinstein
One Post St
Ste 2450
San Francisco CA, 94104

Fax 415 393 0710

RE: Vote "No" for Cloture on S2248, the FISA Amendments Act.
Please forward my message to the Senator in Washington DC

Dear Senator Feinstein,

This afternoon I was looking at the US Senate website to see
what business was coming up for consideration this week. The
first thing that caught my eye was that the Senate will
resume consideration of S2248, the FISA Amendments Act of 2007
again tomorrow. Haven't we been down this road before?

I have been a constituent and a supporter of yours since you
were reelected Mayor of San Francisco. It is critical that you
oppose cloture on S2248. Its equally important that you support
the Dodd-Feingold amendment SA3909 which, if I understand
correctly, was specifically submitted to do away with
retroactive amnesty for telecommunication companies included
in S2248.

I am writing to reiterate my belief that Congress must not give
a free pass for these corporations to violate the fourth
amendment right of all Americans to be free from unreasonable
search and seizure.That is essentially what this issue is about.

In addition, granting amnesty sets a dangerous precedent. It is
as if the Congress is saying that lawbreaking is acceptable and
that the rights of Americans can be freely infringed by these
private companies in defiance of the law.

Legislation updating and amending FISA should not include
amnesty. Telecoms must be held accountable.

Lawsuits may be the only way Americans subjected to this
illegal spying are able to obtain justice. In this
electronic age telecomshave essentially become the first
line of defense against governmental abuse. If Congress
sends the message that they are not liable for breaking
privacy laws, then their interest in protecting
customers' privacy, such as it is, will disappear.

Please vote to preserve the rule of law. Reject any
legislative efforts to give these powerful telecoms
amnesty for denying Americans their constitutional
right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.


Respectfully,

Mike Ring

DRE Voting Machines

8/10/07

Editor,

My thanks to Chronicle Staff Writer John Wildermuth for his 7/31/07 story Makers of voting machines battle critics over UC study. The idea of switching from paper to electronic ballots seems like a natural these days but it requires thoughtful consideration and design.

Steve Weir, Contra Costa County clerk, was mistaken when he described the state sponsored study mentioned in Wildermuth's piece as having "more to do with headlines than with definitive science or the pursuit of legitimate public policy". Worse was Sequoia Voting Systems spokesman Steven Bennett's ill-informed contention that such studies are not "real world scenario[s]".

I can't imagine any more self serving clap-trap.

I believe there is a place for regulated Direct Recorded Electronic (DRE) voting in the future of the nation and California but I support California Secretary Of State Debra Bowen's decision last Friday to decertify DRE voting machines with the "potential for serious security breaches".

John Arnzt, San Francisco Director of Elections, would do well to support Ms Bowen's ban. He should require The City to use DRE voting machines that run only Free Software whose code is available for public review. It would be worth both the wait and the effort because it is the right thing to do.

End The War Now, Impeach Alberto Gonzales

05/30/07

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Ave.
14th Floor

Fax 415 861 1670

RE: End the War Now and Impeach Alberto Gonzales

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

I was disappointed last week when, under your leadership,
the Democrats made the war in Iraq their own. Ok, you'll
try again in September but meanwhile more soldiers die,
more Iraqis die, the US becomes more entrenched and more
money is foolishly wasted. It will take a long time and
be very expensive for the US to entirely exit Iraq and
repair the damage we've done there. The sooner that
process begins the faster those ends can be achieved and
the less they will cost. I am pleading with you Speaker
Pelosi, end this war now.

I live in San Francisco's Mission district and I have
supported you over the years despite your role in the
dubious venture that is The Presidio Trust. I want you
to know, Ms. Pelosi, that as Speaker of the House I feel
you bear the major responsibility for allowing the
Democratic majority to squander the opportunities it was
given when the 110th Congress began.

If not the President's, Alberto Gonzales has put his own
impeachment back on the proverbial table. All the high
crimes and misdemeanors of this administration, the
illegal domestic eavesdropping, illegally deleted
government e-mails, voter suppression, signing statements,
torture recommendations, all of it must be stopped now.
If the Attorney General's dirty fingerprints can't be
found on each of these malfeasances I urge you as Speaker
to lead the way for the Democrats on the House Judiciary
Committee to shine the bright national spotlight of
outrage on all of it .

I should not have to remind you of Article II, Section 4
of the U.S. Constitution. It is not too late for you and
your Democratic majority to do what the voters put you
there for. Begin the impeachment of Mr. Gonzales now.
The process will not only prove that the Attorney General
has committed impeachable offenses but that he is also
guilty of an abuse of power and a violation of the public
trust. A series of public Judiciary Committee impeachment
hearings will go a long way toward redeeming the reputation
of our party as an effective opposition.


Respectfully,

Mike Ring
3350 22nd St
San Francisco, CA
94110-3067

And The War Goes On

This afternoon Senate Democrats sold out the American service men and women who are being maimed and killed every day. Today the Senate Democrats sold out the American people who gave them their mandate to End This War Now last November.

Russ Feingold of Wisconsin said it best on the Senate Floor today:

"Instead of forcing the President to safely redeploy our troops, instead of coming up with a strategy providing assistance to a post-redeployment Iraq, and instead of a renewed focus on the global fight against al-Qaeda, we are faced with a spending bill that kicks the can down the road and buys the Administration time."

Watch him here.

And the Senators are not alone. Nancy Pelosi, my own congressional representative I'm sad to say , and a whole slew of purported Congressional progressives were too afraid to seriously confront the administration and call a halt to this wrongheaded war Now by simply refusing to fund it. They have patched together legislation that gives Bush all the money he needs to continue the killing for the rest of his term,

Then Pelosi has the nerve to say "I will vote against this bill". Oh thank you Nancy! It is morally repugnant for you to have personally put together is phony bill and marshalled its support while allowing those of your two faced colleagues who have to confront anti-war voters at home to claim they voted against their own measure.

The Iraq War is now a Democratic War.