SWATI
20 Feb, 2003

Aloke Dutta’s all percussion band, SWATI, will perform on the main stage at the Knitting Factory on Saturday, March 1. Doors open at 7:00 pm and this is an ALL AGES show. Tickets are currently available ($10.00) and all major credit cards are accepted. To order, please call 323-463-0204 ext. 0. The Knitting Factory is located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
BMB


JUST IN CASE HE’S RIGHT
19 Feb, 2003

93 Bro. Blair, I am writing to warn you of the danger imminent to mankind with the coming of the Space Whales. This War in Iraq must be stopped. We need to stop pointing our weapons at each other and come together by pointing our weapons out into space. The Space Whales came once billions of years ago and ate the dinosaurs. Now they’re coming back and Humanity is on the menu. Please use your power to spread this word far and wide. Rev. Andy Christ. So that explains the "Phoenix lights" on March 13, 1997 that were seen by hundreds of people in Arizona, as well as other enormous black triangles seen all around the world as of late, including...
BMB


TOOLBAND.SUCKS - THE CONTINUING SAGA
18 Feb, 2003

I recently received the following e-mail from someone who investigated the links on the Xtian site: "Well, I’ve spent some time talking to the guy who’s articles on hypnosis and magick are linked from www.toolband-sucks.com (Todd Stark) and he hasn’t even heard of Tool nor their music. He enjoys lots of Crowley’s stuff and wasn’t aware that his articles were linked from the site. He’s been getting hate and flame mail apparently from Tool fans thinking that he’s in connection with the site when he really has no idea what’s going on. He’s just a 44 year old guy who studied magick and various religions for years and his articles were asked to be used on a magick site and he agreed. The fact that they’re linked from www.toolband-sucks.com isn’t his fault at all. Hopefully you can post this on the main page or something to clear his name. He said he’d appreciate any help. Spiral Out, Rich." Actually, we figured that "toolband-sucks" had used the article without the guy’s permission, just like they violated copyright laws by posting Tool’s lyrics and the contents from the band’s official website (having taken much of Kat’s and my own writings and highlighted the ‘offending’ or ‘telltale’ words and sentences as opposed to actually commenting on them in an intelligent manner). The whole thing is actually quite ridiculous if you really think about it: posting all of the offensive lyrics, essays, and such and making them available to those who otherwise might not ever read them. This would be like showing hours upon hours of porno videos on a website that warns against the evils of pornography (actually, when Xtian priests are caught watching kiddy porn and the likes, their most often used excuse is that they were doing so for research, so that they could sound the alarm for others who are ignorant (innocent?) of such things. To be perfectly honest, I don’t really give a healthy shit that those responsible for the toolband-sucks site are using my thoughts and words (intellectual property) without permission. I’m confident that those who are worthy will be able to make their own decision as to whether or not they want to further explore these little mysteries we take such delight in posting on the site. As for my stance on Christianity, having studied it for decades, I have come to the same conclusion as many scholars of comparative religion (having graduated from Miskatonic University with a degree in that area, myself) that the canonized Bible is riddled with errors and inconsistencies, with the original texts having been compiled, corrupted, edited, expurged, ‘improved’, falsified, etc. by less than divine, ordinary humans with political and financial agendas. This is why we often find two incompatible ‘portraits’ of Jesus’s life, teachings, and death in that book. I highly recommend to those interested in learning more about the message of Christianity to read "The Dead Sea Scrolls" discovered in Qumran in 1947, and the Gnostic "Nag Hammadi" library unearthed in 1945, as well as the texts known as "The Apocrypha." Textual corruption is less likely to have occurred with these recently discovered documents (so damn embarrassing to Xtianity), in contrast to those voted (NOTE: even the votes on the ballot of the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. weren’t unanimous) into the canonized Bible (after being doctored up by those with "deftly censorious pencils... and mighty creative and imaginative pens.") Along with these important archaeological finds, I suggest the following books: "The Essene Odyssey" and "The Passover Plot" by Hugh Schonfield. "The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels. "Jesus the Magician" and "The Secret Gospel" by Morton Smith, and "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" by John M. Allegro. Also, "The Messianic Legacy" by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh & Henry Lincoln. For those wanting more information about "The Heretic’s Guide to the Bible" (Chaz Bufe, Editor), the pamphlet (for that is really what it is) was published by the Sharp Press in 1987 and then republished in 1992. "All passages cited in the pamphlet are taken from the King James version of the Bible, with the sole exception of Romans 3:7-8 which was taken from the Revised Standard Edition. The wording of this passage in the King James version is so muddled as to be nearly incomprehensible." In the past week or so I have received thousands of e-mails written by fans of the band who wanted to express their feelings about the toolband-sucks site. Most of these were extremely well written (and often quite heart felt) and contained relevant points with regards to the hypocrisy of the "toolband-sucks" site that even I had not considered. I want to thank all those who sent me their comments and opinions, including those who forwarded me emails that they launched like Titan missiles to the Xtian site. It is evident by recent changes in wording (and attitude?) on that site that these hit their intended target.
BMB


SCOTT HENDERSON TRIO
17 Feb, 2003

For those of you who live in the Los Angeles area, The Scott Henderson Trio will be playing this Wednesday night (February 19) at the La Ve Lee jazz club in Studio City (12514 Ventura Blvd. 818-980-8158). This may be one of the last chances to see these excellent musicians in L.A. before they head over to Europe to tour this Spring. In case you’re not a music aficionado, Scott is one the truly great fusion Jazz/Blues guitarist on the planet today, having played with Chick Corea, Jean Luc Ponty, and Joe Zawinul prior to forming his own band, Tribal Tech, and now his latest project which includes John Humphrey on bass and Kirk Covington on drums and vocals (no, he doesn’t double as the club’s bouncer). If you can’t make it to the La Ve Lee this Wednesday (what with plane tickets being so expensive on such a short notice), and Europe’s not your vibe, then you might want to check them out in Beirut (Lebanon) and/or Moscow (yep, Russia) in May. To sample a taste of the band’s new release, "WELL TO THE BONE", go to Scott’s website at www.scotthenderson.net. And finally, a heads up: In the second set (10:30), they usually play a song called "Ritual" which, if you close your eyes (and have smoked a little hashish in the parking lot), can take you to Egypt without an expensive plane ticket. Also, that’s when Kirk normally does his thing on the drums, a solo that never fails to put a big smile on the face of D.C.
BMB



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