Home. Finally.
Unpacked, doing laundry, walked the dogs, clean bed linens. Put Leopard on my iMac, went and got some milk, packed the fridge full of left over beer, water, and Coke from the tour.
A few things of interest. According to the FBI investigation into the Nisour Square massacre…
“Federal agents investigating the Sept. 16 episode in which Blackwater security personnel shot and killed 17 Iraqi civilians have found that at least 14 of the shootings were unjustified and violated deadly-force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq, according to civilian and military officials briefed on the case.
The F.B.I. investigation into the shootings in Baghdad is still under way, but the findings, which indicate that the company’s employees recklessly used lethal force, are already under review by the Justice Department.
Prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek indictments, and some officials have expressed pessimism that adequate criminal laws exist to enable them to charge any Blackwater employee with criminal wrongdoing. Spokesmen for the Justice Department and the F.B.I. declined to discuss the matter.
The case could be one of the first thorny issues to be decided by Michael B. Mukasey, who was sworn in as attorney general last week. He may be faced with a decision to turn down a prosecution on legal grounds at a time when a furor has erupted in Congress about the administration’s failure to hold security contractors accountable for their misdeeds.”
I’m going to hold with my initial opinion – I don’t think anyone involved in the incident that day will be brought to justice. Then again, given the sensitive nature of the subject and the Iraqi government’s position on the legal status of foreign contractors, it can’t be entirely ruled out. But it should be noted that if legal action is taken, the State Department will also be scrutinized, something that I simply can’t see happening.
Also of interest is an article in today’s Jerusalem Post…
“The newly formed Genocide Prevention Task Force indicated Tuesday night that it will not be examining whether Israel has committed genocide in the West Bank and Gaza despite earlier statements that it would be addressing the subject.
The task force of prominent former US officials was announced at a press conference earlier Tuesday and will be working over the next year to help the American government best respond to and prevent genocide.
Though one of the co-chairs, former US Defense Secretary William Cohen, originally said that the situation in the West Bank and Gaza would be considered, the task force later clarified that such an inquiry would be beyond the scope of the panel.
“Its task is not to determine which situations, past or present, including the West Bank and Gaza, constitute genocide, but to develop policy recommendations that enable the United States to prevent future genocides from occurring,” Cohen, along with co-chair Madeleine Albright, said in a statement issued Tuesday night.”
Never you mind the present. It’s the future of genocide we’re interested in.
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Must be nice to be home. I bet the dogs were ecstatic. Thanks again for an amazing tour.
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Welcome home to balmy Vancouver.
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Glad you’re home. The boys must be happy you’re back. You deserve a nice, long time off. Thanks for the wonderful tour, and the memories. Can’t wait to see you out again.
As for the article from the Jerusalem Post, it’s nice to create a genocide task force, but it makes no sense to create it and completely ignore past and present genocide. It’s a little suspicious.
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congrats on the successful tour! You deserve the break!
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Welcome home dude!!!!!!!
Live from the C.O.Q. it’s a crappy Wednesday…………..
p.s. the other thread is hurting my head, obviously; because I actually thought you said you put LEOTARD on your Imac…… shit, i need sleep.
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you get to keep the leftover tour beer? niiiiiice. I’m giving up my beer budget (temporarily) for a dead-sexy medium format film camera. I can’t get the damn thing fast enough.
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now THATS a perk.
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Welcome home, The boys must have been excited to see you :P
Now I want coke… (Of the cola variety)
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Glad you are home safe, you seem to be settling in nicely and most of all, the boys are with you!!
I don’t understand how they can ignore the present… *shakes head*
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Hey Matt,
It was sad to see the end of your tour in Vernon last night, but especially by how it ended. I apologize that some people just don’t know how to act properly at an acoustic concert. It’s always a highlight for me and my friends who watched you in Vancouver, Kelowna and Vernon when you would speak your mind on stage from making fun of Gordon Campbell to the silly days of hair metal. It’s a shame to see it was ruined by that loud mouth girl in the front and that intoxicated guy who kept yelling for you to play some of your classic music. Even through all that you still gave us an amazing show( I was so stoked when you played Generation X- Wing) and came out for an encore after the way you were treated. Please to think bad of the Okanagan just because of the ignorant hole they call Vernon. I hope that when you tour again you can play in Kelowna because everyone loved the show and had a great time. Im glad you had a safe trip back and hope you have a good time relaxing with your time off the tour. Thanks again
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Well you’re home!! That must be wonderful.
Thinkin’ bout hittin’ up Vancouver for New Years. Never been there. Any ideas, anyone?
Also, any “must sees” ?
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MATT,
Just read your bio, which I thot would be a same-ol-same-ol rehash like most artists or goofy yada yada.
Having BP myself, I was ‘getting into’ Nick Drake myself this past summer. Ironic. Totally agree with your comments on the purity of the artist rather than seeing strictly $$ signs (artistic integrity, often at the expense of sales, not to mention label pressure, etc.)
Any other ’self-destructive artists’ that have influenced you?
(My list includes Cobain, Curtis, Morrison, Neal Cassady, Kerouac, Steven J Bernstein, Neil Young)
Peace
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Are you having any trouble with Leopard?
I am :( I feel like my computer just wasn’t ready for it. My printer, which I bought because of its handy photo paper drawer, suddenly won’t print from that drawer. Well, not the printer itself, but my print dialogue boxes have changed so that option isn’t there anymore. My mouse doesn’t work… several other small things.
Overall, I like it… just not entirely convinced yet that it was a good idea to get it right away. Then again, I also got ilife ‘08 and maybe that’s what’s causing the trouble? Who knows.
Just wondering if it was just me!
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None at all really. I have both Leopard and iLife 08 on my new imac and it’s fine.
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I know what getting home is like hahha
Like when your out camping for an extended time and on the last couple days your just craving your own bed, your own ceiling and your own space. I feel out of balance if Im away from my world for too long, I reallly dont know how you do the tours!
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Hey Matt, glad to hear you’re home. Thanks again for the great show in Hamilton, even though the crowd was not top notch. Hope you recover quickly and just enjoy home for a while. See you in the states in the new year!
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Man. I’d love to let loose Romeo Dallaire at these guys on the “Genocide Task Force”. I’m sure he’d have some rather harsh words about the future meaningless posturing and handwaving.
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I’m actually getting a new IMac within the next week.. Already on its way.
It’s coming with Leopard, and I’m not really sure what to think.
Seems like a few people think a differently than others on the subject…
Leopard good or bad?
Also, any good interfaces for recording guitar and/or vocals that aren’t too expensive, and work well with Mac? Just for small projects.. Can’t afford the Apogee Ensemble yet.. :(
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Glad to hear you made it home safely, Matt. Thanks again for the great show in Kelowna.
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Do rockstars actually do their own laundry? Shouldn’t you have the opening acts from your tour, who
are so grateful to have joined you, washing your clothes?
Guess not.
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THIS JUST IN DALA IS PRETTY
>.>
So I wonder if Matt drinks Tim’s or Starbucks while reading the morning paper?
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Yay for being home :)
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oh you poor bastard! im re installing tiger on my mac book as I type this. I wish you luck Matt, hope your good at taming leopards!
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That reminds me, I need to get some Leppard into my MP3 player! Heh! Thanks!
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Leftover beer??? You’ve lost me.
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Matt,
Thank you for your brilliant concert in Vernon last night. We appreciate what you did. Please don’t judge our little city by the actions of the woman (rude dog) barking from the front row and the mule in the back that can’t seem to meet the rest of us in this century (progress for some is fleeting). Vernon loves you and would like to prove it, if given the chance. Here is an idea, maybe the Security could exchange the flack jackets for ball gags? It will keep the animals at bay and give those in the audience a chance to show our real appreciation.
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Dogs change at all while you were gone? Casey still in love with that frog toy? Hopefully they haven’t gotten fat from the Grandparents spoiling them for the past 2 months! Oh dear a chubby little Benji.. well that actually could be kind of cute! Glad you are back home safe. =)
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I could have sworn there was a blog entry from Matt (the audacity I have to think I’m on that level with Mr.Good to refer to him as that) yesterday, which seemed to be a form of rebuttal or review of the Vernon show last night. First let me say that I’m a big fan and I thuroughly enjoyed the show. I agree with Matt’s assessment of the perplexing nature of people who pay for their tickets, get drunk, yell out of line obscenities at said artist, and ruin a great show for everyone. Idiots I say. I am curious though Matt, and with all due respect, that a couple of rowdies seemed to rattle you so much. In my naive and ignorant fan’s mind, I kind of assumed that after being a performer for so long that you would have more patience for that. I do understand the nature of the show was more intimate, and those said rowdies indeed did ruin the mood, and it was the end of the tour and everything. However, the other 99% of us in the audience were having a great time, and I would have enjoyed, and am still curious to see where your discussion on the local army barracks was going to end up. Perhaps it could be concluded on here? As I said, I enjoyed the show greatly, and I hope besides the commentary we missed out on, that we didn’t miss out on any music that other towns may have got. Let me say I have great respect for you Matt, and am I big fan, and I would enjoy hearing more of your opinion/stance on the incident in question, and how you have dealt with it in the past, if only for curiousity’s sake. Also, will there be any video of the tour released?
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welcome home, matt!
congrats on successfully completing a fabulous tour…..glad you’re back…..you were missed!
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Quoting SDC:
I believe he deleted it since it only caused brain damage. (well, only a few of the criticisms did). But let’s not get it that again or else said critics will come back and strike everyone on this blog :S.
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Quoting jeni25:
only comments that were of your nature are acceptable. anyone in opposition is immediately shunned out.
and as for maturity (quoting from the post that was deleted) you need a dose of that yourself.
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Quoting AnnaStasia:
Sorry pony boy , I have to cut the postivity short tonite:
AnnaStatia: My thought’s on Vancouver:
NO FUN ZONE….
Go to whistler!!!!!!! Seriously Vancouver is laaaaaaaaaaame at New years!!!!!!!
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I have been to Whistler at New Years… My opinion Vancouver ROCKS… Tanya how dare you!
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Quoting hereigo89:
oh god, here it comes…it’s like a horror movie…
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Quoting jeni25:
Seriously, you need to calm down. I am in no way trying to start an internet riot. I expressed my opinion, as you did yours. If you’d like to avoid the “horror movie” effect then don’t comment. A comment section if created for the purpose of opinion so-calm down.This will be the last of mine, so comment if you wish, as it seems you like to fuel the fire.
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Sure your glad to be home and I’m sure the pups are glad to have “daddy” back..lol Get some rest already!! Thanks again for the wonderful show in Vancouver. See you in the states next year…
….and apparently Tanya as well we she comes down to crash at my house for the show…should I make room for your husband and son??lol I know the comment was a little late, but I’m a little slow sometimes..lol
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Matt, glad you got home safe & sound. :)
enjoying the company of your boys and certainly a rest that you deserve from the tour.
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Am I wrong in thinking that perhaps Ms. Albright’s personal track record on identifying (let alone acting to prevent) genocide - think spring ‘94 - might, from the get-go, speak to the credibility (or lack-there-of) of such a task force?
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Quoting hereigo89:
If you’re referring to my maturity, I’d like to know what exactly you’re talking about, I thought that was a very fair post.
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OK, the Leopard trouble is just me. It might be a series of unfortunate events as well… my mouse may have just crapped out, and if I find the software I’ll just reinstall the printer to see if that clears up the trouble there. Otherwise, it’s a great OS so far though I haven’t had a chance to play around with it much.
so yes, it’s worth it… some of my add-ons (mouse, printer) just didn’t adapt well,but its so minor that I barely notice anymore and if I ever have time, I’m sure I can fix it!
And I wanted to agree with one of the posts above re: Albright’s track record. I knew I recognized that name, and now that my memory was jogged I keep replaying over and over again in my head her statements about how little the loss of Rwandan life mattered. How in the WORLD is she still able to have ANYTHING to do with a discussion of genocide? That is just wrong
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For all you people having issues with Leopard, you have to realize it’s a new operating system and as such a lot of hardware does not yet have stable drivers for it, which will naturally cause shit not to work. I wish I could say I felt bad for you guys, but it’s really just common sense.
I use my iMac soley for running Logic Pro but have a lot of gear and audio peripherals that I knew would have caused a myriad of issues because of unstable drivers, and as a result decided to wait 5-6 months before installing it because I don’t have the time/patience to deal with that bullshit.
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SDC, I believe that comment was directed at me, but i won’t say anything more to him, just gonna cause problems :P
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no left over pinot noir huh? haha
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I’m loving Leopard. I haven’t fiddled around with all the new features yet, but I haven’t found any issues with compatibility so far. Cameras, printers, scanners… all seem to be working properly when hooked up to my machine.
I used to travel a lot for work, and I completely get the thrill of just coming home and relaxing. People told me to start trying to plan it so that I arrived home on a weekend just so I could have a post-trip vacation. Best advice I ever got. By the time monday rolled around, I was back on my feet (and my clothes were all clean again).
In reference to the articles you quoted, I’m only familiar with the first (and will brush up on the second to become better informed very shortly). It seems to me that this is merely a consolation prize to those who demand justice for the murders. Sorry. Alleged murders. Bet you can feel my eyes rolling, not to mention the hearts breaking of those who lost loved ones. I had also read somewhere that the FBI had also wanted a tighter leash on Blackwater employees and I almost laughed out loud.
A tighter leash would mean that there would have to be real fear of consequences for actions. And I’ve said it before…the US government won’t reprimand this company, not when Blackwater provides them with the numbers that they do.
How much is one American worth on international soil? 17 innocent Iraqi bystanders. Allegedly. Roll your eyes and mend your hearts where appropriate.
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I like having multiple desktops with Leopard! :) Increases the desktop real estate. Now, I just need more RAM. :-p
It’s always nice to sleep in your own bed after a lengthy trip away from home…
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Leopard users, if you want to be on the safe side, turn your firewall back on. The default after an install/upgrade is to leave it off.
It’s simple to turn back on.
That’s all the value I have to add, my chest hurts around my heart (happens often these days) but other than that…
Welcome back to the rain and cold Matt!
This could only mean one thing, snow in the mountains!!! Bring on the snowboarding!
~Satch
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Fresh powder in Whistler, just reported!!!!!!
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Quoting jeni25:
ok, i will assume you are correct, unless some objection is mentioned.
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Quoting SDC:
let’s hope not :)
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Welcome back. It’s good to see life at our end again; it can be pretty quiet. It was necessary to capitalize “Coke” so there are no misunderstandings. Enjoy the stormy rain.