A few random bits to start with today prior to delving into the Petreaus-Crocker debacle.
First, congrats to my friend Claire Folwer who wrote her first blog entry in a year yesterday – for The Guardian.
Second, a rather shocking occurrence in which a girl was assaulted while it was videotaped…
Regarding The Recently Announced Calgary Date
I realize that some fans in Calgary might be disappointed that I’m not playing my own show but rather the Virgin Festival. Then again, the bands on the bill that day are more than worth the ticket price. The headliner is the Tragically Hip, then there’s me, then City And Colour, Stars, The New Pornographers, and Constantines. Hell, I’d pay admission the first night for The Flaming Lips alone.
Also, the single day admission of $75 dollars is taxes in, and a dollar of each ticket goes to the Virgin Unite program.
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Kids are so ‘hardcore’ these days.
Heh, so ridiculous.
Matt, I know this question is off topic, but how long would you be playing for in Calgary at the Virgin festival?
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thats sad… very sad that these grrls actually video taped themselves beating this grrl and then postin it on the net…. like, are they stupid…..
things like this make me sick to my stomach….. disgusted
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Flaming lips, good lord. That rooooooooocks… All I think about when I hear that band name is John Cusack..
Constantines Constantines… omgooooooood, I guess I’ve been living under a rock, and am missing out, because that is the second time I’ve heard that name this week. Firs time was a plug by Feist when she got one of her awards.. Will she be performing with them?
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I think one of the most shocking parts of this is that the beating was orchestrated for the sake of the video, and it was not simply a fight, randomly captured by a passerby. Lights-camera-action, and they nearly beat this poor girl to death. I’m amzaed at the composure of the parents - not sure I’d be holding it together like that.
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I’m excited for the Virgin Festival. I just hope it doesn’t start pouring rain like when Matt played Folk Fest a couple years back.
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Random: Bob Dylan won a Pulitzer.
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I’m so very excited for the Virgin Festival in Calgary! My best friend and I are flying out to Calgary for the weekend to see some friends and to go to Day Two of the Festival. So I guess I’ll see you in Calgary Matt :)
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Interesting… While I sympathize with the family and victim, I find it interesting that the response from the father is that “MySpace is the Anti-Christ” and that it is the “internet companies” that are ultimately responsible for the actions of those who perpetrated this crime. It is not the parents, who would seem to be woefully lacking at being involved in their children’s lives and the sorts of media they consume. Nor is it the community in which he lives which is at fault for perhaps lacking the appropriate resources to engage their youth in productive, meaningful opportunities at self-expression that don’t involve beating someone to within a hair’s breadth of their life. Then again, perhaps they do have those community resources, and those parents are involved with their children. Like them, I can only speculate what has lead them to the above conclusions.
I wonder how Marilyn Manson feels about being grouped in with MySpace as another Anti-Christ…
And one more thing… You people in Calgary SUCK!. Why? Because I wont get to see the line-up for that show and for absolutely no other reason. ;)
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To clarify (as I reread my own post) the parents I’m refering to as being uninvolved are those of the perpetrators, not the victim.
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Random: Arsenal are 1-up against Liverpool in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final…I’m watching it live – d’ya wanna update??
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When I read “a girl was assaulted while it was videotaped,” I first assumed you meant someone else happened to catch an assault on tape. …For people to orchestrate a beating in order to tape it for the internet? That’s…it just boggles my mind. Why would anyone ever think that was a good or fun thing to do? Disgusting.
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“If they create the best shock video, they’re the heroes”
It saddens me how true that is for kids these days. I was unfortunately still in high school back when Jackass was “all the rage,” and suddenly it became every teenager’s dream to create the stupidest video to show off. I didn’t understand then, nor do I understand now, why it is “cool” to do something on camera that would be considered despicable, sick, or unforgivable without the camera there. Do I blame the youtube or myspace? No, because they are merely tools, just as capable for good as for bad. We’re ultimately creating a culture of idiots, and no matter what tools you make available, idiocy will prevail.
I still don’t know how I (or anyone for that matter) managed to come out of my childhood as anything but a fucking moron. The whole thing really casts doubt on whether I’ll ever want to have kids. Sure, you can be as good of a parent as you want, but you’re gambling on the parenting of everyone else around them.
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I went to the Vancouver Virgin Festival last year, awesome time!
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I knew that girl. She deserved it, believe me.
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Jon, if you are referring to the girl who got beaten, which I gather you are, NO ONE DESERVES TO HAVE THEIR ASS BEATEN UNLESS THEY ARE SCOTT PEDERSON, A PEDOPHILE, MURDERER, OR MANY OTHER COMPLETELY INSANE INDIVIDUAL’S WHO SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN BORN………. a girl who is a teenager who has never commited a crime, had a criminal record (same thing I guess), or anything of that matter is not someone who should get their ass kicked AND HAVE IT FILMED… JESUS CHRIST.
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Settle down, I was just joking.
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Hey Matt,
I hate to be annoying, and I know you probably have been asked this dozens of times but…where’s Ottawa?
I mean not literally, or else the answer would be “on the verge of flaming out of the playoffs”, but in terms of your summer tour.
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Hmm…1-1 @ half time. Maybe it’ll be a penalty shootout…
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Quoting justine:
I loved the rain at Folkfest to be honest. It was the cold I didn’t like.
So Matt, just like at Folkfest a couple years back, you’ll be the second last performance, correct?
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Quoting tracy-:
You.
Me.
Hanging out.
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For anyone who has the stomach, here is the video they took of the girl being beaten. Her face is edited out, and it’s a little fuzzy, but it’s still just as disgusting.
http://www.break.com/index/myspace-girl-beaten-by-cheerleaders_1.html
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That’s just plain and simple stupidity. The ones involved deserve everything they get. Just plain stupid.
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Videoing assualts isn’t that unknown here - it even has a name: “happyslapping”. People have even been killed in these attacks, which are normally recorded on mobile phones.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_slapping
I’m so embarrassed to come from this country sometimes.
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This is only the beginning of a new uphill struggle our kids will have to face in the future.
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Quoting Shane:
Duh =)
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Was just watching Much bits and a little news story said STP will be at Virgin Fest… Oh man, I can’t wait until I can take my kid to concerts!!! S T freaking P!!!!!!
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Quoting T-Lee:
Yeah, I’m also excited about STP touring again. VR just wasn’t natural to me.
Quoting Stormydog:
Liverpool won 4-2. The last 10 minutes were so intense. Now it’ll be Liverpool vs. Chelsea in the semi-finals.
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Yeah, I don’t think I could name one song from VR.
I’m feelin googly today.. I think I will google Scott Weiland bio… I’m forever and a day wondering if he’s ahight.. He’s on a neverending destructive path that I feel goes way beyond just heroin.
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Quoting T-Lee:
Yeah, I was extremely excited when I heard about that too, but then I remembered that I live in New Brunswick, ergo I will not get to see them. Their site claims that they will be touring every corner of North America, but there is one corner that usually get ignored…
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Quoting Nothingman:
I agree, although we’re really not doing too badly this year… much better than in recent years.
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Damn, that’s a mighty fine line up for V fest.
That stuff about the girl getting beat up really struck a chord with me. My 16 year old daughter’s a little “different” (in a good way) and mostly keeps to herself…this kind of stuff really worries me. She had a drunk girl (with back up, of course) confront her one night in a restaurant…there was a cop there and he did nothing more than choose his donut. Ignored the girl as she challenged my daughter to a fight.
I guess these punks never heard about how far the Reena Virk thing went? Sometimes a beating ends up being a homicide and being cool could land their asses in a jail cell. Bet they wouldn’t feel so tough in there.
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thats just scary what happened to that girl. its weird, cuz similar events actually happen at my school in toronto. there are constant feuds between students of my school and the one directly next door. one a catholic school , one an arts school, and students always find a new and exciting way of attacking each other. one girl from the art school was actually in the toronto star not too long ago, talking about how she beats up girls from the other school and how she enjoys fighting. its madness i tell you, shear madness! aha.
..and my parents dare ask why i hate school…tsk tsk.
and as for V-Fest, MAN im soooo jealous of those in Calgary! they’ve got the AMAZING Canadian line-up!!!! man i wish i could be there…
true, we do have the Foos.. but when youve just seen them for $75 two weeks ago, hearing of their return at an even greater price isnt all that exciting. yes, dave grohl is the man and he does bring the awesome but should there really be this big a hole in my wallet… aha
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calgary v-fest also has attack in black?? ok, now this just isnt fair…
lol
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They should be tried as adults. That kinda stuff pisses me off way too much. Extremely rediculas!
Glad to see your back doing festivals! Two of the greatest canadian artist on one stage….WOW
! Back in the saddle” Aerosmith” ..:)
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I cant wait..
Just glad the pre-sale is before saturday.. I leave friday for la and was dreading hearing a concert announcment for you while I was gone… YAY for pre-sales…
That weekend is going to be a blast.. Never been to fort calgary for a show but i have only heard good things
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First, the Virgin Unite program is a great thing. I’m happy you are supporting it, Matt. Secondly, the festival is going to be absolutely amazing. I’d definitely be up to paying $125 for that whole weekend. Wow. STP, The Flaming Lips, The Hip, Stars, The New Pornographers, the Constantines AND Matt? That makes for one hell of a weekend.
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This is why I refuse to procreate. Our society allows children (and yes, High School kids are STILL children) to commit adult crimes, but gives them the equivalent of “Time Out” punishments and then assumes that other children won’t notice the lack of adequate punishment. The Young Offenders Act has successfully removed all deterrents from crime by simply saying “Little Timmy is just a kid. He knows not what he does”.
If we want to stop this shit from happening, idiots like these amateur UFC/Asshole promotors should be exposed to the max, given harsher sentences, with names and photos splashed all over the front pages of newspapers and permanently registered in a “Social Idiot” database. Their friends and co-students should be able to see the negative results of their actions and if we’re lucky, that might make others think twice about doing the same kind of thing. We can blame a lack of parenting all we want, and just as sure as I am about that being a problem, I’m just as sure that our punishments never fit the crimes.
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Treating Young Offenders as “adult criminals” wont work in my opinion. I agree that many sentences, whether in the case of Young Offenders or Adult Offenders, seem light in comparison in relation to the gravity of the crimes committed. Treating Young Offenders the same way that we treat Adult Offenders does not take into account that YO’s are not psychologically, emotionally, or physically mature - so if the point is to reduce crime or have a positive impact on recidivism, then I don’t think that’ll work. Exposing YO’s to their older and “more learned” counterparts will only make them better criminals more quickly. In the case of Young Offenders (the Cheerleaders above for example), I’m afraid that a lot of the damage has been done by the time they commit a crime like this - call it desensitization to violence or whatever - but the horse is already out of the barn and now we’re closing the barn door. Harsher sentences for Young Offenders in a “non-adult” setting and more focus on positive reinforcement rather than just incarcerating them with other offenders and expecting them to improve themselves - woul be more successful in my view.
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What further sickens me about this is that these girls were laughing and joking about not being able to go to cheerleading practice and to the beach while they were in the holding cell.
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Quoting margo_0:
=) you like them too!? They are some talented guys. I’ve only seen them live once (soon to be twice) but I’m excited they’ll be there.