Do tacos make good cannon ammunition?

~Unit#phntk#1

Do tacos make good cannon ammunition?

 

 

~Unit#phntk#1

It depends on what kind of cannon you're talking about. If you're looking for something with serious offensive capabilities, no, and shame on you for promoting violence. But if you're talking about like, a gut grenade, tacos go right down your gullet and to your intestines, where they're guaranteed to cause massive damage to your bowels.

Really, they're probably a violation of the Geneva Convention.

I'm actually asking something serious in an ask entry. I never thought this was possible.

You play guitar, correct? Did you have to seriously buckle down to learn how to play, or were you able to (more or less) accustom yourself to the guitar over time? Which method of learning would you recommend?

I'm actually asking something serious in an ask entry. I never thought this was possible.

 

You play guitar, correct? Did you have to seriously buckle down to learn how to play, or were you able to (more or less) accustom yourself to the guitar over time? Which method of learning would you recommend?

In my experience, the guitar is like "the magic instrument" - it's especially easy to learn the basics of how to play (I'm entirely self-taught, and so were a lot of truly legendary guitarists). The whole trope of being able to play countless songs with only three or four chords is entirely accurate. Now, obviously if you want to play extremely well, it's going to take a whole lot of practice, but if you just want basic-to-intermediate skills, just get a guitar and start fooling around.

In my experience the best way to really learn how to play is to PLAY. Listen to the music you like and learn how to play the songs you like. Learning things by ear is okay - actually to play the guitar, you don't even really need to know how to read music; learn your chords and learn how to read tabs and you're fine (though reading music is an invaluable resource for a musician in general). Just practise and fool around and have a good time.

If you want some literature that will guide you and show you how to play, the Hal Leonard Guitar Method is pretty tried-and-true. I used to sell those books to a lot of happy beginners back when I worked at the music store.

But yeah, bottom line is, the best thing to do is just DO IT, and guitar is one of he easiest instruments to learn how to play.

What are your thoughts on "cool dude"?

Do you dream about farm animals?

Opinions on:

- Mark Knopfler. (And by extension Dire Straits)

- Coldplay

- Jack White

- Nirvana

All bands that I've never heard you talk about.

When you said intimate fireside sit-down, my immediate thought was you in some armchair, in a robe, with a snifter cradled in your palm. Just so you know.

Also Sumiki how dare you ask that before me!

Anyway, what's your favorite type of reading material?

~B~

alright

here goes

why are we so #### awesome

What are your thoughts on "cool dude"?

I don't think the word it filters is offensive, but that hilarious filter has become such an inexorable part of the BZPower culture and experience, I would be so sad if it were removed. It's bloody hilarious.

Honestly it's the only filter I don't support removing - I'd be fine taking away all the others and just moderating and a post-by-post basis.

Do you dream about farm animals?

No, but I did work on a farm in the summer of 2009. It was a meat and eggs farm (they had cows, goats, pigs, and chickens). It was terrible. The cows and pigs and goats were cool, but I discovered that chickens are the most miserable creatures on the planet. They are cannibalistic and opportunistic - not only will they literally try to peck your eyes out, they'll also straight up murder and eat each other. Many times, I saw chickens surround one of their own and peck it to death and then eat its body. It's not like these chickens were hungry, either - we fed them tons of food every day. They are just mean, horrible animals and I had to work with 40,000 of them every day.

Also, pretty much everything mechanical on the farm seemed to break down all the time, so I had to do things like mow acres upon acres of six-foot-tall thistle by myself in 110-degree weather with nothing but a hand-sickle.

I did my work without complaint because I needed the money, but it was terrrrrrrrrible.

Opinions on:

- Mark Knopfler. (And by extension Dire Straits)

- Coldplay

- Jack White

- Nirvana

 

 

All bands that I've never heard you talk about.

Mark Knopfler is an amazing guitarist and honestly I think it's a shame Dire Straits hasn't really gotten the lasting credit it deserves as a truly talented band. They covered a really wide range of moods and styles, all with impeccable instrumentation and beautifully-arranged songs. My personal favourite track of theirs is probably "Romeo and Juliet"; I play "Money for Nothing" constantly on my guitar; my girlfriend and I rock out to "Sultans of Swing" all the time; and my room-mate and I got on binges of their lesser-known work frequently.

Jack White is a good guitarist and I'm inclined to like him on principle, for fighting to keep guitar-based rock'n'roll music alive in this current wasteland. I confess, though, that I'm not as familiar with the White Stripes' output as I'd like; I can only recall a handful of their tracks offhand. I ought to check out their catalogue in more detail before I form a solid opinion.

A lot of people call Coldplay a poor man's U2, and I believe my feelings of loathing for U2's wretched musicianship are well-documented. That said, I feel like this band could be a lot more if they stopped trying to ape that reverb-laden style and used the basic talents they possess to try something more. The piano motif in "Clocks" is very good melody and I've no problem admitting I like it. Most of the rest of their output just feels derivative.

Nirvana is an interesting one. I feel like what their did for music and their undeniable and important influence are much greater than most of their actual output itself. But nothing they put out was what I'd call "bad," and when they were at their most intimate - see their Meat Puppets cover on the Unplugged album, for instance - they were exceedingly impressive.

When you said intimate fireside sit-down, my immediate thought was you in some armchair, in a robe, with a snifter cradled in your palm. Just so you know.

 

Also Sumiki how dare you ask that before me!

 

Anyway, what's your favorite type of reading material?

 

~B~

Who's to say I'm not? ;)

I'm especially partial to drama of the English Renaissance, and that was in fact my area of focus for my degree. However, I'm also smitten with modernist literature, mid-to-late-19th-centruy American output, and absurdist European literature. This is still only a small, small sampling - I read a lot.

Some of my favourite authors include Shakespeare, Spenser, Marlowe, Wilde, Browning, Twain, Melville, Thoreau, Fitzgerald, Faulker, Kafka, Camus, and Sartre.

alright

here goes

why are we so #### awesome

thats the best #### question anybody ever asked

BZP-related:

- What are your thoughts on BZP's current restrictive policies, such as disallowing the members from political discussion on the site?

- What policies would you prefer to enforce?

- Things seem a little too 'buddy-buddy' between some staff members, unebelievable to many that it's even real. Is it really that close between staff members? Or not?

- I've seen staff use sensors for curse words or use several # for a sensor and get away with it, while regular members can't. Means the same thing, sensored or not, staff or not. My question is, they're staff, and they are a member of the site like everybody else and should follow the rules like everybody else, so why should they get special treatment and get away with things?

Guitar/Music-related

- What songs have you learned to play on the guitar? Any B. B. King, David Gilmour, or maybe Stevie Ray Vaugn (may have spelled that wrong)

- What is your favorite guitar solo, and who is it done by? (example: David Gilmour, Time by Pink Floyd)

- Who is your favorite musician and why?

That just about wraps it up for me.

BZP-related:

 

- What are your thoughts on BZP's current restrictive policies, such as disallowing the members from political discussion on the site?

That's a rule I do support, because I feel our membership has shown time and time again that it can't stay mature with such a sensitive thread of discussion - or, let me rephrase. Many members can, but there's enough of a populations of folks that can't, that such discussion almost always end in ruin. And really, it makes sense: a lot of the members here are kids. Many adults can't even discuss politics in a civil manner! I think we should cut the kids some slack and just make things easier for everybody by not talking about politics here.

There are a lot of other areas where I feel we could loosen up a lot more, though. As long as we are very strict about disallowing proselytizing, I don't see why more in-depth religious discussion couldn't be allowed. I also am all for allowing cursing and frank discussion of sexuality because I honestly don't find anything wrong with them. Really I feel the site could benefit from being a little more lenient about everything in general.

Now, that said, I understand why those rules in place and I do enforce the politics/religion/sex/cursing restrictions in my forums because I don't think they are morally improper rules. When I moderate, I'm supposed to be a representative of this site and its policies, so unless I have serious moral qualms about a rule, I enforce it, because it's my job. Though you'll find I tend to be one of the more lenient moderators!

But I do express dissent pretty frequently behind-the-scenes about rules I disagree with.

- What policies would you prefer to enforce?

Well, many of the basic rules of BZPower are pretty sound - no spamming, no being mean to others, and so on. I'm happy to enforce those rules. There are a few that I disagree with (for instance, the "no image-only replies" rule). My moderating philosophy tends to be along the lines of "we're just here to make make sure people don't hurt each other." What I'm not a fan of is a moderation style that demands a certain editorial standard or makes unnecessary impositions on the membership. BZPower, as it stands, is something of a mix of both.

In general though, I think the problem isn't so much with the basic rules of BZPower, but how they're enforced. I feel like we could stand to be a little looser, a little more lenient, a little friendlier, a little less strict. That's just my opinion though. I'm not indicting the BZPower staff by saying this, and generally I feel the "protests" against the staff tend to be laughably over-exaggerated.

- Things seem a little too 'buddy-buddy' between some staff members, unebelievable to many that it's even real. Is it really that close between staff members? Or not?

The staff on BZPower is a pretty large group - there are staff members who I don't even know! However, like in any large group of people, there often are sub-groups of friends that form, and there is a handful of us who have become super close friends. Some of us have been friends for almost a decade now, and have been hanging out in-person as often as possible for seven years or more. I live very close to Black Six and go to concerts with him all the time, and Lehvaklah and I visit each other every week or two, for instance. Tufi Piyufi and Makaru are closer to me than my own family. DeeVee, InnerRayg, Windrider, ToM Dracone, Nukaya, Than the Moa, and number more - they're dear, dear friends to me. We chat and hang out all the time.

But none of that has anything to do with the staff relationship - it comes from talking off-BZ, and hanging out in-person. They're just close friends of mine, like any of my local pals that don't even know about BZP. We're friends because we have great times together and love each other; we really click as people.

So, for those of us who are close friends, does it reflect in our interactions on the site? Well, I'd expect it does! I joke around with Makaru and DeeVee, I make fun of Black Six, I gush about how cute ToM is, and so on. When it comes to staff duties, though, we tend to stay more professional. I certainly don't get any preferential treatment from Black Six - he fired me from my reporter position, and I've been yelled at and chastised by him many, many times behind the scenes. We're great pals, but he sure doesn't give me any leeway on BZ, and I mean, he shouldn't!

I should also note again that this is just a handful of us. There are staff members I don't even know! There are even staff members I don't even like! But I try to always keep the relationship cordially professional.

- I've seen staff use sensors for curse words or use several # for a sensor and get away with it, while regular members can't. Means the same thing, sensored or not, staff or not. My question is, they're staff, and they are a member of the site like everybody else and should follow the rules like everybody else, so why should they get special treatment and get away with things?

I think that's more an effect of different moderators moderating differently. I've seen regular members get away with ####-type censoring, too. I think some of remove that kind of stuff and some of us don't, so there's inconsistency. I don't remove that kind of censoring anymore, for instance, unless the censored word is made purposely obvious.

Guitar/Music-related

 

- What songs have you learned to play on the guitar? Any B. B. King, David Gilmour, or maybe Stevie Ray Vaugn (may have spelled that wrong)

FAR too many to count and list! I've been playing instruments for twelve years and the guitar for seven, so I've got a pretty extensive repertoire. When it comes to B.B. King (swoon), I can do a mean "Every Day I Have the Blues." For David Gilmour, I play a whole host of his songs, but my favourite to play is the first song I ever learned on guitar: "Wish You Were Here."

- What is your favorite guitar solo, and who is it done by? (example: David Gilmour, Time by Pink Floyd)

That's actually an exceedingly easy question for me to answer, though if you were to ask me what I think the best guitar solo is, I'd be here for weeks and discussing hundreds of different songs. The one that means most to me, though, is a short and simple one: George Harrison's solo on the song "Let It Be." It's deeply, deeply affecting to me and brings a wellness to my heart and tears to my eyes every time I hear it, because that song gave me the strength to abandon a suicide attempt many, many years ago.

This is actually the first time I've mentioned this publicly (only some very close friends of mine knew about it previously), but I guess I don't have any reason to keep it a secret, so there you go.

- Who is your favorite musician and why?

Now this one's difficult. I often say I owe everything to Little Richard - he really opened my ears to music, rock and roll specifically. The first album I ever received was an old Little Richard cassette when I was just a little kid. I played that sucker every single day all through my childhood - I'd come home from school and immediately go up to my room and listen. It captivated me. It was so simple, but so raw and real and fun and perfect.

But if I absolutely had to choose - I'd go with George Harrison. Something about his life, his words, and his music speaks directly to my heart. George Harrison's music has an almost spiritual significance to me - which, now that I think about it, probably started with the incident I previously mentioned (and one wasn't even his song, just his solo! but I moved deeper from there).

Do you believe in magic?

Do you believe in magic?

In a young girl's heart?

How the music can free her whenever it starts?

And it's magic, if the music is groovy?

I'd tell you 'bout the magic; It'll free your soul - but it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock and roll

How do you manage to look so beautiful?

Do you find this picture scary?

How do you manage to look so beautiful?

It's the roguish charm, mainly. Also I have had a million people tell me my eyes are beautiful?

Do you find this picture scary?

Not scary, just revolting.

What do you think of the band Muse?

can i ask more than one question?

What do you think of the band Muse?

You know, a friend of mine recommended them to me, but I've still never gotten around to checking them out. What tracks would you recommend for a good cross-sampling?

can i ask more than one question?

Of course

You know, a friend of mine recommended them to me, but I've still never gotten around to checking them out. What tracks would you recommend for a good cross-sampling?

Considering their catalogue is rather varied, that's a tough question to answer. The best I can do is list several songs.

"New Born" and "Hysteria" are two of their most recognized songs, both alternative rock with emphasized basslines, the former having more of a progressive quality than the latter. "Knights of Cydonia" is another staple of their discography; it has a very western feel to it. If you want to hear more guitar work, try listening to "Invincible", which has a great guitar solo in the bridge.

"United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" borrows some cues from Queen and Chopin. The three parts of "Exogenesis Symphony" also take inspiration from classical music and together could be comfortably considered progressive rock.

In contrast, "Sunburn" and "Muscle Museum" are basic alternative rock -- they and the rest of the album Showbiz sound similar to Radiohead's earlier output.

It's worth noting that Matthew Bellamy's voice is hit-and-miss; he can be melodramatic in his singing.

Are you going to do any more product reviews? I've always enjoyed your reviews immensely, and would love to see more at some point in the future.

Actually, the made me think of another question (that I probably should have asked first). How often do you buy LEGO sets these days, if at all?

If you could be a videogame character, WHO WOULD YOU BE?

Have you ever eaten a cupcake in your sleep?

Is this a stupid question?