DEF XMAS PLAYLIST 2008 (#1 0F 12): ENJOY CHRISTMAS, IT MAY BE YR LAST

I’ve been debating which song should kick off the Def Xmas playlist this year. I wanted something upbeat that set the tone nicely for the rest of the set, and after much deliberation, I finally concluded that it’s just impossible to start a list of Christmas tunes with anything else besides Alien Sex Fiend’s “Stuff The Turkey”.

I think I made the right choice. I mean, you have to stuff the Christmas turkey before you cook it, right?

Right.

PRODUCTION NOTE: Yes, this is as merry as it’s going to get for the rest of the series.

Booooo-tiful,

This is dF

WHERE DO I SIGN UP FOR THE SEXUAL JIHAD? AND SHOULD WE BRING OUR OWN TOWELS?

ITEM [via the dynamite and ever-vigilant StacyJill]: Pat Boone compares the Mumbai attacks to teh gays that protested Prop 8.

To which I said, WHAT?

To be fair, Pat acknowledges that, okay, sure, technically teh gays didn’t attack hotels with guns and grenades and kill 170+ people. But the sentiment was the same, see? So, you know, it’s only a matter of time. Or something.

To which I said, WHAT?

Ripping apart Pat’s argument is like shooting monkeys in a barrel, and there’s any number angles you can take, so I’ll stick with this one: the tendency of certain people to equate anything and everything with terrorism.

I’ve mentioned before the current habit of conservative Christians to frame opposing views as either an act of censorship (i.e. if I say yr wrong, I’m advocating censorship of yr opinion) or a hate crime in progress or waiting to happen, the latter of which is what Boone is doing here. But it’s part of a much bigger problem in which people driven by fear and/or cheap opportunism are redefining what counts as an act on terrorism to the point where it’s becoming a meaningless term.

Bruce Schneier has a good collection of these, and they are by no means limited to conservative Americans. Based on this evidence, everything from taking photographs and walking on bicycle paths to illegally diverting water and labor strikes is an act of terrorism.

But it's especially heinous when you start comparing peaceable demonstrations – which are constitutionally guaranteed in the states – to real terrorist acts.

Sure, people are angry over Prop 8 being passed, and personally I think they have every right to be. But anger and terrorism are NOT the same thing, and it’s ridiculous and wrong to say they are. Which is why I think it’s important to call characters like Boone on it when they do.

That said, I like Pat’s name for people who oppose Prop 8:

Sexual jihadists.

Is that what we are? Cool! Sign me up for that deal.

Combat ready,

This is dF

ROLLING FOR THE YANQUI DOLLAR

Roller Skate Week continues, and seeing as how we’ve just covered pinball and roller derby, today’s post ties them together nicely.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Rollerball.

Not to be confused with Rollerball, a textbook case on how (and why) not to do a remake.

It’s interesting that when you talk about science fiction films, Rollerball rarely comes up. It ought to. It’s flawed, but it’s still one of the better dystopian films, albeit probably too slow for you young people.

Company man,

This is dF

DEF XMAS PLAYIST 2008 (#2 OF 12): I WRECKED YR DADDY’S CAR AND WENT DOWN ON YR MOTHER

One of the few Christmas songs that gets a lot of play every year that I also happen to like is “Fairy Tale Of New York” by The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl.

But if you require a different take on the feuding-couple Christmas theme, you could always try Swedish garage punk with added Cyndi Lauper.

Out now.

Probably not as timeless as “FTNY”, but fun while it lasts.

I don’t wanna fight tonight,

This is dF