I'm lame. I haven't updated this thing in
forever. Frankly, I've been insanely busy with a senior thesis. I think I'll be
replacing this site with a more professional one sometime in the not-too-distant
future... depending on what happens this next year.
There's a strong possibility I'll be
doing inner city service (not mentioning the group so I don't get hits based on
their name) for a year... missions, you might say (getting the name yet?). In
which case I'll probably wipe the site clean and blog about that, when I have
the chance... which might be never.
The
sun just came out in earnest for the first time in several days. I'm turning 22,
but seem to have not a second to pause and enjoy much- I've got a thesis, 10
page research paper, 2 books (with 5 page papers each) and finals to deal with
before May 12. Oy.
Prayers are
appreciated, almost demanded :-P. Seeing Jars of Clay tonight, which if it's at
all like the show at Messiah last semester, will be absolutely amazing. It's
pretty awesome that my favorite band from way back somehow managed to catch a
social justice bug, and it's pretty wonderful to hear world class musicians who
really care about the world.
So, if
you're hoping to hear from me and haven't, you should email me. I'm entirely too
busy to fiddle with this thing very often. Seeya around...
A new bill is being introduced to the senate
right now that attempts to address our fuel economy issues in the United States.
Here's some info about it. Not surprisingly, the
bill is not enough. Why? Three major
reasons:
1. The Goal is not ambitious
enough when you look at the long-term. Chances are, without any legislation,
most consumer vehicles will surpass 35mpg by that time. Good fuel economy is
starting to sell and our oil acquisition problems are not going to get easier in
the conceivable future, so demand for higher fuel economy vehicles is going to
increase. Consumers will be wanting vehicles that get way better than 35mpg by
2025. Reducing our oil consumption by 2.5 million barrels per day sounds like a
big number, but it's not very significant in the end. 2.5 million barrels is
about 12% of the 2005 daily oil consumption rate. If trends continue, 2.5mb/d
will probably be an even smaller percent of 2025 oil consumption. Why wouldn't
new fuel economy standards make a larger effect on overall consumption? The
average age of cars in the U.S. is going up- meaning people are keeping their
cars longer-- which means that any increase in fuel economy is going to effect a
very small percentage of vehicles. The only way of increasing the effect of fuel
standards on new vehicles is to force older cars out of service (which hurts the
poor) or raise the standards (which hurts people who spend their money on new
cars).
2. It's not a progressive plan.
If we are going to change fuel economy standards for the future, we need to
assume that over the next 100 years, the average miles-per-gallon consumption of
a new vehicle will approach infinity. In other words, stop using oil, stupids
(SUOS.. hmm... not quite the slogan I'm looking for). Not only is it likely that
oil will cost considerably more in 2025 and after, but we might not have enough
oil to supply our needs at any price. If we lower consumption faster and plan on
continually using less oil (in other words, plan on adding 1.5-2mpg to the
standard per year), we can push back the day when we run out. It might end up
costing the consumer less if we make a progressing standard, too-- car companies
are likely to moan and complain when we have to up fuel economy standards
*again* in 2015 or sooner- if we plan to increase now, they can plan to deal
with these standards changes in their long-term business
plans.
3. This is the most important
one. If the government changes their target number for fuel economy, who cares?
The current passenger car standard is essentially ignored by the industry
because there aren't significant fines or relevant consumer information to back
up these standards. We need three different kinds of laws to make fuel economy
standards actually count: taxes that charge car manufacturers (lots) for
producing sub-standard vehicles (per-car produced), fines that come with a
vehicle sticker price to make consumers actually notice they are buying a
sub-standard vehicle, and annual taxes for people who buy sub-standard vehicles
and increase our fuel demand in the process. I guess this makes me a
tax-and-spend liberal. There is absolutely no excuse for the blatant disregard
for standards in the current car market, and if we don't change anything, the
industry will not get in line. Who cares about setting new standards when the
current ones are already ignored? The current system doesn't properly assign
cars to their "use type" which determines which cars are subjected to which
standards . Cars like the H3 are
exempt
from current fuel economy standards and classified as "special use vehicles"--
yet there are no restrictions on who can purchase these vehicles. The industry
doesn't care- they don't have to pay when they make an inefficient SUV, they
make a profit if the make the car, so why get responsible?
Consumer vehicles need to be regulated
heavily, and vehicles that are designated as "special use" need to be actually
designed for something more important than hauling 72 ounces of soda from your
local convenience store to the mall and back home again. And honestly, with the
size of the H3 and similar vehicles, we really should be requiring a different
class of driver's license to own and operate something so large and powerful. If
my next door neighbor buys a gas guzzler, they should be well aware they are
raising gas prices for
everyone.
The more we consume nationally, the more we pay per barrel-- it's basic supply
and demand.
Why Should I
Care? In the end, consumer vehicles
account for about 44% of annual oil consumption in the United States. That makes
it the largest most accessible market in which we can lower national oil
consumption- one set of federal laws can effect millions of cars and change the
pace of our oil consumption single-handedly. Choosing to gently *suggest* we
increase our efficiency *a little bit* is not taking full advantage of the huge
chunk of consumption that consumer vehicles represent. Consumer vehicle
consumption
is
the bulk of oil consumption in the United States- there is no other area in
which we can decrease our barrels per day without hurting businesses
considerably... and I know you wouldn't want that to
happen.
In short, the bill makes it
sound like our senators are doing something responsible, but in the end it's
merely a tip of the hat to the industry. I mean, come on- if Joe Lieberman is
behind it, the bill can't be too progressive, can it?
Hey all- just thought I'd pass along this iTunes
link to the first released track off of Jars of Clay's new album,
Good
Monsters: Dead Man (Carry
Me)
The track is a part of a
compilation album, but will be on the new CD. The new Jars of Clay sound
presented here has a hint of Franz Ferdinand flavor (heavy rhythm guitar, catchy
beat), mixed with Dan's honest voice and deeply layered guitar and keys. It
seems to be a different sort of song for Jars, but the reflections and ideas are
just as meaningful as ever. Post what you think! More updates to
come.
Finally, a real press release on
Good
Monsters is out, find it at jarchives.com.
The release quotes Dan extensively
(perhaps because essential has no clue what's going
on?): “I was not sure how all of the
experiences of the last few years would translate into music[....] There have
been so many things to look at and describe. This record is part confessional,
part euphoric love poem, part bitter divorce, and part benediction. It was born
out of many experiences and conversations between addicts, failures, lovers,
loners, believers, and beggars. And so the language of recovery and the honest
discourse about our attempts to live apart from God and apart from each other is
a theme. Engaging people who are doing the hard work of laying their lives open
to others, and avoiding isolation, has allowed me to see that there is both
immeasurable evil and unfathomable good mixing under my own skin and it is
grace, mercy and freedom that allow me to not simply be a monster, but to be a
good monster.”
The release also
reports the album will be comprised of 11 new songs and a cover of
All My
Tears (Julie Miller). Guests include Kate
York, Leigh Nash, and the African Children's Choir (wow).
In addition, FreshReleases.com recently posted an article
containing a Jarchives message board post by Dan, regarding the lack of real
nominations for Redemption Songs. Quite an impressive response, if you ask me.
More updates will come as they can. By
late June, the single from Good
Monsters, "Work" will be hitting radios,
perhaps I'll find a way to get it.
So I've had a minor disruption in posts, thanks
to some security issues at OneSite, where this site is
hosted.
So there's some cool Jars of
Clay news I thought I'd let you all in on: they're still alive. I've been
watching Jars news, and there's a slow trickle of information about a new
album-- but there is still an extreme lack of any official press releases. The
band is coming out with an album called "Good Monsters" that they are releasing
September 5. They're filming a music video that involves robots and monsters.
More specifically, technicolor-bright fuzzy monsters, and robots that look a lot
like crosses between an old-fashioned toaster and a cardboard box (but more of
the latter).
(image copyright Billy Kingsley of The
Tennessean)
The album sounds like it's going to be
good stuff. Apparently the new single (titled the same as the upcoming album)
rocks as hard (or harder) than
Revolution
did, and highlights the band's "rhythm section" (according to a Grand Rapids Press article on a recent jars
show). The new album shows "harder edges" according to the Kalamazoo Gazette, and quotes Dan saying "this
one is the most rock 'n' roll we
get."
The intended message of the newer
material is the most encouraging, though. The Tennessean did an article on the filming of the
Good
Monsters music video, and quotes the chorus of the new
hit, "We are bored of all the things
that we know; we are forms of all the things that we love. Do you know what you
are?" Dan told The Tennessean that the song is
about "maturing in a person's life,
coming to grips with incredible good and incredible evil in the same body and
being willing to share the bad parts and the good parts with others in the
community."
So in other words,
Jars of Clay is maturing just like real people, and are at least trying to do a
good job of talking about real stuff. I can't wait. I take a long time to post
updates, and so does essential records, but you're likely to find info on the
new release and previews first at www.jarsofclay.com.
The summer is off to a good start, and
hopefully I will have more useful tidbits for you all in the near future.
Including a 640x480 digital projector made out of abandoned parts in the office
I work in.
I know, I know, I know, I know...
They're not doing enough (duh)
First "Good Monsters" Track Out!
