Against Empire (non-fiction book)

by Michael Parenti

Well, I read this book a very long time ago so I'll tell you about it to the best my memory will allow. The book is about the effects of imperialism and US domination on the World. I enjoy these kinds of books due to the fact that I am always interested in an authors opinion as to what exactly these effects are. Parenti has written a large number of books closely related to this particular subject and is believed by some to be an expert on this matter. Others believe he hates America and is the son of Satan. I'll leave that up to you to decide. If you like US politics, US history, World politics, and Satan. I recommend this book.

In Belgium 2005 Journal Part Four

4.3.05
I'm sitting on the back deck of Eddie Amador's apartment in Amsterdam. Its more like a suite. Its located just down the street from the heart of Amsterdam. Mr. Amador played in Prague last night and will be home later this evening. The pad is ill. Its two levels, the first level is a living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom. The second level is guest bedroom, studio (with a balcony), and a bathroom with a toilet that works like an American one, a sauna, and a huge bathtub/shower that doubles as a Jacuzzi. I'm living the life bitch. Let me take you back before I go any further.
(Hold on a second....)

Ok, I'm back I had to grab an ice cold, tall boy, Heineken. MMMMMMM! It actually is drinkable in Holland.
Where was I? Oh yeah, going back...

A few more things from Belgium to discuss. I played at Clues again. I played Friday from 4:00 pm till 10:00 pm. Nice little set. It was amazing though cause I played everything. Marvin Belton, Marvin Gaye, Nirvana, Zero 7, Digable Planets, Curtis Mayfield etc... Then I played house and techno. I hung around till the end and after the bar was closed I joined Chris Clues, Bart, and Timternet for some after party, 5 in the morning drinks and weed smoking. I talked a lot with Chris. His mother passed away last year and now his Father is very sick. (Keep in mind that this discussion started after the weed wore off and the alcohol set in. Booze is a downer. It just goes that way.) He told me he was so confused about life. He loved it, but didn't understand it. I said "Join the club my friend." He told me he had been raised Catholic but had denounced the religion. "My man!", I'm thinking. I asked, "Why?" He said that at his mother's funeral the preacher went on about how there were a lot of nonbelievers there. That they only came to church when it was necessary. That they used God and the Church when need be. That they were sinners and unless they found God and "Our Lord and Savior" Jesus Christ they would spend eternity in the depths of Hell. He said it wasn't the dogma that bothered him, he was raised Catholic he knew all about that, it was that this "preacher was going to use my mother's death to recruit people for his fucking church!" He said he could not believe in a God that sent people to Hell for eternity. He could not believe in one God, his God, when thousands of Gods existed. I agreed.
I am going to release a 12" record entitled "The Chris Klooz ep" dedicated to Chris. No matter what is happening in his life he always brightens up other people's lives. I believe all Gods and religions love people like Chris, he truly makes the earth a better place.

Next is Saturday night in Brussels at Milk Club. In my religion this place would be Hell. Just kidding. It was tough guys in tight shirts who could care less about music. The booking guy bothered me so many times I finally said "In a half hour I'm going up the the bar, getting my fucking money and going home. After that you get whatever shlep you want to play whatever you wanna here. Until then you booked me and I'll do what I want." I'm so tough! If you can't beat em' join em'. (I also tied my shirt in a knot at the bottom so it would be extra tight and refused to put my arms down all the way.)

Before the gig I went to a record shop in Brussels that was owned by a sweet little French speaking girl that was a friend of Bart's. As soon as I walked in I was handed this beer made from fruit. Interesting and very girly. Then I was to try a beer made with vodka in it. All this in the record shop. Beer and Belgians go hand in hand. After that we went to a real Belgian diner. I had stoop. Its like mashed potatoes with carrots and stuff mixed up. Very traditional food. And very tasty as well. After that we walked all around Brussels. Holy fucking shit! There were buildings from the 14th century! Beautiful.
Then Milk Club Blah Blah Blah...

All in all Belgium was amazing. I really loved the people and culture. I have no regrets...
On Wednesday we drove to Amsterdam. Its about a hour and forty five minutes. We stopped at the Rush Hour shop so I could sell them a bunch of records and CDs and walk out with an extra 100 euro. Yippie! Next we went to the red light district. The smell of marijuana and sex was in the air. Weed at every corner and rows of naked prostitutes in windows taunting carefree tourists. Ahh Amsterdam. To be young again... I decided not to relive my past and keep my mind drug and alcohol free and my penis in my pants.
Amador was busy running around and was unable to meet up with me until 6:00 pm. Which he did. We took a tram to his place. We had a couple drinks. He fell asleep and I watched "Life". That movie with Eddie Murphy and that other black guy. The next day he had to do some running around so I went into the studio. A couple hours later he returned and I had all the parts for a new track done. He called a vocalist, she came by, we wrote some lyrics, she sang it, he left for Prague. I went back into the studio. He will be home tonight and we'll finish the track. That is how I like it. In the mean time I completed a remix of a track Bart did. He and a Columbian guy by the name of Core. Their version is good, I liked it. So I said "How about you let me do a remix and I'll release it on FPR." "Word", they said. Done deal...
So today I finished the remix and worked on the vocal track a bit. Then I walked down to the main area of Amsterdam, then I wrote this. That's all for now. When I get back I'll call everyone up, we'll get some Belgian beer and I'll answer any questions. (just kidding) I love you all. Till next time...
Peace and love.

next up is Belgian Journals 2006

The African Dream (non-fiction book)

by Ernesto "Che" Guevara

This book is the written journals of the infamous Argentinean revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara while in Africa. In 1965 Guevara left Fidel Castro's Cuba in order to pursue his dream of a worldwide Communist Revolution and help guerrilla fighters in the Congo defeat Western imperialism. A very personnel look at Ernesto Guevara's thoughts and emotions. If you like revolutions, Communism, or reading personnel information about interesting historical figures, I recommend this book.

FPR Podcast #6

Another new and exciting Podcast hosted by yours truly is available on iTunes! Get it while its HOT! During Ferrispark Podcast #6 I play my "Signifying" ep in its entirety and talk about Ferrispark and the making of this record. Don't miss it...

In Belgium 2005 Journal Part Three

Day 3 Saturday
Diner at 8:00. Very nice restaurant. I had an Irish steak in mushroom sauce, a salad, fries, and two Dutch beers. The food was very, very good. I like food. Especially free food.

Along side me was Bart, Anthony Millard a dj in from London, Matt Boudin the other half of the Nighflight nights, Sofia who is Matt's girlfriend, and Ann Van De Vyver the girl in charge of all the booking for Decadance.

I'm full, time to hit the club. We arrived and set up by 10:15pm. Bart played till 1:00am. Then enter Fabrice Ligny. We gave each other a big hug and I told him I was honored, he said the same. Bart played very minimal and Fabrice stepped it up a bit. He played a lot of Detroit techno. Go figure. He also told me he was using Final Scratch and that he would of just brought his laptop if he'd known I was setting mine up. Fabrice played till 3:00am. Next was Anthony. His spot was 3:00am to 5:00am. Then it was my turn. The ole' 5 to 7 spot. Anthony stepped it up even more then Fabrice. The club was rattling and people were poring in. Anthony's style was very old school. Backspins, fader cuts, beat slamming. He was fun to watch.

5:00 AM
Things didn't start off the best. The Final Scratch hub had been plugged into a channel that was pre-amped in the mixer. This equals a psychedelic phasing distortion sound. Not good. The problem was fixed in about 30 seconds. The cable was disconnected and reconnected the proper way. Not much damage done. People were still poring in and the night was still very young by Belgian standards. I really had wanted to get on a mic and talk a little shit before I started playing but the hook-up wasn't working. So I decided to let KDJ do the shit talking for me. The first record I played was "Freaky Motha Fucker" a very "Prince like" Moodymann production with a haunting minimal techno beat and Kenny and a girl exchanging words about sexual encounters. I don't think the majority of this crowd gave two shits. The people who had been at Clues and new my music were loving every filthy part of it. I then went into an Edit I did of a very rare KDJ track, this one with a Kenny vox saying "Its so nice ya'll are drivin' thru detroit. I drive in it ya understand, everyday." Not much reaction from the majority of the crowd. So I busted out a bomb. I dropped B-OO-G-IE! Only one of the rarest best disco records of the 70's. Still no good. So I decided it was time to fuck em up. They just needed not to think. Out with the Romanthony "Trust" and "Ministry of Love". "The Orange Record" and Mood II Swing's "All Night Long". Now everyone was going off. I kept up with Cheek "Venus", Delgado's "Byrd Man's Revenge", and even the Masters At Work classic, "River Ocean, Love and Happiness." I closed with Mass Production's "Welcome to Our World" and then faded out that record and brought up nice and slow "Another Star", Stevie Wonder. The place went crazy. I ended up playing 3 hours and everyone was very happy. When I had finished I walked outside into a beautiful Belgian morning and thought to myself, "What a wonderful world."
to be continued...

100 Years of Solitude (Fiction Book)

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

An amazing fantasy about the history of the small town of Macondo told through the lives of the Buendia family. The book is filled with mysterious and magical characters each one more interesting and unique then the other. Marquez paints pictures with words and touches upon the most trivial workings of the human mind and soul. This is probably the most famous of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writings and reasonably so. All though at times the book can become slightly confusing due to many of the characters sharing the same name, it is well worth the read. If you enjoy life, love, poetic writing, and stories that capture the imagination from beginning to end, I recommend this book.


"The only difference today between Liberals and Conservatives is that the Liberals go to mass at five o'clock and the Conservatives at eight" - 100 Years of Solitude

Funky Bike