schadenfreude \SHAHD-n-froy-duh\, noun:
A malicious satisfaction in the misfortunes of others.

August 14, 2004

“schadenfreude – harming joy”

Schadenfreude, some kind of trendy jazz-fusion meets WHAM-esque pop contemporary duo keeps sending me their album covers for some reason and I really don’t know what to do with them. I initially moved them to the desktop trash. Before I deleted them entirely, I decided to do a little digging.

After wading through a sketch comedy troupe website, a blog, a goth-rock site and various dictionary definitions, there really wasn’t much to find on these two.

Knowing the lead singer (Andrew “Bonny Billy” Graham), I just rang his cell and asked him what the fuck he thought he was trying to pull. “Well, Joe…”, Andrew drunkenly slurred from a poolside bar somewhere in Miami, “…I have a dream. That dream is for me to lead a rock duo. A foray into the experimental world of aural delight.”

“…and this band name? Where did you come up with such a moniker?” I asked.

“Well, unfortunately, ‘Oiseaux Exotique’ was taken…so ‘Schadenfreude’ was the obvious choice.”

I can only assume that their music is as pretentious as their band name.
Apparently they’re really big in Baden Baden.

————-

March 31, 2005

Another album cover showed up in my email today; it looks as if Schadenfreude is no more… Pity, that.

“verzweiflung – despair”

From the liner notes:
“verzweiflung” is a solo follow up to the ill-fated Schadenfreude project.
Andrew “Bonny Billy” Graham’s former collaborator exercised an obscure clause in their contract with the record label, preventing the album from ever getting released to the public. “The Other Guy From Schadenfreude” (as he is now referred to) subsequently quit music forever.

(10:37:11 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): http://www.detaxcanada.org/detax1.htm
(10:41:04 AM) gjuddy mcmudd: what the hell?
(10:41:28 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): It’s a way to become tax free.
(10:41:47 AM) gjuddy mcmudd: of course
(10:42:19 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): You doubt? Well, you’re part of the problem… if more people knew about how to become a non-person entity, they’d be doing this.
(10:42:37 AM) gjuddy mcmudd: I don’t doubt
(10:42:43 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): You can continue to be a slave to the government because you think it’s the “right” thing to do my friend, but you are getting fleeced.
(10:43:34 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): The real problem is following this fucking lunatics’ text – it’s more work than paying taxes…
(10:43:51 AM) gjuddy mcmudd: haha
(10:44:33 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): I did read an article about a guy who actually sued the Government for simply wanting him to pay taxes and won.
(10:44:46 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): We just accept that it’s normal or “right” to pay them…
(10:44:55 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): When in fact there’s loopholes all over the place.

(10:45:05 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): Wait…. I think I hear knocking at my door.
(10:45:30 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): HEY! GET YOUR MEAT HOOKS OFFA ME!
(10:45:32 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): HEY!
(10:45:34 AM) BuCkSaTaN>:): OWWW
BuCkSaTaN>:) has gone offline
(10:46:06 AM) gjuddy mcmudd: haha…

(4:29:11 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: so I’ve got Dr. DooDoo coming tomorrow to clean up the no-mans-land that is my backyard
(4:29:36 PM) BuCkSaTaN: Man, what in hell kind of job is that. I mean, it must be murder to recruit people.
(4:30:21 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: 40 bucks
(4:30:28 PM) BuCkSaTaN: How much is there?
(4:30:32 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: and they take it with them
(4:30:50 PM) BuCkSaTaN: They eat it.
(4:31:03 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: maybe
(4:31:17 PM) BuCkSaTaN: Maybe they use it on Veronica Moser shoots.
(4:31:52 PM) BuCkSaTaN: So you’ve actually hired a dog poop service…. man, if that isn’t the most fucked thing I’ve ever heard.
(4:33:35 PM) BuCkSaTaN: And that’s all you have to say, ya lazy bum?
(4:34:30 PM) BuCkSaTaN: bah
(4:35:05 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: there’s lots
(4:35:42 PM) BuCkSaTaN: pfft
(4:38:41 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: actually I’m more afraid of Garbage Men reprisal if I give them one more heavy bag full of soggy shit water
(4:39:08 PM) BuCkSaTaN: Are you kidding… I filled up an entire garbage bin of shit for those bastards.
(4:39:13 PM) BuCkSaTaN: There’s no law against it.
(4:39:20 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: haha
(4:39:28 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: ya but it’s hard with the snow
(4:39:41 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: then the snow melts in the bag and you have shit soup
(4:40:02 PM) BuCkSaTaN: Last year, I left the lid off for a day and the thing was chock full of maggots – like TEEMING, and I just scooped em all in and sealed off the lid with a sign that said, “Caution! MAGGOTS, toss whole bin.”
(4:40:24 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: broooooooooooooootal
(4:40:30 PM) gjuddy mcmudd: shoulda called Dr DooDoo

Well, it’s Easter this weekend and although I am not a practicing Catholic, I do believe in the Easter Bunny. Here’s some festive stories for this wonderful holiday.

(A friend of mine had an interesting take on the whole ressurection thing, speculating that if Christ rose from the dead, would that not logically make him a zombie?)

Also, I was trying to track down a story about a man dressed as the Easter Bunny being beaten by some thugs at a mall, where they proceeded to kick the head off his Bunny costume. Couldn’t locate it. Is there no respect for the Easter Bunny anymore?

Anyway, enjoy!

Feel like fricace?
link

Bunny Hater:
link

I just like the picture here:
link

Bizarre blog article about Easter and the Bunny:
link

…and my personal favorite:
link

This has got to be the best tech article I’ve read in NOW in a long while:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2005-03-24/goods_next.php

Ok, that’s two X-Files references in the last couple of postings… Either I’m getting more paranoid than usual, sharper at spotting the lies in our society or watching too many re-runs of “The X-Files”.

Have a look at these two pictures, taken from a local area newspaper. This is not a national publication, but specific to the area in which Gjuddy and I found it. The first one has not been altered from my scan other than a change in resolution. The second one has the flaws pointed out in its’ not-so deceptive layout. Gjuddy and I spotted these fairly quickly since we use Photoshop on a regular basis whereas the general public we “polled” couldn’t tell what was wrong with the front page photo.

The signs:

1. The man standing on the left is clearly clasping his hands – the gun seems to be hovering in mid-air in front of him.

2. The man’s left shoulder line is drastically sharper than his right, meaning he has been cut out from a separate source and placed in this photo.

3. Julian Fantino’s left arm line is also suspect, possibly indicating he has also been taken from a secondary photo source and placed into this one.

4. The table of guns in the forefront of the picture are massive in comparison to the guns on the table in front of the podium. Note the drop shadow of the gun in the back in relation to the gun boxes which appear to be sitting directly in front of the conference’s backdrop.

5. The backdrop is at an odd angle and the ride side of the backdrop is far sharper than the right. Note the flags in relation to one another.

6. This one is a bit trickier. It seems as if the police woman is either a very small lady or the perspective seems a bit off considering how close Fantino is to the backdrop. Depth of field illusion or police cover-up?! You decide.

There’s really only two conclusions to come to here, not that either of them are surprising;

1. The journalistic integrity of our community “news” outlets has sunk to the calibre of “Bat Boy” and the Weekly World News.

2. The question of just how many guns were seized is really up for debate and this photo is being used for some unknown political agenda in the city area from which it was culled.

Overall, though, it underlines how much of what people are being told is true, by supposed trusted sources, compared to what they are to believe about those stories. It could also mean that Gjuddy and I were drunk on St.Paddy’s and decided to amuse ourselves. I think my favorite part is the credit, “photo by”…singular.

“Okay Mulder…” you’re probably saying, “Crack open another bag of sunflower seeds and keep your wacky conspiracy theories to yourself.”