Exhausted.  I followed the nutrition plan Steve laid out for us.  For breakfast I split one egg-white with Alan.  We were allowed to eat it over one piece of dry, whole-grain toast.  He made us smoothies which he said were packed with all the protein we'll need.  They were not too bad if you like a lot of wheat grass.  A little bitter. 

After that we did some light stretching and then the workout began.  It was brutal.  During a set of Thrust Reach-ups Alan completely lost it and vomited.  Steve cursed him for being out of shape and made him clean it up.  However, my heart really went out to Aaron.  I tried to intervene and explain to Steve that not everyone can do pull-ups, but he shot me a steely glance.  It was intimidating.  Finally, he let Jay and I assist Aaron and the ordeal was over.  Glenn was the super-star today.  He did 18 pull-ups in less than 60 seconds.  Between each one Steve would slap his stomach with a long shaft of bamboo.  He said it tightens the core and somehow it helps you play a little tighter to a click track. 

After the workout Steve insisted that we meditate.  He said he has found his "Chi" and that he's going to make damn well sure that we do to.  After, we got our post-workout smoothie.  More wheatgrass.  Jay waited until Steve wasn't looking and poured his out.  "Fuck this!" he whispered.  Finally we got the drums under way.  Glenn pounded through a third of the songs and before we knew it we had some solid drum tracks.  Then Steve and James (the engineer), spent some time cleaning up the drums and looking at porn.  Unfortunately they downloaded a virus and we lost the entire day's work.  "Jai guru deva om" said Steve, "Nothins' gonna change my world," and then he left abruptly.  We stood around staring at one another, unsure of how to proceed.  Ultimately we decided to eat our dinner: Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette and Hummus on whole-grain tortillas. 

Later.  Steve returned with a new attitude.  He said the VoC has been dicking around too much and wasting too much time.  He said he was taking charge of this project.  We got back to work and by midnight we made up for the computer mishap. 

Steve arrived this evening to begin working on our new record.  We met briefly to discuss some ideas.  Before any talks began he handed out a nutrition plan.  He said he's going to be monitoring our "caloric intake."  He told us that the right balance of good carbs, healthy vegetables and fruits is essential if we are going to have enough energy to "survive the next few weeks."

We had a light dinner and adjourned for the evening.  He said he wants us up early.  Evidently he likes to start each morning with something called P90X, I guess it is a workout regiment.  He said it's some light cardio and a little weightlifting and that he'd really like it if we were all a part of it.  I guess it's some kind of team building.  Sounds like it should be fun.  Tomorrow we should start tracking drums. 

Michele just sent me some numbers for what MS costs anually.

MS is a very expensive disease due to costs like lost wages and increased medical care. Based on a 1994 Duke University study, indexed for 2004 by the National MS Society, the average annual direct and indirect cost of MS is estimated at $57,500 a person.

The National MS Society provides a wide range of programs and services to people affected by MS. Do you know what the money you raise can accomplish?

$75 - basic access ramp for a home
$150 - an in-home occupational therapy assessment
$500 - 6 weeks of professionally facilitated group counseling
$2,500 - an educational program and lunch for 50 people

Help Us out at the free for all.  Come out and show some support.

So we were contacted by Michele, a friend that was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2001. She heard about a concert and a Challenge Walk to benefit MS research that is being held this year in D.C. She decided she wanted to do something similar here in Tampa. She was looking for a way to raise awareness and money for the MS Society. He hit the internet and did a little research.

Each week 200 people are diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the United States. Currently there are approximately 400,000 people that have Multiple Sclerosis. Women are 3 times as likely as men to be diagnosed with it.

MS is an autoimmune condition. Essentially the body's immune system attacks itself. Under normal conditions neurons carry electrical signals from the brain to the rest of the body via the white matter in your spinal cord. However, MS creates scars or lesions in the white matter. This damage interrupts the nervous system's ability to carry signals from the brain to the spinal cord and thereby the rest of the body. This leads to impairment in sensation, movement, cognition, or other functions depending on which nerves are involved.

Think of it as a damaged wire on your headphones. When the wires inside are kinked and frayed it interrupts the signal from your iPod and you begin to hear static; sometimes one ear bud goes out completely.

Depending what nerves are damaged patients with MS may experience "muscle weakness, abnormal muscle spasms, or difficulty in moving; difficulties with coordination and balance; problems in speech or swallowing, visual problems, fatigue and acute or chronic pain syndromes."

Most commonly MS causes "neuropathic pain." This pain is described as a constant boring, burning or intense tingling which usually occurs in the legs. They may also feel numbness. Imagine the worst case of a sleepy leg: Pins and needles; tingling; shivering; burning pains; feelings of pressure; and areas of skin with heightened sensitivity to touch – except no matter how much you walk it off the sensation doesn't stop. The pains associated with these can also result in aching, throbbing, stabbing, shooting, gnawing, tingling, tightness and numbness. Other symptoms result in "cognitive impairment of varying degrees, or emotional symptomatology in the form of depression."

This year at the Summer Free for All there will be a table for the MS Society. We are going to try to help her raise money and support.
Check out the myspace page Michele and I created: http://www. myspace. com/mswalktampa If you have room add it to your top friends – you don't have to make it permanent, just until after the show, then you can put your boyfriends and girlfriends back in your top 10. Copy and re-post this bulletin and help us get the word out. Some of you reading this may have MS, undoubtedly you know someone who does.

Thanks

Hey kids,

We've been hiding for the last few weeks while we worked on some new material. We'll be heading back into the studio very shortly to produce another groundbreaking, spectacular album! The buzz is that it will be our best, sophomore album ever. Hopefully we'll live up to it.

In addition to our show at Big Shots on 1 August, we are also gearing up for the Second Annual Summer Free for All!!

Save the Date: 23 August 2008

Save the Scene: The Market on 7th, Ybor City

It is a Financial Records Event!!

There will be about 10 bands (maybe more) including:

Victims of Circumstance

Crisis in Hollywood

The Long Johns

New Violation

And more!

Stay tuned for more information!

So I am over this two party system.  It seems more and more that Proudhon was dead-on when he said "universal suffrage is a slight of hand." 

We have two parties that each stand for a handful of different policies.  They let us easily pick a couple of issues and choose up sides.  It is simple, like picking a sports team, complete with a team mascot – plus it's color coded. 

If, for example, one is pro-life and against gay marriage, then one can choose to support the Republican Elephants (The Red Team).

If, on the other hand, you number universal healthcare and gun control as your primary concerns, then you cheer for the Democratic Donkeys (The Blue Team)

It gives us the false impression that we are participating in the political process.  In actuality the difference between the Republicans and Democrats is like the difference between Coke and Pepsi (again red and blue).  We all have a sort of sportsman like, football mentality and it is being exploited.

Unfortunately the people who really run our country are (largely) old white men (83% of them).  This falls far short of a true representation of this country's mosaic.  What is more is that the majority of these 83% of old white men are graduates of Ivy League schools;  Wealthy social elites that are – and have been – running our country for all of its 200 years.  So, what do you call it when the same old white men, from the same political parties, are elected for time immemorial?  It is an Oligarchy. 

So what to do? 

I have often felt that there should be at least 5 (10 would be better) contending political parties instead of two, virtually identical parties that form the current monopoly.  After some investigation I discovered that the US has hundreds of political parties

We have all heard of the Green Party and poor Ralph runs every year but no one notices. 

The Libertarian and Constitution Party have a good deal of members and are both worth looking into.  Below I have listed all of the political parties according to wikipedia. 

Heading off the list are a couple of my favorites, for good or bad!  Find one that has a cool name and read about it.  If that doesn't do it for you, find another.  Find a party that has a lot in common with your belief system and then register this time around.  You can still vote in any election except the primaries (which honestly, has it ever mattered – are you really getting a say anyway?).  More importantly it will send a powerful message to our leaders that we want variety. 

I have not made any of these up.  You can view the complete list here with links to each party's platform:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States  

•          Marijuana Party (2002) -- How funny to have this on your voter ID card!

•          Christian Falangist Party of America (1985)

•          Marijuana Reform Party (New York) (1997)

•          Boston Tea Party (2006)

•          Southern Party (1999)

•          New Black Panther Party (1989)

•          Ray O. Light Group (1961)

•          Expansionist Party (1977)

•          Libertarian Party (1971)

•          Constitution Party (1992)

•          Green Party (1996)

•          America First Party (2002)

•          Centrist Party (United States) (2006)

•          Independence Party of America (2007)

•          Jefferson Republican Party

•          Moderate Party (United States) (2006)

•          Party for Socialism and Liberation (2004)

•          Peace and Freedom Party (1967)
•          Prohibition Party (1867)

•          Reform Party of the United States of America (1995)
•          Socialist Equality Party (1953)

•          Socialist Party USA (1973)

•          Socialist Workers Party (1938)

•          Workers World Party (1959)

•          Working Families Party (1998)

•          American Centrist Party (2004)

•          American Patriot Party (2003)

•          American Heritage Party (2000)
•          American Reform Party (1997)

•          Communist Party USA(1919)

•          Democratic Socialists of America

•          Freedom Road.... Socialist Organization (1985)

•          Independent American Party (1998)

•          Labor Party (1995)

•          Libertarian National Socialist Green Party (1997)

•          National Socialist Movement (1974)

•          New American Independent Party (2004)

•          New Union Party (1974)

•          Personal Choice Party (1997)

•          Populist Party of America (2002)

•          Progressive Labor Party

•          Revolutionary Communist Party USA

•          Social Democratic Party of America (2007)

•          Socialist Action (1983)

•          Socialist Alternative (1986)

•          Socialist Labor Party (1876)

•          Unity08 (2006)

•          Workers PartyUSA

•          World Socialist Party of the United States(1916)

•          Alaskan IndependenceParty (1984)

•          Aloha Aina Party

•          American Independent Party (1968)
•          Charter Party of Cincinnati, Ohio (1924)

•          Connecticut for Lieberman Party (2006)

•          Conservative Party of New York (1962)

•          Covenant Party (Northern Mariana Islands)

•          Independence Party of Minnesota (1992)

•          Independence Party of .New York (1991)

•          Independent Citizens Movement (US ..Virgin Islands)

•          Liberal Party of Minnesota

•          Liberal Party of New York (1944)

•          Liberty Union Party (Vermont) (1970)

•          New Jersey Conservative Party (1992)

•          New Progressive Party of ..Puerto Rico.. (1967)

•          New York State Right to Life Party (1970)

•          Popular Democratic Party of Puerto Rico (1938)

•          Puerto Rican Independence Party (1946)

There is hardly anyone whose life has not been affected by cancer in one form or another.

As the second leading cause of death in the United States everyone has had a brush with cancer.  Parents, grandparents, friends...odds are someone you know fought cancer. Hopefully they won, but cancer claims over half a million lives each year, of these over 100,000 of them are children. 

It is particularly heart-wrenching when a child is diagnosed.  To have a life arrested at so early an age is difficult to comprehend.  Luckily there are people hard at work researching new treatments for cancer. 

St Baldrick's Foundation began in 1999 as a St. Patrick's Day celebration.  The founders, three Irish-Americans "decided to turn their St. Patrick's Day party into a benefit for pediatric oncology research by shaving their heads, thereby showing solidarity with children undergoing chemotherapy treatment."  The name, St Baldricks is a play on Bald and St Patrick.  The idea is for voluenteers to shave their heads if a particular dollar amount is raised in their name. 

On 15 March 2008 there will be an event to raise money for St. Baldrick's in Clearwater.    We urge you to get involved with us.  Victims of Circumstance will be playing a free show to provide entertainment to the people that will be attending and volunteering.  Our friends at the Chop Shop will be on-hand to shave heads and Big Shots will be hosting the event.  Come down and celebrate with us and help us raise money.  You can donate, become a shavee or just volunteer your time.

You can get more info and donate in our name below. 

We want to thank everybody who came out to see us play last night.  Most of you know it was a little warm-up for our show in the snow in Boston.  We have been hard at work lately and we wanted to play one more show in Florida before the end of the year.  By far the best part of making music is playing in front of our friends.

I heard that a couple of people were turned away at the door because they were under 21.  If you experienced this we apologize profusely.  We worked it out with management and the owners ahead of time and everyone knew it was an all ages show.  Somehow the wires got crossed.  Hopefully there were not many of you.  Obviously we are always very appreciative of anyone that comes out to support us and, as Alan would say, it really grinds my gears when someone turns any of our friends away.

On a lighter note we are on a new compilation on Financial Records and it is amazing!  It features a lot of Florida bands that you know and love including Hey Rube, Rude Squad, Crisis in Hollywood, Curbside, Gonzo Bocchio, The Attack, Shadow Agency and Harness the Habit.  There are a couple of bands from outside the Sunshine State that we are really excited about as well: Siete Gatos Negros and Del Toro.  The bands contributed a lot of great music and we worked hard to produce it.  Needless to say we are very proud of it.  If you don't have one yet it will be at Interpunk very soon and on iTunes in a few weeks, however the best way to get it is to come to see us...then you get the CD, a punk show and a table dance courtesy of Glenn!

It was a great year.  We released the record, hosted the Summer Free-for-all, put the compilation together and gave a lot of people pinkeye.  We are very excited to be heading to Boston to play with the Pietasters, Big D and the Bosstones and it is a great way to finish the year.

We look forward to seeing you all again soon and I hope you have a great New Year!

VOC