anon guardian

Digg Question for Trent Reznor

2009-04-04T06:11:00.001-07:00

In the hopes that TR can find the time to answer my question that more than likely will not get voted on (submitted on April 4). It will get lost in the sea of 4000++ questions submitted.

But just in case, during some down time and boredom sets in and there's nothing better to do but answer a random fans ???:

Digg Dialogue:

Thank you Kevin Rose!

Thank you Trent Reznor!

I can't help but feel that somehow, in somewhat of a mystical way, music connects people spiritually and on a level that most don't recognize because it is unseen or unspoken. Is there more to this? Experiencing music, to me it's very similar to an addiction although this raises negative connotations, I mean this in the most positive way possible. Music heals, music inspires = positive! Do you wonder if quite possibly that if we were to strip away all that makes us human and strictly look at our internal make-up that we would find some similarities? Ie: are rhythms and sounds somehow mimicking patterns that are in our personal make-up, DNA, our beating hearts, etc? I ponder this way too much!

Tack onto this, I would also love to be able to figure out what it is about your music that is so trademark Trent Reznor. Keep in mind I have no musical background, so if you can explain in elementary terms, that would be pretty nice of you..I'm wondering if there is one single basic pattern of notes, keys, sounds, rhythms that you start from and build on it? I often wonder if musicians are given some type of handbook once they reach a certain level 'knowledge and talent' - a handbook consisting of chapters like 'basic chords to addict your fans' - seriously kidding, but c'mon??!!! There has to be something to this.

You've created music that is so aesthetically beautiful to your fan base - but others hear as loud obnoxious noise! I can't help but feel that there is some relation to music and people and their inner make-up that is connected.

2009-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

A message to Hoover's Twit the other day...

Hoovers,

I need to elaborate on my comment to you re: 'what have you discovered you can live without in business, given the economy?' My Response: 'middle management. obvious'.

Simply put, I do not believe that middle management is the 'devil'. However, finding good managers is extremely difficult, add in the turbulent economy right now - what was bad middle management has now gone completely rancid.

A bit of history with my experience, I've only come across one good manager that I reported to directly over the years. The qualities that made him 'great' in my eyes were only but a few: supportive, good leadership, allowed me to make my mistakes and learn from them without the threat of being fired, provided guidance, did not ' manage' but lead his team and created an environment that celebrated new ideas and actually did something about it.

My experience right now with the role of middle management and actually has been occurring for the last 7 years, is a deterioration of their role. Serving to be nothing more than a hinderance and to be used and manipulated appropriately to ensure survival. Sad but true! I realize managers do have a tough leadership role, in that they do have to be the 'middle man' and enforce company policy and keep their team happy and motivated to do the best job they can. There is a fine line, I know. However, in times like these it is quite disturbing and sad to see managers either walking around in a state of numbness playing the 'yes man' role so well, in fear of their own jobs or worse, subscribing to the old tried and true method of micro management. UGH! In times like these my ideal manager would be one who, no matter how rough the outlook, takes absolute pride in their role as leader of a team, and inspires their team to be the best they can through leading by example.

To hear my manager respond to my question of 'what is the business plan moving forward?' response: 'I don't know, I'm just as much in the dark as you' ... this makes my skin crawl and makes my blood boil. It takes all of my will power not to raise my hand and slap him silly and say 'wake up man, do something, get out of the box and take ownership!'

But this comes from the top, I suppose, even upper management is walking around with their heads hung low. Every month we have a company 'pow-wow' session which as of late has been nothing more than a monthly 'pow - WOE' session. Every month I am hopeful that our ultimate leader would stand up in front of the group and inspire us, instead of bringing himself down to our level and in the supposed ditches with fear in his eyes giving a message of pessimism and uncertainty. I would expect someone in his position to be realistic, yes, but also to spark a 'fighting' spirit within all of us. Turn negatives into positives by giving different perspectives, remind every one that they are working for one of the best companies out there, and ask everyone to check themselves and ask some tough questions like 'do you believe in this company and all that it was built on, and all the values, product, the founder, etc. Do you believe in its survival?' If the individual response is No, then somehow they need to move on. I realize this last bit is a very touchy topic and not very easy to do. But at least a speech consisting of these elements would spur the individual to stop and think and ultimately assess their role in all of this and hopefully view from a different, more positive perspective.

Then this should be followed up with a statement like 'these are challenging times, yes, let's remain focused and remember what the ultimate goal is. Together we will make a difference, but we all must do our part and challenge ourselves to go above and beyond. Keep an open mind, and remain focused.!'

They say if you want change you should be the change. Well this is extremely relevant! And I do go about my business like this every day. I am grateful that I am a self motivator. I know what my values are and I have much passion for the company that has employed me for several years now. I only wish that others around me would feel the same, instead of living in a state of paranoia and wondering if today is going to be the day the axe falls...why oh why can't we get out of the box and into the future?!!!

In closing, I would expect my manager to be a true leader in times like these - not a 'yes man'. The ideal would be somewhat of a visionary. Someone who would find a way to cut out ridiculous 'red tape' and brick walls, that for no apparent reason stand in the way and prevent ideas, success, and progress from ever seeing the light of day. These walls put into place by their own hands delay progress way too long and serve no purpose!

This is my frustration with business today in this economy.

untitled

2008-03-26T16:45:00.000-07:00

'The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. '

-Einstein-

Elaborating on today's Einstein moment...

2008-03-19T17:04:00.000-07:00

One of the strongest motives that lead men to art and science is escape from everyday life with its painful crudity and hopeless dreariness, from the fetters of one's own ever-shifting desires.
EINSTEIN
*************************************************
Specifically - art is one of the only good things we can all count on in this fucked up world.
Music, photos, paintings - I don't care what it is - we all have something we can depend on to make a dark day brighter - even if it is only for a brief moment.
ME
*************************************************

Einstein's got this one right...

2008-03-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Ethics and Morality

2008-03-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am still reeling from the commentary on DIGG in regards to the Deaf couple.
What has become a misunderstanding of what the article was really about - has now become a mish mosh of distortions and accusations. It has served to be an eye opener for me in regards to how some people are so quick to throw away life.

I was listening to Year Zero this morning on my way into work, and the track 16, Zero Sum became so relevant to me in regards to this topic.

Below are the lyrics to ponder along with my last post on DIGG under this article.

ZERO SUM
They're starting to open up the sky
They're starting to reach down through
And it feels like we're living in that split-second
Of a car crash
And time is slowing down
And if we only had a little more time
And this time
Is all there is
Do you remember the time we
And all the times we
And should have
And were going to
I know
And I know you remember
How we could justify it all
And we knew better
In our hearts we knew better
And we told ourselves it didn't matter
And we chose to continue
And none of that matters anymore
In the hour of our twilight
And soon it will be all said and done
And we will all be back together as one
If we will continue at all

Shame on us
Doomed from the start
May God have mercy
On our dirty little hearts
Shame on us
For all we've done
And all we ever were
Just zeros and ones

And you never get away
And you never get to take the easy way
And all of this is a consequence
Brought on by our own hand
If you believe in that sort of thing
And did you ever really find
When you closed your eyes
Any place that was still
And at peace
And I guess I just wanted to tell you
As the light starts to fade
That you are the reason
That I am not afraid
And I guess I just wanted to mention
As the heavens will fall
We will be together soon if we
Will be anything at all

Shame on us
Doomed from the start
May God have mercy
On our dirty little hearts
Shame on us
For all we've done
And all we ever were
Just zeros and ones

'This entire commentary is ripe with ignorance. So many of you have not fully read this article and are not quite grasping the meaning. Exploitation of a double standard law.

Majority of you have managed to insult and degrade an entire community by pretty much stating they are less then human, and would've been better off not being born at all.

Many of you have also come close to echoing a certain dictator/murderer, Hitler. Let's discard those that are not like us, or have obvious disabilities, and assume they cannot be contributors in our society. Funny - I know a few people, who 'appear' to be what we call normal, but are rotten to the core and are a hindrance on society. '

Distorted DIGG article from the Guardian (UK) 'This couple want a deaf child. Should we try to stop them?'

2008-03-10T20:23:00.001-07:00

'It is a cornerstone of modern society and law that deaf and hearing people have equal rights. If hearing people were to have the right to throw away a deaf embryo, then we as deaf people should also have the right to throw away a hearing embryo.'

It is the comments I've read on Digg that are compelling me to write about this. I am so appalled. Those that have commented, clearly have not read the full article. It's as if they looked at the title, picked and pulled out from a few sentences to make a whole new story and ran with it!

The couple in question are merely just bringing to light a law involving IVF that oozes double standard.

Unfortunately the general public (on Digg anyway) do not view it that way.

Many comments chastising and condemning the couple, literally portraying them as horrible people for wanting to intentionally bring a deaf child into the world. This is where the misunderstandings by the readers come in.

The couple clearly states that they will now go about conceiving their next child the traditional way without the help of IVF. They have said that they will love their child, deaf or not, all the same.

It's the fact that the law governing IVF dictates that an embryo found to have the deaf gene will AUTOMATICALLY be discarded / destroyed. This is the problem. They want to keep their right to actually make the decision on whether or not to carry the 'abnormal' embryo, simply because they would like their child to be deaf, as they are. As they explain, the deaf community is one to be proud of, and they want their next child to be a part of this community. Is that so wrong?

Apparently to some it is. In fact, after reading 3 pages worth of comments, it is apparent that people do not process things correctly or read, in turn they make assumptions, and distort!

After awhile, I began feeling like I was reading comments from Hitler supporters or even Hitler himself. I wonder if any of them realize that. The general sentiment was that it is irresponsible and nothing short of child abuse for making a decision to choose to bring a deaf child into this world because they couldn't live a normal life because of their imperfection. Some went as far as to say we don't need any more disabled people in the world because they are a hindrance on society, and ultimately a waste of tax payer money.

Little Hitler's demanding a perfect race, one where no flaws exist. The beautiful people. But oh so ugly in the inside.

The other observation I had was the blatant double standard.
Some were stating that these parents have no say in this matter. Yes - No say over making a life decision for their unborn child. NO SAY in the matter, oh really?!!!
Well who does? The Government? The general public? You, Me, Who?

We can turn that argument upside down and point it to the topic of abortion.
With that mentality, then why do we allow such casual discarding of life by allowing a pimple faced teenager, who can't drive, and the only thing that matters in their world is the latest movie or clothing trend, yes this same teenager we allow to make such an important decision on whether or not their unborn should live or die. Yes we allow this, and society feels sorry for these teens and unwanted pregnancies because they made a boo boo. Oh and yes it's ok for woman to casually discard a life simply because there husbands abandoned them, or fear of all fears, they find out the child they are carrying shows signs of disability at 24 weeks. It's ok for this child to be discarded at this stage when feeling has already developed for the child in the womb.
This is ok, and not viewed for what it is, murder.

But a deaf couple can't have the same right in regards to making a decision on an embryo?

Other comments were just outright disrespectful.
If only these people making comments about how horrible it is to even consider bringing a deaf child into this world realized how terribly hurtful these statements were. Also if only people understood the law they are trying to fight. It is terribly insulting to all deaf people, or anyone with a disability.

The law is basically stating that they would've been better off not being born.
Imagine if this was in effect when they were conceived. They would have been destroyed.

I found myself enraged and saddened after reading these comments.
It's times like these that I really feel like it all is very hopeless. And I just don't understand what people are thinking or where they are coming from. Is it ignorance? I don't know.

read more digg story

TROLLS IN THE MACHINE

2008-03-09T12:48:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a poisonous troll on the NIN blog as of late.

Who's hateful blog posts telling stories of mass murder, rape, racism has taken it's toll on me.
Unfortunately 'Johnny Dilfinger' chooses to use an entertainment blog to spread his filth.
One thing became apparent last night - he has true signs of being a sociopath.

My anon post to a blogger who could care less:
'people you should care about the filth that dilfinger puts on here. He's a sociopath - 'he's always been nice to me so I don't care'...to you I say get your head out of your ass, lemming! one great characteristic of a sociopath - charm, lack of remorse, shallow emotions, grandiose sense of self, manipulative and cunning,total disregard for others feelings, rights, etc. sociopath = dilfinger'

I may be blowing this out of proportion - but then again may be not.
The filth he spewed on the site last night was not to be taken lightly
stories involving 9/11, rape, male dominance, racism.etc.
Then goes on to say he desperately wants to be banned on the NIN site.
Which will give him bragging rights, for what!

Normally I wouldn't even bother wasting people's time on an entertainment blog, but some of the bloggers non-chalant attitude really bothered me.
One even went as far as to say '...I really don't care, he's always been nice to me,...so I really have nothing to say'. Ok at this point, if you've just read a note about how someone is a sociopath, but it conflicts with your opinion based on your experience, do you bury your head in the sand, or do you scratch your head and say, wtf! those are pretty serious charges, maybe I better assess it myself and go back and read. Apparently this lemming doesn't feel the need to, because again, he was nice to her, and that's all that matters. Stupidity and selfishness at it's best.

It took all of my willpower not to slam back at this person and say ' oh ok, so because he's nice to you- it's all ok, you selfish fuck!' but I did not - it is after all a blog, a music blog meant to be a place for music appreciation, notes to trent, etc. Not for ego maniac, sociopathic douche bags to totally disrespect everyone nor is it for wildly passionate people like me to lash out at the naive, narcisistic fools, because we all tend to be that way sometimes.

Yes everyone has the right to their own opinion, but how far do you go? where do you draw the line? Is it censorship to ban someone because of the filth they decide to post or put out into the open? I do not believe it is when the words and content are so vile, and representative of a pshycopathic mind - which in turn leaves you to believe that somewhere deep in that persons mind - even if he doesn't act on what he's talking about - it's there, and sure to be a tendency, which in turn would ultimately harm someone. So no - I do not believe this would be censorship.

I guess this whole thing has enraged me because of the free pass so many were giving him, without recognizing the key factors and seriousness of the content he was posting.

Based on some feedback on today's blog - my faith in people still remains strong - it's out of fear and laziness that people do not respond immediately. Who can blame them, it is only an entertainment blog.