Planetary Politics & Other Yakketyboo

I was feeling especially contemplative last weekend, and we didn’t feel like going out, so we decided to satiate our geeky sides by watching the Lincoln documentary on history channel (hey…at least it wasn’t a straight-up war show for a change). I got roped into it pretty quickly since the focus was mainly on who Lincoln was as a person.

I found myself marveling at what the biographers were saying about him: he was sort of in touch with the “other side,” but wasn’t religious, he always thought about and envisioned the future and was frequently disheartened by what he saw, he wanted to change the world but didn’t know how he’d get far enough to do it. I thought, “over a century later, I can totally relate!”

The best part about the program was all the slick references to our current president and how he compares to Lincoln. The speakers were telling stories about Lincoln riding out into the war zones and asking soldiers about body counts, then falling into despair when he learned how many had lost their lives. They said things like, ‘A real president faces hardship; other presidents hide from it.’ They talked about how Lincoln spoke on numerous occasions about African Americans and how they were fighting the Civil War war. He chided other politicians for refusing to regard slaves as people and free them. Again, Lincoln was compared to Bush in that he was far more humanitarian than our current president.

There was one speaker who really laid it on and said something brilliant (I’m afraid I’ll have to very closely paraphrase the original quote):

If you saw Lincoln during the Civil War, you’d call him a dictator. He shut down newspapers, squashed freedom of speech, and violated other Constitutional rights…but out of military necessity. Other presidents, whom I won’t name, do things under the guise of military necessity when in fact this is not what’s happening…I mean, a War on Terror is like a War on Dandruff…it’s not actually about anything…Now, I think the Civil War was just a little more serious.”
— Gore Vidal, Author of Lincoln

- Aradia

OK, so I haven’t exactly been active in blogging lately, but it’s been a crazy, busy time. I’ve been in the studio re-working some old material and recording some new stuff. The band sort of split, but is in the process of rebuilding. Wirth, Bill and I (Aradia), are ready to take on the world and ride the wave of interest in rocktronica that’s currently starting to brew here in Atlanta. So stay tuned for news and events. When we hit the stage again, we’ll be better than ever…

I’ve always wanted to go to all the mysterious places in the world…like Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the pyramids at Giza. But who has money to go to all those places? Well, I haven’t reached the levels of fame and fortune of some people, like…oh, let’s say…J Lo, so I can’t quite be a world traveler yet.

As it turns out, I don’t have to be! And neither do you! That’s right — now everyone can visit all the mysteries of the world in just one place: Mystery Park in Interlaken, Switzerland. Erich von Däniken has opened his own theme park, and it includes recreations of the aforementioned mystery hotspots, as well as others such as a crop circle center and a Martian biosphere.

I don’t know about you, but this idea sounds cool to me. The latest technologies for animation and 360o film and lasers will be bringing each mysterious locale to life for visitors. But what I can’t tell from the website is: are there any rides? I guess I feel like a theme park should have some rides at least, and this one doesn’t seem to have any. Bummer. I think I’d still go though if I could afford it. If nothing else, it would be a very interesting novelty to experience. And you all know how much I love all that ancient mystery stuff.

- Aradia

Water above…Water below,
Part of the endless flow.
In crystal streams of future dreams where life begins and grows.
Oceans of time will recombine to start the world anew,
And when it comes to where it’s from, its source is always true.

Down the mountain, through the valley
Into the ocean — start again
Always flowing like every journey
No beginning and no end

Through circular paths
We will learn that everything repeats.
From earthly firsts to cosmic bursts
The cycles never cease.
Scores of twin suns in dimensions
That we will never see…
The rippling affects all things

And decides what will be.

Down the mountain, through the valley
Into the ocean — start again
Always flowing like every journey
No beginning and no end

The future and past
Rejoining at last
Let me be reborn.
Sun rises and sets
We quickly forget
What all this is for.

Water.

- Lyrics from the song Water by Aradia (keep an ear out for the upcoming release)

Wow…it’s been a while since I’ve written anything. But it’s not for lack of inspiration or obsessive “philosophical” thinking — it’s just that I’ve had so much on my mind that I haven’t been sure what to write about. Plus, I’ve been pretty busy with the band and life in general.

Twelfth Planet is back in the studio, redoing our first album and removing some songs while adding others that no one’s heard before. It’s exciting. I like to think of it as a rebirth of the band, since two of our members have been gone since April and we’ve modified our recorded sound a little bit. We’re also working in a new studio – EarthOne. It’s exactly the type of place I can get creative in. The house where it’s located belongs to the band Elemental Harmonics. Those guys are geniuses – you should check out their stuff.

We also did a benefit show at RedLight Café on September 17th. One of our old bass players joined us and it was really awesome to perform with him again. It was also the first show with our new guitarist, Judah. This guy rocks. He’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met, he plays guitar like it’s a million different instruments (and it always sounds incredible), and I don’t think I’ve ever seem someone who loves playing the guitar more — and not for egotistical reasons; it’s really that he loves music.

It felt damn good to be on stage with those guys. Wirth and Bill were amazing as always, and we got a really great crowd response. Keltic Kudzu went on before us, and man — those guys are awesome. They perform Celtic Fusion music, and did this reggae-ish version of Danny Boy that was out of this world. The singers’ voices are really beautiful and they all have this great stage presence and positive energy when they interact. You should check them out, too.

Well, this entry is sort of long and rambling, but I thought I’d let those who read this blog in on what I’ve been up to. I’ll be back soon to blab about my trip to Chicago. Until then…

- Aradia