Mortal Man Revamps Classic Metal
Wilmington metal band Mortal Man brings a classic sound into the 21st century.
Wilmington’s Mortal Man has the scruffy, bearded look of any number of metal bands. However, the group has decided to steer their sound in a direction that’s miles apart from their shrieking nü-metal contemporaries to create a story and sound that makes the genre accessible to a wider audience.
Mortal Man (from left) Keith McAndrews, Max Sweeney, Mike Desjean, Matt Murray, and Brandon Autry
The Mortal Men
The men, their ages, their instruments, and their beards:
Matt Murray, 26, vocals, 6 inches
Max Sweeney, 27, guitar, 5 inches
Mike Desjean, 27, drums, 1 1/2 inches
Brandon Autry, 28, guitar, an inch even
Keith McAndrews, 20, bass, 0 inches
The mortal beards. Murray (from left), Sweeny and Autry display their tufts.
An Epic Sound
On a Sunday afternoon Wilmington’s Mortal Man blasts their epic sound from Max Sweeney’s shed-cum-studio. The space is littered with beer cans, guitars, various bits of a drum kit, a single maraca, and a copy of Pro Tools for Dummies. Matt Murray, the vocalist, leans into the mic and whispers, “There was a guy and he did some stuff and then he found the scroll…”
This brief, improvised lead-in says much about Mortal Man. It’s a metal band of both lyrical and musical complexity and puerile camaraderie. Some of the members have been friends for years. McAndrews and Desjean played together in Throw It to Lucas and Sweeney and Autry are both Wilmington locals and attended the same high school. The guys spent interludes during Mortal Man’s practice discussing Ralph Wiggum quotes, Davis Cross sketches and genitalia.
Just Metal
Mortal Man is as traditional as a metal band can be. Like Black Sabbath (or even Led Zeppelin) before them, they focus more on lyricality and melody than sonic dissonance and volume. (And that’s not to say they’re not loud…) The vocals are clear, the lyrics decipherable, and the instrumental performances are precise and Wagnerian, articulating as manifestly as the lyrics themselves. It’s a sound that any fan of prog rock could embrace, though the band members themselves roundly agree they are a metal band (with no frills). However, they realize their sound has a wider appeal than just the metal community. “I like that we can b e a metal band that’s not only for metal fans,” Brandon Autry, guitar, noted.
The band cites forerunners Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC, and Black Sabbath as influences. Murray draws vocal inspiration from diverse sources such as Metallica; Dio, the band of former Black Sabbath vocalist Ronnie James Dio; and Elvis.
The Plot
Mortal Man’s moniker is the result of a serendipitous find by Autry. While reading The Lord of the Rings, Autry stumbled upon a passage stating death is a gift to mortal man, a theme first explored by Tolkein in The Silmarillion. “Death is their fate,” Tolkein writes, ” the gift of Ilúvatar, which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy.” The concept sparked Autry’s imagination. However, at first, the discovery merely inspired Mortal Man’s band name. It wasn’t until later that the band created the character of Mortal Man and began to weave the epic tale of his quest into their music.
The story of Mortal Man is a blend of Dr. Who-style science fiction, Tolkeinesque fantasy and myth, Homeric Odyssey and zombie lore. When asked to provide an overview of the plot, the band members exchanged glances and launched a convoluted narrative that included a zombie lord, a time immortal, several mystic relics, and Apocalyptic devastation.
The band seems earnest about their epic hero but also amused by their own gravity. When asked when Mortal Man’s story is set, Sweeney laughed and replied in a movie trailer intonation, “Thousands of years ago in the far distant future.”
Concept Band
Opeth and Mastodon, groups the band cites as contemporary influences, have both released concept albums. However, Mortal Man is quick to explain that the adventure of Mortal Man won’t be limited to a single release. “We’re not a band with a concept album,” Autry clarified. “We’re a concept band.”
The group hopes to expand the story of Mortal Man to create a sort-of band mythology. “Our first album will be the story of the rise and demise of Mortal Man,” Murray explained, “and we’re thinking of retelling the same story from different points of view in future albums.”
The Response
So far the concept seems to be working in Mortal Man’s favor. “We kind of did this as an experiment,” Murray explained. “I took some theater classes in high school and found that I like getting into character. I’m not just bullshitting between the songs, I’m creating part of the narrative. So far, we’ve gotten a great response.”
The band believes that the story of Mortal Man makes metal more accessible to audiences who might not be familiar with or even might not like the genre. “People have come up to me and said, ‘I’m not really into metal, but I really got into the story’,” Murray explained. “We’re really excited that people like it,” Autry added. “We were afraid they weren’t going to get it.”
Upcoming Shows and Projects
Mortal Man will be playing at the Soapbox on November 15th with the Black Skies, Rapture Cabaret, and Pride Parade. The cover is five dollars. There are no mp3s available on Mortal Man’s Myspace site as of yet, but the band has plans to start recording within the next couple of months and to begin the design of a Mortal Man comic to be distributed with the CD.
About the Article:
I actually set out to do an article on voter registration and expected turn out. However, neither the Pender, New Hanover, or Brunswick Board of Registration returned my email or phone calls. I also contacted the Obama campaign to speak to a person who had been registering people on the streets but they had trouble finding someone that was cleared to speak to the press. Finally, I contacted the director of Democracy North Carolina, who also didn’t get back to me.
Luckily, I had gotten the information for Mortal Man’s singer when I saw their show because I’ve been thinking of pitching a local music review to Wilmington’s weekly, Encore. The Encore’s audience is locals, people interested in entertainment in the area. It’s Wilmington’s version of The Independent. So, I called the band and asked if I could sit in on a practice (since they didn’t have any shows scheduled for the week). I then went out to a local bar and interviewed three members of the band. I mostly let them talk while I took notes, but I loosely structured my interview to cover the following topics:
- Band member names, ages, and instruments
- Band history, previous projects
- Influences
- Self-described genre
- Origin of the band name
- Explanation of the band’s concept
- Plans for recording/distributing
- Performances so far and audience response
- Upcoming shows
- How do you distinguish Mortal Man’s story from Frodo’s quest in LOTR (This question arose spontaneously from discussion of the Mortal Man plot.)
Unfortunately, their practice wasn’t scheduled until Sunday, so I was pressed for time on writing the article. But I liked how it turned out overall. I did a good deal of research on the bands they named that I didn’t recognize so that I could make accurate comparisons. I also looked up the part of the Lord of the Rings they referenced.
If I were to webbify the article I would encourage the band to allow me to provide a free download of one of their songs, a streaming video feature, links to the band’s myspace page and the myspace pages of the other bands playing with them on the 15th. I would also include a sort of fast facts box with band name, genre, influences, and upcoming shows.
About the Revision:
I changed the title of the piece, and then added some introductory information to give a reader an idea of what the article is about, which was actually really tough because everything that I tried sounded fawning. I do like the band, but I hate when band reviews gush. I hope I struck a good balance. I also changed my first subhead to make it a little more explanatory.
Fact Checking Columbo Forward
Forward Check
Analysis of your inbox
FW: Columbo
Introduction:
- College records
- Columbia thesis
- Selective Service Registration
- Medical records
- Law practice client list
- Birth certificate or Certification of Live Birth
- Harvard Law Review articles published
- University of Chicago scholarly articles
- Record of baptism
- Illinois State Senate schedule and records
Analysis:
Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama has released his academic records in full.
We do know that Obama attended Occidental College for two years before he transferred to Columbia University where he received his B.A. in political science in 1983. He graduated with his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 19911.
An NBC News analysis revealed that Obama couldn’t have technically written a thesis statement because Columbia University didn’t recognize theses from undergraduate political science majors until the 1990s.
However, Obama did spend a year on a thesis-length course paper. Obama claims that he does not have a copy of this paper, but the Obama campaign will not clarify whether it was misplaced or discarded. They are also keeping mum on the paper’s content.
NBC contacted Michael Baron, Obama’s former professor and current Obama supporter and campaign contributor. Baron recalls that the topic of the paper was nuclear negotiations with the Soviet Union. “The course was not a polemical course,” he added, “it was a course in decision making and how decisions got made. None of the papers in the class were controversial”3.
3. Selective Service Registration:
In 1975, Proclamation 4360 ended the requirement to register with the Selective Service, better known as the draft4. In 1980, Jimmy Carter retroactively reinstated Selective Service for men 18 and older born on or after January 1st, 1960 with Proclamation 47715. So, Obama would have been required to register when the draft was reinstated.
Janice L. Hughes of the Public & Governmental Affairs office of the Selective Service System confirmed by e-mail that Barack Obama registered with Selective Service September 4, 19806.
Obama has not released his medical records in full, but he has released a one-page assessment from his doctor giving him a clean bill of health and noting family risk factors and a history of smoking7.
John McCain released an extensive medical history select members of the press on a limited basis; according to the report, McCain is also in good health despite a previous battle with skin cancer8.
UPDATE: The New York Times published an article on October 20th examining the health information provided by both presidential candidates and both vice-presidential candidates. The author finds information lacking on all four candidates. Past presidential candidates beginning with Regan have been much more forthcoming. He also notes that both John McCain and Joe Biden have undergone surgery for life-threatening illnesses.
In 1993 Obama joined the law firm of Miner, Barnhill & Galland. He was an associate until 1996 and of counsel from 1996 to 2004. He has not publicly released a list of clients. However, a Chicago Sun-Times article on ethics law from 1998 reports that Obama, “reported a full list of clients,” on his ethics disclosure forms9.
Obama’s name did come up involving a scandal with low-income housing developer Rezko. However, the Chicago Tribune notes that Obama only worked a few hours on the case during his time at Miner, Barnhill & Galland and that he did submit ethics disclosure reports listing his clients while a member of the Illinois State Senate:
“The paper also examined files from the Illinois Housing Development Authority and the city housing department, as well as the hundreds of clients Obama listed in the unusually frank ethics disclosure reports he filed as a state senator from December 1995 through April 200410. “
6. Birth Certificate and Certificate of Live Birth:
Obama has released his birth certificate. A copy is posted on his website11. After rumors questioning the validity of the certificate begin to spread on the Internet, FactCheck.org sent a team to investigate the original and posted photos of the certificate’s signature and raised seal.
The document posted on Obama’s website is a short-form birth certificate. A long-form certificate is drawn up by the hospital and includes additional information. However, Hawaii’s Department of Health birth certificate request form does not provide the option to request the long-form. FactCheck.org tried contacting the Hawaii DOH; however, the DOH has yet to respond.
Factcheck.org also found Obama’s birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser from Sunday, August 13, 196112.
7. Harvard Law Review Articles:
This one is almost true. As editor of the Harvard Law Review, it’s true that Obama didn’t write any articles; he only reviewed and edited them. However, a month before he became president, he published an unsigned case comment on Stallman vs. Youngquist on the right of the fetus to sue its mother for negligence.
Obama’s campaign confirmed his authorship of the piece. Obama’s article begins on page 823 of Volume 103 of the Harvard Law Review13.
8. University of Chicago Scholarly Articles:
It’s true that Obama published no scholarly articles during his 12 years as a professor at the University of Chicago Law School. Obama did write his first book, Dreams From My Father, during this time 14 15.
Neither the Obama nor the McCain camps has released any official records concerning the faiths of the candidates.
Obama claims he was baptized in the early 1990s at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago16.
McCain identified himself as Episcopalian for many years; however, he and his family have been members of the North Pheonix Baptist Church for the last 16 years. He has never been baptized17.
10. Illinois State Senate Schedule & Records:
According to Obama’s campaign page his state Senate records are publicly available18. Transcripts of meetings of the Illinois General Assembly are available and searchable online. A representative graphic highlighting important bills during his senate career and the percentage of bills he sponsored by category is available from the New York Times.
Tim Russert questioned Obama about his Illinois State Senate Schedule on Meet the Press in 2007. Obama claims that he did not keep a schedule while he was a member of the State Senate. Russert pointed out that at least one of Obama’s colleagues, Senator Durbin, publishes his schedule daily. Obama concludes the exchange saying that these days his schedule is public19.
Conclusion:
The Columbo forward does present some whoppers. However, the forward is mostly guilty of presenting half-truths or making demands for information that is already available (e.g., Obama’s birth certificate) or irrelevant (e.g., the demand for the record of Baptism). The forward is an attempt to create a sense of conspiracy. My verdict is that the Columbo forward should be taken with a grain of salt.
About the Author:
Forward Check is a column proposal created by Bailey Smith for JOMC 711 Writing for Digital Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mrs. Smith is a registered Democrat.
Sources:
1. Obama vs. McCain on the issues. The Seattle Times. 27 September 2008.
2. FACTBOX: John McCain, Republican presidential candidate. Reuters. 26 September 2008.
3. Obama and the case of the missing ‘thesis’. NBC News: Deep Background. 24 July 2008.
4. Proclamation 4360 – Selective Service Registration. The American Presidency Project. 29 March 1975.
5. Proclamation 4771–Registration Under the Military Selective Service Act. The National Archives. 2 July 1980.
6. E-mail. Janice L. Hughes, Public & Intergovernmental Affairs, Selective Service System. 2 October 2008.
7. Barack Obama’s doctor gives him a clean bill of health. Los Angeles Times: Top of the Ticket Blog. 29 May 2008.
8. FACTBOX – John McCain’s health records. Reuters UK. 23 May 2008.
9. Ethics law reveals too little, group says. Chicago Sun-Times. 29 March 2008. (Available for purchase from the Chicago Sun-Times)
10. Obama, Rezko ties again at issue. Chicago Tribune. 23 January 2008. (Available for purchase from the Chicago Tribune)
11. Barack Obama’s Official Birth Certificate. Obama/Biden: Fight the Smears. 2008.
12. Born in the U.S.A. FactCheck.org. 21 August 2008. Born in the U.S.A. FactCheck.org. 21 August 2008.
13. Obama’s lost law review article. Politico. 22 August 2008.
14. Teaching Law, Testing Ideas, Obama Stood Slightly Apart. New York Times. 30 July 2008.
15. The Story of Obama, Written by Obama. New York Times. 18 May 2008.
16. Finding His Faith. Newsweek. 12 July 2008.
17. McCain: I’m Baptist, not Episcopalian. The Christian Post. 17 September 2007.
18. Fact Check: Obama’s State Senate Records Are Publicly Available. Obama/Biden: Know the Facts. 14 November 2007.
19. Transcript for Nov. 11 2007. Meet the Press. 11 November 2007.
Website Recommendations for FactCheck.org
Purpose:
The purpose of this article is to provide suggestions for the improvement of the FactCheck.org website. The application of these suggestions should provide improved navigability and readability.
About FactCheck:
FactCheck.org reviews political ads and stories for accuracy. The writing is consistently solid, well organized, objective, and concise. Therefore, the content is perfectly suited for a Web audience, and the objective tone inspires user confidence in the site. However, some of the site’s design elements make it hard to focus on the wonderful text. I often read the printer-friendly version instead of staying on the main site. FactCheck has also added a video broadcast and a blog.
Organization:
As it is, the site looks cluttered and busy.This is partly because the site only uses the center of the screen. Because the site is text heavy, this isn’t the most efficient way to use screen space.
The banner on the home page doesn’t include an image of the American flag, while the banners on the rest of the site do. I think this is because there is a graphic on the home page of the White House and an American flag. This graphic is huge and doesn’t really add anything to the site that the banner with the flag wouldn’t.
The thumbnail images included with each recent posting on the home page are unnecessary. They are too small. It would be better to choose one good graphic and feature it and nix the thumbnails.
Based on the Eyetrack findings, the site doesn’t have the right information in the upper left quadrant where users look first. There the site has a link to a video feature called “Just the Facts”. This feature will be more interesting to regular users than first-time users, so it would be beneficial to rearrange. “Recent Postings” should be on the left side of the page because this is the most important and substantive information on the site.
The “FactCheck Wire” link doesn’t have the same formatting as the rest of the screen, so it seems like the link part of the “Just the Facts” feature above it. The graphic for this feature is mostly text. It’s a nice graphic; it just doesn’t work with the other elements of the page. The red heading bars on the home page are also problematic, they draw the eye and keep people from reading the text below, and the font size in the bars is inconsistent.
Organization Recommendations:
- Use a left-justified design that uses 3/4 of the screen to create more space and still allow for screen size variability.
- Delete the White House graphic on the home page.
- Delete thumbnail images.
- Use the American flag banner on the home page.
- Move recent posting to the upper left of the page.
- Move the extras to the right and unify their presentation.
- Delete the Wire graphic and make the entry for the Wire consistent with the other features on the page.
- Use bolded text in a slightly larger font size instead of red heading bars.
Navigation:
The menu bar is clean and simple. There is also navigation at the very bottom of the page in case you’ve read to the bottom and want to link from there. However, the bottom navigation is not stylistically linked to the navigation at the top. The menu bar is also inconsistent; only the home page has an “archive” link.
There’s an “Explore FactCheck” navigation bar on some pages that does not appear consistently throughout the site. It includes links to the home pages of FactCheck’s supplemental sites (Just the Facts!, Ask Fact Check, and the FactCheck Wire). Each site has both an “archive” and “home” link, which looks busy because each link must be labeled to differentiate. Deleting the archive links would make this specification unnecessary.
Another problem is that it’s difficult to tell what exactly you are “exploring” unless you click the link, which people are hesitant to do. Two solutions would be to make the titles more descriptive or to add descriptive information. Using Javascript to show brief explanations of the sites when you mouse over them would be a space-efficient way to take care of that problem.
Moreover, when you visit the Wire there is no explanation of what it is. I looked around and found out that the Wire is basically the FactCheck blog. Smaller stories are posted on the Wire, and stories are posted more often than on the main website. The subheading “Faster than the speed of spin” suggests this, but a concrete explanation in addition to that would be useful.
Navigation Recommendations:
- Match the navigation at the bottom of the page to nav at the top.
- Add an archive link to the navigation on every page.
- Use the “Explore FactCheck” navigation bar consistently.
- Remove archive links from the Explore FactCheck nav bar.
- Describe the items in the “Explore FactCheck” bar.
Content:
The text below FactCheck.org on the banner, “Annenberg Political Fact Check,” is redundant. It’s important for the site to boldly display its affiliation to Annenberg, but the user doesn’t glean much from that subhead. Using a more descriptive subhead would be better for drawing in first time users. It should specify what sort of facts are checked.
It’s also important to consider that the user may not already be familiar with the Annenberg Public Policy Center, information about the center should be prominently displayed that let’s the user know Annenberg is affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania. Moving the Annenberg logo at the bottom of the page to the top will supply this information and lend the site more credibility.
The rest of the graphics at the bottom of the page are awards. A separate page for awards and press would be a great addition to the site. I know that FactCheck is often quoted in major newspapers. If the site linked to those quotes in the press section it would be good for site credibility.
The “Fact of the Day” on the homepage doesn’t really do anything for the site. It would be best to get rid of it.
Content Recommendations:
- Remove “Annenberg Political Fact Check” from below the title and use a subhead that is more descriptive.
- Move the logo from the bottom of the page that says “A project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania” to the top of the page.
- Create a page for press and awards, link it in the menu, and delete the extraneous award graphics at the bottom of the home page.
- Remove the “Fact of the Day.”
Conclusion:
FactCheck serves an important function as a political watchdog. Increasing the consistency and improving the design of the site will ultimately make FactCheck appear more credible to users, and thus, the site will be able to achieve its mission more effectively.
About the revision:
I changed the title of this article to “Website Recommendations for FactCheck.org” from “Formatting Recommendations for FactCheck.org” to make it clear what the article is about. I also added a statement of purpose to the beginning of the article. Next, I made an attempt to remove pronouns and to replace them with more precise nouns. Finally, I added a concluding section.
Cheering for Fluminense
An American’s view of the cult of futébol (fu•chi•bol) in Brazil
To the Pub, World Cup 2006
There are more Brazilians than you might imagine living in Portland, Maine. In fact, until the 2006 World Cup, I had imagined only one, my husband Mario. However, to my surprise, it turned out there’s is a small but vital population of Brazilians who have forsaken the tropical climate of Brazil for the frozen tundra that is hibernal Maine. And, through some movement of the cilia of the collective soccer unconscious, the local Brazilian population seemed to congregate at the same bar, Brian Boru’s Irish Pub, for games.
That, or else, like us they had sampled their fair share of local bars to find the one with the right set of criteria: biking distance from home and work; large flat screen TV; decent sound system; ample seating; and Alagash White Ale, my favorite Hefeweizen and a product of Maine.
Brazil and Football: What it Means
At this point Mario and I had been together for only two years, and I didn’t know a lick of Portuguese. (I am now proudly up to half a lick and, maybe, an affectionate nibble.) So my reading of what took place among the fans at Brian Boru’s during the games was gleaned from what I could convince Mario to translate for me when he wasn’t, shall we say, “encouraging” the players.
He expressed a disillusionment with the players, a bunch of pretty boys (and if you’ve seen Ronaldinho, you know I mean that figuratively) who abandon Brazil during the regular season to make their fortunes playing for the more prosperous European teams.
If you were looking at an illustrated map of the world, the sort of little prejudice primer you can find for children, the Brazilian would be holding a soccer ball just as sure as the French kid would be there baguette en main.
England has its hooligans, sure, but they also have rugby and lacrosse, not to mention fish and chips and tea. The higher European latitudes have their winter sports and the world’s finest examples of social democracy in action. Australia has… well, Australia has baby-eating dingos.
And on the Other Side of the Equator…
And the American? He would probably have a little American flag in hand because all the requisite sports equipment could never fit in the illustration. The United States is a sort of sports superstore: football, basketball, and more extreme sports than you can shake a stick at. (In fact, stick shaking is probably an extreme sport itself.)
The fanatics are out there with their foam fingers and pennant-laden home offices, but the difference is in the language. You say, “I’m a Yankees fan.” In Brazil, you say, “I am Flamengo,” or, “ I am Botafogo,” or, if you’re at my house, “Eu sou Fluminense.”
Play It, Then Say It
It’s important to note the difference between estar and ser, forms of to be in Portuguese. Estar is the transient version of the verb. As in, “Eu estou com frio.” (I am cold.) That is, you are cold now, but you probably won’t always be cold. You would even say, “Eu estou vivo.” (I am alive). Now, but not forever. However, ser is immutable, so when you say, “I am Fluminense,” it means for keeps.
Playing by the Rules
There are 20 or so teams in Rio de Janeiro alone, and each has its adherents who support their team through good times, bad times, and on occasion, morally ambiguous times. Take for example the aforementioned Fluminense, my husband’s family’s team, and, by extension, my team.
National football in Brazil functions in tiers. Every year, the bottom three teams in the Campeonato Brasileiro are bumped down a tier, and the top three teams in the second tier are bumped up. This in theory provides fresh blood and promotes healthy competition.
There are four teams, Flamengo, Fluminense, Vasco, and Botafogo, that are by far the most popular in Rio. They are what you might call legacies. In 1999, Fluminense was demoted to tier two, and the following year, Fluminense dropped yet another level. In the meantime the desperation of Fluminense’s numerous fans was palpable.
The YouTube clip below shows some news footage of the game that knocked Fluminense from the second tier. The video also contains a shot of one desperate fan kissing his Fluminense jersey as one might kiss a cross.
Did Someone Say Foul?
Later in 1999, Fluminense won in the third division of the Campeonato Brasileiro and rejoined the second tier. However, that same year the championship was conveniently reformatted, and Fluminense was invited to rejoin the prime league. The ruse, the sporting world’s equivalent to skewed election redistricting, was largely accepted without qualm, except, perhaps, among Flamengo fans.
Bringing It
Ultimately, vehement hatred of the archenemy is just as important, if not more so, than fierce loyalty to your team. For Fluminense fans this enemy is Flamengo. The rivalry is so famous that it is merely called Fla-Flu. Nelson Rodrigues, a noted Brazilian journalist and playwright, dates the emergence of this term in the football lexicon to as early as 1911.
Having an enemy team greatly multiplies your enjoyment of the game. You are not merely limited to enjoying, for example, Fluminense v. Other games. You also have Flamengo v. Other to relish. In the latter case, with the hope that Other will royally crush Flamengo.
What’s the Deal Ref?
To be sure slavish devotion to the home team can be cause for joy. It inspires brotherhood among strangers, it brings poepole into the streets to dance and sing and rejoice. However, it is also the divisive force behind many a bar fight and even spousal abuse. And sometimes it’s the reason people turn a blind eye to corruption. But, hey, if the call goes your way, why question it?
