Monthly Archives: July 2012

Saving The Planet, But Who Benefits? The Insidious Story Of Agenda 21

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Saving The Planet, But Who Benefits? The Insidious Story Of Agenda 21

Author’s Note: Sometimes editing an article down to a sound bite rich 500-1000 words can be a Herculean task. Especially when it is an issue that is close to your heart, like Agenda 21.. I used to joke, “global warming’s” true effect was to reveal that an ex-girlfriend and I were simply too different to continue dating. She challenged my “climate denial” and made me back up “the garbage I was spewing” and when my arguments held water – it was her turn to be aggravated and ultimately, it drove us apart.
The only solace I took from my empty bed was that I actually received a great education from her daily challenges. Only, there is now so much more information for me to wade through (5 years on) that is not commonly known (and even where it is known, often the wrong conclusions have been reached) I’m worried its just going to seem like I’m scrapping for a fight, because not only am I fighting the mainstream media nowadays (in telling this story “straight”) – I am fighting a legacy of four sitting presidents who have supported this agenda, right down to changes in education curriculums that have been perpetuated by these lies.
There is a very thin line here between sounding conspiratorial (which this subject completely is – in the largest sense of the word), without delving into “conspiracy theory”. The “conspiracy fact” on the other hand, is enough to scare the bejeezus out of you, if you fully grasp what these people have in store, for our planetary future . . . And just how close they are to achieving their objectives.

By Richard Ravarino

Global cooling. . . Global warming. . . Climate change. . .

This is the “Paul Revere” cry of our age, to let you know that our poor planet has been wounded and we only have 30-50 years to save it, or we are all going to die. We are told we must all do our part. We must all conserve. So you stop taking long showers. Turn off your air conditioner. Get rid of your 100 Watt light bulbs – Here! Use this compact fluorescent bulb instead (never mind that its filled with toxic mercury that will end up in a landfill), it‘s green. . . RIGHT!?!

As we all surrender to the halcyon “feel goods” of doing our part, maybe we should stop and ask: Why does the planet suddenly need saving after 500,000,000 years? Wasn’t it doing okay on its own? Don’t get me wrong – I care about the environment, but now they want to tax my carbon footprint! Huh? You want to tax me. . . for breathing!?!

CO2 – A biological poison? We drink it every day. It’s created naturally in beer and champagne giving us those nice bubbles. . . Or even in your Coca-Cola. My God! The Carbon Cops have missed it! Coke, Pepsi and Budweiser are destroying the planet!

For those that weren’t aware, CO2 is an important part of the life cycle on our planet: from the mammals of the land, to the fish in the sea – we all breathe oxygen in and exhale carbon dioxide out. In turn, the true “green” of this world, in the form of trees, shrubs, flowers, kelp and sea-weeds all breathe in carbon dioxide, which they exchange for life giving oxygen. CO2 literally makes up half of the life cycle of ALL living things on our planet!  And yes, although it is a greenhouse gas, it is one of many. The reason governments have chosen to tax it, is you exhale it.

You human, are a nasty polluter! And nearly everything you do in your modern life affects the output of more of it. Never mind that even if we continued to grow as a population until there were double our current numbers, the atmosphere would still only consist of about only one half of one percent CO2.

It’s a scam folks.

What good will your carbon tax payments do government anyway? They may help pay off some bad old derivatives debts. They may allow for the retirement of bad mortgage loans left over from the economic collapse of 2008. But the truth is, like any other tax, it is a means of government control of YOU.

Every tax you pay robs you of freedom. Freedom to spend your money on things, you would spend it on. The more taxes the government has on your income, the more they control your day to day actions. When stacked on top of your federal income taxes, your state income taxes, insurance (remember, health insurance is now a tax), sales taxes, licensing costs, etc., you will have very little to show for your hard work at the end of the day. And as the coffers of the world’s elite are filled with your carbon taxes (as they jet around the globe on your dime, laughing at your expense),  you will be forced into a state relocation camp, because you can no longer afford to pay your mortgage, but have no fear – They will take care of you.

You will soon live rent free. You will soon eat for free. You will have a new job or career assigned to you and don’t worry about raising your children – the government’s got it handled. It’s more important that you work and contribute your part to humanity’s future. You arrive by train to the new “smart growth zone” – Sector 132 (formerly Los Angeles, you hear someone say). Ahead of you, spiring towers rise against the skyline as far as the eye can see. They are HUGE! You soon realize they are apartment buildings – You have been stacked, packed and racked into a 150 story “community center” and you find that this is where you will be living out the remainder of your existence (your apt. is a measly 350 sq ft. – Your closet was bigger in your last house). You are outraged! You want to speak to whoever is in charge! You see your old neighbor, Tom, I think it was. . . Yes, he walks up and grab your arm. He whispers in a stern voice, “You don’t want to do that. Keep your head down and shut up. Pretend you like it, this is the best we’ve got now. You complain and you’ll be killed.

But what’s happened, you ask? How did we get here? Who wanted this for humanity? Didn’t Al Gore promise if we just paid our carbon taxes, he’d save us?

“How We Got Here”
It was 1987 when Colorado University Professor George W. Hunt served as a key host at the Fourth World Wilderness Congress for Worldwide Conservation in Denver, CO. He had jockeyed for this prestigious spot, in hopes of rubbing elbows with Department of the Interior head Bruce Babbitt, or James Watt, hoping to curry favor for a son of his, who wanted a career in forestry.

The voice of Edmund de Rothschild as he introduces the idea of the world’s first Conservation Bank. Where, once they convince you global warming is real is the final destination of your carbon taxes

Instead, as the final day of the conference moved to Estes Park, CO (40 miles from Denver) he was surprised to see David Rockefeller, Edmund de Rothschild, Maurice Strong, former Secretary of State James Baker (now head of U.S. Treasury) and various IMF and World Bank officials there. He found himself asking, “What were the wealthy elite of the world, and their bankers, doing at an environmental congress?”

The short of it was this:

In 1983, then Secretary General of the European Congress on Biological Diversity, Gro Harlem Brundtland, published a report, in which she expressed her opinions on environmentalism and ecology. By 1986, Ms. Brundtland had been elected Prime Minister of Norway, so with that, her husband, Socialist Internationale President Willy Brandt, Rockefeller Foundation attaché and Rothschild consultant Maurice Strong, came together to form the “Brundtland Commission”, to which they saw Ms. Brundtland’s report distributed to over 175 heads of state worldwide.

This video was released as a political counter to Maurice Strong’s original UNCED “Earth Summit” meeting in 1992. Forgive the quality of the original VHS tape. There is good information here.

Logo for the original 4th World Wilderness Congress

Now was the time to literally capitalize a movement and they were just about to introduce the World Conservation Bank. For her report inspired the international elite to action. In the report’s pages, lay a simple plan for achieving, what many in their circles had dreamed of since the turn of the 20th century.

The report coined the phrase “sustainable development”, which Ms. Brundtland defined as, “development that meets the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  Sounding innocuous enough and a reasonable approach to the future, the devil would soon be found in the details.

Canadian David Lang, an international investment banker was quoted as saying of the report, “I suggest this be sold, not through a Democratic process. . . As that would take too long and devour far too many resources, to educate the cannon fodder, unfortunately, which populates the Earth.”

Er hum. . . Not to be patronizing of you my reader, but did you catch that Mr. Lang just referred to you (the general public) as “cannon fodder”???  Think about that, as you consider Ms. Brundtland herself called for population reduction of at least 2 billion in her report, before world populations would be “sustainable” (and this when the world was only home to four and a half billion souls).

The “Brundtland Report” conclusions were stunning. Through Socialist control mechanisms, the world was to be remade into a panacea of controlled growth and worldwide villages of human existence, which would leave 90% of the Earth as wild-lands (completely off limits to humanity) under centralized authoritarian control.

This highly produced video was released by the John Birch Society to help you understand the extreme loss of personal liberty and private property you will suffer under Agenda 21.

This was an opportunity to remake planetary society, within a footprint of their own designation and literally, down to their own belief. For a hint as to what they had planned, you just need to go back a decade earlier, as they had commissioned the United Nations 1976 Habitat Study, which concluded of the continent of Africa, “Private (property) ownership is a principle instrument of the accumulation and concentration of wealth; if left unchecked, it may become a major obstacle in the planning and implantation of development schemes.”

That is to say, Socialist “development schemes”. They couldn’t allow private property rights to take a foothold in third world Africa, as it had in the West, for the African continent was already clamoring to emulate the West. It had to be carefully considered how to keep them under the thumb of U.N. globalist control.

And if the Brundtland Commission were going to move this agenda to a global scale, they had to take control of private property. It was key to their control. Reasonable strategies had to be formulated on how they could win their battles in courts, for the responsible management of endangered eco-systems or taming the abuses of private property that endangered entire species. These strategies would become the one-two punch of “sustainable development” and the means by which 90% of private property has been legally transferred in court, since 1988, to globalist control.

At last, in the Brundtland Commission Report they had their answer – It was simply a matter of destroying Western Capitalism through ecological and environmental usurpations and impressively, they’d accomplish it through capitalist investment partners! Appealing to their sense of human greed, would become their undoing!

If you know any public officials and want to help them ‘see the light’, this is the video for them. It will help them understand how NGO’s and ICLEI are working towards undermining our American system, for Globalist ends.

The Capitalists would fund their World Conservation Bank, which would then fund NGO’s (Non-Governmental Agencies) to fight their fights, in the name of ecology. Then when the dust settles from the fight, they would sell a portion of the confiscated lands to trusted global business partners, which would then refill the coffers of the World Conservation Bank, pay dividends to their investors and leave the bank resplendently rich, attracting new investment with the “feel good” promise of “Saving the Planet”, only to then repeat the cycle.

According to George Hunt, “I asked them as an official host, when is this Conservation Bank going to come to pass and what I got out of them was, they would engineer a collapse in 2012 and out of the wreckage of the old world currencies, they would come in with a new currency and a new trade model and this Conservation Bank would then seize control”.

“Saving The Planet” – The 1992 U.N. Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), “Earth Summit” Rio di-Janeiro, Brazil
The 1992 General Secretary of Earth Summit, Maurice Strong (capitalist oil billionaire, former employee of Rockefeller’s and Rothschild’s World Projects and Brundtland Commission member), convened the original UNCED meetings in Stockholm, Sweden in 1972, during which he stated “current lifestyles and consumption patterns of the affluent middle class involving high meat intake, use of fossil fuels, appliances, home and work air conditioning and suburban housing – are not sustainable.”

Well his contributions to this summit would soon be obvious. His callous, Malthusian attitude towards humanity, is what generally pervaded this 1992 “Earth Summit”, as it had had 20 years to fester and for the first time, world leaders from 178 countries came together to discuss the feasibility of a plan to institute the “Brundtland Commission Report” as international law.

This conference yielded a new a forty-chapter document that defined planetary control, for the benefit of an elite few, based entirely on socialist control mechanisms. They called it Agenda 21, as all aspects were to be instituted by the year 2000, so it was literally the agenda for the 21st century.

In the Agenda’s pages, nature is elevated above man through its precautionary principle – which assumes you guilty until proven innocent in “crimes” against the environment.

The primary objectives of the agenda include:

1. An end to national sovereignty

2. The abolition of private property (including private vehicles)

3. Restructuring of the family unit

4. Limitations and restrictions on mobility

5. Individual opportunity.

Among a list of what is NOT sustainable were: All fossil fuels, airports, golf courses, ski lodges and resorts, consumerism, single family homes, air conditioning, paved roads, commercial agriculture, irrigation, pastures, grazing of livestock, herbicides and pesticides.

Latter aspects of Agenda 21 would include relocating people from rural areas to smart zone developments, pushing gas prices higher (to help demonize the “greedy” oil companies), manipulating transportation patterns by shutting down traditional thoroughfares claiming them “unsustainable”, forbidding human access to land, seizure of private property, restricting water use, additional taxing, restricting the amount of waste, forced community involvement and forced quotas on harvesting.

Michael Shaw is the head of Freedom21.org and Freedom Advocates.org. Local organizations fighting ICLEI and NGO encroachment in California. Fighting back on the local level is the key to winning back our liberty as Agenda 21′s secret to success has been its local implementation.

As President George H.W. Bush signed the Agenda 21 compact, which commissioned the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, he said, “It is the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, to which the American people will henceforth pledge their allegiance.”

Is it any wonder, American children no longer rise and pledge their allegiance to their flag, as many of us once did?

As the UNCED “Earth Summit” broke, environmental activist and attorney Daniel Sitarz exclaimed to the media, “Agenda 21 proposes an array of actions which are intended to be implemented by every person on Earth. Effective execution of Agenda 21 will require a profound re-orientation of all human society, unlike anything the world has ever experienced – a major shift in the priorities of both governments and individuals and an unprecedented redeployment of human and financial resources.”

The 1995 U.N. Global Biodiversity Assessment
Agenda’s like this one, which radically remake the political and sociological makeup of society rarely succeed overnight. They are better won through a war of attrition, one step at a time – rather than through violent revolution.

Keep in mind, UNCED first convened in 1972. The one constant was Maurice Strong, who joined the Brundtland Commission in 1984, was Secretary General of the 4th World Wilderness Congress in 1987, as well as the 1992 meetings in Rio. He also played overseer of the 1995 U.N Convention on Biological Diversity and its subsequent 1,200 page report, The Global Biodiversity Assessment.

Hunt states, “If there is a face to put to ‘climate change’ and environmental extremism it is not Al Gore, but Maurice Strong – He practically invented it. It was Strong in the ‘70’s trying to prepare us for another coming ice age. This guy has used the weather (and environment) as his weapon of choice for 40 years”.

Coming out of the ’95 UNCED conference, a new direction was given of the agenda.  As points central to the ’92 Rio meetings were further delved into, adding much greater detail, the brightest minds of their generation were hired to develop agendas, specific to their field of study, which would better define “sustainable development”.

An Agenda 21 breakdown by Glenn Beck. One of the many reasons he was fired from Fox. He broke the cardinal sin of modern American journalism – He told the truth! He’s lucky he wasn’t Breitbart’ed.

A large part of what was to come out of the Biodiversity Assessment was the 1995 Wild-lands Map of the United States. Intellectuals like Wild-lands map developer Dr. Reed Knoss reported, “We must convert at least 50% of the land area of North America to wilderness, completely off-limits to human beings. Those wilderness areas are to be interconnected by wilderness corridors off-limits to human beings, those wilderness areas are to be surrounded by buffer zones with limited resource use, with licensing and permission of the United Nations local authorities and NGO (Non Government Organization) approval.”

Battling Back Against A Globalist Cabal
But others that worked with Knoss began to see through the agenda. Dr. Michael S. Coffman, PhD. Stated, “It was during that study that I began to realize, this was not an effort to protect the environment, this was an effort to control you and I. They were dividing the United States up into little compartments, in which, they would rip out roads and whole communities and allow them to be returned to wilderness.”

Dr. Coffman reveals “The document literally calls for reducing the human population of the planet by 2/3’s to ¾’s in the next 30 to 50 years”.  As a point of fact, in the 2012 Rio Conference “Rio – Plus 20”, the calls for reduction in human population have now been quoted as high as 93%

Dr. Coffman concludes stating, “Agenda 21 is nothing more than a 40-chapter UN document to reorganize the world around socialist, command and control regulation.”

This is Dr. Reed Knoss’s Wild-lands map from the 1995 Biodiversity Assessment. Red areas are completely forbidden for human occupation. Yellow areas are for limited licensed use and “smart growth communities” of the future will only be allowed in black areas. “If you live anywhere else. . . You won’t”

A man who heard Dr. Coffman’s revelations of the Agenda and was quick to battle them on the home front is attorney and conservationist Michael Shaw, head of Freedom21 and Freedom Advocates.org, founded in 1996 and based in Santa Cruz, CA. Shaw comments on the Wild-lands map, “If you live there, you won’t”, speaking of the red areas off-limits to all humanity as sacred Holy land for Gaia Herself (and the Globalists).

Shaw further states, “Of the yellow areas, where only limited human activity will be allowed – If you live there, you won’t”, he continues, “And those black dots mark the ‘Smart Growth Zones’ where human beings are to be stacked and packed along rail lines, where your jobs will be assigned and your children will be cared for by the state”.

Rosa Koire, author of Behind The Green Mask explains the story behind her book in this 90 minute expose of Agenda 21. This lecture is the definitive video I have found on this subject and I highly recommend you buying her book as well (above left).

“The principle goal of the ‘Sustainable’ Globalist agenda is a planned collapse of American principles, values and lifestyles. The effect on the average American will be devastating. Within the rules of this agenda, the average American will live without independence, privacy or substantive rights”, concludes Shaw.

Suburban Agenda 21
When the United Nations grew up their 1992 plans for world domination, countries in the West, specifically Europe and the United States were of particular dismay to the globalists. As stated before, the well-established land rights in these countries would make it harder to carry out their plans than in other parts of the world.

Harder, but not impossible:

Environmentalist and attorney Sitarz reported, ”Property rights are not absolute and unchanging, but rather a complex, dynamic and shifting relationship between two or more parties, over space and time”. Taken out of legalese terminology, he is saying that if the “common good – sustainable development” can be proven to be endangered by private property, they can simply take the land and they have done this on the local level through an organization known as ICLEI (International Committee for Local Environmental Initiatives).

ICLEI is an organization for the local implementation of Agenda 21 principles in all of our local communities. From statewide programs like “Florida Forever” and “Envision Utah” initiated in the late ‘90’s to stop “urban sprawl” – these programs have encouraged local governments to designate areas as open lands, or green-lining areas and protecting them as wet-lands, sometimes despite the lack of, or even a trace of water.

By creating feel good legislation on the local level, ICLEI members have managed to gain control of city councils, county aldermen and commissioner posts and state congressional appointments. ICLEI President Harvey Ruvin has said, “Individual rights will have to take a back seat to the collective.”

And Mr. Ruvin assures us this includes the loss of your fourth amendment right to privacy. ICLEI has recommended Gestapo type tactics of its local members to ensure environmental initiatives are being met.

Taken from the pamphlet, Building a More Sustainable Future in Wisconsin, they state, “. . . the importance of state and federal training and education programs to generate educators, facilitators and motivators who would be capable of going into individual homes and helping people develop their own personalized sustainability action plans.”

In 1998 the President Clinton’s Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD) stated “Sustainable communities encourage people to work together to create healthy communities where natural and historic resources are preserved, jobs are available, sprawl is contained, neighborhoods are secure, education is lifelong, transportation and healthcare are accessible and all citizens have opportunities to improve the quality of their lives.”

“While this sounds like a panacea of a Utopian future where we should cling to our neighbors in a group hug and sing ‘Kum-baya’, the truth is your jobs will be assigned from a neighborhood ‘Commandant’ and that education is on a need to know basis”, states Shaw.

In fact, UNESCO called 2005-2015 the United Nations Decade of Education For Sustainable Development, to integrate the principles, values and practices of sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. Curriculum will encompass all 40 chapters of Agenda 21. But according to Shaw, it won’t include much else. . .

“Our children are being deliberately ‘dumbed down’ on the basis of sustainable development”, states Shaw, “From UNESCO own writings, ‘the more highly educated a person becomes, the higher their income will be and therefore they consume more resources than poorly educated people, who tend to have lower incomes.’ Therefore UNESCO believes high levels of education increases the threat to sustainability.’”

Don’t believe me? Did you know that 2+2 now equals 5? Well it could. . . According to the geniuses behind “fuzzy math”, it is more important that children feel good about their solution, than it is that they arrive at the correct computational answer. Under the principles of “fuzzy math”, if the majority of students in a classroom believe that 2+2+5, then 2+2 DOES equal 5. Heaven forbid we damage their delicate little psyches’ with the computational TRUTH!

“Fuzzy Math” gained UNESCO approval for K-6 curriculums nationwide in 2005.

So How Do We Stop This?

So how do we turn back the clock on the U.N. Collectivist movement? The commentators of this article have some suggestions:

“Turn off your TV and actually start believing what you read on the internet”, suggests Shaw, “It amazes me that my wife and I can sit and conspire over our finances and how to improve our end of the month cash-flows, but to suggest that government officials or bureaucrats would do the same behind close doors is somehow preposterous! Conspiracy is the legacy of human history and you had better believe this one – before the local ICLEI representative shows up on your doorstep and demands a carbon inventory of your home”.

It is also encouraging to know that ICLEI is not all-powerful. In Shaw’s home community of Santa Cruz, all ICLEI sponsored legislation has been pulled and statutes that have already passed are being re-examined and in one case, land rights have been turned back over to the rightful owner.

“Talk about this openly. Get the word out as to the dangers to private property and our way of life. This includes your worship of Christ as your Savior, Jehovah or even Allah. . . These people plan to put all of the old “Gods” on their knees in front of Gaia, as they plan Mother Earth to have a central role in our future theology”, states Hunt.

It is perhaps to Dr. Coffman we must listen closest to as he states, “We are living in the most perilous time in the history of the United States, as warring worldviews divide and tear the heart out of America. America has one chance to stop this insidious destruction. That chance is you, right now!”

Dr. Coffman continues, “We are in a battle for the very survival of the freedoms, liberties and wealth creation given to us by our Founding Fathers. We either start taking our nation back from those who want to control it or we will lose our nation to a stagnant, all-controlling government.”

“There is hope. Great hope. The American people have always risen to the occasion, once they understood the danger. Ironically, we can do it using the very instrument progressives have tried to destroy – the Constitution. For this to happen, however, millions of dedicated Americans will have to join the battle by supporting candidates who affirm Constitutional principles, and getting involved in their local communities to take action using a time-tested legal procedure that stops government intrusion. This is by far the most important war America has ever fought”, he concludes.

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Theater Xtreme Mixes JVC, Marantz & Klipsch For A “Grand” Experience

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Theater Xtreme Mixes JVC, Marantz & Klipsch For A “Grand” Experience

This is the final installment of a six part series featuring Theater Xtreme’s Unique “Room-in-a-box” approach to custom home theater. To review earlier installments click below:
The Palace – Part 5
The Majestic- Part 4
The Stadium – Part 3
The Residence – Part 2
Introduction to Theater Xtreme and The Vignette

by Richard Ravarino

The custom home theater market is typically the consumer electronics equivalent of a trip to a Ferrari, or a Rolls Royce dealership. Snob appeal? Absolutely. Credit check? Not necessary. . . But please show us your American Express Black Card or Chase Sapphire at the door!

You don’t typically walk into one of these places, concerned about the price of their products. You walk in knowing what you are after and in the end, you are more concerned with a seemingly effortless customer experience – finalizing things with a flawless, smooth, professional (and personal) transaction. You don’t walk in looking to “work a deal” in one of these places. The price is simply the price.

But what if you could “work that deal”? What if the sky was the limit, but “reason” was still in play?

The JVC DLA-X30 lights the screen in TheaterXtreme’s “Grand” Theater.

You might end up with a system, like Theater Xtreme’s “Grand” Theater.

With today’s advanced technology the “sky” is now within your grasp, starting at $20,000.00. An unheard of price for a flagship theater and with many “custom” competitors, this isn’t even a starting point – try $30-40k!  Theater Xtreme not only promises that they can deliver their flagship system to your house for this price, but that includes full service installation, set-up and calibration. Theater Xtreme owner Marshall McKinnon says, “We would rather work the volume of 50-100 average price deals, than lay claim to the bragging rights on a handful of ‘super’ deals”.

This attitude towards volume and price-point conscious systems, has McKinnon’s customers attention. Many of whom live in Draper, and the nearby affluent communities of Sandy, Highland and Alpine, Utah – Exclusive areas where the gloves could easily come off and the gauntlet could be throne down – “But to what end?” asks McKinnon.

“Put another way”, McKinnon continues, “We would rather have a few hundred customers at the end of the year that are raving fans, that will tell their neighbors about their experience with Theater Xtreme, than a handful of “exclusive” customers that tend to keep to themselves.”

But that isn’t to say Theater Xtreme isn’t interested in the “super” deal, its just that deal is not the focus of their business. They will happily sell you their entry-level system (at only $8,000.00), if it fits your needs and for many it will.

“The Grand” is definitely in a different league and the $20,000.00, if this falls in your budget, is very justified. It is defined by its brilliant video projector, the audio system and its ease of control and throughout this article, we will examine each aspect, as its promised at sticker price, but also other options – if we allow ourselves to dream. . .

The JVC DLA-X70 DOUBLES your pixels at 3,840 X 2,160 and provides an incredible 70k:1 contrast ratio

Miserly Movie Magnificence
Starting with the JVC DLA-X30, the centerpiece of “The Grand’s” video system. The JVC “X30” is one of the top-rated projectors on the market, at a relatively inexpensive $3,500.00. This projector displays a picture so natural, that you’d think you were watching a film at a movie house. There is nothing that screams “TV” about it – Even when watching TV.

JVC has made a name for itself due its legendary contrast ratio, but it may be surprising to hear that those amazing black levels and 1,000 shades of gray that this projector displays so remarkably, are rated at only one quarter of the level of the Epson 6010 that we discussed in the last installment of this series.

Yes, the JVC’s contrast ratio is only 50,000:1; while the Epson brags a contrast ratio of 200,000:1. What gives! Right? That was my question as well. First things, first.he: There are no smoke and mirrors being used here. The Epson IS a fantastic projector. The 200,000:1 contrast ratio is completely legit. It’s just not the same. . . It’s like comparing an apples to oranges, as opposed to another apple.

While Epson (along with Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and others) use what is known in the industry as dynamic contrast ratio to express their numbers, which crosses the entire bandwidth (from blackest black, to lightest white). Meanwhile, JVC uses what they call negative contrast ratio, which simply measures black level. Because of this the typical contrast ratios on projectors with a negative contrast ratio will range between one fifth and one tenth of numbers reflected by companies that use the dynamic contrast ratio numbers.

So what does this mean to me?!?

Well according to Chip Ormond with JVC America, he states, “It means the greatest possible contrast between light and dark. As an example, take a scene from a movie where a group of people are gathered around a campfire, behind them is a range of mountains lying in shadow and above that a beautiful star-lit sky.”

Ormond continues, “Well on our projectors, not only will you see the brightness of the fire, the folds of the people’s clothing gathered around the flames (and the detail of that clothing where it lies in shadow), but you will see the brilliance of all those stars in the sky, as well. On many a projector that uses a dynamic contrast ratio, you will catch the brilliance of that fire and maybe a few of those shadows, but that starry night will be washed out in the black of the sky except for the brightest stars, if the stars aren’t missing entirely.”

It’s a subtlety that sets the JVC projectors in a class by themselves and one that may not be fully appreciated, without this long-winded dissertation. And while we are on the subject of comparisons to the Epson 6010, let’s talk lumens. At least in this department, there is a national standard and there is what everyone else uses. JVC gets this one right.

Since the 1990’s when cathode ray tube projectors were still the best around, about half the home theater market talked lumens, but the half that wanted to be taken seriously talked ANSI-lumens (American National Standards Institute). JVC’s X30 comes in at a respectable 1,300 ANSI lumens and yes, by comparison the Epson is still brighter. However, rather than the 2,400 lumens Epson brags, when measured in ANSI-Lumens the 6010 only comes in at 1,600 ANSI-lumens or about 20% brighter.

If you are still asking what this means to you, Theater Xtreme’s McKinnon will ask you, “Are you installing a dedicated theater, or does this room suit more of a multi-purpose?” and that is a great question, because if the room is anything but a dedicated theater, the Epson is probably a better choice. The Epson’s picture holds up much better than does the JVC’s with the lights turned up.

However, if this is a dedicated theater room and you are serious about your movie watching, the JVC stands high above the Epson and there is simply no comparison and if you still have budget available to possibly move beyond “The Grand” as packaged. JVC still has two big brothers to the X30 that provide some interesting features, for a price.

Four Thousand Reasons to Upgrade (er hum, 3,840 reasons)
JVC’s DLA-X70 brings you into the exciting world of 4K, well sort of. . .

“4K” for the uninitiated is like having a 1080p picture – Times FOUR. Literally, it is (1080×1920) x 4 and this is today’s standard in commercial theaters with digital projection. However, on the “homefront”, things are a bit more confusing.

First things first, a disclaimer: Home Theater 4K DOES NOT officially exist. . .YET.

BluRay is still the media home standard of choice and where most consumers would probably not rush out to buy a movie spread across 20 or more BluRay discs, you can see where it might take a while for true 4K to be a home reality. Frankly, even by download, a 4K movie would span multiple terabytes of information. It is just not practical with today’s technology.

That said, if you remember the era of the Faroujda line double (and later quadrupler), that is kind of where 4K is today.

In the case of the JVC X70 and X90, the true pixel count is actually 3,840 x 2,160 (which is really only double 1080p, or 2K as a cinematographer would refer to it). However, if you understand how JVC accomplishes their 4K e-Shift technology, imagine that each pixel you are viewing is actually being split into 2 pieces (and then shifted down), giving you a picture that allows you to literally sit twice as close as you would, than say with the X30 or Epson 6010 and NEVER see a pixel.

Now, in a hyper critical moment, we can pick JVC apart for re-defining 4K, which in the film industry is generally accepted as a format with 5,120 x 2,700 pixels (of which only 4,096 x 2,304 are visible – the rest add to the depth of field) or roughly 9.4 megapixels. But what they have done is to brilliantly take advantage of the above figure of 3,840 and market it as 4K. . . Am I complaining? Absolutely not! But the folks at Wolff and Sony don’t like it one bit.

They offer ultra high-end projectors that truly do offer the “home standard” for 4K at 4,096 x 2,160 and at over three times the price of JVC’s X-70. Obviously, this adds some confusion to marketplace and yes, you probably get what you pay for – but isn’t “confusion” where we started (with the break down of negative contrast ratio vs. dynamic contrast ratio)?

Four Thou$and More Rea$ons. . .
Personally speaking, the JVC DLA-X70 (1200 ANSI-Lumens, 70,000:1 contrast ratio) is probably the best “bang for the buck” projector, delivering 4K in the under $10,000 category (coming in at only $7,995); and for its big brother – the X90 (which weighs in at $11,995) the main difference is a process of hand selection and balance of the X70’s lenses, (the top 10% of optical lenses are withheld from the line, to create this projector) which yields an additional contrast ratio of 50k:1 (for a remarkable 120k:1), but still at only 1,200 ANSI-lumens. This lower light level is by design, it lowers eye fatigue over lengthy viewing sessions and also helps maintain longer bulb life.

Also, with the X90 your warranty is extended to three years and the 3-D emitter is built-in and two pairs of 3-D glasses are included in the box. You can export your users settings to a PC, for safe-keeping and quick re-load after service.

While this may not sound like much of a difference for an extra $4,000 according to JVC’s Ormond, the difference is “stunning”. Keep in mind, even at $11,995, you are still at less than half the money you would spend on the $25,000 Sony model that “you would have a hard time telling them apart”, according to Ormond.

Marantz Sr-7007 Flagship AVR for 2012

The Brains
In the world of today’s high-end audio-video receivers, its not an easy task staying on top and for every new feature that is here today, gone tomorrow it’s nice to know that Marantz stays their hand and usually doesn’t add features, just because they can. They stay their hand until the feature is industry accepted before applying it. This methodical approach may seem as no frills as the front of Marantz SR-7007, but what Marantz gives up in flash, they gain in simple elegance with nothing more than a volume knob, a source selection knob and a digital readout window giving you current settings. It’s a sleek design that has come to be expected by Marantz customers, with its brushed aluminum finish in matte black, it seems the perfect audio source accompaniment for this theater room, drawing on its moniker the Marantz is nothing less than “Grand”.

Coming in at 125 watts per channel (.08%THD) you might expect it to be underpowered, or even possibly noisy with a higher than normal THD, but Marantz does not pad its numbers as some do (by limiting frequency range in testing). . . It is what it is, and what it is, is beautiful. The SR7007 features Marantz proprietary HDAM (Hyper Dynamic Amplifier Module) circuits create a stunning image of what is available from today’s power amplifiers. This current feedback technology provides exceptional audio quality that Marantz customers demand – that all customers should demand of a receiver at this price point ($1,899.00).

The Sr-7007’s 125 WPC are as crystal clear as amps I have heard at 200WPC. The vocal delivery across the soundstage, is an auditory pleasure. Not too sharp (except when need be), and even the quietest whisper can still be pronounced, proving the clarity and overall power of these amps.

As far as video processing goes, the Marantz has a total of seven different HDMI sources for input and three HDMI outputs (two of which can be run simultaneously, if you want to centrally locate all components). Beyond mere switching it also is fully capable of 3-D and 4k passthrough, as well as a 4k up-convert capable of 3,860 x 1,920 (the same as JVC’s e-shift 4k). It is also complemented by three component and four composite video sources and an additional four audio inputs (two each optical/coax).

Elysium Echoes
Now a good receiver is nothing without great speakers to showcase them and the audio system in “The Grand” does not disappoint. Contained within her mighty walls are the Klipsch flagship system, the Ultra-II THX.

Klipsch Ultra II THX are the most incredible theater speaker this reviewer has ever heard. They are amazing!

This 7.2 system hides each of its seven mains in the walls of your theater, while the two subwoofers are the only true presence to the room, each ready to pounce like cornered lions (and with equivalent roar).
While its an old industry adage that THX speakers never sound as good as general stereo speakers, these Klipsch monsters do a nice job – especially for an in-wall.

Considering these speakers narrow 6” cavity, is all they have to produce the sound they do – I would rate these as an exceptional music speaker. Once again, they are built as theater speakers, so with THX’s rigid limitations you aren’t going to get a perfect stereo image, but the sound is dynamic, sweet and clear.

As home theaters go, this system misses nothing! The Ultra II brings a frequency response to the homefront, so dynamic, so phenomenal that once the lights go out you aren’t quite sure you didn’t leave home. Perhaps the best compliment I could give these speakers, is that I usually have a substitution I could recommend, or something at least that would bring something to the table from a different angle – I don’t. This is it! They leave me flabbergasted!

Home theater speakers aren’t supposed to sound this good. The timbre and frequency matching from speaker to speaker is like nothing I have heard before in a home theater – let alone in an in-wall. Not only do they equate the full sound of a commercial theater, they may in fact, eclipse it!

“One Ring To Rule Them All”
When you put together a system this good, you don’t stop short of the goal with a cut rate control system. RTI, URC are among some of the best in the “magic wand” business, but when you come to a theater of this quality you need Control 4. When you start your movie, you don’t just want to start the BluRay player, you want the lights to drop. You want the A/C at a comfortable 72 degrees. You want the doors locked (as you don’t want to be disturbed and don’t want to fret over security). You set the security. You can even monitor your sprinkling system.

If you can imagine it, you can probably control it with Control 4. Plus, you aren’t stuck with the “magic wand”. You have the ability to control your system from your iPad, iPhone, iPod or Android device. Personally, this should not be an after thought if you have reached this budget level. It should be an integral part of how you design your theater and possibly your whole home. Modern control systems like Control 4 offer far more than just volume control or changing the channel. They round out a well designed system with an air of professionalism that you would expect at this budget level. Anything less, would be uncivilized.

Well-Heeled Opulence
Canadian company Palliser has made a name for themselves as a world-class sofa and sectional manufacturer since 1944, but in the mid to late 1990’s, they saw the rise of home theaters and their increasing presence at home shows nationwide and internationally. It was shortly afterwards they started to develop their “theater seating” line-up.

Palliser “Rhumba” in the foreground (the most comfortable theater seat EVER) and the “Media” in the rear. Available in 100 different leathers and 200 fabrics.

Today Palliser theater seats are the standard in the industry, with over 25 lines of theater seating (with 100+ leathers and 200 fabrics) and matching configurations for each. They custom fill each order to your own specifications. “The Grand” represents two lines of these seats, the Rhumba (on the front row, pictured right) and the Media (back row) with the ability to plug in laptop table attachments and an iPad stand ($49 each, add-on).

Both chairs are appointed in 3,000 grain leather and amply overstuffed, with a wide berth across the seat, at times they can feel more like a King’s throne than a simple theater chair. These seats are as comfortable as any chair I have ever sat in and I could go on raving, but suffice it to say – I am a big guy (around 300lbs.) and a lesser chair will cave under my weight.

Whether, it be a pocket of stuffing that doesn’t want to give, or a rogue spring that doesn’t want to play well with others, my weight will usually bear out the shortcomings of a poorly built chair. In the case of the Palliser line, as a whole, I have no complaints. In the case of the Rhumba, just throw a blanket over me – I’ll happily sleep there! That is the kind of comfort for which I describe. These things are best experienced, not described.

Although the pricing of the chairs is not priced in to the $19,999.00 price tag of “The Grand”, I admonish you not to overlook this add-on expense. At $799.95 each ($99 more with power recline), they are not inexpensive. . . But once you sit in them, you will realize they are not overpriced either.

Saving The Planet, But For Who’s Benefit? “Fish Don’t Vote”

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Saving The Planet, But For Who’s Benefit?

Fish Don’t Vote – The Story of the Californian Delta Smelt

by Richard Ravarino

This is the first part of a five part series exposing the questionable and often hysterical decisions made in the name of  ”saving the planet” and/or environment, however, if you missed the introduction please click here

In 2008 environmentalist do-gooders, working on behalf of the Endangered Species Act, achieved a major victory in the courts as the “Delta Smelt”, was placed on the endangered species list. Their complaint cited that water pumps to the San Joachin valley were trapping the endangered fish in it inlet pumps. As a matter of due course, in the case of the “Delta Smelt”, over 250 California farmers in the State’s richest farming valley were forced into bankruptcy and had to sell their farms, while the pumps were turned off in California and a legal battle was fought in Washington, over this endangered minnow.

At the height of this crisis, even the State Fisheries Commission joined the hysterical chorus, testifying against the farmers saying the pumps threatened not only the little minnow, but the steelhead salmon, green sturgeon and the killer whale!?!? It is interesting to note amidst the hysteria that the San Joachin valley is between 60-100 miles inland and that these species are all saltwater species.  Comedian Paul Rodriquez, who’s family owns land in the San Joachin and became the national spokesman for their cause during this period, stated, “It’s so ridiculous that, well, you know the killer whale. . . I’ve never seen one on the highway, but apparently we’re affecting their reproduction”

Without the water necessary to grow crops, it didn’t take long for economic devastation to grip the Central Valley. Unemployment in the areas ranged from 20 percent to a staggering 50 percent. The San Joachin Valley’s agricultural output declined over $3 billion in 2009, compared with 2008.

The Delta Smelt, stole more jobs in 2008-2010 than the combined closing of all U.S. auto-manufacturers plants.

“Instead of stimulating jobs, federal environmental officials are turning recession into depression, and stimulating economic hardship for business, farms and families,” said Rob Rivett, president of the Pacific Legal Foundation.

Finally, in May of 2010 (almost two full years after the pumps were shut off) Judge Oliver Wanger ordered the pumps turned back on. In the course of two years of study, many other environmental factors were discovered to have had an affect on the population of the “Delta Smelt”, not the least of which, was an embarrassing sewage leak that had been covered up by increased water flow into the Pacific: Water that would have flowed to farmers in the San Joachin valley.

As water returned the San Joachin, people cheered across the nation, but the simple fact was this. . . Two thirds of the richest family farms in California had been forced into bankruptcy. Families that had lived on and worked this land for generations had become homeless, all because of environmentalist and bureaucratic meddling.

But where there is a victim(s), there is usually a benefactor – Enter Monsanto, Dow Chemical and Archer Daniels-Midland. The national super-food companies that own over 90% of our grocery store shelves coast to coast were able to come in and pick up the land for pennies on the dollar, before the water was ever turned back on.

As one looks at the bigger picture behind this scandal, one must stop to ask. . . Was this ever just about this tiny fish, or something far more sinister? Namely the largest land transfer from family farmers to corporate farmers in modern times. This story illustrates just how fragile our rights to private property really are. Sure justice is blind, but in a miscarriage of justice such as this – where hundreds of tax paying farm owners were basically forced off their land by the courts – no restitution will ever come.

This case undermine’s the very basis of our system of private property rights. Washington does need to be good stewards of the land and protection of our world’s wildlife resources is an important job, but when a decision as important as this one, risks the jobs of hundreds of thousands of farm workers and the businesses of their employers, the bureaucrats need to act with discretion towards the people that sign their checks – the taxpayers of the district in question first. Until a fish casts its first vote in an election, this should be common sense. Our laws and government are put in place to protect their taxpaying citizens. The job of our courts is to assure the liberty and well being of those people ruled by its laws, even if this means staying its hand to the point of a species extinction – as tragic as that outcome may be. Especially when it turns out sewage from San Jose was the real culprit and this judicial distraction allowed San Jose to clean up its mess in the interim without further legal penalty.

One must question the use of the endangered species act, when it is abused like it was here, not only leaving California farm workers out of work and independent farm owners out of business – But leaving America dependent on the importation of food from foreign nations, while one of America’s largest “bread baskets” was turned to dust from 2008 to 2010. Sure, we are again eating food from that region today and the Delta Smelt has been saved from destruction, but at what cost to liberty and private property rights? For the big three corporate farmers, they were able to scoop all of this land up for mere millions, when it would have cost them 100′s of billions before the court carried out its orders.

 

“Save The Planet”? When Those That See Human Development As Evil, Thwart Western Economic Growth – Who Are We Saving It For?

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“Save The Planet”? When Those That See Human Development As Evil, Thwart Western Economic Growth – Who Are We Saving It For?

The Story of How Ecology Became More Important That Economy

By Richard Ravarino

In today’s climate of ecological hysteria, this intersection seems impossible to find, as too often environment over-runs economy.

“Save The Planet” – The nobel cry of our age. An age when unemployment soars and government promises solutions to put us back to work, why can’t they? Could it be that a cabal of Green-Eco-Fascist-Extremists have stymied all development in this country? Could it be they are making it impossible for business to grow? Could it be that the private sector is suffocating under the weight of a mountain of red tape, brought about by an out of control environmental lobby, that stifles any impulse to create new projects that could actually “green the Earth” or create sustainable jobs built on REAL economy, not government bureaucracy?

As the environmental movement continues to attack, demonize and tax CO2 (which actually makes up half of the cycle sustaining life on this planet), real projects that could grow our infrastructure and “green” our deserts and plains, are put on permanent hold. Meanwhile, plans to expand our liveable world are tied up in endless bureaucratic red tape and congressional debate over these projects environmental impact. All the while, we pretend to care more about two-inch minnows, than we do about the fellow members of our own race.

Further, we will take a deep look at the United Nation’s “Agenda 21” http://richsilverlinings.com/saving-the-planet-but-for-whos-benefit-the-insidious-story-of-agenda-21/ policy, which has locked down development in most Western Countries while allowing Asia and South/Central America to flourish while the U.S., African, Australian and European economies are shut down.

Taking a look back at contemporary American history we will see a massive program proposed in the 1960’s and promoted by President John F. Kennedy and Utah Senator Frank E. Moss called NAWAPA: The North American Water And Power Alliance. A program meant to be the Tennessee Valley Authority project of our generation. Although as the Vietnam war escalated – blowing up a foreign country to stop Communism, became more important than providing drinkable water to the Western half of our country. This will be a mistake that will kill or displace millions in the coming generation, while others capitalize on this water shortage and make billions, it is time to ask yourself, “What is economy?”

Next, we will take a look at the Malthusian lie of overpopulation. From pointing out the obvious (if you have the brains to look at an Atlas and calculate human population vs. actual world landmass), you would find that every man, woman and child on the planet could each be given 100 acres (all seven billion of us) and our population would only fill the continent of Africa. Responsible ecological management aside. . . Myths of “sustainability” are really just excuses – For when through the force of government, Fortune 500 companies come to take your land, in the Fascist totalitarian controlled New World Order.

And finally, the subversion of Christian culture and religion in the West. . . As Islam is both held up as superior (by the Left) and yet demonized (by the Right) at the same time. Where is this going? What are the implications? Why did Christ the Redeemer suddenly turn green this year at the International Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil? Could this mark the beginning of a new world religion – possibly a religion of paganistic Gaia worship? Does this merely mark a revolution, where we bring back a much older religion that predates any of our current ones?  And while world leaders, decide our futures from behind closed doors at this climate conference, we must ask ourselves, what policies will be formed there? Could this conference lead to the largest new tax in our lifetimes? And read the report of Dr. Michael Coffman, former United Nations advisor on ecological sustainability, until he figured out this was all about a corporate coup against National Governments worldwide.

With that, we will start this series here tomorrow taking a closer look at a microcosm of the big picture here, as we examine the story of a 400 mile long , 100 mile wide stretch of land, in California’s central valley known as “America’s bread basket”.

The Zac Brown Band Continues To Redefine Country Music With “Uncaged”

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The Zac Brown Band Continues To Redefine Country Music With “Uncaged”

“Uncaged” is the Zac Brown Band follow-up, to the multi-Grammy winning 2010 album “You Get What You Give”. “Uncaged” will be available in stores, next Tuesday 7/10

By Richard Ravarino
As you “Jump Right In” to the Zac Brown Band’s new album Uncaged your ears are assaulted with a cacophony of reggae rhythms, country fiddle riffs, island pedal steel, bluesy organ blasts and bongo beats. To the country purist, it’s got to be a blasphemous sound, far from the roots of Hank Williams and Patsy Cline, but brilliantly – that is the strength the Zac Brown Band, as it honors those roots with one of today’s most exciting sounds.

Jump Right In immediately feels like a party amidst the parade of reveler’s at Rio’s Mardi Gras and you want to join the celebration. Somewhere in the middle of the first verse, I am hearing the Little River Band’s “Cool Breeze” in the back of my head – Maybe it’s just the tight five part harmonies that Zac Brown’s seven-piece band has become known for. Mid-way through the bridge, I hear the oft-comparisoned sound of classic James Taylor and I realize I’ve been thoroughly grabbed by another instant classic. It closes as it opens with a happy Jimmy Cliff reggae-riff, mixed with a little Southern magic.

Moving on to the title track, Uncaged, I am awash in the solid guitar riffs of tribute to blues greats like Buddy Guy or Joe Cocker (maybe even early Black Crowes). As the organ’s preach on, I know I’m not in Kansas anymore. . .But where have I arrived? New Orleans? Pascagoula? Gulf Shores? Memphis? This is what Southern music is all about! I’m sensing the channeling of Mountain’s Mississippi Queen, at the same time I’m not entirely sure that isn’t Johnny Lang rocking that guitar. By the time the track has played out, I am thoroughly ready for the party to continue. . .

Instead, Zac settles in for the first ballad of the new album, Goodbye In Her Eyes. Ballads were far from a mainstay in their 2008 Foundation album (but they were something which I feel defined their last album You Get What You Give and its nice to hear them keep it real with a couple more). “Eyes” harkens back at first, to a Van Morrison kind of feel, but now I’m sure of it – Zac and the boys have been listening to some Little River Band and I realize I’m just a boy again and it’s 1978. The crossover sound of Southern Fried Rock of that era and folksy-country tunes, is drippin’ like grease from some freshly “chicken fried”.

The next track, The Wind takes us back to the roots of Zac and the Band from their 2008 album, The Foundation, but never were their bluegrass roots so prevalent. The Wind is their first single from the album and is playing on country stations coast to coast as of this writing, but it is interesting to note: The music videos for this album will be animated by none other than (King of the Hill’s, Beavis and Butthead’s) Mike Judge and The Wind is hilarious! I can’t wait for future videos including characters like the Six Million Dollar Honky and the Bionic Peckerwood. . . Once again, the 70’s influence is obvious.

In the next song, we are back on the Redneck Riviera with a truly reggae beat, this time its obvious we are going “Down in the Islands” with Island Song. Bob Marley and a bag of good kind optional.
With Sweet Annie the bittersweet chords of another ballad are plucked. This song reminds me of “I Play the Road” and “Colder Weather”, but within enough fresh progressions to put it in a league of its own. Six tracks in and it’s still fresh, can we go the distance?

Side “two” opens with a “Natural Disaster”, a song relying heavily on organs and Zac Brown’s famous multiple part harmonies in the opening moments. As the song progresses, I realize we are listening to the second bluegrass song on the album, but flowing with the grace of a well-spun folk song. Another hit!

The next song is a departure, to say the least (and possibly my least favorite track). In a duet with Trombone Shorty, “Overnight” pays tribute to Memphis Rhythm & Blues of the late 70’s and early 80’s, although those Little River Band riffs still pervade yet another song, I can’t help but hear some of Grover Washington’s “Just the Two of Us” rattling in my brain. It comes off a little cheesy. At least I am now sure, we are North of Georgia, probably in Memphis. The jury is out on this one.

“Lance’s Song” is classic Zac Brown, a mix of the melancholy of “Highway 20 Ride” and possibly “Jolene”, but its clear they are singing about a dearly departed friend, who may have had some musical influence on the team. Once again, it stands on its own.

One of my favorite songs of recent years was “Sweet Pea” by Amos Lee, so when I saw in the liner notes Amos was joining Zac and the boys, I was excited. But I tried not to put too high of expectations on the track, as at best, Amos’ career has been hit and miss.

Amos aside, “The Day That I Die” is another solid Zac Brown tune. The second full verse, Amos gets his chance to shine and I am not disappointed. His voice is distinctive and complements Zac as they harmonize through the second chorus. By the climax of this song, maybe it’s a little Alabama, maybe Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, but I’m loving on this song. Whether the nostalgia of something familiar from my youth, or just the masterful blends of multiple genres, it’s a refreshingly new sound that I want to hear again – NOW! But there is one last track. . .

“Last But Not Least” is another sweet ballad, which I believe, could have been written for Zac’s daughter. The double entendre of the title, I believe means what it says on one hand, but also tells the youngster she may seemingly follow Daddy’s attention to his fans, but in truth – She’s the reason Daddy works so hard.

At this point, I’m mad. Not because this wasn’t a great album, but that it is over already. Unlike Nashville’s music factories that punch out another album like it was a baby, every nine months, the artistry of a Zac Brown album takes some time to write, record and produce. It was just over too quick.

If the world doesn’t end this December, I know it will be 2014 before we hear more of the Zac Brown Band opus. In the meantime, these 11 songs stretch the current discography to the point I may just last that long.

In the final analysis, what I love most about this band is they keep moving the target. You just can’t listen to a single track on any Zac Brown album and pigeonhole them with a single genre of music. They know they are Southern and they are true to that moniker, but that one constant aside – they paint with all the colors of their palette and the result is, if not Da Vinci. . . Definitely Picasso(esque).

Either way, it’s masterful.

“The Fourth Of July” An American Holiday – But Why?

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“The Fourth Of July”, An American Holiday – But Why???

by Richard Ravarino

Today is the “Fourth of July”. . . Wow. Cool. So what?

Do we even know why we celebrate the fourth of July? Why not the fifth, or the sixth? Personally, I think perhaps we should celebrate the 1st of July. I mean, we celebrate January 1st. Why is that? New Year’s Day, right? Well, July 1st marks the first day of the second half of the year! It’s like the ultimate hump day! Hey, it’s even on a Wednesday this year! Oh wait, that’s the 4th. . .

So what is with this 4th of July holiday anyway? And who decided to celebrate this holiday with fireworks, in the middle of Summer when the world is ready to go up like a birthday candle! Oh wait. . . That’s a hint.

Yes, the Fourth of July is America’s recognized birthday and the fireworks represent what was soon to follow in the American war for independence. But from whom? And why would we want independence? Isn’t it better to be a part of a coalition, or an organization? Independence sounds so. . . lonely.

Well, if you are anything like me, you are aggravated that I think I even have to ask this question, but there are plenty out there today that have no clue. ZERO. It never even occurred to them to even ask. . . It was, like (in your best Jeff Spicoli voice), “Dude, it’s a holiday today? In the middle of the week?!?! Righteous!!!”

In this Mark Dice video that was actually filmed this time last year, he quickly proves how inept the public is to determine a reason for this “day off”. As funny as it is to watch these idiots struggle to come up with an answer, its also disgusts me. These people actually have a right to vote. . . And many do. I’m telling you, it sends chills up my spine!

These are the same morons that have the audacity to tell me that I should keep my political opinions to myself. That “Dude, no one wants to hear it!”

Well dammit! Maybe you should!

People have died since this day, to protect your apathetic “right” to tell guys like me to leave you alone in your ignorance. It was on July 4th, 1776 our American forefathers told the world’s strongest military empire we had had enough.

We had had enough of their taxes, their soldiers and their oppressive laws and by all means. . . Go ahead and rule your own country with them, but from this day forward, this land is our land!

As each of the signers of the Declaration of Independence strode forward to sign his name, Benjamin Franklin announced, “Men, we must surely hang together; or we will most assuredly hang separately”. And many did hang, for it was high treason for our forefathers to have made their Declaration.

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.“

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
For the entire written text, click here 

This is what should have each and every American up in arms today, if they only understood what was being done to them. If only they weren’t so apathetic to the cause of liberty and freedom.

I mean, c’mon, really. . . Do you think you are free? Really?

In 1765, American patriots dressed as Indians and dumped a ship loaded with tea into Boston harbor. In today’s inflation adjusted dollars over $1.7 million dollars in tea was destroyed.

This came of course, in response to the stamp act. Which although primarily taxed only paper products, became an invasive tax. The basis of which was used for British soldiers to perform random searches of citizen’s homes and property and later became the basis for the Constitutional protection of a person’s property or effects without a court ordered warrant. . . But you don’t care about that, right? History is boring!

Pass another beer!

Shhh! The ballgame’s back on!

Dude, the weenies are burning!

Well as $1.7 million dollars of tea lay seeping in Boston harbor and the ships that brought the tea, were sinking and burning from this “terrorist act”. American colonists were being forced to pay a tax of 15-20%. That’s it.

Does anyone know the average tax rate of Americans today?

Well most Americans will astutely tell you 18-37% income tax, depending on how much you make. But what they fail to recognize are all the other taxes we pay on a daily basis, but most are taken almost secretively, or in a way you don’t recognize that you are being taxed.

Not to ruin that slice of apple pie, but here’s a short list. . .

Accounts receivable tax, Airport tax(es), Automobile Registration tax, Building Permit tax, Capital Gains tax, Cigarette tax, Corporate Income tax, Estate tax, Federal Unemployment tax, Gasoline tax(es), Inheritance tax, Inventory taxes, Liquor tax(es), Luxury tax, Medicare tax, Parking meters, Property tax(es), Real Estate tax, Road Usage tax, Sales tax, State income tax, State Unemployment tax, Telephone Federal Excise tax, Telephone Universal Service tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local tax(es), Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge tax, Toll Booth, Bridge and Tunnel taxes, TSA tax, Utility tax(es),Vehicle License (tax), Watercraft registration tax, Well-permit tax, Workers Compensation tax and, regulatory taxes like traffic fines, parking tickets, business licensing, marriage licenses, professional licenses, etc.

Are you taxed enough yet?

Do you still really think the rich aren’t paying their fair share? Most of those taxes you would never have to pay, unless you were at least well off, but just the same – Well over 50% of your wages and income are probably paid back to some form of government throughout the year as a direct tax, an indirect tax, a fee or a license.

But back to my question: How can a people that are taxed to this extent, claim they are free? Free to do what?!?!

The truth is you haven’t been free for quite some time. You are a slave. Like it, embrace it, own it – It’s all you will ever own.

It is who you allow yourself to be, when you allow every aspect of your life to be taxed by an out of control bureaucracy, built on a supply of phony money, produced by the very banking institutions that have enslaved you, on the lands your forefather’s conquered.

But you still own your land and property, you say. But do you?

If the government taxes you for your “ownership” of that land, who really owns it? If you refuse to pay that tax, you’ll usually find out within two years who really owns that land.

As a matter of fact, if you understand legal language, you no more own your land than you do your car, your boat, your motorcycle, or anything else with a TITLE. Read the fine print:

Your CERTIFICATE (certification) of TITLE refers to you as the TENANT, not the OWNER. While your deed may prove ownership of a home, it is the State that grants TITLE to the REAL PROPERTY. . . Because they hold the REAL Title, typically with your state’s land registry, thusly, giving them right to tax your property – because its theirs.

The same is true of vehicles. Through admiralty law, the state controls all of your titled assets. Ever heard of a vehicle MCO or a MSO? Cleverly, no you haven’t. It is the allodial title to your property, which means it is owned free and clear of any encumbrances (including taxes).

Since 1933 you have signed it away the moment you take “ownership” of your vehicle, satisfied to hold the State Certificate of Title instead. But your vehicle’s title, is merely a “certification” that you are legally granted title to the property by the State, which is why you must license, register and insure it – You don’t own it. The state does. They want to make sure you are maintaining THEIR property.

The “Certificate of Title” to your automobile is NOT title! It’s merely evidence that title exists. Your car’s legal TITLE is the MCO (Manufacturers Certificate of Origin), which the dealer surrendered to the State.

How free are we feeling about now? Probably choking on that apple pie, huh? Can I get you a Rolaid? Another beer? Yeah, me too.

ARE YOU YET UNDERSTANDING THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR INDEPENDENCE?

Are you yet asking yourself, what happened to it?

“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people, to dissolve the political bands that have tied them to another”

Making anymore sense yet?

“Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”

Are you following me this time?

“That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government”

Stop the presses!

If you aren’t keeping score, the rights of the people are gone! Four years after the end of the war for independence we finally enumerated those rights in our Constitution, but yet how many have we lost just in the last dozen years. As just an example, lets look at the first amendment:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Yet, in the case of “Free Speech”?

“Free religion”?

“Free press?”

I could go on with each amendment, but we both have a holiday to get back to, beer to drink, family to enjoy and of course, fireworks. But as you watch the exploding embers light the sky in red, white and blue. Remember how we got here. Remember what our forefathers fought for. Remember that the cost of that independence from Great Britain was over 50,000 brave Americans and that the Independence that war gave us, allowed us to become the freest nation on the planet. . . For a time.

Nothing is given freely though. The history of man is one filled with plays for power and it is always in flux. To maintain our freedoms requires constant vigilance and we have done a poor job in the last 100 years.

We are no longer a nation of free men (and women). We have been enslaved by a rogue group of international bankers who have taken control of every aspect of our lives. Cleverly addressing each and every aspect with a tax and where some actions may remain tax free, don’t think there isn’t one coming. They are figuring out a way to do it.

When do we say enough is enough? A clever poster on the web pointed out, it was deemed illegal by congress to enslave a person and take a 100% of his pay. . . But at what level does taxation become slavery?

In 1765 Boston, it was 10-20%. What say you SLAVE? 50%?

Or do you need Obamacare to convince you? 65%?

Maybe some Carbon taxes, nasty stuff that CO2. . . 80%?!?!

I have been careful up until this point to refer to the American War for Independence as simply that – The War for Independence. Some will call it the “Revolutionary War”, but I believe this to be a misnomer.

The American Revolution has not yet occurred, In 1776, more than 40 brave men gathered together to sign a document that would from that point forward, would declare the United States an independent and sovereign country, in her own right.

There was no revolution, merely a founding of a country completely different from the one that existed before. To understand the difference you must look at the root of the word Revolution, which is the word “Revolve”. . .

The revolutionaries that exist today are looking for us to “revolve” back to a respect for our U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence. You have heard them say “We want our country back”. Call them Tea Partiers, or Ron Paul REVOLution-aries, or even just pissed off Americans and you know the people we are talking about. They understand what they have lost. They understand the importance of those documents.

Some would argue these documents are outdated and impossible to understand. . . But that’s bunk, did you have any problem understanding the language above? It’s as clear as the English we speak today.

But what do they believe?  These people who enslave us under a mountain of taxes and this debt we supposedly owe. . . How was it accumulated? Where did it come from?

Well, with the exception of one to two trillion that we owe China and other countries, the rest of that debt has been foisted on us by the Federal Reserve – For merely printing the money we use today. Not only does that money not have any real value (as it is back by nothing but the air we breathe), it is actually an instrument of debt. Its mere existence (Federal Reserve Notes) is the reason we pay our largest tax, the income tax. But the debt has become so large, that as the American economy struggles through recession and the outsourcing of our manufacturing base, even the income tax is no longer enough to keep us afloat – it can’t keep up with the interest payments on the debt. We are drowning in a sea of debt. A debt so large it cannot possibly be grasped by the human mind.

And to whom do we owe this debt? The Federal government? Hardly. They are as broke as you and I. The Federal Reserve? Bingo! But they are neither Federal, nor do they have any reserves – They print our money out of thin air and charge us for its existence.

So who are they? They are a cartel of sorts. A banking cartel that sets the price of money and when they went into business in 1913, it was to guarantee their profits and offset their losses, by passing them on to the American public. Oops! And that illustrates the most insidious tax we pay. The hidden tax of INFLATION. Make no mistake, inflation is a tax. It robs from the value of your dollar and gives you less value in its spending power each and every day. That is why your dollar has lost 99% of its value in the last 99 years.

The Federal Reserve, this cartel, made up of five of the WORLD’S largest banks is the reason for the loss in our dollar’s buying power. And that’s right, not only are they not Federal, they are not even American: Deutschebank (Germany) and Barclays (England) Bank are among the founding members of the Federal Reserve System. Along with JP Morgan-Chase, Citibank and the shadowy Goldman-Sachs (who if you haven’t noticed seems to have a revolving door for their employees, into and out of Washington).

The good news is the jig is up. The Federal Reserve’s original 100 year charter was granted in December of 1913 and expires in 2013. Ron Paul’s movement to audit the Fed has the momentum needed to be passed this time around and with any luck the Fed will be ended by 2014.  The audit will expose the Fed for what it is and will reveal the fraud the Fed has perpetrated on the people of this country. The bill was just voted unanimously out of committee and now returns to the floor of the congress. If you have never phoned your congressman or senators – Now is the time. There is nothing you can do in your lifetime, in your children’s lifetime, that can have more effect on the outcome of our future.

We can make that a future worth living for us and our progeny. Otherwise, we will condemn them to a new dark age and a return to a neo-fuedalistic society where the high up Lords run everything and our mere existence is at their whim.

Yes, a new American Revolution has begun and its time we took our country back. By exposing the fraud of the Fed, it will expose trillions of dollars of fraudulent debt and rather than taxing us to death to cover this fraud, it can be eliminated.

The American Revolution, our second war for Independence, should be an idealogical one. A bloodless battle of minds to reclaim our birthright – A free United States. It all starts by exposing the Federal Reserve.

I hope you will think about this today and tonight – This is one lesson in U.S History that should not be ignored. God bless America!

Theater Xtreme’s “Palace” Theater Is Home Theater Nirvana For The Masses

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Theater Xtreme’s “Palace” Theater Is Home Theater Nirvana For The Masses

A Smartly Assembled Entourage From Epson, Denon, Triad And Control 4 Spell Movie Magic

 This is part five, in a six part series about Theater Xtreme in Draper, Utah. 

 by Richard Ravarino

Like the movie “The Majestic” recalled the days when the theater itself was part of the spectacle, Theater Xtreme’s “Palace” is the first attempt to recapture the excitement of these great movie palaces of old. However, with some neat tricks all its own, it totally defines itself as a 21st century marvel.

The theater is centered around the Epson 6010 THX projector. Epson’s flagship 2400 lumen, 120,000:1 contrast ratio, 480hz (“Say WHAT?”, more on this in a minute), 3-D  projector, which in the department of bang for the buck, is like the Honeymooners Ralph Kramden. . . SMACK! “to the moon, Alice!”

Iron Man II on “The Palace’s” Epson 6010 Projector. Pictured with Palliser “Reverb” Theater Seats from $699.95

“Clarity Affords Focus” – Thomas Leonard
It’s just what the doctor ordered for family friendly home theater on a budget, with the look of a projector that cost five times what you actually spent. Epson has outdone itself this year, toasting the competition at the $3,500 price point. Not only has Epson come up with a projector that can compete with projectors at up to a $5,000 price point, they have upped the ante in creating an “all-in-the-box solution” with includes ceiling mount, built in 3-D emitter, 2 pairs of 3-D glasses and an extra metal halide lamp! This may make you stop and ask, “Who loves ya’ baby?!?”

The answer clearly, is “Epson loves you”. . . As they extend their warranty from 2 years parts and labor, to 3 years on this model and a 6010 model specific VIP service that is “overnight-to your door”.

To those readers who have been following this series, which so far has featured the Epson 8350 and 3010 and asking, “What about the 5010?” The easy answer is, “Do you like what you have heard in the last two paragraphs?” If you decide to go with the 5010, you might as well wipe them out and you’ll still spend another $1,200 to put back all the freebies that Epson GAVE you with the 6010. So don’t look a gift horse in the mouth – Buy the 6010. You’ll thank me later.

As the 6010 lights the Screen Innovations screen evenly from corner to center and back again, you’ll squint to try and even make out a pixel. When properly set-up, it really is that good. Once again, mentioning the Epson 5010 as a comparison point, the level of precision in set-up is a night and day difference. The 6010 is both THX and ISF certified, the 5010 is NOT. Enough said? Let’s move on.

When moving forward to a theater of this stature, it is almost a given you will have a rack system to mount your components in and it does help. Most modern racks (like the Middle Atlantic rack featured here) include cable management and rolling casters for service (it happens), plus in a world where you would otherwise have a stack of remote controls, a rack system allows quick and easy mounting of IR repeaters for your control system, like the 21st century magic included in this system’s Control 4 system.

“You cannot always control what goes on outside. But you can always control what goes on inside.” -Wayne Dyer
In the past, I have worked with systems that included AMX, Crestron, SmartHome and Savant Systems. By far, the easiest, most versatile I have worked with, has been Control 4. Control 4 allows for full home automation and although Theater Xtreme using more basic controls in this particular theater, you can integrate lighting, HVAC, security systems (including cameras and house locks) and of course, theater controls through Control4.

For the “Palace”, the Control 4 system will allow you to control all aspects of the theater, plus in-room thermostat and front of house camera (so you can see who just rang the doorbell in the middle of your movie, without having to answer the door) and not to sell this aspect short, it’s just cool!  You want to watch the DVD you just placed in the player. Punch it up on your Control 4 controller (or your iPad) and as the video cues up, the lights go down and the volume comes up to your favorite preset level all with the touch of a single button.

“Speak clearly, if you speak at all” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
Finally, the audio system in this theater is powered by the Denon AVR-3313Ci which carries 125W per channel to each of its seven channels, plus for the first time in an AV receiver it offers truly discrete multi-zone switching. So while someone watches the ballgame in the theater, another member of the family could enjoy the Blu-ray player from the theater, on a second television in another room. A third person could even view the Apple TV in yet another room. That’s three full zones running off of ONE A/V Receiver and a first in the industry.

Speaking of Apple, all Denon AV receivers offer Apple’s Airplay feature. Thinking of playing some music?  You can dial it up on your Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, straight to your Denon receiver.

Also, the world is abuzz right now about 4k projection, but the reality of true 4k could be years away as Blu-Ray remains top o’the heap, with no defined next generation replacement. That said, Denon is already thinking ahead for you and all HDMI ports on this receiver will already support 4k. As a matter of fact, if you decide the time is now for 4k and you want to drop the cash on the $25k Sony, or the cheaper JVC 4k hybrid, Denon offers your BluRay 4k up-scaling today. It’s reasons like this that you buy Denon receiver’s folks – They are well ahead of the curve.

“The empty vessel makes the loudest sound.” – William Shakespeare
Finally, let’s talk speakers. The “Palace” contains the Bronze In-Wall System by Triad. For years, one of my favorite lines of speakers has been this little company out of Portland, Oregon. Triad is a very good speaker line, but they are not generally known on a retail level. They have always been sold from specialty dealers who cater to higher end customers, but many of their systems could be sold to a high volume seller like a Best Buy – That’s just not what they are about.

Triad has a line of fantastic in-room products, which can be custom finished to match nearly any wood on Earth and the finished product is truly stunning, but it is their in-wall products that have made them legendary. As a matter of fact, they are credited as the creator of the in-wall speaker. Not only do they hold that distinction, but they also are one of only two speaker manufacturers worldwide that build in-wall speakers that have a full enclosure, just like their in-room product.  To this end, you get a uniquely full, well rounded sound out of a Triad in-wall, unlike other such speakers.

The highs produced by their L-C-R’s are smooth, uncontained, but not overstated. The midranges sing out, transitioning well from the tweeters, to a creamy sweet, full baritone that holds with the studio clarity of a Tannoy, but without the sterility.  Even their bass is impressive. . . If there is any division of the sound scale that is typically lost with in-walls, it is the bass. Bass typically, dissipates into the wall cavity, because half of the sound thrown off by the woofer just disappears into the stud-wall cavity. What you are left with is a speaker with a tinny and brash sound.

In the case of the Triads, where the in-wall speaker has an enclosed cabinet, they are able to vent that secondary “Woof” forward out of the wall, giving you the benefit of a clean in-wall speaker, without the compromise in sound quality.

Even the Triad subwoofers are unique. Utilizing a great in-wall enclosure, but with a rack mounted amplifier to power them. They have a range of power depending on the size of the woofer. In the “Palace”, the Bronze system comes with 10” woofers and 350 watts of power. But the higher-end the Silver subs enjoy 600W, with a 12” driver but are limited by the depth of your wall.

All in all, the “Palace” is everything one would expect in aesthetics, automation, control, sound and vision, from a custom home theater integrator, like Theater Xtreme. The sound is as engrossing as any multiplex in town, the video is bright enough to enjoy with the lights on – Let alone, pitched out black.

Speaking of which, many of the Triad products because of their enclosures demand a six inch wall cavity, so if you are planning on the Silver or higher, you will need 6” deep wall studs (or 2×6” studs, instead of standard 2×4”), so plan early, as to how you are going to configure your own space. Even the Triad Bronze come in a six inch configuration and if you can afford the extra money (and space) to build your walls out, the frequency response actually hits a full octave lower with the larger enclosures.

All in all, the “Palace” is everything one would expect in aesthetics, automation, control, sound and vision, from a custom home theater integrator, like Theater Xtreme. The sound is as engrossing as any multiplex in town, the video is bright enough to enjoy with the lights on – Let alone, pitched out black.

Now all of this does come at a price. As described, this room is $15,999.95. Add your own seating from there, or possibly explore the world of theater seating for an additional $5-8k, nicely filling out the theater’s 14’x24’ profile.

As a final caveat, Theater Xtreme does sell the entire line of Palliser furniture, so don’t be shy. Their knowledgeable staff is just as likely to professionally detail the difference between “3000 grain leather match”, as they are “frequency response”. The six various show-rooms of Theater Xtreme feature the full line of Palliser theater seats, but they are just as happy to order you in a couch or sectional.

You can find Theater Xtreme, Draper, Utah at www.TheaterDesignCenter.com or call them at (801)878-8444.