MPAA lied, and no one cares

I read an interesting report this week regarding the MPAA lobbying of congress in 2005 to force college to adopt strict anti-piracy rules. A study conducted by LEK for the Motion Picture Association of America concluded that 44% of all MPAA losses were due to piracy on college campuses. After two years and two major rulings in their favor they have acknowledged that the study was flawed and completely inaccurate. The real number is more like 15%. Yet the damage has been done. The study was based on the assumption that every time someone downloads a film they would have bought it if they had not acquired it illegally. The 15% number reflects an adjusted analysis assuming that it is plausible that some people may have rented the film instead of buying it. So, actually, the 15% number is even flawed, because it assumes that people would have watched it if they hadn't downloaded (which some quite possibly wouldn't have) and that the people who bought would not have bought a used copy. The MPAA presented entirely false data to congress in order to force tighter restrictions on campuses. I wouldn't go so far as to assert that that is a really bad thing, it is stealing and they have a right to protect their interests. But it seems odd to me that there are no consequences for lying to congress to get what they want, and that it's not really getting any coverage. It's hard to talk about without sounding like you're trying to defend people's right to illegally download films. But doesn't this seem like a pretty flagrant case of a major conglomeration lying to the public to get what it wants and the media, the government and the public just accepting this as a part of life? It brings to mind Mark Twain's famous quote about the three types of lies: "lies, damn lies, and statistics."

This is ridiculous

Really? Is this necessary?

I just heard Linda Daves on NPR defending the ad, and talking about why she wouldn't even pull the ad if John McCain called her personally. I don't mean to get down on the level of this ad, but simply put, she didn't seem like a very bright woman. And I doubt that even the most gifted of philosophers would have a tough time creating a syllogism about why you should vote for the North Carolina Democratic gubernatorial candidate based on the words of Jeremiah Wright. But they're trying...

Issue 5 like what

Issue 5 of InDigest is up and online. So listen up best of the net. Maybe the first four weren't good enough for your hotsy totsy awards, but, oh, is Issue 5 something special. In the new issue we've got a gallery of sculpture from Alonso Sierralta, new poetry from Meggie Elder, and new fiction from New Yorkian Meakin Armstrong. We've added a new column called Is That Cowardly? where Jess Grover takes a look at new poetry. Also there are new columns from Bedside Stacks and Dorkolopogous.

Our big news, aside from the new issue, is we went clothes shopping and now we've got a whole new look. And damn we look good. Look at us.

Chris has a point

I never really use the myspace account that I created a long time ago. But I went onto it today and Chris left a note that said he about had a seizure when he went to my page. So I went to my page, I think I've only done this once before, and I never liked that people have music that starts playing on their page when I get to it, it's too much sensory excitement. But my page is out of hand, I almost need to leave it up. It's a piece. It gives you anxiety when you look at it. No man has yet to stay here for more than 3 minutes and 14 seconds. try it.

This is what my face would look like if I lived inside of a scanner and walked around with my face pressed to the glass all day

How the wild make me struggle

I never really saw myself in the light of being a sports fan, and when I would read "What I've Been Reading" and Nick Hornby would talk about how he hadn't read much in the last month because Arsenal was playing particularly well I thought it was funny, but deep down I thought it was kind of ridiculous. I have had the urge to read Dashiell Hammet's The Thin Man for a while now (just because the films are great and why not, I guess) but I can't even accomplish that. When your team is in the playoffs there is so much invested in every game that I have to spend hours in the morning reading analysis and the breakdown for the next game, interviews with the coaches etc. etc. etc. I guess I'm really trying to say is that I haven't done anything personally challenging since the playoffs began and I don't even care. I was going to use it as a cloak for why I haven't been reading a good deal, but I regret it not. The last game was as exciting as playoff hockey gets. Good shot Carney.

Cheers

Now it's 1-1.

UPDATE: now it's over.

God's Comic

This stand-up routine is called "God's Comic" it's Damien Green, a fella from Minnesota I know, and he just did this live for the first time and has posted a video from it. I didn't know what to make of it at first, it's some really dark comedy, but the more I got to thinking about this the more I liked it. So I thought I'd repost it and share, probably not for everyone, but I got a kick out of it. It's that kind of awkward humor that you're not sure if you should laugh at, or if it's even funny, but it is...

Why: ESPN is wrong, the Wild still have a chance, and City Pages sucks

Almost all sports coverage outside of the Twin Cities (and even some within) seems to be completely ignoring the Wild’s playoff bid this year (City Pages you’re going to run a cover story on Al Jefferson and ignore the Wild? Really? Cover one of the worst teams in the NBA and forget about the one Minnesota based team that is going to make the playoffs this year? Really? – though I guess we should be thankful that Village Voice hasn’t begun syndicating sports coverage). The discussion is revolving around Detroit, Dallas, Anaheim, San Jose and Calgary in the West, and the Canadians, Rangers, Devils, and Penguins in the East.

I like to think that I’m a realistic fan of any sport, and tend to assume that any team that I would find myself cheering for will just never win a championship (especially since the teams are generally from Minnesota and our sports teams have a reputation for choking that rivals the Cubs). But I think it’s hard to deny that the Wild are a serious contender this year, even though most of the major sports media are ignoring this.

At the moment the Wild are relatively healthy, a few sicknesses and they’ll be missing Curtis Foster for the post season with a broken leg (which somehow didn’t draw a suspension).

With one win they will clinch the Northwest Division championship, which will give them home advantage. Last year they were undoubtedly one of the best teams at home, given in large part to the fact that they have NEVER had less than a sell out crowd. This year their home record is not as impressive, but they’ve won their last five at home, and Backstrom is 5-0-1 in his last six. With the exclusion of the first period in their loss against Edmonton they’ve been playing their best hockey of the year.

They’ve always been a defensive team, due in large part to the coaching style of Jacques Lemaire, but they are also an offensive threat with many skill players like Rolston, Gaborik, Koivu, Bouchard, Demitra, and Burns. Who have all been outstanding in the last ten games. But their major weakness, all year, has been a lack of physicality, a criticism they’ve faced throughout the year, which was made especially apparent through the absence of Derek Boogaard. But with the acquisition of Chris Simon at the trade deadline and the return of Boogaard they have become one of the most physical teams in the West. Lemaire has been suiting Boogaard, Simon, Aaron Voros, and Todd Fedoruk, which has been combination that has made it tough for any team to produce offensively. This combination also seems to have produced a larger sense of team lately, everyone has been participating in the scraps and other teams enforcers have been apprehensive to take a shot at a skill player (and when they have their have been retaliations instantly – see the video below of Burrows taking a cheap shot at Bouchard and the instant retaliations of Burns, Carney, Simon and even Bouchard gets into the first fight of his career). Even Gaborik has been playing a much more physical style of hockey since Lemaire made him captain.



Furthermore, the other major players in the West lack the momentum the Wild have at the moment. Detroit clinched their playoff position too long ago and has been struggling, allowing Nashville to take them into overtime among other tight games that would have been a different story at midseason. They are also dependent upon good performances from either Hasek and Osgood. Both of whom have proven themselves in the playoffs before, and have had great seasons, but are aging and have had points this season when they’ve struggled pulling a solid game together dragging the whole team down with them. Dallas has been in a backslide since the All Star break. At one point the number two team in the NHL, they still have not officially clinched a playoff position. Colorado and Vancouver have both struggled playing in Minnesota and have not, as of yet, clinched a playoff birth (though surely both Colorado and Dallas will). The only team that has been giving the Wild trouble has been Calgary, but with what may be a preview of the first round match up taking place on Thursday the Wild have the opportunity to show that the can stop Iginla and the Flames. San Jose has been another tough team for the Wild but they won’t face them until the second round at the earliest, and Nabokov hasn’t been at his best in the past few games even though he is seemingly always hot against Minnesota.

Will they win the Stanley Cup? Probably not. But it’s to their advantage that no one is taking them serious as a Cup competitor, because they are. When they are as hot as they have been, playing with a playoff mentality since the All Star break, competing in the tightest division in the NHL, they have the ability to beat anyone. And with the guarantee that they will not be facing the Red Wings in the opening round, they have time to prepare for the teams that have given them trouble (though they have beat both Detroit and Dallas earlier in the year when they were missing both Boogaard and Koivu). They at least stand a chance (whereas Nashville, Vancouver, and Colorado seem to be up against much greater odds) and are not getting the respect that they are currently earning.

Their major weakness is that they are running thin at defense with the loss of Foster and Lemaire’s decision not to call anyone up from the AHL. An injury on defense could be detrimental to their post-season. This is putting a lot of pressure on veterans like Sean Hill (who has been hot since Foster went out) and Keith Carney, who have both stepped up but are facing a lot more ice time and a lot more pressure. Also Lemaire is faced with a tough decision if he is going to continue suiting all of his bruisers, which leaves less space for the finesse players who score more often like Shepherd, Puilot (who is untested but playing very well), Belanger, and Radivojevic. Playing all of these forwards means pushing Demitra out to a wing and having a lot less muscle on the bench, yet the suiting of Boogaard, Simon, Voros, and Fedoruk seems to be helping the finesse players put more points on the board. How this will play out in the post-season probably depends on who the first round match up is. Vancouver or Anaheim could mean Lemaire would start by suiting the Boogaard crew to help intimidate some of their more fierce rivals, whereas a match up against Calgary or Dallas could merit a few more skill forwards. That all remains to be seen, but it means that Wild are versatile right now and that most of the sports media is choosing to ignore their rise and that may be to their advantage, surely their opponent will take them more seriously than ESPN is, but for a division leading team there seem to be low expectations, which could easily be surprised in a record breaking season for the Wild (Lemaire is one win from 500 which has only been done by ten coaches I history, Gaborik broke both the team goal and point record, Rolston had his third straight 30 goal season, Burns has broken every Wild defenseman record and Backstrom broke the win and shutout records for the Wild).

On the rhetoric of Obama

So yesterday was kind of a disappointment for anyone supporting Obama (or the Wild).

The primary that will not end continues.

I’ve given my opinion a few times now, I support Obama, and thus I got the Obama newsletter late last night, his attempt to rally the troops after a disappointing evening in Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island. The newsletter was maybe the biggest disappointment tonight (except for the Wild). He has been repeatedly criticized for being all talk, that his rhetoric is fancy but never really says anything. I, personally, don’t believe that to be true, but the newsletter was a striking example of what he is being criticized for I’m terribly disappointed by how the rhetoric within, despite the call for “change,” is “politics as usual.” The letter he sent out (though I’m sure it wasn’t actually typed up and sent out by Obama despite the loving “Barack” signature) is copied below.

We may not know the final outcome of today's voting until morning, but the results so far make one thing clear.

When the dust settles from today's contests, we will maintain our substantial lead in delegates. And thanks to millions of people standing for change, we will keep adding delegates and capture the Democratic nomination.

We knew from the day we began this journey that the road would be long. And we knew what we were up against.

We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we'd see of the politics we're trying to end -- the attacks and distortions that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people's lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope.

But this time -- this year -- it will not work. The challenges are too great. The stakes are too high.

Americans need real change.

In the coming weeks, we will begin a great debate about the future of this country with a man who has served it bravely and loves it dearly. And we will offer two very different visions of the America we see in the twenty-first century.

John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.

But he should know that it's a call that did not begin with my words. It's the resounding call from every corner of this country, from first-time voters and lifelong cynics, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

And together you and I are going to grow this movement to deliver that change in November.

Thank you,
Barack

Clearly “change” and “hope” are the buzzwords of his campaign, that’s fine with me, every candidate finds their buzz words so that their followers have signifiers to identify with. In just over 250 words he delivers the word “change” four times. Not an incredible amount but quite excessive. But that’s fine, he’s been criticized by Clinton and McCain for overuse of the word, but Clinton could be criticized for overuse of her signature scowl and McCain for (insert here).

But what was truly disappointing is the way in which this letter doesn’t say anything. It’s the same philosophy that drives “Support Our Troops” signs. The phrasing is vague, making it seem clear that if you don’t agree you must be crazy. But the words don’t say anything; they never define what they describe. It’s a rhetorical method of drawing a line in the sand without actually defining the argument, so that as many people as possible want to be on your side of the line.

The sentence that begins “We knew that the closer we got to the change we seek, the more we’d see of the politics we’re trying to end” is particularly revealing of Obama’s pension to oversimplify his statements into rousing emotional appeals instead of speaking to the people who are listening about what is really going on. It seems to me that “politics as usual” is rehashing rhetoric that is solely intended to gather the support of the public without giving the truth, the facts, indeed “the politics we’re trying to end.” This paragraph is somewhat bulkier than the others; it is thematically the message of the letter. This is the section where we don’t talk about defeat, or the attacks, this is where he tries to define “us.” Yet this statement is so inclusive and vague that it doesn’t say who “we” are or what defines “we” or what the politics are that need ending.

“The attacks and the distortion that try to distract us from the issues that matter to people’s lives, the stunts and the tactics that ask us to fear instead of hope” is an interesting end to that statement. It differentiates between us and them instantly. “They” are the ones who attack and distort. “They” want the politics “we” want to end. Furthermore, though the statement is largely evasive deep down it is directed at someone, or rather two specific people. It is their attacks and distortion that are distracting in the phrase. But this statement is itself an evasive attack, and seems to be taking up the space where information could/should reside, so it is really distracting from the issues that matter to me. The Obama campaign has a captive audience in a space such as this, yet it is nonetheless filled with this hollow rhetoric and othering of the rest of the field.

This example isn’t necessarily sinister, but this is what we have seen over and over in the past. Presidents who use tired rhetoric to gather support for war, or for pet spending projects, or frequently in the same capacity of trying to gather voters for elections. It makes the listener feel more patriotic for believing what the speaker believes, demonizing the opposition, even if their stance is not that far removed, othering them against those who agree, those who are patriotic. “Americans need real change.” Interpretation: if you want this change than you are American. And implicitly in this kind of rhetoric the more “American” you can acquire, the better.

The newsletter even goes on to state what the critics are saying about this rhetoric: “John McCain has already dismissed our call for change as eloquent but empty.” I’ve stated my bias, I believe there is substance to his campaign, that he has shown it often, but this letter to his supporters is eloquent and empty. It didn’t instill any “hope” in me this evening.

And Chicago beat the Wild, the world is a dark place this evening.

Missile strikes on Somalia

The story is still fairly fresh at this point, but I've only seen CNN reporting on this. The US has attacked Somalia this morning, sending missiles into the country in an attempt to weed out "known terrorists." the major issue with what has been reported so far is that reporters are, as usual in war reporting, not asking the right questions. They "pentagon correspondent" for CNN is happy having the authority of the Pentagon behind her, and accepts "known terrorist" targets as sufficient explanation. But this is the same thing that happened last January. The US bombed "strategic" targets in Somalia, but then the story disappears, the public has no idea why we are attacking another country, and we aren't allowed to.

The journalist who are covering this story need to be more vigilant, ask the right questions. If the pentagon doesn't want to give information find someone else. How about questioning other military officials, or how about they stop pretending like military officials are the be all and end all of authority. They are trying to control what is known, do Somali officials know anything? what about people in the region who are being bombed? It's disappointing to see that major journalists are satisfied being told evasive answers from the pentagon and don't feel like they need to dig any deeper, especially in a time of war. Why? They are afraid of repercussions from the top, and of being perceived as unpatriotic. So instead they use the government jargon, and play up standard rhetoric to make the public believe that what is being done, though mysterious, must be noble because we are doing it, and the secretivism must be a product of our dealing with the eradication of terrorist cells...which is just generally not true. The journalists who have the power to ask the questions have a responsibility to ask the right questions and not the questions that have been asked over and over, nor the questions that they have been told to ask.

Rheinmetall/Victoria 8

On a recent trip to the MoMA4 I had the chance to see a variety of wonderful short film works (this has nothing to do with film in Minnesota, but I’m rolling with it). As anyone who reads the blog will know I find Jeremy Blake’s work very interesting and I had the chance to see Angel Dust in person, which is entrancing and odd, with it’s digital reproduction of futuristic ski lodge.


              This is snow flying.6

But the piece that really caught me was Rodney Graham’s “Rheinmetall/Victoria 8.” It’s really a very simple piece. It sits alone, in a room of it’s own. The film is of a German Rheinmetall typewriter, an obsolete machine. It is projected by a 1961 Victoria 8 projector, in it’s time considered to be “the Rolls Royce”1 of film projectors. The Victoria 8 is a loud hulking machine, the centerpiece of the room. The film takes in different angles of the Rheinmetall, showing in it’s entirety, then in jarring angles, revealing the inner workings of the machine, it’s subtleties, it’s precision. The room is set up in such a fashion that the Victoria is the center of attention in the room, but convention tells us that the true focus of the room should be the film, but the loud clacking and mass of the projector demand attention. Slowly snow begins to fall on the typewriter. Accumulating in odd place, piling and cascading over the edges. Coming to neat, fine point on the keys, leaving a dusting around the edges. The film oddly entrancing, it’s oddness demands an attention of it’s own. As the film progresses the dual demands for attention, and the inability to satisfy both needs births a sort of anxiety. There is a battle going on in the room. The two machines are at war with each other2. Mutually dependent3, yet at odds. Two obsolete machines, allowing each other to exist, and demanding exclusively. I don’t wish to go into the repercussions of this or anything else, just that one fact about the piece was really powerful; it was an odd sensation, the kind of disquieting anxiety and dissatisfaction that art should produce.




1I have no idea who said this, but I read it somewhere else, so I’m citing something that I have no idea the origins of. But I did it, I didn’t say, so I’m citing it, here.

2So to speak.

3Look at me.

4I have posted this on my other blog as well. Why?5

5 Because I felt like it. And it makes it look like I post more often than I do. No one reads this anyway.

6 in the film. Angel Dust.

Adapting McCarthy

On the heels of No Country for Old Men’s big sweep at the Oscars I thought I would take a moment to note the rising popularity of the McCarthy adaptation. What McCarthy adaptations you ask? There has only been All the Pretty Horses and No Country. But with the success of No Country for Old Men, and McCarthy Pulitzer this past year his novels have become production gold.

I’m slightly opposed to this trend, I’m a fan of McCarthy’s work, let’s skip objectivity, I’m a fan and don’t want to have these novels ruined, or worse yet, bastardized. The track record provides little insight into whether or not these adaptations can work. All the Pretty Horses (until recently) was his most commercially successful work, the Billy Bob Thorton movie adaptation was less than successful. No Country for Old Men was arguably one of his weakest novels; it tended towards a little bit more simplistic structure and never quite comes together the way, say, Blood Meridian or The Road ever do. Which, oddly, lent itself to a much better screen adaptation. The Coen Brothers found the heart of the novel, the impotence of Sheriff Bell, and used that as the focal point of the adaptation (thus the much debated final scene of the film).

But with two more adaptations in production it’s not clear that adapting two of his most successful novels will lend themselves to quality filmmaking. Both Blood Meridian and The Road are currently in the works and may not have the kind of strength and insight behind them that the Coens brought to No Country for Old Men.

McCarthy Pulitzer winning The Road is currently filming with director John Hillcoat at the wheel. Hillcoat’s most recent film, The Proposition, seems to be in a similar vein to the novels of McCarthy. He may be a well suited director for the project, and The Road may be the kind of novel that allows itself to be adapted into another Oscar worthy film. The novel is simple and sheds a typical narrative arch. In fact there isn’t really an arc it’s more like a sun-bleached plain with minor depressions. The film is going to star Viggo Mortensen, Guy Pearce, and Charlize Theron, which is a decent lineup for a dark moody novel that takes place in a post-apocalyptic America.

What may be a much more difficult task is Ridley Scott’s pending adaptation of Blood Meridian. Blood Meridian may be a novel on par with Tristram Shandy, as a nearly unfilmable work of fiction. So much takes place in Blood Meridian, vast internal worlds, horrible massacres, betrayal, unparalleled violence. It is an economical novel; every scene feels important and trimmed of the fat. Much like No Country for Old Men it isn’t always about what is happening in front of your eyes, but what is being left out, about what isn’t yet being said. The major obstacle here may be Ridley Scott. A quality filmmaker, yes, but his filmography does not say much for subtle films. Scott’s films tend towards the overblown epic, the glorious sweeping stories that tell of great heroes and underdogs, in a word, Hollywood. Scott has made some great films in his career, but the subtlety, which this novel needs in adaptation, may not be within his realm. William Monahan will be actually penning the adaptation. He, as well, doesn’t not have a history of subtle screenplays. His screenplays for Kingdom of Heaven and The Departed were both well-written scripts, but an adaptation of a modern American classic may not be as successful (as he works simultaneously on the screenplays for both Blood Meridian and Jurassic Park IV). Even the adaptation of The Departed from Infernal Affairs lacked a sense of subtlety or the notion that he had found the heart of the story. It is a great adaptation, but so much of it is directly lifted from Andrew Lau’s Infernal Affairs that there isn’t a whole lot of adapting going on. Even with the nearly one to one adapting scheme used for The Departed he seems to miss the heart of Infernal Affairs and creates a new thematic trajectory for The Departed that did not exist in Infernal Affairs.

Adapting a film from a novel is a common practice, and a dangerous one. More often than not it leads to arguments over how well it was adapted or which form the story is better suited for. And adapting a great American author like Cormac McCarthy can be even more dangerous, yet it can be done. The Coen Brothers proved that it is possible to truly find the heart of a story and evade such esoteric arguments, allowing the novel and the film to coexist, to even become interdependent or lend a helping hand in analysis. But the Hollywood’s rush to adapt McCarthy’s great novels is reminiscent of the constant fads that take over the studios, be it comic book films and superheroes, apocalyptic epics, or McCarthy novels, a saturation of a certain kind of film can be a negative thing in theaters, especially when you’re toying with a novelist of McCarthy’s stature.

RIFTMAG

I've been writing for Rift Magazine for about a month or so now, but I just wanted to plug what they are doing over there. they are one of the only outlets left in Minneapolis that is really trying to cover the local music scene, keeping up to date, and trying to be all inclusive of the music that is going on in town. that said Rift wants to get back into print, the website is great, but they are looking to do both again and are looking for writers and financial support, so go check them out, save local art, hero.

El Diablo

David Doody did a great short piece on the phenomenon of Diablo Cody, and her win last night at the Oscars. go look at it on his blog.

InDigest Issue 4

Hello everyone, just the obligatory note that InDigest Issue 4 is up. It has poetry from Ingrid Chung & Rebecca Porte, art from Travis Lindquist, new Bedside Stacks and a new Dorkolopogous. There will be more of Issue 4 posted soon with new fiction, a brand new column, and an interview with director Robert Stone.

So I've obviously already voiced my opinion on the primaries, but I thought I'd pretend to be unbiased (and fail), I just can't help but wonder why Hillary Clinton continues to bury herself in cow shit. She's really grasping at straws trying to smear Obama subtly. The whole plagiarism deal, now calling him "change you can xerox." I think she is just making herself look ridiculous and making him look good every time he rises above it. No doubt she's got very intelligent people working on her campaign, but why can't they see how awful she looks every time that she does this, it's not like they've seen any success from this strategy, she just keeps sinking ungracefully. She maybe try something new, or try using the slogan "Don't change horses in midstream" everyone always loves that one for some reason.

Also doesn't she bare an odd resemblance to Christopher Walken at times? It's kind of creepy. Not that that should make you decide to not vote for her...but it makes you wonder...

this is me tonight

I wanted to write a new poem on the subway in New York

But then I didn't.

But when I was home I wanted to write a poem called "Willy's Four Alarm Chili"

but there is nothing to write,

but I wrote this,
nothing having to do with food should end in an alarm

but it doesn't end in alarm, it ends in chili

Sometimes I forget how awesome Walt Whitman is...

"Meanwhile corpses lie in new-made graves....bloody
corpses of young men:
The rope of the gibbet hangs heavily....the bullets of
princes are flying....the creatures of power laugh aloud,
And all these things bear fruits....and they are good.

Those corpses of young men,
Those martyrs that hang from the gibbets...those hearts
pierced by the gray lead,
Cold and motionless as they seem..live elsewhere with
unslaughter'd vitality.

They live in other young men, O kings,
They live in brothers, again ready to defy you:
They were purified by death....they were taught and exalted.

Not a grave of the murdered for freedom but grows
seed for freedom....in its turn to bear seed,
Which the winds carry afar and re-sow, and the rains and
the snows nourish.

Not a disembodied spirit can the weapons of tyrants let loose.
But it stalks invisibly over the earth..whispering
counseling cautioning.

Liberty let others despair of you....I never despair of you.

Is the house shut? Is the master away?
Nevertheless be ready....be not weary of watching.
He will soon return....his messengers come anon."

from [Europe: The 72D and 73D Years of These States]

It's too easy to blow of poetry that seems classical and removed from your own time. It often seems (and is) stale and outdated, exercises, now, in nothing more than form and history. Equally, I believe, it can be too easy to accept all that is classic and canonized, and to not be willing to reject the canon for the bullshit it is. But Whitman, Whitman, I want to blow it off and then I return to it on a morning like today and I'm just taken aback. It still feels fresh (even if the form and language can be archaic at times). I had a moment with Whitman this morning, not like a Whitman/Wilde moment, but a moment nonetheless.

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Reading: (besides Whitman) Millard Kaufman - Bowl of Cherries
Watching: I Live in Fear - Akira Kurosawa
Listening to: Happy Apple - Peace Between Our Companies

Primaries - right now.

For all US readers I have to put in a short plug for the primaries/caucuses tonight. Get out and vote tonight. I hope lots of you are voting for Obama (like I am) but it doesn't matter go vote, it's a close race in a primary for the first time in a long while. I know "change" is the key buzz word this year, but really, it's time for a new America that cares about the middle class and the rest f the world. No more policing the world. No more trickle down economics, so that the majority of people are left with the blunt end of recession. That's all, no trying to persuade anyone, just go vote.

Vote Obama. Or just vote. But vote Obama

Good Reads and Lech

I don't believe I ever posted this before, so it's long overdue, and most of you already know this, but I do what I want. A good friend of mine (Lech Harris) recently had two new pieces of short fiction published on InDigest. So if you want to read some good stories you should read Lech's stuff here.

Also I just finally got onto GoodReads. So if you are on good reads you should let me know, I love the site already, fairly useless, but that's my bag of tricks.

Oh yeah and there is a new interview on InDigest, Charles Green interviews filmmaker Valarie Kaur about her film Divided We Fall. It's good stuff.
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Reading: Outlaws, Blobs and Other Things
Listening to: Howard Shore's Eastern Promises Soundtrack
Watching: The King of Kong (ridiculous, now I have to go to an arcade and play Centipede)

GIANT MONKEY FIGHTS DINOSAURS FOR LOVE!!

THEY SLOWLY BEGAN TO REPRODUCE QUICKLY!!

The Cost of War

This has all been said before, in one form or another, but it's been awhile (for me anyways) since I've herd specifics on war spending. It's pretty easy to fall into a lull or just allowing the war to settle into the back of your mind when you're against it. It's been five years and anyone against the war has to feel a little tired at this point. You have to feel a little helpless. You've protested, you've written letters to congress, signed petitions, but what has come of it? Nothing yet. But it's good to be reminded that you still care and that others are still thinking about it and trying to do something. It feels just as futile, but it is heartening, somehow. I can't vouch for the group that made this video, I read a bit about them, seems as though they are doing some good stuff, but I don't know enough to really endorse this, I just thought it was a good reminder.

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Listening to: The Gilded Age - EP
Watching: Lost in Beijing
Reading: Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda

Getting out of work, a guide for slackers

I was driving home from work, not too long ago, and I was listening to an NPR health special about how sick is too sick to go to work. They had doctors on the air and invited people to call in about times they were too sick or times they faked being sick. It was ridiculous programming. But it got me thinking about the science of getting out of work.

As anyone who has ever faked it knows it best to go big. If it’s something utterly repulsive it’s unlikely that your employer is going to ask questions. Say you tell them that you have blistering diarrhea and it’s a little bloody, so you aren’t sure what you should do. Nobody is going to feel comfortable questioning that. What could you say to that? How’s the consistency? Have you eaten jalapeños in the last 24 hours?

I recalled an instance when I, and a small group of friends, offered to help some acquaintances pack up their things into a U-Haul the day they were shipping out to NYC. They promised to provide some pizza and beer. Nick and I had to work at 3:00 so we promised each other we’d only have one beer. Five hours later the couple had fulfilled their promise and provided beer. The eight of us finished two cases of beer. Nick and I had reneged on our promise.

We left, and driving to work Nick turned to me and said, with a straight face, “There is no way we can go to work.” We thought about calling in, maybe having someone call for us, standard fare. But to really pull off such stunts without consequence you must, as I said previously, really go for it. We went to work, and I pulled our favorite supervisor aside, out of the meeting (we were late, naturally – all part of the plan). I told him that we were late because we got in an accident, and we were very sorry to walk into the meeting late. I explained what happened and that there really wasn’t very much damage, no big deal, and I was ready to work, but Nick, poor Nick, who was sitting in the lobby cradling his head in his hands and looking rather sick, he wasn’t doing very well, feeling a little shaken up. He was real drunk. Tim said Nick looked awful and that he’d cover for us, I’d better take Nick home because he looked like he was in shape for work today. Accidents can be traumatic.

While on the other side a roommate of mine during college wanted to take a free ticket I had to a show but had to work. So he had another friend call in for him, posing as his girlfriend. The employer was fine with it, but then called him to call him on it on his lie. He put on his best sick voice (which a caller on NPR said is best done lying on your back with your head hanging off the side of the bed to produce a natural rasp) but they didn’t buy it. It was a longer ordeal than is worth going into but he was eventually fired for events that began with this night.

I could think of a few other friends who pulled some great stunts to get out of work. Like one who called into work and talked as quickly and irrationally as possible and started the conversation with, “I CAN’T STOP THE BLEEDING.” No questions were asked then or ever about it. Another called into work sounding confused and distressed. The employer answered:
Hey, I don’t think I can come into work today.
Why is that?
I had a weird night last night. I’m not hungover but I think I’m gay.
…
I really think I need the day off to deal with this.
…

NPR could have used some call ins like this. The brave men and women of the minimum wage work force showing again and again the cunning it takes to get out of work.

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Listening to: Johnny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood Soundtrack
Watching: Joshua
Reading: Ultimate Blogs: Masterworks from the World Wide Web

InDigest Issue 3

InDigest Issue 3 is live as of today. If you want the details check out the InDigest Blog. There is new fiction from Tao Lin, new poetry from Brad Liening and an art gallery from Kara Hendershot. I like it. That's all I've got - see it at Indigestmag.com or go to the blog, or do something else, whatever you'd like...

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Listening to: Murzik - "Buried"
Watching: Still Life
Reading: Donnie Darko Cultographies

Rift Magazine or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Shamelessly Self-Promote

I've recently started doing a little writing for Rift Magazine - if you don't read Rift you should, great coverage of the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene - if you do and have been left wondering what happened to Rift it's now online and at the previous link. Anyhow Rich, the editor, made a nice note of me in the Rift newsletter and I thought I should at least link to the site and provide a link for the two reviews which just went up -
Plastic Chord review
Dan Israel review

If I didn't post this post then the name of the blog would be nothing but a name.

InDigest Issue 2

So if you read this blog you may already know, but InDigest has released Issue 2. It's just gone up, and we think it's looking pretty good. There is a bit of a new look to the front page and we've got our newsletter going. Issue 2 includes an interview with Roger Deakins (shameless self plug), poetry by Ada Limon, Erica Wright, Tiffany Noelle Fung, a new Bedside Stacks, new Dorkolopogous, art from Debra Ripp and Tove Floren, and much more (notice the serial comma Dave, I'm sold).

We've also added a InDigsest news section at the bottom of the main page, so look at that and see what's happening with artists who've been published in InDigest, and what's new with InDigest itself.

At Last Unfolding Congo

So I'm a huge geek, if you read the InDigest Blog at all you know I already posted pretty much this same entry. But I was just paging Mosquito again and thought I should throw something up on my own blog.

So

Alex Lemon has a new chapbook out called At Last Unfolding Congo. I can't vouch for it yet, officially, (because I only ordered my copy yesterday) but he's a great poet and if you have any interest in poetry you should get this. It's out through Horseless Press it's really pretty cheap, and why not, you haven't bought a book of poetry you've fallen in love with since that last collection of Neruda, well I haven't anyway, so why not try this? what? Go and at least read the posted poem about At Last Unfolding Congo...it's that a great title anyhow?

InDigest what

Months of non-stop work have finally paid off and InDigest is a real magazine now. if you haven't been to the site yet you should check it out, Issue one came out on Monday. It's kind of amazing to hear all of the great feedback we've been getting and see that people are actually reading our magazine (or ezine, I guess). It's an interesting experience. I'm pretty proud of the magazine so far, and think that our editing team is pretty amazing, everyone worked really hard over the last couple of months to get it out.

Special thanks needs to be appointed to a couple people who've been really helpful along the way, Alex Lemon (alexlemon.com) is great and you should read his new book of poetry, Mosquito, Ashleigh Lambert, Dan Wieken, and many others have helped out a ton, have things in the first issue and are generally good people. So if you get a chance check out the site, let us know what you think, good, bad or otherwise and check back, the next issue is out in a little over a week. And if you live in the Twin Cities you should come to our release party in the Clown Lounge of the turf Club on Sunday (Dec. 9th).
thanks,
Dustin

Minneapolis like what

I've been getting Blender Magazine for free for a little while now (and it's terrible, but when it's sitting on the toilet i can only reason that there are words in it and not on the wall...). In the new issue they have a list (a staple of the music magazine without enough real content to fill every issue) of the top 100 indie rock albums of all time. It's not terrible, it's safe and forgettable, but i noticed that, if you include The Hold Stead (and i do), there are 3 Minneapolis bands in the top 20. 

It's not really that many, but Minneapolis gets no credit for the music that comes out of here. So there, everywhere but New York, L.A. (ish) and London. Even crappy magazines can't deny that we've got something. 

(and Dave, i agree with the Mountain Goats post...they made the crappy Blender "indie" list too)

Remember the Alamo

It was just last night, at the Indigest editors meeting, that a great man said:

In Mexico, not surprisingly, they don't remember the Alalmo.

Posting a couple of times in one night is confusing when I don't post for a month and you never read this

So writers strike blah blah blah

Lateshowwritersonstrike.com blah blah blah

this is kind of funny

short list of ideas I'm having right now

At what point does the trivial somehow take on an aura of brilliance?

I don't even know what that means.

but, you know, you read something like Cathedral, and the actualy action is so trivial, nearly meaningless, though not meaningless.
The narrator is kind of a bastard, kind of everyday. But it somehow seems moving.
Somedays
and sometimes I wonder why it is. Because I don't know that he daw the beauty of the moment, and that's the saddest part of the story.
i wonder if i miss that beauty today

the Short list of people I miss today...

A video from Brave New Films

SO I do'nt actually believe that we are on the doorstep of war with Iran, but I have no doubt that we have been moving, subtly and not so subtly, in that direction for years. And i also believe there is a dangerous game of follow the leader being played by American new networks, more prevelent in smaller issues. The notion that fluff "news" shows like Entertainment Tonight hae modeled themselves on the look and feel of news networks to lend themselves credibility is well known. Most obviosuly they are modeled on the look of CNN. But now new networks like CNN see them as competition for those advertising dollars, so they have turned the game around and covring stories that are meant to be on fluff news. I see news pieces of Owen Wilson, Paris hilton, Brittany Spears every day on CNN, it's unbelievable and I think it's the result of a financial follow the leader happening in hte news world. It's kind of silly. Anyhow that was just supposed to be a preface to my posting of this video, it's pretty heavy handed but it has a very valid point. FOXnews is free to whaever they want as the independent establishment they are, you don't have to agree with them, I don't, but they are free to do there biased silly "news" shows, but what you can do is tell the other news stations that it's no ok to emulate them, because you don't support that... I don't know I'm not very good at this sort of thing, watch the video, it's interesting. Greenwald's Brave New Films is trying to get people to take action, I'm not telling you to, but I think that at least seeing both sides and being educated on what's happening behind the scenes in the news world is important.

A quick link on global warming

I just read this article and thought I would post a link to it. It's pretty interesting. There are some good quotes from Al Gore on how large companies are funding a campaign against global warming. Actively seeking to tell people and "prove" to people that global warming doesn't exist. It's really a shame that we can't move beyond this and try to get something done together. Obviously, very short sighted. Anyhow here's the link and that's all I've really got to say.
People are silly.

An appendix to my post on the 35W bridge collapse

Again I will try to be brief, as I will not provide anything you can't find in any newspaper, anywhere. But President Bush visited Minneapolis today and I had the pleasure of listening to the speech. During the speech he said something to the effect of we "live in a beautiful country," which was promptly placed as the headline on CNN (a channel that ritualistically never airs news). I thought about this statement and came to the conclusion that once again this may have not been an appropriate thing to say to a city that just experienced disaster, where people have died and many have been injured. I think Amy Klobuchar may have said it better when she said, "a bridge, in America, should never just collapse." Just a thought.

The other reason for this post is I have located a transcript of President Bush's speech which I refer to in the previous post, for further accuracy and fairness I figured I should post the speech so that you can decide for yourself. The speech follows:

“Good morning. I just finished a Cabinet meeting. One of the things we discussed was the terrible situation there in Minneapolis. We talked about the fact that the bridge collapsed, and that we in the federal government must respond and respond robustly to help the people there not only recover, but to make sure that lifeline of activity, that bridge, gets rebuilt as quickly as possible.

To that end, Secretary Peters is in Minneapolis, as well as Federal Highway Administrator Capka. I spoke to Governor Pawlenty and Mayor Rybak this morning. I told them that the Secretary would be there. I told them we would help with rescue efforts, but I also told them how much we are in prayer for those who suffered. And I thank my fellow citizens for holding up those who are suffering right now in prayer.

We also talked about -- in the Cabinet meeting talked about the status of important pieces of legislation before the Congress. We spent a fair amount of time talking about the fact that how disappointed we are that Congress hasn't sent any spending bills to my desk. By the end of this week, members are going to be leaving for their month-long August recess. And by the time they will return, there will be less than a month before the end of the fiscal year on September the 30th, and yet they haven't passed one of the 12 spending bills that they're required to pass. If Congress doesn't pass the spending bills by the end of the fiscal year, Cabinet Secretaries report that their departments may be unable to move forward with urgent priorities for our country.

This doesn't have to be this way. The Democrats won last year's election fair and square, and now they control the calendar for bringing up bills in Congress. They need to pass each of these spending bills individually, on time, and in a fiscally responsible way.
The budget I've sent to Congress fully funds America's priorities. It increases discretionary spending by 6.9 percent. My Cabinet Secretaries assure me that this is adequate to meet the needs of our nation.

Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress want to spend far more. Their budget calls for nearly $22 billion more in discretionary spending next year alone. These leaders have tried to downplay that figure. Yesterday one called this increase -- and I quote -- "a very small difference" from what I proposed. Only in Washington can $22 billion be called a very small difference. And that difference will keep getting bigger. Over the next five years it will total nearly $205 billion in additional discretionary spending. That $205 billion averages out to about $112 million per day, $4.7 million per hour, $78,000 per minute.
Put another way, that's about $1,300 in higher spending every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every year for the next five years. That's a lot of money -- even for career politicians in Washington. In fact, at that pace, Democrats in Congress would have spent an extra $300,000 since I began these remarks.
There's only one way to pay for all this new federal spending without running up the deficit, and that is to raise your taxes. A massive tax hike is the last thing the American people need. The plan I put forward would keep your taxes low and balance the budget within five years, and that is the right path for our country.
I want to thank OMB Director Rob Portman for his hard work in developing this plan. This was Rob's last Cabinet meeting. Laura and I wish him and his family well. And I call on the Senate to confirm his successor, Jim Nussle, so we can work together to keep our government running, to keep our economy growing, and to keep our nation strong.
Thank you for your time”

It kind of sounds to me like he is blaming Democrats for the collapse of the 35W bridge. I'm not an architect, nor a politician, but it would seem to me that the collapse of a bridge has little to nothing to do with partisan politics... There’s not much else I want to say about this, I hope the speech speaks for itself. I wouldn’t want to say more for fear of getting off topic with rage or changing topics, saying something in the realm of, “you want to talk about being fiscally responsible with taxpayers money, and that the Democrats won’t give America what it needs to get by, how about the hundreds of billions we are pouring into the Middle East, or the arms deal you just reached where we just give weapons to Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc. etc.” (My blood pressure is rising I need to go lay down)…



I'm not the only person who seems to think that his abuse of air time for a political agenda was saddening click here for an entry on Dailykos

What is there left to say?

So, for those of you who don't know this, I reside in Minneapolis. Probably about 2.5 miles from where the I-35W bridge collapsed yesterday. So, needless to say, I've been monitoring the news on this event constantly since 6 yesterday. I don't have any close friends who were hurt in the incident, some I haven't heard from, but I have no reason to believe anyone I know was hurt. But this is the kind of event that brings some things home at a time when constantly reading the news and keeping up to date can begin to desensitize an individual. People in the city are shaken up, the traffic is a complete disaster, and it is the only news available in the city. Even the sports page of The Star Tribune and The Pioneer Press today were about how the Twins thought it would be best to keep playing last night so they didn't further congest the roads.

But, briefly, there are two points that this event has really driven home, two points that many people in Minneapolis/St. Paul have been talking about, and two things that people across the world reading about this event should try to learn from it as well. Though these are the kind of things that seem to resonate because you feel involved, because it is only miles away instead of on your TV or computer.

Yesterday morning, before the bridge fell, in Baghdad, an ice cream parlor was bombed killing at least 20 and injuring countless more. Now I'm no expert on the geography and consumer market of Iraq, but I would guess, with confidence, that there are not a whole lot of places to take the kids, or ice cream parlors for that matter. Why can't we put the destruction happening in Iraq into perspective? This is bullshit. 20 dead at an ice cream parlor? Fucking kids were there.

Second brief point (that again may not need a lot of explanation, I'll let you fill in the gaps, and one that might answer questions from point one). I've never been a big fan of President Bush, but if you happened to catch his full speech this morning addressing the situation here you may have noticed that he is a tactless, heartless bastard. He spent about a minute and half actually mentioning Minnesota (and in the short span managed to say that he spoke with Governor Pawlenty and Mayor Rybeck and mispronounced both of their names, which leads me to believe he did not speak to anyone this morning but the devil). He then proceeded to spend the rest of his time demanding that the Democrats of congress push through his spending bill, because that was going to help Minneapolis. I know that this is how politics go, and that he certainly has an agenda, he's the president, and this is no revelation, but really... The spending bill has nothing directly to do with Minneapolis and that was completely tactless. During his speech the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul were booing. Waiting to hear from friends they couldn't get a hold of because phone circuits here have been jammed and there is lots of confusion. But since the only thing the news was covering this morning was Minneapolis he needed to get his spending bill some airtime anyhow.

None of this is a revelation, but the world needs perspective and our president needs some tact. I'm too close to all of this to really digress, or try to pull together a point, but these were things I heard discussed often today at the coffee shop where I work. Things that have been on the mind of people from the area today. If nothing else maybe the people of Minnesota will finally decide to cut Norm Coleman out of our lives after Bush's display of indecency today.

I just watched the CNN/youtube democratic debate and the latest Republican debate...dedcided to punish myself for being such a bad little heathen

So that was entirely painful. Jesus. I almost commited suicide twice. But I'll write about that later. I just wanted to post this link to Romney trash talking Democrats already. It's painful to watch people slinging mud and issuing their catch phrases already. (I kind of like Kucinich, but I swear to god if he points out that he's been against the war from the beginning one more time...). Anyway, here's the link to the story: From The Examiner

I pray that Republicans quit using tag lines about how the Democrats can't say "Islamic Terrorism" in public and how Bin Laden is running Al Qaeda in Iraq...



My sources (not real people) say that this photo was taken on a nice spring weekend when Romney packed up the kids and strapped the dog to his roof and dove to a cabin of his, way up north. The kids loved it. The dog has declined to comment on the incident.

Oh, yeah, and this was breaking news today, Iran has said that they will "never" stop their nuclear development programs. I thought they already said that. Or that it was one of things that's just understood. hmm. article from Reuters

UFOs

I don't believe this sort of stuff, but it is kind of interesting.This is just an article I found on the Drudge Report that's kind of interesting. From a British newspaper: people see aliens in Stratford...

Are you happy now? (David)

I'll put a comment here then. I'll comment wherever I damn well please. (because I have nothing better to do...oh, god, I miss you so much)

Winter

I've been working on and off for the last couple of weeks on Snapko's film 'Winter' again. It's been interesting because it was about this time last year that I began working on it. Before I go any furthur I'd like to note that I'm not an important person on the shoot at all, no creative input, I haven't even probably been on half of it. Just wanted that out there so I didn't sound like I was shooting a feature of my own or anything. But Jim tends to work with a really small crew, maybe one or two people in the crew and he does all of his own cinematograhy. As I continue to try to get projects the breadth of impinging forces upon the independent filmmaker becomes more evident to me. I've actually only worked on one film that's finished. Jake Yuzna's film 'Open,' which I worked on through the bulk of the summer last year isn't finished, in fact, he's flying back to Minneapolis in a couple weeks to begin reshoots. But the time it has taken to get these done is intimidating. As I work on scripts of my own I feel like they can't possibly be ready at the moment, because to work on a film for two years or more is a commitment. Not that I don't have a work ethic that would see a film through but that I feel like the passion must die. The excitement and thrill of making art, seeing what you've written come to life might die as you work, as you realize that maybe things aren't as tight as you were hoping.

I find this to be a depressing revelation.

But, I guess, it must also be a positive expereince because it makes me, well no that's a lie, it should make me want to go more in depth with my writing, to really weed out the issues, the details that don't interest me. There's a lesson in here somewhere. but I'm not sure where it went.

I'm not really too sure about this

I found this posted in a Messersmith blog post on myspace. I've never heard of this, but it's absurd and real. If anyone knows where to locate the rest of this let me know. Star Wars X-mas special...

Free the Leaves

The Soap Factory this time

I went to the new gallery opening at the Soap Factory this weekend and was a bit shocked. To begin I'll drop a disclaimer, I love the Soap Factory, I think it's one of the best galleries in town, without a doubt. Before this gallery I've never been disappointed when I've gone.

This opening was fun, as usual, cheap wine, good music, good company. Birthday Suits rocked, Seawhores rocked (though I only caught a little of their set). But the gallery was not very interesting. Entering from the double doors at the top of the stairs to the deck that room and the subsequent room where patchy. I don't want to dog the artists, because there was some really good pieces in the room, but not enough of them that it cast a glow over the room. Which, I believe, is the hope of curating. No one will ever like every peice in a room, but the room should be themed in a way that casts a glow over the room so that it feels coherent while being diverse, colored whiled being tinted and spotted. But a lot of the art in the room was trite, had trite obvious titles, images and themes. There was something everywhere that was a major turn-off about the room, and the next room. They seemed to fit together and to have very little to do with the rest of the gallery.

The large room after those two was done by Faggot. This was patchy as well, but in a much better way. I actually think this is the best room in the new gallery. The room is like a giant collage of many films, posters, signs, clothes. It's a little oppresive in it's over-saturation of objects, but it's good for an exhibit that's supposed to be a little in your face and obstructive.

The room where the wine is generally served and the music enjoyed was a huge disappointment. I'm not going to argue that concert posters aren't art (the entire room is concert posters) because they are, and there are some really great posters in there, very talented artists. But there are not enough concert poster artists in the city to have a constant gallery of them somewhere. It's the same people who have been in the concert posters galleries over and over. It's really killing the vibe. If I see a flyer or an anouncement for a gallery like that I don't go. It's getting redundant. More importantly, at an opening for a gallery like this it really creates an awful atmosphere. Concert poster artists are more driven to sell their product than other artists. I don't mind a price sitting underneaeth the information placard. I don't feel like there is any air of selling out in such practices, so I'm not going there. It's just that when you get all of these artists together who are selling concert posters and have tables in front of the displays, with catalogues of posters sitting out, it feels more like a flea market than a gallery. It's so much more aggresive than a gallery should be.

That's all I guess, I was just disappointed because the Soap Factory is usually so awesome, and it wasn't that great. It's worth checking out. But meh. Faggot is playing a show in there later this month and on the 13th they're screening a film so mayabe go then. But meh.

Oh yeah and the short films are really good. That was a great part of the gallery, better than they usually are. But I've already rambled so much I'll allow that to suffice. You should go to see the movies, good stuff, one that resembles Nanook of the North if it was a short directed by Tarantino (which I generally use Tarantino as a bad adjective, but this time I mean it in a positive fashion) and one that is like Bubsby Berekley films mixed with Gondry, very cool, moderatly confusing I don't know if there was supposed to be music and it wasn't working or if it was just intended to be a silent dance number, but it was really great. There. I'm done.

Meh.

Sometime I just ramble, maybe to make sure I don't have lockjaw or the Airborne Toxic Event

So the day before I finish reading Don DeLillo's 'White Noise' I roll into Eau Claire to stay the night at my parents house, just a little layover before I go to Milwaukee in the morning. But that morning the 'Waste Research and Reclamation' plant, on the south side of Eau Claire, catches fire. This building stores hazardous chemicals that can't be dumped into landfills; Eau Claire has a Teflon processing plant nearby and also manufactures some various products for military consumption. Anyhow it catches fire around 6am Friday (one week ago), there are only ten employees still working, around from the over-night shift. They fail to put the fire out with fire extinguishers and the fire departments begin to show up as the fire spreads. At this point the city hasn't officially told residents of Eau Claire to leave there homes (that might cause panic, right?) instead they have lightly suggested that it might not be a bad idea to leave your homes if you live on the south side of town. Businesses are shut down; people are told that they shouldn't go outside until there is an official report on if the chemicals are in the air (which is a whole other subject that irritates me, where the fuck do you think the air indoors comes from? unicorn farts? shit).

Then, as the fire spreads flammable containers begin to catch, which I haven't found an official word on the amounts of each chemical in the containers, but the plant began to shoot fireballs over 300 feet into the morning sky over Eau Claire. My father works at Bothun Nissan on the south side of town, they were having a sale, so they didn't shut down, he said you could see the flames as he was driving into work from the north side of town. Giant waves of flames and a growing black cloud. (I only mention White Noise at the beginning because this all sounds eerily like the Airborne Toxic Event). Public Officials, by nighttime, tell the city that the fire is under control, they are monitoring the air quality and that there is (this is a real quote) "no bad stuff in the air." Which I question, but I don't have the know-how to contradict him, so fuck it, I'm an idiot. But they put out these chemical fires with water (from 11 different fire stations in western Wisconsin). In the morning, again, city officials say "no bad stuff," breathe freely citizens (I still question it) but that the water supplies might be contaminated from the run-off of the fire.

Then what? The Leader Telegram (Eau Claire's daily paper) reports nothing after that second day. I scoured the internet for more information (not that you maybe wouldn't find something I couldn't) but there is nothing, NPR did a special the day after, then nothing, Star Tribune: one article the day after, Pioneer Press: one article, the day after. Everyone just let this go, and that kind of worries me. I don't live in Eau Claire and my real issue with doesn't have much to do with that my parents and little brother are drinking the city water and breathing the air (inside and out), but that this is how our news is run now. No one is digging deeper, it's not about getting information and creating informed and alert citizens, it's about headlines. That was entertaining for a day, but even the people it effects tuned out, Paris Hilton was about to get out of jail, and certainly that was more important. I know it was more important because I watched CNN for half an hour and there was more time spent on Paris Hilton than anything else that day, I believe we timed it at about 7 minutes worth of Hilton news. Doesn't anyone else think this is the kind of thing that city needs to continually keep people posted on and maybe issue some fines, maybe be checking the water supply and having the paper run the reports, even if it's on page 66Z. I'm sure there is more info out there (and if you've found some or know where to look please leave a comment and let me know, I'm very interested in the omnipresent apathy during this situation).

I just think that this event is somewhat emblematic of where our minds are and where the news sources we rely on are putting their priorities, I'm interested in this event, an important one in some respects, especially for the citizens of western Wisconsin whose air and water may or may not be contaminated, but I can't even find info when I'm hunting for it, when it should probably be readily available for everyone. Just a thought.

whose a fucking star?

3: a famous or extraordinarily talented performer in the world of entertainment or sports
...
an outstandingly good or successful person in a thing or group

These are two, abbreviated, definitions of the word "star." Now i know this is not an exceptional way to start a blog or essay but I was contemplating the use of the term star yesterday while listening to Oxbow. I was talking about Eugene, their singer, who is simultaneously a journalist (he interviewed Clinton...), the editor in chief of a major magazine, the singer of a band that kicks ass all over, a professional fighter and an ex-porn star. Now Eugene Robinson isn't a household name, my father has never asked me, when I visit, if I read that Eugene Robinson article last month, or if I'd ever seen that one porn from 92' with eugene Robinson and that woman with a penis.
I've been sidetracked, the point here is that here is a man who is clearly not a star. Mainstream pop culture would never accept him as an icon. In his own way he is a star, of sorts, in small cults of society, mainly Germany and San Fran. But he is nonetheless a porn STAR.
Now if you worked hard playing baseball your whole life, there is a one in a billion chance that you could be a star athlete, or, likewise, if not used ironically, you could work your whole life to be a rock star. But the second you pull out your penis, or vagina, in front of a camera you are a star. Everyone who has sex on camera is referred to as a porn star. Maybe it's implied that they are exceptionally good at sex but this seems silly to me. How do you know who's good? Sure everyone knows the household names like Dirk Diggler, Jenna Jamison, Ron Jeremy, names people who have never seen a porn know, but if you're a beginner where do you start? Everyone's a star in porn. I've really got no one where to go from here, I'm cornered, I just wish there was some osrt of implied rating system in porn. Actually I don't, I just know I'll never be a star of any sort, and now you're going to tell me that some high school drop out is a star, and I'm a fucking no one. Who gives a shit? You think you're so special?

Miranda July (dustin swoons)

I've recently finished reading Miranda July's new book, 'No One Belongs Here More Than You.' If you aren't familiar with July she's a performance artist/filmmaker/author (who I wish I could hate, but love so much). She is one of the rare artists who tries to wear many hats simultaneously. Though, unlike artists such as Nick Cave or Kevin Bacon, she is continously successful at everything. 'No One Belongs Here More Than You' is not an exception.

For July fans:
Her book floats. It's in another world. Not in the way that Judy Budnitz's 'Flying Leap' is only marginally grounded in reality (though not to its disadvantage) 'No One Belongs...' creates its own reality. If you try to place a finger on what its 'otherness' exactly is you won't find it. It is real, very grounded, but very distant. For any July fan the book is an instant lover that demands to be reread, it's her typical, overly-poignant, non-sequitor-esque, dialogue. The stories wear bright colors (like the two pink or yellow covers available for the book) they leap in your face and sit in your mouth.

For everyone else:
For anyone who wouldn't consider themselves a fan of her work its an intriguing experience. It is a solid debut collection. Not perfect, solid. Stories like 'The Shared Patio,' and 'The Swim Team' are some of the best short story writing I've seen from any author in the last few years. The tone she has refined (or maybe the tone she was born with, the tone that George Saunders has coined as July-esque) is omnipresent. It leaves you wondering if she is relentlessly, hopelessly optimistic in the face of the horrors of the every-day, or if the characters in her stories are so riddled with pain that they have adopted this tone, refusing to accept that the world is as bleak as it appears.

For Everyone:
Read this book. If you have ever been intrigued by Judy Budnitz, Don DeLillo, Nick Flynn, Dave Eggers or need a good view of a harsh world through eyes that only see beauty you need this book.

She has also created the greatest website a book has ever recieved book site

for more info on her go to Mirandajuly.com or learningtoloveyoumore.com

5 reasons to Annex Wichita (or I have a theory about that nasty lesion in the middle of America)

I, among many others in America, have had the priviledge of seeing Wichita, KS. If you are one of these people I know that you relate to this article, hopefully you will feel a sense of community, a feeling that what you feel, the sky you see, are not only yours but part of a larger scheme connecting all of us to each other.

Part 1: Wichita Theory

Wichita theory is the notion that the butthole of the midwest, namely Wichita (doesn't the sound of the word even make you cringe a little), should be annexed from our great nation. Wichita. A realy awful place. I'm not even really that patriotic, well maybe I am, I don't know, I just know I live in this country and Wichita is stinking it up.

You: Well that sounds a little extreme.

Me: Fuck it, what has Wichita ever done for you?

You: Point taken.

Me: On to my 5 reasons why Wichita should be annexed (or, really, I'd be satisfied if we turned it into a dumping grounds for spoiled Chinese imports)

1. Wichita is the "air capital" of the world. (for real check the official page for the city of Wichita)

This is a bit of a stretch. Air capital? We've got air in Minneapolis, Chicago. Even Huston and L.A. have a little air left. And I've been to Wichita the air tastes like greasy ass.

Oh wait, air capital doesn't refer to breathing air? Fuck you, learn to speak. Wikipedia says that Wichita is the air capital of the world because it is home to six major aircraft manufacturing firms. Even better. Lets advertise how much this place sucks because that's the best we can do. Lets move to Wichita where hundreds of test planesfly over our house all day and where the rejects of Kansas probably crash planes into homes weekly. Nothing like the steady rumble of jets roaring over head in the morning to make you feel like you're alive.

2. Don Johnson and Kirstie Alley live in Wichita.


nothing says "Mom, I'm a pedaphile" like a Don Johnson greeting card.


The caption to this photo actually reads "Wichita is for fart-biters"

3. According to Money magazine Wichita is the 9th best place to live in the U.S.
or
3. People in Wichita lie to people at Money magazine about how great Wichita is.

Every fucking city in the U.S. was listed in some magazine, or by some study, as one of the top ten safest cities in the U.S., or the top 10 places to live, or the top 10 places to visit. So fuck Money magazine, I canceled my subscription because they hire retards to do their studies.

Wichita's website also seems very proud that Wichita is the 51st biggest city in the U.S.



No one's paying attention. 51st? Who gives a shit? I don't ever remember going to work and talking with my co-workers about who took 51st in the NHL this season or who finish 51st in freestyle swimming at the last Olympics. Why? Because no one knows who it is. No one figured it out because when the numbers get that high it's just easiest to assume every one is a loser.

Wichita: But we're the biggest city in Kansas

Me: No one cares. Kansas Sucks. Even Kansas City left.

4. The addition non-stop flights means your airport is closing, retards.

A quote from the Wichita Eagle:
"With new nonstop flights on the horizon, the number of passengers flying in and out of Wichita Mid-Continent Airport in
2007 could set a record..."

By offering nonstop flight the airport has successfully limited its commercial routes to only Kansas City and Chicago. Who is visiting the air capital often enough that you need nonstop flights to anywhere?


5. You don't believe me? Ask someone from Wichita.

I would venture to call this purely mindless if these kids weren't on my team.

WichitaSucks.com

Not so Grand Old Day

I went to Grand Old Day in St. Paul this year. It was my first chance to really see Grand Ave. turned into a middle of nowhere style carnival. Moderatly frightening. I work on Grand Ave. and had this year off for Grand Old Day, so I was hesitant to go because I've had to work it every year, and that is an awful expereience, we gave out free ice cream last year so I spent my whole god damn day scooping ice cream for sugared up, spoiled brats. Spectaular.

So really I was going to Grand Old Day to see some music. There are somthing like 7 or 8 stages on Grand for the day. Most of which are hosting bands that aren't worth seeing in a free concert, much less the outrageous five bucks they charge for a wristband to get into the "free" event. But the Dixies stage is usually a pretty good line-up. This years included The Dad in Common, The Alarmists and Tapes-n-Tapes. The Dad in Common was my real reason for going (i just picked up their newest disc "Various Moms," - awesome) But I was moving in my new roomate for most of the early afternoon (our living room is real comfy now) So I missed both The Dad in Comon and The Alarmists, but went to see Tapes-n-Tapes anyhow.

Now i've seen them four or five times now, and am continually being tricked by the prospect of seeing them again. i really like their first Ep and The Loon is a solid album as well. But they are fucking awful live. Their could be a number of reasons this is my perception. The first time I saw them was pretty stellar, at First Ave. with Stnnng!, Kill the Vultures and The Plastic Constellations. Good show, good crowd, good drinks, good times. But everytime since them I have progressivly liked them less and less. they write good songs, it hasn't diminished the value of their albums, but they have no energy at all live. Not that I'm looking for mosh pits and a band that's going to run on stage and start destroying everything (I had my run with S.T.U.N. and The Blood Brothers) but they just feel like corpses on stage. Given the mix at an outdoor show such as Grand Old Day is not where you should be if you're looking for a solid sound mix and a fun crowd. But Jesus, it's everytime, they always have a bad mix, there is always something that is standing in the way of them delivering a good show. So I'm going to try and do something for mysle fand I am publicly declaring that I refuse to see Tapes-n-Tapes again. Unless the improve their shows...

On the bright side of the show the premiered some new tunes. Which were supriosingly some of the best tunes they played on Sunday. So I'm not giving up on listening to them all together, I think just from hearing those songs that there is potential for a decent follow-up to The Loon, and maybe their extensive touring over the last year is influencing their writing and they are writing songs that are based more out of a live tradition. Songs that are being fleshed out through live performances and informed by their lives on the road. (That doesn't necessarily mean that it will be good, as is repeatedly shown a band that has a good major-label debut has to change their lives greatly to adapt to life as a touring band and between a different lifestyle and inter-band tensions it ruins many bands by a second album, but they sound like they are benefiting from their experiences).

Really, if you take anything away from this posting, let it be this: Don't Go To Grand Old Day (in caps, I know). It's like a carnival for yuppies. The Dixie's stage isn't bad, but damn I hate Grand Old Day.

Disappointingly Redundant Louie

I finished watching the first season of Lucky Louie this week, and to say the least I'm quite disappointed. It's not really awful but, oh, I don't know, it's so complicated. Louis CK is great, he's one of the greatest comedians I've ever seen. He's not much of an actor but neither is Jerry Seinfeld or Larry David or Mitch Hedberg, comedy is not necessarily about acting. So that aside, I'm still disappointed. It's like when you really love a band and know the tunes they put on that EP that probably sold about 20 copies and then they put out a full length (you know, something that will actually sell) and they put the same fucking songs on it. And you wonder, why did you do that? I thought we were moving on, you've recorded this before. that's what watching the only season of Lucky Louie is like if you've seen all of his stand-up repeatedly. I haven't seen his new stand-up special, I'm sure it will be great, but Lucky Louie is nothing more than a complete season of acting out his old, old comedy routines. Which is good, at times, like when he is explaining his nightmares about Hell in the confessional to the father. Priceless. But that only really takes you so far before you say, wait a second the premise of every episode is that he's left in charge of his daughter, he fucks it up, his wife gets mad, they make up, everyone is a better person, until next episode when it all begins again. The show is fine, its humourous, but it isn't original, its a little redundant, it lacks the creative spin on traditional topics like marriage and kids that Louis CK made his name on. Worth a viewing, if nothing else, so that you know why HBO pulled the plug on a show that had great potential and just had not come into it's own yet.

People with money say march, I say no, as I hop in line

It seems very chic at the moment to not dig Wes Anderson anymore. If pressed everyone seems to give a luke warm response as to why they don’t really want to watch him anymore, (they're too absurd, I don't believe the characters, no one talks like that, I don't really relate). there is an overwhelming sense that his films are becoming (or always have been) mediocre, or maybe it's just the people that I know. Given, he’s not a perfect filmmaker, the non-sequitors can become overbearing and too conveniently witty, the cast of reoccurring actors are become caricatures of themselves in the world of his films (Noah Baumbach’s as well, as long as we’re on the subject) )I’ve grown a bit tired of the new Bill Murray (Broken Flowers, Tenenbaum’s, Lost in Translation, Life Aquatic, etc. etc.) he’s great but its becoming a shtick) (speaking of non-sequitors) but the greatest filmmakers America has produced have consistently had these same things said about their catalogue of work. Maybe not these exact things, but it's damn near impossible to make a run of films that people would consider brialliant. And if there was really little to scrutinize the films couldn't be something fresh and intriguing.

So what’s the point? I’m not trying to bash his films; in fact, though I'm not uniformally enthralled by his work, I'm somewhat of a fan, I'll for sure go see Darjeeling Limited and probably The Fantastic Mr. Fox (if it is actually ever going to come out). Anyway, there is already a lot of bashing his new film, Darjeeling Limited. This morning I've been reading a few blog entries and articles about the film and I’ve decided that I’m excited for the film. Though, I’m getting tired of these ‘new indy’ films that thrive on certain American actors and the nearly non-sequitor dialogue that is becoming a fad, (Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Jim Jarmusch, David O. Russell, again, etc. etc.), but Anderson is good at it. I’m excited for the film. Did I say that already? I'll do it again. I'm excited for the film. The addition of Adrien Brody to his cast of regulars (here Schwartzman, Wilson, Murray, Huston, Etc. Etc.) is a logical addition and the stills that have leaked online and the reviews from the few people who’ve read the script are intriguing. But the real point is that this is all ridiculous. Having this much buzz before anyone really knows anything is absurd. I'm helplessly intrigued and disgusted with myself for being intrigued. there is no trailer, there is really nothing any average person can know aobut the film, but Google Darjeeling Limited and you'll come up with hundreds of hits. Hundreds. fucking hundreds.

So really all I'm getting at is that I’m sick of films getting heaps of online buzz and hype before they are even releasing trailers, it’s silly and its doing exactly what the studio execs pray for. Free, organic buzz, well maybe its not all organic, but that doesn't mean anything to them, they aren't reading the articles and blogs. But here I am responding to it all, and, basically, falling in line. Fuck it, I’m excited for the movie and I suck for caring. It's all absurdity and consumerism seeping into our daily lives, making products matter to us, but whatever. I'm excited for the film, I hate hype and buzz, but am drawn to it, unwittingly.

But really, look at that photo, doesn't it look like zaniness is about to ensue? Who, tell me who, who doesn't enjoy a little zaniness?

Ode of Goodwill and Hank Williams

I was wandering the aisles of Goodwill a couple of weeks ago, as I am wont to do, and found myself looking through their rather meager selection of vinyl. I used to frequent the vinyl section, but we’ve kind of gone our separate ways, I’d moved on. You see it just wasn’t giving back. I would take my time, be gentle, flip gently, carefully through the ‘new arrival’ section, and even go through the rest of the shelves, just in case I missed something last time. But it just isn’t surprising me any more. It doesn’t excite that same light feeling in the stomach, the rabid butterflies of anticipation. There’s always Frank Sinatra live at some dive and Bing Crosby does Christmas vol. MMX and there’s always a copy of Déjà vu (not that I’m trying to rag on Déjà vu, but everyone owns it, that’s the issue, good album, I just don’t feel the need for more than one copy in my life right now) and (well, actually that’s not true, I own it on CD and vinyl, so two copies in my life…) (not that I’m that big of a fan of it, it’s a burned disc, and the vinyl was used, I guess if I had to really give a concrete opinion I’d say its ok, I get kinda bored sometimes on side 2) and Eurythmics, which is absurd, but check a Good Will, it’s there, you’ll find at every Goodwill, on CD and Vinyl. So anyway the vinyl section and I have a complicated relationship, and had kind of gone our separate ways. But for some reason I was drawn back. I began flipping through the ‘new arrivals’ and there it was. Hank Williams ‘The Legend of Hank Williams in Song and Story.’ Bam, period bitches. Fucking Hank Williams, period. I happen to like Hank Williams. And don’t have much on vinyl. I’m not huge on “Greatest Hits” kind of albums (you miss all the gems, like have you ever seen “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest” on any Bob Dylan greatest hits? No. I rest my case) but in this instance, though a bit skeptical, I thought, “sold.” Turns out this album is fucking amazing. It’s Hank Williams Jr. narrating two full length records of his father’s songs. He tells anecdotes he’s heard from other musicians, tells the stories behind some songs, in short, if you gave me one word to describe this affair I would choose “fucking fantastic.” A new prize in my collection. Though it’s mostly songs you’ve got elsewhere in the Hank Williams catalogue, but it’s still a one-of-a-kind Hank Williams album. And it has two poems by Hank Williams read by Hank Williams Jr. that are so bad that they are, you guessed it, fucking fantastic. I don’t know where you would find this again, I’ve never seen it or heard of it before, but it’s a beautiful thing. There may yet be hope sweet vinyl section at Goodwill, yes, there may be hope for us yet.