Slam Dancing Sexercise II
Emily now says that Punk Rock Aerobics will also be featured on VH1 News tomorrow. That spot will run as part of the 8 a.m. newscast, as well as throughout the day, I gather. Just in case you missed it today.
Thursday, April 11, 2002
Metaphor Marketing and Marketing Metaphors
I just spent the last hour working through an interesting exercise with Tom Fishburne, a student at the Harvard Business School. He's part of a team working on a research project looking at readers' impressions of and experiences with Fast Company. One of the tools they're using is the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), a "patented research tool which allows people to understand their own thinking more fully and to share this thinking with researchers."
Basically, Tom asked me to pick five photographs or images from magazines and newspapers that remind me of the magazine and working here -- and relate to my thoughts and feelings about FC. We spent the hour talking about what made me pick the images I selected, what I thought the pictures communicated, and how the pictures fit into my experiences working for Fast Company -- and what we do as an organization (and in the magazine). He took the pictures and my initial notes on them with him -- at my prompting -- so I can't get into what I said or how I feel, but I thought it might be useful to share some ZMET-related resources.
Storytelling: A New Way to Get Close to Your Customer
Metaphor Marketing
La Di Da on ZMET
ZMET for Metaphor Marketing
Emerging Perspectives, Summer 2001
I've asked Tom to send me my pictures and notes when he's done with them. Perhaps I'll be able to share more upon my return.
I just spent the last hour working through an interesting exercise with Tom Fishburne, a student at the Harvard Business School. He's part of a team working on a research project looking at readers' impressions of and experiences with Fast Company. One of the tools they're using is the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique (ZMET), a "patented research tool which allows people to understand their own thinking more fully and to share this thinking with researchers."
Basically, Tom asked me to pick five photographs or images from magazines and newspapers that remind me of the magazine and working here -- and relate to my thoughts and feelings about FC. We spent the hour talking about what made me pick the images I selected, what I thought the pictures communicated, and how the pictures fit into my experiences working for Fast Company -- and what we do as an organization (and in the magazine). He took the pictures and my initial notes on them with him -- at my prompting -- so I can't get into what I said or how I feel, but I thought it might be useful to share some ZMET-related resources.
I've asked Tom to send me my pictures and notes when he's done with them. Perhaps I'll be able to share more upon my return.
'Tis the Season to Be... AWOL II
Tomorrow early, I head to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a Company of Friends event at Guilford College. Sunday, I fly back to Boston and then on to Italy, where I'll be speaking about and leading a workshop on sustainable community design at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea.
According to my parents and the Overseas Security Advisory Council, the three major labor unions in Italy -- which claim 12 million members -- have called a general strike for April 16, the day of my panel discussion and workshop. Quoth the OSAC, "The eight-hour stoppage is expected in most Italian cities and could cause transportation delays." Good thing I arrive April 15 and depart April 18. Fingers crossed that I'll get in and out without a hitch!
Anyway, I said all that to say that chances are good I won't be online much for the next, um, week. While I hope to update Media Diet while traveling, if I don't, that doesn't mean that Media Diet is dead (long live Media Diet!). It just means that it's resting. I'll be back on the attack next Friday, April 19, for sure.
(And lest you wonder, my parents have no connection with the OSAC. They just look out for me.)
Tomorrow early, I head to Greensboro, North Carolina, for a Company of Friends event at Guilford College. Sunday, I fly back to Boston and then on to Italy, where I'll be speaking about and leading a workshop on sustainable community design at the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea.
According to my parents and the Overseas Security Advisory Council, the three major labor unions in Italy -- which claim 12 million members -- have called a general strike for April 16, the day of my panel discussion and workshop. Quoth the OSAC, "The eight-hour stoppage is expected in most Italian cities and could cause transportation delays." Good thing I arrive April 15 and depart April 18. Fingers crossed that I'll get in and out without a hitch!
Anyway, I said all that to say that chances are good I won't be online much for the next, um, week. While I hope to update Media Diet while traveling, if I don't, that doesn't mean that Media Diet is dead (long live Media Diet!). It just means that it's resting. I'll be back on the attack next Friday, April 19, for sure.
(And lest you wonder, my parents have no connection with the OSAC. They just look out for me.)
Slam Dancing Sexercise
My friend Emily informs me that Punk Rock Aerobics will be featured on VH1 News today. Several members of the Handstand Command collective will be featured as part of the clip, as well as a live supergroup of J. Mascis, Wharton Tiers, and Evan Dando. The spot is supposed to run all day, so check it out!
My friend Emily informs me that Punk Rock Aerobics will be featured on VH1 News today. Several members of the Handstand Command collective will be featured as part of the clip, as well as a live supergroup of J. Mascis, Wharton Tiers, and Evan Dando. The spot is supposed to run all day, so check it out!
Subway Soundtrack II
I listened to the following songs on the way to work today:
Digable Planets:
Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Cypress Hill:
Insane in the Membrane
Eminem:
The Real Slim Shady (Album Version)
Urban Dance Squad:
Deeper Shade of Soul
I listened to the following songs on the way to work today:
Digable Planets:
Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)
Cypress Hill:
Insane in the Membrane
Eminem:
The Real Slim Shady (Album Version)
Urban Dance Squad:
Deeper Shade of Soul
Wednesday, April 10, 2002
These Links Were Made for Breaking?
In a bit of disturbing news, it seems that a federal appeals court in California needs to reconsider a decision passed down in February that could set a dangerous precedent -- a decision that suggests that every single link on the Web is an infringement of copyright. A photographer sued Ditto for including images he'd put online in their search results -- as thumbnails linking to the photos he'd published on the Web. The court said that including the thumbnails was fair use -- but that Ditto could not link to the original images through the thumbnails.
Without links, what's the point of the Web? Go figure.
In a bit of disturbing news, it seems that a federal appeals court in California needs to reconsider a decision passed down in February that could set a dangerous precedent -- a decision that suggests that every single link on the Web is an infringement of copyright. A photographer sued Ditto for including images he'd put online in their search results -- as thumbnails linking to the photos he'd published on the Web. The court said that including the thumbnails was fair use -- but that Ditto could not link to the original images through the thumbnails.
Without links, what's the point of the Web? Go figure.
PR with a Purpose
Public relations executive Leigh Vogel was so impressed by the advertising savvy of the American Anti-Slavery Group in Boston that she decided to pitch in her skills to help further the global abolition cause. To date, she's enlisted Perry Farrell to travel to Sudan to play music, dance, and celebrate with 2,300 people rescued during a recent mission. She's also arranged for escaped slave Francis Bok to speak a music festival that attracted 40,000 people.
Public relations executive Leigh Vogel was so impressed by the advertising savvy of the American Anti-Slavery Group in Boston that she decided to pitch in her skills to help further the global abolition cause. To date, she's enlisted Perry Farrell to travel to Sudan to play music, dance, and celebrate with 2,300 people rescued during a recent mission. She's also arranged for escaped slave Francis Bok to speak a music festival that attracted 40,000 people.
One Man's Alternative Media Strategy III
Sander Hicks recently released a draft of his alternative media strategy. I responded. Today, the dialogue continues as Sander comments on my critique.
Well, we have the brewing of a classic anarchist-versus-socialist debate brewing here, but I'd like to address our differences as friends.
I made reference to the "fat cats" and you quoted me. That's the first question: Do you believe a class of fat cats exists? And if so, that a class of the rest of us exists under them?
I think your first major weakness is the quick summary of what the "Left" means to you. A fast cobbling together of some minor '60s figures, some of whom are now conservatives, is not what I call the "Left." For me, it's a grand red tradition that goes back to the French Revolution, or back farther to the Diggers. From there, up through Marx, the Abolitionists, the Soviet experiment, Civil Rights, the Anti-War Movement, etc. It's not a trend, a lifestyle, or the product of a bygone era. Today, it's ascendent, it's in the streets, and corporate globalization is going to get what it deserves. It's like this big poster this black lady had up at the protest against Bush's inauguration -- "Mr. President, the Movement is Back!"
I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing you or talking down to you, but you're making a classic anarchist blunder: Your privileged background helps you to ignore the centrality of class struggle. And this hurts your argument. God, that sounded anal. I mean, I come from an upper-middle-class background myself. Dad was a World Bank economist. But having been on the streets a little bit in the last 10 years, I have worked to rid myself of the outlook of my upbringing and sought to see the world with the masses. I mean, you and I know how strong capitalism is, and as two people who have, at times, bought into the Fast Company culture of progressive capitalism, we see how capitalism is powerful because it creates a worldview. I would argue that Fast Company-type mini-revolutions have been happening since the dawn of capitalism. That same energy is what started capitalism, and, thank God, gave it the gumption to beat feudalism and create something new.
But where is it going? And what does that worldview today really teach us? Well, first of all, it teaches you this cynicism, not to take the Left seriously, and to consign it to the dustbin of history, again and again, despite its presence. Even you don't seem to put much credence in the anarchist thinkers you hold up as alternatives: Zerzan, Bookchin. But what is the real lesson of capitalism? On its surface, there is a myth... and it does have some basis in reality... an interesting amount of zeal and excitement does run through a small business... the lesson I take from that is that we all should work at a job we love, a job we are inspired by, and pour our souls into. Everyone should have that, but it's not going to happen under this system. This system has proven that. Capitalism is based on exploiting people. A few are granted the privilege of believing in what they are doing; the rest can't believe this is happening to them.
Let me bring it down to concrete examples. I've been taking a break from the city and from Soft Skull out here in Long Island, writing sometimes, but working as a carpenter for money. In both companies I've worked for, the boss is always trying to dock your wages for petty reasons, keep your wages down when you start there, pay you as little as he can. Why? Because it's the easiest thing he can do to cut costs. They know I need the work, I don't really have an means to address grievances, I'm a floating non-union carpenter out here. What they don't know is that in my head, I'm putting the math together. This is what capitalism is, times a billion. It's bosses getting away with as much as possible and taking it out of labor, the real source of the value. We're the ones building the house, or spackling the interior, or outside 20 feet up in the air on a plank between two ladders, nailing cedar clapboard siding on. And they are the ones with a certain worldview that says -- this is human nature, it's everyone for himself, it's dog eat dog, let's do it to them before they do it to us.
So, your quick summary of the Left was sloppy. And I'm not sure you even really understand why class exploitation is wrong, or if you believe such a thing exists.
You are free to say that I, Heath Row, am not on the Left. But don't say it doesn't exist in history. And please don't slander a tradition I love.
Now then, here's something we agree on:
Deprofessionalize journalism
This sounds a lot like something said in this book I'm currently reading, "Something to Guard: The Stormy Life of the National Guardian 1948-1967." It's about guys who tried to start a left news weekly in NYC and keep it running through the crest of McCarthyism. They were in Europe for the Marshall Plan and saw a lot of socialists kept out of the reconstruction while the U.S. let a lot of deposed fascists come back into power. Back in the USA, the media and government were in cahoots to re-elect Truman, the bomber of mass Japanese civilians, on a platform that was Cold War defense contracting and business as usual.
One of the founding principles of the Guardian was that the profit motive didn't belong in media. It didn't serve the nature of the trade. What do you think about this? I notice you relegate the profit motive to underneath the need to "make sense of the world " and this I applaud. But what's the role of the profit motive in media?
Your solution right now seems incomplete. Micro-media projects? I'm sorry, but the world we live in is much bigger than that. We've got a class of fat cats fighting over the world resources with our blood, our labor. Who's going to stop it? Not a collective of indie rock bands or a zine. A workers revolution will. One that unites the Left, one that is dynamic, and has learned from its past.
Or, you suggest:
Smash the media state from inside
You see, we're after different goals. I want a better world than this, and I think it's possible. You, on the other hand, in effect are telling the world here, "It's OK. Work for Bertlesmann. Things aren't that bad! Everyone's doing it!"
Sorry, that sounded sarcastic, and I wanted to write this in a way that wasn't hurtful. But the sarcasm was meant to make a point. I hope the point is taken; it was not made with malice.
Offer viable parallel options
I like this, and I really like the idea of us appropriating the values (good design, editing) from them. We have more in common than I realize, perhaps.
All too often, I see indie media without values. Our values have to be better, not worse, than bourgeois capitalism. Some indie media/political kids don't get this. But you know what? They tend to be young, and they tend to be anarchist. Either the world knocks some sense into it like it did me, or they get out of indie media. Because this "anarchist" view of hermetic, sloppy media production itself doesn't serve the "market" for quality things people need.
On that note, what's up with your self-deprecating comments on the Anchormen? Don't you believe in the quality of that project? I mean, I for one put a song on a mix tape for a girl I had a hugehuge crush on. Not all songs you do are great, but there are moments of brilliance in that band. I think in this instance, your need to be clever, self-effacing, and smart got the better of you. It happened way too much in this piece. -- Sander Hicks
Sander Hicks recently released a draft of his alternative media strategy. I responded. Today, the dialogue continues as Sander comments on my critique.
Well, we have the brewing of a classic anarchist-versus-socialist debate brewing here, but I'd like to address our differences as friends.
I made reference to the "fat cats" and you quoted me. That's the first question: Do you believe a class of fat cats exists? And if so, that a class of the rest of us exists under them?
I think your first major weakness is the quick summary of what the "Left" means to you. A fast cobbling together of some minor '60s figures, some of whom are now conservatives, is not what I call the "Left." For me, it's a grand red tradition that goes back to the French Revolution, or back farther to the Diggers. From there, up through Marx, the Abolitionists, the Soviet experiment, Civil Rights, the Anti-War Movement, etc. It's not a trend, a lifestyle, or the product of a bygone era. Today, it's ascendent, it's in the streets, and corporate globalization is going to get what it deserves. It's like this big poster this black lady had up at the protest against Bush's inauguration -- "Mr. President, the Movement is Back!"
I don't want to sound like I'm lecturing you or talking down to you, but you're making a classic anarchist blunder: Your privileged background helps you to ignore the centrality of class struggle. And this hurts your argument. God, that sounded anal. I mean, I come from an upper-middle-class background myself. Dad was a World Bank economist. But having been on the streets a little bit in the last 10 years, I have worked to rid myself of the outlook of my upbringing and sought to see the world with the masses. I mean, you and I know how strong capitalism is, and as two people who have, at times, bought into the Fast Company culture of progressive capitalism, we see how capitalism is powerful because it creates a worldview. I would argue that Fast Company-type mini-revolutions have been happening since the dawn of capitalism. That same energy is what started capitalism, and, thank God, gave it the gumption to beat feudalism and create something new.
But where is it going? And what does that worldview today really teach us? Well, first of all, it teaches you this cynicism, not to take the Left seriously, and to consign it to the dustbin of history, again and again, despite its presence. Even you don't seem to put much credence in the anarchist thinkers you hold up as alternatives: Zerzan, Bookchin. But what is the real lesson of capitalism? On its surface, there is a myth... and it does have some basis in reality... an interesting amount of zeal and excitement does run through a small business... the lesson I take from that is that we all should work at a job we love, a job we are inspired by, and pour our souls into. Everyone should have that, but it's not going to happen under this system. This system has proven that. Capitalism is based on exploiting people. A few are granted the privilege of believing in what they are doing; the rest can't believe this is happening to them.
Let me bring it down to concrete examples. I've been taking a break from the city and from Soft Skull out here in Long Island, writing sometimes, but working as a carpenter for money. In both companies I've worked for, the boss is always trying to dock your wages for petty reasons, keep your wages down when you start there, pay you as little as he can. Why? Because it's the easiest thing he can do to cut costs. They know I need the work, I don't really have an means to address grievances, I'm a floating non-union carpenter out here. What they don't know is that in my head, I'm putting the math together. This is what capitalism is, times a billion. It's bosses getting away with as much as possible and taking it out of labor, the real source of the value. We're the ones building the house, or spackling the interior, or outside 20 feet up in the air on a plank between two ladders, nailing cedar clapboard siding on. And they are the ones with a certain worldview that says -- this is human nature, it's everyone for himself, it's dog eat dog, let's do it to them before they do it to us.
So, your quick summary of the Left was sloppy. And I'm not sure you even really understand why class exploitation is wrong, or if you believe such a thing exists.
You are free to say that I, Heath Row, am not on the Left. But don't say it doesn't exist in history. And please don't slander a tradition I love.
Now then, here's something we agree on:
Deprofessionalize journalism
This sounds a lot like something said in this book I'm currently reading, "Something to Guard: The Stormy Life of the National Guardian 1948-1967." It's about guys who tried to start a left news weekly in NYC and keep it running through the crest of McCarthyism. They were in Europe for the Marshall Plan and saw a lot of socialists kept out of the reconstruction while the U.S. let a lot of deposed fascists come back into power. Back in the USA, the media and government were in cahoots to re-elect Truman, the bomber of mass Japanese civilians, on a platform that was Cold War defense contracting and business as usual.
One of the founding principles of the Guardian was that the profit motive didn't belong in media. It didn't serve the nature of the trade. What do you think about this? I notice you relegate the profit motive to underneath the need to "make sense of the world " and this I applaud. But what's the role of the profit motive in media?
Your solution right now seems incomplete. Micro-media projects? I'm sorry, but the world we live in is much bigger than that. We've got a class of fat cats fighting over the world resources with our blood, our labor. Who's going to stop it? Not a collective of indie rock bands or a zine. A workers revolution will. One that unites the Left, one that is dynamic, and has learned from its past.
Or, you suggest:
Smash the media state from inside
You see, we're after different goals. I want a better world than this, and I think it's possible. You, on the other hand, in effect are telling the world here, "It's OK. Work for Bertlesmann. Things aren't that bad! Everyone's doing it!"
Sorry, that sounded sarcastic, and I wanted to write this in a way that wasn't hurtful. But the sarcasm was meant to make a point. I hope the point is taken; it was not made with malice.
Offer viable parallel options
I like this, and I really like the idea of us appropriating the values (good design, editing) from them. We have more in common than I realize, perhaps.
All too often, I see indie media without values. Our values have to be better, not worse, than bourgeois capitalism. Some indie media/political kids don't get this. But you know what? They tend to be young, and they tend to be anarchist. Either the world knocks some sense into it like it did me, or they get out of indie media. Because this "anarchist" view of hermetic, sloppy media production itself doesn't serve the "market" for quality things people need.
On that note, what's up with your self-deprecating comments on the Anchormen? Don't you believe in the quality of that project? I mean, I for one put a song on a mix tape for a girl I had a hugehuge crush on. Not all songs you do are great, but there are moments of brilliance in that band. I think in this instance, your need to be clever, self-effacing, and smart got the better of you. It happened way too much in this piece. -- Sander Hicks
Pieces, Particles II
The following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications -- and now online -- might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.
Adult Education, by Amy Sohn, New York, March 18, 2002
At a class on how to make a porn video, our writer picks up hints on camera angles and choreography. But try as she might, she still can't learn how to like it.
Bad Eggers! Bad Moody! Bad Sontag!, by Dennis Loy Johnson, AlterNet, March 18, 2002
A group of writers and 'zine publishers have formed a group hell-bent on harassing successful literary figures
But Who's Answering the Phone?, Economist, March 16, 2002
Technology gets into bed with the oldest profession
Copywrongs, by Wendy Kaminer, American Prospect, May 6, 2002
Film Business, by Todd Gitlin, American Prospect, March 25, 2002
French director Laurent Cantet revives the European art flick -- by filming men at work.
Forget the Books, by Cynthia Cotts, Village Voice, April 10, 2002
Secrets of Book Reviewing Revealed
Go Slow on Cross-Ownership, by Thomas Kunkel, American Journalism Review, March 2002
It would be bad news for news consumers.
Mechanical Prose, Economist, March 16, 2002
Journalists may become redundant. But not just yet
Novel Writing: America's Latest Extreme Sport, by Roger Gathman, Austin Chronicle, Nov. 30, 2001
The Essay Made Simple, by Dan Zevin, Rolling Stone, March 14, 2002
Geoff Cook reveals his secrets for a killer application
The World According to Lux, Economist, Dec. 22, 2001
How radio drama cheered up, and changed, America
Whatever Happened to the Sea Shanty?, by Robert Lloyd Webb, Maine Boats & Harbors, April/May 2002
The sea shanty is a sailor's work song. Without work, its value is difficult to appreciate.
When Boom Went Bust at the "Country Club", by Todd Woody, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2002
If you work for a magazine and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
The following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications -- and now online -- might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.
Adult Education, by Amy Sohn, New York, March 18, 2002
At a class on how to make a porn video, our writer picks up hints on camera angles and choreography. But try as she might, she still can't learn how to like it.
Bad Eggers! Bad Moody! Bad Sontag!, by Dennis Loy Johnson, AlterNet, March 18, 2002
A group of writers and 'zine publishers have formed a group hell-bent on harassing successful literary figures
But Who's Answering the Phone?, Economist, March 16, 2002
Technology gets into bed with the oldest profession
Copywrongs, by Wendy Kaminer, American Prospect, May 6, 2002
Film Business, by Todd Gitlin, American Prospect, March 25, 2002
French director Laurent Cantet revives the European art flick -- by filming men at work.
Forget the Books, by Cynthia Cotts, Village Voice, April 10, 2002
Secrets of Book Reviewing Revealed
Go Slow on Cross-Ownership, by Thomas Kunkel, American Journalism Review, March 2002
It would be bad news for news consumers.
Mechanical Prose, Economist, March 16, 2002
Journalists may become redundant. But not just yet
Novel Writing: America's Latest Extreme Sport, by Roger Gathman, Austin Chronicle, Nov. 30, 2001
The Essay Made Simple, by Dan Zevin, Rolling Stone, March 14, 2002
Geoff Cook reveals his secrets for a killer application
The World According to Lux, Economist, Dec. 22, 2001
How radio drama cheered up, and changed, America
Whatever Happened to the Sea Shanty?, by Robert Lloyd Webb, Maine Boats & Harbors, April/May 2002
The sea shanty is a sailor's work song. Without work, its value is difficult to appreciate.
When Boom Went Bust at the "Country Club", by Todd Woody, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2002
If you work for a magazine and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
The Days of Whiners and Posers
Here's a fine how do you do: Salon reports that employees of the Vault, a Web service established to encourage employees of other companies to vent about their employers, colleagues, and workplaces also use the Vault itself to air dirty laundry and voice opinions about the state of the organization and its team. While the Vault was built on anonymity and free speech, I'm surprised by how puerile some of the Vault employees' comments are. Constructive criticism it isn't. Say, is that the hand that feeds me? Bite!
The Salon piece goes on to detail the Vault's emergent practice of editing and deleting potentially libelous or tangentially chatty posts. Vaulties responded by establishing an alternative discussion space for team members. While the Vault wasn't as visible as Fucked Company, it's definitely a more solid business -- complete with a staff, a board of directors, hefty overhead, and the trappings of a standard startup. Maybe that was its mistake: dishing dirt about business might not make the most stable business plan.
Additional company comment sites:
Cool Avenues (Consultancies, primarily)
Disgruntled (RIP, it seems)
Epinions (Mostly products and services)
Insider Trade (Full disclosure: An FC joint)
The Motley Fool (Alphabetical stock-related discussions)
Additional coverage:
An Internet "Bounty" to Silence Premier Laser's Harshest Critic?
Companies Go After Anonymous Net Critics
Fighting Over Free Speech
Legal Tips for Your "Sucks" Site
Online Message Boards Bedevil Companies
Here's a fine how do you do: Salon reports that employees of the Vault, a Web service established to encourage employees of other companies to vent about their employers, colleagues, and workplaces also use the Vault itself to air dirty laundry and voice opinions about the state of the organization and its team. While the Vault was built on anonymity and free speech, I'm surprised by how puerile some of the Vault employees' comments are. Constructive criticism it isn't. Say, is that the hand that feeds me? Bite!
The Salon piece goes on to detail the Vault's emergent practice of editing and deleting potentially libelous or tangentially chatty posts. Vaulties responded by establishing an alternative discussion space for team members. While the Vault wasn't as visible as Fucked Company, it's definitely a more solid business -- complete with a staff, a board of directors, hefty overhead, and the trappings of a standard startup. Maybe that was its mistake: dishing dirt about business might not make the most stable business plan.
Additional company comment sites:
Additional coverage:
The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night II
As thanks for serving as my box hostel for, gosh, I don't even know how long, I took Anni and Jonathan -- and Alex -- out for dinner last night at Cuchi Cuchi on Central Square. The decor is amazingly stylish yet comfortable, the cocktails and mixed drinks (especially the Dirty Little Secret) are to die for, and the food -- while a tad on the pricy side -- is absolutely delicious and extremely well presented. Cuchi Cuchi is a relatively upscale tapas restaurant, providing a nice addition to Dali and Tapeo.
What did we eat? A lot. Yet, given the small plates, not that much! On our menu: Duck shank, garlic shrimp, red curry shrimp, mashed potatoes, asparagus, risotto, trout, and... come on memory. Something else besides the wonderful crusty bread and duck pate. Whatever. Remember: Cuchi Cuchi is a bit expensive. But not too expensive. And it's not that formal, although you can dress up as much as you want. Cuchi Cuchi is well worth checking out, even if just for a semi-special event such as, say, Buddha's birthday, which was Monday. Happy birthday, Buddha!
As thanks for serving as my box hostel for, gosh, I don't even know how long, I took Anni and Jonathan -- and Alex -- out for dinner last night at Cuchi Cuchi on Central Square. The decor is amazingly stylish yet comfortable, the cocktails and mixed drinks (especially the Dirty Little Secret) are to die for, and the food -- while a tad on the pricy side -- is absolutely delicious and extremely well presented. Cuchi Cuchi is a relatively upscale tapas restaurant, providing a nice addition to Dali and Tapeo.
What did we eat? A lot. Yet, given the small plates, not that much! On our menu: Duck shank, garlic shrimp, red curry shrimp, mashed potatoes, asparagus, risotto, trout, and... come on memory. Something else besides the wonderful crusty bread and duck pate. Whatever. Remember: Cuchi Cuchi is a bit expensive. But not too expensive. And it's not that formal, although you can dress up as much as you want. Cuchi Cuchi is well worth checking out, even if just for a semi-special event such as, say, Buddha's birthday, which was Monday. Happy birthday, Buddha!
Temp Rave
I learned about This Is Not My Desk via the Utne Web Watch, but it seems that proprietor Christopher Livingston also has a Cardhouse hook up. Small world, indeed! This next bit is for Chris' eyes only:
"Hi! I am on Cardhouse!" their wave tells me.
"Hello! I am also on Cardhouse!" I wave back.
"I see that you are on Cardhouse, and I am communicating that fact with my hand and arm!" they reply.
OK; the rest of you can start reading again.
Chris' blog is a solid personal and work-oriented resource, particularly people involved or interested in temporary employment. Chris takes a silly look at how often he thinks about sex, mourns not being able to commute to work by ferry any more, offers some Web sites people can check out for a diversion while at work, and makes fun of the cliched interview article format. He also provides guides to some of the more prevalent workplace denizens -- the receptionist, the office assistant -- reviews of work-related Web sites, movies, and books; and hosts a discussion board.
One diversion he offers, and then I'm out of here. The Carlos Work Nickname Generator calculates what co-workers call you behind your back. Typing in my first and last name, I learn that I am called "the boy." Actually, people call me Dr. Row -- ask me not why -- but I like the sound of Carlos' nickname. The boy. The boy. Yup!
I learned about This Is Not My Desk via the Utne Web Watch, but it seems that proprietor Christopher Livingston also has a Cardhouse hook up. Small world, indeed! This next bit is for Chris' eyes only:
"Hi! I am on Cardhouse!" their wave tells me.
"Hello! I am also on Cardhouse!" I wave back.
"I see that you are on Cardhouse, and I am communicating that fact with my hand and arm!" they reply.
OK; the rest of you can start reading again.
Chris' blog is a solid personal and work-oriented resource, particularly people involved or interested in temporary employment. Chris takes a silly look at how often he thinks about sex, mourns not being able to commute to work by ferry any more, offers some Web sites people can check out for a diversion while at work, and makes fun of the cliched interview article format. He also provides guides to some of the more prevalent workplace denizens -- the receptionist, the office assistant -- reviews of work-related Web sites, movies, and books; and hosts a discussion board.
One diversion he offers, and then I'm out of here. The Carlos Work Nickname Generator calculates what co-workers call you behind your back. Typing in my first and last name, I learn that I am called "the boy." Actually, people call me Dr. Row -- ask me not why -- but I like the sound of Carlos' nickname. The boy. The boy. Yup!
Subway Soundtrack
Thanks to my new iPod and Dave's generosity, I listened to the following songs on the way to work today:
Killing Joke:
Eighties, Love Like Blood
Psychedelic Furs:
Love My Way
Simple Minds:
Don't You (Forget About Me)
Thanks to my new iPod and Dave's generosity, I listened to the following songs on the way to work today:
Killing Joke:
Eighties, Love Like Blood
Psychedelic Furs:
Love My Way
Simple Minds:
Don't You (Forget About Me)
Tuesday, April 09, 2002
Comic Strips and Controversy
Running in step with the anti-Ted Rall camp, students at Purdue University, my father's alma mater, recently protested an editorial cartoon by Pat Oliphant, claiming that Oliphant's comic shows "blatant ignorance of minority groups." In InstaPundit, Glenn Reynolds shares that he's not overly sympathetic to the Oliphant backlash -- and that that might be because he's been desensitized by Rall.
While I don't think people's responses to the Oliphant comic have anything to do with whether they're been exposed to Rall, I'm torn here just as I'm torn when considering whether Heeb is an offensive name for a magazine. I'm not Jewish, and I'm not black. So I'm coming at this from a sympathetic but not totally empathetic perspective. I think it's less about whether Rall defenders flock to the sides of Oliphant in the name of free speech -- and more about just what it is that Oliphant's saying in the comic strip.
Is he saying that reparations to black people in terms of rights and opportunities have been paid in full? That black people are petty because they -- if there is a "they" here -- push for cash money as well as rights and opportunities? That white guilt leads people to sway too far while interacting with underserved and underpriveleged minorities? That Lincoln was a racist who used semantics to throw bones at the freed slaves instead of truly making up for their ill treatment for centuries? It seems to me that Oliphant is criticizing whites as well as blacks in this comic.
***
Punchline without a set up: "Pat Oliphant never forgets."
Running in step with the anti-Ted Rall camp, students at Purdue University, my father's alma mater, recently protested an editorial cartoon by Pat Oliphant, claiming that Oliphant's comic shows "blatant ignorance of minority groups." In InstaPundit, Glenn Reynolds shares that he's not overly sympathetic to the Oliphant backlash -- and that that might be because he's been desensitized by Rall.
While I don't think people's responses to the Oliphant comic have anything to do with whether they're been exposed to Rall, I'm torn here just as I'm torn when considering whether Heeb is an offensive name for a magazine. I'm not Jewish, and I'm not black. So I'm coming at this from a sympathetic but not totally empathetic perspective. I think it's less about whether Rall defenders flock to the sides of Oliphant in the name of free speech -- and more about just what it is that Oliphant's saying in the comic strip.
Is he saying that reparations to black people in terms of rights and opportunities have been paid in full? That black people are petty because they -- if there is a "they" here -- push for cash money as well as rights and opportunities? That white guilt leads people to sway too far while interacting with underserved and underpriveleged minorities? That Lincoln was a racist who used semantics to throw bones at the freed slaves instead of truly making up for their ill treatment for centuries? It seems to me that Oliphant is criticizing whites as well as blacks in this comic.
Punchline without a set up: "Pat Oliphant never forgets."
Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians II
Matt celebrated his 32nd birthday April 7.
My sister turns 32 today.
Happy birthday, Matt and Becky!
Matt celebrated his 32nd birthday April 7.
My sister turns 32 today.
Happy birthday, Matt and Becky!
Mention Me! VI
Susan Kaup name dropped Media Diet in her blog last month.
She's also helping to organize a Boston Bloggers Gathering on April 22. That should be a hoot and a half.
Susan Kaup name dropped Media Diet in her blog last month.
She's also helping to organize a Boston Bloggers Gathering on April 22. That should be a hoot and a half.
Non Compliance
Former Somerville resident and area comics creator and designer Jordan Crane is in town for several days this week to celebrate the release of the fifth edition of his awe-inspiring comics anthology Non. There was a signing last night at the Picnic featuring Jordan, Megan Kelso, Greg Cook, Paul Lyons, P. Shaw, and Tom Devlin, and then a bunch of us -- including most of the Picnic staff -- repaired to Shay's for an evening of food, folks, fun... and many fizzy beverages. We closed the place, which probably wasn't the wisest move given that it was a Monday.
Limited to a run of 2,000 copies, Non has received exceptional reviews to date, including rankings in Time Magazine's best of 2001 list and the Village Voice's 25 favorite books of 2001. And it's a doozy. Featuring a silk-screened dust jacket, Non #5 includes several books, a couple of which are housed in a cardboard recess that's part of the dust jacket. About a fourth of the print run is gone, and Jordan's order backlog -- it takes forever to collate the thing -- is so big that he's not even taking orders any more. So check your local comics retailer.
I'll be sure to review it in an upcoming Media Diet entry.
Former Somerville resident and area comics creator and designer Jordan Crane is in town for several days this week to celebrate the release of the fifth edition of his awe-inspiring comics anthology Non. There was a signing last night at the Picnic featuring Jordan, Megan Kelso, Greg Cook, Paul Lyons, P. Shaw, and Tom Devlin, and then a bunch of us -- including most of the Picnic staff -- repaired to Shay's for an evening of food, folks, fun... and many fizzy beverages. We closed the place, which probably wasn't the wisest move given that it was a Monday.
Limited to a run of 2,000 copies, Non has received exceptional reviews to date, including rankings in Time Magazine's best of 2001 list and the Village Voice's 25 favorite books of 2001. And it's a doozy. Featuring a silk-screened dust jacket, Non #5 includes several books, a couple of which are housed in a cardboard recess that's part of the dust jacket. About a fourth of the print run is gone, and Jordan's order backlog -- it takes forever to collate the thing -- is so big that he's not even taking orders any more. So check your local comics retailer.
I'll be sure to review it in an upcoming Media Diet entry.
Workaday World
A magazine writing class from Emerson College came by Fast Company today for a tour of our office and some insight on how we do what we do in terms of writing and editing stories, producing the magazine, and so forth. Their instructor, Susannah Ketchum, is the spitting image of Meg Ryan. I had a fun hour-long session with the class, and I like to think that the folks in the class did, too.
This entry is dedicated to them.
A magazine writing class from Emerson College came by Fast Company today for a tour of our office and some insight on how we do what we do in terms of writing and editing stories, producing the magazine, and so forth. Their instructor, Susannah Ketchum, is the spitting image of Meg Ryan. I had a fun hour-long session with the class, and I like to think that the folks in the class did, too.
This entry is dedicated to them.
Things to Keep in Mind
Yesterday, Evan commented on a statement by B-May, saying that "there is virtually no personal grooming activity that should be done in public." I was struck by the irony of catching up with Ev's blog moments after cleaning the wax out of my ears with two brand-new Johnson's Cotton Swabs. I ran out of 'em at home late last week, and, oh, was I thrilled to pick more up this noon at CVS. Don't worry, I looked both ways to make sure no one at work could see me cleaning my ears. I'm even a little skeeved out that I'm even telling you this. Still, to paraphrase the Descendents, "Clean ears mean a lot."
Yesterday, Evan commented on a statement by B-May, saying that "there is virtually no personal grooming activity that should be done in public." I was struck by the irony of catching up with Ev's blog moments after cleaning the wax out of my ears with two brand-new Johnson's Cotton Swabs. I ran out of 'em at home late last week, and, oh, was I thrilled to pick more up this noon at CVS. Don't worry, I looked both ways to make sure no one at work could see me cleaning my ears. I'm even a little skeeved out that I'm even telling you this. Still, to paraphrase the Descendents, "Clean ears mean a lot."
Technofetishism IV
Today I had the most wonderful consumer electronics design experience I have ever had. My new iPod came in the mail today. From opening the package to plugging in the firewire, the iPod is a delicious design experience. The unit itself is beautiful, although surprisingly heavy, and I was surprised and delighted by the packaging as well. The iPod's sturdy clam-shell box comes in a slip sleeve sporting an image of Bob Marley. And once you slide the box out of the sleeve and open the clam shall, there are little flaps you have to lift out toward the edges to access the items placed in the box's indented spaces. Even the one empty space is filled with a silver cardboard tuck.
I've been a little slow to jump on the iPod, and I'm feeling even slower now. I didn't splurge the extra $100 to get 10 MB instead of 5 MB (I can't imagine I'll need more than 1,000 songs with me at any one time.), and I didn't even think to check whether my PowerBook G3 was outfitted with firewire before I placed the order (It's not, natch. And d'ohh!). But David's setting me up with a starter mix as we speak, so to speak, and I'm highly excited to put the little earbuds in my ears and start listening to some tuneage soon, soon.
Kudos, Apple, for the iPod. It's beautiful.
Today I had the most wonderful consumer electronics design experience I have ever had. My new iPod came in the mail today. From opening the package to plugging in the firewire, the iPod is a delicious design experience. The unit itself is beautiful, although surprisingly heavy, and I was surprised and delighted by the packaging as well. The iPod's sturdy clam-shell box comes in a slip sleeve sporting an image of Bob Marley. And once you slide the box out of the sleeve and open the clam shall, there are little flaps you have to lift out toward the edges to access the items placed in the box's indented spaces. Even the one empty space is filled with a silver cardboard tuck.
I've been a little slow to jump on the iPod, and I'm feeling even slower now. I didn't splurge the extra $100 to get 10 MB instead of 5 MB (I can't imagine I'll need more than 1,000 songs with me at any one time.), and I didn't even think to check whether my PowerBook G3 was outfitted with firewire before I placed the order (It's not, natch. And d'ohh!). But David's setting me up with a starter mix as we speak, so to speak, and I'm highly excited to put the little earbuds in my ears and start listening to some tuneage soon, soon.
Kudos, Apple, for the iPod. It's beautiful.
Monday, April 08, 2002
Blogging About Blogging XVIII
I'm going to slide under the deadline wire with this entry. On March 30, I was informed what blog I was to review as part of the Peer-to-Peer Review Project, and I'm just now getting to even looking at the thing. The deadline is today. From the P2P Review site: "The idea of this project is to let bloggers review other bloggers in a huge ring. The goal is to introduce more bloggers to each other's sites and hopefully end up with a nice library of reviews." Not a bad idea, but I've been a bad reviewer. First a bad nominating judge for the Webbies, and now this. Luckily, with the time change yesterday, all of the clocks at work are messed up -- phone: 4:44 p.m., laptop: 5:59 p.m. -- so I can fit this into the slipstream.
Onward.
Matt Classic: A Paperback Diary
First of all, don't be fooled by Matt Classic's primary URL. It's merely a well-designed, slightly emo-looking placeholder that serves as a gateway to the real deal. This is the page you'd bookmark if you visited Matt's blog frequently. Unfortunately, however, my first impression is mixed. While the overall design is impressive -- nice black background, well-placed photographs, and a slightly indie rock-inspired design aesthetic (including Matt's somewhat standard-issue though artistic emo-boy portrait), the currency and frequency of Matt Classic is doubtful.
Matt's blog sports all of seven entries, one from February, and six from March (both from this year, to his credit!). There's been no update since March 25, and the average length of time between entries is about five days -- worth a weekly visit if you visit at all. (By my bad-math calculations, Matt's due for another update, well, about eight days ago.) Even if Matt Classic's not strong on currency or frequency, he's on the ball in terms of brevity, and were Matt Classic updated frequently, readers would be in for bite-sized slices of life (i.e. March 8's paraphrased transcript with a kid who's listening to Piebald, on Aderol, and not too keen on the government) , indie-rock commentary (Matt seems to be in a band in the Boston area and posts links to songs by several bands, including Strike Anywhere and Brandston), shouts out to friends, concerns about his emotional and psychological health, recent attempts to exercise regularly, and school life.
While the blog itself isn't that interesting or inspiring -- I'm not sure I'd return after I finish this review -- the story behind Matt and the blog is slightly interesting. And that's the beauty of the Web -- despite what's on a Web page, there are people behind those pages, and there's always more than meets the eye. For example, my informed guess -- parsing the URL, natch -- is that Matt's band is Model Kit, a four-piece power-pop band based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formerly Carpet Patrol, (street slang for "crack smokers searching the floor for crack," according to the government) the band's been around in various incarnations for about six years. They'll be playing May 5 at the Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square (That's the first show I have a chance of making, so I'm going to check them out.). There are several photos of Matt and the old Carpet Patrol available on the Tony and Pals site, so the band seems to be held in somewhat high esteem, ranking placement with area bands such as Drexel and Big D and the Kids' Table. The band also rates several mentions in Just Another Scene and other area punk-rock Web sites.
Matt also refers to his girlfriend Kat and how she's even less mindful in updating her blog than Matt is with his. (Representing the stereotypical zine and blog self-referential concern with how long its been between issues or entries! In the zine world, such commentary is more intrusive, but given Matt's sporadic posting, it's pretty appropriate in the context of his blog.) I'm unable to find any references to Kat's blog, so I'm not able to piece together just who and where they are, but poking around the little I have, it's clear that Matt lives in the Boston area -- an hour away, he says (or if I'm misinterpreting, he lives here and Kat lives in Providence or somewhere else that's also an hour away -- but why would he spring for a weekend at a hotel in Boston, then?) -- is active in the area punk scene -- which means he should check out my band the Anchormen -- and is still in college. But Matt's blog doesn't make for an overly personal or informative look into his life, and given its lack of frequency or depth, I'm not even sure whether he's doing the blog for himself, his friends, or fans of Model Kit. Because even if you know Matt, there's not much here.
But I'm going to give Matt the benefit of the doubt. The blog is all of two months old, and despite Matt's infrequent updates, he's involved in enough -- the Boston area, college, the punk-rock scene, a relationship -- to make for an interesting Web site. All Matt Classic needs is some focus, some direction, and -- most importantly -- some attention.
I'm going to slide under the deadline wire with this entry. On March 30, I was informed what blog I was to review as part of the Peer-to-Peer Review Project, and I'm just now getting to even looking at the thing. The deadline is today. From the P2P Review site: "The idea of this project is to let bloggers review other bloggers in a huge ring. The goal is to introduce more bloggers to each other's sites and hopefully end up with a nice library of reviews." Not a bad idea, but I've been a bad reviewer. First a bad nominating judge for the Webbies, and now this. Luckily, with the time change yesterday, all of the clocks at work are messed up -- phone: 4:44 p.m., laptop: 5:59 p.m. -- so I can fit this into the slipstream.
Onward.
Matt Classic: A Paperback Diary
First of all, don't be fooled by Matt Classic's primary URL. It's merely a well-designed, slightly emo-looking placeholder that serves as a gateway to the real deal. This is the page you'd bookmark if you visited Matt's blog frequently. Unfortunately, however, my first impression is mixed. While the overall design is impressive -- nice black background, well-placed photographs, and a slightly indie rock-inspired design aesthetic (including Matt's somewhat standard-issue though artistic emo-boy portrait), the currency and frequency of Matt Classic is doubtful.
Matt's blog sports all of seven entries, one from February, and six from March (both from this year, to his credit!). There's been no update since March 25, and the average length of time between entries is about five days -- worth a weekly visit if you visit at all. (By my bad-math calculations, Matt's due for another update, well, about eight days ago.) Even if Matt Classic's not strong on currency or frequency, he's on the ball in terms of brevity, and were Matt Classic updated frequently, readers would be in for bite-sized slices of life (i.e. March 8's paraphrased transcript with a kid who's listening to Piebald, on Aderol, and not too keen on the government) , indie-rock commentary (Matt seems to be in a band in the Boston area and posts links to songs by several bands, including Strike Anywhere and Brandston), shouts out to friends, concerns about his emotional and psychological health, recent attempts to exercise regularly, and school life.
While the blog itself isn't that interesting or inspiring -- I'm not sure I'd return after I finish this review -- the story behind Matt and the blog is slightly interesting. And that's the beauty of the Web -- despite what's on a Web page, there are people behind those pages, and there's always more than meets the eye. For example, my informed guess -- parsing the URL, natch -- is that Matt's band is Model Kit, a four-piece power-pop band based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Formerly Carpet Patrol, (street slang for "crack smokers searching the floor for crack," according to the government) the band's been around in various incarnations for about six years. They'll be playing May 5 at the Au Bon Pain in Harvard Square (That's the first show I have a chance of making, so I'm going to check them out.). There are several photos of Matt and the old Carpet Patrol available on the Tony and Pals site, so the band seems to be held in somewhat high esteem, ranking placement with area bands such as Drexel and Big D and the Kids' Table. The band also rates several mentions in Just Another Scene and other area punk-rock Web sites.
Matt also refers to his girlfriend Kat and how she's even less mindful in updating her blog than Matt is with his. (Representing the stereotypical zine and blog self-referential concern with how long its been between issues or entries! In the zine world, such commentary is more intrusive, but given Matt's sporadic posting, it's pretty appropriate in the context of his blog.) I'm unable to find any references to Kat's blog, so I'm not able to piece together just who and where they are, but poking around the little I have, it's clear that Matt lives in the Boston area -- an hour away, he says (or if I'm misinterpreting, he lives here and Kat lives in Providence or somewhere else that's also an hour away -- but why would he spring for a weekend at a hotel in Boston, then?) -- is active in the area punk scene -- which means he should check out my band the Anchormen -- and is still in college. But Matt's blog doesn't make for an overly personal or informative look into his life, and given its lack of frequency or depth, I'm not even sure whether he's doing the blog for himself, his friends, or fans of Model Kit. Because even if you know Matt, there's not much here.
But I'm going to give Matt the benefit of the doubt. The blog is all of two months old, and despite Matt's infrequent updates, he's involved in enough -- the Boston area, college, the punk-rock scene, a relationship -- to make for an interesting Web site. All Matt Classic needs is some focus, some direction, and -- most importantly -- some attention.
Among the Literati III
The Underground Literary Alliance, spearheaded by creative contrarian Karl Wenclas, recently launched a discussion forum to accompany its Web site. The ULA's self-described "fan site" features ULA-related news, protests and actions, various manifestos and essays, and other information. While not as spunky -- or as necessary to visit daily -- as MobyLives, it's still a good look at the anti-literati activities of this cabal of creative writers.
The Underground Literary Alliance, spearheaded by creative contrarian Karl Wenclas, recently launched a discussion forum to accompany its Web site. The ULA's self-described "fan site" features ULA-related news, protests and actions, various manifestos and essays, and other information. While not as spunky -- or as necessary to visit daily -- as MobyLives, it's still a good look at the anti-literati activities of this cabal of creative writers.
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World VII
It's a two-fer! Ed Murray and John Ellis detail the evils of pop-under Webvertisements in recent days. While Ellis offers a couple of ad-blocking software tools, Murray impresses by offering a whole bunch. The gauntlet has been thrown. Who wants to run the gantlet next?
It's a two-fer! Ed Murray and John Ellis detail the evils of pop-under Webvertisements in recent days. While Ellis offers a couple of ad-blocking software tools, Murray impresses by offering a whole bunch. The gauntlet has been thrown. Who wants to run the gantlet next?
The Movie I Watched Last Night XVI
Friday: Y Su Mama Tambien
Another midlife crisis-like movie, compare this to American Beauty. Two teenage Mexican boys face the absence of their girlfriends for the first time. A beautiful Spanish woman faces the absence of her philandering husband, who's away at an academic conference. The three team up for an off-the-cuff weekend adventure to a beach called "Heaven's Mouth," a beach the boys thought they'd made up to lure the woman on a road trip. Along the way, friendships are tested, sexual identity is questioned, and all three rediscover their freedom and sensuality. The movie's not as racy as reviews have made it out to be, but for the big screen, I guess it is just outside of what isn't racy. The soundtrack is awesome, despite some awkward sound edits to accommodate the voiceover. And the humor inherent in this story of sexual awakening and rediscovery is welcome. Despite some beautiful seaside shots, the movie might not warrant a viewing in the theater. But it's definitely worth renting. Especially with a lover or partner.
Friday: Y Su Mama Tambien
Another midlife crisis-like movie, compare this to American Beauty. Two teenage Mexican boys face the absence of their girlfriends for the first time. A beautiful Spanish woman faces the absence of her philandering husband, who's away at an academic conference. The three team up for an off-the-cuff weekend adventure to a beach called "Heaven's Mouth," a beach the boys thought they'd made up to lure the woman on a road trip. Along the way, friendships are tested, sexual identity is questioned, and all three rediscover their freedom and sensuality. The movie's not as racy as reviews have made it out to be, but for the big screen, I guess it is just outside of what isn't racy. The soundtrack is awesome, despite some awkward sound edits to accommodate the voiceover. And the humor inherent in this story of sexual awakening and rediscovery is welcome. Despite some beautiful seaside shots, the movie might not warrant a viewing in the theater. But it's definitely worth renting. Especially with a lover or partner.
From the In Box: ASCIImation
File this under What's Old Is New Again:
Aw man, they watered this down so much. Hardcore people used to watch this on telnet. For the especially geeky people out there, I made this page just now in case you don't know telnet. Just check it out on a Windows PC. -- Joe Szilagyi
File this under What's Old Is New Again:
Aw man, they watered this down so much. Hardcore people used to watch this on telnet. For the especially geeky people out there, I made this page just now in case you don't know telnet. Just check it out on a Windows PC. -- Joe Szilagyi
Magazine Me IX
A recent feature on SF Gate takes a look at mainstream women's magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue, discussing their general lack of content, recent attempts to return to the glamourous fashion-mag days of yore, and several reader participation-driven reinvention efforts. The piece also describes and rates the magazines' audience, tone, content, and fashion and celebrity focus.
There are some weird anomalies in the roundup. Why was Lucky -- which is arguably not as much of a traditional women's magazine as the others considered -- included while Glamour was excluded? How did SF Gate label these "women's magazines," when books such as Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, and the other survivors of the seven sisters have also been tagged with that descriptor?
A recent feature on SF Gate takes a look at mainstream women's magazines such as Elle, Harper's Bazaar, and Vogue, discussing their general lack of content, recent attempts to return to the glamourous fashion-mag days of yore, and several reader participation-driven reinvention efforts. The piece also describes and rates the magazines' audience, tone, content, and fashion and celebrity focus.
There are some weird anomalies in the roundup. Why was Lucky -- which is arguably not as much of a traditional women's magazine as the others considered -- included while Glamour was excluded? How did SF Gate label these "women's magazines," when books such as Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, and the other survivors of the seven sisters have also been tagged with that descriptor?
From the In Box: Clip-Art Comics
The Get Your ____ On stuff is a parody/homage to Rees. I even put in a disclaimer at the bottom of each page to make extra-sure nobody thought it was his stuff. Just out of courtesy. -- Jim Treacher
***
When you mention in your blog: "A Media Dietician recently suggested that Treacher's work is a parody of Rees' work," is what I wrote what you're referring to? All I meant was that "Get Your Gore On" is a satire of "Get Your War On." Although, as Treacher himself points out, it perhaps could be more accurately called a parody, or evidence of Nyquil abuse. Whatever you want to call them, they're both great.
Actually, I'm curious what you think--how well do you think a "Get Your War On" book would age, both in terms of style and substance? -- Tom Hopkins
I'll have to noodle on that. What do others think? Discuss.
The Get Your ____ On stuff is a parody/homage to Rees. I even put in a disclaimer at the bottom of each page to make extra-sure nobody thought it was his stuff. Just out of courtesy. -- Jim Treacher
When you mention in your blog: "A Media Dietician recently suggested that Treacher's work is a parody of Rees' work," is what I wrote what you're referring to? All I meant was that "Get Your Gore On" is a satire of "Get Your War On." Although, as Treacher himself points out, it perhaps could be more accurately called a parody, or evidence of Nyquil abuse. Whatever you want to call them, they're both great.
Actually, I'm curious what you think--how well do you think a "Get Your War On" book would age, both in terms of style and substance? -- Tom Hopkins
I'll have to noodle on that. What do others think? Discuss.
From the In Box: Anchormen, Aweigh! V
I've got some bad news from White Collar Crime: The tour is cancelled. At 4 a.m. [Friday] morning after our first gig in Baltimore, our van caught fire. It had run out of gas, and there's a complex process for getting it started again that went horribly awry. The flames spread quickly, and the entire van was burnt out. No one was hurt, but we lost some equipment, books, CDs, and almost all 2,000 copies of the new White Collar Crime newspaper.
Sorry to all the fine people who helped us put together shows for April 2002.
We'll be back, and we hope to see you then. We will return, a bit smarter, a bit older.
Thanks for being there, and sorry we won't see each other. We were really looking forward to it. After the tears, the pain, the loss, and the haunting, sour smell of smoke, there is hope. -- Sander Hicks
I've got some bad news from White Collar Crime: The tour is cancelled. At 4 a.m. [Friday] morning after our first gig in Baltimore, our van caught fire. It had run out of gas, and there's a complex process for getting it started again that went horribly awry. The flames spread quickly, and the entire van was burnt out. No one was hurt, but we lost some equipment, books, CDs, and almost all 2,000 copies of the new White Collar Crime newspaper.
Sorry to all the fine people who helped us put together shows for April 2002.
We'll be back, and we hope to see you then. We will return, a bit smarter, a bit older.
Thanks for being there, and sorry we won't see each other. We were really looking forward to it. After the tears, the pain, the loss, and the haunting, sour smell of smoke, there is hope. -- Sander Hicks
ASCIImation
Like Star Wars? Like ASCII art? You'll love this New Zealand production of Star Wars, an animated version done entirely in ASCII. Wonderful!
Like Star Wars? Like ASCII art? You'll love this New Zealand production of Star Wars, an animated version done entirely in ASCII. Wonderful!
Friday, April 05, 2002
From the In Box: Join the Comics Club
Just wanted to thank you for your thoughts on comics "clubs" and outreach efforts. Those are super relevant to some discussions I'm having in the hip-hop journalism world. Apparently, these ideas cut across indie media. Any success stories in other areas of indie media (punk, zines, etc.) that could carry over into comics, hip-hop, etc.? -- Clint Schaff
Just wanted to thank you for your thoughts on comics "clubs" and outreach efforts. Those are super relevant to some discussions I'm having in the hip-hop journalism world. Apparently, these ideas cut across indie media. Any success stories in other areas of indie media (punk, zines, etc.) that could carry over into comics, hip-hop, etc.? -- Clint Schaff
Roger, Wilco
Media Dietician Clint Schaff recently sent me the URL for an interview with Ken Waagner, Web designer and chief digital strategist for the band Wilco. The interview explores and expands on Wilco's online promotion of its forthcoming record, concerns with P2P music sharing, the dangers of the RIAA, and the future potential of using the Net to connect musicians and their fans. The conversation is a solid look at the role technology and grassroots media production can play in promoting and distributing mainstream media.
Media Dietician Clint Schaff recently sent me the URL for an interview with Ken Waagner, Web designer and chief digital strategist for the band Wilco. The interview explores and expands on Wilco's online promotion of its forthcoming record, concerns with P2P music sharing, the dangers of the RIAA, and the future potential of using the Net to connect musicians and their fans. The conversation is a solid look at the role technology and grassroots media production can play in promoting and distributing mainstream media.
From the In Box: Anchormen, Aweigh! V
Van caught fire last night in Baltimore. No injuries. Boston show cancelled. Thanks for trying.
"Burned all my notebooks.
What good are notebooks?
They don't help me survive.
My chest is aching,
burns like a furnace.
This burning keeps me alive."
-- David Byrne.
I'm pissed but this isn't the worst I've been through.
I haven't quite given up yet, either. I haven't slept save for a few hours crammed in the back of a rented Chevrolet, and I'm wavering between throwing in the towel and asking around about borrowing a minivan from someone. -- Sander Hicks
Van caught fire last night in Baltimore. No injuries. Boston show cancelled. Thanks for trying.
"Burned all my notebooks.
What good are notebooks?
They don't help me survive.
My chest is aching,
burns like a furnace.
This burning keeps me alive."
-- David Byrne.
I'm pissed but this isn't the worst I've been through.
I haven't quite given up yet, either. I haven't slept save for a few hours crammed in the back of a rented Chevrolet, and I'm wavering between throwing in the towel and asking around about borrowing a minivan from someone. -- Sander Hicks
Clip-Art Comics
If you've enjoy Jim Treacher's Clip-Art Nonsense, I've found some other Web-based clip-art cartoonists. David Rees, mastermind behind the scarily hilarious My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable has a bunch of his Fighting Technique, Filing Technique, and Get Your War On strips online. A Media Dietician recently suggested that Treacher's work is a parody of Rees' work. I'm not so sure. Also in a similar vein are the silly Floating Henry Rollins Head Haiku strips.
Any other examples of clip-art comics?
If you've enjoy Jim Treacher's Clip-Art Nonsense, I've found some other Web-based clip-art cartoonists. David Rees, mastermind behind the scarily hilarious My New Fighting Technique Is Unstoppable has a bunch of his Fighting Technique, Filing Technique, and Get Your War On strips online. A Media Dietician recently suggested that Treacher's work is a parody of Rees' work. I'm not so sure. Also in a similar vein are the silly Floating Henry Rollins Head Haiku strips.
Any other examples of clip-art comics?
Mapping the Net
Whenever someone visits the ThreeRing Web Mapping Project, the site determines your IP address, confirms your geographic location based on said IP, and adds a dot to a map of the world. The result is an impressionistic image of the Webbed world. Pretty neat.
Thanks to Metafilter.
Whenever someone visits the ThreeRing Web Mapping Project, the site determines your IP address, confirms your geographic location based on said IP, and adds a dot to a map of the world. The result is an impressionistic image of the Webbed world. Pretty neat.
Thanks to Metafilter.
Technofetishism III
I received an email today promoting Applied Wireless's ring tone and cell phone logo service. Going to their site to poke around and perhaps buy a new ring tone -- something friends of mine do frequently in Scandinavia but I'm not that aware of in the U.S. -- I wasn't that impressed, so I poked around for other ring tone providers.
That led me to MIDI Ring Tones. Thanks to them, when my phone rings, I now hear Green Day's "Basket Case." Woot! Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, MIDI Ring Tones has only been around since January 2002, but they have a wide range of available ring tones in various musical genres. They're currently working on polyphonic ring tones, which will include drum and bass sounds -- and eventually sound more like real music. And, "in addition to paying all licensing fees required by music industry organizations, MIDI Ring Tones also pays the ring tone artists, the artists who transfer popular songs into MIDI files which can then be downloaded into cell phones."
Pretty cool stuff. Download a new ring tone to your cell phone today! "Basket Case" only cost me $1.50.
I received an email today promoting Applied Wireless's ring tone and cell phone logo service. Going to their site to poke around and perhaps buy a new ring tone -- something friends of mine do frequently in Scandinavia but I'm not that aware of in the U.S. -- I wasn't that impressed, so I poked around for other ring tone providers.
That led me to MIDI Ring Tones. Thanks to them, when my phone rings, I now hear Green Day's "Basket Case." Woot! Based in St. Paul, Minnesota, MIDI Ring Tones has only been around since January 2002, but they have a wide range of available ring tones in various musical genres. They're currently working on polyphonic ring tones, which will include drum and bass sounds -- and eventually sound more like real music. And, "in addition to paying all licensing fees required by music industry organizations, MIDI Ring Tones also pays the ring tone artists, the artists who transfer popular songs into MIDI files which can then be downloaded into cell phones."
Pretty cool stuff. Download a new ring tone to your cell phone today! "Basket Case" only cost me $1.50.
The Movie I Watched Last Night XV
Thursday: The Mummy
Not the newer version starring the beefcake Brendan Fraser, but the 1932 atmospheric Universal horror film starring Boris Karloff as the brought-back-to-life Imhotep and Ardath Bey. Zita Johann beautifully portrays the heroine Helen Grosvenor, and the scenes in which she gains consciousness as Princess Anckesen-Amon while under Imhotep's spell -- the movie largely details Ardath Bey's attempts to reunite with the princess, his long-lost love -- are especially effective. The movie's slow pacing, dramatic lighting, and subtle humor speak to Universal's skill at establishing suspense, and while the movie isn't particularly shocking, it does maintain a mood of tension and tautness quite well.
Thursday: The Mummy
Not the newer version starring the beefcake Brendan Fraser, but the 1932 atmospheric Universal horror film starring Boris Karloff as the brought-back-to-life Imhotep and Ardath Bey. Zita Johann beautifully portrays the heroine Helen Grosvenor, and the scenes in which she gains consciousness as Princess Anckesen-Amon while under Imhotep's spell -- the movie largely details Ardath Bey's attempts to reunite with the princess, his long-lost love -- are especially effective. The movie's slow pacing, dramatic lighting, and subtle humor speak to Universal's skill at establishing suspense, and while the movie isn't particularly shocking, it does maintain a mood of tension and tautness quite well.
Books Going Bankrupt II
A followup report from Top Shelf:
What a difference a day makes. On Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., April 3, Top Shelf was effectively put out of business, and on Tuesday evening by 8 p.m., April 3, Top Shelf was remarkably back in business. There are not words suitable to express how honored and thankful we are that within 12 hours this amazing comics community took it upon itself to bring us back to life. And in this case, it might also be said that the power of the Internet was fully realized.
On Tuesday, after we made the announcement of our book trade distributor filing for Chapter 11 (and the subsequent fatal impact that this had on our own operation), we received over 200 phone orders and 850 online and email orders to boot. This staggering 1,000 orders has not only made us operational again (and put several thousand copies of our graphic novels into circulation), but has also reaffirmed to us that the comics industry is back, revitalized, and ready to take on the world. We're even estimating that over 100,000 people received the news or were personally involved in the discussion of this online event on that day.
With this overwhelming support, combined with the (now contradictory) fact that Top Shelf has always prided itself that every order would ship out the very next day, we ask for your patience in letting us get all of these graphic novels, comics, and CDs to you. We hope to have everything shipped out within the next few weeks. In the meantime, if all this activity has made you curious about our books, we would encourage you to ask for them at your local retailer, so that everyone along the chain, retailers and distributors alike, can also benefit from this spur of interest. And while this interest in diversity is at the forefront of everyone's mind, we encourage you to continue in the exploration and discussion of comics from all the publishers doing quality work these days: DC Comics, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, CrossGen, Viz, Fantagraphics, Slave Labor, Oni Press, NBM, Drawn & Quarterly, Cartoon Books, Alternative Comics, Highwater Books, the publishers we represent (like Eddie Campbell Comics, etc.), and all the rest (that we apologize for not having the space to mention by name today).
If we've learned anything over these last seven years -- and witnessed it absolutely this week -- we're all in this together. And the growth and development of this amazing medium is in the most capable hands possible: the fans of this industry.
We'd also like to take a moment to give a special thank you to a few extraordinary people and organizations:
Warren Ellis and the Warren Ellis Forum. We've always known that the Warren Ellis Forum was a formidable entity, dedicated to the discussion and support of quality comics all over the industry, but their mobilization in this instance was unprecedented. We can't absolutely determine what percentage of all the orders were from this distinguished group, but our estimation is that it was significant. We cannot thank Warren or the supporters of his forum enough.
CrossGen Comics. Mark Alessi and the CrossGen staff collectively bought $5,000 worth of graphic novels and will donate them to the public library system. This completely novel and generous gesture not only helped to keep us going (in a big way), but also promises to expose hundreds of people and libraries to what comics can bring to the world of art and literature. This stunned us, and is a testament to CrossGen's contribution to our industry.
Rick Veitch and Matt Brady of ComicCon.com's Splash and Newsarama pages. Their amazing coverage, online discussions, and links for this event spurred on an uncountable array of support from the industry.
Neil Gaiman. Neil took it upon himself to discuss our situation within his daily online journal, which just happens to be the most visited daily journal on the Web. And since he's been known to have a fan or two (including us), we've been getting a nice bit of support from there as well.
And no less amazing than that of the above, the collective efforts of the crews at ArtBomb, Sequential Tart, Comic Book Resources, Comic Book Galaxy, ICv2, Gray Haven magazine, PopImage, Shotgun Reviews, the members of the Brian Michael Bendis message board, etc., who all rallied their subscribers, who in turn proudly stated that they had come from one of these very active sites.
And lastly, but never least, the comics retailing and distributing community. They are the front line of our industry, and behind the scenes they have always been the ones that have kept the independent publisher alive. The show of support from this community has not only been amazing on this particular day, but has always been there from the first moment we entered the business. They have been the group that has supported us the most.
Again, we want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts -- we could not have done it without you. Top Shelf will continue to try and put out the best books possible, and we look forward to not only thanking each an every one of you personally at the cons this summer, but also being able to now make some rather cool announcements in the coming weeks that should be fun and beneficial for the entire industry as well. -- Chris Staros
A followup report from Top Shelf:
What a difference a day makes. On Tuesday morning at 8 a.m., April 3, Top Shelf was effectively put out of business, and on Tuesday evening by 8 p.m., April 3, Top Shelf was remarkably back in business. There are not words suitable to express how honored and thankful we are that within 12 hours this amazing comics community took it upon itself to bring us back to life. And in this case, it might also be said that the power of the Internet was fully realized.
On Tuesday, after we made the announcement of our book trade distributor filing for Chapter 11 (and the subsequent fatal impact that this had on our own operation), we received over 200 phone orders and 850 online and email orders to boot. This staggering 1,000 orders has not only made us operational again (and put several thousand copies of our graphic novels into circulation), but has also reaffirmed to us that the comics industry is back, revitalized, and ready to take on the world. We're even estimating that over 100,000 people received the news or were personally involved in the discussion of this online event on that day.
With this overwhelming support, combined with the (now contradictory) fact that Top Shelf has always prided itself that every order would ship out the very next day, we ask for your patience in letting us get all of these graphic novels, comics, and CDs to you. We hope to have everything shipped out within the next few weeks. In the meantime, if all this activity has made you curious about our books, we would encourage you to ask for them at your local retailer, so that everyone along the chain, retailers and distributors alike, can also benefit from this spur of interest. And while this interest in diversity is at the forefront of everyone's mind, we encourage you to continue in the exploration and discussion of comics from all the publishers doing quality work these days: DC Comics, Marvel, Dark Horse, Image, CrossGen, Viz, Fantagraphics, Slave Labor, Oni Press, NBM, Drawn & Quarterly, Cartoon Books, Alternative Comics, Highwater Books, the publishers we represent (like Eddie Campbell Comics, etc.), and all the rest (that we apologize for not having the space to mention by name today).
If we've learned anything over these last seven years -- and witnessed it absolutely this week -- we're all in this together. And the growth and development of this amazing medium is in the most capable hands possible: the fans of this industry.
We'd also like to take a moment to give a special thank you to a few extraordinary people and organizations:
Again, we want to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts -- we could not have done it without you. Top Shelf will continue to try and put out the best books possible, and we look forward to not only thanking each an every one of you personally at the cons this summer, but also being able to now make some rather cool announcements in the coming weeks that should be fun and beneficial for the entire industry as well. -- Chris Staros
Thursday, April 04, 2002
Anchormen, Aweigh! V
I'm in a bit of a pinch. And perhaps you can help.
The Anchormen had arranged a show at the Midway in Jamaica Plain this Sunday with the out-of-town bands White Collar Crime and the Ergs. Now it seems that the Midway has double-booked several other bands to play there Sunday, there are no Midway listings for Sunday night in the Phoenix, and I'm unable to get in touch with the Midway's booking agent on the phone to reconfirm that we, indeed, have a show Sunday.
If it were just the Anks, I wouldn't mind, but White Collar Crime is on tour, and if the show is a no go, they'll have nothing to in Boston other than be frustrated. So. If you know of any venues that could host a show featuring a wonderfully dramatic political pop band on super-late notice, let me know -- I'd sure like to scramble and arrange a back-up plan for this gig.
You can read a review of White Collar Crime's CD "Their Laws Are Dimwit Greed" in the Jan. 22, 2002, edition of Media Diet.
I'm in a bit of a pinch. And perhaps you can help.
The Anchormen had arranged a show at the Midway in Jamaica Plain this Sunday with the out-of-town bands White Collar Crime and the Ergs. Now it seems that the Midway has double-booked several other bands to play there Sunday, there are no Midway listings for Sunday night in the Phoenix, and I'm unable to get in touch with the Midway's booking agent on the phone to reconfirm that we, indeed, have a show Sunday.
If it were just the Anks, I wouldn't mind, but White Collar Crime is on tour, and if the show is a no go, they'll have nothing to in Boston other than be frustrated. So. If you know of any venues that could host a show featuring a wonderfully dramatic political pop band on super-late notice, let me know -- I'd sure like to scramble and arrange a back-up plan for this gig.
You can read a review of White Collar Crime's CD "Their Laws Are Dimwit Greed" in the Jan. 22, 2002, edition of Media Diet.
Sketches from Spain
My friend Tom recently returned from Spain, where he spent Holy Week with his girlfriend. He's published some sketches he made in Spain in his blog Tom Hop Dot. They are absolutely beautiful, extremely colorful, and well worth a look see.
My friend Tom recently returned from Spain, where he spent Holy Week with his girlfriend. He's published some sketches he made in Spain in his blog Tom Hop Dot. They are absolutely beautiful, extremely colorful, and well worth a look see.
From the In Box: Music to My Ears VI
I read your review and would like to discuss it with you a little. I have a sense that you relate to this music from a slant such that you do not have a large interest in how traditional western instruments (I don't mean electric guitars) are and have been used in the 20th or 21st century -- and that your main interests are literature and more electronically produced sounds. I also have a sense that your text and context for black music is possibly narrow or more mainstream. I say this because you are obviously aware of Keith Jarret and Ahmad Jahmal but possibly unaware of Paul Bley and Lowell Davidson.
This could be important because it could bring you past the veneer, the mannerism or style, and tune you into the subtleties or perhaps the source. In this case with regard to this music (not just my music) there is less of an emphasis on "symbol" and "matrix" and more of an emphasis on the subtle reactions of human timing. This is a sort of ensemble technique that is extremely human and, much like any human relationship, took my ensemble years to work out.
My main interest in this area of music is rhythm. Rhythm is still the unexplored territory in music. Very little was written for percussion until the 20th century. In black music (This is more of an umbrella term that would include jazz. I'm not referring to African music here.), the trap set is an extremely advanced instrument in that it requires independence of all four limbs and is not particularly popular among American children learning music but obviously plays a powerful and major role in popular music. Not all rhythms exist in a state of thesis or anacrusis. In the masses of complexity that embroider the rhythms of the world's music, so many of these beats or pulses occur in other places.
In literature I'm sure you must engage in some discussion of form, structure, and content. I gather you do not make these connections to music.
I am still considered young in the field of music at age 38, but Laurence Cook, I believe, is 62 years of age, and I feel you do not know very much about him. So here is some information.
About Laurence Cook: Laurence Cook studied painting at the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston and later learned to play piano, vibraphone, and drums. He has been a major figure in the jazz avant-garde since the 1960s on 22 recordings, including "Revenge" and "Dual Unity" with Paul Bley; "Skillfullnes" with Alan Silva, "Ritti" with Joe Morris; "Fuzzagainst Junk" from the Vision 1997 Festival with Thurston Moore; "Triplet" and "Fire in the Valley" with Jemeel Moondoc; "Divine Mad Love" with Sabir Mateen; and "November 1981," "Thoughts," and "Son of Sisyphus" with Bill Dixon. He has worked with Sam Rivers, Alan Silva, the Brecker Brothers, Robin Kenyatta, Mark Whitecage, and Barre Phillips, among many others.
A paraphrase: "The older jazz is like representational painting where you paint a portrait of a person or a thing. That's playing on a song and its chords. The new music is like modern painting, action painting. You concern yourself with the surface of the canvas, the brushstrokes, the texture of the paint, the total two-dimensional surface, concern myself with the way the drum stick strikes the cymbal, the surface of the drum heads."
How you managed to say so little about Laurence Cook -- who is one of my mentors -- is beyond me and leads me to believe that you have very little connection to the text of this art form and, as a result, I sense a lack of propriety in your comments.
I feel a bit ridiculous because I am not trying to attack you and yet I feel I am by default. No one has yet been willing to review the CD, and I assume that if you didn't like it you wouldn't have reviewed it at all. So the fact that it is on your "media diet" means that you want people to listen to it. Music is really all I have so I feel I am slighting myself in my response to your review. My studio is always open. Anybody can come and listen to something from my collection or perhaps Rob Chalfen's collection as well.
Just so there's no misunderstanding, let me expand on something I wrote above. I use the term "black music" as an umbrella term. It does not refer to color as much as culture. Though my interests are the avant-garde (whatever that means) this term would cover a wide range of music: gospel, spirituals, field hollers, jazz (really a bad term), R&B, soul, rap, hip-hop, rock (what people do in the black church), etc.
One has to beg the question: What is black music? What is white music?
I live in a neighborhood with about five black churches. If you want to know what I mean, come to a service at one of them. You will find some white people in the congregation who are totally enamoured of the sublteties involved in singing from this perspective, but, of course, Cambridge is not like Boston.
It's more of a matter of cultural perspective than color. Paul Bley happens to be a white player. If it were just color, then I suppose Anita O'Day would be white music and Jesse Norman would be Black music. The whole issue of black culture in music is not very fashionable at present. It almost explains segregation in the music scene. Most of the Boston improv people seem to reject these ideas in favor of what they might call "classical sensibilites" or just free improv. Of course, because we all know what a major scale is, we are all classically trained. Aesthetically, this is viewed as more sophisticated because it is seen as some sort of cultural marriage (that never took place). I have never tried to promote myself this way.
The sad part is the political aspect of it, in which we believe that an artist is more broad, versatile, or creative because he records symphonic music -- for example, Keith Jarret, Chick Corea, and Wynton Marsalis. People like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, etc., never recorded any music other than their own. Would we have thought that they were more creative if they had recorded the Haydn trumpet concerto (like Wynton), and if they were unable to do so would we have scoffed at them for their lack of classical sensibilities? Then, to add injury to insult, they never even talk about the fact that Wynton Marsalis is one of the few black trumpet players who was allowed to play first trumpet for the symphony orchestra. Nevertheless, Miles and Dizzy have become some of the essential people who we must deal with in this music If you read the interviews with many of the great white players in the music, they will tell you who and what subtleties they admired in the music and the musicians.
Some of these comments may seem pastiche, but I find a lack of awareness and interest in what these subtleties do in the music. I say this because rhythm is still an unexplored territory in music, and much of the sound art, noise, and free improv that I hear now is very square -- though there's a lot of imagination with regards to timbre and noise, which I wholly support.
The reason I object to the term jazz is because it limits your social stance, codifies the financial area available to you, and in academia leads people to believe that you are musically illiterate. In other words, it's a token art form, and they will not hire you except as the one person on the staff in most music schools. -- Eric Zinman
I read your review and would like to discuss it with you a little. I have a sense that you relate to this music from a slant such that you do not have a large interest in how traditional western instruments (I don't mean electric guitars) are and have been used in the 20th or 21st century -- and that your main interests are literature and more electronically produced sounds. I also have a sense that your text and context for black music is possibly narrow or more mainstream. I say this because you are obviously aware of Keith Jarret and Ahmad Jahmal but possibly unaware of Paul Bley and Lowell Davidson.
This could be important because it could bring you past the veneer, the mannerism or style, and tune you into the subtleties or perhaps the source. In this case with regard to this music (not just my music) there is less of an emphasis on "symbol" and "matrix" and more of an emphasis on the subtle reactions of human timing. This is a sort of ensemble technique that is extremely human and, much like any human relationship, took my ensemble years to work out.
My main interest in this area of music is rhythm. Rhythm is still the unexplored territory in music. Very little was written for percussion until the 20th century. In black music (This is more of an umbrella term that would include jazz. I'm not referring to African music here.), the trap set is an extremely advanced instrument in that it requires independence of all four limbs and is not particularly popular among American children learning music but obviously plays a powerful and major role in popular music. Not all rhythms exist in a state of thesis or anacrusis. In the masses of complexity that embroider the rhythms of the world's music, so many of these beats or pulses occur in other places.
In literature I'm sure you must engage in some discussion of form, structure, and content. I gather you do not make these connections to music.
I am still considered young in the field of music at age 38, but Laurence Cook, I believe, is 62 years of age, and I feel you do not know very much about him. So here is some information.
About Laurence Cook: Laurence Cook studied painting at the Museum School of Fine Arts in Boston and later learned to play piano, vibraphone, and drums. He has been a major figure in the jazz avant-garde since the 1960s on 22 recordings, including "Revenge" and "Dual Unity" with Paul Bley; "Skillfullnes" with Alan Silva, "Ritti" with Joe Morris; "Fuzzagainst Junk" from the Vision 1997 Festival with Thurston Moore; "Triplet" and "Fire in the Valley" with Jemeel Moondoc; "Divine Mad Love" with Sabir Mateen; and "November 1981," "Thoughts," and "Son of Sisyphus" with Bill Dixon. He has worked with Sam Rivers, Alan Silva, the Brecker Brothers, Robin Kenyatta, Mark Whitecage, and Barre Phillips, among many others.
A paraphrase: "The older jazz is like representational painting where you paint a portrait of a person or a thing. That's playing on a song and its chords. The new music is like modern painting, action painting. You concern yourself with the surface of the canvas, the brushstrokes, the texture of the paint, the total two-dimensional surface, concern myself with the way the drum stick strikes the cymbal, the surface of the drum heads."
How you managed to say so little about Laurence Cook -- who is one of my mentors -- is beyond me and leads me to believe that you have very little connection to the text of this art form and, as a result, I sense a lack of propriety in your comments.
I feel a bit ridiculous because I am not trying to attack you and yet I feel I am by default. No one has yet been willing to review the CD, and I assume that if you didn't like it you wouldn't have reviewed it at all. So the fact that it is on your "media diet" means that you want people to listen to it. Music is really all I have so I feel I am slighting myself in my response to your review. My studio is always open. Anybody can come and listen to something from my collection or perhaps Rob Chalfen's collection as well.
Just so there's no misunderstanding, let me expand on something I wrote above. I use the term "black music" as an umbrella term. It does not refer to color as much as culture. Though my interests are the avant-garde (whatever that means) this term would cover a wide range of music: gospel, spirituals, field hollers, jazz (really a bad term), R&B, soul, rap, hip-hop, rock (what people do in the black church), etc.
One has to beg the question: What is black music? What is white music?
I live in a neighborhood with about five black churches. If you want to know what I mean, come to a service at one of them. You will find some white people in the congregation who are totally enamoured of the sublteties involved in singing from this perspective, but, of course, Cambridge is not like Boston.
It's more of a matter of cultural perspective than color. Paul Bley happens to be a white player. If it were just color, then I suppose Anita O'Day would be white music and Jesse Norman would be Black music. The whole issue of black culture in music is not very fashionable at present. It almost explains segregation in the music scene. Most of the Boston improv people seem to reject these ideas in favor of what they might call "classical sensibilites" or just free improv. Of course, because we all know what a major scale is, we are all classically trained. Aesthetically, this is viewed as more sophisticated because it is seen as some sort of cultural marriage (that never took place). I have never tried to promote myself this way.
The sad part is the political aspect of it, in which we believe that an artist is more broad, versatile, or creative because he records symphonic music -- for example, Keith Jarret, Chick Corea, and Wynton Marsalis. People like Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, etc., never recorded any music other than their own. Would we have thought that they were more creative if they had recorded the Haydn trumpet concerto (like Wynton), and if they were unable to do so would we have scoffed at them for their lack of classical sensibilities? Then, to add injury to insult, they never even talk about the fact that Wynton Marsalis is one of the few black trumpet players who was allowed to play first trumpet for the symphony orchestra. Nevertheless, Miles and Dizzy have become some of the essential people who we must deal with in this music If you read the interviews with many of the great white players in the music, they will tell you who and what subtleties they admired in the music and the musicians.
Some of these comments may seem pastiche, but I find a lack of awareness and interest in what these subtleties do in the music. I say this because rhythm is still an unexplored territory in music, and much of the sound art, noise, and free improv that I hear now is very square -- though there's a lot of imagination with regards to timbre and noise, which I wholly support.
The reason I object to the term jazz is because it limits your social stance, codifies the financial area available to you, and in academia leads people to believe that you are musically illiterate. In other words, it's a token art form, and they will not hire you except as the one person on the staff in most music schools. -- Eric Zinman
Wednesday, April 03, 2002
Books Worth a Look III
These are the books I read in March 2002.
1,440 Reasons to Quit Smoking by Bill Dodds (2000)
A relatively useless self-help book for people wanting to kick nicotine. While the book's reasons are rather soft and smarmily presented, it's interesting how the reasons fall into implicit categories -- the ingredients in cigs, their health effects, the politics and economy of the tobacco industry, the social stigma, romantic needs, personal relationships and peer pressure, and will power. Pretty light on hardcore stats, but Bill accomplished what he set out to do -- offer a reason for every minute of the day.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Poor.
Available Light by Warren Ellis (2002)
Perhaps the best thing Astronauts in Trouble/Planet Lar has published, this is still a highly flawed project. One, Warren's digital photographs, taken with an Eyemodule connected to a Handspring Visor Platinum, do not make for a quality photography book. Two, his largely unedited writing, while better than that in Bad World, begs for some editorial input. Several pieces work well -- "Bush," "Gate," and "Phone" -- but otherwise, they're half-assed and half-written comic scripts or paltry prose pieces deserving more attention. Kudos for writing on your Visor, but gimmick doesn't always stick. This book would've been better without the glossy stock, the photos, or all the white space.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Batman: Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison (1989)
Predating DC's Vertigo imprint, this comic book featuring art by Dave McKean indicates what can happen when a mainstream publisher offers serious comics. The story hinges on what happens when the Joker and other inmates take over Arkham Asylum. But the graphic novel is a deeper look at the history of the institution and its role in the Batman mythos, power plays in psychiatry, and redemption. Hit me harder when I was 16, but it's still good.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Complete Copybook Tales by J. Torres and Tim Levins (2002)
Collecting six issues of the Slave Labor Graphics series as well as the creators' original minicomics, this trade paperback tells the tale of two young me trying to break into the comics industry. While a comic about making comics risks irrelevance, this book works because it's really about childhood and the recollection and documentation of childhood, similar to Bill Schelly's "Sense of Wonder." The Slave Labor artwork's not really my bag -- the minis are more pure -- but I can see myself in this comic, and that says a lot.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Dig USA: A Book About the Many Faces of This Generation ed. by Arthur Daigon and Ronald LaConte (1970)
An interesting artifact of mainstream analysis of the countercultures and youth movements of the '60s, this book is flawed in two ways. One, it's overly influenced by Marshall McLuhan, and its hodgepodge of original writing, newspaper reprints, graphic appropriation, and other literary assemblage falls flat. Two, the book aims to be interactive but isn't cohesive enough to encourage an in-depth analysis or exploration of the text itself. Quaint, but not critical.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
ESPers by James Hudnall and David Lloyd (1995)
ESPers #1-4 was published in the mid-'80s by Eclipse, again showing why that little publishing company was so important. Hudnall's script is rather straight-forward. The goverment is monitoring psychics, who band together to free some hostages in Beirut. Much of the book is spent establishing the characters and recruiting the team, and the resulting roundup is rather diverse ethnically and personality wise. Not the most amazing comic, but not totally generic either.
Days to read:1. Rating: Good.
The Executioner #276: Leviathan by Gerald Montgomery as Don Pendleton (2001)
While many of the Mack Bolan popcult pastiches -- such as the relatively recent nod to a Bane-like killing machine -- often fail miserably, Montgomery's homage to H.P. Lovecraft works well. A doomsday cult taps into an underground race of Cthulhu-like supersquid -- including a gatekeeper called the avatar -- that plays havoc around an offshore oil rig used for drug manufacture. Mack is on the case and helps disband the cult, as well as avert a supernatural disaster. Inspired, tasteful, and a Lovecraftian anomaly.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book by Don Miguel Ruiz (1997)
Like The Greatest Salesman in the World, this near-mythic book outlines a handful of suggestions and rules to improve your life. This book is rooted in Toltec wisdom, supposedly, but its lineage doesn't matter in that the book's not overly rooted in history and myth -- and the guidelines are sound. Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. Things I've heard before; and couched in a verbose yet chatty, over-explanatory manner; but well worth recommitting to.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
I Hate the Man Who Runs This Bar!: The Survival Guide for Real Musicians by Eugene Chadbourne (1997)
Chadbourne's written this one for passionate working musicians resigned to struggling for success their entire lives. His advice about shows, recording, tours, and working with labels is spot on -- clever and constructively critical. The book drags at times as Chadbourne strives to share his wide range of experiences and types of people he's encountered. Still, extremely useful and inspirational if you have anything to do with independent music.
Days to read:46. Rating: Good.
Kinky Business: The Perversion of Funky Business by Waldo Palmer (2001)
Only in Europe! This English-language edition of a Swedish graphic album is a parody of self-consciously cartoony management gurus Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale's business book "Funky Business." Oh, sure, National Lampoon parodied Tom Peters' "In Search of Excellence" in comic format in the early '80s, but the US doesn't have a tendency to or tradition of taking its new economic evangelists to task. The book's a shallow, sexual poke at the two shaven saviours, but the fact that this was even published rocks.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Knights Templar and Their Myth by Peter Partner (1987)
The author, who doesn't come across as overly academic, looks at the lower-class knights who played an important role in the Christian Crusades, were eventually ostracized and imprisoned by political leaders who felt threatened by their power during the Middle Ages, and were later romanticized and mythologized by the Masons and other fraternal organizations looking for connections to an older, oftern pre-Christian tradition and truth. Partner debunks the myth well, deflating the many misinterpretations and appropriations of the Templar tale.
Days to read: 6. Rating: Excellent.
The Open Classroom: A Practical Guide to a New Way of Teaching by Herbert R. Kohl (1969)
Working to combat the authoritarian and hierarchical character of most schools, Kohl maps a plan to educate children through participation and the pursuit of mutual interests. The book touches on setting or suspending expectations, working through disputes, instituting positive and productive rules and routines, redesigning the classroom, creating lesson plans, discipline, and working with other educators. I don't know if the ideas presented are dated, but Kohl seems to set a sensible direction for change.
Days to read: NA. Rating: Good.
Pindeldyboz Vol. 2 ed. by Jeff Boison (2002)
One of several journals of new writing slightly inspired by and modeled after McSweeney's. The 18 pieces in this edition include some clunkers -- like Justin Bzdek's "Wide Mouth Bass People" and Slaney Chadwick Ross' story -- but the balance is quite impressive. John Verbos' "Lost Boys" is a delightful combination of "Lord of the Flies" and "A Separate Peace." Peter Bebergal's "Searching for Pancake Jackson" merges celebrity and self-discovery. And Jud Laghi's "Lattimer Round Trip" couples with Michael Russell's "Hermit's Diary" for a solid look at the "new economy" and the meaning of work. Consistently interesting.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Excellent.
Preacher Book 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1995)
A faith-challenged priest is imbued with Genesis, the spirit of God, and sets out to find God -- and to learn why he abandoned humanity. I read this at the behest of Charlie, and I'm glad I did. Equal parts religion studies, mythology a la Neil Gaiman, and detective story, Ennis' writing indicates why it's worth confusing him with Warren Ellis. There's adventure, horror, love, mystery, and religion. I'll read more. This only collects the first seven issues.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 2: Until the End of the World by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1997)
Not as rife with religious references as the first volume, this collection of issues 8-17 reveals more of Jesse's past and family history, as well as why he left Tulip. The collection also deepens his friendship with Cassidy and introduces the Grail, which deepens the religious conspiracy. The sexual subplot featuring Jesus de Sade is an unwelcome and unnecessary distraction, shocking solely for shock's sake.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 3: Proud Americans by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1997)
Compiling issues 18-26, this volume reintroduces the religious conspiracy in fine form, as Allfather D'Aronique arrives on the scene, the Saint of Killers makes a deal with Jesse, the conception of Genesis is described, and we learn how Cassidy became a vampire. There's a nice ode to NYC and the twin towers at the end of this, but I feel like the series is losing steam. I'll give it one more volume.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 4: Ancient History by Garth Ennis (1998)
Collecting several Preacher one-shots and a miniseries focusing on the Saint of Killers, Ennis saves his reading-pile bacon with this collection of context-setting back stories. Out of the periodical pamphlet's monthly continuity, we learn how the Saint of Killers came to be, how Sheriff Root's son (shades of American Beauty) became disfigured, and how Jody and TC went up against a hilarious pairing of a cop on the edge and a supermodel-turned-lawyer with a dangerous secret. I despise Jody and TC, but that issue was a giggle reminiscent of American Century.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Preacher Book 5: Dixie Fried by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1998)
Volume four won Preacher a respite and guaranteed Ennis' work a place on my reading pile for awhile longer. This volume, which collects #27-33, falls back into the series' continuity and details Cassidy's encounter with a seemingly naive fellow vamire, Jesse's return to Tulip, Areseface's hunt for Jesse, and the latter's search for the truth inside him using voodoo. Ennis' use of recurring characters is improving, but the series has lost its religious, mythic overtone.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 6: War in the Sun by Garth Ennis (1999)
Seven more issues that reveal Starr's introduction to and embrace of the Grail, as well as his scarification as a boy; Cassidy's struggles with alcoholicism and his love for Tulip; Jesse's confrontation of the Saint of Killers and his ongoing search for enlightenment and direction; his death; and Cassidy's betrayal. The final story about Arseface features some interesting Peter Milligan-like writing, but -- as I've said before -- the series is becoming tiresome. I'll give it one more volume, but it's wrapping up soon, so I'll probably finish the run. Sigh.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
Rose by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess (2002)
Jeff Smith's comic Bone is one of the best comics to come out of the indie-comics world in recent decades. This prelude to the cartoony adventure series might even be better in terms of its literary and artistic style. In this collection of the limited series, we are exposed to Rose's complicity in the empowerment of the Locus Master, Rose's sister Briar's jealous betrayal of all things good, and Lucius' history of protection. Vess' artwork is beautifully lavish, and despite the irritating near-transparent computer-generated word balloons, the book is welcome full-color eye candy.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
The Spirit of Masonry by Foster Bailey (1957)
Alice Bailey's husband (?) contributes this study of Masonry, suggesting that instead of a mere men's club, it is in fact a model and process for the spiritual development of humanity. After retelling Masonry's origin and looking at its symbols and landmarks, Bailey outlines its ritual parallels to spiritual development and challenges members to eschew solely social clubs for more concerted self-improvement. Then he goes off the deep end and suggests that there are Masons on the star Sirius. A good introduction to Masonry's potential, albeit esoteric.
Days to read: 4. Rating: Fair.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 1: Preproduction by Masakazu Katsura (1999)
Past versions of this manga have helped me through other relationship breakups -- the original Japanese manga, the OAV with English subtitles -- and now this one. It does what it's designed to do. Yota's crushing on a girl. He thinks it's unrequited. At Gokuraku he rents a video girl who leaps out of the TV screen to console him. She begins to fall for him while his crush does the same, both realizing his positive qualities.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 2: Mix Down by Masakazu Katsura (2000)
Yota is torn between Moemi and Ai, who's been recalled as a defective video girl. Gokuraku's manager conspires to keep her in circulation. Yota meets Sorayama, his rival for Ai's affections, who tries to go all the way with her, with little discouragement. Yota socks him one (an act that'll cost him later), and starts to feel for Ai -- for real.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 3: Recall by Masakazu Katsura (2001)
Entering the video world, Yota strives to save Ai, his one, true love. The glass staircase and convoluted network system act as apt metaphors for the complexity of their still-young love. Moemi and Takashi distract, but Yota is resolute. Amnesiac Ai falls under the wing of Gokuraku's manager, and Yota falls under the spell of nubile newcomer Nobuku, who loves Yota like he loves Moemi and Ai. She is resolute while Ai regains her composure. And a book that could've taken many shots at media generalizations takes its first.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 4: Off-Line by Masakazu Katsura (2002)
This the meatiest edition to date. Oh, how I wish the manga were now completed in English. Ai begins to rediscover her past as Yota continues to woo Nobuko -- or vice versa. Nobuko confronts Yota. Ai confronts Yota. Naoto confronts Ai. And men are left wondering how women can handle all of this confrontation -- written by a man as Video Girl Ai is -- so well. Meanwhile, Yota encounters Moemi again, and Naoto is introduced to the wonders of Gokuraku himself.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
William Sylvis: Pioneer of American Labor by Jonathan Grossman (1945)
This excellent biography of Sylvis mostly follows his involvement in and leadership of the Iron Molders Union and the Iron Molders' International Union. Concentrating on Sylvis' circuit-riding approach to recruitment and union organization, the book also details his union administration strategies and organizing platform, as well as his later, uninformed embrace of the cooperative movement. A good look at Sylvis' too-short life, as well as a useful organizing manual.
Days to read: 20. Rating: Excellent.
These are the books I read in March 2002.
1,440 Reasons to Quit Smoking by Bill Dodds (2000)
A relatively useless self-help book for people wanting to kick nicotine. While the book's reasons are rather soft and smarmily presented, it's interesting how the reasons fall into implicit categories -- the ingredients in cigs, their health effects, the politics and economy of the tobacco industry, the social stigma, romantic needs, personal relationships and peer pressure, and will power. Pretty light on hardcore stats, but Bill accomplished what he set out to do -- offer a reason for every minute of the day.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Poor.
Available Light by Warren Ellis (2002)
Perhaps the best thing Astronauts in Trouble/Planet Lar has published, this is still a highly flawed project. One, Warren's digital photographs, taken with an Eyemodule connected to a Handspring Visor Platinum, do not make for a quality photography book. Two, his largely unedited writing, while better than that in Bad World, begs for some editorial input. Several pieces work well -- "Bush," "Gate," and "Phone" -- but otherwise, they're half-assed and half-written comic scripts or paltry prose pieces deserving more attention. Kudos for writing on your Visor, but gimmick doesn't always stick. This book would've been better without the glossy stock, the photos, or all the white space.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Batman: Arkham Asylum by Grant Morrison (1989)
Predating DC's Vertigo imprint, this comic book featuring art by Dave McKean indicates what can happen when a mainstream publisher offers serious comics. The story hinges on what happens when the Joker and other inmates take over Arkham Asylum. But the graphic novel is a deeper look at the history of the institution and its role in the Batman mythos, power plays in psychiatry, and redemption. Hit me harder when I was 16, but it's still good.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Complete Copybook Tales by J. Torres and Tim Levins (2002)
Collecting six issues of the Slave Labor Graphics series as well as the creators' original minicomics, this trade paperback tells the tale of two young me trying to break into the comics industry. While a comic about making comics risks irrelevance, this book works because it's really about childhood and the recollection and documentation of childhood, similar to Bill Schelly's "Sense of Wonder." The Slave Labor artwork's not really my bag -- the minis are more pure -- but I can see myself in this comic, and that says a lot.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Dig USA: A Book About the Many Faces of This Generation ed. by Arthur Daigon and Ronald LaConte (1970)
An interesting artifact of mainstream analysis of the countercultures and youth movements of the '60s, this book is flawed in two ways. One, it's overly influenced by Marshall McLuhan, and its hodgepodge of original writing, newspaper reprints, graphic appropriation, and other literary assemblage falls flat. Two, the book aims to be interactive but isn't cohesive enough to encourage an in-depth analysis or exploration of the text itself. Quaint, but not critical.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
ESPers by James Hudnall and David Lloyd (1995)
ESPers #1-4 was published in the mid-'80s by Eclipse, again showing why that little publishing company was so important. Hudnall's script is rather straight-forward. The goverment is monitoring psychics, who band together to free some hostages in Beirut. Much of the book is spent establishing the characters and recruiting the team, and the resulting roundup is rather diverse ethnically and personality wise. Not the most amazing comic, but not totally generic either.
Days to read:1. Rating: Good.
The Executioner #276: Leviathan by Gerald Montgomery as Don Pendleton (2001)
While many of the Mack Bolan popcult pastiches -- such as the relatively recent nod to a Bane-like killing machine -- often fail miserably, Montgomery's homage to H.P. Lovecraft works well. A doomsday cult taps into an underground race of Cthulhu-like supersquid -- including a gatekeeper called the avatar -- that plays havoc around an offshore oil rig used for drug manufacture. Mack is on the case and helps disband the cult, as well as avert a supernatural disaster. Inspired, tasteful, and a Lovecraftian anomaly.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Four Agreements: A Toltec Wisdom Book by Don Miguel Ruiz (1997)
Like The Greatest Salesman in the World, this near-mythic book outlines a handful of suggestions and rules to improve your life. This book is rooted in Toltec wisdom, supposedly, but its lineage doesn't matter in that the book's not overly rooted in history and myth -- and the guidelines are sound. Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. Things I've heard before; and couched in a verbose yet chatty, over-explanatory manner; but well worth recommitting to.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
I Hate the Man Who Runs This Bar!: The Survival Guide for Real Musicians by Eugene Chadbourne (1997)
Chadbourne's written this one for passionate working musicians resigned to struggling for success their entire lives. His advice about shows, recording, tours, and working with labels is spot on -- clever and constructively critical. The book drags at times as Chadbourne strives to share his wide range of experiences and types of people he's encountered. Still, extremely useful and inspirational if you have anything to do with independent music.
Days to read:46. Rating: Good.
Kinky Business: The Perversion of Funky Business by Waldo Palmer (2001)
Only in Europe! This English-language edition of a Swedish graphic album is a parody of self-consciously cartoony management gurus Kjell Nordstrom and Jonas Ridderstrale's business book "Funky Business." Oh, sure, National Lampoon parodied Tom Peters' "In Search of Excellence" in comic format in the early '80s, but the US doesn't have a tendency to or tradition of taking its new economic evangelists to task. The book's a shallow, sexual poke at the two shaven saviours, but the fact that this was even published rocks.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The Knights Templar and Their Myth by Peter Partner (1987)
The author, who doesn't come across as overly academic, looks at the lower-class knights who played an important role in the Christian Crusades, were eventually ostracized and imprisoned by political leaders who felt threatened by their power during the Middle Ages, and were later romanticized and mythologized by the Masons and other fraternal organizations looking for connections to an older, oftern pre-Christian tradition and truth. Partner debunks the myth well, deflating the many misinterpretations and appropriations of the Templar tale.
Days to read: 6. Rating: Excellent.
The Open Classroom: A Practical Guide to a New Way of Teaching by Herbert R. Kohl (1969)
Working to combat the authoritarian and hierarchical character of most schools, Kohl maps a plan to educate children through participation and the pursuit of mutual interests. The book touches on setting or suspending expectations, working through disputes, instituting positive and productive rules and routines, redesigning the classroom, creating lesson plans, discipline, and working with other educators. I don't know if the ideas presented are dated, but Kohl seems to set a sensible direction for change.
Days to read: NA. Rating: Good.
Pindeldyboz Vol. 2 ed. by Jeff Boison (2002)
One of several journals of new writing slightly inspired by and modeled after McSweeney's. The 18 pieces in this edition include some clunkers -- like Justin Bzdek's "Wide Mouth Bass People" and Slaney Chadwick Ross' story -- but the balance is quite impressive. John Verbos' "Lost Boys" is a delightful combination of "Lord of the Flies" and "A Separate Peace." Peter Bebergal's "Searching for Pancake Jackson" merges celebrity and self-discovery. And Jud Laghi's "Lattimer Round Trip" couples with Michael Russell's "Hermit's Diary" for a solid look at the "new economy" and the meaning of work. Consistently interesting.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Excellent.
Preacher Book 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1995)
A faith-challenged priest is imbued with Genesis, the spirit of God, and sets out to find God -- and to learn why he abandoned humanity. I read this at the behest of Charlie, and I'm glad I did. Equal parts religion studies, mythology a la Neil Gaiman, and detective story, Ennis' writing indicates why it's worth confusing him with Warren Ellis. There's adventure, horror, love, mystery, and religion. I'll read more. This only collects the first seven issues.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 2: Until the End of the World by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1997)
Not as rife with religious references as the first volume, this collection of issues 8-17 reveals more of Jesse's past and family history, as well as why he left Tulip. The collection also deepens his friendship with Cassidy and introduces the Grail, which deepens the religious conspiracy. The sexual subplot featuring Jesus de Sade is an unwelcome and unnecessary distraction, shocking solely for shock's sake.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 3: Proud Americans by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1997)
Compiling issues 18-26, this volume reintroduces the religious conspiracy in fine form, as Allfather D'Aronique arrives on the scene, the Saint of Killers makes a deal with Jesse, the conception of Genesis is described, and we learn how Cassidy became a vampire. There's a nice ode to NYC and the twin towers at the end of this, but I feel like the series is losing steam. I'll give it one more volume.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 4: Ancient History by Garth Ennis (1998)
Collecting several Preacher one-shots and a miniseries focusing on the Saint of Killers, Ennis saves his reading-pile bacon with this collection of context-setting back stories. Out of the periodical pamphlet's monthly continuity, we learn how the Saint of Killers came to be, how Sheriff Root's son (shades of American Beauty) became disfigured, and how Jody and TC went up against a hilarious pairing of a cop on the edge and a supermodel-turned-lawyer with a dangerous secret. I despise Jody and TC, but that issue was a giggle reminiscent of American Century.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Preacher Book 5: Dixie Fried by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (1998)
Volume four won Preacher a respite and guaranteed Ennis' work a place on my reading pile for awhile longer. This volume, which collects #27-33, falls back into the series' continuity and details Cassidy's encounter with a seemingly naive fellow vamire, Jesse's return to Tulip, Areseface's hunt for Jesse, and the latter's search for the truth inside him using voodoo. Ennis' use of recurring characters is improving, but the series has lost its religious, mythic overtone.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Preacher Book 6: War in the Sun by Garth Ennis (1999)
Seven more issues that reveal Starr's introduction to and embrace of the Grail, as well as his scarification as a boy; Cassidy's struggles with alcoholicism and his love for Tulip; Jesse's confrontation of the Saint of Killers and his ongoing search for enlightenment and direction; his death; and Cassidy's betrayal. The final story about Arseface features some interesting Peter Milligan-like writing, but -- as I've said before -- the series is becoming tiresome. I'll give it one more volume, but it's wrapping up soon, so I'll probably finish the run. Sigh.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Fair.
Rose by Jeff Smith and Charles Vess (2002)
Jeff Smith's comic Bone is one of the best comics to come out of the indie-comics world in recent decades. This prelude to the cartoony adventure series might even be better in terms of its literary and artistic style. In this collection of the limited series, we are exposed to Rose's complicity in the empowerment of the Locus Master, Rose's sister Briar's jealous betrayal of all things good, and Lucius' history of protection. Vess' artwork is beautifully lavish, and despite the irritating near-transparent computer-generated word balloons, the book is welcome full-color eye candy.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
The Spirit of Masonry by Foster Bailey (1957)
Alice Bailey's husband (?) contributes this study of Masonry, suggesting that instead of a mere men's club, it is in fact a model and process for the spiritual development of humanity. After retelling Masonry's origin and looking at its symbols and landmarks, Bailey outlines its ritual parallels to spiritual development and challenges members to eschew solely social clubs for more concerted self-improvement. Then he goes off the deep end and suggests that there are Masons on the star Sirius. A good introduction to Masonry's potential, albeit esoteric.
Days to read: 4. Rating: Fair.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 1: Preproduction by Masakazu Katsura (1999)
Past versions of this manga have helped me through other relationship breakups -- the original Japanese manga, the OAV with English subtitles -- and now this one. It does what it's designed to do. Yota's crushing on a girl. He thinks it's unrequited. At Gokuraku he rents a video girl who leaps out of the TV screen to console him. She begins to fall for him while his crush does the same, both realizing his positive qualities.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 2: Mix Down by Masakazu Katsura (2000)
Yota is torn between Moemi and Ai, who's been recalled as a defective video girl. Gokuraku's manager conspires to keep her in circulation. Yota meets Sorayama, his rival for Ai's affections, who tries to go all the way with her, with little discouragement. Yota socks him one (an act that'll cost him later), and starts to feel for Ai -- for real.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 3: Recall by Masakazu Katsura (2001)
Entering the video world, Yota strives to save Ai, his one, true love. The glass staircase and convoluted network system act as apt metaphors for the complexity of their still-young love. Moemi and Takashi distract, but Yota is resolute. Amnesiac Ai falls under the wing of Gokuraku's manager, and Yota falls under the spell of nubile newcomer Nobuku, who loves Yota like he loves Moemi and Ai. She is resolute while Ai regains her composure. And a book that could've taken many shots at media generalizations takes its first.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
Video Girl Ai Vol. 4: Off-Line by Masakazu Katsura (2002)
This the meatiest edition to date. Oh, how I wish the manga were now completed in English. Ai begins to rediscover her past as Yota continues to woo Nobuko -- or vice versa. Nobuko confronts Yota. Ai confronts Yota. Naoto confronts Ai. And men are left wondering how women can handle all of this confrontation -- written by a man as Video Girl Ai is -- so well. Meanwhile, Yota encounters Moemi again, and Naoto is introduced to the wonders of Gokuraku himself.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Excellent.
William Sylvis: Pioneer of American Labor by Jonathan Grossman (1945)
This excellent biography of Sylvis mostly follows his involvement in and leadership of the Iron Molders Union and the Iron Molders' International Union. Concentrating on Sylvis' circuit-riding approach to recruitment and union organization, the book also details his union administration strategies and organizing platform, as well as his later, uninformed embrace of the cooperative movement. A good look at Sylvis' too-short life, as well as a useful organizing manual.
Days to read: 20. Rating: Excellent.
North End Moment VIII
While waiting in line for my lunch order at Mangia! Mangia!:
Customer: When you threatened to throw [the telephone] into the garbage, it stopped ringing!
Cook: I thought it was funny; it started ringing when you got your food. It was idle for awhile.
Customer: I think it can smell [food].
While waiting in line for my lunch order at Mangia! Mangia!:
Customer: When you threatened to throw [the telephone] into the garbage, it stopped ringing!
Cook: I thought it was funny; it started ringing when you got your food. It was idle for awhile.
Customer: I think it can smell [food].
Read But Dead VI
Just learned that Darwin magazine, sister pub to my previous employer, CIO, has gone the way of the shade. Lexis-Nexis reports that "Darwin suspended publication due to declining advertising revenue and other financial difficulties." The April 2002 issue will be the final print issue, but the Darwin Web will remain until further notice.
And, while Lexis-Nexis says, "No layoffs have been announced," two friends were recently let go from CIO, which leads me to believe that folks are being laid off because of Darwin's passing -- and the general situation at CIO.
I won't really miss Darwin because I never really got its concept -- seemed to be a return to work we did on Enterprise, an IT magazine aimed at non-tech CXO's, but with an odd technorealist, skeptical bent. The magazine never made good on its dark promise, and I'm not convinced a tech trade mag for non-technologists is a valid proposition. (A consumer mag, maybe.) But I'll mourn its passing because I know that it was Lew's baby.
Just learned that Darwin magazine, sister pub to my previous employer, CIO, has gone the way of the shade. Lexis-Nexis reports that "Darwin suspended publication due to declining advertising revenue and other financial difficulties." The April 2002 issue will be the final print issue, but the Darwin Web will remain until further notice.
And, while Lexis-Nexis says, "No layoffs have been announced," two friends were recently let go from CIO, which leads me to believe that folks are being laid off because of Darwin's passing -- and the general situation at CIO.
I won't really miss Darwin because I never really got its concept -- seemed to be a return to work we did on Enterprise, an IT magazine aimed at non-tech CXO's, but with an odd technorealist, skeptical bent. The magazine never made good on its dark promise, and I'm not convinced a tech trade mag for non-technologists is a valid proposition. (A consumer mag, maybe.) But I'll mourn its passing because I know that it was Lew's baby.
Books Going Bankrupt
This disturbing missive from Top Shelf crossed my in box this morning:
We have just been informed this week that our book trade distributor has filed for bankrupcy (Chapter 11). They will continue to operate and hopefully recover -- and we will support this all we can (as our industry needs them, and they are good people) -- but unfortunately, this has happened at a time when they owed us an enormous sum of money (more than $80,000 minus returns). And to make matters worse, the most recent check they cut us, for almost $20,000, bounced this week, in turn causing the last 30 checks we wrote to printers, conventions, cartoonists -- practically every aspect of the business -- to bounce (or be held) in turn.
To put it bluntly, even with all the hard work we've put in over the years, if we don't raise $20,000 this month, it could realistically force us to suspend publishing operations for the foreseeable future. It's hard to believe, but a big domino has fallen right on top of us at the worst time possible. So, that leaves us no choice but to be honest and ask for your help.
If 400-500 of you can find it in your hearts to each spend around fifty bucks on our core list of books, this would literally pull us through -- we mean that. We've got such a strong future schedule, and so many cool things to announce soon (including two more Alan Moore projects and two film and TV projects), that I'd hate to think that we'd have to pull the plug right before we just were about to arrive.
In any event, if you can find it in your hearts to help us out, we will be eternally grateful. We'll be manning the phones personally on this "drive," and we'll also be sure to keep you informed -- hopefully letting all of you know in three to four weeks that everything's okay (with your help, that is). -- Chris Staros
I just placed an order with Top Shelf, and I encourage you to consider doing the same. Losing Top Shelf, one of the better independent comic book publishers -- right up there with Highwater Books and Alternative Comics -- would be a blow I'd rather not feel.
This disturbing missive from Top Shelf crossed my in box this morning:
We have just been informed this week that our book trade distributor has filed for bankrupcy (Chapter 11). They will continue to operate and hopefully recover -- and we will support this all we can (as our industry needs them, and they are good people) -- but unfortunately, this has happened at a time when they owed us an enormous sum of money (more than $80,000 minus returns). And to make matters worse, the most recent check they cut us, for almost $20,000, bounced this week, in turn causing the last 30 checks we wrote to printers, conventions, cartoonists -- practically every aspect of the business -- to bounce (or be held) in turn.
To put it bluntly, even with all the hard work we've put in over the years, if we don't raise $20,000 this month, it could realistically force us to suspend publishing operations for the foreseeable future. It's hard to believe, but a big domino has fallen right on top of us at the worst time possible. So, that leaves us no choice but to be honest and ask for your help.
If 400-500 of you can find it in your hearts to each spend around fifty bucks on our core list of books, this would literally pull us through -- we mean that. We've got such a strong future schedule, and so many cool things to announce soon (including two more Alan Moore projects and two film and TV projects), that I'd hate to think that we'd have to pull the plug right before we just were about to arrive.
In any event, if you can find it in your hearts to help us out, we will be eternally grateful. We'll be manning the phones personally on this "drive," and we'll also be sure to keep you informed -- hopefully letting all of you know in three to four weeks that everything's okay (with your help, that is). -- Chris Staros
I just placed an order with Top Shelf, and I encourage you to consider doing the same. Losing Top Shelf, one of the better independent comic book publishers -- right up there with Highwater Books and Alternative Comics -- would be a blow I'd rather not feel.
Among the Literati II
Alex and I took in a reading at the Brookline Booksmith last night, exposing me to two authors I hadn't even heard of, much less read. And based on last night's introduction, I need to read them. Oh, yes.
Backing up from last to first, we had Ben Marcus, whose Notable American Women I saw on display at Longellow's in Portland this past weekend. Ben teaches at Columbia in New York and is fiction editor for the biannual journal Fence. He's also had work published in McSweeney's, natch. So his fiction -- and reading dramatics in the introduction to his portion of the evening -- was edgy, emotive, and slightly evasive. Notable is a supposed biography of Ben, written from the perspective of his parents. It's reported by a friend to be quite complex, with some passages often requiring rereading. The "pamphlet" Ben read last night told the tale of a boy set out to sire by a matriarchal clan of Silentists. Ben's use of language -- and reappropriation of some terms -- was cleverly literate but also slightly mythic in the way that the Causey Way is mythic. Wonderful, off-center stuff!
Preceding him was Steve Almond, a professor at Emerson and author of My Life in Heavy Metal, which, if the piece he read is any indication, has more to do with sex than heavy metal. A contributor to online fiction sites such as Tatlin's Tower and Nerve, Steve's writing style is oddly poetic, given his lack of sentimentality toward but self-conscious consideration of the physicality of his subject matter. His reading demeanor was awesome, blending an able reading of his work with in-the-moment appreciation of and commentary on the situation he was in. His meta-reading commentary added a lot to the reading.
I should start going to readings again. And I should make the green-line hike to Booksmith more often. It's a nice little shop!
Alex and I took in a reading at the Brookline Booksmith last night, exposing me to two authors I hadn't even heard of, much less read. And based on last night's introduction, I need to read them. Oh, yes.
Backing up from last to first, we had Ben Marcus, whose Notable American Women I saw on display at Longellow's in Portland this past weekend. Ben teaches at Columbia in New York and is fiction editor for the biannual journal Fence. He's also had work published in McSweeney's, natch. So his fiction -- and reading dramatics in the introduction to his portion of the evening -- was edgy, emotive, and slightly evasive. Notable is a supposed biography of Ben, written from the perspective of his parents. It's reported by a friend to be quite complex, with some passages often requiring rereading. The "pamphlet" Ben read last night told the tale of a boy set out to sire by a matriarchal clan of Silentists. Ben's use of language -- and reappropriation of some terms -- was cleverly literate but also slightly mythic in the way that the Causey Way is mythic. Wonderful, off-center stuff!
Preceding him was Steve Almond, a professor at Emerson and author of My Life in Heavy Metal, which, if the piece he read is any indication, has more to do with sex than heavy metal. A contributor to online fiction sites such as Tatlin's Tower and Nerve, Steve's writing style is oddly poetic, given his lack of sentimentality toward but self-conscious consideration of the physicality of his subject matter. His reading demeanor was awesome, blending an able reading of his work with in-the-moment appreciation of and commentary on the situation he was in. His meta-reading commentary added a lot to the reading.
I should start going to readings again. And I should make the green-line hike to Booksmith more often. It's a nice little shop!
Tuesday, April 02, 2002
North End Moment VII
Outside in front of the Scotch & Sirloin building about 30 minutes ago, I'm enjoying the early evening changing of the light, and as I'm about to walk back inside, I look up at the sky one last time.
I see a bird flying. And over to the side a little, I see a plane flying -- both in the same eyeshot.
Beautiful. The only thing missing was Superman.
Outside in front of the Scotch & Sirloin building about 30 minutes ago, I'm enjoying the early evening changing of the light, and as I'm about to walk back inside, I look up at the sky one last time.
I see a bird flying. And over to the side a little, I see a plane flying -- both in the same eyeshot.
Beautiful. The only thing missing was Superman.
The Movie I Watched Last Night XIV
Monday: Buena Vista Social Club
Wim Wenders' heartful documentary about Ry Cooder's support of Cuban music and musicians works well on several levels. First of all, it's a loving history of and tribute to many elderly legendary musicians, including Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, and Luis Barzaga. Second, it's a sentimental snapshot of Havana, blending oral history of the Buena Vista Social Club, which was active in the mid-'40s, and cinematic documentation of a city steeped in beauty, color, and tradition. Third, and perhaps most important, it's a romanticized introduction to the United States, especially New York City; Cooder's recording the music of Cuba and bringing the musicians to the U.S. to perform is a gift -- to the musicians, as well as viewers of this movie.
Monday: Buena Vista Social Club
Wim Wenders' heartful documentary about Ry Cooder's support of Cuban music and musicians works well on several levels. First of all, it's a loving history of and tribute to many elderly legendary musicians, including Ibrahim Ferrer, Compay Segundo, and Luis Barzaga. Second, it's a sentimental snapshot of Havana, blending oral history of the Buena Vista Social Club, which was active in the mid-'40s, and cinematic documentation of a city steeped in beauty, color, and tradition. Third, and perhaps most important, it's a romanticized introduction to the United States, especially New York City; Cooder's recording the music of Cuba and bringing the musicians to the U.S. to perform is a gift -- to the musicians, as well as viewers of this movie.
Rules for Fools V
Rule No. 7: Even though your apartment door doesn't lock automatically when you shut it, the door to your building does; if you leave home without your keys, you might have trouble getting back in.
Rule No. 7: Even though your apartment door doesn't lock automatically when you shut it, the door to your building does; if you leave home without your keys, you might have trouble getting back in.
Monday, April 01, 2002
Micro-Mobile-Movies
Combine the power of microbroadcasting with the community-based comfort of neighborhood outdoor film screenings, and you get something similar to the first guerrilla drive-in in Los Angeles. According to a news release penned by independent filmmaker Lawrence Bridges, he decided to bypass the movie industry's usual distribution, promotion, and screening mechanisms to debut his film 12 at a series of impromptu drive-in's.
Bridges promotes upcoming screenings on the Web -- "like a rave, you know," says one fan -- and uses a video projector and pirate radio transmitter to allow viewers to tune their car radios into a localized broadcast of the film's soundtrack. At the screening detailed in LA Weekly, the film was projected on the side of a food bank not far from a Staples big-box retailer.
Folks involved in the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge used to hold screenings on the side of a nearby Carberry's near Central Square. At least until the city shut them down for holding frequent screenings without a license. Maybe the Zeitgeist should team up with Allston-Brighton Free Radio to explore how we could bring guerrilla drive-ins to the Boston area. The idea is illuminating.
(Um, that's a film projector pun, son.)
Combine the power of microbroadcasting with the community-based comfort of neighborhood outdoor film screenings, and you get something similar to the first guerrilla drive-in in Los Angeles. According to a news release penned by independent filmmaker Lawrence Bridges, he decided to bypass the movie industry's usual distribution, promotion, and screening mechanisms to debut his film 12 at a series of impromptu drive-in's.
Bridges promotes upcoming screenings on the Web -- "like a rave, you know," says one fan -- and uses a video projector and pirate radio transmitter to allow viewers to tune their car radios into a localized broadcast of the film's soundtrack. At the screening detailed in LA Weekly, the film was projected on the side of a food bank not far from a Staples big-box retailer.
Folks involved in the Zeitgeist Gallery in Cambridge used to hold screenings on the side of a nearby Carberry's near Central Square. At least until the city shut them down for holding frequent screenings without a license. Maybe the Zeitgeist should team up with Allston-Brighton Free Radio to explore how we could bring guerrilla drive-ins to the Boston area. The idea is illuminating.
(Um, that's a film projector pun, son.)
Cover Me
CIA agents often say they're journalists in order to maintain a cover overseas. Journalists are starting to organize to discourage the U.S. government and its overseas operatives from doing so -- and attracting dangerous attention to news gatherers overseas.
CIA agents often say they're journalists in order to maintain a cover overseas. Journalists are starting to organize to discourage the U.S. government and its overseas operatives from doing so -- and attracting dangerous attention to news gatherers overseas.
Off-Site Insight II
So I went to Maine this past weekend. Rose relatively early Saturday morning and headed to North Station to catch the Downeaster, a new train straight to Portland. The commuter rail station at North Station isn't as interesting or as comfortable as the one at South Station, and there's not a whole lot to do while waiting for your train except grab some food at a Dunkin' Donuts or McDonalds, sit on a bench missing a couple of slats on the seat, and avoid scary, whiskey-drunk homeless people. I don't mind homeless people, but it concerns me if they're intoxicated, aggressively talking to themselves, or confronting others in their vicinity. Saturday morning, I was a snail in my shell.
The train ride was wonderful. As we headed north, Boston's overcast skies gave way to a semblance of clear skies and sun, and the scenery was excellent -- water, woods, and the in-between, behind, and beside spaces you often miss while you're walking around a city proper. The graffiti along the tracks wasn't that good or interesting, but I did see one good depiction of an angel Krylon'ed on concrete. Nice.
Once in Maine two and a half hours later, I was surprised that the train station was on the edge of town and because of the highways, not really within walking distance of anything even close to downtown. Similarly, I should have better researched my lodging, as the comparatively inexpensive Howard Johnson's I'd booked a room in was also on the edge of town (away from the train station, to boot), at least a $12 cab ride from anywhere interesting, sharing space with a Friendly's of all restaurants, and across the street from a strip club.
So I grabbed a burger at the Friendly's -- which was staffed some of the least friendly and energetic waitresses I've ever encountered -- and then holed up in my room to nap, watch the sun set in ribbons of pink and gold, and do what I went to Portland to do: seek solitude and time away from my life in order to think through what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and why.
I'm not going to go into the whole process I followed to think things through, but I did do three things that might be of interest or use by other Media Dieticians.
I mapped out the spheres of activity and involvement in my life, drawing a Venn diagram of my "life loops" -- to show what I do and how those activities and personal and professional investments relate to each other. Without actually sharing the diagram, which ended up looking like a pregnant snow man, I depicted how my involvement with family, friends, work, the Anchormen, zines, and Media Diet correlate. Family was the only thing that didn't really touch my other activities. And there was a pretty drastic gap in the Venn diagram -- a romantic relationship or lover.
I made a list showing the current prioritization I was giving these spheres -- and the preferred prioritization that I'd like to achieve. This turned out to be a rather radical upending of priorities, so I took some to think through what I might do to achieve that re-prioritization... and what elements might add up to a new potential profession or career if my current work isn't what I want to do.
Lastly, I considered how I spend my time every day, using my daily activities, habits, patterns, and rituals to develop ideas about some things I could and should change. These elements addressed some pretty mundane things: sleep, my diet, personal habits, laundry, dishes, taking out the garbage, shopping for groceries, going out and hanging out with friends, cleaning my apartment, spending money, and other life practices. The changes I outlined included things I could and should start doing -- as well as stop doing. And I took into account how the changes fit together so I could determine whether a change should be immediate or enacted over time.
How I put this plan into practice won't be perfect, I'm sure, but I'll do my best. And so far, it's going pretty well (easy to say after a day away).
Sunday, then, was my walking around day. I grabbed breakfast at the Friendly's -- meeting the nicest, cutest waitress I'd seen there (and wearing bunny ears for Easter to boot!) -- and then called a cab to drop me off at Monument Square downtown. The city was sleepy and silent, given that it was off season, a Sunday, and Easter, but I poked around uptown for a brief spell before heading into the Old Port, which is the part of Portland with the most charm. I first headed to the water and braved a No Trespassing sign to make my way to the end of one of the wharfs to look out at the water, lobster boats, and far shore across the bay. Then I did my usual city stroll -- trying to take in as many centers of the city as I could: city hall, the post office, the library, the exchange building or financial district, urban parks, a high school or two, and several book stores, record stores, and comic shops. I find that even if you only hit the town hall, bus station, post office, main library, and a school, you'll see most of a city's major sections.
The only shops that were open, though -- it was Easter, remember -- was Books, Etc., a tidy little shop complete with a friendly dog, and Longfellow Books, which sported an enormous McSweeney's display and had a nice selection of design magazines. By this time, I had to go to the restroom, so I poked around the basement to see whether the shopping center had public bathrooms -- a no go, literally -- and then when I left out the back door of the building's basement, I saw the opportunity to have a little adventure.
There, to my left, was a chained-off staircase going down into the dark. I wondered what was down there, so I ducked the chain and proceeded down the stairs, ignoring a sign telling me not to do just that. Rounding the landing and spotting the darkened window of whatever shop or restaurant used to be there -- with a table and some stools stacked against the glass -- I set off a motion detector or something. Woot! Woot! Woot! Shocked out of my wits, I zipped back up the stairs, ducked back under the chain, and proceeded to walk nonchalantly away from the siren and alarm as though nothing had happened. I turned a corner. I turned another corner. And -- after deciding that it was more harm than help to go back to the shop and fess up to my innocent trespass... and less than wise to stick to main streets near the scene of the "crime" -- I made my way back to an Irish pub I'd passed earlier in the morning: Brian Boru's.
There, I sat out my feeling of guilt and slight thrill about being on the lam, indulged in an Easter pint of Guinness, and filled the rest of the early afternoon before calling Debbie the cab driver to go back to the hotel to pick up my bag and head to the train station for the Downeaster home.
Then I hung out with Alex. All in all, a fun and productive weekend. If anyone from Longfellow comes across this, I apologize for setting off the alarm and not fessing up to it. And if you ever feel frustrated about what your life's like, a personal off-site might be just what you need. We'll see what kind of effect mine has.
So I went to Maine this past weekend. Rose relatively early Saturday morning and headed to North Station to catch the Downeaster, a new train straight to Portland. The commuter rail station at North Station isn't as interesting or as comfortable as the one at South Station, and there's not a whole lot to do while waiting for your train except grab some food at a Dunkin' Donuts or McDonalds, sit on a bench missing a couple of slats on the seat, and avoid scary, whiskey-drunk homeless people. I don't mind homeless people, but it concerns me if they're intoxicated, aggressively talking to themselves, or confronting others in their vicinity. Saturday morning, I was a snail in my shell.
The train ride was wonderful. As we headed north, Boston's overcast skies gave way to a semblance of clear skies and sun, and the scenery was excellent -- water, woods, and the in-between, behind, and beside spaces you often miss while you're walking around a city proper. The graffiti along the tracks wasn't that good or interesting, but I did see one good depiction of an angel Krylon'ed on concrete. Nice.
Once in Maine two and a half hours later, I was surprised that the train station was on the edge of town and because of the highways, not really within walking distance of anything even close to downtown. Similarly, I should have better researched my lodging, as the comparatively inexpensive Howard Johnson's I'd booked a room in was also on the edge of town (away from the train station, to boot), at least a $12 cab ride from anywhere interesting, sharing space with a Friendly's of all restaurants, and across the street from a strip club.
So I grabbed a burger at the Friendly's -- which was staffed some of the least friendly and energetic waitresses I've ever encountered -- and then holed up in my room to nap, watch the sun set in ribbons of pink and gold, and do what I went to Portland to do: seek solitude and time away from my life in order to think through what I'm doing, how I'm doing it, and why.
I'm not going to go into the whole process I followed to think things through, but I did do three things that might be of interest or use by other Media Dieticians.
How I put this plan into practice won't be perfect, I'm sure, but I'll do my best. And so far, it's going pretty well (easy to say after a day away).
Sunday, then, was my walking around day. I grabbed breakfast at the Friendly's -- meeting the nicest, cutest waitress I'd seen there (and wearing bunny ears for Easter to boot!) -- and then called a cab to drop me off at Monument Square downtown. The city was sleepy and silent, given that it was off season, a Sunday, and Easter, but I poked around uptown for a brief spell before heading into the Old Port, which is the part of Portland with the most charm. I first headed to the water and braved a No Trespassing sign to make my way to the end of one of the wharfs to look out at the water, lobster boats, and far shore across the bay. Then I did my usual city stroll -- trying to take in as many centers of the city as I could: city hall, the post office, the library, the exchange building or financial district, urban parks, a high school or two, and several book stores, record stores, and comic shops. I find that even if you only hit the town hall, bus station, post office, main library, and a school, you'll see most of a city's major sections.
The only shops that were open, though -- it was Easter, remember -- was Books, Etc., a tidy little shop complete with a friendly dog, and Longfellow Books, which sported an enormous McSweeney's display and had a nice selection of design magazines. By this time, I had to go to the restroom, so I poked around the basement to see whether the shopping center had public bathrooms -- a no go, literally -- and then when I left out the back door of the building's basement, I saw the opportunity to have a little adventure.
There, to my left, was a chained-off staircase going down into the dark. I wondered what was down there, so I ducked the chain and proceeded down the stairs, ignoring a sign telling me not to do just that. Rounding the landing and spotting the darkened window of whatever shop or restaurant used to be there -- with a table and some stools stacked against the glass -- I set off a motion detector or something. Woot! Woot! Woot! Shocked out of my wits, I zipped back up the stairs, ducked back under the chain, and proceeded to walk nonchalantly away from the siren and alarm as though nothing had happened. I turned a corner. I turned another corner. And -- after deciding that it was more harm than help to go back to the shop and fess up to my innocent trespass... and less than wise to stick to main streets near the scene of the "crime" -- I made my way back to an Irish pub I'd passed earlier in the morning: Brian Boru's.
There, I sat out my feeling of guilt and slight thrill about being on the lam, indulged in an Easter pint of Guinness, and filled the rest of the early afternoon before calling Debbie the cab driver to go back to the hotel to pick up my bag and head to the train station for the Downeaster home.
Then I hung out with Alex. All in all, a fun and productive weekend. If anyone from Longfellow comes across this, I apologize for setting off the alarm and not fessing up to it. And if you ever feel frustrated about what your life's like, a personal off-site might be just what you need. We'll see what kind of effect mine has.
The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night
After I got back from Maine last night -- and after Alex got back from southern Massachusetts -- we went to grab a bite at Diva, an Indian bistro on Davis Square in Somerville. It wasn't all that. While the interior is extremely well designed -- one of the cooks (wearing some bling-bling last night) even prepares food in a glass-enclased space reminiscent of a DJ booth -- the food is extremely expensive for what you get. Add to that extremely slow and inattentive service, and it's not worth your money... as good as the atmosphere may be.
Alex and I sampled a complimentary appetizer courtesy of the restaurant, chicken pakoras (basically glorified chicken fingers), garlic naan (which arrived after our entree was served), and aloo palak, which while well-spiced, wasn't good enough to take home as leftovers. Oh, we had mango lassis, too. Diva may be the only Indian food on Davis Square, but Ocean Reef also used to be the only seafood restaurant in the entire city. Now Ocean Reef is closed. Diva needs to do more if it's going to earn repeat business.
After I got back from Maine last night -- and after Alex got back from southern Massachusetts -- we went to grab a bite at Diva, an Indian bistro on Davis Square in Somerville. It wasn't all that. While the interior is extremely well designed -- one of the cooks (wearing some bling-bling last night) even prepares food in a glass-enclased space reminiscent of a DJ booth -- the food is extremely expensive for what you get. Add to that extremely slow and inattentive service, and it's not worth your money... as good as the atmosphere may be.
Alex and I sampled a complimentary appetizer courtesy of the restaurant, chicken pakoras (basically glorified chicken fingers), garlic naan (which arrived after our entree was served), and aloo palak, which while well-spiced, wasn't good enough to take home as leftovers. Oh, we had mango lassis, too. Diva may be the only Indian food on Davis Square, but Ocean Reef also used to be the only seafood restaurant in the entire city. Now Ocean Reef is closed. Diva needs to do more if it's going to earn repeat business.
Friday, March 29, 2002
Guestimonial II
Yesterday I watched Noam Chomsky in "Manufacturing Consent" three times as I was programming. The programming came to nothing much; I'm trying to figure out MIDI functions using Java.
Anyway, I'm thinking of becoming an activist. What an inspirational story. Of course, the whole time I was thinking of Media Diet and how great it is that I can use the Internet now (it wasn't nearly as possible in 1992, and I wonder what Noam has to say of the possibilities). But it is only useful if people communicate: what happened to me today, what happened to you.
Well, thanks Heath for this forum. I now listen to WUMB-FM's folk shows on Live365. I bet you can hear my local station KBOO-FM online too.
I had a resolution of sailing at least once a week. I think I'll amend writing to Heath and Media Diet, if he takes it. -- Rob Upson
Yesterday I watched Noam Chomsky in "Manufacturing Consent" three times as I was programming. The programming came to nothing much; I'm trying to figure out MIDI functions using Java.
Anyway, I'm thinking of becoming an activist. What an inspirational story. Of course, the whole time I was thinking of Media Diet and how great it is that I can use the Internet now (it wasn't nearly as possible in 1992, and I wonder what Noam has to say of the possibilities). But it is only useful if people communicate: what happened to me today, what happened to you.
Well, thanks Heath for this forum. I now listen to WUMB-FM's folk shows on Live365. I bet you can hear my local station KBOO-FM online too.
I had a resolution of sailing at least once a week. I think I'll amend writing to Heath and Media Diet, if he takes it. -- Rob Upson
Humor Me IV
Pow! Magazine #2, November 1966, Humor-Vision Inc., NYC, NY (bimonthly, 30 cents)
Publisher: Robert C. Sproul
Editor: Milton Duggan
Production: Ray Brunshaw
Artists and Writers: Andy Dutton, Ward Williams, Thomas Lorton, Vic Twinner, Shirley Saunders, Ben K. Lorton, Frank Frumkin, Arlene Peyton, Charlie Place, Mel Craft, Arnie Brickmush, and Iggy Noonan
Water Cooler: supplied by the Gunga Den Wet Water West Company Inc.
Cover: John Severin image of Powman! running toward an out-of-order telephone booth as a giant lizard monster tramples through town. Cover lines: Humor-Vision Presents; A Monstrous Barrage of Mighty Mirth!; The Magazine That Contains Instant Laughs; Fab Bonus -- A Crazy Champ "Camp" Certificate
Inside front cover... Photo funnies including a scene from Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. Best joke: "Which hand has the M&M's?"
p. 4 Pow! Mail Call Reader letters about features in #1
p. 5 Super Heros in Advertising d/McCartney... Products are pitched by a Captain Marvel-like superhero, Buttman and Nick O'Teen, and Wonder Peddler
p. 9 Like It's Happening Now! Photo funnies aiming at iced tea, tennis, and baseball cards include scenes from Hercules and the Princess of Troy and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
p. 10 Camping Out d/Richard Doxsee... The outdoors life is funny. And scary
p. 12 Ultra Realistic Dolls d/McCartney... Action figures and their accessories based on racketeers, beatniks, communists, Wall Street brokers, Bridget Bardot, college basketball players, and vampires
p. 16 I Wake Up Screening! d/Golden... TV makes it necessary to edit movies' original widescreen. Now that's funny!
p. 20 Pow's Pix Strike Again! Photo funnies jab at Kentucky, hair dye, and the Chinese mafia
p. 21 The Man on the Ledge d/McCartney... The South will rise again!
p. 22 Handshakes d/Will Elder(?)... Hip grips for doctors, prizefighters, panhandlers, bowlers, hitchhikers, modern artists, farmers, bartenders, and drama critics
p. 24 Build This Beautful Color TV Set How not to make a TV
p. 26 Robbin Hood and His Band of Merrie Men d/Will Elder(?)... What if Robin Hood weren't so pure?
p. 29 Phone Services for Tots and Teens d/John Severin... Sexy, sexy toe dialing; pocketbook phones; monster fan phones; health faddist phones; and other telecommunications innovations. Additionally, Telephone roulette and classroom services
p. 34 G.I. Remember Those Days! Photo funnies drawing on U.S. Army stock photography. Best joke: "Play 'Melancholy Baby'!! (Hic!!)"
p. 36 Dinosaurs Are Sweeping the Country d/John Forte
p. 38 More Nuts A-Go-Go! Five gag panels by Don Orehek, O'Brien, and others
p. 39 Fresh, Fast & Funny! Photo funnies featuring scenes from Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and Crack in the World. Best joke: "Of course I don't know how to do the frug. This is 1809, remember?"
p. 40 The Testimonial Dinner d/Burgos... It turns into a roast once the chef's son perfects the truth serum
p. 42 Stories of the Month d/Kirschen... Three strips about a panhandler. Rather Snappy Answers for Stupid Questions in quality
Inside back cover... Two photo funnies from Cat Ballou and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
Extras: Pow's Fun Premium, a camp certificate that recognizes the bearer for collecting kitsch such as a banjo pick used by Eddie Peabody
Marginalia: "I bet I've been in 20,000 phone booths during my lifetime. Would you believe 5,000?" -- Superman; Q: "Why does Batman wear a yellow belt?" A: "To hold up his blue shorts!"; Q: "Where does King Kong sleep?" A: "Anywhere he wants to, buddy!"; Q: "For which newspaper does Brenda Starr work?" A: "Whichever paper buys the strip!"; Q: "How tall is Dagwood?" A: "About 25 sandwiches high!"; Q: "How old is Little Orphan Annie?" A: "12... going on 37!"; Q: "How old is Prince Valiant?" A: "XXI!"; Q: "What's Mandrake the Magician's greatest trick?" A: "Making all those other magician comic strips disappear!"; Q: "Why does Dick Tracy wear a yellow hat?" A: "To hold up his black hair;" Q: "Why does Tarzan always yell, 'Aaawwhoo?'" A: "Because the lion skin he wears itches!"; Q: "Does Terry always battle the pirates?" A: "No. Sometimes he plays against the Dodgers and the Mets!"; Q: "How tough is Steve Canyon?" A: "Tough enough to get into 1,000 newspapers!"
Pow! Magazine #2, November 1966, Humor-Vision Inc., NYC, NY (bimonthly, 30 cents)
Publisher: Robert C. Sproul
Editor: Milton Duggan
Production: Ray Brunshaw
Artists and Writers: Andy Dutton, Ward Williams, Thomas Lorton, Vic Twinner, Shirley Saunders, Ben K. Lorton, Frank Frumkin, Arlene Peyton, Charlie Place, Mel Craft, Arnie Brickmush, and Iggy Noonan
Water Cooler: supplied by the Gunga Den Wet Water West Company Inc.
Cover: John Severin image of Powman! running toward an out-of-order telephone booth as a giant lizard monster tramples through town. Cover lines: Humor-Vision Presents; A Monstrous Barrage of Mighty Mirth!; The Magazine That Contains Instant Laughs; Fab Bonus -- A Crazy Champ "Camp" Certificate
Inside front cover... Photo funnies including a scene from Dr. Terror's House of Horrors. Best joke: "Which hand has the M&M's?"
p. 4 Pow! Mail Call Reader letters about features in #1
p. 5 Super Heros in Advertising d/McCartney... Products are pitched by a Captain Marvel-like superhero, Buttman and Nick O'Teen, and Wonder Peddler
p. 9 Like It's Happening Now! Photo funnies aiming at iced tea, tennis, and baseball cards include scenes from Hercules and the Princess of Troy and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
p. 10 Camping Out d/Richard Doxsee... The outdoors life is funny. And scary
p. 12 Ultra Realistic Dolls d/McCartney... Action figures and their accessories based on racketeers, beatniks, communists, Wall Street brokers, Bridget Bardot, college basketball players, and vampires
p. 16 I Wake Up Screening! d/Golden... TV makes it necessary to edit movies' original widescreen. Now that's funny!
p. 20 Pow's Pix Strike Again! Photo funnies jab at Kentucky, hair dye, and the Chinese mafia
p. 21 The Man on the Ledge d/McCartney... The South will rise again!
p. 22 Handshakes d/Will Elder(?)... Hip grips for doctors, prizefighters, panhandlers, bowlers, hitchhikers, modern artists, farmers, bartenders, and drama critics
p. 24 Build This Beautful Color TV Set How not to make a TV
p. 26 Robbin Hood and His Band of Merrie Men d/Will Elder(?)... What if Robin Hood weren't so pure?
p. 29 Phone Services for Tots and Teens d/John Severin... Sexy, sexy toe dialing; pocketbook phones; monster fan phones; health faddist phones; and other telecommunications innovations. Additionally, Telephone roulette and classroom services
p. 34 G.I. Remember Those Days! Photo funnies drawing on U.S. Army stock photography. Best joke: "Play 'Melancholy Baby'!! (Hic!!)"
p. 36 Dinosaurs Are Sweeping the Country d/John Forte
p. 38 More Nuts A-Go-Go! Five gag panels by Don Orehek, O'Brien, and others
p. 39 Fresh, Fast & Funny! Photo funnies featuring scenes from Dr. Terror's House of Horrors and Crack in the World. Best joke: "Of course I don't know how to do the frug. This is 1809, remember?"
p. 40 The Testimonial Dinner d/Burgos... It turns into a roast once the chef's son perfects the truth serum
p. 42 Stories of the Month d/Kirschen... Three strips about a panhandler. Rather Snappy Answers for Stupid Questions in quality
Inside back cover... Two photo funnies from Cat Ballou and Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
Extras: Pow's Fun Premium, a camp certificate that recognizes the bearer for collecting kitsch such as a banjo pick used by Eddie Peabody
Marginalia: "I bet I've been in 20,000 phone booths during my lifetime. Would you believe 5,000?" -- Superman; Q: "Why does Batman wear a yellow belt?" A: "To hold up his blue shorts!"; Q: "Where does King Kong sleep?" A: "Anywhere he wants to, buddy!"; Q: "For which newspaper does Brenda Starr work?" A: "Whichever paper buys the strip!"; Q: "How tall is Dagwood?" A: "About 25 sandwiches high!"; Q: "How old is Little Orphan Annie?" A: "12... going on 37!"; Q: "How old is Prince Valiant?" A: "XXI!"; Q: "What's Mandrake the Magician's greatest trick?" A: "Making all those other magician comic strips disappear!"; Q: "Why does Dick Tracy wear a yellow hat?" A: "To hold up his black hair;" Q: "Why does Tarzan always yell, 'Aaawwhoo?'" A: "Because the lion skin he wears itches!"; Q: "Does Terry always battle the pirates?" A: "No. Sometimes he plays against the Dodgers and the Mets!"; Q: "How tough is Steve Canyon?" A: "Tough enough to get into 1,000 newspapers!"
Humor Me III
Pow! Magazine #1, August 1966, Humor-Vision Inc., NYC, NY (bimonthly, 30 cents)
Publisher: Robert C. Sproul
Editor: Milton Duggan
Production: Ray Brunshaw
Artists and Writers: Andy Dutton, Victor Martin, Donald Austin, Bill King, Shirley Saunders, Ben K. Lorton, Fred Quimmby, Arlene Peyton, Charlie Place, John Carterson, and Mel Craft
Coffee Breaks: catered by the Godzilla-Fream Gypsy Tea Room
Cover: John Severin image of fighting television and movie actors. Cover lines: It's Loaded with Exploding Humor!; Collector's Edition -- Special Giant Summer Issue!; A Wacky Look at Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!; Free Bonus! Travel Stickers That Go-go-go!
Inside front cover... Photo funnies featuring fight scenes, including one from Hercules and the Princess of Troy. Best joke: "The tiger in the tank just ate the muffler!"
p. 4 Pow! Mail Call Reader letters "swiped" from Lifee, Saturday Evening Pest, and Newsweak addressing Mickey Mantle; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Truman Capote; Santa Claus; Sonny and Cher; and socks
p. 5 Super Hero Confidential d/Vic Martin... Details of the trials and tribulations of Powman! as he goes to jail, tries the dating scene, joins the military, causes a labor dispute, and becomes an advertising pitchman
p. 10 Pow! Puts You in the Laughing Seat Photo funnies featuring scenes from Crack in the World and Seaside Swingers. Best joke: "I sure hope this bomb doesn't go off. I just bought a long-playing record!"
p. 11 Mail This Risky Coupon Now! Fake ad for Johnson Smith-like correspondence courses and products. Learn how to make short men look tall, and "don't make these here mistakes in English"
p. 12 Alfred Hitchshnook Presents Hitch himself gets into a fight with the advertising sponsor from Benro Wrist Watches before presenting the Case of the Case. The sponsor offs him before the Sherlockian sleuth can even get to Melvin's ancestral castle in King's-County-on-the-Thames
p. 15 Arrowed Shirts for the Smart Looking Man d/Don Orehek... Fake ad. Best jokes: "Just flip flap over folded flap and flip on board," and "Packed by real Indians. Worn by real men"
p. 16 How to Play Pool d/John Severin... Billiards how to addressing trick shots, distractions, game strategy, hustlers, and equipment
p. 20 Wacky Inventions d/Don Sinnott... Blueprints and usage examples for a boomerang book, personalized tornado kit, all-commercial TV set, and other imagined products
p. 22 The Airline with the Most d/John Severin... Fake ad extolling Ignited Air Line's DC-9 Jet Brainliner's comfort, service, and imported Swiss ski jump. Nice Bob Dobbs image
p. 24 Historical Telegrams... That Never Got There Bitter riffs on the Titanic, American flag, Custer's last stand, Gettysburg address, Dewey v. Truman, Paul Revere's midnight ride, the Hindenberg disaster, and other events
p. 26 Remember! Forest Fires Can Prevent Bears! d/Russ Heath... Poster that depicts, well, guess
p. 27 Pow's Pix!! Photo funnes making fun of the Japanese, wash-and-wear clothing, and medical insurance
p. 28 Digest Magazines d/John Severin... Four spoofs of Reader's Digest aimed at monsters, cotton pickers, psychotics, and soldiers. Best article titles: "Putting profit into blood," "Union sluts aren't in vogue," "After the truth serum, what?" and "We don't say fall out around here"
p. 32 Have Grunion; Will Travel d/G. Peltz... A Fish Police-like Western. Yawn
p. 35 Nuts A Go-Go Five gag panels by Don Orehek, Pete Wyman, and some guy named O'Brien. His strips on bar life and sign painting are the best
p. 36 Quiz Time The puzzle pieces don't match up, but it's supposedly C. Aubrey Smith. Uh, ha?
p. 37 Zwordo d/Burgos... Zorro parody poking at, oh, this is horrible
p. 40 Grins That Won the West! Photo funnies including scenes from Stagecoach and Seaside Swingers. Best joke: "It may not look like much, but I get 20 miles to a bag of oats!"
p. 42 Stories of the Month d/Kirschen... Three silly but well-drawn strips about coffee, upstairs neighbors, and the postal service
Inside back cover... Fake cigarette ad
Extras: Pow's Power-Packed Premium, ungummed travel stickers imprinted with jokes riffing on Spain, the Bronx, and Canada
Marginalia: "Show me a man who can smile when everything goes wrong, and I'll show you Smilin' Jack!" Tailspin Tommy; "I wish I had a crew cut!" Prince Valiant; "Sure wish Al Capp would buy me a new pair of pants! I jus don't look neat!" Li'l Abner; "I'm not really such a bad kid, once you get to know me!" Dennis the Menace; "Last week, I took a walk in the park and almost got lost!" Mark Trail; "I had a girl in every port, but the trouble was that they all looked like Olive Oyl!" Popeye; "It's not fair! They won't let me get out of the Army!" Beetle Bailey; "You won't believe it, but when I was a lad, I wanted to be a fireman instead of a policeman!" Dick Tracy; "I wish I had enough money to buy my own telephone booth!" Superman; "Wanna know something? I like steak much better than corn beef and cabbage!" Jiggs; "I've been in high school for so many years, I'll soon be collecting social security!" Archie; "How's tricks? How's tricks? All day long, that's all people ask me!" Mandrake the Magician; "I bet I spend $20 a week on sandwich meat alone!" Blondie; "My father was an old newspaperman, but he gave it up. There was no money in old newspapers!" Brenda Starr; "I must be growing up. Yesterday, I carried Little Orphan Annie's books home from school!" Dondi
Pow! Magazine #1, August 1966, Humor-Vision Inc., NYC, NY (bimonthly, 30 cents)
Publisher: Robert C. Sproul
Editor: Milton Duggan
Production: Ray Brunshaw
Artists and Writers: Andy Dutton, Victor Martin, Donald Austin, Bill King, Shirley Saunders, Ben K. Lorton, Fred Quimmby, Arlene Peyton, Charlie Place, John Carterson, and Mel Craft
Coffee Breaks: catered by the Godzilla-Fream Gypsy Tea Room
Cover: John Severin image of fighting television and movie actors. Cover lines: It's Loaded with Exploding Humor!; Collector's Edition -- Special Giant Summer Issue!; A Wacky Look at Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow!; Free Bonus! Travel Stickers That Go-go-go!
Inside front cover... Photo funnies featuring fight scenes, including one from Hercules and the Princess of Troy. Best joke: "The tiger in the tank just ate the muffler!"
p. 4 Pow! Mail Call Reader letters "swiped" from Lifee, Saturday Evening Pest, and Newsweak addressing Mickey Mantle; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Truman Capote; Santa Claus; Sonny and Cher; and socks
p. 5 Super Hero Confidential d/Vic Martin... Details of the trials and tribulations of Powman! as he goes to jail, tries the dating scene, joins the military, causes a labor dispute, and becomes an advertising pitchman
p. 10 Pow! Puts You in the Laughing Seat Photo funnies featuring scenes from Crack in the World and Seaside Swingers. Best joke: "I sure hope this bomb doesn't go off. I just bought a long-playing record!"
p. 11 Mail This Risky Coupon Now! Fake ad for Johnson Smith-like correspondence courses and products. Learn how to make short men look tall, and "don't make these here mistakes in English"
p. 12 Alfred Hitchshnook Presents Hitch himself gets into a fight with the advertising sponsor from Benro Wrist Watches before presenting the Case of the Case. The sponsor offs him before the Sherlockian sleuth can even get to Melvin's ancestral castle in King's-County-on-the-Thames
p. 15 Arrowed Shirts for the Smart Looking Man d/Don Orehek... Fake ad. Best jokes: "Just flip flap over folded flap and flip on board," and "Packed by real Indians. Worn by real men"
p. 16 How to Play Pool d/John Severin... Billiards how to addressing trick shots, distractions, game strategy, hustlers, and equipment
p. 20 Wacky Inventions d/Don Sinnott... Blueprints and usage examples for a boomerang book, personalized tornado kit, all-commercial TV set, and other imagined products
p. 22 The Airline with the Most d/John Severin... Fake ad extolling Ignited Air Line's DC-9 Jet Brainliner's comfort, service, and imported Swiss ski jump. Nice Bob Dobbs image
p. 24 Historical Telegrams... That Never Got There Bitter riffs on the Titanic, American flag, Custer's last stand, Gettysburg address, Dewey v. Truman, Paul Revere's midnight ride, the Hindenberg disaster, and other events
p. 26 Remember! Forest Fires Can Prevent Bears! d/Russ Heath... Poster that depicts, well, guess
p. 27 Pow's Pix!! Photo funnes making fun of the Japanese, wash-and-wear clothing, and medical insurance
p. 28 Digest Magazines d/John Severin... Four spoofs of Reader's Digest aimed at monsters, cotton pickers, psychotics, and soldiers. Best article titles: "Putting profit into blood," "Union sluts aren't in vogue," "After the truth serum, what?" and "We don't say fall out around here"
p. 32 Have Grunion; Will Travel d/G. Peltz... A Fish Police-like Western. Yawn
p. 35 Nuts A Go-Go Five gag panels by Don Orehek, Pete Wyman, and some guy named O'Brien. His strips on bar life and sign painting are the best
p. 36 Quiz Time The puzzle pieces don't match up, but it's supposedly C. Aubrey Smith. Uh, ha?
p. 37 Zwordo d/Burgos... Zorro parody poking at, oh, this is horrible
p. 40 Grins That Won the West! Photo funnies including scenes from Stagecoach and Seaside Swingers. Best joke: "It may not look like much, but I get 20 miles to a bag of oats!"
p. 42 Stories of the Month d/Kirschen... Three silly but well-drawn strips about coffee, upstairs neighbors, and the postal service
Inside back cover... Fake cigarette ad
Extras: Pow's Power-Packed Premium, ungummed travel stickers imprinted with jokes riffing on Spain, the Bronx, and Canada
Marginalia: "Show me a man who can smile when everything goes wrong, and I'll show you Smilin' Jack!" Tailspin Tommy; "I wish I had a crew cut!" Prince Valiant; "Sure wish Al Capp would buy me a new pair of pants! I jus don't look neat!" Li'l Abner; "I'm not really such a bad kid, once you get to know me!" Dennis the Menace; "Last week, I took a walk in the park and almost got lost!" Mark Trail; "I had a girl in every port, but the trouble was that they all looked like Olive Oyl!" Popeye; "It's not fair! They won't let me get out of the Army!" Beetle Bailey; "You won't believe it, but when I was a lad, I wanted to be a fireman instead of a policeman!" Dick Tracy; "I wish I had enough money to buy my own telephone booth!" Superman; "Wanna know something? I like steak much better than corn beef and cabbage!" Jiggs; "I've been in high school for so many years, I'll soon be collecting social security!" Archie; "How's tricks? How's tricks? All day long, that's all people ask me!" Mandrake the Magician; "I bet I spend $20 a week on sandwich meat alone!" Blondie; "My father was an old newspaperman, but he gave it up. There was no money in old newspapers!" Brenda Starr; "I must be growing up. Yesterday, I carried Little Orphan Annie's books home from school!" Dondi
Humor Me II
Grin #3, April 1973, APAG House Publications Inc., NYC, NY (40 cents)
Presented by Gerald Rothberg
Cover: d/ Tony Tallarico. Cover lines: The American Funny Book; Salute to the Stars -- Little Richard & Dr. K; Film of the Year -- Deliverancid; Book of the Year -- Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Sex; Plus: The Teeny Weenie Boppers.
p. 7 Deliverancid (or Up Creek Without a Paddle) w/D.J. Arneson, d/Henry Scarpell... A shallow interpretation of the "message movie" Deliverance, which seems to be about a river that's about to be dammed and four men who set out to find it -- and themselves. Best joke: "Ya ate a bear whole? Nope, just the bear."
p. 16 Grin Predicts w/D.J. Arneson, d/Tony Tallarico... The satire mag's predictions for 1973 blend stock art and illustrations to touch on law enforcement, commerce, Disneyworld, gender relations, fine art, lifestyle sports, and militarism. Two weak acupuncture jokes indicate it was all the rage
p. 20 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (So Why Didn't You Ask Already?) w/John Norment, d/Tony Tallarico... An alphabetical analysis of Woody Allen's approach to the subject. Tallarico's interesting blend of photos and illos pokes fun at celibacy, STD's, phone booth graffiti, Henry Kissinger, the Supreme Court, geishas, and Chinese restaurants. A war reference makes me wonder whether the racist bits were inspired by the Vietnam War
p. 25 Pollution Is a Nine Letter Word w/D.J. Arneson, d/Al Scaduto... The prolific Arneson and long-active Scaduto team up to eke some humor out of environmentalism. The Mad-like look at reuse and recycling elbow abandoned refrigerators, hair implants, the wastefulness of disposable batteries, and used records. The decidedly unfunny piece fails to comment on the pros or cons of recycling or surprise the reader with innovative inventions. Still notable for its Mad influence -- and Scaduto
p. 28 The Teeny Weenie Boppers w/Fred Wolfe, d/Jose Delbo... Pre-pubescent musical superstars bump up against hard rock musicians in a popcult panning of societal mores in music, the duplicity of the pop music industry, slang, and innocence
p. 31 King Richard and Frankenkissinger w/Joe Kiernam, d/Tony Tallarico... A half-assed musical parody set in Transylvania in which Dick Nixon creates a Kissinger-esque monster who can't solve the economic and societal problems in the kingdom. Lots of one-liners. Best joke: "What about our air? It's so thick, birds are walking south for the winter." OK; that's a two-liner
p. 37 Knowstalgia d/Al Scaduto... Cometbus-esque lettering opens this piece, which is a forward-thinking look at nostalgia. The economics of free sex, gender roles in the home, Kissinger, hair transplants, Ralph Nader, celibacy, cross-dressing, and aging pornographers all receive a drubbing
p. 40 Battycek w/Fred Wolfe, d/Jack Abel... The movie-cum-TV Polish detective Banacek is parodied. Ethnic jokes flow heavily while the actual humor comes at a trickle
Ads: American Cancer Society p. 4, Movie Buys p. 5, Columbia House Tape Club p. 6, Columbia House Record Club p. 48, Circus magazine p. 50
Extras: Calendar featuring Bela Lugosi Dracula stock art and text: Open your hearts; Says poster boy Willie Joe Dracula; Give generously in the privacy of your own home to our 1973 blood drive; Support vampirism in your community; Give on the full moon of every month; Our representative will call on you, just leave a window open
Grin #3, April 1973, APAG House Publications Inc., NYC, NY (40 cents)
Presented by Gerald Rothberg
Cover: d/ Tony Tallarico. Cover lines: The American Funny Book; Salute to the Stars -- Little Richard & Dr. K; Film of the Year -- Deliverancid; Book of the Year -- Everything You Never Wanted to Know About Sex; Plus: The Teeny Weenie Boppers.
p. 7 Deliverancid (or Up Creek Without a Paddle) w/D.J. Arneson, d/Henry Scarpell... A shallow interpretation of the "message movie" Deliverance, which seems to be about a river that's about to be dammed and four men who set out to find it -- and themselves. Best joke: "Ya ate a bear whole? Nope, just the bear."
p. 16 Grin Predicts w/D.J. Arneson, d/Tony Tallarico... The satire mag's predictions for 1973 blend stock art and illustrations to touch on law enforcement, commerce, Disneyworld, gender relations, fine art, lifestyle sports, and militarism. Two weak acupuncture jokes indicate it was all the rage
p. 20 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (So Why Didn't You Ask Already?) w/John Norment, d/Tony Tallarico... An alphabetical analysis of Woody Allen's approach to the subject. Tallarico's interesting blend of photos and illos pokes fun at celibacy, STD's, phone booth graffiti, Henry Kissinger, the Supreme Court, geishas, and Chinese restaurants. A war reference makes me wonder whether the racist bits were inspired by the Vietnam War
p. 25 Pollution Is a Nine Letter Word w/D.J. Arneson, d/Al Scaduto... The prolific Arneson and long-active Scaduto team up to eke some humor out of environmentalism. The Mad-like look at reuse and recycling elbow abandoned refrigerators, hair implants, the wastefulness of disposable batteries, and used records. The decidedly unfunny piece fails to comment on the pros or cons of recycling or surprise the reader with innovative inventions. Still notable for its Mad influence -- and Scaduto
p. 28 The Teeny Weenie Boppers w/Fred Wolfe, d/Jose Delbo... Pre-pubescent musical superstars bump up against hard rock musicians in a popcult panning of societal mores in music, the duplicity of the pop music industry, slang, and innocence
p. 31 King Richard and Frankenkissinger w/Joe Kiernam, d/Tony Tallarico... A half-assed musical parody set in Transylvania in which Dick Nixon creates a Kissinger-esque monster who can't solve the economic and societal problems in the kingdom. Lots of one-liners. Best joke: "What about our air? It's so thick, birds are walking south for the winter." OK; that's a two-liner
p. 37 Knowstalgia d/Al Scaduto... Cometbus-esque lettering opens this piece, which is a forward-thinking look at nostalgia. The economics of free sex, gender roles in the home, Kissinger, hair transplants, Ralph Nader, celibacy, cross-dressing, and aging pornographers all receive a drubbing
p. 40 Battycek w/Fred Wolfe, d/Jack Abel... The movie-cum-TV Polish detective Banacek is parodied. Ethnic jokes flow heavily while the actual humor comes at a trickle
Ads: American Cancer Society p. 4, Movie Buys p. 5, Columbia House Tape Club p. 6, Columbia House Record Club p. 48, Circus magazine p. 50
Extras: Calendar featuring Bela Lugosi Dracula stock art and text: Open your hearts; Says poster boy Willie Joe Dracula; Give generously in the privacy of your own home to our 1973 blood drive; Support vampirism in your community; Give on the full moon of every month; Our representative will call on you, just leave a window open
Join the Comics Club II
Along the same lines of Antony Johnston's recent essay on Ninth Art, Lindsay Duff analyzes some of the comics industry's efforts to attract new readers -- including the upcoming Free Comic Book Day. Lindsay states that instead of trying to lure comic-book newcomers into comic shops -- decidedly unfriendly and arcane places for people not already comfortable in them -- we need to address other aspects of comic retail and fandom. Things like:
Educating people about the comics form and subtle variations within genres
Redesigning high-profile comics conventions so they're more friendly to newcomers (parallel to the argument about comic shops) so we can take advantage of their place in the public eye
Educating people about comics that are actually worth reading, not just the mainstream dreck you can find everywhere
Avoiding marketing gimmicks such as variant covers that fuel speculative comics buying patterns and undermine the industry
Designing an ongoing, concerted outreach effort, not just offering free comics the day after the Spider-Man movie debuts
All good points, but I don't think Lindsay goes far enough. We need to stop thinking about bringing people who don't read comic to comics and into comic shops -- and instead think about creating comics that can find a home outside of direct sales outlets. Let's get comics into libraries. Let's get comics into schools. Let's get comics into book stores. This isn't about comic shops. It's about making good comics.
Along the same lines of Antony Johnston's recent essay on Ninth Art, Lindsay Duff analyzes some of the comics industry's efforts to attract new readers -- including the upcoming Free Comic Book Day. Lindsay states that instead of trying to lure comic-book newcomers into comic shops -- decidedly unfriendly and arcane places for people not already comfortable in them -- we need to address other aspects of comic retail and fandom. Things like:
All good points, but I don't think Lindsay goes far enough. We need to stop thinking about bringing people who don't read comic to comics and into comic shops -- and instead think about creating comics that can find a home outside of direct sales outlets. Let's get comics into libraries. Let's get comics into schools. Let's get comics into book stores. This isn't about comic shops. It's about making good comics.
Join the Comics Club
Antony Johnston makes an interesting suggestion to the comics industry: Take some cues from record and book clubs -- and the media tie-in reading habits of Babylon Five fans -- to create a club for comic book readers. It's an interesting idea -- but one that already exists in several ways.
If you frequent a comic shop, you can already sign up for their pull service and "subscribe" to titles you buy frequently. Also, through online and mail-based services such as Comics Now, Mile High Comics' NICE Subscription Club, and Westfield Comics, people can already subscribe to comics and place special orders as new releases are announced and published.
I agree that a Book of the Month Club for comics readers is interesting. But I think the idea needs to be fleshed out more fully before it's a better method than, say, Westfield. Of course, that's only if such a club is aimed at people already reading comics or frequenting comics shops. Antony's right that another model might work better for folks immersed in other pop culture adjacent to comics. But even if that's the case, if you look at science-fiction digests such as Asimov's and Analog, while they do have ads for the Sci-Fi Channel, the book club they advertise is a writing book club -- not the Science Fiction Book Club. That strikes me as odd. Does the Sci-Fi Channel advertise Asimov's? I'd be surprised.
Antony Johnston makes an interesting suggestion to the comics industry: Take some cues from record and book clubs -- and the media tie-in reading habits of Babylon Five fans -- to create a club for comic book readers. It's an interesting idea -- but one that already exists in several ways.
If you frequent a comic shop, you can already sign up for their pull service and "subscribe" to titles you buy frequently. Also, through online and mail-based services such as Comics Now, Mile High Comics' NICE Subscription Club, and Westfield Comics, people can already subscribe to comics and place special orders as new releases are announced and published.
I agree that a Book of the Month Club for comics readers is interesting. But I think the idea needs to be fleshed out more fully before it's a better method than, say, Westfield. Of course, that's only if such a club is aimed at people already reading comics or frequenting comics shops. Antony's right that another model might work better for folks immersed in other pop culture adjacent to comics. But even if that's the case, if you look at science-fiction digests such as Asimov's and Analog, while they do have ads for the Sci-Fi Channel, the book club they advertise is a writing book club -- not the Science Fiction Book Club. That strikes me as odd. Does the Sci-Fi Channel advertise Asimov's? I'd be surprised.
Rock Shows of Note IX
Andi has posted some pictures of the Also-Rans festivities Tuesday. There's even one of me, mugging in my usual manner.
Andi has posted some pictures of the Also-Rans festivities Tuesday. There's even one of me, mugging in my usual manner.
Your Local Use-Paper II
Kudos to the San Francisco Chronicle for a recent Question Man column that tapped into Bay Area residents on the question, "If you were a reporter, what would you write about?" Newspapers and magazines do focus groups all the time to gauge how they're doing and what their readers and potential readers are thinking, needing, and doing. But it's rare that publications actually share what people said -- in print for other readers to see. I hope this isn't just a one-time thing.
Kudos to the San Francisco Chronicle for a recent Question Man column that tapped into Bay Area residents on the question, "If you were a reporter, what would you write about?" Newspapers and magazines do focus groups all the time to gauge how they're doing and what their readers and potential readers are thinking, needing, and doing. But it's rare that publications actually share what people said -- in print for other readers to see. I hope this isn't just a one-time thing.
Thursday, March 28, 2002
Music to My Ears VI
A three-pack of new record reviews!
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: "The Tyranny of Distance" CD
I've held off on reviewing this local record because, well, it's not what I expect from Lookout! and its Bay Area pop-punk past and because Ted didn't really resonate with me at first. I've yet to see the Pharmacists live, but on record, Ted has always hit me as a Paul Heaton-meets-Push Kings power pop wunderkind (a la Grand Royal's Ben Lee, who doesn't remind me of the aforementioned folks, but still). Now, in part thanks to Brad's accolades, I'm giving Ted another chance. Color me a push over, but the record's not bad! In fact, it's amazing. There's a lot of mersh pop superheroics that I'm sure the Harvard-bred-yet-Bay Area-transplanted Push Kings wish they were party to, but Ted's catchy, slightly kitschy and solid pop phenomenon is quite impressive. Take "Parallel or Together"'s bubblegum repetition and, damn it, lyrical direction toward my ex. Nice sax (I think) in "Under the Hedge." And "Timorous Me" nods toward Ben Folds, sans piano, and "Stove by a Whale" recalls Brett Rosenberg's Kinks leanings. "The Great Communicator" is the Replacements plus the Tar Babies with some Morrisey vocals mixed in. The record is that weird, and I don't know why I dismissed it at first. Maybe it's the insidious influence of Brad and Amie.
Massive Distribution: CompHellation 2000 CD-R
My CD player at home wouldn't play this at first, but it did eventually. The comp opens up with a burst of crowd noise and a sample, and Elf P's "The Pond Song" is an unimpressive lo-fi dirge. Godbuls' "Live at the Green St." is a more interesting smidge of crowd noise, segueing into Donkey Disaster's "Let's Rock," reminding me of the early Runt of the Litter comps and Bill T. Miller's "Heavy Hardcore Headroom" comp, which helped launch Toxic Narcotic and Showcase Showdown. This comp is a mix of the categoric comp and the freeform fantastic. "What's fantastic?" you ask. A good question. I listened to this comp so you don't have to. Deerhoof's brief Suzanne Vega-like vocals on "Live at HappyPunk" are interesting, as is Devil Music's spoof of Karate's post-rock posturing (unintended, perhaps). Tunnel of Love's Slim Cessna-esque approach to the death song "California" is a highlight. Other neat bits: 2000 Flushes' amateurish scratching and beat boxing; the Judd$' bad-ass, cut-off country caterwauling; the Frogs' brief Fugs-led-by-Sander Hicks imposition; Jimmy Cousin's "Hole in My Hat;" Tristan Dunster's Maestro Subgum-manhandled opera "Male Sexuality;" J.K.'s "Sun Theme" and its guitar-driven revelations; Stinky Treats' "Love Them Ho's"' undersung Beastie Boys beatifics; and X-Members' wind-ridden "Left and Right Speakers." This comp is similar in many ways to Darryl's Black Apple comps. Thank the gods that we have Massive Distro now that Darryl's moved to LA. A good look under the covers of the Boston indie-rock, hip-hop, and no-wave scenes. Call 617-427-3267 for more information.
The Eric Zinman Trio CD-R
Eric begrudgingly lent me some tapes to issue on my now-defunct cassette label Tulip Tapes years ago, so I'm rather psyched that he's finally released his own CD. Featuring Laurence Cook on drums and Craig Schildhauer on bass, this set of piano trio recordings captures much of the original tape, given that it was recorded in 1996, before I moved to Massachusetts. I'm guessing that Eric remixed and mastered many of the original sessions to release this. "Lightning" is a quick hit at five minutes, and "Shopping" is a playful ode to what might be Eric's favorite pastime (given that he lived near the glass-encased Chestnut Hill Mall when I first sat in his living room to learn about the history of and players in the Boston jazz scene back in 1996 or 1997). I'm trying not to make Ahmad Jamal or Keith Jarrett comparisons, but Lowell Davidson's "Stately" begs their mention. Eric doesn't deal in your average pinky-twinkly piano jazz, but his music isn't overly exciting or enervating. The ending of "On Demand" gets somewhat intense, and the opening to "Marx Brothers" is OK, as is that piece's drum work and the little bit of chaos at the end, but for the most part, I think that this is background music. Background music infused with subtle humor, yes, but nothing that's too far forward.
A three-pack of new record reviews!
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists: "The Tyranny of Distance" CD
I've held off on reviewing this local record because, well, it's not what I expect from Lookout! and its Bay Area pop-punk past and because Ted didn't really resonate with me at first. I've yet to see the Pharmacists live, but on record, Ted has always hit me as a Paul Heaton-meets-Push Kings power pop wunderkind (a la Grand Royal's Ben Lee, who doesn't remind me of the aforementioned folks, but still). Now, in part thanks to Brad's accolades, I'm giving Ted another chance. Color me a push over, but the record's not bad! In fact, it's amazing. There's a lot of mersh pop superheroics that I'm sure the Harvard-bred-yet-Bay Area-transplanted Push Kings wish they were party to, but Ted's catchy, slightly kitschy and solid pop phenomenon is quite impressive. Take "Parallel or Together"'s bubblegum repetition and, damn it, lyrical direction toward my ex. Nice sax (I think) in "Under the Hedge." And "Timorous Me" nods toward Ben Folds, sans piano, and "Stove by a Whale" recalls Brett Rosenberg's Kinks leanings. "The Great Communicator" is the Replacements plus the Tar Babies with some Morrisey vocals mixed in. The record is that weird, and I don't know why I dismissed it at first. Maybe it's the insidious influence of Brad and Amie.
Massive Distribution: CompHellation 2000 CD-R
My CD player at home wouldn't play this at first, but it did eventually. The comp opens up with a burst of crowd noise and a sample, and Elf P's "The Pond Song" is an unimpressive lo-fi dirge. Godbuls' "Live at the Green St." is a more interesting smidge of crowd noise, segueing into Donkey Disaster's "Let's Rock," reminding me of the early Runt of the Litter comps and Bill T. Miller's "Heavy Hardcore Headroom" comp, which helped launch Toxic Narcotic and Showcase Showdown. This comp is a mix of the categoric comp and the freeform fantastic. "What's fantastic?" you ask. A good question. I listened to this comp so you don't have to. Deerhoof's brief Suzanne Vega-like vocals on "Live at HappyPunk" are interesting, as is Devil Music's spoof of Karate's post-rock posturing (unintended, perhaps). Tunnel of Love's Slim Cessna-esque approach to the death song "California" is a highlight. Other neat bits: 2000 Flushes' amateurish scratching and beat boxing; the Judd$' bad-ass, cut-off country caterwauling; the Frogs' brief Fugs-led-by-Sander Hicks imposition; Jimmy Cousin's "Hole in My Hat;" Tristan Dunster's Maestro Subgum-manhandled opera "Male Sexuality;" J.K.'s "Sun Theme" and its guitar-driven revelations; Stinky Treats' "Love Them Ho's"' undersung Beastie Boys beatifics; and X-Members' wind-ridden "Left and Right Speakers." This comp is similar in many ways to Darryl's Black Apple comps. Thank the gods that we have Massive Distro now that Darryl's moved to LA. A good look under the covers of the Boston indie-rock, hip-hop, and no-wave scenes. Call 617-427-3267 for more information.
The Eric Zinman Trio CD-R
Eric begrudgingly lent me some tapes to issue on my now-defunct cassette label Tulip Tapes years ago, so I'm rather psyched that he's finally released his own CD. Featuring Laurence Cook on drums and Craig Schildhauer on bass, this set of piano trio recordings captures much of the original tape, given that it was recorded in 1996, before I moved to Massachusetts. I'm guessing that Eric remixed and mastered many of the original sessions to release this. "Lightning" is a quick hit at five minutes, and "Shopping" is a playful ode to what might be Eric's favorite pastime (given that he lived near the glass-encased Chestnut Hill Mall when I first sat in his living room to learn about the history of and players in the Boston jazz scene back in 1996 or 1997). I'm trying not to make Ahmad Jamal or Keith Jarrett comparisons, but Lowell Davidson's "Stately" begs their mention. Eric doesn't deal in your average pinky-twinkly piano jazz, but his music isn't overly exciting or enervating. The ending of "On Demand" gets somewhat intense, and the opening to "Marx Brothers" is OK, as is that piece's drum work and the little bit of chaos at the end, but for the most part, I think that this is background music. Background music infused with subtle humor, yes, but nothing that's too far forward.
Read But Dead V
Misleading headline alert! Do not be fooled by Media Bistro's proclamation that long-missed megazine Ben Is Dead is not dead. It still is, as far as I know. But the Bistro uses that teaser of a headline to top off Bill Lessard's study of blogging's roots in the zine world. The dude knows his history and context, name dropping Obscure, Crank, Murder Can Be Fun, and Factsheet Five as precursors to Web sites such as Memepool, Metafilter, and Kuro5hin. His kitchy pop commentary on '80s icons such as Miami Vice and Mad Max hampers the impact of his parallel, relegating zines to the cute and quaint bin, but on the whole, the connections are valid and visible.
Now, if only Bunnyhop would relaunch. That'd be a reincarnation I'd be quite pleased to see.
Misleading headline alert! Do not be fooled by Media Bistro's proclamation that long-missed megazine Ben Is Dead is not dead. It still is, as far as I know. But the Bistro uses that teaser of a headline to top off Bill Lessard's study of blogging's roots in the zine world. The dude knows his history and context, name dropping Obscure, Crank, Murder Can Be Fun, and Factsheet Five as precursors to Web sites such as Memepool, Metafilter, and Kuro5hin. His kitchy pop commentary on '80s icons such as Miami Vice and Mad Max hampers the impact of his parallel, relegating zines to the cute and quaint bin, but on the whole, the connections are valid and visible.
Now, if only Bunnyhop would relaunch. That'd be a reincarnation I'd be quite pleased to see.
The Perfect Pitch
I guess I'm surprised to see this given the state of publishing and freelancing these days, but Media Bistro features a helpful how to on pitching stories to Inc. magazine, Fast Company's sister publication. The piece looks at recent changes in the magazine, as well as the book's architecture, suggesting that freelances query based on feature category and section. Good luck getting pieces placed!
I guess I'm surprised to see this given the state of publishing and freelancing these days, but Media Bistro features a helpful how to on pitching stories to Inc. magazine, Fast Company's sister publication. The piece looks at recent changes in the magazine, as well as the book's architecture, suggesting that freelances query based on feature category and section. Good luck getting pieces placed!
Rules for Fools IV
Rule No. 6: If they change the security code on the door to your office, you need to start using the new security code. The old security code won't work.
It'll probably take me a few days to get this one down.
Rule No. 6: If they change the security code on the door to your office, you need to start using the new security code. The old security code won't work.
It'll probably take me a few days to get this one down.
Mary Mattrimony
Sigh! Two relatively recent friends (meaning I've just started to get to know them) are getting married. They're the cutest indie-rock couple ever, and they've known each other for a looong time. Congratulations!
Sigh! Two relatively recent friends (meaning I've just started to get to know them) are getting married. They're the cutest indie-rock couple ever, and they've known each other for a looong time. Congratulations!
NextGen Journalism
Dan Gillmor experienced an epiphany at PC Forum. He's calling next-generation journalism Journalism 3.0 (yawn; and thanks a lot Esther for promoting this awful naming conceit), and says that its principles include the following ideas:
My readers know more than I do
That is not a threat, but rather an opportunity
We can use this together to create something between a seminar and a conversation, educating all of us
Interactivity and communications technology -- in the form of email, Web logs, discussion boards, Web sites and more -- make it happen
Solid thinking. I'll look for more from Dan on this.
Dan Gillmor experienced an epiphany at PC Forum. He's calling next-generation journalism Journalism 3.0 (yawn; and thanks a lot Esther for promoting this awful naming conceit), and says that its principles include the following ideas:
Solid thinking. I'll look for more from Dan on this.
Treacher's Pet Project
Jim Treacher, creator of Clip-Art Nonsense, just rolled his own blog. One day old, I Know My First Name Is Jim explains why Jim started a blog -- "I started this blog because I was emailing all sorts of stupid crap to people, and it occurred to me that it would be less effort to just start a blog and put it here," and "Everybody else is doing it." -- comments on Michael Moore, makes fun of the French, and recounts some lackluster Oscars jokes. We'll see where this one goes!
Jim Treacher, creator of Clip-Art Nonsense, just rolled his own blog. One day old, I Know My First Name Is Jim explains why Jim started a blog -- "I started this blog because I was emailing all sorts of stupid crap to people, and it occurred to me that it would be less effort to just start a blog and put it here," and "Everybody else is doing it." -- comments on Michael Moore, makes fun of the French, and recounts some lackluster Oscars jokes. We'll see where this one goes!
Wednesday, March 27, 2002
Other People's Reading Piles II
Grovel is a new review site out of the UK that's a self-proclaimed "source for graphic novels." On the main page, they feature commentaries on Dave Sim's "Cerebus: High Society," Eddie Campbell's "Alec: The King Canute Crowd" and other, more commercial work such as Alan Moore's "Tom Strong" and Warren Ellis' "Transmetropolitan: Back on the Streets." The reviews aren't overly short, and the editor gives equal consideration to the art and writing. He's also not afraid to call things like he sees 'em -- case in point: his review of Garth Ennis' "Just a Pilgrim." So far, there are just more than 15 reviews up, covering work published between 1986 and 2001, but Grovel hints at a fair future.
Grovel is a new review site out of the UK that's a self-proclaimed "source for graphic novels." On the main page, they feature commentaries on Dave Sim's "Cerebus: High Society," Eddie Campbell's "Alec: The King Canute Crowd" and other, more commercial work such as Alan Moore's "Tom Strong" and Warren Ellis' "Transmetropolitan: Back on the Streets." The reviews aren't overly short, and the editor gives equal consideration to the art and writing. He's also not afraid to call things like he sees 'em -- case in point: his review of Garth Ennis' "Just a Pilgrim." So far, there are just more than 15 reviews up, covering work published between 1986 and 2001, but Grovel hints at a fair future.
Among the Literati
The Baltimore City Paper profiles Neal Pollack this week, considering his journalistic background, fictional literary persona, the silliness and swagger of self-promotion, and why it's better to act like a rock star than Norman Mailer.
The Baltimore City Paper profiles Neal Pollack this week, considering his journalistic background, fictional literary persona, the silliness and swagger of self-promotion, and why it's better to act like a rock star than Norman Mailer.
Using Your Head
A 73-year-old woman got stuck in a newspaper coin-op distribution box outside of an Illinois Wal-Mart. She put some coins in the slot, reached in to get her paper, and the next thing she knew, the door slammed shut, catching on the hood of her coat and trapping her.
Initially, a Wal-Mart employee refused to free her, saying that they couldn't give discounts or tamper with the box. After 20 minutes in the cold, store staff finally agreed to release her, popping two quarters in the slot and grumbling that she just didn't want to pay for the paper herself.
For her troubles, the woman got a gift certificate and letter of apology from the Wal-Mart manager... and a free month's subscription to the paper.
Beware misleadingly humble newspaper honor boxes. They're organizing, and they're out to get us.
A 73-year-old woman got stuck in a newspaper coin-op distribution box outside of an Illinois Wal-Mart. She put some coins in the slot, reached in to get her paper, and the next thing she knew, the door slammed shut, catching on the hood of her coat and trapping her.
Initially, a Wal-Mart employee refused to free her, saying that they couldn't give discounts or tamper with the box. After 20 minutes in the cold, store staff finally agreed to release her, popping two quarters in the slot and grumbling that she just didn't want to pay for the paper herself.
For her troubles, the woman got a gift certificate and letter of apology from the Wal-Mart manager... and a free month's subscription to the paper.
Beware misleadingly humble newspaper honor boxes. They're organizing, and they're out to get us.
Bust Goes, Well, Bust II
Good news! Despite reports in November 2001 that Bust magazine was going under, it's just not so. According to a recent news release from the fine folks at Bust, even though the mag's previous publisher folded, the staff was able to buy back the name and plans to continue to publish "independent-stylie once more." Expect a new issue this spring.
Do yourself and the Bust staff a favor and subscribe to help support one of the best and most interesting megazines around.
Good news! Despite reports in November 2001 that Bust magazine was going under, it's just not so. According to a recent news release from the fine folks at Bust, even though the mag's previous publisher folded, the staff was able to buy back the name and plans to continue to publish "independent-stylie once more." Expect a new issue this spring.
Do yourself and the Bust staff a favor and subscribe to help support one of the best and most interesting megazines around.
Theater and the Porn Sindustry
Waaay back in January, Kendra and I went to see a reading of my friend Victoria Stewart's play "Live Girls." Directed by Jeremy Johnson at the Market Theater in Cambridge, the reading was done by Carol Parker (in the role of Sarah Brown, a performance artist researching her next piece), Marin Ireland (Sonia Ridge, an erotic performer), Kate Fitz Kelly (Allison, Sarah's assistant), and Dale Place (male voice). "Live Girls" is set in a hotel room during an interview with an erotic performer, as well as on a stage during a performance of the piece that developed out of that interview. Largely, the play is an analysis of the motivations to perform erotically, but the play is also about the interview process and the dramatic elements inherent in an interview. I interviewed Victoria via email.
What was the original idea and concept behind Live Girls?
Originally the play was the interview between Sarah Brown and Sonia Ridge and the performance that Sarah creates from the interview. As I worked on the play, I started to add more development behind the scenes, especially because people were very interested in the relationship between Allison the assistant and Sarah Brown, the performance artist.
How do the relationships between Sarah and Sonia -- and Sarah and Allison -- compare? Do you think there are any parallels in terms of their methods and motivations?
I think the similiarities are the issues of exploitation. Sarah, without realizing it (or thinks that it's OK to do so), exploits Sonia in a similar way that she exploits Allison. Everything is the means to her end, and Sarah feels justified. Both Allison and Sonia get theirs back in different ways. Both violate her personally for injustices she has perpetrated on them. I think their betrayals are more serious -- understandable but more vicious. Sarah, a woman who doesn't trust anybody, makes the mistake of trusting them both, not realizing the magnitude of their resentment.
Were you inspired by any particular experience, book, or news item in particular?
The concept originated when I was working for Anna Deveare Smith, who is a political performance artist who uses interviews as her source material. I do want to take pains to say that the character is not Anna -- I have used no personal information gained from dealing with her. But I was very influenced by the interview process in general, something that we as an audience take as reality, but in fact, in many ways, it is a performance.
Interview as performance? Do you think interviewers and interviewees adopt roles during the interview itself? How do you think that happens?
Certainly, when you watch someone who knows how to interview, you see a performance. They lean their bodies in or back in a specific way that's meant to get a certain reaction. Often they lean back to say, "You tell me." There's definitely a setting of the scene. The chairs are set up in a specific alignment. They ask the same questions to start off and break the ice, and then they improvise. They're not themselves. They are a blank wall. It's not a conversation.
The interviewed is trying to be the wittiest, most glorious side of herself. (Or in Sonia's case, she shows up with a political story -- her victimization by the police -- because that's what she thinks Sarah wants to hear.) People always tell the same stories because they know they tell them well. But what I was interested in was how Sarah peels away the layers of Sonia to make her tell something that she doesn't tell people -- about her father's murder of her mother.
I think people fall into roles in an interview because of what they want.The interviewer wants a good story. How can they set the person at ease to get the best story? The interviewed wants to be immortalized in the right way. For instance, right now I'm trying to sound erudite -- whereas if you and I were sitting in a bar, I wouldn't think about trying to sound smart. I would just mouth off.
But let me get back to the play's inspiration. One night while working for Anna, i was watching Howard Stern as he interviewed a porn star whose father shot her mother before he killed himself. The two images merged. Porn as real sex vs. reality-based theater and the way one is denigrated by liberals while one is put on a pedestal by the same group of well-educated people.
What parallels do you see between porn as performance and reality-based theater as performance? Why do you think one is elevated and the other is denigrated?
A huge amount of the draw of reality-based theater, especially confessional theater i.e. "This happened to me: this rape, this injustice," is that an audience says, "That really happened. Wow." If it were in a play, if it were fiction, people would say it was unbelievable. But it's real. So it gets more attention and credibility. (Even though seeing a fictional play may be ultimately more satisfying.)
Porn is the same way. Those people are really having sex. (But is porn actually sexier than good fiction?) Porn is great as a metaphor because even though people are really having sex, you can see in the film that it's a job -- the clock is ticking. The connection between art and exploitation is very apparent in porn.
But porn gets a bad name because bad things happen to people involved in it. Doing the research, I read a lot of porn actors defending it, but in general they seemed like scarred survivors. They were drawn to it because of something really deep inside them, and this was how they found solace in some way. Certainly, theater has that same draw. You don't make a lot of money. The hours are long. But you work outside of the "normal world." In fact, most theater people (and porn stars) just can't work in the normal world. It drives them around the bend.
Also, porn is pretty misognynistic. There's a line in the play that is actually a quote from a porn producer: "Men want to come on the faces of women who reject them." But hey, theater is misogynistic, too.
Lastly, there is the sense that one woman shows are often "reality based." For some reason, we don't take women seriously unless they have someone's else's words (or their own tales of victimization) behind them. That was just floated by a feminist professor here when we talked about the play, but I don't know.
How did you research the topic and industry?
There are a lot of great books about porn. The two the influenced me most were "Coming Attractions" and "A Woman's Right to Pornography" -- especially interviews in both books with Nina Hartley, who is one of the Erotic Eleven, the group of porn stars found guilty of pandering and felony lesbianism, which is the event that Sonia has come to talk about.
Tell me more about felony lesbianism. I'm not familiar with that.
I don't know much about it, to be honest. But that's the actual charge in the Erotic Eleven case -- that it's a federal crime to be a lesbian? Or to be a lesbian in public? It could be an old law that didn't get taken off the books.
In terms of interview-based theater, I was influenced by Anna's book, "Talk To Me," but also the play "The Laramie Project," Moises Kaufman's play about the Matthew Shepard murder and the Vagina Monologues. In general, reality TV was getting hot and heavy at the same time, so every week in the New York Times there was another
article about reality-based art.
Was there a particular message you were trying to convey with the play?
This is the first time I've tried to explain the theme of the play so I may be inarticulate. I think I wanted to question the prevalence of reality-based theater -- why do we as an audience buy into it without questioning the agenda? Obviously, a lot of reality-based work has been heavily manipulated by the author, thus making it artifice. Yet we buy it as truth. For me, the play is also about selling a performance and what happens when money enters art. Even the most noble enterprise is exploitative when money enters the picture and an artist makes money off of someone else's words. (Not like they are getting rich or anything, but there is the sense that because their art is good for us, it's OK that they get the copyright and the royalties.) On an elemental basis, I feel we "get off" on the reality on some level. We like the voyeurism of "This is real," not unlike the way we get off on the reality of porn, that sex is really happening. What happens when it is exposed as artifice -- does it lose its impact?
Do you think this is also true for monologists such as Spalding Grey?
I do think so. I love Spalding Gray, but a huge amount of the humor is that you think, "You really did that?" He, as far as I know, doesn't disavow his work as a character. I've only seen two of his pieces, and they seem to be about him. That's a part of what makes them work. He also happens to be a great writer. So is Anna. Eve Ensler, I'm not sold on. And you know a huge amount of the Vagina Monologues is this sense of "Wow! Women really talked about their vaginas like that?" Well, no. They didn't. Eve Ensler changed their words a lot. But I think she actually doesn't make a lot of money off of the Vagina Monologues -- she gives away the royalties, lets schools do it for free, etc.
The pull of reality is still there.
Waaay back in January, Kendra and I went to see a reading of my friend Victoria Stewart's play "Live Girls." Directed by Jeremy Johnson at the Market Theater in Cambridge, the reading was done by Carol Parker (in the role of Sarah Brown, a performance artist researching her next piece), Marin Ireland (Sonia Ridge, an erotic performer), Kate Fitz Kelly (Allison, Sarah's assistant), and Dale Place (male voice). "Live Girls" is set in a hotel room during an interview with an erotic performer, as well as on a stage during a performance of the piece that developed out of that interview. Largely, the play is an analysis of the motivations to perform erotically, but the play is also about the interview process and the dramatic elements inherent in an interview. I interviewed Victoria via email.
What was the original idea and concept behind Live Girls?
Originally the play was the interview between Sarah Brown and Sonia Ridge and the performance that Sarah creates from the interview. As I worked on the play, I started to add more development behind the scenes, especially because people were very interested in the relationship between Allison the assistant and Sarah Brown, the performance artist.
How do the relationships between Sarah and Sonia -- and Sarah and Allison -- compare? Do you think there are any parallels in terms of their methods and motivations?
I think the similiarities are the issues of exploitation. Sarah, without realizing it (or thinks that it's OK to do so), exploits Sonia in a similar way that she exploits Allison. Everything is the means to her end, and Sarah feels justified. Both Allison and Sonia get theirs back in different ways. Both violate her personally for injustices she has perpetrated on them. I think their betrayals are more serious -- understandable but more vicious. Sarah, a woman who doesn't trust anybody, makes the mistake of trusting them both, not realizing the magnitude of their resentment.
Were you inspired by any particular experience, book, or news item in particular?
The concept originated when I was working for Anna Deveare Smith, who is a political performance artist who uses interviews as her source material. I do want to take pains to say that the character is not Anna -- I have used no personal information gained from dealing with her. But I was very influenced by the interview process in general, something that we as an audience take as reality, but in fact, in many ways, it is a performance.
Interview as performance? Do you think interviewers and interviewees adopt roles during the interview itself? How do you think that happens?
Certainly, when you watch someone who knows how to interview, you see a performance. They lean their bodies in or back in a specific way that's meant to get a certain reaction. Often they lean back to say, "You tell me." There's definitely a setting of the scene. The chairs are set up in a specific alignment. They ask the same questions to start off and break the ice, and then they improvise. They're not themselves. They are a blank wall. It's not a conversation.
The interviewed is trying to be the wittiest, most glorious side of herself. (Or in Sonia's case, she shows up with a political story -- her victimization by the police -- because that's what she thinks Sarah wants to hear.) People always tell the same stories because they know they tell them well. But what I was interested in was how Sarah peels away the layers of Sonia to make her tell something that she doesn't tell people -- about her father's murder of her mother.
I think people fall into roles in an interview because of what they want.The interviewer wants a good story. How can they set the person at ease to get the best story? The interviewed wants to be immortalized in the right way. For instance, right now I'm trying to sound erudite -- whereas if you and I were sitting in a bar, I wouldn't think about trying to sound smart. I would just mouth off.
But let me get back to the play's inspiration. One night while working for Anna, i was watching Howard Stern as he interviewed a porn star whose father shot her mother before he killed himself. The two images merged. Porn as real sex vs. reality-based theater and the way one is denigrated by liberals while one is put on a pedestal by the same group of well-educated people.
What parallels do you see between porn as performance and reality-based theater as performance? Why do you think one is elevated and the other is denigrated?
A huge amount of the draw of reality-based theater, especially confessional theater i.e. "This happened to me: this rape, this injustice," is that an audience says, "That really happened. Wow." If it were in a play, if it were fiction, people would say it was unbelievable. But it's real. So it gets more attention and credibility. (Even though seeing a fictional play may be ultimately more satisfying.)
Porn is the same way. Those people are really having sex. (But is porn actually sexier than good fiction?) Porn is great as a metaphor because even though people are really having sex, you can see in the film that it's a job -- the clock is ticking. The connection between art and exploitation is very apparent in porn.
But porn gets a bad name because bad things happen to people involved in it. Doing the research, I read a lot of porn actors defending it, but in general they seemed like scarred survivors. They were drawn to it because of something really deep inside them, and this was how they found solace in some way. Certainly, theater has that same draw. You don't make a lot of money. The hours are long. But you work outside of the "normal world." In fact, most theater people (and porn stars) just can't work in the normal world. It drives them around the bend.
Also, porn is pretty misognynistic. There's a line in the play that is actually a quote from a porn producer: "Men want to come on the faces of women who reject them." But hey, theater is misogynistic, too.
Lastly, there is the sense that one woman shows are often "reality based." For some reason, we don't take women seriously unless they have someone's else's words (or their own tales of victimization) behind them. That was just floated by a feminist professor here when we talked about the play, but I don't know.
How did you research the topic and industry?
There are a lot of great books about porn. The two the influenced me most were "Coming Attractions" and "A Woman's Right to Pornography" -- especially interviews in both books with Nina Hartley, who is one of the Erotic Eleven, the group of porn stars found guilty of pandering and felony lesbianism, which is the event that Sonia has come to talk about.
Tell me more about felony lesbianism. I'm not familiar with that.
I don't know much about it, to be honest. But that's the actual charge in the Erotic Eleven case -- that it's a federal crime to be a lesbian? Or to be a lesbian in public? It could be an old law that didn't get taken off the books.
In terms of interview-based theater, I was influenced by Anna's book, "Talk To Me," but also the play "The Laramie Project," Moises Kaufman's play about the Matthew Shepard murder and the Vagina Monologues. In general, reality TV was getting hot and heavy at the same time, so every week in the New York Times there was another
article about reality-based art.
Was there a particular message you were trying to convey with the play?
This is the first time I've tried to explain the theme of the play so I may be inarticulate. I think I wanted to question the prevalence of reality-based theater -- why do we as an audience buy into it without questioning the agenda? Obviously, a lot of reality-based work has been heavily manipulated by the author, thus making it artifice. Yet we buy it as truth. For me, the play is also about selling a performance and what happens when money enters art. Even the most noble enterprise is exploitative when money enters the picture and an artist makes money off of someone else's words. (Not like they are getting rich or anything, but there is the sense that because their art is good for us, it's OK that they get the copyright and the royalties.) On an elemental basis, I feel we "get off" on the reality on some level. We like the voyeurism of "This is real," not unlike the way we get off on the reality of porn, that sex is really happening. What happens when it is exposed as artifice -- does it lose its impact?
Do you think this is also true for monologists such as Spalding Grey?
I do think so. I love Spalding Gray, but a huge amount of the humor is that you think, "You really did that?" He, as far as I know, doesn't disavow his work as a character. I've only seen two of his pieces, and they seem to be about him. That's a part of what makes them work. He also happens to be a great writer. So is Anna. Eve Ensler, I'm not sold on. And you know a huge amount of the Vagina Monologues is this sense of "Wow! Women really talked about their vaginas like that?" Well, no. They didn't. Eve Ensler changed their words a lot. But I think she actually doesn't make a lot of money off of the Vagina Monologues -- she gives away the royalties, lets schools do it for free, etc.
The pull of reality is still there.
Rock Shows of Note VIII
Went to see the Also-Rans last night at the Middle East Upstairs. They played with Carrigan and True Love Always, and it was the auspicious debut of their new CD EP on SincAudio. Their set was great. Chris and Denny were in fine jump-around form. My only complaint and concern was that Mary's vocals were mixed a tad too low. I could hardly hear her during the loudest moments, and while her detail singing was nice when the point was the male-female counterpoint, she could be a little more up front in the mix.
I left shortly after several of my friends left, sticking around for a couple of songs by Carrigan (I think.). They were OK, but nothing too exciting or impressive.
Went to see the Also-Rans last night at the Middle East Upstairs. They played with Carrigan and True Love Always, and it was the auspicious debut of their new CD EP on SincAudio. Their set was great. Chris and Denny were in fine jump-around form. My only complaint and concern was that Mary's vocals were mixed a tad too low. I could hardly hear her during the loudest moments, and while her detail singing was nice when the point was the male-female counterpoint, she could be a little more up front in the mix.
I left shortly after several of my friends left, sticking around for a couple of songs by Carrigan (I think.). They were OK, but nothing too exciting or impressive.
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
Mention Me! V
A blast from the past, but worth, well, mentioning. This 1995 edition of Small Press Review recounts the panel about zines and reviewing I participated in at the Underground Press Conference in Chicago. Notice the Karl Wenclas mention. He was cranky then, and he's cranky now.
A blast from the past, but worth, well, mentioning. This 1995 edition of Small Press Review recounts the panel about zines and reviewing I participated in at the Underground Press Conference in Chicago. Notice the Karl Wenclas mention. He was cranky then, and he's cranky now.
The Games People Pray
The video game development industry has been hit by the economic downturn, just like most industries. Kurt Squire recently went to the Game Developers Conference, and he reports that moods are mellower, caution has currency, and the slow economy is encouraging experimentation. The rest of the business world could learn from these technology developers often viewed incorrectly as hobbyists.
The video game development industry has been hit by the economic downturn, just like most industries. Kurt Squire recently went to the Game Developers Conference, and he reports that moods are mellower, caution has currency, and the slow economy is encouraging experimentation. The rest of the business world could learn from these technology developers often viewed incorrectly as hobbyists.
Back-Issue Bombshell
Let's say you read and collect comic books. Let's say your house was broken into and your comics were stolen two years ago. Let's say you think the thieves hocked your comics at a local comic shop. Would you barricade yourself in the store armed with explosives and threaten to blow up the back issues and shop staff?
Gosh, I hope not.
Let's say you read and collect comic books. Let's say your house was broken into and your comics were stolen two years ago. Let's say you think the thieves hocked your comics at a local comic shop. Would you barricade yourself in the store armed with explosives and threaten to blow up the back issues and shop staff?
Gosh, I hope not.
The Movie I Watched Last Night XIII
Sorry to take so long to publish these. I wrote 'em before, but then my browser froze. Bad browser! Bad! Even moments ago, after I'd written the previous sentences, my browser crashed. I think it's a conspiracy. A conspiracy against the movies.
Tuesday: V: The Original Miniseries
This originally aired in 1983, when I was 10. And it blew my mind. My friend Richie and I would cut V ads out of TV Guide and tape them to our bedroom doors. The book terrified me. On TV, Diana was the hottest. Mike was my hero -- and probably my inspiration to become a journalist. (Just kidding.) But watching this again on DVD almost 20 years later, I'm impressed. The story holds up well. The production isn't awful, given the year it was made. And I now understand layers of the story that completely flew over my head when I saw V as a kid. What did I miss? While I got the whole War of the Worlds-style alien invasion elements and the political realities of the resulting police state, I didn't understand the Holocaust allusions (even the blatant Anne Frank homage) or the McCarthy parallels of the ostracization of the scientists. V was a miniseries ahead of its time, and it takes the test of time well. Worth revisiting.
Wednesday: American Beauty
About time I watch this 1999 Oscar winner, eh? And just before A Beautiful Mind snagged its awards, too. Not sure why I waited so long. The movie is excellent in terms of balancing the tensions and edge of the solid characterizations and plotline with an understated, almost-hesitant subtlety. This movie could've gone over the top. Instead, the cast takes us just below the horizon, hinting at what's over the top, but restraining and refraining from overplaying their hand. The story's your basic male midlife crisis narrative (My friend Alex said, "It's such a man's movie!"), but it's really the story of self-examination, self-discovery, and self-expression. While it's a slight shame that Kevin Spacey's character reverts to teenage boyhood, the overall message is good: Know yourself. Then let others know who you are. Keeping secrets and quelling emotions doesn't help anyone. Even if it nets you an Oscar.
Sorry to take so long to publish these. I wrote 'em before, but then my browser froze. Bad browser! Bad! Even moments ago, after I'd written the previous sentences, my browser crashed. I think it's a conspiracy. A conspiracy against the movies.
Tuesday: V: The Original Miniseries
This originally aired in 1983, when I was 10. And it blew my mind. My friend Richie and I would cut V ads out of TV Guide and tape them to our bedroom doors. The book terrified me. On TV, Diana was the hottest. Mike was my hero -- and probably my inspiration to become a journalist. (Just kidding.) But watching this again on DVD almost 20 years later, I'm impressed. The story holds up well. The production isn't awful, given the year it was made. And I now understand layers of the story that completely flew over my head when I saw V as a kid. What did I miss? While I got the whole War of the Worlds-style alien invasion elements and the political realities of the resulting police state, I didn't understand the Holocaust allusions (even the blatant Anne Frank homage) or the McCarthy parallels of the ostracization of the scientists. V was a miniseries ahead of its time, and it takes the test of time well. Worth revisiting.
Wednesday: American Beauty
About time I watch this 1999 Oscar winner, eh? And just before A Beautiful Mind snagged its awards, too. Not sure why I waited so long. The movie is excellent in terms of balancing the tensions and edge of the solid characterizations and plotline with an understated, almost-hesitant subtlety. This movie could've gone over the top. Instead, the cast takes us just below the horizon, hinting at what's over the top, but restraining and refraining from overplaying their hand. The story's your basic male midlife crisis narrative (My friend Alex said, "It's such a man's movie!"), but it's really the story of self-examination, self-discovery, and self-expression. While it's a slight shame that Kevin Spacey's character reverts to teenage boyhood, the overall message is good: Know yourself. Then let others know who you are. Keeping secrets and quelling emotions doesn't help anyone. Even if it nets you an Oscar.
From the In Box: Off-Site Insight
You could always hit up the Portland Phoenix for activities.
Oh, watch out for dog poop. There is, or was, a severe poop problem up there last time I visited. And if the weather's warm and the sidewalks get damp... you get the picture.
I'm not a big fan of Portland myself. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, offers a much better experience with an hour less driving time involved. Go to Portsmouth, have a meal at the Friendly Toast, have colorful drinks at the King Tiki, hang out in the park overlooking the water, listen to music at the Press Room, buy music at Bull Moose Music, window shop, drive into Maine and get yourself lost in Kittery and York.
Or maybe you've been there before. -- Matt Saunders
I have been there before -- lost in Kittery and York, that is. Never been to Portsmouth. Some context for Media Dieticians. Matt was in a phenomenal beat pop band called the Oscillators when he lived in New Hampshire. Now he's rocking out with the Also-Rans, who have a show tonight at the Middle East Upstairs. Be there or be somewhere else.
In the meantime, I'll save Portsmouth for my next existential explosion off-site site.
You could always hit up the Portland Phoenix for activities.
Oh, watch out for dog poop. There is, or was, a severe poop problem up there last time I visited. And if the weather's warm and the sidewalks get damp... you get the picture.
I'm not a big fan of Portland myself. Portsmouth, New Hampshire, offers a much better experience with an hour less driving time involved. Go to Portsmouth, have a meal at the Friendly Toast, have colorful drinks at the King Tiki, hang out in the park overlooking the water, listen to music at the Press Room, buy music at Bull Moose Music, window shop, drive into Maine and get yourself lost in Kittery and York.
Or maybe you've been there before. -- Matt Saunders
I have been there before -- lost in Kittery and York, that is. Never been to Portsmouth. Some context for Media Dieticians. Matt was in a phenomenal beat pop band called the Oscillators when he lived in New Hampshire. Now he's rocking out with the Also-Rans, who have a show tonight at the Middle East Upstairs. Be there or be somewhere else.
In the meantime, I'll save Portsmouth for my next existential explosion off-site site.
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World V
Nike gets written up in today's Globe for beginning a guerrilla marketing and T station domination play in Boston leading up to the Boston Marathon. Nike's under fire for trumping Adidas, an official sponsor of the marathon, and for making an end run around the race's marketing rules. Instead of signing up to support the marathon (which it couldn't do, given Adidas' presence), Nike turned to the MBTA, ponying up $75,000 to dominate the Bay Back T station, which is near the planned finish line. Adidas, slower out of the starting gate, won't start its area marketing and station domination of Park Street until April 1. Fools.
Nike gets written up in today's Globe for beginning a guerrilla marketing and T station domination play in Boston leading up to the Boston Marathon. Nike's under fire for trumping Adidas, an official sponsor of the marathon, and for making an end run around the race's marketing rules. Instead of signing up to support the marathon (which it couldn't do, given Adidas' presence), Nike turned to the MBTA, ponying up $75,000 to dominate the Bay Back T station, which is near the planned finish line. Adidas, slower out of the starting gate, won't start its area marketing and station domination of Park Street until April 1. Fools.
Rules for Fools III
Rule No. 5: If you don't put coffee grounds in the coffee maker, you won't make coffee -- just hot, dingy water.
I'm at work "early" this morning -- 8:30 a.m. -- for a morning meeting with one of the founding editors. And while I got a good night's sleep last night after moving my boxes to Joe's house, I'm a little slow this morning. Just made coffee without adding the packet of grounds. I haven't done anything like that in a looong time.
Rule No. 5: If you don't put coffee grounds in the coffee maker, you won't make coffee -- just hot, dingy water.
I'm at work "early" this morning -- 8:30 a.m. -- for a morning meeting with one of the founding editors. And while I got a good night's sleep last night after moving my boxes to Joe's house, I'm a little slow this morning. Just made coffee without adding the packet of grounds. I haven't done anything like that in a looong time.
Monday, March 25, 2002
Off-Site Insight
Inspired in part by a recent Fast Company off-site and a conversation with Mike Wittenstein this afternoon, I'm going to go to Portland, Maine, this weekend for a little personal break from Boston -- and some introspection and reflection.
If you have any suggestions of things to do or places to go in Portland, let me know.
Inspired in part by a recent Fast Company off-site and a conversation with Mike Wittenstein this afternoon, I'm going to go to Portland, Maine, this weekend for a little personal break from Boston -- and some introspection and reflection.
If you have any suggestions of things to do or places to go in Portland, let me know.
Existential Explosion!
I'm in the midst of a little crisis of faith. What do you do when you start to question who you are, much less what you're doing? Right now I'm not sure whether I
like my self
like my life
like my job
like my friends
Yesterday I was all jazzed about just dumping everything and moving to an island off the coast of Maine. I'd have to take a ferry to the mainland, and I'm sure Net access would be a challenge, but I think I've got a lot of existential dust that needs to settle.
I'm in the midst of a little crisis of faith. What do you do when you start to question who you are, much less what you're doing? Right now I'm not sure whether I
Yesterday I was all jazzed about just dumping everything and moving to an island off the coast of Maine. I'd have to take a ferry to the mainland, and I'm sure Net access would be a challenge, but I think I've got a lot of existential dust that needs to settle.
Antisocial Anomaly II
Oh. I also skipped the Beantown Zinetown zines and comics fest this past weekend. Sorry TD. I said I'd help work the Highwater Books table.
Oh. I also skipped the Beantown Zinetown zines and comics fest this past weekend. Sorry TD. I said I'd help work the Highwater Books table.
From the In Box: Rabble Rall-ser II
I didn't draw them. I can't draw. -- Jim Treacher
Jim's right. I was less than accurate. Clip-Art Nonsense strips are clip-art comics. Jim didn't draw the clip art. But he did create and write the comics.
I didn't draw them. I can't draw. -- Jim Treacher
Jim's right. I was less than accurate. Clip-Art Nonsense strips are clip-art comics. Jim didn't draw the clip art. But he did create and write the comics.
Dollars for Dougnuts
Woke with the sun around 6 a.m. today, but didn't get up and out until a little after 8 -- I've really been enjoying the sun and cool breezes with bird song these recent mornings... as well as no real need to get into work at a specific time. I used to sleep in because of the ex. Now I just sleep in because I can.
Skipped breakfast at home despite some fresh bananas on the fridge to get to work as quickly as I could, stopping at the Haymarket Dunkin' Donuts for a glazed cruller and a blueberry cake doughnut. I haven't broken fast at a Dunkin' Donuts for about a year. There was a time when I'd alternate mornings between Dunkin' Donuts and a cafe/deli near work for an egg and cheese English muffin.
But you know what? Dunkin' Donuts isn't very good. I know it's the predominant doughnut chain in New England. And I know that some people in the area absolutely love Dunkin' Donuts, even the coffee. I don't think I do. I'd much rather have a Krispy Kreme or a doughnut from the little bakery on the way to Bear Skin Neck in Rockport. And this morning, I'd even rather have had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios at home.
Dunkin' Donuts: Blech.
Woke with the sun around 6 a.m. today, but didn't get up and out until a little after 8 -- I've really been enjoying the sun and cool breezes with bird song these recent mornings... as well as no real need to get into work at a specific time. I used to sleep in because of the ex. Now I just sleep in because I can.
Skipped breakfast at home despite some fresh bananas on the fridge to get to work as quickly as I could, stopping at the Haymarket Dunkin' Donuts for a glazed cruller and a blueberry cake doughnut. I haven't broken fast at a Dunkin' Donuts for about a year. There was a time when I'd alternate mornings between Dunkin' Donuts and a cafe/deli near work for an egg and cheese English muffin.
But you know what? Dunkin' Donuts isn't very good. I know it's the predominant doughnut chain in New England. And I know that some people in the area absolutely love Dunkin' Donuts, even the coffee. I don't think I do. I'd much rather have a Krispy Kreme or a doughnut from the little bakery on the way to Bear Skin Neck in Rockport. And this morning, I'd even rather have had a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios at home.
Dunkin' Donuts: Blech.
Antisocial Anomaly
This weekend was a very antisocial weekend. Sure, I hung out with Alex on Friday night. Sure, I went to the comic shop and Charlie's (chatted with Anne!) on Saturday. But otherwise, I was housebound. Skipped the Chicks on Speed show Saturday night. Skipped three shows -- Lawrence Arms, River City Rebels, a show at the Kendall -- Sunday to go the grocery store, do laundry, sit on the big blue couch, and read a lot of magazines. Sent out Easter cards. Finished a couple of books I've been taking my time to read.
While I'm sure my antisocial weekend was OK, I feel weird today. Kinda like the weekend didn't happen. Kinda distant because of the silence of friends. Kinda like I should've been a little less antisocial.
This weekend was a very antisocial weekend. Sure, I hung out with Alex on Friday night. Sure, I went to the comic shop and Charlie's (chatted with Anne!) on Saturday. But otherwise, I was housebound. Skipped the Chicks on Speed show Saturday night. Skipped three shows -- Lawrence Arms, River City Rebels, a show at the Kendall -- Sunday to go the grocery store, do laundry, sit on the big blue couch, and read a lot of magazines. Sent out Easter cards. Finished a couple of books I've been taking my time to read.
While I'm sure my antisocial weekend was OK, I feel weird today. Kinda like the weekend didn't happen. Kinda distant because of the silence of friends. Kinda like I should've been a little less antisocial.
Friday, March 22, 2002
Teens on Media
The March 2002 issue of New Youth Connections is a special "Taking on the Media" issue and contains several articles written by teens taking journalists to task in terms of covering international events -- and teen magazines for being too obsessed with looks. (To its credit, YM magazine will no longer publish articles about dieting, starting with the April 2002 issue.) The issue also features a critique of hip-hop and R&B videos.
The March 2002 issue of New Youth Connections is a special "Taking on the Media" issue and contains several articles written by teens taking journalists to task in terms of covering international events -- and teen magazines for being too obsessed with looks. (To its credit, YM magazine will no longer publish articles about dieting, starting with the April 2002 issue.) The issue also features a critique of hip-hop and R&B videos.
Magazine Me VIII
Why am I learning about this for the first time in the April issue of Esquire?
A Magazine That Scares Us
R.U. Sirius calls himself a zeitgeist idiot savant. In 1989 he founded Mondo 2000, the prescient tech journal whose influence far exceeded its circulation, and now he's executive editor of The Thresher, a fiery new political magazine whose first issue, published several months before September 11, contained an interview with Hot Zone author Richard Preston about biological warfare, excerpt from a new book on the militarization of domestic law enforcement, and an essay asserting that "a modern [American] president has to kill lots and lots of people." We don't know what's in the second issue, but it comes out this month. Brace yourself.
It used to be that I'd know about these things. I must be losing my touch. Since September? Sheesh.
Why am I learning about this for the first time in the April issue of Esquire?
A Magazine That Scares Us
R.U. Sirius calls himself a zeitgeist idiot savant. In 1989 he founded Mondo 2000, the prescient tech journal whose influence far exceeded its circulation, and now he's executive editor of The Thresher, a fiery new political magazine whose first issue, published several months before September 11, contained an interview with Hot Zone author Richard Preston about biological warfare, excerpt from a new book on the militarization of domestic law enforcement, and an essay asserting that "a modern [American] president has to kill lots and lots of people." We don't know what's in the second issue, but it comes out this month. Brace yourself.
It used to be that I'd know about these things. I must be losing my touch. Since September? Sheesh.
Pieces, Particles
The following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.
The Building of a Bombshell, by Stephen Rebello, Movieline, April 2002 (?)
No one packaged mass seduction like old-time Hollywood, but getting actresses to look the part was hardly an overnight achievement.
Notes from a Parallel Universe, by Jennifer Kahn, Discover, April 2002
Inside the X-Files at the University of California at Berkeley, the line between theory and fantasy, science and supposition, starts to dissolve. The authors of these dissertations are obsessed -- and scientists are nearly as obsessed with them.
Shopping Rebellion, by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, March 18, 2002
What the kids want.
Top Maine Videos, by Paul Doiron, Down East, April 2002
The only way to find out if any of these widely touted video tapes about the Pine Tree State is worth watching -- or buying -- is to sit down and watch them all. Which I did.
If you work for a magazine and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
The following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.
The Building of a Bombshell, by Stephen Rebello, Movieline, April 2002 (?)
No one packaged mass seduction like old-time Hollywood, but getting actresses to look the part was hardly an overnight achievement.
Notes from a Parallel Universe, by Jennifer Kahn, Discover, April 2002
Inside the X-Files at the University of California at Berkeley, the line between theory and fantasy, science and supposition, starts to dissolve. The authors of these dissertations are obsessed -- and scientists are nearly as obsessed with them.
Shopping Rebellion, by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, March 18, 2002
What the kids want.
Top Maine Videos, by Paul Doiron, Down East, April 2002
The only way to find out if any of these widely touted video tapes about the Pine Tree State is worth watching -- or buying -- is to sit down and watch them all. Which I did.
If you work for a magazine and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left.
It's An Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World IV
After announcing that it plans to buy Greendale, Wisconsin-based Reiman Publications, home of ad-free, folksy magazines such as Country Woman and Farm & Ranch Living, Reader's Digest Association Inc. also announced that it will not introduce advertising to Reiman's already successful publishing efforts.
Checking Reiman's stable of magazines, I notice that they don't publish any titles that begin with "m." I bet that's why. All the "m" magazines are getting ads these days.
After announcing that it plans to buy Greendale, Wisconsin-based Reiman Publications, home of ad-free, folksy magazines such as Country Woman and Farm & Ranch Living, Reader's Digest Association Inc. also announced that it will not introduce advertising to Reiman's already successful publishing efforts.
Checking Reiman's stable of magazines, I notice that they don't publish any titles that begin with "m." I bet that's why. All the "m" magazines are getting ads these days.
Big Brother Is Watching IV
Attention tourists: In Washington, DC, the National Park Service will install 24-7 surveillance cameras at all major monuments on the Mall. Supporters of the plan say that the cameras will be placed in "public areas where there is no expectation of privacy," but civil libertarians are concerned that camera placement will discourage public protests, demonstrations, and other direct action.
If anything, the Park Service is opening a new open-air theater for the Surveillance Camera Players. Now we can save our protests for posterity!
Attention tourists: In Washington, DC, the National Park Service will install 24-7 surveillance cameras at all major monuments on the Mall. Supporters of the plan say that the cameras will be placed in "public areas where there is no expectation of privacy," but civil libertarians are concerned that camera placement will discourage public protests, demonstrations, and other direct action.
If anything, the Park Service is opening a new open-air theater for the Surveillance Camera Players. Now we can save our protests for posterity!
Comics Commotion
Lev Yilmaz has created 17 Quicktime movies of him drawing comics while narrating what he terms "Tales of Mere Existence." His approach to real-time animation -- drawing while filming -- is quite innovative and attention-holding, and his narration is deadpan yet thought-provoking. My favorite movies so far? "Cigarettes" and "Branding." Make with the clicky click!
Lev Yilmaz has created 17 Quicktime movies of him drawing comics while narrating what he terms "Tales of Mere Existence." His approach to real-time animation -- drawing while filming -- is quite innovative and attention-holding, and his narration is deadpan yet thought-provoking. My favorite movies so far? "Cigarettes" and "Branding." Make with the clicky click!
Blogging About Blogging XVII
Paul Boutin is brilliant. On Wednesday he threw down the gauntlet and ran the gantlet, posting an entry titled "Bloggers Vs. Journalists." It's the most insightful look at the recent skirmishes between traditional, print-based journalists and columnists and the upstart bloggers practicing "way new journalism." Many mainstream journalists think blogs are quaint -- echoes of the coverage zines received in the mid-'90s ("Oh, look! They're trying to make their own little magazine!"). And many bloggers -- myself included, given what I've posted in response to John Dvorak's recent piece in PC Magazine -- think that mainstream journos just don't get it.
Paul suggests that the two camps are closer than we think and that, like Maddie and David in Moonlighting, we're going to slap each other in the face only to collapse into each other's arms with a passionate embrace. Easily said by a writer who contributes to print publications and maintains his own infrequent blog (Paul) -- and easily digested by another writer who does the same (me). Over the course of the piece, Paul considers the slightly incestuous viral nature of blogging in terms of people responding to people's responses to people's opinions, the value of grassroots journalism on the Web, and the threat blogs pose to opinion columnists. Brilliant.
Thanks to Joe Sizzle for bringing this to my attention.
Paul Boutin is brilliant. On Wednesday he threw down the gauntlet and ran the gantlet, posting an entry titled "Bloggers Vs. Journalists." It's the most insightful look at the recent skirmishes between traditional, print-based journalists and columnists and the upstart bloggers practicing "way new journalism." Many mainstream journalists think blogs are quaint -- echoes of the coverage zines received in the mid-'90s ("Oh, look! They're trying to make their own little magazine!"). And many bloggers -- myself included, given what I've posted in response to John Dvorak's recent piece in PC Magazine -- think that mainstream journos just don't get it.
Paul suggests that the two camps are closer than we think and that, like Maddie and David in Moonlighting, we're going to slap each other in the face only to collapse into each other's arms with a passionate embrace. Easily said by a writer who contributes to print publications and maintains his own infrequent blog (Paul) -- and easily digested by another writer who does the same (me). Over the course of the piece, Paul considers the slightly incestuous viral nature of blogging in terms of people responding to people's responses to people's opinions, the value of grassroots journalism on the Web, and the threat blogs pose to opinion columnists. Brilliant.
Thanks to Joe Sizzle for bringing this to my attention.
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World III
James Lileks' Orphanage of Cast-Off Mascots features more than 20 marketing mascots once used widely in newspaper and magazine advertisements. The problem, Lileks says, is that when products and companies go away, they leave their mascots behind -- unemployed and orphaned. So he's digging into the microfilm archives of Minneapolis newspapers to unearth mascots such as Mr. Coffee Nerves, the Coughing-Fit Brothers, and Happy Egg. If you're interested, you can even adopt them. While it seems that the site hasn't been updated since early 2001, I hope that Lileks continues his fine work. Email him some encouragement.
James Lileks' Orphanage of Cast-Off Mascots features more than 20 marketing mascots once used widely in newspaper and magazine advertisements. The problem, Lileks says, is that when products and companies go away, they leave their mascots behind -- unemployed and orphaned. So he's digging into the microfilm archives of Minneapolis newspapers to unearth mascots such as Mr. Coffee Nerves, the Coughing-Fit Brothers, and Happy Egg. If you're interested, you can even adopt them. While it seems that the site hasn't been updated since early 2001, I hope that Lileks continues his fine work. Email him some encouragement.
White Collar Crime
Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, writing for the Multinational Monitor, challenge President Bush's 10-point plan to "improve corporate responsibility and help protect America's shareholders" in the wake of Enron, Global Crossing, and Arthur Andersen. Their beef? That the plan includes nothing new -- that the federal government already can, should -- but for some reason -- won't enforce laws already on the books.
Mokhiber and Weissman take the Treasury Department, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (which created guidelines for sentencing corporate criminals just 10 years ago), and Capitol Hill to task, saying that Bush can make all the points he wants -- but that if the government doesn't have the willpower to enforce existing laws, involving the public in the process, chances are slim to none that big business will show the willpower to abide by those laws.
Russell Mokhiber and Robert Weissman, writing for the Multinational Monitor, challenge President Bush's 10-point plan to "improve corporate responsibility and help protect America's shareholders" in the wake of Enron, Global Crossing, and Arthur Andersen. Their beef? That the plan includes nothing new -- that the federal government already can, should -- but for some reason -- won't enforce laws already on the books.
Mokhiber and Weissman take the Treasury Department, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (which created guidelines for sentencing corporate criminals just 10 years ago), and Capitol Hill to task, saying that Bush can make all the points he wants -- but that if the government doesn't have the willpower to enforce existing laws, involving the public in the process, chances are slim to none that big business will show the willpower to abide by those laws.
Thursday, March 21, 2002
Rabble Rall-ser III
Another Ted Rall roundup courtesy of Jim Treacher. Conservative columnist Alan Keyes contributed a column to MSNBC last week suggesting that editorial cartoons such as Rall's recent work shouldn't be covered by the first amendment. The column even includes the shockingly mutually exclusive subhead "Pornography and Patriotism," which heads a section in which Keyes contends that Rall's work is pornographic, not debate or civic discourse. Rall's work pornographic? I've got your pornography right here, Mr. Keyes.
The Association for American Editorial Cartoonists has released a statement in Rall's defense, and in Comicon.com's Splash section, Rall responds to Keyes' commentary via some Comicon reportage:
The SPLASH tracked down Ted Rall in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where he is currently on assignment for Gear magazine. Rall told the SPLASH: "Alan Keyes has proven that if you scratch some right-winger there's a fascist lurking underneath. His proposal to submit opinions to government censors smacks of totalitarianism of the highest order; he evidently despises everything that America stands for and would love to see a Nazi-style regime imposed here."
Rall went on to say: "Furthermore, his assertion that my little cartoon is weakening America's resolve regarding the war on terror is laughable to the point of absurdity. First of all, any war effort that could be derailed by a political cartoon probably doesn't have much support to sustain it. Second of all, many Americans -- like me -- see the 'war on terror' for what it is. This isn't about making us safer; it's about scoring a few bucks for Bush's rich friends while making more and more foreigners hate our guts. I doubt there'll be any more 'resolve' for this cynical enterprise than there was for Vietnam once the truth gets out."
Another Ted Rall roundup courtesy of Jim Treacher. Conservative columnist Alan Keyes contributed a column to MSNBC last week suggesting that editorial cartoons such as Rall's recent work shouldn't be covered by the first amendment. The column even includes the shockingly mutually exclusive subhead "Pornography and Patriotism," which heads a section in which Keyes contends that Rall's work is pornographic, not debate or civic discourse. Rall's work pornographic? I've got your pornography right here, Mr. Keyes.
The Association for American Editorial Cartoonists has released a statement in Rall's defense, and in Comicon.com's Splash section, Rall responds to Keyes' commentary via some Comicon reportage:
The SPLASH tracked down Ted Rall in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, where he is currently on assignment for Gear magazine. Rall told the SPLASH: "Alan Keyes has proven that if you scratch some right-winger there's a fascist lurking underneath. His proposal to submit opinions to government censors smacks of totalitarianism of the highest order; he evidently despises everything that America stands for and would love to see a Nazi-style regime imposed here."
Rall went on to say: "Furthermore, his assertion that my little cartoon is weakening America's resolve regarding the war on terror is laughable to the point of absurdity. First of all, any war effort that could be derailed by a political cartoon probably doesn't have much support to sustain it. Second of all, many Americans -- like me -- see the 'war on terror' for what it is. This isn't about making us safer; it's about scoring a few bucks for Bush's rich friends while making more and more foreigners hate our guts. I doubt there'll be any more 'resolve' for this cynical enterprise than there was for Vietnam once the truth gets out."
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World II
Maybe this is a sickness specific to magazines with names starting with the letter "m," but following in the footsteps of Mad, Ms. magazine, which has been ad free for more than a decade, will soon accept ads. But it's going one better than AOL-Time-Warner-owned Mad. Ms. will become a nonprofit and only accept ads from nonprofit companies.
The magazine, which will soon move from New York to Beverly Hills, hardly a hot spot for feminism, will publish quarterly -- eventually moving to a bimonthly schedule in a year.
Thanks to Clint Schaff for the head's up.
Maybe this is a sickness specific to magazines with names starting with the letter "m," but following in the footsteps of Mad, Ms. magazine, which has been ad free for more than a decade, will soon accept ads. But it's going one better than AOL-Time-Warner-owned Mad. Ms. will become a nonprofit and only accept ads from nonprofit companies.
The magazine, which will soon move from New York to Beverly Hills, hardly a hot spot for feminism, will publish quarterly -- eventually moving to a bimonthly schedule in a year.
Thanks to Clint Schaff for the head's up.
Read Letter Day
An email today from Ben Russell, columns editor for PopImage, reminded me that I haven't visited the site for awhile. Checking in, I came across an interview with Nate Piekos of Blambot Design Services. He shares his experiences designing fonts, lettering comics, and his own self-publishing projects.
Letterers are often the unsung heroes -- sometimes deservedly so given the current state of crappy computer lettering -- of the comics world. Nate has a good head for what works, why, and how others can learn how to do it themselves.
An email today from Ben Russell, columns editor for PopImage, reminded me that I haven't visited the site for awhile. Checking in, I came across an interview with Nate Piekos of Blambot Design Services. He shares his experiences designing fonts, lettering comics, and his own self-publishing projects.
Letterers are often the unsung heroes -- sometimes deservedly so given the current state of crappy computer lettering -- of the comics world. Nate has a good head for what works, why, and how others can learn how to do it themselves.
In Your Face, Cyberspace!
It's been awhile since I've been interested in or followed the policy debates of ICANN, the IETF, and the EFF, but a recent Nettime transmission struck my fancy. I reprint the following statement with the permission of its author, John Perry Barlow.
The Accra Manifesto
Accra, Ghana
Tuesday, March 12, 2002
(revised Wednesday, March 13, 2002)
Since its beginnings, Cyberspace has provided new approaches for the benign ordering of human affairs. As we begin to develop institutions to govern the digital world, we must avoid returning to industrial models that have generally failed in the analog world to assure equity, liberty, and human inclusion. Instead, let us build upon the promise of what has already proven effective in this social experiment.
The paramount governing values that have so far emerged in this grand collective enterprise are openness, inclusion, technical practicality, emergent form, decentralization, transparency, tolerance, diversity, and a fierce willingness to defend free expression and the preservation of identity. These are appropriate values. They are working.
They should be allowed to go on working, both in the eventual systems for allocating domain names and numbers and in all other matters of Cyberspace governance. Neither the current operations of ICANN nor the current proposal put forward by its president appear to place much faith in them.
Cyberspace has thus far been an environment where architecture is politics. ICANN has turned this practical formulation on its head by attempting to make politics architecture.
To assist in designing a governing process that will promote these values and thus direct us toward the future and away from the past the undersigned propose the following to the ICANN meeting in Accra:
Cyberspace is not a place. It is a dialog of cultures. We believe that if ICANN were to adopt the above principles, it might, through light-handed arbitration of real, rather than projected, problems, acquire the moral authority that has so far evaded it. We fear that if it fails to consider the concerns that have driven us to make this declaration, it will find itself in the unenviable position of trying to impose its will on a global community with neither a mandate nor force of arms. At best, it will become irrelevant as the citizens of Cyberspace develop methods to work around it. At worst, it will be directly dangerous to the health of the Internet. The chaos that might follow either development will not serve our descendents well.
While many of the undersigned do not accept every single one of the above statements, we are in sufficient agreement with the spirit of this statement that we hereby attach our names and hope that the governing board of ICANN will make a sincere effort to incorporate its beliefs and adopt its recommendations.
John Perry Barlow, co-founder and vice chairman, Electronic Frontier Foundation
It's been awhile since I've been interested in or followed the policy debates of ICANN, the IETF, and the EFF, but a recent Nettime transmission struck my fancy. I reprint the following statement with the permission of its author, John Perry Barlow.
The Accra Manifesto
Accra, Ghana
Tuesday, March 12, 2002
(revised Wednesday, March 13, 2002)
Since its beginnings, Cyberspace has provided new approaches for the benign ordering of human affairs. As we begin to develop institutions to govern the digital world, we must avoid returning to industrial models that have generally failed in the analog world to assure equity, liberty, and human inclusion. Instead, let us build upon the promise of what has already proven effective in this social experiment.
The paramount governing values that have so far emerged in this grand collective enterprise are openness, inclusion, technical practicality, emergent form, decentralization, transparency, tolerance, diversity, and a fierce willingness to defend free expression and the preservation of identity. These are appropriate values. They are working.
They should be allowed to go on working, both in the eventual systems for allocating domain names and numbers and in all other matters of Cyberspace governance. Neither the current operations of ICANN nor the current proposal put forward by its president appear to place much faith in them.
Cyberspace has thus far been an environment where architecture is politics. ICANN has turned this practical formulation on its head by attempting to make politics architecture.
To assist in designing a governing process that will promote these values and thus direct us toward the future and away from the past the undersigned propose the following to the ICANN meeting in Accra:
- It appears to us that ICANN has so far failed to generate the moral authority necessary to govern an environment where authority must be based on the general respect of the governed rather than its ability to impose solutions by fiat.
- It has failed for a variety of reasons. Chief among these are its impulse to adapt existing and mechanical models of government to a social space that cannot easily be coerced into submission. It attempts to impose government instead of proposing governance.
- ICANN is overly centralized and, by virtue of its incorporation in the United States and its practical dependency on American contractors, perpetuates the dangerous belief that the Internet is an American environment. We believe that root should not be based in the U.S.
- ICANN was established in a gray area of institutional reality that makes it nearly invulnerable to legal or political rebuke. If ICANN were a function of the U.S. Government, at least it could be brought into court and held accountable for unconstitutional behavior. The current structure provides almost no opportunity for redress in the area of domain names and none at all in the area of domain numbering. It's power is vast and growing. Its accountability is small and shrinking.
- By abandoning the simple and fair system of "first come, first served" domain name allocation that served the Internet well from the beginning, ICANN has created a quagmire of unnecessary disputes and suppressed expression, and has irrationally conflated trademark law with domain assignment.
- Efforts to turn Cyberspace into a traditional democracy, however laudable in principle, may never work well in a social space where it is extremely difficult to define either the electorate or a credible system whereby the people might express their will. Nonetheless, public representation on the board is so important that we can't afford to give up on it. It would be well to remember that democracy is more than a mechanical process of providing that every single member of a constituency has a say. Rather it is a system of governance that seeks the consent of the governed, however that assent is conveyed. To assure that ICANN is democratic in this sense, there must be a low entry barrier to unofficial involvement its decision-making processes, and, possibly, a decentralized, community based system for selecting "at large" board members.
- The current proposal before ICANN would fix this problem by inserting existing nation states into a space where they have no natural sovereignty. While this might, at first pass, lend the popular accountability of governments to its processes, it's likely to result in a system as ineffectual as the ITU or the United Nations. Further, given the wave of negative reaction to the Lynn proposal, its adoption would likely further reduce ICANN's credibility.
- ICANN, by its cumbersome deliberative processes, already slows the adoption of new technology and might prevent the timely alteration of the technical underpinnings of the Internet in the event of an impending collapse of the system. The addition of even more ponderous governments to the stew of authority would only exacerbate the potential for failure.
- The current structure of the root servers, as documented in the MDR meeting, has the servers distributed between government, commercial, academic, and non-profit organizations distributed around the world. Such a structure is highly resistant to capture and leads to the robustness and diversity of the Internet. One possible outcome of the Lynn proposal is that the root servers are contractually bound to a single organization. This inherently is less stable and more susceptible to capture than the current structure which should be protected as a fundamental architectural principle.
- The best way to assure inclusion is to derive systems that are easy for those governed to understand. ICANN is already too complex in its practices to admit informed participation. The Lynn proposal would only add to this complexity.
- The IETF once provided a good model for governing processes that are well-suited to Cyberspace. It was a system for governance by ideas, rather than by people, laws, or "stake-holders," in that the most elegant solutions were adopted by the consensus of a self-defining community, regardless of the standing of those who proposed them. That the IETF has become less successful in solving problems results less from a flaw in this model than its having been high-jacked by corporate interests. ICANN, in its original design and current state, ignores the value of these proven approaches.
- To address these failures, we propose that ICANN decentralize and convey operational authority to the communities that naturally define themselves around the top-level domains, restricting its duties to the resolution of disputes that cannot be resolved within the communities. In other words, we believe that ICANN should become a loose confederation of autonomous domains, rather like the federal government of the United States during Jefferson's time.
- Prior to delegating its operational functions to the domains, we believe that ICANN might demonstrate its understanding of these principles by defining at least two new public domains. Among these we suggest .lib (for libraries) and .pub (for entities, whether organizations or individuals, working for the common good). It is our belief that the systems of self-governance such communities are likely to develop might serve to instruct other domains in the ordering of their own affairs.
- One of the areas where existing systems of government have worked, to varying degrees of effectiveness, has been in conveying and preserving such human rights as free expression and protection from unchecked corporate self-interest. ICANN might have a continued role in directing itself to the assurance of such rights in Cyberspace. A reformed ICANN might also propose broad policies and technical solutions, but would do so as respected leaders and not as a junta.
- The previously existing systems for governance in Cyberspace have shown the practical efficiency of fixing only that which is broken. This is a principle ICANN would do well to emulate.
Cyberspace is not a place. It is a dialog of cultures. We believe that if ICANN were to adopt the above principles, it might, through light-handed arbitration of real, rather than projected, problems, acquire the moral authority that has so far evaded it. We fear that if it fails to consider the concerns that have driven us to make this declaration, it will find itself in the unenviable position of trying to impose its will on a global community with neither a mandate nor force of arms. At best, it will become irrelevant as the citizens of Cyberspace develop methods to work around it. At worst, it will be directly dangerous to the health of the Internet. The chaos that might follow either development will not serve our descendents well.
While many of the undersigned do not accept every single one of the above statements, we are in sufficient agreement with the spirit of this statement that we hereby attach our names and hope that the governing board of ICANN will make a sincere effort to incorporate its beliefs and adopt its recommendations.
John Perry Barlow, co-founder and vice chairman, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians
Not only did Cardhouse celebrate its seventh anniversary yesterday, but today's the birthday of Media Dietician Tom Hopkins.
He wished me a happy birthday late last month, and I'd like to do the same here: Happy birthday Tom!
File under guestimonials, courtesy of Tom: "Crikey! I'm having a hard time keeping up with Media Diet. You're blogging warp speed!"
Are you having a hard time keeping up? Discuss.
Not only did Cardhouse celebrate its seventh anniversary yesterday, but today's the birthday of Media Dietician Tom Hopkins.
He wished me a happy birthday late last month, and I'd like to do the same here: Happy birthday Tom!
File under guestimonials, courtesy of Tom: "Crikey! I'm having a hard time keeping up with Media Diet. You're blogging warp speed!"
Are you having a hard time keeping up? Discuss.
Weather Report V
As reported previously, it rained and snowed for most of yesterday afternoon and evening, contributing to the puddles and slush along Washington Avenue and on Central Square -- and enabling some rapid traffic splashing. Neil and I were supposed to move my boxes from Anni and Jonathan's basement to Joe's basement -- I'm hopping box hostels -- but the wet created a large puddle behind Anni and Jonathan's house by the basement entrance. Like two inches of standing, slushy, slippery water.
We could've have managed with the rain, but the puddle was too much. So we had to change our plans. Monday might now be moving day. Fingers crossed on the weather.
Today is beautiful. A bit cold, but sunny, clear, and crisp. I woke with the sun again but stayed in bed enjoying the cool early morning breeze until about 8. Wonderful.
As reported previously, it rained and snowed for most of yesterday afternoon and evening, contributing to the puddles and slush along Washington Avenue and on Central Square -- and enabling some rapid traffic splashing. Neil and I were supposed to move my boxes from Anni and Jonathan's basement to Joe's basement -- I'm hopping box hostels -- but the wet created a large puddle behind Anni and Jonathan's house by the basement entrance. Like two inches of standing, slushy, slippery water.
We could've have managed with the rain, but the puddle was too much. So we had to change our plans. Monday might now be moving day. Fingers crossed on the weather.
Today is beautiful. A bit cold, but sunny, clear, and crisp. I woke with the sun again but stayed in bed enjoying the cool early morning breeze until about 8. Wonderful.
The Heroism of Lens Men
On the V: The Original Miniseries DVD, there's a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the movie and the meanings behind its messages. Marc Singer, who plays Mike Donovan, a gung-ho TV news videographer, discusses how he prepared for the role, why a TV cameraman makes a good hero, and the role of TV journalism.
"The guy I'm playing is Mike Donovan. He's a person who tries his best to live up to the promise of being a human being. He feels a sense of responsibility toward other people so he doesn't lie down under the yoke when the Earth is being taken over. He fights back. He becomes the strong arm of the Resistance. He does what the man on the other side of this lens does in real life.
"He's a photographer -- a news cameraman is what he is -- and that allows him access into the alien craft and also gives him a nice viewpoint to view all of humanity. Very often, newsmen are allowed to go places that the rest of us civilians aren't able to go, so it provides a good format for this guy to get in where the bad guys are and see what they're doing.
"I had to do some very strenuous special preparation for this. I had to keep down the bubble of enthusiasm and joy so that when I got on the set I looked like a professional and wasn't giggling in front of the cameras all the time. The second thing I had to do was... Our producer Chuck Bowman [?] was very kind in establishing liaisons between myself and real news photographers and real news teams, and in that way I was able to assimilate some of the real aspects of the heroism of these people's professions.
"I don't think that any of us know exactly what kind of heroes are in different trades in our society, but I think that some of the greatest heroes that exist are in the news profession: those people that bring us tapes from destruction in El Salvador ad people who bring us tapes of the Vietnam crisis and things like that. These are people that lay their lives on the line so that humanity can be informed as to what it's doing and how to rectify situations it doesn't like."
Cmdr. Ilana has organized an extensive V-related Web site.
On the V: The Original Miniseries DVD, there's a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the movie and the meanings behind its messages. Marc Singer, who plays Mike Donovan, a gung-ho TV news videographer, discusses how he prepared for the role, why a TV cameraman makes a good hero, and the role of TV journalism.
"The guy I'm playing is Mike Donovan. He's a person who tries his best to live up to the promise of being a human being. He feels a sense of responsibility toward other people so he doesn't lie down under the yoke when the Earth is being taken over. He fights back. He becomes the strong arm of the Resistance. He does what the man on the other side of this lens does in real life.
"He's a photographer -- a news cameraman is what he is -- and that allows him access into the alien craft and also gives him a nice viewpoint to view all of humanity. Very often, newsmen are allowed to go places that the rest of us civilians aren't able to go, so it provides a good format for this guy to get in where the bad guys are and see what they're doing.
"I had to do some very strenuous special preparation for this. I had to keep down the bubble of enthusiasm and joy so that when I got on the set I looked like a professional and wasn't giggling in front of the cameras all the time. The second thing I had to do was... Our producer Chuck Bowman [?] was very kind in establishing liaisons between myself and real news photographers and real news teams, and in that way I was able to assimilate some of the real aspects of the heroism of these people's professions.
"I don't think that any of us know exactly what kind of heroes are in different trades in our society, but I think that some of the greatest heroes that exist are in the news profession: those people that bring us tapes from destruction in El Salvador ad people who bring us tapes of the Vietnam crisis and things like that. These are people that lay their lives on the line so that humanity can be informed as to what it's doing and how to rectify situations it doesn't like."
Cmdr. Ilana has organized an extensive V-related Web site.
See You in the Funny Pages VII
I've been a subscriber to Modern Tales since I first learned about it earlier this month, and while I visit several times a week, almost every day, it's rather hit and miss. But today -- oh, today -- is why I signed up in the first place. For today Modern Tales gives us a doozy of a double dose: a new "Hutch Owens" page by Tom Hart and a new "Fancy Froglin" page by James Kochalka. Woot!
By the way, I would have said, "Woohoo!" above, but it seems that everybody's saying "Woot!" these days in blogspace, etc.
What the heck does "Woot!" mean? Discuss.
I've been a subscriber to Modern Tales since I first learned about it earlier this month, and while I visit several times a week, almost every day, it's rather hit and miss. But today -- oh, today -- is why I signed up in the first place. For today Modern Tales gives us a doozy of a double dose: a new "Hutch Owens" page by Tom Hart and a new "Fancy Froglin" page by James Kochalka. Woot!
By the way, I would have said, "Woohoo!" above, but it seems that everybody's saying "Woot!" these days in blogspace, etc.
What the heck does "Woot!" mean? Discuss.
Tick Tock, You... Stop
Two writers for Metropolis magazine mourn the loss of an architectural detail that they didn't ever really like in the first place -- but now miss something fierce: the oversized clock in Grand Central Terminal. They raise some interesting points about how preservation should allow for anomaly and how architecture must have ordinary spaces to have good ones, and the removal of the clock as part of the terminal's renovation got me thinking about things I about the places I've lived:
The movie theater in Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin
Lounge Ax in Chicago
The Tasty on Harvard Square
The old Lucy Parsons block on Central Square
The Willow Jazz Club near Ball Square
What do you miss? Discuss.
Two writers for Metropolis magazine mourn the loss of an architectural detail that they didn't ever really like in the first place -- but now miss something fierce: the oversized clock in Grand Central Terminal. They raise some interesting points about how preservation should allow for anomaly and how architecture must have ordinary spaces to have good ones, and the removal of the clock as part of the terminal's renovation got me thinking about things I about the places I've lived:
What do you miss? Discuss.
Awarding Acrimony
More news from Providence: The Providence Newspaper Guild, which has been in conflict with the Providence Journal since the late '90s, is protesting the recent naming of the ProJo as metropolitan newspaper of the year by the New England Newspaper Association. While the Journal crows about the award -- indicating that it's outdistancing the Boston Globe -- Guild members say the award "would come at a most unlikely time -- when this once-award-winning newspaper has taken a very public dive in quality. Such an award would strike every Rhode Islander as bizarre."
Maybe they should all go see Mary Lou Lord on Saturday.
More news from Providence: The Providence Newspaper Guild, which has been in conflict with the Providence Journal since the late '90s, is protesting the recent naming of the ProJo as metropolitan newspaper of the year by the New England Newspaper Association. While the Journal crows about the award -- indicating that it's outdistancing the Boston Globe -- Guild members say the award "would come at a most unlikely time -- when this once-award-winning newspaper has taken a very public dive in quality. Such an award would strike every Rhode Islander as bizarre."
Maybe they should all go see Mary Lou Lord on Saturday.
Pulling the Plug II
If it's any consolation to those of us who miss Other Music, Newbury Comics just opened a new store in the Providence Place Mall in Rhode Island. The regional chain is celebrating the opening of its first-ever mall store with a 10%-off sale (for email club members only) and an afternoon Mary Lou Lord in-store performance Saturday. Um, it's not much consolation, really.
If it's any consolation to those of us who miss Other Music, Newbury Comics just opened a new store in the Providence Place Mall in Rhode Island. The regional chain is celebrating the opening of its first-ever mall store with a 10%-off sale (for email club members only) and an afternoon Mary Lou Lord in-store performance Saturday. Um, it's not much consolation, really.
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Magazine Me VII
Not that I'm out to scoop anyone with Media Diet, but I think it's pretty neat that I posted the finalists for this year's National Magazine Award before the American Society of Magazine Editors announced them. Their news release is dated today, 3 p.m. I posted the finalists almost four hours earlier. It's like I'm a poor man's Matt Drudge or something. We break the news; others fix it.
Not that I'm out to scoop anyone with Media Diet, but I think it's pretty neat that I posted the finalists for this year's National Magazine Award before the American Society of Magazine Editors announced them. Their news release is dated today, 3 p.m. I posted the finalists almost four hours earlier. It's like I'm a poor man's Matt Drudge or something. We break the news; others fix it.
Weather Report IV
I've been awake since 5:30 a.m. Woke with the sun -- something I've been doing lately as the sun continues to rise earlier and earlier -- and had no more sleep in my system. So I showered, failed to shave, and got into work around 7. The T runs quite slowly around 6 -- the waits were insane.
In any event, I've hit a wall and a lull in the day. I've accomplished quite a bit at work, and I don't really have anything to do this evening until 8, when I need to move my boxes out of Anni and Jonathan's basement and into Joe's. Ah, box hostel hopping.
So I went outside just now for a quick walk around the block. I find that quick walks during the day help me get out of the office -- and help me get organized in terms of prioritizing what I have to do for the rest of the work day. This afternoon, having hit this wall and lull, I'm at a loss.
But it's snowing. It's raining, too. I've been up since 5:30, and it's oddly overcast and beautiful in the North End right now. You should go outside.
I've been awake since 5:30 a.m. Woke with the sun -- something I've been doing lately as the sun continues to rise earlier and earlier -- and had no more sleep in my system. So I showered, failed to shave, and got into work around 7. The T runs quite slowly around 6 -- the waits were insane.
In any event, I've hit a wall and a lull in the day. I've accomplished quite a bit at work, and I don't really have anything to do this evening until 8, when I need to move my boxes out of Anni and Jonathan's basement and into Joe's. Ah, box hostel hopping.
So I went outside just now for a quick walk around the block. I find that quick walks during the day help me get out of the office -- and help me get organized in terms of prioritizing what I have to do for the rest of the work day. This afternoon, having hit this wall and lull, I'm at a loss.
But it's snowing. It's raining, too. I've been up since 5:30, and it's oddly overcast and beautiful in the North End right now. You should go outside.
Comics at a Loss
Eddie Campbell says that comics are not an art form -- and that they don't even exist. That's some pretty big talk.
Eddie Campbell says that comics are not an art form -- and that they don't even exist. That's some pretty big talk.
Magazine Me VI
Judges for the American Society of Magazine Editors' National Magazine Awards gathered yesterday to select the finalists. Here they are:
General Excellence: Under 200,000
Paris Review
Oxford American
American Scholar
City
MBA Jungle
Nest
Print
General Excellence: 200-500,000
Details
National Geographic Adventurer
Texas Monthly
Saveur
Sports Illustrated for Women
General Excellence: 500-1,000,000
Gourmet
Wired
Vibe
Jane
New Yorker
General Excellence: 1,000,000-2,000,000
Fortune
Entertainment Weekly
Vanity Fair
ESPN
InStyle
General Excellence: 2 million and up
Better Homes and Gardens
National Geographic
O
Newsweek
Time
Personal Service
MBA Jungle
Worth
Money
National Geographic Adventurer
Leisure Interests
Vogue
Philosophy
Sports Illustrated
Travel & Leisure
Field & Stream
O
Reporting
Atlantic Monthly
Time
Fortune
Yankee
New Yorker
Public Interest
Atlantic Monthly
SF magazine
Governing
Self
Sports Illustrated
Feature Writing
Atlantic Monthly
Men's Journal
Esquire
New Yorker
LA magazine
Columns and Commentary
GQ
New York
Newsweek (twice)
Oxford American
Essays
American Scholar
New Yorker (twice)
Men's Journal
Harper's
Reviews/Criticism
Atlantic Monthly
Government
GQ
Harper's
New Yorker
Profiles
Esquire
GQ
Harper's
LA magazine
New Yorker
Single Topic Issue
Cincinnati
Time
Gourmet
The Nation
New Yorker
Photography
National Geographic Adventurer
Newsweek
Time
Vanity Fair
Vogue
Design
Audobon
Details
Esquire
Nest
Surface
Fiction
Atlantic Monthly
Harper's
New Yorker
Paris Review
Zoetrope
Online
Beliefnet
Chronicle of Higher Education
National Geographic Interactive
RollingStone.com
Slate
Judges for the American Society of Magazine Editors' National Magazine Awards gathered yesterday to select the finalists. Here they are:
General Excellence: Under 200,000
General Excellence: 200-500,000
General Excellence: 500-1,000,000
General Excellence: 1,000,000-2,000,000
General Excellence: 2 million and up
Personal Service
Leisure Interests
Reporting
Public Interest
Feature Writing
Columns and Commentary
Essays
Reviews/Criticism
Profiles
Single Topic Issue
Photography
Design
Fiction
Online
Magazine Me V
Joining magazines such as POV (RIP) and Real Joe that offer an alternative to the general interest magazines aimed at men -- Esquire, GQ, Maxim, etc. -- some folks in Baltimore have launched a new periodical called Adam. Targeting "the original man," Adam can be found at Barnes & Noble, 7-11, and newsstands across the country. A single issue costs $3, but you can subscribe for six issues at an introductory rate of $9.99. The Web site is still pretty skimpy.
The current issue of Adam includes an article titled "21 Ways to Make Your Community a Better Place" by Scott Beale, mastermind behind the Millenial Politics project.
Joining magazines such as POV (RIP) and Real Joe that offer an alternative to the general interest magazines aimed at men -- Esquire, GQ, Maxim, etc. -- some folks in Baltimore have launched a new periodical called Adam. Targeting "the original man," Adam can be found at Barnes & Noble, 7-11, and newsstands across the country. A single issue costs $3, but you can subscribe for six issues at an introductory rate of $9.99. The Web site is still pretty skimpy.
The current issue of Adam includes an article titled "21 Ways to Make Your Community a Better Place" by Scott Beale, mastermind behind the Millenial Politics project.
How to Go on a Media Diet
The following was excerpted and translated from an article by Marco Visscher, "Wijsheid is geen nieuws" ("Wisdom is No News") that ran in the March 2002 issue of Ode, an Utne Reader-like magazine in the Netherlands. It was posted without permission on the Nettime mailing list. I do the same here.
Three Suggestions For a "News Diet" (detox program):
Never read today's paper, always yesterday's. This will automatically lead to a certain distance.
Never watch the news on television, but watch it half an hour later on video tape instead. You will find you'll skip over the uninteresting bits and that the sum total of news you watch will drop. (Bonus tip: With everything the news reader says, ask yourself aloud, "Oh, is that so?")
(Advanced technique) Once a week, put your newspaper aside immediately. Do not use for litter box. Do not read; stick to reading yesterday's paper during the rest of the week. Read the extra paper only after two (or three, or four) weeks. You will find that many articles have become redundant or are simply boring. You will have missed nothing.
Translated by Pieter.
The following was excerpted and translated from an article by Marco Visscher, "Wijsheid is geen nieuws" ("Wisdom is No News") that ran in the March 2002 issue of Ode, an Utne Reader-like magazine in the Netherlands. It was posted without permission on the Nettime mailing list. I do the same here.
Three Suggestions For a "News Diet" (detox program):
Translated by Pieter.
One Man's Alternative Media Strategy II
I realize that Sander's recent missive is a rough draft, but I wrote a response of sorts last night. It's not really a rebuttal or critique of Sander's essay, but I used his thoughts as a trigger to consider and solidify my own. This, too, is open to feedback.
Regardless of the laudable and romantic path Sander took to find himself creating and consuming what he terms "alternative media," I take issue with his contention that participating in alternative media -- if you're of the anti-war, anti-imperialist sort -- makes people part of the American Left.
The Left, while continuing to represent some valid and vibrant ideas and ideals, is no longer useful as a political determinant, much less as a productive actor on the societal stage. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the Left has become a cartoon of itself, with the New Left being an oxymoron since the SDS' and SNCC's fracturing and factionalization and the end of the countercultural evolution of the late '60s -- much like the New South has lacked a solid foundation as a concept since the end of post-slavery industrialization. At the same time, many lefty -- my preferred descriptor -- activists (myself included) continue to idolize and idealize some of the more visible participants in the political and social reorganization efforts that took place in the '60s. Even if we go back even further to the initial labor organizing icons of early industrialization for inspiration and education, we are left without a current generation of heroes and leaders. Particularly in the media space.
Let's consider some of the lefty holdovers currently involved in media. Abe Peck, formerly an editor of the Chicago Seed, rests near the top of the journalism department at Northwestern University and -- at least while I was a student there in the early '90s -- was blissfully unaware of zines, arguably the heir to the throne he and his comrades once occupied. Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone, a once-important (politically and philosophically) countercultural outlet, has aged badly along with his magazine, continuing to employ graying lapsed leftists such as the despicably irresponsible P.J. O'Rourke (the Dave Barry of political posturing) as he orchestrates a circle jerk for baby boomer has beens, catering just enough to the younger set to maintain popcult credibility -- and including just enough political content to be consider slightly radical.
Those are the more visible examples. To find true media heroes coming out of the Left, we need to look further afield -- to Paul Krassner and his end-of-the-line diatribes in the Realist; to Bruce Anderson of the Anderson Valley Advertiser, who had to move to the mountains of Northern California to find his political voice and position in a community; and to Fred Woodworth, whose low-tech print shop continues to crank out the Match and which lent Luddite luminescence to the ever-cranky Zine World (now the abominably named Reader's Guide to the Underground Press). These three are on the outside of the outside, often countering even the countercultures that embrace them. And I'd be surprised if any of them considered themselves part of the American Left, even if they have lefty tendencies.
But it's not just the dependence on historic and romantic figures that bothers me about the Left -- and Sander's fascination with it. It's the language and accessibility of the movement. The Left -- particularly the New Left -- has almost always been an academic, policy-oriented, and arcane clique, not speaking in a tongue understood by many working-class people -- and certainly not palatable to the masses. Even anarchy, which should be one of the most easily digestible political philosophies -- self-interested responsibility to the community -- has couched its message either in violence (the window breaking during the WTO protests) or in mumbo jumbo (John Zerzan's ongoing neo-primitive attacks on the beautifully befuddled yet cleverly critical Murray Bookchin). And it's all because of communication, right? Just like Saul Alinsky -- to name drop another oldie but goodie -- said.
Media, then, is the platform on which -- the agar in which -- communication grows and happens. Sander's right that political activists need to gain control of media production. This is how we -- if there is a unified we -- can best get our messages out. But is this access to power through production as cut and dried as Sander suggests: "taken out of the hands of the fat cats"? I don't think so. I also don't think that a unionized and state-run media is the answer, either. A media dictatorship is a media dictatorship. The fall, foibles, and follies of Communism shows just how an appealing and attractive political philosophy (Marxism, natch) can be misinterpreted and inadequately applied.
If we don't follow the traditional leftist track of class warfare, union organization, and state ownership, what are we to do? I'd like to suggest three possible courses of action.
Deprofessionalize journalism
Professional journalism is flawed in two major ways. One, the professionalization of the trade has removed the responsibility of the reporter -- remember, my experience is largely limited to print and print-modeled journalism -- placing the respect, resources, and resolve largely in the hands of the media organizations that employ us and hold our copyrights if what we do is work for hire. As respected as Daniel Pearl might be, he's respected in part because of his association with the Wall Street Journal. This doesn't apply to Pearl, per se, but with comfort comes complicity. This removal of responsibility is made manifest mainly through the myth of objectivity. Objectivity doesn't exist. Fairness and accuracy do. But instead of media pandering to the masses and business owners with a he said/she said namby-pamby waffling, I'd rather see newspapers with a political and social platform, writers with a strident and striving voice, and media with very clear biases. Readers -- media consumers -- should have a hand in creating and contesting those voices and biases.
Because, two, journalism and media production's professionalization has distanced writers and producers from the readers and consumers. I often joke that all journalists do is talk to people others can't talk to -- and then tell others what they talked about. This is true. We should all be able to gain access to our social, political, and cultural leaders. We should all be able to voice our opinions. And we should all be -- regardless of our role and status in society -- visible, accessible, and responsible for the impact we have on the world.
Mini-movements such as community journalism, self-publishing online and offline, and media-driven community organizing experiments are all solid steps toward the goal of media being a socially democratic platform on which people tell each other their own stories instead of waiting for the mainstream media powers that be to give them the nod. Journalists and media producers should help us make sense of the world -- not make cents off the world. And our first responsibility should be to the readers and media consumers, not to an abstract profession or a business's stockholders.
Smash the media state from inside
Another admittedly cartoony corpse of the counterculture, Hunter Thompson, who now writes for ESPN.com but failed to weigh in on 911 for Rolling Stone, put it best: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." If you're at all interested in the ideas and ideals that Sander -- and I -- espouse, get a "real" media job. We saw this happen quite often during the zine boom of the '90s. Mike Gunderloy, who founded Factsheet Five and ran a publishing imprint named after Civil War-era abolitionist and anarchist attorney Lysander Spooner, got a book contract. As did kitcschy popcult commentator Pagan Kennedy. Noel Ignatiev, publisher of Race Traitor, taught briefly at Harvard. Jim Romenesko got a gig at the Poynter Institute. Lookout! and Epitaph records continue to walk the fine line between commercial credibility and punk-rock positivity. Geeky zine maven Chip Rowe holds forth as the Playboy Advisor. And Might alumni David Moodie and Dave Eggers innovatively influenced Spin and Esquire before the McSweeney's phenomenon. (I, not to enroll myself in the same school as the above, work full time for Fast Company magazine, which is published by Gruner & Jahr, a division of Bertlesmann. Please enjoy the irony of that with me.)
Let's infect mainstream media. Let's create workplaces and media that reflect our collective value and values. Let's hold our managers and owners accountable to the needs of the readers, viewers, and other media consumers. Let's use mainstream media to create communities and affinity groups sinilar to those we support with our alternative media activity. Let's show people that they can do what we do, too. As people involved in media production, no matter to what extent, we come from a place of privilege. Let's use that power to help kids living in housing projects publish poetry chapbooks, give radio shows to the homeless and the elderly, and produce records by the developmentally disabled. Alt.media doesn't need to be outsider art, but we do need to consider and tap into outside voices.
But let's do all of the above paying heed to some of the lessons learned by mainstream media -- the practice of our trade; the importance of active, well-reasoned, and fair editing and filtering; the possibilities offered by professional presentation (delightful design); and the need to meet people's -- the market's -- needs. The market isn't the problem. The abuse and manipulation of the market is.
Offer viable parallel options
This is where we are now and where we've been since the '20s if not earlier -- and we're still not very good at it. We don't need a counterculture, an under-the-counter culture, or an underground. What we need is a parallel media space that's more exciting, important, and useful than the mainstream.
In creating this, we face two major challenges. One, the problem isn't access to production. As Sander demonstrates, the production tools are available. Through photocopying, desktop publishing, home recording, microbroadcasting (the only aspect of this that's still illegal or -- on the Web -- soon to be), blogging, web printing, and Web publishing, we can already make our own media. The hurdles we face are more deeply rooted in distribution and promotion. I'll address this in a minute. Two, Sturgeon's Law -- that 90% of everything is crud -- is even more true for alternative and independent media. There's a reason why some poets have to self-publish. There's a reason why some bands, including mine, can't get shows. The reason? They're not very good. Viable alternative media needs to move beyond democracy in the sense that anyone can do anything. Oh, they can. I know. I used to review 400 personal Web pages every month. And they should. It's just that the rest of us might not need to know.
My solutions for these two challenges? First, a more collaborative and cooperative approach to distribution and promotion. There's little thanks, money, or glory in it, but it's necessary. Remember Blacklist Mailorder, the record distro MRR ran out of the back room of Epicenter in San Francisco? Hella better and more personal that Interpunk.com. Remember the grassroots minicomics distros Spit-and-a-Half, Puppy Toss, and Wow Cool? More direct than Diamond. Remember Hello Records, They Might Be Giants' CD subscription service? Gone. Luckily, projects like Free Speech TV are still around. We need more affinity groups cross-promoting participants' media products and services. We need more music collectives like Elephant Six and Handstand Command, in which my band, the Anchormen, is active, cross-promoting shows, cooperatively releasing records, and building something larger than its parts -- but still with art and heart.
Secondly, we need to encourage quality and ongoing improvement -- of effort, of production, and of response. Since my exposure to independent and micromedia in 1988, I've seen a hesitancy to criticize alt.media just because it's an alternative. "Support the scene!" people wail. Yes, support the scene. But constructively criticize your compatriots' books, records, zines, comics, Web sites, radio shows, and public-access TV shows. Independence isn't an excuse for being immature, impolite, or incompetent. Instead, it gives us more dire reasons to be ballsier, better, and bigger than our mainstream counterparts. Of course, I think everyone should be supported for doing it themselves, but I think alt.media lacks a culture of constructive criticism. Let's collectively help each other improve -- and hold up the quality creators and positive projects as viable alternatives to the loathsome noise of the mainstream.
You'll notice that none of the above potential solutions mentions the Left, unions, state ownership, or class conflict. I agree with Sander in that my thinking is informed by such elements of what we do. But I think that a true alternative media will be built on collaboration, cooperation, creativity, and criticism much more than it will be bolstered by the ideologies of the Left, old, new, or now.
End note
Riffing on my comments on the flaws of objectivity, I'd like to touch on Sander's consideration of the Right. One, the Right is a construct just like the Left, and it has little currency as such. We need to move beyond bipartisan and bipolar categorization -- past a three-party system in which Ralph Nader is repeatedly held up to represent the Greens -- and toward a society in which multiple viewpoints can be held personally, responsibly, and transparently. The reason why the Right is evil is because they try to hide their evils -- just as the Left is tempted to hide its shortcomings (H. Rapp Brown, anyone?). If held personally responsible, do you think business executives would have let Andersen, Enron, or Global Crossing happen? Two, this comes down again at root to the myth of objectivity. I'm not calling for a fence-sitting subjectivity in which all opinions are equally valid, but a subjectivity in which all opinions and biases are open and clear. Despite the need for media literacy work, people aren't stupid. Increased accountability will increase honesty, and vice versa. If media organizations and journalists take the first step and model positive behavior by putting down their masks and shields -- acting like people instead of institutions -- we'd all be the better off for it. And, perhaps, the rest of the world will follow.
I realize that Sander's recent missive is a rough draft, but I wrote a response of sorts last night. It's not really a rebuttal or critique of Sander's essay, but I used his thoughts as a trigger to consider and solidify my own. This, too, is open to feedback.
Regardless of the laudable and romantic path Sander took to find himself creating and consuming what he terms "alternative media," I take issue with his contention that participating in alternative media -- if you're of the anti-war, anti-imperialist sort -- makes people part of the American Left.
The Left, while continuing to represent some valid and vibrant ideas and ideals, is no longer useful as a political determinant, much less as a productive actor on the societal stage. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the Left has become a cartoon of itself, with the New Left being an oxymoron since the SDS' and SNCC's fracturing and factionalization and the end of the countercultural evolution of the late '60s -- much like the New South has lacked a solid foundation as a concept since the end of post-slavery industrialization. At the same time, many lefty -- my preferred descriptor -- activists (myself included) continue to idolize and idealize some of the more visible participants in the political and social reorganization efforts that took place in the '60s. Even if we go back even further to the initial labor organizing icons of early industrialization for inspiration and education, we are left without a current generation of heroes and leaders. Particularly in the media space.
Let's consider some of the lefty holdovers currently involved in media. Abe Peck, formerly an editor of the Chicago Seed, rests near the top of the journalism department at Northwestern University and -- at least while I was a student there in the early '90s -- was blissfully unaware of zines, arguably the heir to the throne he and his comrades once occupied. Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone, a once-important (politically and philosophically) countercultural outlet, has aged badly along with his magazine, continuing to employ graying lapsed leftists such as the despicably irresponsible P.J. O'Rourke (the Dave Barry of political posturing) as he orchestrates a circle jerk for baby boomer has beens, catering just enough to the younger set to maintain popcult credibility -- and including just enough political content to be consider slightly radical.
Those are the more visible examples. To find true media heroes coming out of the Left, we need to look further afield -- to Paul Krassner and his end-of-the-line diatribes in the Realist; to Bruce Anderson of the Anderson Valley Advertiser, who had to move to the mountains of Northern California to find his political voice and position in a community; and to Fred Woodworth, whose low-tech print shop continues to crank out the Match and which lent Luddite luminescence to the ever-cranky Zine World (now the abominably named Reader's Guide to the Underground Press). These three are on the outside of the outside, often countering even the countercultures that embrace them. And I'd be surprised if any of them considered themselves part of the American Left, even if they have lefty tendencies.
But it's not just the dependence on historic and romantic figures that bothers me about the Left -- and Sander's fascination with it. It's the language and accessibility of the movement. The Left -- particularly the New Left -- has almost always been an academic, policy-oriented, and arcane clique, not speaking in a tongue understood by many working-class people -- and certainly not palatable to the masses. Even anarchy, which should be one of the most easily digestible political philosophies -- self-interested responsibility to the community -- has couched its message either in violence (the window breaking during the WTO protests) or in mumbo jumbo (John Zerzan's ongoing neo-primitive attacks on the beautifully befuddled yet cleverly critical Murray Bookchin). And it's all because of communication, right? Just like Saul Alinsky -- to name drop another oldie but goodie -- said.
Media, then, is the platform on which -- the agar in which -- communication grows and happens. Sander's right that political activists need to gain control of media production. This is how we -- if there is a unified we -- can best get our messages out. But is this access to power through production as cut and dried as Sander suggests: "taken out of the hands of the fat cats"? I don't think so. I also don't think that a unionized and state-run media is the answer, either. A media dictatorship is a media dictatorship. The fall, foibles, and follies of Communism shows just how an appealing and attractive political philosophy (Marxism, natch) can be misinterpreted and inadequately applied.
If we don't follow the traditional leftist track of class warfare, union organization, and state ownership, what are we to do? I'd like to suggest three possible courses of action.
Deprofessionalize journalism
Professional journalism is flawed in two major ways. One, the professionalization of the trade has removed the responsibility of the reporter -- remember, my experience is largely limited to print and print-modeled journalism -- placing the respect, resources, and resolve largely in the hands of the media organizations that employ us and hold our copyrights if what we do is work for hire. As respected as Daniel Pearl might be, he's respected in part because of his association with the Wall Street Journal. This doesn't apply to Pearl, per se, but with comfort comes complicity. This removal of responsibility is made manifest mainly through the myth of objectivity. Objectivity doesn't exist. Fairness and accuracy do. But instead of media pandering to the masses and business owners with a he said/she said namby-pamby waffling, I'd rather see newspapers with a political and social platform, writers with a strident and striving voice, and media with very clear biases. Readers -- media consumers -- should have a hand in creating and contesting those voices and biases.
Because, two, journalism and media production's professionalization has distanced writers and producers from the readers and consumers. I often joke that all journalists do is talk to people others can't talk to -- and then tell others what they talked about. This is true. We should all be able to gain access to our social, political, and cultural leaders. We should all be able to voice our opinions. And we should all be -- regardless of our role and status in society -- visible, accessible, and responsible for the impact we have on the world.
Mini-movements such as community journalism, self-publishing online and offline, and media-driven community organizing experiments are all solid steps toward the goal of media being a socially democratic platform on which people tell each other their own stories instead of waiting for the mainstream media powers that be to give them the nod. Journalists and media producers should help us make sense of the world -- not make cents off the world. And our first responsibility should be to the readers and media consumers, not to an abstract profession or a business's stockholders.
Smash the media state from inside
Another admittedly cartoony corpse of the counterculture, Hunter Thompson, who now writes for ESPN.com but failed to weigh in on 911 for Rolling Stone, put it best: "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." If you're at all interested in the ideas and ideals that Sander -- and I -- espouse, get a "real" media job. We saw this happen quite often during the zine boom of the '90s. Mike Gunderloy, who founded Factsheet Five and ran a publishing imprint named after Civil War-era abolitionist and anarchist attorney Lysander Spooner, got a book contract. As did kitcschy popcult commentator Pagan Kennedy. Noel Ignatiev, publisher of Race Traitor, taught briefly at Harvard. Jim Romenesko got a gig at the Poynter Institute. Lookout! and Epitaph records continue to walk the fine line between commercial credibility and punk-rock positivity. Geeky zine maven Chip Rowe holds forth as the Playboy Advisor. And Might alumni David Moodie and Dave Eggers innovatively influenced Spin and Esquire before the McSweeney's phenomenon. (I, not to enroll myself in the same school as the above, work full time for Fast Company magazine, which is published by Gruner & Jahr, a division of Bertlesmann. Please enjoy the irony of that with me.)
Let's infect mainstream media. Let's create workplaces and media that reflect our collective value and values. Let's hold our managers and owners accountable to the needs of the readers, viewers, and other media consumers. Let's use mainstream media to create communities and affinity groups sinilar to those we support with our alternative media activity. Let's show people that they can do what we do, too. As people involved in media production, no matter to what extent, we come from a place of privilege. Let's use that power to help kids living in housing projects publish poetry chapbooks, give radio shows to the homeless and the elderly, and produce records by the developmentally disabled. Alt.media doesn't need to be outsider art, but we do need to consider and tap into outside voices.
But let's do all of the above paying heed to some of the lessons learned by mainstream media -- the practice of our trade; the importance of active, well-reasoned, and fair editing and filtering; the possibilities offered by professional presentation (delightful design); and the need to meet people's -- the market's -- needs. The market isn't the problem. The abuse and manipulation of the market is.
Offer viable parallel options
This is where we are now and where we've been since the '20s if not earlier -- and we're still not very good at it. We don't need a counterculture, an under-the-counter culture, or an underground. What we need is a parallel media space that's more exciting, important, and useful than the mainstream.
In creating this, we face two major challenges. One, the problem isn't access to production. As Sander demonstrates, the production tools are available. Through photocopying, desktop publishing, home recording, microbroadcasting (the only aspect of this that's still illegal or -- on the Web -- soon to be), blogging, web printing, and Web publishing, we can already make our own media. The hurdles we face are more deeply rooted in distribution and promotion. I'll address this in a minute. Two, Sturgeon's Law -- that 90% of everything is crud -- is even more true for alternative and independent media. There's a reason why some poets have to self-publish. There's a reason why some bands, including mine, can't get shows. The reason? They're not very good. Viable alternative media needs to move beyond democracy in the sense that anyone can do anything. Oh, they can. I know. I used to review 400 personal Web pages every month. And they should. It's just that the rest of us might not need to know.
My solutions for these two challenges? First, a more collaborative and cooperative approach to distribution and promotion. There's little thanks, money, or glory in it, but it's necessary. Remember Blacklist Mailorder, the record distro MRR ran out of the back room of Epicenter in San Francisco? Hella better and more personal that Interpunk.com. Remember the grassroots minicomics distros Spit-and-a-Half, Puppy Toss, and Wow Cool? More direct than Diamond. Remember Hello Records, They Might Be Giants' CD subscription service? Gone. Luckily, projects like Free Speech TV are still around. We need more affinity groups cross-promoting participants' media products and services. We need more music collectives like Elephant Six and Handstand Command, in which my band, the Anchormen, is active, cross-promoting shows, cooperatively releasing records, and building something larger than its parts -- but still with art and heart.
Secondly, we need to encourage quality and ongoing improvement -- of effort, of production, and of response. Since my exposure to independent and micromedia in 1988, I've seen a hesitancy to criticize alt.media just because it's an alternative. "Support the scene!" people wail. Yes, support the scene. But constructively criticize your compatriots' books, records, zines, comics, Web sites, radio shows, and public-access TV shows. Independence isn't an excuse for being immature, impolite, or incompetent. Instead, it gives us more dire reasons to be ballsier, better, and bigger than our mainstream counterparts. Of course, I think everyone should be supported for doing it themselves, but I think alt.media lacks a culture of constructive criticism. Let's collectively help each other improve -- and hold up the quality creators and positive projects as viable alternatives to the loathsome noise of the mainstream.
You'll notice that none of the above potential solutions mentions the Left, unions, state ownership, or class conflict. I agree with Sander in that my thinking is informed by such elements of what we do. But I think that a true alternative media will be built on collaboration, cooperation, creativity, and criticism much more than it will be bolstered by the ideologies of the Left, old, new, or now.
End note
Riffing on my comments on the flaws of objectivity, I'd like to touch on Sander's consideration of the Right. One, the Right is a construct just like the Left, and it has little currency as such. We need to move beyond bipartisan and bipolar categorization -- past a three-party system in which Ralph Nader is repeatedly held up to represent the Greens -- and toward a society in which multiple viewpoints can be held personally, responsibly, and transparently. The reason why the Right is evil is because they try to hide their evils -- just as the Left is tempted to hide its shortcomings (H. Rapp Brown, anyone?). If held personally responsible, do you think business executives would have let Andersen, Enron, or Global Crossing happen? Two, this comes down again at root to the myth of objectivity. I'm not calling for a fence-sitting subjectivity in which all opinions are equally valid, but a subjectivity in which all opinions and biases are open and clear. Despite the need for media literacy work, people aren't stupid. Increased accountability will increase honesty, and vice versa. If media organizations and journalists take the first step and model positive behavior by putting down their masks and shields -- acting like people instead of institutions -- we'd all be the better off for it. And, perhaps, the rest of the world will follow.
From the In Box: Music to My Ears V
Thanx for the great review and exposure on your site! It is much appreciated, though I was very disheartened to read that Other Music is now gone. What a huge loss. They were very supportive of us. Hopefully the one in NYC will stay open. -- The Duke of Candied Apples, Freezepop
Thanx for the great review and exposure on your site! It is much appreciated, though I was very disheartened to read that Other Music is now gone. What a huge loss. They were very supportive of us. Hopefully the one in NYC will stay open. -- The Duke of Candied Apples, Freezepop
Flogging Bloggers
Heather Hamilton, an LA-based Web designer, was fired from her job late last month for posting negative comments about her employer in her blog. According to the Feb. 26 entry in Dooce.com, someone anonymously emailed executives at Hamilton's company, telling them that she'd posted critical comments about the organization on her Web site.
Hamilton goes on to ask some very insightful questions about the interplay between her personal and professional lives, particularly on the Web:
Should I lose my job over what I have written on my personal Web site, especially if I have made sure not to mention specific places, persons, or events by name?
At what point does my personal Web site, regardless of what I've published on the site, affect my professional life? If I am not responsible for the two colliding (meaning, an anonymous person tips off my employer that I run a personal weblog), is it right that my employer should condemn me for expressing personal dissatisfaction? Would it be any different if someone found a notepad on which I had scribbled things about my job and turned it in to my boss?
I've been considering similar questions this week because of Fast Company's Web feature on blogging, which links to Media Diet because I'm a staffer there. Traffic here has gone up as a result, and I'm curious what FC readers and regulars think of my personal media- and popcult-related side projects.
While Hamilton continued to analyze her situation in her Feb. 27 entry and pokes fun at termination letters, you'll be happy to know that now that Hamilton has more free time, she's back in stride, cleaning her apartment and considering serious matters such as, well, defecation and gender differences.
Heather Hamilton, an LA-based Web designer, was fired from her job late last month for posting negative comments about her employer in her blog. According to the Feb. 26 entry in Dooce.com, someone anonymously emailed executives at Hamilton's company, telling them that she'd posted critical comments about the organization on her Web site.
Hamilton goes on to ask some very insightful questions about the interplay between her personal and professional lives, particularly on the Web:
I've been considering similar questions this week because of Fast Company's Web feature on blogging, which links to Media Diet because I'm a staffer there. Traffic here has gone up as a result, and I'm curious what FC readers and regulars think of my personal media- and popcult-related side projects.
While Hamilton continued to analyze her situation in her Feb. 27 entry and pokes fun at termination letters, you'll be happy to know that now that Hamilton has more free time, she's back in stride, cleaning her apartment and considering serious matters such as, well, defecation and gender differences.
Tuesday, March 19, 2002
Music to My Ears V
A three-pack of new record reviews!
Choo Choo La Rouge: "Wall to Wall" CD
What if Bob Dylan led Slot Machine instead of John Holkeboer? We might get this rootsy indie rock, ably presented at the Upstairs Lounge not too long ago. Kicking off with the cyclical and distortion-ridden "Cards," which features some excellent plaintive yet positively confident vocals, this seven-song CD makes me appreciate Choo Choo La Rouge's live act even more. They were good at the Kendall Cafe. They were good at the Upstairs. And they're good on record. I do have to make fun of the chorus' "Whoo-hoo"'s as a trite songwriting tactic -- as opposed to Naked Raygun's "Whoa-hey-oh"'s -- but Choo Choo quickly redeems itself with its alt.country via Munly de Hardy ballad "Worse Mistakes." There's a little Johnny Cash, Robyn Hitchcock, and Lemonpeelers in here, and this CD makes it clear why Choo Choo would fit in on any Boston-area indie-pop or alt.country bill; had I known, I would've booked them with Clare Burson and Gloria Deluxe. Now that I do know, it's songs like the Weakerthans via Neutral Milk Hotel-like "Ragged Dick" and the Spoilsport-plus-"A Simple Desultory Phillipic"-era Simon and Garfunkel-styled "Hearsed and Rehearsed" that'll keep this in heavy rotation. Choo Choo puts the alt in alt.country. Sunny bubblegum pop, beat pop, alt.country -- Choo Choo has it all. I even remember "In the End" from the show." Kudos.
Freezepop: "Fashion Impression Function" CD
A tongue-in-cheek but true take on early-'80s synth pop music a la early Depeche Mode, Yaz, Human League, and -- dare I say it? -- the Kitchens of Distinction. It's not so much parody as it is selfless homage, and it's much better than also-Boston-based Lifestyle. Freezepop comprises the Duke of Candied Apples, Liz Enthusiasm, and the "other" Sean T. Drinkwater, wth Duke and Enthusiasm seeming to be the true aficionadoes. "Lazy"'s vocals, courtesy of the dreamy Enthusiasm, remind me of Papas Fritas, which is a nice vocal nod, and the overall vibe is rather sleepy and happily sluggish. The beats aren't overly aggressive, the bleeps and swells are tastefully placed, and these songs could easily be twee pop indie-rock anthems were it not for their couching in Yamaha-fueled synth pop. The male vocals on "Shark Attack" are a nice touch, riffing off of Soft Cell and White Town (a modren reference!). Many of the songs are mixes and remixes by Kodomo, Commodore Vic, and others. There's even an All Your Base Are Belong to Us remix, ably taking Freezepop out of the past and into the future. Again, this is much more than a kitschy return to the past. Freezepop's retro reproductions -- even the Pizzicato Five-like remix by Kodomo -- are honest, earnest, and appreciative kicks in the pant of Synthpop. I'll be listening to this a lot. Robotron vs. K-Rad. Servotron vs. Pracky Pranky. Brilliant. Archenemy Record Co., P.O. Box 802, Boston, MA 02134.
Matters & Dunaway: "Midtech" CD EP
Andre Obin and Thomas Gallagher collaborate on this five-song CD of intelligent dance music that's at times reminiscent of Greyboy and other times reflective of Medeski, Martin & Wood. This music was recorded last fall entirely on a Yamaha MD8, bringing together the best of live performance and sequencing. Surprisingly -- to me -- the pieces are all relatively short -- 3-6 minutes -- which helps my attention span immensely. Bass riffs are a big part of the first two tracks, "Movement" and "Spidercheck," and there's a certain Beastie Boys aspect to Matters & Dunaway's compositions -- I could put in the Beastie's DVD and hear Ad Rock freestyling over much of this -- but for the most part it's rather laid back and just on the edge of ambient ("Honduras" is almost all ambient IDM plus some misleading skronk.). DJ Spooky is invoked as the synths swell and the beats kick in. Overall, impressive. But "Stars in the Lake" is most interesting of all. Be sure to wait for its Trans Am-like opening leading into some Sea and Cake-styled guitar noodling. This track leads me to think that these might be suggestions of songs, but there's enough promise that, given a live band and a little more edge and risk, Matters & Dunaway could be a truly great project worth following.
All three of the above records were purchased at the now-closed Other Music in Cambridge. RIP.
A three-pack of new record reviews!
Choo Choo La Rouge: "Wall to Wall" CD
What if Bob Dylan led Slot Machine instead of John Holkeboer? We might get this rootsy indie rock, ably presented at the Upstairs Lounge not too long ago. Kicking off with the cyclical and distortion-ridden "Cards," which features some excellent plaintive yet positively confident vocals, this seven-song CD makes me appreciate Choo Choo La Rouge's live act even more. They were good at the Kendall Cafe. They were good at the Upstairs. And they're good on record. I do have to make fun of the chorus' "Whoo-hoo"'s as a trite songwriting tactic -- as opposed to Naked Raygun's "Whoa-hey-oh"'s -- but Choo Choo quickly redeems itself with its alt.country via Munly de Hardy ballad "Worse Mistakes." There's a little Johnny Cash, Robyn Hitchcock, and Lemonpeelers in here, and this CD makes it clear why Choo Choo would fit in on any Boston-area indie-pop or alt.country bill; had I known, I would've booked them with Clare Burson and Gloria Deluxe. Now that I do know, it's songs like the Weakerthans via Neutral Milk Hotel-like "Ragged Dick" and the Spoilsport-plus-"A Simple Desultory Phillipic"-era Simon and Garfunkel-styled "Hearsed and Rehearsed" that'll keep this in heavy rotation. Choo Choo puts the alt in alt.country. Sunny bubblegum pop, beat pop, alt.country -- Choo Choo has it all. I even remember "In the End" from the show." Kudos.
Freezepop: "Fashion Impression Function" CD
A tongue-in-cheek but true take on early-'80s synth pop music a la early Depeche Mode, Yaz, Human League, and -- dare I say it? -- the Kitchens of Distinction. It's not so much parody as it is selfless homage, and it's much better than also-Boston-based Lifestyle. Freezepop comprises the Duke of Candied Apples, Liz Enthusiasm, and the "other" Sean T. Drinkwater, wth Duke and Enthusiasm seeming to be the true aficionadoes. "Lazy"'s vocals, courtesy of the dreamy Enthusiasm, remind me of Papas Fritas, which is a nice vocal nod, and the overall vibe is rather sleepy and happily sluggish. The beats aren't overly aggressive, the bleeps and swells are tastefully placed, and these songs could easily be twee pop indie-rock anthems were it not for their couching in Yamaha-fueled synth pop. The male vocals on "Shark Attack" are a nice touch, riffing off of Soft Cell and White Town (a modren reference!). Many of the songs are mixes and remixes by Kodomo, Commodore Vic, and others. There's even an All Your Base Are Belong to Us remix, ably taking Freezepop out of the past and into the future. Again, this is much more than a kitschy return to the past. Freezepop's retro reproductions -- even the Pizzicato Five-like remix by Kodomo -- are honest, earnest, and appreciative kicks in the pant of Synthpop. I'll be listening to this a lot. Robotron vs. K-Rad. Servotron vs. Pracky Pranky. Brilliant. Archenemy Record Co., P.O. Box 802, Boston, MA 02134.
Matters & Dunaway: "Midtech" CD EP
Andre Obin and Thomas Gallagher collaborate on this five-song CD of intelligent dance music that's at times reminiscent of Greyboy and other times reflective of Medeski, Martin & Wood. This music was recorded last fall entirely on a Yamaha MD8, bringing together the best of live performance and sequencing. Surprisingly -- to me -- the pieces are all relatively short -- 3-6 minutes -- which helps my attention span immensely. Bass riffs are a big part of the first two tracks, "Movement" and "Spidercheck," and there's a certain Beastie Boys aspect to Matters & Dunaway's compositions -- I could put in the Beastie's DVD and hear Ad Rock freestyling over much of this -- but for the most part it's rather laid back and just on the edge of ambient ("Honduras" is almost all ambient IDM plus some misleading skronk.). DJ Spooky is invoked as the synths swell and the beats kick in. Overall, impressive. But "Stars in the Lake" is most interesting of all. Be sure to wait for its Trans Am-like opening leading into some Sea and Cake-styled guitar noodling. This track leads me to think that these might be suggestions of songs, but there's enough promise that, given a live band and a little more edge and risk, Matters & Dunaway could be a truly great project worth following.
All three of the above records were purchased at the now-closed Other Music in Cambridge. RIP.
Blogging About Blogging XVI
The Media Diet counter has been live for a month as of today. And the stats to date are pretty interesting:
2,080 total visits and 1,571 unique visitors
54 hits a day on average -- not a lot, but I'm proud
Mondays and Tuesdays almost tie for peak days
Media Dieticians also belong to the Late Riser's Club -- traffic begins to pick up at 2 p.m.
People coming in from .com and .net domains are neck and neck
Thanks for coming by!
The Media Diet counter has been live for a month as of today. And the stats to date are pretty interesting:
Thanks for coming by!
From the Reading Pile VIII
After School
This tidy little pocket-sized accordion of a comic sports a woodcut-printed cover and is limited to an edition of 100. Bruce Orr considers children's many after-school activities, drawing in a heavily inked rendering of Robert Lewis' style on one side -- and accelerating to adulthood on the other side to show how playful activities contribute to adult behavior. There are few surprises, but the comparisons are valid and quite emotional. An excellent look at how personalities develop. The physical design slightly reminds me of a bus passenger-related comics accordion printed by Pipifax or Bulb in Europe, but I can't find it, so who knows. Worth a look. Maybe Bruce should move up to Boston! $3 to Bruce Orr, 1601 S. 8th St., Philadelphia, PA 19148.
Batjam
The Picnic stocks a lot of Neil's Jam minis, but this is the first issue -- self-published in October 2001 -- that's inspired a Media Diet buy. Obviously and admittedly based on Batman, this 16-page edition presents an interview with the cartoony hero about his job, hobbies, sidekick, frustrations, and abuse at the, um, feet of others. If this is as deep as Neil Jam gets, I'm not sure I need more, but it's a good introduction to Fitzpatrick's artwork, humor, and pacing. I wonder if Neil knows Kevin, who does Supermonster. $1 to Neil Fitzpatrick.
Doris #11
This 36-page issue begins the Doris ABC's, an encyclopedia set, and goes into the C's. Doris is a little self-conscious about writing about "things I'd feel dumb writing about otherwise; like anarchism and Zimbabwe," but the premise is a welcome departure from her usual perzine narratives. She writes about intential community building, the academic nature of some idealist writing (which makes anarchism inaccessible to many), certainty, Murray Bookchin, direct action, polygamy, abortion and the body politic, the definition of pregnancy (quickening), racism in healthcare and how it spawned the American Medical Association, homemade boats, mucus, books and zines Doris has read, the threat of robbery, ladybugs, her sister's farm (an interview that would've been at home in the current issue of Cometbus), human compost, and other topics that don't necessarily start with the letters A, B, and C. Another quality issue of Doris with personal and productive writing. The framing concept works quite well. $1.50 to P.O. Box 1734, Asheville, NC 28802.
Scenery #13
This "examination of some things we've held to be self-evident" and "illustration of ways we shape our identity" combines sketchbook excerpts and handwritten travel-oriented personal writing that reminds me of the work of Jeff Zenick. Mike travels to Spain and tells stories about his crazy friend Eli and his roommate Josepha, makes a mistaken comparison between British lad mags and Esquire and GQ (Maxim is more like it.), and discusses his commute in Granada, feeling lost in a cemetery, language barriers, the horrors of art commissioned by royalty, shoplifting, and rude travelers. The writing is hella better than that in most travel-oriented perzines -- opting for transparent narrative rather than self-aware, self-righteous judgment -- and Mike's sketches? Absolutely beautiful. Be sure to check the small spire on p. 3, the phone booth on p. 21, and the interrupted rooftops on p. 22. Why haven't I seen this before? $3 to Tree of Knowledge, P.O. Box 251766, Little Rock, AR 72225.
Strawbaby
Another relatively overpriced mini -- After School cost $3? -- this 28-pager features cute brut comic art and watercolored sketchbook excerpts featuring angry children, diapered infants, notebook paper animals, heavy use of hash marks, musclebound ducklings, giraffes, plaintive babies, and the Smart Dog. Amy's art reminds me slightly of Gary Panter and Mike Diana, as well as a Paper Radio-influenced Ron Rege, Jr. I'd like to see a proper comic by Amy, but I doubt I'll pick up another sketchbook mini such as this. Good unified idea, but little else. $3 to Amy Lockhart, 585 Eastvale Dr., Gloucester, Ontario K1J 6Z4 Canada.
Supermonster #14
Entitled Gloriana Comics, this 96-page edition of Kevin Huizenga's minicomic is quite a bargain compared to many zines and self-published comics. With a full-color cover, the comic was drawn between the winter of 2000 and summer of 2001. It opens with "At Work," a two-pager featuring Wendy Caramel-Ganges, one of the issue's ensemble cast, who joins Glenn in the 25-page "The Groceries," in which they envision the future of their unborn child. The piece is drawn in a delightfully cartoony style and, while heavy on dialogue, reads quith smoothly, interspersing foreshadowing with conversation about Wendy's sister's relationship ups and downs. The narrative flow is interrupted by "The Sunset," which itself uses an interrupted phone conversation as the framing conceit for a meditation on the setting sun, complete with a foldout that's equal parts Chris Ware and Greg Cook. Nice pratfall ending! An existential appreciation of a blood-red moon -- and another telephone conversation -- couches Huizenga's scientific explanation in some nice Ron Rege, Jr.-esque imagery, as well as some Scott McCloud-like process comics analyzing the physics of vision. "The Moon Rose" even has a punchline! Lastly, "Basketball" evokes John Porcellino as Huizenga portrays the recollection of a game in Illinois. Hella impressive, Supermonster combines solid storytelling, unintentional cute brut imagery, process comics, and other notable elements to weave several pieces together in a narrative whole. One to get. Immediately. $3 to Kevin Huizenga, P.O. Box 12299, St. Louis, MO 63157.
There Is Nothing!
Cheryl tells me that Marc is Amy Lockhart's boyfriend, and besides their residing in the same province, the shared cute brut style indicates that that's not outside the realm of possibility. Marc's art is largely resonant of Robert Crumb by way of Peter Bagge and Ron Rege, Jr., and this half-legal, 40-page comic collects strips from the Coast, an alt.weekly in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Exclaim!; and the titillating Vice. Even Canada's answer to Factsheet Five (RIP), Broken Pencil (organized geographically a la the Hudson Luce F5), has run Marc's stuff. And good stuff it is! His character Saul reminds me of Creem magazine's Boy Howdy beer bottle character, bolstering the Crumb comparisons. "Thar Is Nut'n!" made me laugh out loud with its to-do list containing "Put things into other things" and "Discover inner self" items. "Where!?!" is a surreal nod to Joe Matt and David Lynch's comics. Marc also pokes Big Boy, psychoanalysis, abstract art, love, winter, mythology, meditation, rock 'n' roll, comics artists (hisself!), zinemakers, Japanese pop culture, free stuff, and literature. While the Crumb influence is occasionally jarring, I'd rather read these alt.weekly strips from 1995-2000 than anything ever done by Kaz. "Life Is a Highway" is the best example of Bell's cute brut leanings. Awesome stuff. Amy could take some cues. $4 to Marc Bell, 1016 Dalhousie Dr., London, Ontario N6K 1M7 Canada.
After School
This tidy little pocket-sized accordion of a comic sports a woodcut-printed cover and is limited to an edition of 100. Bruce Orr considers children's many after-school activities, drawing in a heavily inked rendering of Robert Lewis' style on one side -- and accelerating to adulthood on the other side to show how playful activities contribute to adult behavior. There are few surprises, but the comparisons are valid and quite emotional. An excellent look at how personalities develop. The physical design slightly reminds me of a bus passenger-related comics accordion printed by Pipifax or Bulb in Europe, but I can't find it, so who knows. Worth a look. Maybe Bruce should move up to Boston! $3 to Bruce Orr, 1601 S. 8th St., Philadelphia, PA 19148.
Batjam
The Picnic stocks a lot of Neil's Jam minis, but this is the first issue -- self-published in October 2001 -- that's inspired a Media Diet buy. Obviously and admittedly based on Batman, this 16-page edition presents an interview with the cartoony hero about his job, hobbies, sidekick, frustrations, and abuse at the, um, feet of others. If this is as deep as Neil Jam gets, I'm not sure I need more, but it's a good introduction to Fitzpatrick's artwork, humor, and pacing. I wonder if Neil knows Kevin, who does Supermonster. $1 to Neil Fitzpatrick.
Doris #11
This 36-page issue begins the Doris ABC's, an encyclopedia set, and goes into the C's. Doris is a little self-conscious about writing about "things I'd feel dumb writing about otherwise; like anarchism and Zimbabwe," but the premise is a welcome departure from her usual perzine narratives. She writes about intential community building, the academic nature of some idealist writing (which makes anarchism inaccessible to many), certainty, Murray Bookchin, direct action, polygamy, abortion and the body politic, the definition of pregnancy (quickening), racism in healthcare and how it spawned the American Medical Association, homemade boats, mucus, books and zines Doris has read, the threat of robbery, ladybugs, her sister's farm (an interview that would've been at home in the current issue of Cometbus), human compost, and other topics that don't necessarily start with the letters A, B, and C. Another quality issue of Doris with personal and productive writing. The framing concept works quite well. $1.50 to P.O. Box 1734, Asheville, NC 28802.
Scenery #13
This "examination of some things we've held to be self-evident" and "illustration of ways we shape our identity" combines sketchbook excerpts and handwritten travel-oriented personal writing that reminds me of the work of Jeff Zenick. Mike travels to Spain and tells stories about his crazy friend Eli and his roommate Josepha, makes a mistaken comparison between British lad mags and Esquire and GQ (Maxim is more like it.), and discusses his commute in Granada, feeling lost in a cemetery, language barriers, the horrors of art commissioned by royalty, shoplifting, and rude travelers. The writing is hella better than that in most travel-oriented perzines -- opting for transparent narrative rather than self-aware, self-righteous judgment -- and Mike's sketches? Absolutely beautiful. Be sure to check the small spire on p. 3, the phone booth on p. 21, and the interrupted rooftops on p. 22. Why haven't I seen this before? $3 to Tree of Knowledge, P.O. Box 251766, Little Rock, AR 72225.
Strawbaby
Another relatively overpriced mini -- After School cost $3? -- this 28-pager features cute brut comic art and watercolored sketchbook excerpts featuring angry children, diapered infants, notebook paper animals, heavy use of hash marks, musclebound ducklings, giraffes, plaintive babies, and the Smart Dog. Amy's art reminds me slightly of Gary Panter and Mike Diana, as well as a Paper Radio-influenced Ron Rege, Jr. I'd like to see a proper comic by Amy, but I doubt I'll pick up another sketchbook mini such as this. Good unified idea, but little else. $3 to Amy Lockhart, 585 Eastvale Dr., Gloucester, Ontario K1J 6Z4 Canada.
Supermonster #14
Entitled Gloriana Comics, this 96-page edition of Kevin Huizenga's minicomic is quite a bargain compared to many zines and self-published comics. With a full-color cover, the comic was drawn between the winter of 2000 and summer of 2001. It opens with "At Work," a two-pager featuring Wendy Caramel-Ganges, one of the issue's ensemble cast, who joins Glenn in the 25-page "The Groceries," in which they envision the future of their unborn child. The piece is drawn in a delightfully cartoony style and, while heavy on dialogue, reads quith smoothly, interspersing foreshadowing with conversation about Wendy's sister's relationship ups and downs. The narrative flow is interrupted by "The Sunset," which itself uses an interrupted phone conversation as the framing conceit for a meditation on the setting sun, complete with a foldout that's equal parts Chris Ware and Greg Cook. Nice pratfall ending! An existential appreciation of a blood-red moon -- and another telephone conversation -- couches Huizenga's scientific explanation in some nice Ron Rege, Jr.-esque imagery, as well as some Scott McCloud-like process comics analyzing the physics of vision. "The Moon Rose" even has a punchline! Lastly, "Basketball" evokes John Porcellino as Huizenga portrays the recollection of a game in Illinois. Hella impressive, Supermonster combines solid storytelling, unintentional cute brut imagery, process comics, and other notable elements to weave several pieces together in a narrative whole. One to get. Immediately. $3 to Kevin Huizenga, P.O. Box 12299, St. Louis, MO 63157.
There Is Nothing!
Cheryl tells me that Marc is Amy Lockhart's boyfriend, and besides their residing in the same province, the shared cute brut style indicates that that's not outside the realm of possibility. Marc's art is largely resonant of Robert Crumb by way of Peter Bagge and Ron Rege, Jr., and this half-legal, 40-page comic collects strips from the Coast, an alt.weekly in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Exclaim!; and the titillating Vice. Even Canada's answer to Factsheet Five (RIP), Broken Pencil (organized geographically a la the Hudson Luce F5), has run Marc's stuff. And good stuff it is! His character Saul reminds me of Creem magazine's Boy Howdy beer bottle character, bolstering the Crumb comparisons. "Thar Is Nut'n!" made me laugh out loud with its to-do list containing "Put things into other things" and "Discover inner self" items. "Where!?!" is a surreal nod to Joe Matt and David Lynch's comics. Marc also pokes Big Boy, psychoanalysis, abstract art, love, winter, mythology, meditation, rock 'n' roll, comics artists (hisself!), zinemakers, Japanese pop culture, free stuff, and literature. While the Crumb influence is occasionally jarring, I'd rather read these alt.weekly strips from 1995-2000 than anything ever done by Kaz. "Life Is a Highway" is the best example of Bell's cute brut leanings. Awesome stuff. Amy could take some cues. $4 to Marc Bell, 1016 Dalhousie Dr., London, Ontario N6K 1M7 Canada.
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World
Remember when Mad magazine didn't have any ads? Now that AOL-Time-Warner owns the long-running humor magazine, not only does Mad contain ads -- for things like Corn Nuts -- the media conglomerate is starting to license Alfred E. Neuman for use by other businesses, such as Land's End and PepsiCo.
The innocence of childhood has now ended.
Remember when Mad magazine didn't have any ads? Now that AOL-Time-Warner owns the long-running humor magazine, not only does Mad contain ads -- for things like Corn Nuts -- the media conglomerate is starting to license Alfred E. Neuman for use by other businesses, such as Land's End and PepsiCo.
The innocence of childhood has now ended.
Comics with a Cause II
George Bush has become even more of a cartoon in recent days with the advent of an Indian comic strip that portrays our fearless and peerless leader as Dubyaman, a "deranged superhero destined to skid on the banana peel of his own ineptitude."
In an odd bit of self-reference, the Times of India has even reported on the strip, which runs in its very pages. Seems there's an art exhibit featuring examples of the artwork, which I've had trouble finding online.
George Bush has become even more of a cartoon in recent days with the advent of an Indian comic strip that portrays our fearless and peerless leader as Dubyaman, a "deranged superhero destined to skid on the banana peel of his own ineptitude."
In an odd bit of self-reference, the Times of India has even reported on the strip, which runs in its very pages. Seems there's an art exhibit featuring examples of the artwork, which I've had trouble finding online.
Rabble Rall-ser II
About 10 days ago, Jim Treacher emailed me a link to several Clip-Art Nonsense comic strips he wrote and drew in response to the recent 911/Ted Rall brouhaha.
"Did you notice the discrepancies in [Rall's] story about the third panel -- with the widow whose husband's throat was slashed -- between his appearance on the O'Reilly Factor on March 7 and the Editor & Publisher article March 8?" Jim wrote. "He still seems to be making up his mind over whether or not he was targeting Daniel Pearl's widow."
About 10 days ago, Jim Treacher emailed me a link to several Clip-Art Nonsense comic strips he wrote and drew in response to the recent 911/Ted Rall brouhaha.
"Did you notice the discrepancies in [Rall's] story about the third panel -- with the widow whose husband's throat was slashed -- between his appearance on the O'Reilly Factor on March 7 and the Editor & Publisher article March 8?" Jim wrote. "He still seems to be making up his mind over whether or not he was targeting Daniel Pearl's widow."
One Man's Alternative Media Strategy
Sander Hicks, founder of Soft Skull Press, wrote the following raw, rough first draft as a statement for the Alternative Media primer for the upcoming Version 2.0 conference, scheduled to take place in April in Chicago. Sander is about to go on tour with his band White Collar Crime -- and a new newspaper featuring similar material and reporting. He welcomes your feedback, especially if you are experienced in the subjects addressed.
I'm best known for starting Soft Skull Press, a alternative book publishing company. But you know, the current global situation compares so closely to 1991, the year of my first foray into alt.media. When the Gulf War started, I was part of a collective that formed to publish an alternative newspaper. Our college's official newspaper parroted the complicit position of the corporate media, so creating an alternative was a logical, fun choice. But we didn't stop history from repeating itself. Eleven years later there's a new Bush in the White House, and a similar war for oil going on in Central Asia.
We need to stop the crimes of big business, war and poverty. From "The New Xaymaca" newspaper to Soft Skull Press, I think I've learned a few lessons that amount to a media strategy, so here goes:
If being an anti-war, anti-imperialist thinker is what brought you and your friends into alternative media, then just admit it, you are now a part of that fabled entity called the American Left. This means that your media strategy is also going to also be a political strategy. But instead of being a member of a political entity, it's your role to be a part of a production entity: You're more like a union than a party. That means that a certain degree of ideological diversity and flexibility is a must. So I guess my first political point is that anarchists can learn a lot from socialists, and vice versa. (And this applies to all schools of thought and analysis.) To the anarchist/socialist debate I would say: Rather than divide into sects, let's try to find a balance between spontaneity and discipline, between direct action and committed organization. It's not either/or, it's both.
That said, I think it should be a life-long media strategy of a united left to seize state power. There, I said it. At the same time, I'm an anti-totalitarian leftist. Look, a strain of anarchism has to be included in this worldview. The media has to taken out of the hands of the fat cats, the right wingers, the weak moderates, and the lame-o's. We've got to put it in the hands of the common people and then let them run with it. Can this be done? Am I dreaming?
Yes. In China, the Communist Party actually paid for the industries it took over, through government bonds.
But how can you guarantee that a state-run media won't become a propaganda vehicle for the government, some Soviet joke? Here's a quick example, freshly extricated from real world capitalism. The New York Times is a publicly held company, but the shareholders don't get to have influence over editorial decisions. The Times made rules beforehand saying we want the benefits of public ownership, but we can't have editorial decisions dictated by outside interests. In the same way, the entire corporate media establishment should be transferred into the hands of a new American workers' state. It would have to be a part of its charter that the state did not interfere with content. That workers' state could set up some infrastructure, some funding, and just let it go.
Too risky? Well, what are the alternatives? We have a system right now that is a dictatorship. The Rupert Murdochs, the Roger Ailes, the Bill O'Reilly's, the Heritage Foundation, the Wall Street Journal, the sold-out 60 Minutes, and all the rest show us what a free market gets us: a bunch of puppets. Right-wing mediocrity. Instead of hard-hitting reporting, we get excuses for the crimes of capitalism, we get cheer-leading for oil wars. It's time for the power of the people.
I recently debated this guy, a real rabid anti-communist. I won on points, in a 11 to 9 decision, and then he emailed me all bitter. Said that Marxism was akin to fascism because I called the middle-class values and ruling class "the bourgeoisie." He said I shouldn't use this piece of "hate language." Boy, he was really scared by class struggle analysis, wasn't he? If you crack this code and see history as a long story of class exploitation, then this really gets under certain people's skin. I remember the trend five years ago was to accuse anyone slightly on the Left of "class war" if they brought up issues of poverty or the need for a social safety net. That trend now over, the strategy of the Right has shifted over and become its opposite: They are now trying to appropriate class struggle for their own ends. I guess they realized the power of the analysis; they figured they better appropriate it (before the young North American globalization movement grabs the weapons of class analysis). So now Bill O'Reilly's shtick on Fox is to constantly make reference to the integrity of his "lower middle-class" roots. In a recent appearance at Columbia, I watched Chris Matthews go on about how great the "war" in Afghanistan is, because it's a "real blue-collar war" because "it's so GUT" it's so simple, and Bush is leading us around using emotions anyone can understand.
The simple truth here is that this government is the enemy of the people. Pick an issue. The environment, the recent deregulation of communications, the continued deregulation of the energy industry. The war on terrorism is a sick joke. It would be a better world with media with the ability to be critical, thoughtful, piercing, objective, forthright.
Making viable media alternatives is a must. Offset printing a newspaper on a "web" press is actually pretty damn cheap. Web sites are even cheaper. What's hard is staying alive in a world trying to crush its dissenters. Because once you really get to a scale at which you threaten them, they will stop thinking you're cute and they will try to kill you. I saw this personally when Soft Skull did the Bush biography Fortunate Son.
It's time for self-defense. Let's all get in top physical condition. Let's all study military strategy and tactics. Let's all read voraciously across the spectrum of radical left politics. Let's learn from the mistakes of Stalin and Mao and put together a new American socialist alternative.
Sander Hicks, founder of Soft Skull Press, wrote the following raw, rough first draft as a statement for the Alternative Media primer for the upcoming Version 2.0 conference, scheduled to take place in April in Chicago. Sander is about to go on tour with his band White Collar Crime -- and a new newspaper featuring similar material and reporting. He welcomes your feedback, especially if you are experienced in the subjects addressed.
I'm best known for starting Soft Skull Press, a alternative book publishing company. But you know, the current global situation compares so closely to 1991, the year of my first foray into alt.media. When the Gulf War started, I was part of a collective that formed to publish an alternative newspaper. Our college's official newspaper parroted the complicit position of the corporate media, so creating an alternative was a logical, fun choice. But we didn't stop history from repeating itself. Eleven years later there's a new Bush in the White House, and a similar war for oil going on in Central Asia.
We need to stop the crimes of big business, war and poverty. From "The New Xaymaca" newspaper to Soft Skull Press, I think I've learned a few lessons that amount to a media strategy, so here goes:
If being an anti-war, anti-imperialist thinker is what brought you and your friends into alternative media, then just admit it, you are now a part of that fabled entity called the American Left. This means that your media strategy is also going to also be a political strategy. But instead of being a member of a political entity, it's your role to be a part of a production entity: You're more like a union than a party. That means that a certain degree of ideological diversity and flexibility is a must. So I guess my first political point is that anarchists can learn a lot from socialists, and vice versa. (And this applies to all schools of thought and analysis.) To the anarchist/socialist debate I would say: Rather than divide into sects, let's try to find a balance between spontaneity and discipline, between direct action and committed organization. It's not either/or, it's both.
That said, I think it should be a life-long media strategy of a united left to seize state power. There, I said it. At the same time, I'm an anti-totalitarian leftist. Look, a strain of anarchism has to be included in this worldview. The media has to taken out of the hands of the fat cats, the right wingers, the weak moderates, and the lame-o's. We've got to put it in the hands of the common people and then let them run with it. Can this be done? Am I dreaming?
Yes. In China, the Communist Party actually paid for the industries it took over, through government bonds.
But how can you guarantee that a state-run media won't become a propaganda vehicle for the government, some Soviet joke? Here's a quick example, freshly extricated from real world capitalism. The New York Times is a publicly held company, but the shareholders don't get to have influence over editorial decisions. The Times made rules beforehand saying we want the benefits of public ownership, but we can't have editorial decisions dictated by outside interests. In the same way, the entire corporate media establishment should be transferred into the hands of a new American workers' state. It would have to be a part of its charter that the state did not interfere with content. That workers' state could set up some infrastructure, some funding, and just let it go.
Too risky? Well, what are the alternatives? We have a system right now that is a dictatorship. The Rupert Murdochs, the Roger Ailes, the Bill O'Reilly's, the Heritage Foundation, the Wall Street Journal, the sold-out 60 Minutes, and all the rest show us what a free market gets us: a bunch of puppets. Right-wing mediocrity. Instead of hard-hitting reporting, we get excuses for the crimes of capitalism, we get cheer-leading for oil wars. It's time for the power of the people.
I recently debated this guy, a real rabid anti-communist. I won on points, in a 11 to 9 decision, and then he emailed me all bitter. Said that Marxism was akin to fascism because I called the middle-class values and ruling class "the bourgeoisie." He said I shouldn't use this piece of "hate language." Boy, he was really scared by class struggle analysis, wasn't he? If you crack this code and see history as a long story of class exploitation, then this really gets under certain people's skin. I remember the trend five years ago was to accuse anyone slightly on the Left of "class war" if they brought up issues of poverty or the need for a social safety net. That trend now over, the strategy of the Right has shifted over and become its opposite: They are now trying to appropriate class struggle for their own ends. I guess they realized the power of the analysis; they figured they better appropriate it (before the young North American globalization movement grabs the weapons of class analysis). So now Bill O'Reilly's shtick on Fox is to constantly make reference to the integrity of his "lower middle-class" roots. In a recent appearance at Columbia, I watched Chris Matthews go on about how great the "war" in Afghanistan is, because it's a "real blue-collar war" because "it's so GUT" it's so simple, and Bush is leading us around using emotions anyone can understand.
The simple truth here is that this government is the enemy of the people. Pick an issue. The environment, the recent deregulation of communications, the continued deregulation of the energy industry. The war on terrorism is a sick joke. It would be a better world with media with the ability to be critical, thoughtful, piercing, objective, forthright.
Making viable media alternatives is a must. Offset printing a newspaper on a "web" press is actually pretty damn cheap. Web sites are even cheaper. What's hard is staying alive in a world trying to crush its dissenters. Because once you really get to a scale at which you threaten them, they will stop thinking you're cute and they will try to kill you. I saw this personally when Soft Skull did the Bush biography Fortunate Son.
It's time for self-defense. Let's all get in top physical condition. Let's all study military strategy and tactics. Let's all read voraciously across the spectrum of radical left politics. Let's learn from the mistakes of Stalin and Mao and put together a new American socialist alternative.
How I've Been Spending My Time II
Kewlbox just released a new game that combines extreme sledding with South Park-like character designs. It plays left to right, is quite clever, and is a lot of fun. Because Boston's not had much snow this winter, it's also a good reminder of how fun winter can be -- if there is snow.
The game is available for PC's as well as Mac's.
Life's all downhill from here.
Kewlbox just released a new game that combines extreme sledding with South Park-like character designs. It plays left to right, is quite clever, and is a lot of fun. Because Boston's not had much snow this winter, it's also a good reminder of how fun winter can be -- if there is snow.
The game is available for PC's as well as Mac's.
Life's all downhill from here.
The Best of the Web
I'm a nominating judge for the Webbies again this year, in the Community category. We're starting to discuss candidates for the nominations, and I'd like to pick your brain. If you can recommend any Web sites and services that meet the following description, email me, and I'll consider it for the mix.
Community: Sites creating and facilitating online community, connectedness and/or communication around shared interests. These sites can target either a broad-based or niche audience.
Thanks for your help!
I'm a nominating judge for the Webbies again this year, in the Community category. We're starting to discuss candidates for the nominations, and I'd like to pick your brain. If you can recommend any Web sites and services that meet the following description, email me, and I'll consider it for the mix.
Community: Sites creating and facilitating online community, connectedness and/or communication around shared interests. These sites can target either a broad-based or niche audience.
Thanks for your help!
Monday, March 18, 2002
News You Can Abuse II
Media Dietician Clint Schaff encouraged me to let folks know about two new Adbusters campaigns:
Corporate Hot Seat offers an "uncommercial" calling the very existence of Phillip Morris into question. Adbusters' Media Foundation is currently raising funds to run the ad and stage other Phillip Morris protest activities.
Adbusters is also rethinking its plans to stage money-drops April 1 at the world's stockmarkets and is currently brainstorming other direct actions that could take place.
Media Dietician Clint Schaff encouraged me to let folks know about two new Adbusters campaigns:
The Comics Art of Architecture
Ninth Art recently published a round table discussion of the role cities and architecture play in comic books. The Web site's editorial board sets the foundation by asking whether the urban landscapes -- such as Gotham and Metropolis -- featured in comics-based narratives serve as the foundation for or the background of the stories. Riffing off of the fact that most Marvel comics are based in New York City, Andrew Wheeler suggests that urban settings (New York in particular) reflect the hope and idealism -- some might add escapism -- inherent in superhero comics. He even goes so far as to invoke St. Augustine's presentation of morality: city (man-made) vs. garden (God-given). "If there's one place where evil is most likely to fester, it's going to be in the cities, therefore that's where the heroes are required," adds panelist Antony Johnston.
Ninth Art recently published a round table discussion of the role cities and architecture play in comic books. The Web site's editorial board sets the foundation by asking whether the urban landscapes -- such as Gotham and Metropolis -- featured in comics-based narratives serve as the foundation for or the background of the stories. Riffing off of the fact that most Marvel comics are based in New York City, Andrew Wheeler suggests that urban settings (New York in particular) reflect the hope and idealism -- some might add escapism -- inherent in superhero comics. He even goes so far as to invoke St. Augustine's presentation of morality: city (man-made) vs. garden (God-given). "If there's one place where evil is most likely to fester, it's going to be in the cities, therefore that's where the heroes are required," adds panelist Antony Johnston.
Guestimonial
Don't know when I last jotted you a note. Too long, I'm sure. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I love Media Diet. I take it in at least twice a week, and I have read probably 90% of it since late January -- and even some archives beyond that. I just love your accounts of the random people you meet at parties, on street corners, and what not. Even if I didn't know you already, it makes the reviews and other "official" readings much more accountable. Keep up the good work. -- Rick Weller
Don't know when I last jotted you a note. Too long, I'm sure. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I love Media Diet. I take it in at least twice a week, and I have read probably 90% of it since late January -- and even some archives beyond that. I just love your accounts of the random people you meet at parties, on street corners, and what not. Even if I didn't know you already, it makes the reviews and other "official" readings much more accountable. Keep up the good work. -- Rick Weller
Blogging About Blogging XV
Henry Jenkins directs MIT's comparative media studies program. He also heads the Games-to-Teach project, which my childhood friend Kurt works on.
Anyway, I said all that to say this: Earlier this month, the MIT Technology Review, via MSNBC, shared Henry's thoughts on blogging. He analyzes blogging's rise in the midst of the dotcom meltdown and posits that blogs -- grassroots infomediaries -- and other DIY Web media might be the next phase of the digital revolution.
Henry Jenkins directs MIT's comparative media studies program. He also heads the Games-to-Teach project, which my childhood friend Kurt works on.
Anyway, I said all that to say this: Earlier this month, the MIT Technology Review, via MSNBC, shared Henry's thoughts on blogging. He analyzes blogging's rise in the midst of the dotcom meltdown and posits that blogs -- grassroots infomediaries -- and other DIY Web media might be the next phase of the digital revolution.
Blogging About Blogging XIV
The Fast Company home page today is all over the blog phenomenon. The following features are highlighted:
An interview with David Weinberger about his unified theory of the Web
A conversation with the author of the Weblog Handbook
My visit with Evan Williams during the 2001 CoF Roadshow
A roundup of FC contributors and their blogs -- including yours truly
John Ellis' recent column about blogging
Full disclosure: I work for Fast Company. And I often tinker with Media Diet while at work.
The Fast Company home page today is all over the blog phenomenon. The following features are highlighted:
Full disclosure: I work for Fast Company. And I often tinker with Media Diet while at work.
Online at the Trident
One of the best newsstands in Boston can be found at the Trident Booksellers Cafe on Newbury Street. They also serve a mean cup of coffee -- and an excellent veggie burger. In addition, they're run by Buddhists who used to live in Vermont! (Let's just say it's my kind of place.) Now they offer wireless Net access. The project is part of the Newbury Open Network, and Tech Superpowers Inc. hopes to offer wireless networking to other shops and restaurants in Boston's Euro-tinged shopping district, as well.
One of the best newsstands in Boston can be found at the Trident Booksellers Cafe on Newbury Street. They also serve a mean cup of coffee -- and an excellent veggie burger. In addition, they're run by Buddhists who used to live in Vermont! (Let's just say it's my kind of place.) Now they offer wireless Net access. The project is part of the Newbury Open Network, and Tech Superpowers Inc. hopes to offer wireless networking to other shops and restaurants in Boston's Euro-tinged shopping district, as well.
All in the Family
Ad Age features an interesting article about how AOL Time Warner's biggest advertising client is... AOL Time Warner. While it's common for newspapers and magazines to include house ads, AOL Time Warner's cross promotion of other media properties within the company indicates a concerning concentration on keeping media consumers within the family of AOL Time Warner products -- as well as the sorry state of advertising in general. House ads and cross promotions may save AOL Time Warner money... but if they're their own top customer, what about outside ads paid in real money?
Ad Age features an interesting article about how AOL Time Warner's biggest advertising client is... AOL Time Warner. While it's common for newspapers and magazines to include house ads, AOL Time Warner's cross promotion of other media properties within the company indicates a concerning concentration on keeping media consumers within the family of AOL Time Warner products -- as well as the sorry state of advertising in general. House ads and cross promotions may save AOL Time Warner money... but if they're their own top customer, what about outside ads paid in real money?
Who Watches the Watchdogs?
Fox News reports on Web sites that monitor the follies and foibles of major newspapers such as the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Fox News reports on Web sites that monitor the follies and foibles of major newspapers such as the New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Nervy, Pervy IV
Media Dietician GVZ reports: "Nightline just did a story on the Suicide Girls Web site that you mentioned. According to Nightline, Suicide Girls has earned $80,000 so far. They must be getting cheated by whoever hosts their site because in their Punknet interview they implied that they weren't making any money. Interesting."
Additionally, Laurent recently interviewed Missy from the Suicide Girls in his Mondo 2000-like cyberculture Webzine La Spirale. The interview touches on the empowering potential of porn -- or "naughty pictures without stigma" -- and Missy's photographic inspirations.
Media Dietician GVZ reports: "Nightline just did a story on the Suicide Girls Web site that you mentioned. According to Nightline, Suicide Girls has earned $80,000 so far. They must be getting cheated by whoever hosts their site because in their Punknet interview they implied that they weren't making any money. Interesting."
Additionally, Laurent recently interviewed Missy from the Suicide Girls in his Mondo 2000-like cyberculture Webzine La Spirale. The interview touches on the empowering potential of porn -- or "naughty pictures without stigma" -- and Missy's photographic inspirations.
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