Corollary: Blogging About Blogging XXX
I've also added some section headings in the right-hand column so it's easier to find all of the different kinds of reviews. These are basically Google searches within Media Diet, so the formatting is search engine-driven -- not organized like a section of a Web site -- but it does the trick. I'll continue to add categories as it makes sense and the need arises.
Thanks to Media Dieticians Tom (again) and Jeremiah Brown for pointing out how challenging it is to find past Media Diet entries.
Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Blogging About Blogging XXX
I've made a couple of changes to Media Diet. One, Atomz is no longer my search engine of choice. Google is. Using their Free Search service, Media Dieticians can now search the Cardhouse domain or the Web. I've positioned the search field at the bottom of the page, near the Archives link.
To accommodate easier searches -- and so you don't have to scroll down so far to find the search field -- I've altered Media Diet's template so three days of entries are on the main page instead of the seven of the past. Those made for some pretty long pages!
Thanks to Tom for helping push me over the edge to fix something I haven't been pleased with for awhile. Atomz just wasn't passing muster.
I've made a couple of changes to Media Diet. One, Atomz is no longer my search engine of choice. Google is. Using their Free Search service, Media Dieticians can now search the Cardhouse domain or the Web. I've positioned the search field at the bottom of the page, near the Archives link.
To accommodate easier searches -- and so you don't have to scroll down so far to find the search field -- I've altered Media Diet's template so three days of entries are on the main page instead of the seven of the past. Those made for some pretty long pages!
Thanks to Tom for helping push me over the edge to fix something I haven't been pleased with for awhile. Atomz just wasn't passing muster.
From the In Box: Subway Soundtrack III
The Chicago Reader has recently introduced a cartoon which illustrates real-life reader-contributed anecdotes of overheard conversations -- primarily to make fun of and embarass cell-phone users. This week's showed someone putting their transit card into the turnstile while telling someone on the phone "OK, so I'm going to hop into this cab..." I've seen funnier, but they aren't online. The Reader is unfortunately stingy with their section-one content on the Web site. -- Joe Germuska
Indeed they are! Does anyone have any links or scans to share?
The Chicago Reader has recently introduced a cartoon which illustrates real-life reader-contributed anecdotes of overheard conversations -- primarily to make fun of and embarass cell-phone users. This week's showed someone putting their transit card into the turnstile while telling someone on the phone "OK, so I'm going to hop into this cab..." I've seen funnier, but they aren't online. The Reader is unfortunately stingy with their section-one content on the Web site. -- Joe Germuska
Indeed they are! Does anyone have any links or scans to share?
From the In Box: Books Worth a Look VI
One request I have for you, as a reader of your blog -- I was digging back through your "From the Reading Pile" and "Books Worth a Look" sections (which, on a side note, are actually easier to track down using Google than Atomz, but that's a critique for another day), and I would love it if you'd include the publisher of each book, if such an entity exists, as well as the title and author and date. Especially since a fair number of the books you write about are independently produced.
(In this case, I was curious to see if you'd reviewed any of the So New Media books, but I only recognized "Words! Words! Words!" from having seen the title in their catalog.) -- Tom Hopkins
Consider it done. With the next edition of Books Worth a Look, I'll note the publisher, as well. On your side note, I, too, have been frustrated by Atomz. It doesn't seem to find much, ever, and the search results are formatted such that the results are masked, even. Tough to find what you found, if that makes any sense. When I have some time, I'll explore a better search tool option. Does Google do microsite search engines? Any other recommendations?
One request I have for you, as a reader of your blog -- I was digging back through your "From the Reading Pile" and "Books Worth a Look" sections (which, on a side note, are actually easier to track down using Google than Atomz, but that's a critique for another day), and I would love it if you'd include the publisher of each book, if such an entity exists, as well as the title and author and date. Especially since a fair number of the books you write about are independently produced.
(In this case, I was curious to see if you'd reviewed any of the So New Media books, but I only recognized "Words! Words! Words!" from having seen the title in their catalog.) -- Tom Hopkins
Consider it done. With the next edition of Books Worth a Look, I'll note the publisher, as well. On your side note, I, too, have been frustrated by Atomz. It doesn't seem to find much, ever, and the search results are formatted such that the results are masked, even. Tough to find what you found, if that makes any sense. When I have some time, I'll explore a better search tool option. Does Google do microsite search engines? Any other recommendations?
Subway Soundtrack III
Overheard on the Green Line this morning:
Little Girl: (showing her mother a religious tract entitled, "What the Hell?") What does this say?
Mother: It says, "What the Hell?"
Little Girl: (shocked) Mommy!
Overheard on the Green Line this morning:
Little Girl: (showing her mother a religious tract entitled, "What the Hell?") What does this say?
Mother: It says, "What the Hell?"
Little Girl: (shocked) Mommy!
Corollary: An Open Book?
Positioning itself in a niche currently occupied by magazines such as Page and Book, the people behind Readerville are planning to launch a print magazine, The Readerville Journal, in September. The magazine will build its circulation on the 20,000 or so people who participate in Readerville's online discussions every month, and the publisher hopes response is early and active. "It's as if a focus group of several thousand people met round-the-clock for two years to lay out an agenda for this content," he says.
Special kudos to Readerville for partnering with Book Sense, the American Booksellers Association's network of more than 1,100 independent bookstores. This alliance might be a worthy challenger to Book, which is backed extensively by Barnes & Noble. Independent bookstores, an online community, and a magazine? What more could we ask for?
Thanks to I Want Media.
Positioning itself in a niche currently occupied by magazines such as Page and Book, the people behind Readerville are planning to launch a print magazine, The Readerville Journal, in September. The magazine will build its circulation on the 20,000 or so people who participate in Readerville's online discussions every month, and the publisher hopes response is early and active. "It's as if a focus group of several thousand people met round-the-clock for two years to lay out an agenda for this content," he says.
Special kudos to Readerville for partnering with Book Sense, the American Booksellers Association's network of more than 1,100 independent bookstores. This alliance might be a worthy challenger to Book, which is backed extensively by Barnes & Noble. Independent bookstores, an online community, and a magazine? What more could we ask for?
Thanks to I Want Media.
Big Brother Is Watching VII
The state of Illinois is spending $4 million to install security cameras and emergency call boxes at more than 50 highway rest stops.
Thanks to Drudge Report.
The state of Illinois is spending $4 million to install security cameras and emergency call boxes at more than 50 highway rest stops.
Thanks to Drudge Report.
Corollary: Rock Shows of Note XXXI
I returned to Toad last night to see Schwang and the Tim Gearan Band with Coco and her friend Mark. I wasn't totally into the idea of seeing the bands again -- they're good but not brilliant -- but I did want to see Coco, so there you go. The show was slightly different. Schwang and Gearan were joined by a new guitarist, Kevin, whose approach was more blues and solo oriented -- not as sparse and ornamental as Dave Goodrich's guitar work. And Schwang was joined by the bartender's sister, who'se visiting from out of town, for several songs. She's got a solid voice and a sultry stage presence. Her harmonies with Anita were especially impressive. Gearan's band added a mohawked hand drum and tambourine player -- who slid in beside us on the side pew, making seating quite tight. He was the most intent tambourine player I've ever seen. Wasn't going to let it get away from him, no sir! The saxophonist was mic'ed this time, which was awesome. You could hear the tenor much better than last week. But still not my thing. We left after several songs to walk home.
Also of note, Andy got a haircut.
I returned to Toad last night to see Schwang and the Tim Gearan Band with Coco and her friend Mark. I wasn't totally into the idea of seeing the bands again -- they're good but not brilliant -- but I did want to see Coco, so there you go. The show was slightly different. Schwang and Gearan were joined by a new guitarist, Kevin, whose approach was more blues and solo oriented -- not as sparse and ornamental as Dave Goodrich's guitar work. And Schwang was joined by the bartender's sister, who'se visiting from out of town, for several songs. She's got a solid voice and a sultry stage presence. Her harmonies with Anita were especially impressive. Gearan's band added a mohawked hand drum and tambourine player -- who slid in beside us on the side pew, making seating quite tight. He was the most intent tambourine player I've ever seen. Wasn't going to let it get away from him, no sir! The saxophonist was mic'ed this time, which was awesome. You could hear the tenor much better than last week. But still not my thing. We left after several songs to walk home.
Also of note, Andy got a haircut.
Among the Literati XIV
David Eggers rates two mentions in the Aug. 19 edition of Advertising Age. Placement one, one of the photographs accompanying Kate Fitzgerald's article "Promoting the Page" about New Yorker Festival sponsorships features Dave sitting in on a panel discussion. Mention two, Richard Linnett's Adages column includes several paragraphs subheaded "Scrambled Eggers." It discusses Dave's book excerpt in the Aug. 12 issue of The New Yorker and suggests that the very premise -- a young man gets paid a lot of money for posing for an advertising logo and, wracked by guilt, gives it all away -- is farcical. Dave builds his book on the idea that the man was paid $80,000 for the use of his silhouette. One ad exec says he would have netted $2,500, max. The caption to the photo adjacent to the blurb is captioned "Dim Bulb: Dave Eggers has money to burn." Well, at least he's flaring brightly!
David Eggers rates two mentions in the Aug. 19 edition of Advertising Age. Placement one, one of the photographs accompanying Kate Fitzgerald's article "Promoting the Page" about New Yorker Festival sponsorships features Dave sitting in on a panel discussion. Mention two, Richard Linnett's Adages column includes several paragraphs subheaded "Scrambled Eggers." It discusses Dave's book excerpt in the Aug. 12 issue of The New Yorker and suggests that the very premise -- a young man gets paid a lot of money for posing for an advertising logo and, wracked by guilt, gives it all away -- is farcical. Dave builds his book on the idea that the man was paid $80,000 for the use of his silhouette. One ad exec says he would have netted $2,500, max. The caption to the photo adjacent to the blurb is captioned "Dim Bulb: Dave Eggers has money to burn." Well, at least he's flaring brightly!
Monday, August 19, 2002
FAQ 'n' Roll
Jef and I frequently receive emails from people wondering whether Handstand Command can book them a show while they're on tour, put out their record, or otherwise help them in the ways that managers, booking agents, and record labels do. Sometimes we can. But not all the time. So I wrote this little Handstand Command primer this morning so we had something we could reply to these folks with promptly. Rereading it, I figured Media Dieticians might find it interesting, as well. So here you go.
Please remember that this will be sent out as an email. It wasn't really written or formatted to be published on the Web, regardless of its presence here. Move along. There's nothing to see here.
Jef and I frequently receive emails from people wondering whether Handstand Command can book them a show while they're on tour, put out their record, or otherwise help them in the ways that managers, booking agents, and record labels do. Sometimes we can. But not all the time. So I wrote this little Handstand Command primer this morning so we had something we could reply to these folks with promptly. Rereading it, I figured Media Dieticians might find it interesting, as well. So here you go.
HANDSTAND COMMAND SAYS: HELLO!
Thank you very much for writing to Handstand Command! You've either contacted us about participating in a compilation CD project, sharing a show, or needing some help while your band is on tour in the Boston area. We've written this handy-dandy email FAQ to let you know more about what Handstand Command does -- and how -- and, even if we're unable to help you right now, where else you might turn for assistance in our area. Let us know if you have further questions, OK? We're still new at this.
WHAT IS THE HANDSTAND COMMAND?
Handstand Command is a Somerville, Massachusetts-based music collective that comprises a handful of pop, punk, rock, and other bands, with some of those musical groups sharing band members. We're like Elephant Six, only not as famous. Currently, the Handstand Command collective includes the Anchormen, the Operators, the Tardy, Scrapple, Sinkcharmer, and Asian Babe Alert.
We collectively organize and promote shows, often involving bands outside of the collective, cooperatively run a small record label called Unstoppable Records, and otherwise help expand and improve the Somerville and Boston-area rock scene. For more information about how Handstand Command came to be, check out http://handstandcommand.tripod.com/about.html
WHOA. YOU LOST ME. WHAT WERE THE NAMES OF THOSE BANDS AGAIN?
The Anchormen The Operators The Tardy Scrapple Sinkcharmer Asian Babe Alert (for more information, contact Tom of the Anchormen)
YOU SAID YOU RUN A LABEL? YOU MAKE RECORDS?
Do we ever! To date, Unstoppable Records has released many fine musical recordings of high quality and widespread enjoyment. Currently, our back catalog offers CD's, CD EP's, and 7-inches recorded by the Anchormen, the Operators, Scrapple, and Jef Czekaj (of the Anchormen and the Tardy). We are all hard at work to produce further examples of our studio wizardry. Of course, our records are merely pale shadows of the awe-inspiring rock we unleash during our live performances, but if you'd like to learn more about Unstoppable's wares, visit http://handstandcommand.tripod.com/recordings.html
WILL YOU PUT OUT _MY_ RECORD?
To be totally honest, no. We'd like to focus on our own releases right now, and we think everyone in a band should learn how to put out at least one record by themselves. It's not that difficult, and it even borders on fun. Regardless, if you'd like to send us examples of your music, we'd certainly enjoy listening to them, will review them on the Web, will consider you for future live shows, and will share them with other friends who might be interested in your music.
And, not to mislead you, but Heath (of the Anchormen) occasionally toys with the idea of a compilation CD or CD series project, much like a cat toys with a mouse. Nothing has happened yet, and other members of the collective doubt that he'll ever get his act together, but we thought it might be worth mentioning. Don't get your hopes up, though.
WAIT. LIVE SHOWS? WHEN DO YOU PLAY NEXT?
All of Handstand Command's upcoming shows are listed at http://handstandcommand.tripod.com/calendar.html in an eminently useful, standard calendar format. We also manage an announcement mailing list called the Handstand Commandments that is more often than not quite funny, even if you can't make it to our shows. You can sign up for the Commandments mailing list at http://handstandcommand.tripod.com/signup.html
OK. ENOUGH ABOUT YOU. LET'S TALK ABOUT ME. CAN YOU HELP ME BOOK A SHOW?
We'd really like to, but we're not often able to meet other bands' needs when they're touring. Requests like, "We'll be in town June 1. Can you get us a show?" are challenging for us, but if you're just generally interested in playing with us -- or at one of our events -- in the future, we'd love to learn more about you. You see, we like music. A lot. And we especially like independent local music. Well, good independent local music, but you know what we mean.
We also organize a couple of annual events of some scale that we might be able to involve you and yours in in one way or another. We organize occasional series at the Abbey Lounge in Somerville, and we're often looking for new, interesting bands to add to bills that include Handstand Command members. Members of the collective have also organized events like the ArtBeat Sideshow and Bazaar Bizarre, the punk rock crafts fair.
But we probably can't help with time-critical tour needs. Sorry. If we're already working on something that fits your calendar and we really like you, maybe something will click, but in general, chances are slim.
CAN YOU LISTEN TO THE MP3'S ON OUR WEB SITE TO SEE IF YOU REALLY LIKE US?
MP3's and the InterWeb are both amazing things, but we're still rather partial to things like cassettes, records, and CD's, even if they're CD-R's. We're not always near a computer, and even if we are, not all of us have fast Net connections -- so MP3's can be a bit of a bother. If you'd _really_ like Handstand Command to give you a listen, you should send us a tape, record, or CD, regardless of its quality and packaging.
They'll be copied and distributed among the collective members, we'll pass them on to other friends who book shows if we think they can help you more than us, and we'll review them on the Web. So it's really worth your while to send us something.
FINE. WHERE SHOULD I SEND STUFF?
You can send material to one of two places.
Heath Row
P.O. Box 390205
Cambridge, MA
02139 USA
Sending it here will guarantee a review on the Web. Heath (of the Anchormen) runs an independent media news and review blog called Media Diet.
Unstoppable Records
P.O. Box 440422
Somerville, MA
02144 USA
This is the collective's general mailing address and is monitored by one Jef Czekaj (of the Anchormen and the Tardy). He also does a zine. Ask him about it.
DO YOU KNOW ANYONE ELSE WHO MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP US GET A SHOW?
We're not promising anything, but Handstand Command has closely aligned with several other bands in the area -- and we can recommend and vouch for a couple of specific clubs that we're particularly fond of. You might consider contacting them to see if they can help you. Tell 'em the Command sent ya.
First, the bands we rub elbows with:
Spoilsport Fightin Dogs Choo Choo la Rouge The Also-Rans
Now, the clubs we love:
The Abbey Lounge, Somerville O'Brien's, Allston The Midway Cafe, Jamaica Plain TT the Bear's, Cambridge The Middle East, Cambridge
Other places you should explore:
Book Your Own Fuckin' Life
Chances are good you tracked us down through this. If not, it's an awesome global punk rock resource listing bands, labels, zines, promoters, and venues. DIY, baby!
Just Another Scene
Currently on hiatus, this is still a good guide to New England scene stuff. The club listings offer info about what kinds of shows they put on, who books bands, and what the space is like.
Tony and Pals
An awesome resource including show listings, reviews, scene gossip, local record reviews, and other local stuff. One of the best local Web sites.
Boston Punk
Mostly show listings and classified ads, this site still has its finger on the local show pulse -- they may be able to connect you with show organizers.
East Coast Hardcore
The Show Booking section features a discussion board in which promoters post notices of band needs, upcoming shows, and the like. Looks useful, although this site is new to me.
WELL, THANKS A LOT. YOU'VE GIVEN ME A LOT OF FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Happy to help! We hope you send us stuff because we'd really like to consider you for future events. And we wish you the best of luck! Regardless of whether we're able to get you a show, we hope you'll let us know what happens -- we like going to shows, too. Let us know when you're playing here. Maybe the Handstand Command will show up at one of yours!
Love,
Handstand Command
http://www.handstandcommand.com
OH! I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. THIS THIRD-PERSON, COLLECTIVE VOICE THROWS ME OFF A LITTLE. WAS THIS EMAIL WRITTEN BY ROBOTS?
No. We have nothing against robots, but in the current economy, we cannot afford to enlist their services because of the pay range they demand. Heath (of the Anchormen) volunteered to write this email, and because we all have better things to do with our time, we figured we'd let the chump make himself useful for once. Nevertheless, Heath, don't think that this gets you off the hook. You're still in the dog house. We'll never forgive you for that one band you booked at the Upstairs Lounge, and we really wish you'd get off your butt and write some new songs. And none of that Screeching Weasel stuff either. Wait... is this thing still on? Did everyone hear that? Oops.
Please remember that this will be sent out as an email. It wasn't really written or formatted to be published on the Web, regardless of its presence here. Move along. There's nothing to see here.
Magazine Me XIV
This struck me as slightly funny and overly self-referential, but MediaBistro, a media-related Web site, offers an article on how to pitch stories to the Columbia Journalism Review, a trade magazine for journalists. Now I'm mentioning it in Media Diet, a media-related blog. If we keep this up, pretty soon we'll all write stories about writing stories for people who write stories about us writing stories. Or something like that.
This struck me as slightly funny and overly self-referential, but MediaBistro, a media-related Web site, offers an article on how to pitch stories to the Columbia Journalism Review, a trade magazine for journalists. Now I'm mentioning it in Media Diet, a media-related blog. If we keep this up, pretty soon we'll all write stories about writing stories for people who write stories about us writing stories. Or something like that.
Rock Shows of Note XXXIV
To help celebrate Lydia's birthday Saturday night, Coco and I went to Tir Na Nog near Union Square to meet with Lydia, Alex, and several other people -- and to hear Frank Morey. Ostensibly a blues musician -- Frank's coming out with a record later this year on a Chicago-based blues label -- Frank's set was a pleasant bit of old-timey country blues featuring him singing and playing guitar and Scott Pittman on drums.
Frank chain smokes, lighting one cigarette with another.
While I enjoyed Frank's singing and the overall feel of Tom Waits-like dramatic folk blues, I spent most of my time watching Scott play drums. He's got an awesome kit -- modeled after vaudeville, he says -- with a tambourine attached to the high-hat, a loosely coiled spring hanging from a stand, a cowbell, wood block, beaded tom, and a bass drum imprinted with a graphic that reads "Art is the handmaid of human good." He played melodica during one song, and the song in which Frank played the jaw harp accompanied by Scott's duck call was quite enjoyable. In addition, his method of singing backups was interesting. He positions himself pretty far back from the mic, so it created more of a suggestion of vocals underneath Frank's up-front singing. Nice.
Scott just moved from Lowell to Jamaica Plain.
Despite a couple of awkward moments -- girls at the bar giggling over Frank's mention of the "mouth organ" and U2 on the radio interrupting the beginning of their second set -- Frank and Scott played an enjoyable, energetic set. The song from O Brother, Where Art Thou? felt a little cliched, but it's a good song, so I can't fault them. Worth checking out if you like this kind of music. They'd fit well on a bill with Gloria Deluxe, I think.
You can also read another person's review of the show. Photographs courtesy of Koshka.
To help celebrate Lydia's birthday Saturday night, Coco and I went to Tir Na Nog near Union Square to meet with Lydia, Alex, and several other people -- and to hear Frank Morey. Ostensibly a blues musician -- Frank's coming out with a record later this year on a Chicago-based blues label -- Frank's set was a pleasant bit of old-timey country blues featuring him singing and playing guitar and Scott Pittman on drums.
Frank chain smokes, lighting one cigarette with another.
While I enjoyed Frank's singing and the overall feel of Tom Waits-like dramatic folk blues, I spent most of my time watching Scott play drums. He's got an awesome kit -- modeled after vaudeville, he says -- with a tambourine attached to the high-hat, a loosely coiled spring hanging from a stand, a cowbell, wood block, beaded tom, and a bass drum imprinted with a graphic that reads "Art is the handmaid of human good." He played melodica during one song, and the song in which Frank played the jaw harp accompanied by Scott's duck call was quite enjoyable. In addition, his method of singing backups was interesting. He positions himself pretty far back from the mic, so it created more of a suggestion of vocals underneath Frank's up-front singing. Nice.
Scott just moved from Lowell to Jamaica Plain.
Despite a couple of awkward moments -- girls at the bar giggling over Frank's mention of the "mouth organ" and U2 on the radio interrupting the beginning of their second set -- Frank and Scott played an enjoyable, energetic set. The song from O Brother, Where Art Thou? felt a little cliched, but it's a good song, so I can't fault them. Worth checking out if you like this kind of music. They'd fit well on a bill with Gloria Deluxe, I think.
You can also read another person's review of the show. Photographs courtesy of Koshka.
The Movie I Watched Last Night XXXII
Friday: Nine to Five
An extremely satisfying office comedy that rivals more recent attempts such as Office Space. The basic premise is slightly dated, as the film concentrates on a secretarial pool, its relationship with their male manager -- and their eventual rebellion against the hierarchical structure of their workplace. Lily Tomlin leads the charge with her strong-willed character Violet Newstead, and Dolly Parton shines as the southern-bred and misleadingly ditzy Doralee Thodes. But it is Jane Fonda's Judy Bernly who emerges as the most level-headed and leadership-oriented character, evolving from a mousy, unconfident recent divorcee into the group's conscience and reality check. That said, the chemistry between the three is palpable, and the movie rides on their collective acting force. Worth watching if you haven't ever seen it -- and returning to if you had. The messages still mean something.
Sunday: The Importance of Being Earnest
I've never read Oscar Wilde's play, but it's evident that the movie is infused with and quite fond of Wilde's penchant for playful banter and language usage. Colin Firth (Jack/Earnest) and Rupert Everett (Algy) interact quite nicely, and the cast is well rounded out by Judy Dench, whose society matron role is a highlight of the film, and Reese Witherspoon, who surprises with her portrayal of Jack's ward Cecily. Some commentators have remarked on director Oliver Parker's occasional forays into the world of Baz Luhrmann in terms of updating classics, but even it's true that Parker rearranged some of the story, added some details and back stories for the characters, and updated the story slightly, it's a solid movie. Plenty of Wilde's original cleverness and cynicism, and a solid clutch of actors. Wilde would probably approve.
Friday: Nine to Five
An extremely satisfying office comedy that rivals more recent attempts such as Office Space. The basic premise is slightly dated, as the film concentrates on a secretarial pool, its relationship with their male manager -- and their eventual rebellion against the hierarchical structure of their workplace. Lily Tomlin leads the charge with her strong-willed character Violet Newstead, and Dolly Parton shines as the southern-bred and misleadingly ditzy Doralee Thodes. But it is Jane Fonda's Judy Bernly who emerges as the most level-headed and leadership-oriented character, evolving from a mousy, unconfident recent divorcee into the group's conscience and reality check. That said, the chemistry between the three is palpable, and the movie rides on their collective acting force. Worth watching if you haven't ever seen it -- and returning to if you had. The messages still mean something.
Sunday: The Importance of Being Earnest
I've never read Oscar Wilde's play, but it's evident that the movie is infused with and quite fond of Wilde's penchant for playful banter and language usage. Colin Firth (Jack/Earnest) and Rupert Everett (Algy) interact quite nicely, and the cast is well rounded out by Judy Dench, whose society matron role is a highlight of the film, and Reese Witherspoon, who surprises with her portrayal of Jack's ward Cecily. Some commentators have remarked on director Oliver Parker's occasional forays into the world of Baz Luhrmann in terms of updating classics, but even it's true that Parker rearranged some of the story, added some details and back stories for the characters, and updated the story slightly, it's a solid movie. Plenty of Wilde's original cleverness and cynicism, and a solid clutch of actors. Wilde would probably approve.
Friday, August 16, 2002
Magazine Me XIII
You know you're a hot media property when a magazine publishes an article with your byline that you didn't write. Kurt Andersen recently found himself in a media prank of Paul Krassner-Kurt Vonnegut-Mary Schmich proportions when Details accepted a story entitled "Dudes Who Dish" -- and credited to him even though he didn't write it. Andersen plans to help the magazine track down the true perpetrator. Clue one: Where'd Details send its payment?
You know you're a hot media property when a magazine publishes an article with your byline that you didn't write. Kurt Andersen recently found himself in a media prank of Paul Krassner-Kurt Vonnegut-Mary Schmich proportions when Details accepted a story entitled "Dudes Who Dish" -- and credited to him even though he didn't write it. Andersen plans to help the magazine track down the true perpetrator. Clue one: Where'd Details send its payment?
Rock Shows of Note XXXIII
After meeting with my landlord at the apartment to sign the lease for next year, taking out the garbage and recycling (the first time in a couple of weeks because of late nights and laziness), and showing Coco my place, I headed over to the Kendall Cafe with Coco to meet Kurt and Geraldine for dinner. And for the Gloria Deluxe show. Dinner was good. Geraldine and Coco both got the half-pound hamburgers, which come served with red potatoes. Kurt tried the Jamaican jerk chicken. And I fell back on an old standby: black beans and kale. The dish wasn't as well-spiced as I remember -- the first time I had the Kendall's kale was a green epihphany -- but it was still good eating.
Before Cynthia Hopkins, performing solo as Gloria Deluxe (which in the past has been a full band co-starring her brother Tom, an old friend who's since moved to New York City) took the stage, there was a solo singer-songwriter named Aaron Lippert. It seems that Aaron used to play with a band called Expanding Man. Not to be overly critical of the first time I've seen him play, but I was not at all impressed. In fact, it was a rather painful hour. From the very get go, I didn't think I'd like Aaron. During the brief soundcheck, he tried out a Tom Petty song and exuded an attitude that I found kind of pretentious. "Do you need me to check the mic again?" And the set itself? Self-conscious, overly yet flatly dramatic, mid-tempo, falsetto mope pop with extremely cliched lyrics. Just because an experience is universal (i.e. drinking cheap red wine, perhaps) doesn't mean that you need to make it boring and mundane or hold it up as something more than it really is. Besides, really, there are some phrases that just don't need to be song. Like "drinking cheap red wine." Geraldine thought he was inspired by Radiohead given his tempos, key, and falsetto, but I found him pretty uninspiring. I was rather sad that this was the first live music Geraldine had taken in since moving into Boston. I was also bummed that I have an aversion to talking during smaller, intimate shows (a quality not shared by a fellow not too far from us who talked loudly for quite a long time), because I certainly would have welcomed the diversion of conversing with Coco and the others. Sigh. The songs -- and the set -- were just too long.
Needless to say, Cynthia was an extremely appreciated followup to Aaron's laborious set. While Gloria Deluxe is usually a rock-tinged country band highlighting Cynthia's powerful vocals and Tom's plaintive vocal accompaniment, the show last night featured Cynthia solo, singing and playing accordion. Fresh off of a recent residency at AS220 in Providence, Cynthia shared some songs from a show she wrote while living in Boston's sister city to the south. And she played some old Gloria Deluxe favorites, including several requests from the crowd. One request was for an "angry song" about an abusive theater producer who underpays his actors and performers in the name of meeting other, less important expenses -- and the waitress who takes her revenge. The song is a rollicking string of profanities and criticisms, which are largely enjoyable because they're being delivered by a petite woman playing the accordion.
Cynthia is a musical artist and actress. Her singing style is extremely well honed and reminds me of musical theater. Her diction and delivery is interesting, and she punctuates songs with occasionally surprising hesitant pauses that only serve to accentuate what comes next -- and the point she's making. Cynthia also manages to work in fascinating facial expressions that help convey the content of the song, ranging from tight-lipped and coy demurement to almost uncontrolled caterwauls. Lastly, her in-between song banter was quite funny. Some of it was delivered in character and reminded me of the silly inconsistencies and playful falsehoods of some of the Brothers Grimm's shorter fairy tales and nonsense stories.
Thank you, Cynthia, for saving last night's show. I was slightly worried that Coco, Kurt, and Geraldine wouldn't take my next show suggestion seriously, but I think they will. (At least, I hope so!) Also, the band Barn Burning deserves thanks. They invited Cynthia to play with them last night, I hear, and even though all of us were too tired to stick around for their part of the program, they brought Cynthia up from New York for us. And that was awfully nice of them.
You can also read another person's review of the show.
After meeting with my landlord at the apartment to sign the lease for next year, taking out the garbage and recycling (the first time in a couple of weeks because of late nights and laziness), and showing Coco my place, I headed over to the Kendall Cafe with Coco to meet Kurt and Geraldine for dinner. And for the Gloria Deluxe show. Dinner was good. Geraldine and Coco both got the half-pound hamburgers, which come served with red potatoes. Kurt tried the Jamaican jerk chicken. And I fell back on an old standby: black beans and kale. The dish wasn't as well-spiced as I remember -- the first time I had the Kendall's kale was a green epihphany -- but it was still good eating.
Before Cynthia Hopkins, performing solo as Gloria Deluxe (which in the past has been a full band co-starring her brother Tom, an old friend who's since moved to New York City) took the stage, there was a solo singer-songwriter named Aaron Lippert. It seems that Aaron used to play with a band called Expanding Man. Not to be overly critical of the first time I've seen him play, but I was not at all impressed. In fact, it was a rather painful hour. From the very get go, I didn't think I'd like Aaron. During the brief soundcheck, he tried out a Tom Petty song and exuded an attitude that I found kind of pretentious. "Do you need me to check the mic again?" And the set itself? Self-conscious, overly yet flatly dramatic, mid-tempo, falsetto mope pop with extremely cliched lyrics. Just because an experience is universal (i.e. drinking cheap red wine, perhaps) doesn't mean that you need to make it boring and mundane or hold it up as something more than it really is. Besides, really, there are some phrases that just don't need to be song. Like "drinking cheap red wine." Geraldine thought he was inspired by Radiohead given his tempos, key, and falsetto, but I found him pretty uninspiring. I was rather sad that this was the first live music Geraldine had taken in since moving into Boston. I was also bummed that I have an aversion to talking during smaller, intimate shows (a quality not shared by a fellow not too far from us who talked loudly for quite a long time), because I certainly would have welcomed the diversion of conversing with Coco and the others. Sigh. The songs -- and the set -- were just too long.
Needless to say, Cynthia was an extremely appreciated followup to Aaron's laborious set. While Gloria Deluxe is usually a rock-tinged country band highlighting Cynthia's powerful vocals and Tom's plaintive vocal accompaniment, the show last night featured Cynthia solo, singing and playing accordion. Fresh off of a recent residency at AS220 in Providence, Cynthia shared some songs from a show she wrote while living in Boston's sister city to the south. And she played some old Gloria Deluxe favorites, including several requests from the crowd. One request was for an "angry song" about an abusive theater producer who underpays his actors and performers in the name of meeting other, less important expenses -- and the waitress who takes her revenge. The song is a rollicking string of profanities and criticisms, which are largely enjoyable because they're being delivered by a petite woman playing the accordion.
Cynthia is a musical artist and actress. Her singing style is extremely well honed and reminds me of musical theater. Her diction and delivery is interesting, and she punctuates songs with occasionally surprising hesitant pauses that only serve to accentuate what comes next -- and the point she's making. Cynthia also manages to work in fascinating facial expressions that help convey the content of the song, ranging from tight-lipped and coy demurement to almost uncontrolled caterwauls. Lastly, her in-between song banter was quite funny. Some of it was delivered in character and reminded me of the silly inconsistencies and playful falsehoods of some of the Brothers Grimm's shorter fairy tales and nonsense stories.
Thank you, Cynthia, for saving last night's show. I was slightly worried that Coco, Kurt, and Geraldine wouldn't take my next show suggestion seriously, but I think they will. (At least, I hope so!) Also, the band Barn Burning deserves thanks. They invited Cynthia to play with them last night, I hear, and even though all of us were too tired to stick around for their part of the program, they brought Cynthia up from New York for us. And that was awfully nice of them.
You can also read another person's review of the show.
Thursday, August 15, 2002
Corollary: Web Remnants IV
What do you know... Off Message is also listed in Amazon. That's kind of a rush. Again, the descriptive copy is kind of misleading and out of date, but the book's going to be good. Are you going to be good and pre-order a copy?
Oh, and don't forget that I also edited another book, a collection of short, short stories by Dan Buck called This Day's Wait. I haven't.
What do you know... Off Message is also listed in Amazon. That's kind of a rush. Again, the descriptive copy is kind of misleading and out of date, but the book's going to be good. Are you going to be good and pre-order a copy?
Oh, and don't forget that I also edited another book, a collection of short, short stories by Dan Buck called This Day's Wait. I haven't.
Web Remnants IV
It's a big day on the Web where I work. Fast Company's Web site was recently redesigned to accompany the magazine's new design and content architecture -- the redesigned Web debuted moments ago. And the Web site for the 2002 CoF Roadshow, my road trip from Virginia to Vermont later this year, is now live. If you know anyone along the route you think I should meet -- or company's you think I should look into -- let me know. I'd appreciate the leads.
And outside of the office, the book I'm editing, Off Message: Voices from the Business Underground is listed on Capstone-Wiley's Web site. The catalog copy we wrote ages ago isn't a very accurate description of the book as it stands now -- my editor recently described it as "much edgier and funnier than expected" -- but you should still, ahem, pre-order our copy today. You get to read, and I get to eat. Fair enough?
It's a big day on the Web where I work. Fast Company's Web site was recently redesigned to accompany the magazine's new design and content architecture -- the redesigned Web debuted moments ago. And the Web site for the 2002 CoF Roadshow, my road trip from Virginia to Vermont later this year, is now live. If you know anyone along the route you think I should meet -- or company's you think I should look into -- let me know. I'd appreciate the leads.
And outside of the office, the book I'm editing, Off Message: Voices from the Business Underground is listed on Capstone-Wiley's Web site. The catalog copy we wrote ages ago isn't a very accurate description of the book as it stands now -- my editor recently described it as "much edgier and funnier than expected" -- but you should still, ahem, pre-order our copy today. You get to read, and I get to eat. Fair enough?
Products I Love III
Two items of note, one of which I use every single day, and one that I just ordered but am hella excited about.
From L'Oreal's Studio Line, I'm a big, big fan of the Anti-Sticky Invisi-Gel. You can get it in Extra Body or, I believe, Mega Hold. Wonderful stuff. While I'm not sure whether the "anti-sticky" description means that it's not sticky, won't get sticky if your hair gets warm or wet, or if the gel actually repels other sticky things, but I love it. It holds your hair well, and if you run a brush through your hair later in the day, it gets all poofy. At a recent Anchormen show, a friend actually said I had newscaster hair. That means it's working!
And I recently came across Siegel Display Products, a company that manufactures trade-show booths, displays, and literature racks for corporate clients. In their July 2002 catalog, the Magazine Rack 3001V caught my eye. It's a two-tier, baked-on black-enamel wire rack that stands almost three feet high and holds standard-sized magazines. As a frequent reader and media geek, I've oft struggled with my reading pile, which currently stands in two stacks of magazines spilling onto the kitchen floor in my apartment. And I have high hopes that the rack I just ordered moments ago will help control my clutter. Hooray for magazine racks! You can also order wall-mounted magazine stands -- mostly for trade-show display, again (which means the slots aren't that deep) -- as well as rotating wire racks similar to the Hey Kids! Comics! displays you might still see in drug stores.
Two items of note, one of which I use every single day, and one that I just ordered but am hella excited about.
From L'Oreal's Studio Line, I'm a big, big fan of the Anti-Sticky Invisi-Gel. You can get it in Extra Body or, I believe, Mega Hold. Wonderful stuff. While I'm not sure whether the "anti-sticky" description means that it's not sticky, won't get sticky if your hair gets warm or wet, or if the gel actually repels other sticky things, but I love it. It holds your hair well, and if you run a brush through your hair later in the day, it gets all poofy. At a recent Anchormen show, a friend actually said I had newscaster hair. That means it's working!
And I recently came across Siegel Display Products, a company that manufactures trade-show booths, displays, and literature racks for corporate clients. In their July 2002 catalog, the Magazine Rack 3001V caught my eye. It's a two-tier, baked-on black-enamel wire rack that stands almost three feet high and holds standard-sized magazines. As a frequent reader and media geek, I've oft struggled with my reading pile, which currently stands in two stacks of magazines spilling onto the kitchen floor in my apartment. And I have high hopes that the rack I just ordered moments ago will help control my clutter. Hooray for magazine racks! You can also order wall-mounted magazine stands -- mostly for trade-show display, again (which means the slots aren't that deep) -- as well as rotating wire racks similar to the Hey Kids! Comics! displays you might still see in drug stores.
Preying on the Porcelain God
It's a shame that Adweek doesn't publish its archives online for free, because today brought me some silly serendipity.
Item one, a feature in the Aug. 5 edition of Adweek (which requires a paid online subscription to access archived material) entitled "For a Hurl of a Good Time," describes a party invite that includes an image of Speedy, Alka-Seltzer's advertising mascot, embracing a porcelain bowl. The brief says that the appropriation of the marketing icon, which dates back to the '50s, isn't disrespectful because it's a benefit bash. Looks like Speedy could've benefited from a dose of his own medicine.
Item two, this week's installment of Roger Langridge's awesome Hotel Fred Web comic. The Aug. 13 strip is a playful parody of Winnie the Pooh and features an illustration of a bemused Oliver Pippin witnessing Fred the Clown in the throes of, well, throwing up into a toilet.
That's two iconic appropriations and two subtle and funny vomit depictions. Not bad for a Thursday!
It's a shame that Adweek doesn't publish its archives online for free, because today brought me some silly serendipity.
Item one, a feature in the Aug. 5 edition of Adweek (which requires a paid online subscription to access archived material) entitled "For a Hurl of a Good Time," describes a party invite that includes an image of Speedy, Alka-Seltzer's advertising mascot, embracing a porcelain bowl. The brief says that the appropriation of the marketing icon, which dates back to the '50s, isn't disrespectful because it's a benefit bash. Looks like Speedy could've benefited from a dose of his own medicine.
Item two, this week's installment of Roger Langridge's awesome Hotel Fred Web comic. The Aug. 13 strip is a playful parody of Winnie the Pooh and features an illustration of a bemused Oliver Pippin witnessing Fred the Clown in the throes of, well, throwing up into a toilet.
That's two iconic appropriations and two subtle and funny vomit depictions. Not bad for a Thursday!
Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians IX
Megatokyo, a great online manga I check in on several times a week, turned 2 years old yesterday. Belated happies. When is someone going to publish a print edition of Megatokyo? Seems like that'd be a good present for Fred. Congrats, Mr. Gallagher!
Megatokyo, a great online manga I check in on several times a week, turned 2 years old yesterday. Belated happies. When is someone going to publish a print edition of Megatokyo? Seems like that'd be a good present for Fred. Congrats, Mr. Gallagher!
Flogging Bloggers IV
Back to the Web whipping post! Dave Linabury, proprietor of the award-winning blog Davezilla, was recently contacted by Toho Co Ltd., the company that owns the rights to the Godzilla character. You might remember Godzilla: tall, destroys buildings. Dave's tall himself -- 6' 3" -- but to the best of my knowledge, the similarities end there.
Since receiving the cease-and-desist letter from Toho, Dave's chronicled the ongoing events, citing gestures of support within the blogging community, posting a wonderful Davezilla vs. Godzilla cartoon, and mentioning that there are nearly 1,000 other Web sites with "zilla" in their domain names.
That's a lot of cease-and-desist letters, Toho.
Back to the Web whipping post! Dave Linabury, proprietor of the award-winning blog Davezilla, was recently contacted by Toho Co Ltd., the company that owns the rights to the Godzilla character. You might remember Godzilla: tall, destroys buildings. Dave's tall himself -- 6' 3" -- but to the best of my knowledge, the similarities end there.
Since receiving the cease-and-desist letter from Toho, Dave's chronicled the ongoing events, citing gestures of support within the blogging community, posting a wonderful Davezilla vs. Godzilla cartoon, and mentioning that there are nearly 1,000 other Web sites with "zilla" in their domain names.
That's a lot of cease-and-desist letters, Toho.
The Song I Just Wrote
As the Anchormen continue to wrap up work on our third CD, tentatively titled "Just Because You Sleep on My Floor Doesn't Mean That You're My Girlfriend," it's time to start writing some new songs. Here's one -- slightly inspired by a short story by Steve Almond -- that's been running through my mind for the last two days:
That's all I have right now. Worth finishing?
As the Anchormen continue to wrap up work on our third CD, tentatively titled "Just Because You Sleep on My Floor Doesn't Mean That You're My Girlfriend," it's time to start writing some new songs. Here's one -- slightly inspired by a short story by Steve Almond -- that's been running through my mind for the last two days:
Every time I look into your eyes, I thank my congressman that you're my girl.
But when you say that your vote is mine, your backroom patronage games make me hurl.
If we were to truly democratize, the world would surely be a better place.
But if we legislate and do not sympathize, the power of our laws is that of mace.
Cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics don't mix.
Cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics, cute girls and politics don't mix.
When I see you standing on the Hill in your collared shirt and pleated skirt
my heart leaps and my head starts to whirl; when your bills become laws we all get hurt.
That's all I have right now. Worth finishing?
Wednesday, August 14, 2002
To Be Sung on the High Seas
In a Pieces, Particles entry, I referenced a magazine article about the fading history of sea shanties. Roger Chartier Music & Publishing has created a wonderful resource about this almost-lost art, featuring some history, related links... and lyrics! Here's an excerpt from "Cape Cod Girls":
All of that might very well be true. I guess my question is, "What about those Cape Anne girls?"
Thanks to Memepool.
In a Pieces, Particles entry, I referenced a magazine article about the fading history of sea shanties. Roger Chartier Music & Publishing has created a wonderful resource about this almost-lost art, featuring some history, related links... and lyrics! Here's an excerpt from "Cape Cod Girls":
Cape Cod girls ain't got no combs. Heave away, haul away.
They comb their hair with codfish bones. Heave away, haul away.
Cape Cod doctors ain't got no pills. Heave away, haul away.
They feed their patients codfish gills. Heave away, haul away.
Cape Cod women don't bake no pies. Heave away, haul away.
They feed their babies codfish eyes. Heave away, haul away.
All of that might very well be true. I guess my question is, "What about those Cape Anne girls?"
Thanks to Memepool.
Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians VIII
Email turned 20 years old yesterday. On that day in history the IETF approved RFC 822, which standardized ARPANet email.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Email turned 20 years old yesterday. On that day in history the IETF approved RFC 822, which standardized ARPANet email.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Rock Shows of Note XXXII
I didn't think I'd make it to Jef and Dave's Plunge into Death show last night at O'Brien's, but having met Kendra for drinks after work at Bukowski's, I was already on the Green Line, on the right line (B), and almost all the way there, so I decided to check it out. After all, Jef said they played first, so I could still get home relatively early.
They didn't play first. They played third. But I am super happy I went because all of the bands -- all! -- were absolutely amazing. First up, Tunnel of Love, who are slated to play with the Anchormen at the Abbey in early September. A duo comprising a shirtless drummer and guitarist wearing matching athletic shorts and striped leggings, Tunnel played a spastic set of raucous garage rock that was quite energetic and enjoyable. Andy kept kicking over the microphone stand, and a friend stood near the front to pick it back up every single time. I'm jazzed that we're playing with them. It'll be a lot of fun.
Second up was X27, a garagey three-piece from Chicago. Reminding me of Math, early Scissor Girls, and other Chicago no-wave bands that predated the post-rock scene, X27 was also extremely spazzy. The guitarist undulated like he had no spine, pulling tortured, syncopated skronk sounds from his guitar as the drummer -- whose kit was outfitted with a piece of sheet metal instead of a cymbal -- stood in the back of the band. The boy-girl vocals were rare but well-timed, and the song with the line "feeling asthmatic" stuck in my craw. Awesome!
Jef and Dave's ever-name-changing project Plunge into Death (at least for last night) was next up. It took them quite awhile to set up the stage with the monster boombox, CD beats, keyboard, and guitar, but it was worth the wait. Jef played his guitar with two bottles while singing backup to Dave's new-wave goth lead, and they pulled some favorites out of their hats. The Pac-Man sample song won the crowd over, and they added some new gimmicks. Jef placed the robotic Godzilla on the keyboard so its roaring noise fed through the amplifier, and Dave reached across the stage with a coiled semi truck antenna to play the guitar occasionally. One dark spot was the song in which Dave rants about turning off cell phones and pagers. It seems he lost the original sample CD they used to the vocal track on that number, and it's difficult to replicate the disembodied, inhuman voice that laid such an interesting foundation to the original version. Plunge into Death added a nice, slower side to the so-far rock-and-stomp show.
Lastly, 25 Suaves, which used to call Somerville home but now hail from Michigan. Another wonderful garage-rock two-piece comprising a drummer and a guitarist, the Suaves ended the night on a high note. I think they played the Misfits' "We Are 138," and they covered "Saturday Night" with punch and panache. Glad they came back to town.
I caught a cab home from Allston around 12:30, having spent much of the night SMS'ing with Coco. I called her when I got home, and we talked until the sun started to lighten the sky. So I'm a little tired today.
I didn't think I'd make it to Jef and Dave's Plunge into Death show last night at O'Brien's, but having met Kendra for drinks after work at Bukowski's, I was already on the Green Line, on the right line (B), and almost all the way there, so I decided to check it out. After all, Jef said they played first, so I could still get home relatively early.
They didn't play first. They played third. But I am super happy I went because all of the bands -- all! -- were absolutely amazing. First up, Tunnel of Love, who are slated to play with the Anchormen at the Abbey in early September. A duo comprising a shirtless drummer and guitarist wearing matching athletic shorts and striped leggings, Tunnel played a spastic set of raucous garage rock that was quite energetic and enjoyable. Andy kept kicking over the microphone stand, and a friend stood near the front to pick it back up every single time. I'm jazzed that we're playing with them. It'll be a lot of fun.
Second up was X27, a garagey three-piece from Chicago. Reminding me of Math, early Scissor Girls, and other Chicago no-wave bands that predated the post-rock scene, X27 was also extremely spazzy. The guitarist undulated like he had no spine, pulling tortured, syncopated skronk sounds from his guitar as the drummer -- whose kit was outfitted with a piece of sheet metal instead of a cymbal -- stood in the back of the band. The boy-girl vocals were rare but well-timed, and the song with the line "feeling asthmatic" stuck in my craw. Awesome!
Jef and Dave's ever-name-changing project Plunge into Death (at least for last night) was next up. It took them quite awhile to set up the stage with the monster boombox, CD beats, keyboard, and guitar, but it was worth the wait. Jef played his guitar with two bottles while singing backup to Dave's new-wave goth lead, and they pulled some favorites out of their hats. The Pac-Man sample song won the crowd over, and they added some new gimmicks. Jef placed the robotic Godzilla on the keyboard so its roaring noise fed through the amplifier, and Dave reached across the stage with a coiled semi truck antenna to play the guitar occasionally. One dark spot was the song in which Dave rants about turning off cell phones and pagers. It seems he lost the original sample CD they used to the vocal track on that number, and it's difficult to replicate the disembodied, inhuman voice that laid such an interesting foundation to the original version. Plunge into Death added a nice, slower side to the so-far rock-and-stomp show.
Lastly, 25 Suaves, which used to call Somerville home but now hail from Michigan. Another wonderful garage-rock two-piece comprising a drummer and a guitarist, the Suaves ended the night on a high note. I think they played the Misfits' "We Are 138," and they covered "Saturday Night" with punch and panache. Glad they came back to town.
I caught a cab home from Allston around 12:30, having spent much of the night SMS'ing with Coco. I called her when I got home, and we talked until the sun started to lighten the sky. So I'm a little tired today.
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night XI
On the way to Highwater Books North last night, I stopped off at Theo's Pizza to pick up several slices -- two for me, one for TD. Now, Theo's is on Teele Square, and it's largely unremarkable -- your basic pizza place. But it has several things going for it. One, the people who work there are always really nice. Two, their pizza, while simple, is chewy and cheesy -- yum! -- even if their crust is a little sparse. And three, one of the people who created "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place" -- later aired as "Two Guys and a Girl" -- or perhaps all three of them (I'm not sure.) went to college at Tufts University and worked at Theo's for awhile. I used to go there quite often when I lived with Tom, Tom, and Tom, so it's been awhile since I've stopped in for a slice. Thanks, Theo's!
On the way to Highwater Books North last night, I stopped off at Theo's Pizza to pick up several slices -- two for me, one for TD. Now, Theo's is on Teele Square, and it's largely unremarkable -- your basic pizza place. But it has several things going for it. One, the people who work there are always really nice. Two, their pizza, while simple, is chewy and cheesy -- yum! -- even if their crust is a little sparse. And three, one of the people who created "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place" -- later aired as "Two Guys and a Girl" -- or perhaps all three of them (I'm not sure.) went to college at Tufts University and worked at Theo's for awhile. I used to go there quite often when I lived with Tom, Tom, and Tom, so it's been awhile since I've stopped in for a slice. Thanks, Theo's!
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XIII
Gap has posted some Web previews of its new television ads for this fall. Spots feature Willie Nelson and Ryan Adams singing "Move It on Over," Shalom Harlow gettin' jiggy to American Breed's "Bend Me, Shape Me," and Will Kemp playing the fly guy to QJ's Jook Joint's "Stuff Like That."
Gap has posted some Web previews of its new television ads for this fall. Spots feature Willie Nelson and Ryan Adams singing "Move It on Over," Shalom Harlow gettin' jiggy to American Breed's "Bend Me, Shape Me," and Will Kemp playing the fly guy to QJ's Jook Joint's "Stuff Like That."
Rock Shows of Note XXXI
After helping Jef and TD inventory books stored at Highwater Books North, we grabbed a pint at P.J. Ryan's, formerly the Station, on Teele Square. After that -- and a quick stop home to sort mail, do bills, and relax a bit, I headed out to Toad on Porter Square to meet up with Coco and see a band called Schwang.
I haven't been to Toad for a long time and remembered it as being extremely narrow and crowded. If you get there early enough -- and get a seat on one of the sides -- it's not that bad a showgoing experience. Schwang, a four piece, featured Dave Goodrich on guitar, Anita Suhanin on vocals, Lou Ulrich on bass, and Andy Plaisted on drums. Word is Andy also plays in the Pee Wee Fist.
Schwang specializes in a mix of country swing, torch songs, and rockabilly, and Anita's voice is extremely powerful -- perfect for old-timey love and lovelorn songs. Dave's guitar playing was quite impressive, and because we sat almost in his lap -- his guitar neck almost poking out my eyes -- we got to see him in action up close and personal. It was a solid set -- mostly covers, I'd gather, but good ones, including Merle Haggard and other fine country songwriters.
Next up was the Tim Gearan Band, which was basically the same lineup, only without Anita, with Tim, and with a tenor saxophonist who probably should've been mic'ed. We only stayed to check out several songs -- Coco's seen Schwang a lot but has never stuck around to see Gearan -- and there were several notable differences in the performance. Gearan's tastes seem to run more toward the blues and -- at times -- standard college jam rock, but even though it's not totally my thing, the musicians were still impressive, Gearan has a strong presence, and they do what they do well.
Welcome back to Toad! I'll have to return soon. If you're into area music of this sort, you might be interested in Hellcountry. Their show calendar hasn't been updated since June, but their directory of local bands and venues is useful. It seems they used to host a monthly series at the Kendall Cafe, where I'll be going later this week.
After the show, Coco and I walked down Massachusetts Avenue to see where I used to live on Chauncy Street, the Longy School of Music -- which sports a nice new kinetic sculpture on the corner -- and the neon sign for the Sheraton Commander. In the interest of continuing my thread of nighttime city scenes a la the library on Harvard Common, here are some snaps:
With flash.
Without flash.
Just goes to show that's it always a good idea to travel with a camera.
After helping Jef and TD inventory books stored at Highwater Books North, we grabbed a pint at P.J. Ryan's, formerly the Station, on Teele Square. After that -- and a quick stop home to sort mail, do bills, and relax a bit, I headed out to Toad on Porter Square to meet up with Coco and see a band called Schwang.
I haven't been to Toad for a long time and remembered it as being extremely narrow and crowded. If you get there early enough -- and get a seat on one of the sides -- it's not that bad a showgoing experience. Schwang, a four piece, featured Dave Goodrich on guitar, Anita Suhanin on vocals, Lou Ulrich on bass, and Andy Plaisted on drums. Word is Andy also plays in the Pee Wee Fist.
Schwang specializes in a mix of country swing, torch songs, and rockabilly, and Anita's voice is extremely powerful -- perfect for old-timey love and lovelorn songs. Dave's guitar playing was quite impressive, and because we sat almost in his lap -- his guitar neck almost poking out my eyes -- we got to see him in action up close and personal. It was a solid set -- mostly covers, I'd gather, but good ones, including Merle Haggard and other fine country songwriters.
Next up was the Tim Gearan Band, which was basically the same lineup, only without Anita, with Tim, and with a tenor saxophonist who probably should've been mic'ed. We only stayed to check out several songs -- Coco's seen Schwang a lot but has never stuck around to see Gearan -- and there were several notable differences in the performance. Gearan's tastes seem to run more toward the blues and -- at times -- standard college jam rock, but even though it's not totally my thing, the musicians were still impressive, Gearan has a strong presence, and they do what they do well.
Welcome back to Toad! I'll have to return soon. If you're into area music of this sort, you might be interested in Hellcountry. Their show calendar hasn't been updated since June, but their directory of local bands and venues is useful. It seems they used to host a monthly series at the Kendall Cafe, where I'll be going later this week.
After the show, Coco and I walked down Massachusetts Avenue to see where I used to live on Chauncy Street, the Longy School of Music -- which sports a nice new kinetic sculpture on the corner -- and the neon sign for the Sheraton Commander. In the interest of continuing my thread of nighttime city scenes a la the library on Harvard Common, here are some snaps:
With flash.
Without flash.
Just goes to show that's it always a good idea to travel with a camera.
Monday, August 12, 2002
Reports from the Road II
In early July, I spent some time in Wisconsin for my father's birthday and the July 4 festivities. While in the northwoods, my family and I explored two gangster-related historical sites. The first was the Hideout, Al Capone's retreat near Couderay, Wisconsin. Capone began vacationing here in the early '20s to escape the heat in Chicago -- the high temperatures as well as the heavy pressure exerted on his criminal activities by the police and federal government.
Al Capone slept here.
There's not much else of note in the area, but the Hideout is well worth the trek. Instead of going into detail about Capone's time near Couderay, I'll let the pictures I took speak for themselves.
While the inside of the lodge is rustic, Capone's hired guns weren't allowed on the main floor. They had to use this servants' entrance.
Aquatic airplanes from Canada would smuggle in alcohol for distribution, landing on Cranberry Lake.
Trespassers and prisoners would be locked up in this small cell.
Inside the holding cell.
Believe it or not, this is an "exercise yard" for prisoners.
The watchtower at the end of the long drive to the Hideout.
While sitting on this deck in front of the house, Capone's cronies would fire their guns at wild game.
We also spent some time walking around Little Bohemia, a supper club and former resort lodge near Manitowish Waters. Federal agents shot several unwary locals here, mistaking them for John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson as they left following a dinner. During the shootout, lodge staff holed up in the basement while Dillinger and Baby Face escaped through a second-story window on the lake side of the building.
Loose lead flew at Little Bohemia.
Today, little remains of the Little Bohemia of yore. It's no longer used as a lodge, and the out buildings, which had once been used as guest cabins (Baby Face and his wife were staying in one at the time of the shootout), are no longer rented. It's a restaurant. And it's one I haven't eaten at, so I can't comment on whether the food lives up to Little Bohemia's storied past.
In early July, I spent some time in Wisconsin for my father's birthday and the July 4 festivities. While in the northwoods, my family and I explored two gangster-related historical sites. The first was the Hideout, Al Capone's retreat near Couderay, Wisconsin. Capone began vacationing here in the early '20s to escape the heat in Chicago -- the high temperatures as well as the heavy pressure exerted on his criminal activities by the police and federal government.
Al Capone slept here.
There's not much else of note in the area, but the Hideout is well worth the trek. Instead of going into detail about Capone's time near Couderay, I'll let the pictures I took speak for themselves.
While the inside of the lodge is rustic, Capone's hired guns weren't allowed on the main floor. They had to use this servants' entrance.
Aquatic airplanes from Canada would smuggle in alcohol for distribution, landing on Cranberry Lake.
Trespassers and prisoners would be locked up in this small cell.
Inside the holding cell.
Believe it or not, this is an "exercise yard" for prisoners.
The watchtower at the end of the long drive to the Hideout.
While sitting on this deck in front of the house, Capone's cronies would fire their guns at wild game.
We also spent some time walking around Little Bohemia, a supper club and former resort lodge near Manitowish Waters. Federal agents shot several unwary locals here, mistaking them for John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson as they left following a dinner. During the shootout, lodge staff holed up in the basement while Dillinger and Baby Face escaped through a second-story window on the lake side of the building.
Loose lead flew at Little Bohemia.
Today, little remains of the Little Bohemia of yore. It's no longer used as a lodge, and the out buildings, which had once been used as guest cabins (Baby Face and his wife were staying in one at the time of the shootout), are no longer rented. It's a restaurant. And it's one I haven't eaten at, so I can't comment on whether the food lives up to Little Bohemia's storied past.
Managing Me-Mail II
Today's Phantom comic strip proposes an interesting alternative to email: monkey mail.
Might give the phrase "cleaning up your in box" new meaning.
Thanks to SF Gate.
Today's Phantom comic strip proposes an interesting alternative to email: monkey mail.
Might give the phrase "cleaning up your in box" new meaning.
Thanks to SF Gate.
Among the Literati XIII
Timmy McSweety's Endearing Cleverness is a laughter-inducing send up of McSweeney's. Cracks me up, it does. Be sure to check out the archives.
Thanks to Typing, Typing, Typing.
Timmy McSweety's Endearing Cleverness is a laughter-inducing send up of McSweeney's. Cracks me up, it does. Be sure to check out the archives.
Thanks to Typing, Typing, Typing.
Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians VII
It was celebrated quietly, but Maytag's Ol' Lonely, the Maytag repairman and advertising icon, turned 35 at the end of July. The first Maytag repairman commercial aired during the "Today" show in 1967, and Ol' Lonely, as played by Jesse White and Gordon Jump, has -- according to Maytag -- become the longest-running real-life advertising character in TV history. "The character is known and cherished by millions as the symbol of dependability and icon of loneliness," says a Maytag news release announcing the anniversary. Huh. If you're dependable, prepare to be lonely, people!
Ol' Lonely takes the cake!
Ol' Lonely was inspired by letters Maytag received from customers who wrote about the dependability of their washing machines and other products. (And, perhaps, leagues of underemployed appliance repairmen.) Leo Burnett Co. launched the "Dependability" campaign in 1961, highlighting real Maytag customers singing the praises of Maytag. This campaign sparked even more letters from customers. In Canada, Maytag produced a radio call-in show during which listeners could seek advice from an appliance repairman. This spilled over to television advertisements, with Jesse White starring as Ol' Lonely, the Maytag repairman.
Since Ol' Lonely's debut, he's been joined by a sad-faced bassett hound named Newton and -- after Jesse's 1989 retirement and replacement by Gordon Jump -- an apprentice. Ol' Lonely continues to wait for the phone to ring, but the apprentice spends his time learning more about Maytag's innovations.
While I'd challenge that Ol' Lonely is the longest-running real-life advertising character in history -- Dick Wilson played Mr. Whipple in Charmin adverts from 1964-1990 (36 years by my count) -- I'd like to encourage Media Dieticians the world over to pick up their phones, call Ol' Lonely, and wish him one heck of an anniversary. (Maybe even kick in your washing machine so there's something for him to fix, too.)
It was celebrated quietly, but Maytag's Ol' Lonely, the Maytag repairman and advertising icon, turned 35 at the end of July. The first Maytag repairman commercial aired during the "Today" show in 1967, and Ol' Lonely, as played by Jesse White and Gordon Jump, has -- according to Maytag -- become the longest-running real-life advertising character in TV history. "The character is known and cherished by millions as the symbol of dependability and icon of loneliness," says a Maytag news release announcing the anniversary. Huh. If you're dependable, prepare to be lonely, people!
Ol' Lonely takes the cake!
Ol' Lonely was inspired by letters Maytag received from customers who wrote about the dependability of their washing machines and other products. (And, perhaps, leagues of underemployed appliance repairmen.) Leo Burnett Co. launched the "Dependability" campaign in 1961, highlighting real Maytag customers singing the praises of Maytag. This campaign sparked even more letters from customers. In Canada, Maytag produced a radio call-in show during which listeners could seek advice from an appliance repairman. This spilled over to television advertisements, with Jesse White starring as Ol' Lonely, the Maytag repairman.
Since Ol' Lonely's debut, he's been joined by a sad-faced bassett hound named Newton and -- after Jesse's 1989 retirement and replacement by Gordon Jump -- an apprentice. Ol' Lonely continues to wait for the phone to ring, but the apprentice spends his time learning more about Maytag's innovations.
While I'd challenge that Ol' Lonely is the longest-running real-life advertising character in history -- Dick Wilson played Mr. Whipple in Charmin adverts from 1964-1990 (36 years by my count) -- I'd like to encourage Media Dieticians the world over to pick up their phones, call Ol' Lonely, and wish him one heck of an anniversary. (Maybe even kick in your washing machine so there's something for him to fix, too.)
Music to My Eyes
Shynola has created a video for Danish pop stars Junior Senior's song "Move Your Feet." It's a high-energy bit of pixellated goodness that makes me think of Ben Jones and the Paper Radio posse. Fun stuff! Download the Quicktime movie and watch it full screen. You'll be pleased you did. There's a drinking squirrel, a dancing robot, and plenty of other fun surprises.
Thanks to CommonMe.
Shynola has created a video for Danish pop stars Junior Senior's song "Move Your Feet." It's a high-energy bit of pixellated goodness that makes me think of Ben Jones and the Paper Radio posse. Fun stuff! Download the Quicktime movie and watch it full screen. You'll be pleased you did. There's a drinking squirrel, a dancing robot, and plenty of other fun surprises.
Thanks to CommonMe.
The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night X
After a slow-starting morning and a chore-filled afternoon following one of the most fun house parties I've been to for awhile, I met up with Kurt and Geraldine for dinner at John Harvard's Brewing Co.. The company and conversation was wonderful, but I wasn't that taken with the restaurant itself. The mixed greens salad I ordered was tasty enough -- I highly recommend the balsamic vinagrette dressing -- but the "special" I ordered for my entree was a little lackluster. I had the chicken farfalle pasta dish for several reasons -- the farfalle (my favorite pasta), the tomatoes, and the chicken tenders -- and I was surprised how bland the dish was. Despite a light sauce and menu-mentioned garlic, the entree could certainly have flavored more strongly. That said, everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals fine: calamari, chicken crispadillas with hoison sauce, and the chicken pot pie. I should have ordered the chicken pot pie.
I go to the library at night.
After hanging out at the table for awhile, we all headed to Kurt and Geraldine's car. We crossed Harvard Common as the crickets were chirping -- a wonderful summer sound you don't hear often in the city -- and walked down the tree-lined Harvard Street to find the car jam packed with laundry baskets. It took us awhile to repack the car so all of us would fit inside, but we were eventually successful. Even though I didn't get a chance to see Kurt and Geraldine's new place -- and they only saw the outside of my building -- it was good to catch up with them.
After a slow-starting morning and a chore-filled afternoon following one of the most fun house parties I've been to for awhile, I met up with Kurt and Geraldine for dinner at John Harvard's Brewing Co.. The company and conversation was wonderful, but I wasn't that taken with the restaurant itself. The mixed greens salad I ordered was tasty enough -- I highly recommend the balsamic vinagrette dressing -- but the "special" I ordered for my entree was a little lackluster. I had the chicken farfalle pasta dish for several reasons -- the farfalle (my favorite pasta), the tomatoes, and the chicken tenders -- and I was surprised how bland the dish was. Despite a light sauce and menu-mentioned garlic, the entree could certainly have flavored more strongly. That said, everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals fine: calamari, chicken crispadillas with hoison sauce, and the chicken pot pie. I should have ordered the chicken pot pie.
I go to the library at night.
After hanging out at the table for awhile, we all headed to Kurt and Geraldine's car. We crossed Harvard Common as the crickets were chirping -- a wonderful summer sound you don't hear often in the city -- and walked down the tree-lined Harvard Street to find the car jam packed with laundry baskets. It took us awhile to repack the car so all of us would fit inside, but we were eventually successful. Even though I didn't get a chance to see Kurt and Geraldine's new place -- and they only saw the outside of my building -- it was good to catch up with them.
Television-Impaired III
Two recent TV shows of note:
Two recent TV shows of note:
10 p.m., Friday, HBO: The Wire Bill Taylor's most recent favorite program, the Wire is set in West Baltimore and follows the day-to-day adventures of a police team that's tapped the pay phones used by drug dealers and other criminals. This episode (episode 9, "Game Day") didn't strike me as overly interesting, but the concept is solid -- and the setting is worthwhile. The producers spend equal time on the side of the law and the people on the street, making this another Law & Order-like show. Well done, but I'm not sure it's worth returning to every week.
11:30 a.m., Saturday, WGBX: Under Quabbin Even though TV Guide said this started at noon, I was able to catch the show only 15 minutes into its actual airing. In the late '30s, a handful of cities -- and thousands of people -- were displaced so the area could be flooded to create Quabbin Reservoir, the source of most of Boston's water supply. University of Massachusetts Amherst biologist Ed Klekowski leads a diving team to explore the underwater -- and above-ground -- remains of those flooded communities. It's a fascinating look at the beauty of lost infrastructure, the personal pain associated with losing one's home, and the impact urban planning can have on people's lives, as well as the physical landscape of our world. The program won't be aired outside of New England, so you might want to track down a copy of the video (which, sadly, isn't available via WGBH, PBS, or Amazon). Also of note is Michael Tougias's new book Quabbin: A History and Explorers Guide. Next stop, Dog Town in Gloucester!
The Movie I Watched Last Night XXXI
Friday: Escape from Alcatraz
Clint Eastwood stars in this retelling of the single successful escape from the prison island near San Francisco. The movie is extremely slowly paced, slightly dark, and moody -- but not overly suspenseful or overly dramatic. The escape seems a foregone conclusion, so there's little build up or intensity, and the movie works well primarily because of the characterizations and relational interplay. Roberts Blossom's role as Doc packs the most punch, as his self-mutilation aptly communications the inhumane taking away of rights and identity in the prison setting. All he has left is his painting -- with the image of a flower representing the spark left within him -- and then the wardens take that away. That scene was the most effective in the film.
Saturday: Nancy Drew, Reporter
A 1939 film featuring America's favorite teenage female detective. While on a class trip to the local newspaper, Nancy sneaks an assignment off the desk of an AWOL reporter and finds herself wrapped up in a mystery involving an inquest, a poisoning, and a contested will. The short movie is quick-witted and interesting, and the chemistry between Nancy -- played by Bonita Granville -- and Frankie Thomas' Ted Nickerson is light-hearted yet affectionate. The scene in which the jealous Nancy realizes that the "older woman" Ted's been spending time with is in fact his tennis instructor is a wonderful expose of misguided jealousy. Interestingly, this is one of three Nancy Drew movies released in the late '30s. And 11 years later, Thomas went on to star in "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet." A fun Saturday morning movie.
Friday: Escape from Alcatraz
Clint Eastwood stars in this retelling of the single successful escape from the prison island near San Francisco. The movie is extremely slowly paced, slightly dark, and moody -- but not overly suspenseful or overly dramatic. The escape seems a foregone conclusion, so there's little build up or intensity, and the movie works well primarily because of the characterizations and relational interplay. Roberts Blossom's role as Doc packs the most punch, as his self-mutilation aptly communications the inhumane taking away of rights and identity in the prison setting. All he has left is his painting -- with the image of a flower representing the spark left within him -- and then the wardens take that away. That scene was the most effective in the film.
Saturday: Nancy Drew, Reporter
A 1939 film featuring America's favorite teenage female detective. While on a class trip to the local newspaper, Nancy sneaks an assignment off the desk of an AWOL reporter and finds herself wrapped up in a mystery involving an inquest, a poisoning, and a contested will. The short movie is quick-witted and interesting, and the chemistry between Nancy -- played by Bonita Granville -- and Frankie Thomas' Ted Nickerson is light-hearted yet affectionate. The scene in which the jealous Nancy realizes that the "older woman" Ted's been spending time with is in fact his tennis instructor is a wonderful expose of misguided jealousy. Interestingly, this is one of three Nancy Drew movies released in the late '30s. And 11 years later, Thomas went on to star in "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet." A fun Saturday morning movie.
Friday, August 09, 2002
Comics and Consumerism
Today's Blondie sums up one of the things I like about magazines.
Thanks to the Washington Post.
Today's Blondie sums up one of the things I like about magazines.
Thanks to the Washington Post.
Workaday World IV
With the September issue, Fast Company launches a new design and content architecture. We've developed a Web tour to introduce the new look and feel to people, to explain why we made some of the changes, and to garner feedback.
If you're using IE 6.0 and the above link doesn't work, try this one.
With the September issue, Fast Company launches a new design and content architecture. We've developed a Web tour to introduce the new look and feel to people, to explain why we made some of the changes, and to garner feedback.
If you're using IE 6.0 and the above link doesn't work, try this one.
Thursday, August 08, 2002
Technofetishism XV
A couple of friends recently gave me access to their MP3 servers, and I've been snagging songs for the past few days. One even allows me to tinker around with OS X's Terminal, which has been a fun way to return to my early VT100 days. Kinda neat to think along those lines again.
Anyway, the purpose of this entry is mostly to geek to several solid Chicago bands that y'all should be aware of -- similar to my Wisconsin band name drops in my July 25 "The Red... Sux!" entry. What are those bands?
The Slugs
Ulele
Uptighty
Seek and enjoy, people!
A couple of friends recently gave me access to their MP3 servers, and I've been snagging songs for the past few days. One even allows me to tinker around with OS X's Terminal, which has been a fun way to return to my early VT100 days. Kinda neat to think along those lines again.
Anyway, the purpose of this entry is mostly to geek to several solid Chicago bands that y'all should be aware of -- similar to my Wisconsin band name drops in my July 25 "The Red... Sux!" entry. What are those bands?
Seek and enjoy, people!
Rules for Fools XI
Rule No. 14: All Media Dieticians are encouraged to adhere to the following behavioral guidelines:
The above was written as a disciplinary interlude for a forthcoming Anchormen show, if there be rowdies. Interesting or irritating? You decide.
Rule No. 14: All Media Dieticians are encouraged to adhere to the following behavioral guidelines:
No drinking and driving No dabbling No dowsing No Doppler effects No doubling up No going Dutch No Dutch ovens No cheese danishes No dancing No dropping trou No ducking responsibility No dickering No dicking around No Dancer No Prancer No Donner Definitely no Blitzen No Dick Cheney No Dick Armey No drowsiness No dimples No dunk tanks No whirling dervishes No dappled greys
The above was written as a disciplinary interlude for a forthcoming Anchormen show, if there be rowdies. Interesting or irritating? You decide.
From the In Box: Event-O-Dex VI
The New York Times spotlights your friends' play "In The Wire." -- Kathy Biehl
Well, what do you know? They do.
You might need a New York Times membership to access this article.
The New York Times spotlights your friends' play "In The Wire." -- Kathy Biehl
Well, what do you know? They do.
You might need a New York Times membership to access this article.
Pieces, Particles VII
The following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.
Ballbuster, by Art Spiegelman, The New Yorker, July 22, 2002
Bernard Krigstein's life between the panels.
Blog, by William Safire, The New York Times Magazine, July 28, 2002
Do a million hits make a word?
Burma-Shave, by Ricki Thompson, Highlights for Children, August 2002
Burma-Shave signs did more than sell shaving cream.
The Comic Side of Vincente Fox, by Ginger Thompson, The New York Times, July 28, 2002
Consuming Passions, by Dan Bischoff, Ms., December 2000
Can advertisers be activists? When corporations tie their ad campaigns to social causes, their motives are often called into question.
The Curse of Kryptonite, by Terrence Rafferty, GQ, August 2002
With the world's villains more fiendish than ever, Hollywood's use of comic-book superheroes seems clumsy and lacking in wit. Where was the Man of Steel on September 11?
The Death Beat, by Mark Singer, The New Yorker, July 8, 2002
What happens when a bunch of obituary writers get together.
Dysfunction for Dollars, by Pat Jordan, The New York Times Magazine, July 28, 2002
Dave Pelzer has one subject -- himself, as an abused child. He may not have been, but that hasn't stopped his readers from buying millions of his books.
The End of the Digital Gold Rush, by Suzan Revah, American Journalism Review, October 2001
In chronicling the dizzying rise and fall of the Bay Area's online journalism economy, a San Francisco writer realizes that she has lived the story.
Free at Last, by Leif Utne, Utne Reader, May-June 2002
The burgeoning "copyleft" movement is reshaping the idea of intellectual property
Going Local, by John Morton, American Journalism Review, October 2001
A new breed of free papers springs up in cities with already-established dailies.
Goodbye to All That, by Tom Carson, Esquire, December 2001
What TV and Hollywood got right and wrong about September 11 -- before, during, and after
Heropolis, The Economist, May 18, 2002
Superheroes don't commute
The Hidden Life of Your Television, by Matt Weiser, Sierra, July/August 2002
Holden at Fifty, by Louis Menand, The New Yorker, October 1, 2001
"The Catcher in the Rye" and what it spawned
Hooked, by Clea Simon, Ms., December 2000
The average person in the U.S. is bombarded with over 3,000 ads a day, says activist Jean Kilbourne. Is it any wonder we're addicted?
The Hot or Not Guys, by Adam Green, The New Yorker, July 8, 2002
How Far Down Can You Dumb?, The Economist, July 20, 2002
Neun Live is trying to make cheesy interactive television pay
How to Be a Writer, by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, October 15, 2001
What goes on at America's most competitive literary conference?
How to Win Support and Influence Your Community, by Sarah Hutt, Communication Arts, May/June 2002
Huey Freeman, American Hero, by John Nichols, Utne Reader, May-June 2002
Sure, he's a cartoon character, but it still takes guts to speak out
Issues with Birds, by Noah Strycker, Birder's World, August 2002
Ever wonder which bird is most likely to be pictured in a birding magazine?
Man's Best Friend, by Peter de Jonge, The New York Times Magazine, July 21, 2002
Who cares about the game? How sportscasters evolved from experts to baby sitters for a nation of lonely guys.
Monday Evening Quarterback, by Michael Silver, Sports Illustrated, July 29, 2002
John Madden (Bam!) is coming (Boom!) to Monday Night Football (Pow!), and he's got a plan (Ouch!) to save ABC's bacon
News Flash! Geek Guys Are Hot, by Stephanie Trong, YM, August 2002
Six reasons to go for a misfit
On Politics and Puppetry, Orion Afield, Winter 2000/01
An interview with Peter Schumann of Bread and Puppet Theater
On the Air, by Adam Green, The New Yorker, July 22, 2002
East End Oldie
A Proposal to American Labor, by Richard B. Freeman and Joel Rogers, The Nation, June 24, 2002
Let's create "open-source unions," and welcome millions into the movement.
Public Mailboxes on Postcards, by Barry Krause, Postcard Collector, August 2002
Rethinking the Think Tanks, by Curtis Moore, Sierra, July/August 2002
How industry-funded "experts" twist the environmental debate.
Riders on the Storm, by John Densmore, The Nation, July 8, 2002
Why The Doors don't open when corporate ads come calling
R.I.P. for D.I.Y. by George Musser, Scientific American, May 2002
Science tinkerers continue to take it on the chin
The Sailors' Magazine and Seamen's Friend, by Timothy Harrison, Lighthouse Digest, July 2002
The Talent Myth, by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, July 22, 2002
Are smart people overrated?
That's Militainment!, by Ian Frazier, Mother Jones, July/August 2002
What do you get when you mix the war machine and Warner Bros.? A Hollywood ending, of course.
The Trees Fight Back, The Economist, July 6, 2002
Should old media embrace blogging?
A Truly Outstanding Article, by Ray Nedzel, Utne Reader, May-June 2002
Never before has anything ever been this fantastic, amazing, excellent. Unquestionably.
A Vexing Problem, A Definition of a Boating Magazine, and the Jangled Nerve Quotient, by Peter H. Spectre, Maine Boats & Harbors, Autumn 2002
William S. Young's Short Lines and Steam, by John Gruber, Classic Trains, Summer 2002
A master storyteller of the small side of railroading
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.
Ballbuster, by Art Spiegelman, The New Yorker, July 22, 2002
Bernard Krigstein's life between the panels.
Blog, by William Safire, The New York Times Magazine, July 28, 2002
Do a million hits make a word?
Burma-Shave, by Ricki Thompson, Highlights for Children, August 2002
Burma-Shave signs did more than sell shaving cream.
The Comic Side of Vincente Fox, by Ginger Thompson, The New York Times, July 28, 2002
Consuming Passions, by Dan Bischoff, Ms., December 2000
Can advertisers be activists? When corporations tie their ad campaigns to social causes, their motives are often called into question.
The Curse of Kryptonite, by Terrence Rafferty, GQ, August 2002
With the world's villains more fiendish than ever, Hollywood's use of comic-book superheroes seems clumsy and lacking in wit. Where was the Man of Steel on September 11?
The Death Beat, by Mark Singer, The New Yorker, July 8, 2002
What happens when a bunch of obituary writers get together.
Dysfunction for Dollars, by Pat Jordan, The New York Times Magazine, July 28, 2002
Dave Pelzer has one subject -- himself, as an abused child. He may not have been, but that hasn't stopped his readers from buying millions of his books.
The End of the Digital Gold Rush, by Suzan Revah, American Journalism Review, October 2001
In chronicling the dizzying rise and fall of the Bay Area's online journalism economy, a San Francisco writer realizes that she has lived the story.
Free at Last, by Leif Utne, Utne Reader, May-June 2002
The burgeoning "copyleft" movement is reshaping the idea of intellectual property
Going Local, by John Morton, American Journalism Review, October 2001
A new breed of free papers springs up in cities with already-established dailies.
Goodbye to All That, by Tom Carson, Esquire, December 2001
What TV and Hollywood got right and wrong about September 11 -- before, during, and after
Heropolis, The Economist, May 18, 2002
Superheroes don't commute
The Hidden Life of Your Television, by Matt Weiser, Sierra, July/August 2002
Holden at Fifty, by Louis Menand, The New Yorker, October 1, 2001
"The Catcher in the Rye" and what it spawned
Hooked, by Clea Simon, Ms., December 2000
The average person in the U.S. is bombarded with over 3,000 ads a day, says activist Jean Kilbourne. Is it any wonder we're addicted?
The Hot or Not Guys, by Adam Green, The New Yorker, July 8, 2002
How Far Down Can You Dumb?, The Economist, July 20, 2002
Neun Live is trying to make cheesy interactive television pay
How to Be a Writer, by Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, October 15, 2001
What goes on at America's most competitive literary conference?
How to Win Support and Influence Your Community, by Sarah Hutt, Communication Arts, May/June 2002
Huey Freeman, American Hero, by John Nichols, Utne Reader, May-June 2002
Sure, he's a cartoon character, but it still takes guts to speak out
Issues with Birds, by Noah Strycker, Birder's World, August 2002
Ever wonder which bird is most likely to be pictured in a birding magazine?
Man's Best Friend, by Peter de Jonge, The New York Times Magazine, July 21, 2002
Who cares about the game? How sportscasters evolved from experts to baby sitters for a nation of lonely guys.
Monday Evening Quarterback, by Michael Silver, Sports Illustrated, July 29, 2002
John Madden (Bam!) is coming (Boom!) to Monday Night Football (Pow!), and he's got a plan (Ouch!) to save ABC's bacon
News Flash! Geek Guys Are Hot, by Stephanie Trong, YM, August 2002
Six reasons to go for a misfit
On Politics and Puppetry, Orion Afield, Winter 2000/01
An interview with Peter Schumann of Bread and Puppet Theater
On the Air, by Adam Green, The New Yorker, July 22, 2002
East End Oldie
A Proposal to American Labor, by Richard B. Freeman and Joel Rogers, The Nation, June 24, 2002
Let's create "open-source unions," and welcome millions into the movement.
Public Mailboxes on Postcards, by Barry Krause, Postcard Collector, August 2002
Rethinking the Think Tanks, by Curtis Moore, Sierra, July/August 2002
How industry-funded "experts" twist the environmental debate.
Riders on the Storm, by John Densmore, The Nation, July 8, 2002
Why The Doors don't open when corporate ads come calling
R.I.P. for D.I.Y. by George Musser, Scientific American, May 2002
Science tinkerers continue to take it on the chin
The Sailors' Magazine and Seamen's Friend, by Timothy Harrison, Lighthouse Digest, July 2002
The Talent Myth, by Malcolm Gladwell, The New Yorker, July 22, 2002
Are smart people overrated?
That's Militainment!, by Ian Frazier, Mother Jones, July/August 2002
What do you get when you mix the war machine and Warner Bros.? A Hollywood ending, of course.
The Trees Fight Back, The Economist, July 6, 2002
Should old media embrace blogging?
A Truly Outstanding Article, by Ray Nedzel, Utne Reader, May-June 2002
Never before has anything ever been this fantastic, amazing, excellent. Unquestionably.
A Vexing Problem, A Definition of a Boating Magazine, and the Jangled Nerve Quotient, by Peter H. Spectre, Maine Boats & Harbors, Autumn 2002
William S. Young's Short Lines and Steam, by John Gruber, Classic Trains, Summer 2002
A master storyteller of the small side of railroading
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.
Comics and Commerce
Today's edition of the Boston Herald reports that Heritage Comics Auctions will handle the sale of Nicolas Cage's comic-book collection. Comprising all of 400 comics, the collection includes Acton Comics No. 1, as well as the first appearances of Batman, Captain America, and the Green Lantern. The sale, which is scheduled to take place at the Dallas Comic-Con in October, could net seven figures.
Guess Nic doesn't need to do any more research for the Hellblazer movie now that Keanu Reeves is expected to star in the John Constantine role.
Today's edition of the Boston Herald reports that Heritage Comics Auctions will handle the sale of Nicolas Cage's comic-book collection. Comprising all of 400 comics, the collection includes Acton Comics No. 1, as well as the first appearances of Batman, Captain America, and the Green Lantern. The sale, which is scheduled to take place at the Dallas Comic-Con in October, could net seven figures.
Guess Nic doesn't need to do any more research for the Hellblazer movie now that Keanu Reeves is expected to star in the John Constantine role.
Comics Crackdown III
Julian Darius outlines changes made to The Authority #27 in the wake of 911. His essay compares panels as they were published with Arthur Adams' original art, as well as other changes made to the storyline.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Julian Darius outlines changes made to The Authority #27 in the wake of 911. His essay compares panels as they were published with Arthur Adams' original art, as well as other changes made to the storyline.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Television-Impaired II
For lack of anything better to do last night, I hosted another solo TV Party. Here's what I watched:
A Hot Dog Program is available on video cassette. While "Covered Bridges of New England" is not, the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges offers covered bridge-related books and other products.
For lack of anything better to do last night, I hosted another solo TV Party. Here's what I watched:
9 p.m., WGBH: A Hot Dog Program An hour-long celebration of America's love affair with the humble hot dog. Rick Sebak, who's also produced a documentary about flea markets, and the filmmakers visit hot dog stands in Connecticut, Georgia, Colorado, Ohio, Alaska, and other states to document the real red hot. The program considers the architecture of hot dog stands, the history of the hot dog (which includes early popularization sparked by a comic strip!), the subculture of counter staff, hot dogs' association with baseball, the World Hot Dog Eating Championship, condiments, how hot dogs are made, and other aspects of the "cuisine." In the end, the show's not at all about hot dogs; it's about people. The closing of the program positions hot dog stands as valuable third places. Bill Griffith would love this program.
10 p.m., WGBX: Covered Bridges of New England Hosted by New Hampshire TV personality Fritz Wetherbee, this program looks at the past, present, and future of the covered bridge. The opening places covered bridges "on the edge of destruction" before offering a glimpse of the longest covered bridge in America. "Keep the bridge dry, and it will last a long time," Wetherbee says. The documentary expands on bridge construction, the importance of where roads meet rivers, graffiti as a permanent record of romance, restoration efforts, vandalism, and covered bridges' gradual decline. The narration, while poetic, gets a little sappy at times, and Wetherbee's transitional punchlines are often stale. But the program's attention paid to the importance of authentic reconstruction and historically appropriate use of technology is appreciated. Also effective are the soundtrack snippets played on a violin made with 100-year-old wood taken from a covered bridge. How cool is that?
A Hot Dog Program is available on video cassette. While "Covered Bridges of New England" is not, the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges offers covered bridge-related books and other products.
Wednesday, August 07, 2002
From the In Box: Blogging About Blogging XXIX
I made an attempt about seven years ago to scan in some of the material with mixed results, since it is almost entirely typewritten on a wide variety of paper stock, a lot of it two sides on onion skin. I will mention to him to start going through for what he might consider the "best of" and see what he can cook up. And, with improvements in scanning/text recognition, it may be less of a task than before. -- Andy McCaskey
I made an attempt about seven years ago to scan in some of the material with mixed results, since it is almost entirely typewritten on a wide variety of paper stock, a lot of it two sides on onion skin. I will mention to him to start going through for what he might consider the "best of" and see what he can cook up. And, with improvements in scanning/text recognition, it may be less of a task than before. -- Andy McCaskey
Comics and Controlled Substances
In the United Kingdom, a nonprofit drug-counseling organization publishes comic books that combine drug addiction healthcare information with drug use how-to primers. Even though the books have been in print for 15 years, UK political and legal leaders are just now taking notice -- and hope to cut the organization's funding because of its acceptance of drug use as part of UK society. Principles at the nonprofit, Lifeline, say that they're not undercover how-to guides but are instead realistic, practical approaches to drug abuse. "To preach against drugs is an immoral form of propaganda since you are conning people into thinking you can really cure drug use when you can't," says the comics co-designer.
You might need a WSJ.com membership to access this article.
In the United Kingdom, a nonprofit drug-counseling organization publishes comic books that combine drug addiction healthcare information with drug use how-to primers. Even though the books have been in print for 15 years, UK political and legal leaders are just now taking notice -- and hope to cut the organization's funding because of its acceptance of drug use as part of UK society. Principles at the nonprofit, Lifeline, say that they're not undercover how-to guides but are instead realistic, practical approaches to drug abuse. "To preach against drugs is an immoral form of propaganda since you are conning people into thinking you can really cure drug use when you can't," says the comics co-designer.
You might need a WSJ.com membership to access this article.
Flogging Bloggers III
Back to the Web whipping post! A Houston Chronicle reporter was recently fired for his blogging activity. Seems his employers didn't appreciate his commentaries on and coverage of local politicans and media organizations -- including the Chron -- in his blog, Brazosport News. Current entries only date to late July, and one entry says, "The news of our demise has been greatly exaggerated," so I'm guessing that Banjo Jones had to relocate his blog -- it's not possible to scan the archives to find what might have offended his former employers.
Thanks to Jim Romenesko's Media News.
Back to the Web whipping post! A Houston Chronicle reporter was recently fired for his blogging activity. Seems his employers didn't appreciate his commentaries on and coverage of local politicans and media organizations -- including the Chron -- in his blog, Brazosport News. Current entries only date to late July, and one entry says, "The news of our demise has been greatly exaggerated," so I'm guessing that Banjo Jones had to relocate his blog -- it's not possible to scan the archives to find what might have offended his former employers.
Thanks to Jim Romenesko's Media News.
These Links Were Made for Breaking? IV
Don't Link to Us! tracks "stupid linking policies." Entries from July take companies such as Easy Booking Service, Manpower, DKSystems, and BreakTV to task.
Don't Link to Us! tracks "stupid linking policies." Entries from July take companies such as Easy Booking Service, Manpower, DKSystems, and BreakTV to task.
The Most Famous Magazine in America?
An interesting development for the Atlantic Monthly. After a years-long plateau and a relatively recent redesign that's re-energized the periodical, the current issue is now so rare and in demand that people are selling it on eBay. Two people, in fact.
The September 2002 issue is selling out on newsstands, people are signing up for waiting lists where they buy magazines, and the Atlantic is hustling to issue a second printing of the current edition in order to meet demand.
The reason? William Langewiesche's three-part feature on "unbuilding the World Trade Center." As the anniversary of 911 approaches, the ongoing events since the initial tragedies loom large in the collective consciousness, and people scurry to learn as much as they can. Langewiesche will close the series in the October issue of the Atlantic, which will be released in conjunction with the publication of his North Point Press book American Ground.
I just stopped by the Atlantic offices to snag my copies of the July/August and September issues because that might be the only way to secure these on-fire magazines. Don't look for mine on eBay, though. I'm going to read them. Good to know the Atlantic is no longer a sad second to the New Yorker and Harper's.
An interesting development for the Atlantic Monthly. After a years-long plateau and a relatively recent redesign that's re-energized the periodical, the current issue is now so rare and in demand that people are selling it on eBay. Two people, in fact.
The September 2002 issue is selling out on newsstands, people are signing up for waiting lists where they buy magazines, and the Atlantic is hustling to issue a second printing of the current edition in order to meet demand.
The reason? William Langewiesche's three-part feature on "unbuilding the World Trade Center." As the anniversary of 911 approaches, the ongoing events since the initial tragedies loom large in the collective consciousness, and people scurry to learn as much as they can. Langewiesche will close the series in the October issue of the Atlantic, which will be released in conjunction with the publication of his North Point Press book American Ground.
I just stopped by the Atlantic offices to snag my copies of the July/August and September issues because that might be the only way to secure these on-fire magazines. Don't look for mine on eBay, though. I'm going to read them. Good to know the Atlantic is no longer a sad second to the New Yorker and Harper's.
Blogging About Blogging XXIX
Upon my return from Chicago, I received an email from a Company of Friends member who also occasionally reads Media Diet. This is what he said:
Since the end of May, Andy McCaskey, Sr., 86, has been blogging in Topic: Commentary and Essays on Life and Events. Occasionally with awkward line breaks (perhaps given his 28.8 modem), McCaskey comments on topics such as Johnny Appleseed's legacy, the national dream, political ethics, shamanism, and the force of sneezes and coughs. The items are all relatively short -- 450-650 words -- and read as though they could be presented on the radio a la Garrison Keillor or Paul Harvey. That's a large part of their charm -- their cadence and rhythm, like you're sitting on someone's porch listening to a story.
I was intrigued by McCaskey's riffs on people who still believe the Earth is flat and the role jaguars play in shamanism -- pretty far-out themes for an 80-year-old to be expanding on! And I enjoyed McCaskey's occasional use of the call back. Two separate items mention the flat Earth. Interesting.
Here's to you, Andy McCaskey, Sr. I'll add you to my daily reads -- and maybe you can get your son to help you add some of your archival material dating back to 1932. Then, Topic will truly be the longest-running blog.
Upon my return from Chicago, I received an email from a Company of Friends member who also occasionally reads Media Diet. This is what he said:
My father (Andy McCaskey, Sr.) is 86 years old. My dad worked in broadcasting for many years and before that was a newspaperman and writer. As a personal and professional discipline, he has written a column article of about 500 words each day without missing a day since he was 16 years old, including four years of service in World War II. Some have been published, some read on the air, many ending up in the filing cabinet.
He has been doing the hardest part of blogging -- the content -- since 1932, making him arguably the owner of the world's oldest continuous blog -- just recently tapped into a different transmission medium: his 6-year-old Windows 95 PC and a 28.8 modem.
He may also well be one of the world's oldest bloggers, just now able to publish independently thanks to the technology. This fulfills a life long dream of being able to have others regularly read his work. Writers have a lot in common, regardless of generation. He has had to be able to come up with 500 words on anything the editor could dream up -- maybe just like you. -- Andy McCaskey
Since the end of May, Andy McCaskey, Sr., 86, has been blogging in Topic: Commentary and Essays on Life and Events. Occasionally with awkward line breaks (perhaps given his 28.8 modem), McCaskey comments on topics such as Johnny Appleseed's legacy, the national dream, political ethics, shamanism, and the force of sneezes and coughs. The items are all relatively short -- 450-650 words -- and read as though they could be presented on the radio a la Garrison Keillor or Paul Harvey. That's a large part of their charm -- their cadence and rhythm, like you're sitting on someone's porch listening to a story.
I was intrigued by McCaskey's riffs on people who still believe the Earth is flat and the role jaguars play in shamanism -- pretty far-out themes for an 80-year-old to be expanding on! And I enjoyed McCaskey's occasional use of the call back. Two separate items mention the flat Earth. Interesting.
Here's to you, Andy McCaskey, Sr. I'll add you to my daily reads -- and maybe you can get your son to help you add some of your archival material dating back to 1932. Then, Topic will truly be the longest-running blog.
The Movie I Watched Last Night XXX
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
The other day, Jamie from the Picnic and the guy who works at the copy shop across the hall were discussing the rise and fall of one Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman. Other than his TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse, this movie might be his magnum opus. Originally released in 1985, the movie holds up well, and several scenes will remain in my memory forever, perhaps -- especially his dance to "Tequila" in the biker bar. To some extent, this is a juvenile -- as in for children -- version of The Jerk, with Pee Wee embarking on misadventures parallel to those of Steve Martin's title character. Danny Elfman's soundtrack is delightful (much better than what he scored for the remake of Planet of the Apes, for sure), and the cast includes some real surprises: Milton Berle, Dee Snider, and Morgan Fairchild. The Twisted Sister video shoot scene was probably thrown in just because they happened to be filming on the same day. The DVD includes some deleted scenes, too, but they're mostly throwaways. The film quality is bad, and it's pretty clear why they were cut.
Pee-wee's Big Adventure
The other day, Jamie from the Picnic and the guy who works at the copy shop across the hall were discussing the rise and fall of one Paul Reubens, Pee-wee Herman. Other than his TV series Pee-wee's Playhouse, this movie might be his magnum opus. Originally released in 1985, the movie holds up well, and several scenes will remain in my memory forever, perhaps -- especially his dance to "Tequila" in the biker bar. To some extent, this is a juvenile -- as in for children -- version of The Jerk, with Pee Wee embarking on misadventures parallel to those of Steve Martin's title character. Danny Elfman's soundtrack is delightful (much better than what he scored for the remake of Planet of the Apes, for sure), and the cast includes some real surprises: Milton Berle, Dee Snider, and Morgan Fairchild. The Twisted Sister video shoot scene was probably thrown in just because they happened to be filming on the same day. The DVD includes some deleted scenes, too, but they're mostly throwaways. The film quality is bad, and it's pretty clear why they were cut.
Tuesday, August 06, 2002
Books Worth a Look VII
These are the books I read in July 2002.
Gangster Holidays: The Lore and Legends of the Bad Guys by Tom Hollatz (1989)
Written by a resident of Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, this book details the adventures and misadventures of several Chicago-area mobsters who vacationed in northern Wisconsin during the '20s and '30s. Providing adequate context for the local stories, the book concentrates on John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson, who were involved in a shootout at Little Bohemia near Manitowish Waters, and Al Capone, who owned a cabin on Cranberry Lake near Couderay, Wisconsin. While the vignettes and descriptions of how the mobsters helped and harmed area communities were interesting, I was particularly intrigued by the details of what old bar or brothel became the site of what modern-day business.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Good.
Hellblazer Book 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano, John Ridgway, and Alfredo Alcala (1992)
After working my way through the run of Preacher trade paperbacks, and with the coming of the Hellblazer movie, I thought it was high time to check out this classic Vertigo comic. I'm not the biggest fan of the Charlton-esque comic art, and I don't find the protagonist or basic premise very interesting. What we have here is an exorcist of sorts who sees ghosts of former friends and lovers and combats denizens of the underworld. He's particularly good at it because he has some demon blood coursing through his veins. I did enjoy the Mnemoth and Vietnam vet storylines, though. What's up with the Swamp Thing crossover at the end? I'll give this another chance, but it's no great shake.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Fair.
In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities, by Jean Baudrillard (1983)
Subtitled the End of the Social and Other Essays, this Semiotext(e) text collects four pieces. Baudrillard suggests that the mass isn't a good conductor of the political, social, or meaningful. He considers how the aggregate discourages valid analysis -- and how information doesn't mobilize the masses; instead it sedates them. While I'm not totally convinced by his pessimistic analysis of media, I do appreciate his critique of marketing and advertising -- and his coverage of microgroups and the role of capital. Baudrillard also addresses the media's role in terrorism, which is particularly timely given the approaching anniversary of 911.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
A Look at Historic Green Lake: Honoring Our Sesquicentennial 1847-1997 by the City of Green Lake (1996)
This 24-page booklet is a terse yet wide-ranging look at the development of Green Lake, Wisconsin, long a summer resort town. The pamphlet touches on the area's industrial beginnings, boom with the advent of rail service, emergence as a vacation hot spot, retail activity, and civic organizations such as community bands. It's a cursory history that's heavy on archival photos and light on text, but it's a good warm up for better books such as Bob and Emma Heiple's A History of Beautiful Green Lake.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (1984)
I borrowed this British fantasy novel from Chris years ago and am just now getting around to it. Mythago Wood is a near-epic fantasy in which an adventurous family explores a preternatural forest that gives rise to physical manifestations of mythical figures created by the collective consciousness -- think Robin Hood. Combining shades of Tolkien and Lovecraft, Holdstock carries the concept well, even though the mental construction of the creatures didn't quite wash with me. It's a heroic adventure, a mythological reconception, and a love story. Worth digging up.
Days to read: 7. Rating: Excellent.
Nothing in This Book Is True, But It's Exactly How Things Are by Bob Frissell (1994)
Kook science, conspiracy theory, and New Age theorizing combine in this hot and cold expose of a walk-in, the ascended masters, life on other planets, interdimensional travel, sacred geometry, and the shadow government. While I disagree with Jay Kinney that this could be the next Cosmic Trigger, I do think half of the book is excellent. I had to push through Frissell's description of sacred geometry and meditative construction of the merkaba, but I enjoyed his unified theory of most things esoteric and occult.
Days to read: 11. Rating: Good.
Revolt, She Said by Julia Kristeva (2002)
The Bulgarian psychoanalyst who participated in the May 1968 revolt in France weighs in on the meaning of that political and philosophical uprising. She addresses the causes of psychic isolation, how the French movement was different than the American counterculture, its ties to the revolution of 1789, people's diminishing capacity for revolution, and the role of the media. I didn't find the heavy focus on psychology very interesting, but Kristeva's experience and introspection provides an important look at the roles of revolution, rebellion, and representation.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution by Howard Rheingold (2002)
Subtitled Transforming Cultures and Communities in the Age of Instant Access, this might very well be Howard's most important and prescient book. Building on his previous writings on online communities, Howard considers how developments in cell phones, short message services, open source, collaborative Web filtering, file sharing, and blogging go beyond connecting people in communication networks -- they mobilize them to act collectively. The book bogs down a little in the historical outline of Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law, etc., but Howard impresses with his healthy and insightful look at the potential impact of these technologies -- as well as the social, political, and legal challenges they may spark.
Days to read: 3. Rating: Excellent.
Toodles and Her Friends by Harry Whittier Frees (1991)
Opening with the disclaimer that "these unusual photographs of real kittens, puppies, and bunnies were made possible only by patient unfailing kindness on the part of the photographer at all times," this well-designed vintage children's book features occasionally disconcerting photos of animals wearing gingham dresses, drinking tea, reading books, washing clothes, cooking, and jumping rope. The story's not much to sneeze at -- Toodles raises funds to purchase a jump rope -- but the photos are a little known example of innovative animal photography.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The War of Souls Vol. II: Dragons of a Lost Star by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (2002)
Truly, I am a sucker for Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance novels -- have been since junior high. It's a good thing their collaborations -- and characters -- hold up so well. Some of the classic heroes are here, including Tasslehoff and an aging Goldmoon, but it's the new characters and impending return of the gods that held my attention. Gilthas' elven fop turned ostracized king works quite well, and Medan's dark knight marshall lost in love with the elven queen mother is a sensitive study in forbidden affection. It's this interplay of characters that will keep me coming back to these two authors.
Days to read: 11. Rating: Good.
The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog by Rebecca Blood (2002)
A companion volume of sorts to Perseus Books' We've Got Blog, Blood's book steps away from reprinting some of the best of the Web and toward an understanding of what makes blogs work well, as well as the effect they can have on a blogger's life. She addresses blogs' common characteristics, bloggers' motivations, how to find your personal writing voice, and how to interact with other bloggers. Her pointers on link etiquette and how to balance the Web and "real" worlds are useful, although I disagree with her on a couple of key points. (Don't blog at work? Please.) Much more than a Blogging for Dummies how to.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Good.
Why do some books get a link while other books do not? If a publishing company or author sends me review copies for consideration -- and if I review the book in Media Diet -- they get a link as well as a review. I don't review every review copy or galley I receive, and I don't always have time to track down author, publisher, and other book-related links in general.
Most of the books I review should be relatively easy to find via the Harvard Book Store and Powell's Books online ordering services. If something's out of print, check the Advanced Book Exchange first.
And if you'd like to send me a book to consider for review, Media Diet's address is P.O. Box 390205, Cambridge, MA 02139. Thank you very much.
These are the books I read in July 2002.
Gangster Holidays: The Lore and Legends of the Bad Guys by Tom Hollatz (1989)
Written by a resident of Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, this book details the adventures and misadventures of several Chicago-area mobsters who vacationed in northern Wisconsin during the '20s and '30s. Providing adequate context for the local stories, the book concentrates on John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson, who were involved in a shootout at Little Bohemia near Manitowish Waters, and Al Capone, who owned a cabin on Cranberry Lake near Couderay, Wisconsin. While the vignettes and descriptions of how the mobsters helped and harmed area communities were interesting, I was particularly intrigued by the details of what old bar or brothel became the site of what modern-day business.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Good.
Hellblazer Book 1: Original Sins by Jamie Delano, John Ridgway, and Alfredo Alcala (1992)
After working my way through the run of Preacher trade paperbacks, and with the coming of the Hellblazer movie, I thought it was high time to check out this classic Vertigo comic. I'm not the biggest fan of the Charlton-esque comic art, and I don't find the protagonist or basic premise very interesting. What we have here is an exorcist of sorts who sees ghosts of former friends and lovers and combats denizens of the underworld. He's particularly good at it because he has some demon blood coursing through his veins. I did enjoy the Mnemoth and Vietnam vet storylines, though. What's up with the Swamp Thing crossover at the end? I'll give this another chance, but it's no great shake.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Fair.
In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities, by Jean Baudrillard (1983)
Subtitled the End of the Social and Other Essays, this Semiotext(e) text collects four pieces. Baudrillard suggests that the mass isn't a good conductor of the political, social, or meaningful. He considers how the aggregate discourages valid analysis -- and how information doesn't mobilize the masses; instead it sedates them. While I'm not totally convinced by his pessimistic analysis of media, I do appreciate his critique of marketing and advertising -- and his coverage of microgroups and the role of capital. Baudrillard also addresses the media's role in terrorism, which is particularly timely given the approaching anniversary of 911.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
A Look at Historic Green Lake: Honoring Our Sesquicentennial 1847-1997 by the City of Green Lake (1996)
This 24-page booklet is a terse yet wide-ranging look at the development of Green Lake, Wisconsin, long a summer resort town. The pamphlet touches on the area's industrial beginnings, boom with the advent of rail service, emergence as a vacation hot spot, retail activity, and civic organizations such as community bands. It's a cursory history that's heavy on archival photos and light on text, but it's a good warm up for better books such as Bob and Emma Heiple's A History of Beautiful Green Lake.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock (1984)
I borrowed this British fantasy novel from Chris years ago and am just now getting around to it. Mythago Wood is a near-epic fantasy in which an adventurous family explores a preternatural forest that gives rise to physical manifestations of mythical figures created by the collective consciousness -- think Robin Hood. Combining shades of Tolkien and Lovecraft, Holdstock carries the concept well, even though the mental construction of the creatures didn't quite wash with me. It's a heroic adventure, a mythological reconception, and a love story. Worth digging up.
Days to read: 7. Rating: Excellent.
Nothing in This Book Is True, But It's Exactly How Things Are by Bob Frissell (1994)
Kook science, conspiracy theory, and New Age theorizing combine in this hot and cold expose of a walk-in, the ascended masters, life on other planets, interdimensional travel, sacred geometry, and the shadow government. While I disagree with Jay Kinney that this could be the next Cosmic Trigger, I do think half of the book is excellent. I had to push through Frissell's description of sacred geometry and meditative construction of the merkaba, but I enjoyed his unified theory of most things esoteric and occult.
Days to read: 11. Rating: Good.
Revolt, She Said by Julia Kristeva (2002)
The Bulgarian psychoanalyst who participated in the May 1968 revolt in France weighs in on the meaning of that political and philosophical uprising. She addresses the causes of psychic isolation, how the French movement was different than the American counterculture, its ties to the revolution of 1789, people's diminishing capacity for revolution, and the role of the media. I didn't find the heavy focus on psychology very interesting, but Kristeva's experience and introspection provides an important look at the roles of revolution, rebellion, and representation.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution by Howard Rheingold (2002)
Subtitled Transforming Cultures and Communities in the Age of Instant Access, this might very well be Howard's most important and prescient book. Building on his previous writings on online communities, Howard considers how developments in cell phones, short message services, open source, collaborative Web filtering, file sharing, and blogging go beyond connecting people in communication networks -- they mobilize them to act collectively. The book bogs down a little in the historical outline of Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law, etc., but Howard impresses with his healthy and insightful look at the potential impact of these technologies -- as well as the social, political, and legal challenges they may spark.
Days to read: 3. Rating: Excellent.
Toodles and Her Friends by Harry Whittier Frees (1991)
Opening with the disclaimer that "these unusual photographs of real kittens, puppies, and bunnies were made possible only by patient unfailing kindness on the part of the photographer at all times," this well-designed vintage children's book features occasionally disconcerting photos of animals wearing gingham dresses, drinking tea, reading books, washing clothes, cooking, and jumping rope. The story's not much to sneeze at -- Toodles raises funds to purchase a jump rope -- but the photos are a little known example of innovative animal photography.
Days to read: 1. Rating: Good.
The War of Souls Vol. II: Dragons of a Lost Star by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman (2002)
Truly, I am a sucker for Weis and Hickman's Dragonlance novels -- have been since junior high. It's a good thing their collaborations -- and characters -- hold up so well. Some of the classic heroes are here, including Tasslehoff and an aging Goldmoon, but it's the new characters and impending return of the gods that held my attention. Gilthas' elven fop turned ostracized king works quite well, and Medan's dark knight marshall lost in love with the elven queen mother is a sensitive study in forbidden affection. It's this interplay of characters that will keep me coming back to these two authors.
Days to read: 11. Rating: Good.
The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog by Rebecca Blood (2002)
A companion volume of sorts to Perseus Books' We've Got Blog, Blood's book steps away from reprinting some of the best of the Web and toward an understanding of what makes blogs work well, as well as the effect they can have on a blogger's life. She addresses blogs' common characteristics, bloggers' motivations, how to find your personal writing voice, and how to interact with other bloggers. Her pointers on link etiquette and how to balance the Web and "real" worlds are useful, although I disagree with her on a couple of key points. (Don't blog at work? Please.) Much more than a Blogging for Dummies how to.
Days to read: 2. Rating: Good.
Why do some books get a link while other books do not? If a publishing company or author sends me review copies for consideration -- and if I review the book in Media Diet -- they get a link as well as a review. I don't review every review copy or galley I receive, and I don't always have time to track down author, publisher, and other book-related links in general.
Most of the books I review should be relatively easy to find via the Harvard Book Store and Powell's Books online ordering services. If something's out of print, check the Advanced Book Exchange first.
And if you'd like to send me a book to consider for review, Media Diet's address is P.O. Box 390205, Cambridge, MA 02139. Thank you very much.
Weather Report VI
Today has been absolutely beautiful. Waking this morning, it was almost too cool and breezy sleep with just a sheet. The air has been crisp and cool for most of the day, and temps have been in the mid-70s. I could live quite well if the weather were like this all the time. Crisp, clean, cool, breezy, and sunny. Yay, nature.
Today has been absolutely beautiful. Waking this morning, it was almost too cool and breezy sleep with just a sheet. The air has been crisp and cool for most of the day, and temps have been in the mid-70s. I could live quite well if the weather were like this all the time. Crisp, clean, cool, breezy, and sunny. Yay, nature.
Among the Literati XII
David Eggers' forthcoming novel is excerpted in the current issue of the New Yorker. You can pre-order a copy of the yet-to-be-titled book online. The first edition will consist of 10,000 copies -- and will be limited to sale online. Later editions will be available in places like, oh, I don't know, bookstores, I suppose.
David Eggers' forthcoming novel is excerpted in the current issue of the New Yorker. You can pre-order a copy of the yet-to-be-titled book online. The first edition will consist of 10,000 copies -- and will be limited to sale online. Later editions will be available in places like, oh, I don't know, bookstores, I suppose.
Monday, August 05, 2002
The Movie I Watched Last Night XXIX
Saturday: Snowboard Academy
Corey Haim plays a rebellious snowboarder whose uptight brother is general manager of a ski resort. Jim Varney plays a suggested but not proven pothead entertainer who gets more than he bargains for when he's also hired as the resort's head of safety. It turns into the classic snowboarder-versus-skiier rivalry as the resort owner tries to forgo foreclosure by introducing a snowboarding school to the resort's services. There's the stereotypical stoic Native American, the accidentally adventurous Asian American, and the Sharon Stone-inspired mail-order Russian. Cliches abound, but it's a fun, throw-away movie.
Sunday: The Endless Summer
A summer classic, this movie is especially interesting when compared to surfing, skateboarding, and other extreme sport videos and movies made today. Case in point: Blue Crush, anyone? The cinematography is beautiful, and the film captures the purity and pristine nature of surfing's earliest days as a subculture. Imagine if all surfers were so clean cut today! (Not that they aren't, but you know.) Some of the scenes get a bit long, and the soundtrack isn't very interesting (another difference from surf films of today), but it's an interesting chronicle of an around-the-world search for the perfect wave. Robert August and Mike Hynson hit some virgin territory as they surf several places in Africa, India, and New Zealand that nobody had ever surfed before. Summer fun.
Saturday: Snowboard Academy
Corey Haim plays a rebellious snowboarder whose uptight brother is general manager of a ski resort. Jim Varney plays a suggested but not proven pothead entertainer who gets more than he bargains for when he's also hired as the resort's head of safety. It turns into the classic snowboarder-versus-skiier rivalry as the resort owner tries to forgo foreclosure by introducing a snowboarding school to the resort's services. There's the stereotypical stoic Native American, the accidentally adventurous Asian American, and the Sharon Stone-inspired mail-order Russian. Cliches abound, but it's a fun, throw-away movie.
Sunday: The Endless Summer
A summer classic, this movie is especially interesting when compared to surfing, skateboarding, and other extreme sport videos and movies made today. Case in point: Blue Crush, anyone? The cinematography is beautiful, and the film captures the purity and pristine nature of surfing's earliest days as a subculture. Imagine if all surfers were so clean cut today! (Not that they aren't, but you know.) Some of the scenes get a bit long, and the soundtrack isn't very interesting (another difference from surf films of today), but it's an interesting chronicle of an around-the-world search for the perfect wave. Robert August and Mike Hynson hit some virgin territory as they surf several places in Africa, India, and New Zealand that nobody had ever surfed before. Summer fun.
Pulling the Plug V
The Ritz Camera I used to go to to get film developed was closed when I walked to it this noon with four rolls of film. It'd been closed since March 15. Mid-March! Has it been that long since I got film developed? Guess I'll have to find a new camera shop.
The Ritz Camera I used to go to to get film developed was closed when I walked to it this noon with four rolls of film. It'd been closed since March 15. Mid-March! Has it been that long since I got film developed? Guess I'll have to find a new camera shop.
Television-Impaired
For the last three years, I have had next to no TV reception. Didn't even have my television at Magazine Street hooked up to the antenna until just a couple of weeks ago. I don't watch a lot of television, mostly video tapes and DVD's. But two weeks ago, I ordered cable. It was to be installed -- and was, eventually -- Saturday.
I signed up for AT&T Digital Cable on the InterWeb, scheduling the installation appointment, etc. Saturday, I woke promptly at 7 a.m. so I could tidy up my apartment -- especially the space right in front of the television. 9 rolled around. Then 11. Then 12. And still no cable guy. No phone calls, no doorbell. I read magazines. I wrote letters. I read the newspaper. I did dishes. I talked to my grandmother.
Because AT&T had left the reminder messages on my work voicemail, I figured I should check it to see if they'd called me there. They had. "Looks like you're not home," the cable guy said. "I guess you'll have to reschedule." I was home. And no one had come by. So I called AT&T to reconfirm and see what the deal was. They only had my work number on file, and the guy was running late. He could still come by Saturday afternoon.
So I waited a little longer. Eventually, the guy showed up. He was sweating -- said he usually did 20 installations a day between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. -- and seemed slightly irritated that I didn't know whether the cable was already turned on, that I hadn't preprogrammed my television, and that I didn't know where the cable lock box was in the building (It's down in the basement behind the stairs, I now know.). No one told me I had to prepare for the cable guy, so I was a little miffed that he was miffed. But that didn't last long.
In any event, it didn't take long for him to hook the cable up, either. Then he used the phone to check on his other appointments -- he'd lost his cell phone that morning but wasn't worried because AT&T would replace it for free. Before long, he was on his way.
I turned on the TV. And the first thing that was on was Little Shop of Horrors. Not a bad welcome to the new world of cable television! But it wasn't until later in the afternoon -- after a trip to the comic shop and Charlie's for a belated lunch -- that my TV Party on the Big Blue Couch began. Here's what I watched:
That was my Saturday night. What did I learn? One, that, despite my intentions to use the television for productive things like CNN, the Weather Channel, nature documentaries, etc., it'll also be easy for me to get sucked into crap TV. Two, that I don't like the lack of control provided by TV. Unless I get Tivo or something, I'll need to sit through programs at their own pace. Can't pause. Can't take a walk. If you want to watch something, you have to watch it. And three, that I'll be as much of a multitasker while watching TV as I am on the Web and at work. I'll flip between multiple shows on multiple channels. I'll read while watching.
Oh, add four, that I might become an extremely boring person. When a friend called late last night, all I could talk about was TV. Getting cable, what I'd watched, what excited or concerned me about television. Um, kind of like this Media Diet entry.
I apologize.
Nevertheless, I did watch the evening news before going to bed last night. And this morning, I ate my oatmeal and banana while watching CNN. That's OK, isn't it?
For the last three years, I have had next to no TV reception. Didn't even have my television at Magazine Street hooked up to the antenna until just a couple of weeks ago. I don't watch a lot of television, mostly video tapes and DVD's. But two weeks ago, I ordered cable. It was to be installed -- and was, eventually -- Saturday.
I signed up for AT&T Digital Cable on the InterWeb, scheduling the installation appointment, etc. Saturday, I woke promptly at 7 a.m. so I could tidy up my apartment -- especially the space right in front of the television. 9 rolled around. Then 11. Then 12. And still no cable guy. No phone calls, no doorbell. I read magazines. I wrote letters. I read the newspaper. I did dishes. I talked to my grandmother.
Because AT&T had left the reminder messages on my work voicemail, I figured I should check it to see if they'd called me there. They had. "Looks like you're not home," the cable guy said. "I guess you'll have to reschedule." I was home. And no one had come by. So I called AT&T to reconfirm and see what the deal was. They only had my work number on file, and the guy was running late. He could still come by Saturday afternoon.
So I waited a little longer. Eventually, the guy showed up. He was sweating -- said he usually did 20 installations a day between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. -- and seemed slightly irritated that I didn't know whether the cable was already turned on, that I hadn't preprogrammed my television, and that I didn't know where the cable lock box was in the building (It's down in the basement behind the stairs, I now know.). No one told me I had to prepare for the cable guy, so I was a little miffed that he was miffed. But that didn't last long.
In any event, it didn't take long for him to hook the cable up, either. Then he used the phone to check on his other appointments -- he'd lost his cell phone that morning but wasn't worried because AT&T would replace it for free. Before long, he was on his way.
I turned on the TV. And the first thing that was on was Little Shop of Horrors. Not a bad welcome to the new world of cable television! But it wasn't until later in the afternoon -- after a trip to the comic shop and Charlie's for a belated lunch -- that my TV Party on the Big Blue Couch began. Here's what I watched:
4 p.m., Discovery: Mystery of the Persian Mummy In the 10 minutes I saw, researchers discovered that the mummy's makers hadn't punched holes up through the mummy's nose but instead drilled up through the chin and palette to reach the skull. Then they liquefied the brain to drain it.
4:30 p.m., Starz!: Snowboard Academy I'll review this in a coming entry of The Movie I Watched Last Night.
6 p.m., WENH: Lawrence Welk Dick Dale hosted this collection of classic Welk vignettes featuring people performing then-pop standards. I imagine that if you lobotomized the king of surf guitar and gave Valium to talented musicians, you could produce this show, too. Welk was a white-bread dictator who squeezed all of the creativity and talent out of his performers. Regardless of my fond memories of watching this show at Gramma's, I can't get past Welk's controlling nature: "Since I'm the boss, I'll hold this and let you dance," he said to Dale. Now, Dale's no stranger to selling out as a pop phenom, but this episode takes the cake. Welk even tried to cash in on Manhattan Transfer's mid-'90s popularity. I could only watch half an hour.
7 p.m., Comedy Channel: Comedy Channel Presents... Dane Cook does extremely unfunny standup about how he wishes he were a lizard, how confusing cab fares are, how frustrating the DMV is, and how cool it'd be to have a time machine. So I bounced back and forth between this and...
7 p.m., E! Entertainment Television: Revealed with Jules Asner Dana Carvey is profiled as a late-'70s/early-'80s standup comedian who talkes about how he met his wife; his show with Mickey Rooney and Nathan Lane; a failed pilot with Desi Arnaz; how he ended up at Saturday Night Live; the elements of his impressions of Ross Perot, George Bush, and Johnny Carson; his friendship with Mike Myers; and other aspects of his career.
7:30 p.m., WFXT: The Simpsons No Simpsons because Seinfeld was delayed -- perhaps because of the Seattle-Cleveland game? At 7:45, the show switched over to programming "already in progress" to catch up with the Simpsons episode, which focused on a controversial mural.
"I went to Tufts. It was my safety school. So don't talk to me about hardship." -- Julia Louise-Dreyfuss as Elaine on Seinfeld
8 p.m., WCVB: The Man with the Golden Gun This James Bond movie won out over Henry Rollins' tired schtick over at the Comedy Channel. By this point in the evening, I was also reading while sitting on the Big Blue Couch. Seems that even television can't hold my attention. I was also bouncing back and forth between this and...
8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies: Charade Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn shine in this suspense movie, but even it didn't hold my attention for long. Walter Matthau's character is also notable, and the dynamic between Grant and Hepburn was delightful.
Quotes of Note from Charade:"Do you know what's wrong with you? Nothing." "May I have a cigarette please? It's like drinking coffee through a veil." "Women make the best spies." "Agents."
Opposite that, on the National Network (gah, please.) was Slamball. I didn't need to see much of it to know it wasn't my bag.
That was my Saturday night. What did I learn? One, that, despite my intentions to use the television for productive things like CNN, the Weather Channel, nature documentaries, etc., it'll also be easy for me to get sucked into crap TV. Two, that I don't like the lack of control provided by TV. Unless I get Tivo or something, I'll need to sit through programs at their own pace. Can't pause. Can't take a walk. If you want to watch something, you have to watch it. And three, that I'll be as much of a multitasker while watching TV as I am on the Web and at work. I'll flip between multiple shows on multiple channels. I'll read while watching.
Oh, add four, that I might become an extremely boring person. When a friend called late last night, all I could talk about was TV. Getting cable, what I'd watched, what excited or concerned me about television. Um, kind of like this Media Diet entry.
I apologize.
Nevertheless, I did watch the evening news before going to bed last night. And this morning, I ate my oatmeal and banana while watching CNN. That's OK, isn't it?
North End Moment XXV
Walking back to my office just now from the mail room, I spotted a little mouse on the hardwood floor in front of the elevator. I stepped on its tail to trap it and quickly realized that I had in fact trapped myself. If I moved, it'd escape. I didn't want to pick it up by its tail -- I'm not squeamish, but I'm not that brave, either -- so all I could do was wait for someone to get off the elevator or walk through the part of the office I was trapped in. Luckily, Tim quickly came along.
"Could you tell someone that I caught a mouse? I'm not quite sure what to do."
"Sounds like a job for Cynthia or Sylvia."
Soon, several people gathered by the elevators to watch me and the mouse. Sylvia soon came with a sticky trap: the Waltham Watchman. We put it on top of the mouse, who promptly died, perhaps from shock. It was pretty shocked when I stepped on it. Then we folded it over to cover the whole mouse and put it in a plastic bag for disposal.
Here is the dilemma. I don't like the idea of killing mice. They're living things. Kinda cute, too, when you look at them. But they shouldn't live in our office -- or our office building, really. As Sylvia said, "They're pests," and pests spread pestilence. So we kill them. How would you have handled this? Catch and release on the back alley? Some other method?
Walking back to my office just now from the mail room, I spotted a little mouse on the hardwood floor in front of the elevator. I stepped on its tail to trap it and quickly realized that I had in fact trapped myself. If I moved, it'd escape. I didn't want to pick it up by its tail -- I'm not squeamish, but I'm not that brave, either -- so all I could do was wait for someone to get off the elevator or walk through the part of the office I was trapped in. Luckily, Tim quickly came along.
"Could you tell someone that I caught a mouse? I'm not quite sure what to do."
"Sounds like a job for Cynthia or Sylvia."
Soon, several people gathered by the elevators to watch me and the mouse. Sylvia soon came with a sticky trap: the Waltham Watchman. We put it on top of the mouse, who promptly died, perhaps from shock. It was pretty shocked when I stepped on it. Then we folded it over to cover the whole mouse and put it in a plastic bag for disposal.
Here is the dilemma. I don't like the idea of killing mice. They're living things. Kinda cute, too, when you look at them. But they shouldn't live in our office -- or our office building, really. As Sylvia said, "They're pests," and pests spread pestilence. So we kill them. How would you have handled this? Catch and release on the back alley? Some other method?
Friday, August 02, 2002
Reports from the Road
Last Friday, I flew to Madison, Wisconsin, where I met up with my parents and sister. I had some trouble with my American connection in Chicago, but even though they'd canceled my original flight, I was able to get a standby seat on an earlier flight (imagine that!). My bag was not so lucky, but it eventually followed. The drive to Green Lake, Wisconsin, took about two hours. We were heading there to meet up with relatives from my father's side of the family for a mini family reunion and golf outing. Most everyone else took the whole week, but we were only able to spend the weekend in Green Lake. Despite not being able to see and catch up with most of the family, we did have some quality time with cousins from Iowa -- and we were able to see quite of a bit in the area.
Oakwood Lodge has been in business since 1867.
We stayed at Oakwood Lodge, a B&B that's been hosting travelers and vacationers since 1867, when it was built as a guest house for the Oakwood Resort, the first resort opened west of Niagara Falls. Because the original resort has been subdivided over the years, most of the buildings have been razed, and several other guest houses have been relocated, you can't really get a good sense of what the original property was like. But checking out a plat map from 1901, you can see that it was huge, stretching from where Oakwood is now toward downtown and the marina.
"Republican" meant something very different back then.
One of the days, we drove to Ripon, home of Ripon College and Ripon Foods Inc., maker of Rippin' Good Cookies. Ripon is also the birthplace of the Republican Party -- one of six or so cities that claim the title, including Jackson, Michigan -- and the little white schoolhouse that housed the first mass meeting in the country March 20, 1854, to organize the Republican Party still stands. When it was founded, the Republican Party was dedicated to fight the spread of slavery. About 55 people gathered to dissolve the local Whig and Free Soiler political parties -- and to protest the extension of slavery into the Kansas and Nebraska territories.
Surprising diversity in the Republican Party!
Today, the birthplace of the Republican Party neighbors the Republican House, a Chinese restaurant. We didn't eat there, but I was amused by the juxtaposition -- and the fact that an Asian eatery was trying to capitalize on the Republicans. Wonder how many conservatives take part of the chop suey.
We also spent some time driving around the Green Lake Conference Center, a Baptist retreat. The center abuts the Golf Courses of Lawsonia, named after Victor Lawson, publisher of the once-defunct Chicago Daily News. The center covers more than 1,000 acres, most of them heavily wooded, and features many interesting concrete-constructed "prayer towers."
Where the chapel car is parked.
Green Lake is also home of a chapel car -- one of two still in existence. "Chapel Car Grace" was used as part of the chapel car ministry of the American Baptist Publication Society and the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Starting in 1891, Baptist evangelists would ride the rails in the American West to spread the Gospel, distribute Bibles, and establish Sunday schools and churches.
By the God of Grace.
Grace, the car resting in Green Lake, was the last Baptist chapel car -- the seventh -- to be constructed. Built in 1915, the car cost only $21,000 to build. It was used primarily in California, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah and ceased service in 1946. Over the course of its history, three missionary couples served on the car, with Rev. A.C. Blinzinger riding the rails with the God of Grace for almost 20 of those years.
Make your ministry mobile!
Inside, there are enough seats for about 65 people to worship. Just behind the lectern is an additional room that served as the minister's bedroom. And on the far end of the chapel car was a small kitchen and rest room. I know I said the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers was so large you almost didn't need to leave to live, but can you imagine living on a train car for 20 years?
Looking back in time.
In the beginning, railways would waive trackage fees so the chapel cars could ride their rails for free. That changed in 1914, when the Publication Society began to pay for the railways' transport of the chapel cars. Despite this cost -- and the declining need for cars as churches were founded throughout the West -- the chapel cars remained in service for another 32 years.
All in all, an extremely fun and comfortable vacation with the family -- and a lot of lost local history.
Last Friday, I flew to Madison, Wisconsin, where I met up with my parents and sister. I had some trouble with my American connection in Chicago, but even though they'd canceled my original flight, I was able to get a standby seat on an earlier flight (imagine that!). My bag was not so lucky, but it eventually followed. The drive to Green Lake, Wisconsin, took about two hours. We were heading there to meet up with relatives from my father's side of the family for a mini family reunion and golf outing. Most everyone else took the whole week, but we were only able to spend the weekend in Green Lake. Despite not being able to see and catch up with most of the family, we did have some quality time with cousins from Iowa -- and we were able to see quite of a bit in the area.
Oakwood Lodge has been in business since 1867.
We stayed at Oakwood Lodge, a B&B that's been hosting travelers and vacationers since 1867, when it was built as a guest house for the Oakwood Resort, the first resort opened west of Niagara Falls. Because the original resort has been subdivided over the years, most of the buildings have been razed, and several other guest houses have been relocated, you can't really get a good sense of what the original property was like. But checking out a plat map from 1901, you can see that it was huge, stretching from where Oakwood is now toward downtown and the marina.
"Republican" meant something very different back then.
One of the days, we drove to Ripon, home of Ripon College and Ripon Foods Inc., maker of Rippin' Good Cookies. Ripon is also the birthplace of the Republican Party -- one of six or so cities that claim the title, including Jackson, Michigan -- and the little white schoolhouse that housed the first mass meeting in the country March 20, 1854, to organize the Republican Party still stands. When it was founded, the Republican Party was dedicated to fight the spread of slavery. About 55 people gathered to dissolve the local Whig and Free Soiler political parties -- and to protest the extension of slavery into the Kansas and Nebraska territories.
Surprising diversity in the Republican Party!
Today, the birthplace of the Republican Party neighbors the Republican House, a Chinese restaurant. We didn't eat there, but I was amused by the juxtaposition -- and the fact that an Asian eatery was trying to capitalize on the Republicans. Wonder how many conservatives take part of the chop suey.
We also spent some time driving around the Green Lake Conference Center, a Baptist retreat. The center abuts the Golf Courses of Lawsonia, named after Victor Lawson, publisher of the once-defunct Chicago Daily News. The center covers more than 1,000 acres, most of them heavily wooded, and features many interesting concrete-constructed "prayer towers."
Where the chapel car is parked.
Green Lake is also home of a chapel car -- one of two still in existence. "Chapel Car Grace" was used as part of the chapel car ministry of the American Baptist Publication Society and the American Baptist Home Mission Society. Starting in 1891, Baptist evangelists would ride the rails in the American West to spread the Gospel, distribute Bibles, and establish Sunday schools and churches.
By the God of Grace.
Grace, the car resting in Green Lake, was the last Baptist chapel car -- the seventh -- to be constructed. Built in 1915, the car cost only $21,000 to build. It was used primarily in California, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah and ceased service in 1946. Over the course of its history, three missionary couples served on the car, with Rev. A.C. Blinzinger riding the rails with the God of Grace for almost 20 of those years.
Make your ministry mobile!
Inside, there are enough seats for about 65 people to worship. Just behind the lectern is an additional room that served as the minister's bedroom. And on the far end of the chapel car was a small kitchen and rest room. I know I said the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers was so large you almost didn't need to leave to live, but can you imagine living on a train car for 20 years?
Looking back in time.
In the beginning, railways would waive trackage fees so the chapel cars could ride their rails for free. That changed in 1914, when the Publication Society began to pay for the railways' transport of the chapel cars. Despite this cost -- and the declining need for cars as churches were founded throughout the West -- the chapel cars remained in service for another 32 years.
All in all, an extremely fun and comfortable vacation with the family -- and a lot of lost local history.
No Media Res(t) for the Weary Traveler
Talk about culture shock! From Oakwood Lodge, a B&B that was originally built in 1867 as a guest house for a resort in Green Lake, Wisconsin, to the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, one of the city's largest conference hotels. The Sheraton has more than 1,200 rooms, and with a steak club, two cafes, and two bars, as well as a health club and swimming pool, you almost don't need to leave to live.
Yet the in-room literature is all about pointing you outside the hotel and into the city. Whether it's the Directory of Guest Services pointing you to barber shops, florists, and restaurants outside the hotel -- in addition to area shopping centers -- or the three in-room visitors guides, the Sheraton doesn't want you to stay inside if you don't want to.
Resting gently by the phone is the trade paperback-sized Front Desk Chicago, a 116-page shopping, dining, and culture quarterly published by Chicago-based Modern Luxury Inc. With an editorial staff dwarfed by its advertising and production teams -- and what must be a cadre of freelance contributors -- Front Desk caters to the Paul Stuart and Kate Spade set. The July 15 edition gives lip service to the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival and Andreas Gursky's MOCA exhibit in between pages devoted to details of the city's best cocktail bars, carry-ons and totes for summer, and a 40-page shopping, gallery, nightlife, and dining guide. Most of the goods and venues featured in Front Desk are way outside of my price range, and the guide's map of Michigan Avenue's Miracle Mile indicates the neighborhood its target demographic is encouraged to stick to.
So I turn to the Chicago Guest Informant -- placed prominently on the glass coffee table in front of the couch -- a European genre comics-formatted (think Tin Tin and Asterix) hardcover. Opening with a custom-published welcome letter from the hotel's VP and managing director (how friendly!), this 168-page annual published by a Woodland Hills, California-based company is slightly less duplicitious in its commercial intent in terms of pastiche listings disguised as articles, and when it comes down to it, is eminently more useful.
On p. 16, we are offered a relatively detailed map of the Loop, stretching north to Old Town and south to Soldier Field -- and including elevated and subway train lines (perhaps for the more adventurous hotel guests). There's a telephone directory of local financial, travel, and other services in the area. And while the content -- features on Chicago's culture, skyline, and seasonal events -- isn't as timely as Front Desk's, it's certainly more contextual.
That said, while Front Desk is quite adept at energizing and mobilizing hotel guests, Guest Informant seems more geared to the bored society matron. Why explain how to buy a diamond? The history and role of the concierge? Customer service quirks in Philadelphia? Nuances of champagne? Despite Guest Informant's focus on regional context, the annual is heavily dominated by dining and retail directories -- skimping on the events and gallery listings given its yearly publication -- and shameless about paid advertorial. A photography how to ran on a page with an ad for Gregory Gaymont Photography. The diamond selection primer ran opposite a full-page ad for Sidney Garber, a local jeweler. And the restaurant guide features 13 paid review/ads ranging from a third page to a full page.
Lastly, the July edition of Where Chicago, which I almost didn't find hidden on a shelf by the television and mini bar. Laudably staffing a Chicago office, Where is a regional visitors guide published by LA-based Miller Publishing Group. The "Where Network" covers more than 40 urban areas in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, including some real ringers: the Yukon, St. Louis, and Winnipeg. In this month's 112-page magazine-format edition, readers are offered ads to Marshall Field's, Bloomingdale's, and Carson Pirie Scott, as well as some light editorial preceding the entertainment, shopping, and dining guides, which take up about two thirds of the glossy.
Articles address organic produce and cuisine, and the "most luxurious clubs Chicago has to offer," as well as pastiche aggregations of the listings in the entertainment, shopping, and dining guides. The corporate-sponsored Absolut Vision summer gallery series gets heavy play in this -- as it does in Front Desk. But for the most part, Where is all about the ads and listings, despite the detail of its local and regional maps, which are the best of the bunch as well worth tearing out if you don't want to spring for the laminated accordion Streetwise Chicago before you hit the streets.
Perhaps Sheraton's stocking of these three is strategic. Guest Informant goes straight for the blue hairs. Front Desk aims more for the monied near-hipster. And Where caters to the generally white-bread family. The location and placement is sure strategic. Front Desk, the edgy newcomer, rates prominent placement next to the phone. Guest Informant acquires the austere honor of residing on the coffee table. And Where nets the ghetto -- the shadowy shelves of the entertainment center.
But there has to be a better approach. Kudos to Front Desk and Where for publishing locally -- and for being more timely. Kudos to Where and Guest Informant for the depth of their local and regional resources and maps. And kudos to Front Desk for its hipster veneer and relative edginess when compared to the other two. When it comes down to brass tacks, however, you're better off ripping out Where's street map and pounding the pavement to find a copy of Newcity or the Chicago Reader if you really want to know where to go or what to do. Because the people in Guest Informant's California sales office? They have no idea.
Oh. There's one more hotel room media accoutrement you can turn to. Tucked snugly in the drawer on the nightstand on the far side of the bed is a Holy Bible "placed by the Gideons," an organization of Christian business travelers formed in 1898. I refer you to 1 John 2:15, 17 -- "Do not love the world or the things in the world. The world is passing away." As are all of the shops, galleries, and restaurants reviewed and advertised in the above visitors guides. But that's another story.
Talk about culture shock! From Oakwood Lodge, a B&B that was originally built in 1867 as a guest house for a resort in Green Lake, Wisconsin, to the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, one of the city's largest conference hotels. The Sheraton has more than 1,200 rooms, and with a steak club, two cafes, and two bars, as well as a health club and swimming pool, you almost don't need to leave to live.
Yet the in-room literature is all about pointing you outside the hotel and into the city. Whether it's the Directory of Guest Services pointing you to barber shops, florists, and restaurants outside the hotel -- in addition to area shopping centers -- or the three in-room visitors guides, the Sheraton doesn't want you to stay inside if you don't want to.
Resting gently by the phone is the trade paperback-sized Front Desk Chicago, a 116-page shopping, dining, and culture quarterly published by Chicago-based Modern Luxury Inc. With an editorial staff dwarfed by its advertising and production teams -- and what must be a cadre of freelance contributors -- Front Desk caters to the Paul Stuart and Kate Spade set. The July 15 edition gives lip service to the Chicago Outdoor Film Festival and Andreas Gursky's MOCA exhibit in between pages devoted to details of the city's best cocktail bars, carry-ons and totes for summer, and a 40-page shopping, gallery, nightlife, and dining guide. Most of the goods and venues featured in Front Desk are way outside of my price range, and the guide's map of Michigan Avenue's Miracle Mile indicates the neighborhood its target demographic is encouraged to stick to.
So I turn to the Chicago Guest Informant -- placed prominently on the glass coffee table in front of the couch -- a European genre comics-formatted (think Tin Tin and Asterix) hardcover. Opening with a custom-published welcome letter from the hotel's VP and managing director (how friendly!), this 168-page annual published by a Woodland Hills, California-based company is slightly less duplicitious in its commercial intent in terms of pastiche listings disguised as articles, and when it comes down to it, is eminently more useful.
On p. 16, we are offered a relatively detailed map of the Loop, stretching north to Old Town and south to Soldier Field -- and including elevated and subway train lines (perhaps for the more adventurous hotel guests). There's a telephone directory of local financial, travel, and other services in the area. And while the content -- features on Chicago's culture, skyline, and seasonal events -- isn't as timely as Front Desk's, it's certainly more contextual.
That said, while Front Desk is quite adept at energizing and mobilizing hotel guests, Guest Informant seems more geared to the bored society matron. Why explain how to buy a diamond? The history and role of the concierge? Customer service quirks in Philadelphia? Nuances of champagne? Despite Guest Informant's focus on regional context, the annual is heavily dominated by dining and retail directories -- skimping on the events and gallery listings given its yearly publication -- and shameless about paid advertorial. A photography how to ran on a page with an ad for Gregory Gaymont Photography. The diamond selection primer ran opposite a full-page ad for Sidney Garber, a local jeweler. And the restaurant guide features 13 paid review/ads ranging from a third page to a full page.
Lastly, the July edition of Where Chicago, which I almost didn't find hidden on a shelf by the television and mini bar. Laudably staffing a Chicago office, Where is a regional visitors guide published by LA-based Miller Publishing Group. The "Where Network" covers more than 40 urban areas in the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia, including some real ringers: the Yukon, St. Louis, and Winnipeg. In this month's 112-page magazine-format edition, readers are offered ads to Marshall Field's, Bloomingdale's, and Carson Pirie Scott, as well as some light editorial preceding the entertainment, shopping, and dining guides, which take up about two thirds of the glossy.
Articles address organic produce and cuisine, and the "most luxurious clubs Chicago has to offer," as well as pastiche aggregations of the listings in the entertainment, shopping, and dining guides. The corporate-sponsored Absolut Vision summer gallery series gets heavy play in this -- as it does in Front Desk. But for the most part, Where is all about the ads and listings, despite the detail of its local and regional maps, which are the best of the bunch as well worth tearing out if you don't want to spring for the laminated accordion Streetwise Chicago before you hit the streets.
Perhaps Sheraton's stocking of these three is strategic. Guest Informant goes straight for the blue hairs. Front Desk aims more for the monied near-hipster. And Where caters to the generally white-bread family. The location and placement is sure strategic. Front Desk, the edgy newcomer, rates prominent placement next to the phone. Guest Informant acquires the austere honor of residing on the coffee table. And Where nets the ghetto -- the shadowy shelves of the entertainment center.
But there has to be a better approach. Kudos to Front Desk and Where for publishing locally -- and for being more timely. Kudos to Where and Guest Informant for the depth of their local and regional resources and maps. And kudos to Front Desk for its hipster veneer and relative edginess when compared to the other two. When it comes down to brass tacks, however, you're better off ripping out Where's street map and pounding the pavement to find a copy of Newcity or the Chicago Reader if you really want to know where to go or what to do. Because the people in Guest Informant's California sales office? They have no idea.
Oh. There's one more hotel room media accoutrement you can turn to. Tucked snugly in the drawer on the nightstand on the far side of the bed is a Holy Bible "placed by the Gideons," an organization of Christian business travelers formed in 1898. I refer you to 1 John 2:15, 17 -- "Do not love the world or the things in the world. The world is passing away." As are all of the shops, galleries, and restaurants reviewed and advertised in the above visitors guides. But that's another story.
Technofetishism XIV
Started using several new applications today. First up, tools for the iPod. xPod from BITcom helps you move MP3's off of your iPod and onto your hard drive. It's freeware, and it's been quite useful in terms of getting all of the MP3's Strand set me up with before I had my own PowerBook moved over to iTunes. PodUtil seems to work similarly, although it has the added feature of managing contacts on the iPod, as well. I've only played around with this one a little bit. Lastly, Podtext. This is an application that allows you to upload text files to your iPod -- files that can be read much like contacts. You can't use it for anything too long -- it runs out at 2,000 characters, which is more than many iPod text apps -- but for short text files, it seems to work pretty well.
I've also started using Opera as my default browser today. Blogger Pro doesn't support Opera, so I have to continue using Explorer to update Media Diet, but otherwise, Opera is an excellent alternative. It's faster, smaller, and more flexible than other browsers, and it offers some interesting features -- such as the 20-100% zoom. Again, I'll use Explorer to manage Media Diet, but for all other things? Opera is my browser.
Started using several new applications today. First up, tools for the iPod. xPod from BITcom helps you move MP3's off of your iPod and onto your hard drive. It's freeware, and it's been quite useful in terms of getting all of the MP3's Strand set me up with before I had my own PowerBook moved over to iTunes. PodUtil seems to work similarly, although it has the added feature of managing contacts on the iPod, as well. I've only played around with this one a little bit. Lastly, Podtext. This is an application that allows you to upload text files to your iPod -- files that can be read much like contacts. You can't use it for anything too long -- it runs out at 2,000 characters, which is more than many iPod text apps -- but for short text files, it seems to work pretty well.
I've also started using Opera as my default browser today. Blogger Pro doesn't support Opera, so I have to continue using Explorer to update Media Diet, but otherwise, Opera is an excellent alternative. It's faster, smaller, and more flexible than other browsers, and it offers some interesting features -- such as the 20-100% zoom. Again, I'll use Explorer to manage Media Diet, but for all other things? Opera is my browser.
Big Brother Is Watching VI
Eleven motion-detecting video cameras are being installed in alleyways in South Los Angeles to help combat litter and graffiti. People triggering the cameras while "loitering" in an alleyway will activate a recording that says, ""Stop! This is the LAPD. We have just taken your photograph. We will use this photograph to prosecute you. Leave now." Littering and tagging can bring six-month jail sentences and $1,000 fines.
Thanks to the Drudge Report.
Eleven motion-detecting video cameras are being installed in alleyways in South Los Angeles to help combat litter and graffiti. People triggering the cameras while "loitering" in an alleyway will activate a recording that says, ""Stop! This is the LAPD. We have just taken your photograph. We will use this photograph to prosecute you. Leave now." Littering and tagging can bring six-month jail sentences and $1,000 fines.
Thanks to the Drudge Report.
Comic Book Collections II
Not so much comic books as pulp magazines, but the family of a recently deceased 92-year-old man donated 35,000 science fiction and pulp magazines dating back to the 19th century to the University of Calgary. We'll see how they catalog and archive the materials -- much less make them accessible to the public, but this amazing research treasure trove might very well dwarf the MIT Science Fiction Society Library, which claims to offer the "world's largest open-shelf collection of science fiction."
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Not so much comic books as pulp magazines, but the family of a recently deceased 92-year-old man donated 35,000 science fiction and pulp magazines dating back to the 19th century to the University of Calgary. We'll see how they catalog and archive the materials -- much less make them accessible to the public, but this amazing research treasure trove might very well dwarf the MIT Science Fiction Society Library, which claims to offer the "world's largest open-shelf collection of science fiction."
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Thursday, August 01, 2002
The Movie I Watched Last Night XXVIII
Sunday: Shaft
I was bored in the hotel room upon arriving in Chicago this weekend -- too early to go to bed, and too late to go out. So I turned to Showtime. Shaft is a movie I didn't want to see in the theater and probably wouldn't even rent, but there it was, on the television, and I watched it. You know what? It's not bad. I'm not too well versed in blaxploitation films -- much less the original Shaft -- but I enjoyed this. It's only a slight revision because Samuel L. Jackson's character is the nephew of the '70s character -- so it's not a totally nostalgic redux a la Charlie's Angels but instead more of an update. The black cop turned renegade tracking down a monied bail-jumping racially motivated killer plot works well, and the interactions among the cast work well. Fun. A good call back to the original, but not worth going out of your way for.
Sunday: Shaft
I was bored in the hotel room upon arriving in Chicago this weekend -- too early to go to bed, and too late to go out. So I turned to Showtime. Shaft is a movie I didn't want to see in the theater and probably wouldn't even rent, but there it was, on the television, and I watched it. You know what? It's not bad. I'm not too well versed in blaxploitation films -- much less the original Shaft -- but I enjoyed this. It's only a slight revision because Samuel L. Jackson's character is the nephew of the '70s character -- so it's not a totally nostalgic redux a la Charlie's Angels but instead more of an update. The black cop turned renegade tracking down a monied bail-jumping racially motivated killer plot works well, and the interactions among the cast work well. Fun. A good call back to the original, but not worth going out of your way for.
Rock Shows of Note XXX
A friend was laid off yesterday, so a bunch of us got together after work for drinks in the North End. Several people were going to go to the Beth Orton show at the Avalon, and in the spirit of spending time with my newly "liberated" friend, I decided to tag along. I'm not the biggest fan of the Avalon, but I do enjoy Beth's "Trailer Park" record -- even though I must admit I momentarily confused her with Gillian Welch.
While Beth Orton's mix of singer songwriter-styled rock and trip hop was fun and interesting -- the band hit an amazing groove as the show neared its end -- I must say that the highlight of the evening was seeing Hem. Even though Comicopia's James Wu went to the show specifically to see Hem, I'd never heard of -- or heard -- them before. Fronted by Sally Ellyson, who has an extremely beautiful voice, Hem blends piano-based music with dual guitars and the occasional mandolin. They're kind of quiet, but very effective. Awesome. Just goes to show how important it is to catch opening bands. They can often be better than the headliner.
A friend was laid off yesterday, so a bunch of us got together after work for drinks in the North End. Several people were going to go to the Beth Orton show at the Avalon, and in the spirit of spending time with my newly "liberated" friend, I decided to tag along. I'm not the biggest fan of the Avalon, but I do enjoy Beth's "Trailer Park" record -- even though I must admit I momentarily confused her with Gillian Welch.
While Beth Orton's mix of singer songwriter-styled rock and trip hop was fun and interesting -- the band hit an amazing groove as the show neared its end -- I must say that the highlight of the evening was seeing Hem. Even though Comicopia's James Wu went to the show specifically to see Hem, I'd never heard of -- or heard -- them before. Fronted by Sally Ellyson, who has an extremely beautiful voice, Hem blends piano-based music with dual guitars and the occasional mandolin. They're kind of quiet, but very effective. Awesome. Just goes to show how important it is to catch opening bands. They can often be better than the headliner.
Other People's Reading Piles VI
Tom Hopkins is almost done designing the 30-year Web archive for Painted Bride Quarterly, an independent literary magazine sponsored in part by the English department at Rutgers University. It's an impressive effort. Issues date back to 1973, and all of the editions are available as downloadable PDF's. I have some qualms with the quality of some of the scans, but overall, the world needs more Web-based archival efforts like this. Kudos to Nester and Tom!
Tom Hopkins is almost done designing the 30-year Web archive for Painted Bride Quarterly, an independent literary magazine sponsored in part by the English department at Rutgers University. It's an impressive effort. Issues date back to 1973, and all of the editions are available as downloadable PDF's. I have some qualms with the quality of some of the scans, but overall, the world needs more Web-based archival efforts like this. Kudos to Nester and Tom!
Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians VI
It's Thomas Madsen-Mygdal's birthday today. Happy, happy!
It's Thomas Madsen-Mygdal's birthday today. Happy, happy!
Wednesday, July 31, 2002
The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night IX
While in Evanston, Illinois, earlier this week, I had dinner with Claire Zulkey at the Lucky Platter. I ordered four side dishes -- mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, beans and rice, and a simple salad -- just like I was at a meat-and-three in Tennessee. Mmm! I also had a tamarind lemonade. It was really good, but I wondered: What the heck is tamarind? I like tamarind nectar, and I like tamarind lemonade, but I couldn't quite peg it. Kind of like figs, kind of like dates. A little like raisins, sort of like prunes. But not really. I thought it was a fruit -- and it is -- but it's also considered a spice. The word "tamarind" derives from tamr hindi, or "date of India." So they are kind of like dates!
***
My friend Lynne-Marie and her husband just opened a cafe near the Art Institute of Chicago at Michigan and Madison. Millennium Perk is a wonderfully comfortable spot with extremely good coffee -- try the Foglifter! -- a shelf full of interesting books ranging from Christopher Locke to Thomas Merton, and a friendly staff and patrons. They cater, too. If you go, be sure to look up toward the front of the cafe from the counter to see the second-story office without windows, and if you're feeling brave, ask to see the narrow, narrow staircase. Depending on how much coffee you drink, you might need to use the restroom. Ask for the key at the counter, and the bathroom's on the second floor -- you can walk up the stairs from the lobby. Congratulations, Lynne-Marie -- Millennium Perk rocks!
***
Last night, I ate at Carton's with Joe, Jennifer, and Kirsten. They called Carton's a diner, but it's probably the nicest diner-cum-family restaurant I've ever been to. The section we sat in was filled to the gills with Gold Coast blue hairs, and there's a pretty large bar on the other end of the restaurant. Decorated like a Denny's, Carton's food is anything but similar. Three of us ordered breakfasts, and Joe ordered a corned beef sandwich. I ordered a Greek scramble -- I forget the word for it -- that had eggs, onion, feta, and tomatoes. Came with Greek toast, which is kind of like scali bread, but thicker, grapefruit juice, and coffee. The coffee was really, really good. You should go there just for coffee.
While in Evanston, Illinois, earlier this week, I had dinner with Claire Zulkey at the Lucky Platter. I ordered four side dishes -- mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, beans and rice, and a simple salad -- just like I was at a meat-and-three in Tennessee. Mmm! I also had a tamarind lemonade. It was really good, but I wondered: What the heck is tamarind? I like tamarind nectar, and I like tamarind lemonade, but I couldn't quite peg it. Kind of like figs, kind of like dates. A little like raisins, sort of like prunes. But not really. I thought it was a fruit -- and it is -- but it's also considered a spice. The word "tamarind" derives from tamr hindi, or "date of India." So they are kind of like dates!
My friend Lynne-Marie and her husband just opened a cafe near the Art Institute of Chicago at Michigan and Madison. Millennium Perk is a wonderfully comfortable spot with extremely good coffee -- try the Foglifter! -- a shelf full of interesting books ranging from Christopher Locke to Thomas Merton, and a friendly staff and patrons. They cater, too. If you go, be sure to look up toward the front of the cafe from the counter to see the second-story office without windows, and if you're feeling brave, ask to see the narrow, narrow staircase. Depending on how much coffee you drink, you might need to use the restroom. Ask for the key at the counter, and the bathroom's on the second floor -- you can walk up the stairs from the lobby. Congratulations, Lynne-Marie -- Millennium Perk rocks!
Last night, I ate at Carton's with Joe, Jennifer, and Kirsten. They called Carton's a diner, but it's probably the nicest diner-cum-family restaurant I've ever been to. The section we sat in was filled to the gills with Gold Coast blue hairs, and there's a pretty large bar on the other end of the restaurant. Decorated like a Denny's, Carton's food is anything but similar. Three of us ordered breakfasts, and Joe ordered a corned beef sandwich. I ordered a Greek scramble -- I forget the word for it -- that had eggs, onion, feta, and tomatoes. Came with Greek toast, which is kind of like scali bread, but thicker, grapefruit juice, and coffee. The coffee was really, really good. You should go there just for coffee.
Friday, July 26, 2002
'Tis the Season to Be... AWOL IX
In a couple of hours, I'm heading to the airport to fly to Wisconsin for a mini-family reunion -- and then to Chicago, where I will be judging a marketing competition for architecture, design, and construction professionals. I will be back in the office and online next Wednesday.
While I always 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. Besides, I still owe you a trip report from my previous trip home. Keep your eyes peeled for a report on Al Capone's summer home in northern Wisconsin -- and a supper club that got shot up by the feds because John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson were staying there.
In a couple of hours, I'm heading to the airport to fly to Wisconsin for a mini-family reunion -- and then to Chicago, where I will be judging a marketing competition for architecture, design, and construction professionals. I will be back in the office and online next Wednesday.
While I always 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. Besides, I still owe you a trip report from my previous trip home. Keep your eyes peeled for a report on Al Capone's summer home in northern Wisconsin -- and a supper club that got shot up by the feds because John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson were staying there.
Morning Delusional
This almost never happens to me, but this morning, upon waking (for the first time) at 5:17 a.m., I was completely disoriented. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know what day it was, and I didn't know what I had to do today. This never happens to me -- not even when I'm on the road for two months -- I always know where I am and why I'm there.
But this morning, I woke in a near-panic and totally disoriented. I checked the clock, walked around my apartment, looked outside, and checked my calendar to reaffirm where I was and when it was. Then, having gotten everything settled again ("I'm home, it's Friday, and I'm flying to Wisconsin this afternoon; I need to pack."), I went back to bed for a couple of hours.
When I finally got up at a reasonable hour, I knew exactly who I was, where I was, and what I was doing. Phew! Has anyone else ever experienced this disorientation in the morning?
This almost never happens to me, but this morning, upon waking (for the first time) at 5:17 a.m., I was completely disoriented. I didn't know where I was, I didn't know what day it was, and I didn't know what I had to do today. This never happens to me -- not even when I'm on the road for two months -- I always know where I am and why I'm there.
But this morning, I woke in a near-panic and totally disoriented. I checked the clock, walked around my apartment, looked outside, and checked my calendar to reaffirm where I was and when it was. Then, having gotten everything settled again ("I'm home, it's Friday, and I'm flying to Wisconsin this afternoon; I need to pack."), I went back to bed for a couple of hours.
When I finally got up at a reasonable hour, I knew exactly who I was, where I was, and what I was doing. Phew! Has anyone else ever experienced this disorientation in the morning?
Thursday, July 25, 2002
The Red... Sux!
I am ever so lame today, for many reasons, but the reason I am going to tell you about involves baseball. I had a ticket to last night's Red Sox game. I didn't go, though. You see, I thought the game was tonight. Yesterday a co-worker forwarded an email reminder about the game, and it said "tomorrow" because it had originally been sent two days ago. So "tomorrow" was actually yesterday. You with me?
Also, having just moved into a new office, the ticket was stashed away. Thinking the game was tonight, not last night, I planned to find the ticket today and give it away to someone else. I couldn't go tonight because of recording with the Anchormen. But I could've gone last night. And had I looked for the ticket yesterday, I would've. Certainly should've.
Anyway, I found the ticket more easily than ever expected this morning and was quite surprised that it was dated for yesterday, not today. So I can't even give it away. This is one reason I am lame.
At least the Red Sox lost.
What did I do last night instead of going to the Red Sox game I could've gone to? Stayed home, sat on the Big Blue Couch, and listened to a bunch of great late '80s Wisconsin bands: Couch Flambeau, the Gomers, Cattleprod, and the Tar Babies.
I am ever so lame today, for many reasons, but the reason I am going to tell you about involves baseball. I had a ticket to last night's Red Sox game. I didn't go, though. You see, I thought the game was tonight. Yesterday a co-worker forwarded an email reminder about the game, and it said "tomorrow" because it had originally been sent two days ago. So "tomorrow" was actually yesterday. You with me?
Also, having just moved into a new office, the ticket was stashed away. Thinking the game was tonight, not last night, I planned to find the ticket today and give it away to someone else. I couldn't go tonight because of recording with the Anchormen. But I could've gone last night. And had I looked for the ticket yesterday, I would've. Certainly should've.
Anyway, I found the ticket more easily than ever expected this morning and was quite surprised that it was dated for yesterday, not today. So I can't even give it away. This is one reason I am lame.
At least the Red Sox lost.
What did I do last night instead of going to the Red Sox game I could've gone to? Stayed home, sat on the Big Blue Couch, and listened to a bunch of great late '80s Wisconsin bands: Couch Flambeau, the Gomers, Cattleprod, and the Tar Babies.
Business Media Reportage Goes Boom, Now Bust III
Gruner & Jahr, publisher of the magazine I work for, recently reorganized its business magazine division. Media Life's Jeff Bercovici paints a less than rosy picture of the state of business magazines.
Gruner & Jahr, publisher of the magazine I work for, recently reorganized its business magazine division. Media Life's Jeff Bercovici paints a less than rosy picture of the state of business magazines.
North End Moment XXIV
Written on a little slip of paper found in the Central Square T station on my way to work:
Marilyn Diptych
1962
Flip side:
Warhol
comment on the media status @ the time after Marilyn's death
used garish colors to make masklike
Written on a little slip of paper found in the Central Square T station on my way to work:
Marilyn Diptych
1962
Flip side:
Warhol
From the In Box: Ditherati Down!
Ditherati.com was domain-jacked by a cybersquatter. I'm trying to get it back now. Meanwhile, Ditherati continues. -- Owen Thomas
Ditherati.com was domain-jacked by a cybersquatter. I'm trying to get it back now. Meanwhile, Ditherati continues. -- Owen Thomas
Wednesday, July 24, 2002
Business Media Reportage Goes Boom, Now Bust II
Contrary to my previous entry -- and unpopular opinion about the magazine after it merged with the now-defunct and -retitled E-Company Now -- it seems as though Business 2.0 is on the upswing. Time Inc. is going to inject more money into the monthly, and the magazine continues to tweak and redesign how it does what it does.
Contrary to my previous entry -- and unpopular opinion about the magazine after it merged with the now-defunct and -retitled E-Company Now -- it seems as though Business 2.0 is on the upswing. Time Inc. is going to inject more money into the monthly, and the magazine continues to tweak and redesign how it does what it does.
Business Media Reportage Goes Boom, Now Bust
There are a couple of interesting pieces on media coverage of the economic boom and bust in TomPaine.com this week. First off, Michael Dolny analyzes how most mainstream media coverage of the boom was conservative in nature -- not liberal as many media critics contend generally. Conservative think tank representatives got more ink than liberal think tank representatives. Corporate executives got more play than union officials.
In addition, Steven Rosenfeld interviews author Jack Beatty about recent changes in business reportage. Boosterism is ceding to skepticism. There was a "new economy" in the '20s built on automobiles and the radio. And the New York Times and magazines such as Businessweek are increasingly critical in their coverage of large organizations, largely sparked by Enron.
Interesting perspectives as the page counts -- and reporter staffs -- of newspapers' business sections continue to shrink. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that business sections were cutting their stock and mutual fund listings. In fact, many business sections have continued to thin -- beefed up slightly by coverage of the recent corporate corruption scandals -- and while I haven't been able to track down stats, I wouldn't be surprised if our former glut of business reporters hasn't been trimmed, as well.
There are a couple of interesting pieces on media coverage of the economic boom and bust in TomPaine.com this week. First off, Michael Dolny analyzes how most mainstream media coverage of the boom was conservative in nature -- not liberal as many media critics contend generally. Conservative think tank representatives got more ink than liberal think tank representatives. Corporate executives got more play than union officials.
In addition, Steven Rosenfeld interviews author Jack Beatty about recent changes in business reportage. Boosterism is ceding to skepticism. There was a "new economy" in the '20s built on automobiles and the radio. And the New York Times and magazines such as Businessweek are increasingly critical in their coverage of large organizations, largely sparked by Enron.
Interesting perspectives as the page counts -- and reporter staffs -- of newspapers' business sections continue to shrink. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported that business sections were cutting their stock and mutual fund listings. In fact, many business sections have continued to thin -- beefed up slightly by coverage of the recent corporate corruption scandals -- and while I haven't been able to track down stats, I wouldn't be surprised if our former glut of business reporters hasn't been trimmed, as well.
Thought for Food III
I've been cooking at home again lately. Cooking at home is a rarity. In fact, eating is a rarity, as I don't really like food and for some strange reason, my body never really feels hungry. I don't get peckish. My stomach doesn't growl. And because I miss the usual human cues to eat, I regularly skip meals. Eating is something I have to consciously schedule. It doesn't ever just happen.
In any event, I've been trying to cook again. Cooking up a storm, although last night's storm was nowhere as bad in Cambridge as folks had predicted. I didn't need to worry about my windows at all. Elsewhere, others were not so lucky. In West Brookfield, the wind tore the roof off an unoccupied home on Lake Wickaboag. The wind there also uprooted a grove of 30 trees. In Easthampton, wind speed reached more than 70 mph. In Cambridge, it drizzled.
But what have I been cooking? I'm glad you asked! Sunday I whipped up some clam pasta. It's basically a sauce you pour over whatever pasta you prefer. The recipe from Parents magazine suggested linguini. I used rotini. The sauce goes a little like this. Heat up some olive oil. Add some red pepper flakes. Add some garlic. Just before the garlic browns, add a can of V8 -- or about a third of the V8 glass bottle size. Boil and reduce by about half. Stir in some diced tomatoes and cook until it bubbles again. Add some drained clams from a can (the first time I've ever bought clams in a can!), a bit of lemon or lime juice (I used lime, and it was fine), a bit of butter to make it creamy, and basil if you've got some. Heat a little longer and then pour it over the pasta. It's good, it's got bite, and the leftovers reheat well.
Last night's recipe -- gleaned from Fitness magazine -- wasn't as good, but it was worth a shot. Crumble up about a fourth of an extra-firm tofu package. Add some crumbled-up goat cheese. However much you think you can stomach. Crack in four eggs. Add some curry powder, again to taste. Whisk away. Pour all of this into a frying pan -- I melted a bit of butter into mine first. Let the eggs settle and cook on the bottom. When firm, cut into quarters and flip to cook the other side. When done cooking, throw some of the egg into a warm tortilla, add some salsa, roll it up, and eat. I didn't like this dish as much as the previous one for several reasons. I used too much tofu. I didn't add enough curry. I should've added some salt and pepper. The thing needed some green -- maybe some spinach or something. But if done well, this could be quite tasty. It's certainly comfort food and as good for dinner as it would be for breakfast. Mmm, migas.
What have you been cooking lately?
I've been cooking at home again lately. Cooking at home is a rarity. In fact, eating is a rarity, as I don't really like food and for some strange reason, my body never really feels hungry. I don't get peckish. My stomach doesn't growl. And because I miss the usual human cues to eat, I regularly skip meals. Eating is something I have to consciously schedule. It doesn't ever just happen.
In any event, I've been trying to cook again. Cooking up a storm, although last night's storm was nowhere as bad in Cambridge as folks had predicted. I didn't need to worry about my windows at all. Elsewhere, others were not so lucky. In West Brookfield, the wind tore the roof off an unoccupied home on Lake Wickaboag. The wind there also uprooted a grove of 30 trees. In Easthampton, wind speed reached more than 70 mph. In Cambridge, it drizzled.
But what have I been cooking? I'm glad you asked! Sunday I whipped up some clam pasta. It's basically a sauce you pour over whatever pasta you prefer. The recipe from Parents magazine suggested linguini. I used rotini. The sauce goes a little like this. Heat up some olive oil. Add some red pepper flakes. Add some garlic. Just before the garlic browns, add a can of V8 -- or about a third of the V8 glass bottle size. Boil and reduce by about half. Stir in some diced tomatoes and cook until it bubbles again. Add some drained clams from a can (the first time I've ever bought clams in a can!), a bit of lemon or lime juice (I used lime, and it was fine), a bit of butter to make it creamy, and basil if you've got some. Heat a little longer and then pour it over the pasta. It's good, it's got bite, and the leftovers reheat well.
Last night's recipe -- gleaned from Fitness magazine -- wasn't as good, but it was worth a shot. Crumble up about a fourth of an extra-firm tofu package. Add some crumbled-up goat cheese. However much you think you can stomach. Crack in four eggs. Add some curry powder, again to taste. Whisk away. Pour all of this into a frying pan -- I melted a bit of butter into mine first. Let the eggs settle and cook on the bottom. When firm, cut into quarters and flip to cook the other side. When done cooking, throw some of the egg into a warm tortilla, add some salsa, roll it up, and eat. I didn't like this dish as much as the previous one for several reasons. I used too much tofu. I didn't add enough curry. I should've added some salt and pepper. The thing needed some green -- maybe some spinach or something. But if done well, this could be quite tasty. It's certainly comfort food and as good for dinner as it would be for breakfast. Mmm, migas.
What have you been cooking lately?
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
Factsheet Life
I recently reconnected with an old friend I haven't talked to or emailed in about five years -- Seth Friedman, former publisher of Factsheet 5. When I lived near San Francisco, I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with Seth and the F5 gang -- Chris Becker; Ashley Parker Owens; John Held, Jr.; and Jerod Pore. I've fallen out of touch with most of the old F5 gang, and I miss them. Like I miss San Francisco. While I lived in the Bay Area, Jerod introduced me to Japanese cuisine and wasabi, for which I will be eternally grateful.
In an edition of the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month, Jerod contributed a piece about his bipolar personality. This is what Seth emailed me, and it's what reconnected us. The first-person account of manic depression was inspired by a Rob Morse column about Electroboy. It's a moving and insightful look at how extreme ups and downs can affect your life. What's even more moving and insightful is Jerod's account of the series of events surrounding the publication of the piece -- Morse's original column, Jerod's letter of commment, his original draft, his edited draft, the draft as it was edited by the Chron, and reader response.
The context is as interesting as the content. Jerod experienced waves of mania and depression while writing the piece -- and writing about writing the piece. In fact, Seth says that Jerod's been going through a pretty rough spell lately, and I miss him -- regardless of which him I might be missing. Good to reconnect.
I recently reconnected with an old friend I haven't talked to or emailed in about five years -- Seth Friedman, former publisher of Factsheet 5. When I lived near San Francisco, I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with Seth and the F5 gang -- Chris Becker; Ashley Parker Owens; John Held, Jr.; and Jerod Pore. I've fallen out of touch with most of the old F5 gang, and I miss them. Like I miss San Francisco. While I lived in the Bay Area, Jerod introduced me to Japanese cuisine and wasabi, for which I will be eternally grateful.
In an edition of the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month, Jerod contributed a piece about his bipolar personality. This is what Seth emailed me, and it's what reconnected us. The first-person account of manic depression was inspired by a Rob Morse column about Electroboy. It's a moving and insightful look at how extreme ups and downs can affect your life. What's even more moving and insightful is Jerod's account of the series of events surrounding the publication of the piece -- Morse's original column, Jerod's letter of commment, his original draft, his edited draft, the draft as it was edited by the Chron, and reader response.
The context is as interesting as the content. Jerod experienced waves of mania and depression while writing the piece -- and writing about writing the piece. In fact, Seth says that Jerod's been going through a pretty rough spell lately, and I miss him -- regardless of which him I might be missing. Good to reconnect.
Rules for Fools X
Rule No. 13: Leaving all of your windows open and saying, "It won't rain; it's such a beautiful day!" won't fend off the storm barreling toward New England.
Rule No. 13: Leaving all of your windows open and saying, "It won't rain; it's such a beautiful day!" won't fend off the storm barreling toward New England.
Technofetishism XIII
And I thought the Activision handheld was a cool idea. Intellivision Productions Inc. has developed a wide-ranging Web site about the classic video game system of the '80s. But the really neat thing is that you can download free games to play on your Mac or PC -- and that they offer CD-ROM collections of more than 80 old games, including games that were never released! They also offer a CD-ROM of Colecovision games. The discs also provide the history of Intellivision, original package art, biographies of programmers, TV commercials, and video interviews with many of the original programmers. Wow.
Thanks to Matt.
And I thought the Activision handheld was a cool idea. Intellivision Productions Inc. has developed a wide-ranging Web site about the classic video game system of the '80s. But the really neat thing is that you can download free games to play on your Mac or PC -- and that they offer CD-ROM collections of more than 80 old games, including games that were never released! They also offer a CD-ROM of Colecovision games. The discs also provide the history of Intellivision, original package art, biographies of programmers, TV commercials, and video interviews with many of the original programmers. Wow.
Thanks to Matt.
Rock Shows of Note XXIX
Apologies for the delay on reporting on the actual Art Beat Sideshow organized by Handstand Command. This was the first time -- that I'm aware of -- that the Somerville Arts Council helped set up an evening event attached to Art Beat, much less an event geared more toward adults than children and families. We were thrilled to be part of it, and Emily, Beth, and Rachel deserve a lot of kudos for putting together such an amazing show.
An actual baby bottle.
Besides the paperboard facades and stage decorations, the Dilboy VFW hall was outfitted with a circus relic display, jarred curiosities, a popcorn and cotton candy machine, and assorted art installations. Folks didn't have a lot of time to explore the space and see the displays, and it was quite dark once the lights went out and the show started, but the installations and circus decorations added a lot to the feeling of the space.
The show opened with Scrapple performing a framing song -- reprised at the end of the show -- welcoming everyone to the Sideshow's "freak flesh parade." I dressed up as a half-man/half-dog and was led onto the stage by Leslie, who performs in Asian Babe Alert with Tom of the Anchormen and Scrapple. The song peaked with a parade around the hall. My dog hat fell off on the way around. I never did find it and hope that someone else picked it up. (Geisslah said he thinks he has it, so things should be cool.)
Laurel the Baton Twirler is a freak.
There was so much going on, it's hard to describe in a linear way. So I'm not going to. An artichoke fought a beet. Baby Man recited poetry. Steak battled a potato chip -- perhaps the best wrestling costume done up in grand Kaiju Big Battel style. Jennifer took photos of people. I made popcorn. Steph made cotton candy. Scads of bands played short, short sets: the Operators, the Anchormen, Asian Babe Alert, Sinkcharmer, and Scrapple. The Anchormen's set was really fun, and people seemed to respond well to our songs about gas stations, Chinese restaurants, and urban planning.
The Operators take the stage.
After the bands played, the show shifted gears. The Burlesque Revival Association (yes, BRA) performed several sultry numbers. Jake the Puppet Master staged a disturbing Punch and Judy show drawing on original scripts. Laurel the Baton Twirler did her thing. And at the very end, a DJ spun records. Folks danced until the place closed around 1 a.m. and Handstand Command broke down the sets.
Overall, the Sideshow was a brilliant ending to Art Beat. Handstand Command enjoyed putting it together. The Somerville Arts Council folks seemed to have a good time. And the place was packed! Thrilled silly that everyone hung around for so much of the show. There was a lot going on, and it lasted about five hours.
Hooray for Art Beat!
Photographs courtesy of Kathleen and Paul Coleman.
Apologies for the delay on reporting on the actual Art Beat Sideshow organized by Handstand Command. This was the first time -- that I'm aware of -- that the Somerville Arts Council helped set up an evening event attached to Art Beat, much less an event geared more toward adults than children and families. We were thrilled to be part of it, and Emily, Beth, and Rachel deserve a lot of kudos for putting together such an amazing show.
An actual baby bottle.
Besides the paperboard facades and stage decorations, the Dilboy VFW hall was outfitted with a circus relic display, jarred curiosities, a popcorn and cotton candy machine, and assorted art installations. Folks didn't have a lot of time to explore the space and see the displays, and it was quite dark once the lights went out and the show started, but the installations and circus decorations added a lot to the feeling of the space.
The show opened with Scrapple performing a framing song -- reprised at the end of the show -- welcoming everyone to the Sideshow's "freak flesh parade." I dressed up as a half-man/half-dog and was led onto the stage by Leslie, who performs in Asian Babe Alert with Tom of the Anchormen and Scrapple. The song peaked with a parade around the hall. My dog hat fell off on the way around. I never did find it and hope that someone else picked it up. (Geisslah said he thinks he has it, so things should be cool.)
Laurel the Baton Twirler is a freak.
There was so much going on, it's hard to describe in a linear way. So I'm not going to. An artichoke fought a beet. Baby Man recited poetry. Steak battled a potato chip -- perhaps the best wrestling costume done up in grand Kaiju Big Battel style. Jennifer took photos of people. I made popcorn. Steph made cotton candy. Scads of bands played short, short sets: the Operators, the Anchormen, Asian Babe Alert, Sinkcharmer, and Scrapple. The Anchormen's set was really fun, and people seemed to respond well to our songs about gas stations, Chinese restaurants, and urban planning.
The Operators take the stage.
After the bands played, the show shifted gears. The Burlesque Revival Association (yes, BRA) performed several sultry numbers. Jake the Puppet Master staged a disturbing Punch and Judy show drawing on original scripts. Laurel the Baton Twirler did her thing. And at the very end, a DJ spun records. Folks danced until the place closed around 1 a.m. and Handstand Command broke down the sets.
Overall, the Sideshow was a brilliant ending to Art Beat. Handstand Command enjoyed putting it together. The Somerville Arts Council folks seemed to have a good time. And the place was packed! Thrilled silly that everyone hung around for so much of the show. There was a lot going on, and it lasted about five hours.
Hooray for Art Beat!
Photographs courtesy of Kathleen and Paul Coleman.
Red Letter Day
Been fired? Right-sized? Esquire offers an Exit-Memo Generator that will help you torch the bridge or kiss the boot.
Thanks to Metafilter.
Been fired? Right-sized? Esquire offers an Exit-Memo Generator that will help you torch the bridge or kiss the boot.
Thanks to Metafilter.
Pulling the Plug IV
608 closed last night. I know they had trouble with their transition from club to restaurant to club again, but did anyone see this coming? Club III was open so long. 608/Lilli's, we hardly knew ye.
608 closed last night. I know they had trouble with their transition from club to restaurant to club again, but did anyone see this coming? Club III was open so long. 608/Lilli's, we hardly knew ye.
Monday, July 22, 2002
Fill Your Television II
Are you tired of your geeky friend expounding on how Mork & Mindy is really a spin-off of Happy Days and that Charlie's Angels once set sail on the Love Boat? One up the bum with knowledge gleaned from Thom Holbrook's Crossovers and Spin Offs Master List. Like, I betcha didn't know that Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes cameoed on a 1966 episode of Batman. Well, now you do.
Are you tired of your geeky friend expounding on how Mork & Mindy is really a spin-off of Happy Days and that Charlie's Angels once set sail on the Love Boat? One up the bum with knowledge gleaned from Thom Holbrook's Crossovers and Spin Offs Master List. Like, I betcha didn't know that Col. Klink from Hogan's Heroes cameoed on a 1966 episode of Batman. Well, now you do.
Behind the Scenes: Rock Shows of Note XXIX
This weekend was the weekend of Art Beat on Davis Square in Somerville. I was involved in two Art Beat-related activities. One, I helped work the Somerville Comics Collaborative table, the brainchild of Jef Czekaj. He spent much of the day overseeing a collective comics creation project in which Art Beat participants could contribute panels and pages to an ongoing narrative comic.
Our spot at Art Beat
Even though the day was overcast and near-rain for most of Art Beat, there was a good turnout -- and the sun finally broke later in the afternoon. "The whole city is drawing a comic! You can help!" I would call into the crowds passing by. Young children, young adults, and even the elderly sat down for a spell to help develop a flip-book comic about a giant cat attacking Somerville, rocket ships, its friend Funky Dragon, giant cookies, dancing, and the sea.
Jef, head of the Somerville Comics Collaborative
We're going to produce a minicomic compiling all of the contributions to redistribute to all of the people who contributed. I was pretty pleased with how it came out -- and thrilled to be able to help Jef at the table. We're even discussing making a Web slideshow of the comic with a voiceover narration. I'll let you know if that comes together.
Somervillains co-create a comic
We shared table space with Dan Moynihan, who made Davis Square T-shirts sporting an image from a nearby traffic sign. He also had handmade note cards and minicomics for sale.
This is Dan. He's not glaring, but the sun is.
He only made 100 of the shirts, and they were quite popular. He was down to less than 10 by the end of the day and says that he might make more.
A better view of the sign. But not necessarily of Dan.
All that said, I spent much of the day hanging and helping out at the Dilboy VFW hall to set up for the Art Beat Sideshow organized by Handstand Command. (Mostly, it was organized by Emily and Beth of the Washington Street Art Center, so many thanks and kudos to them!) We gathered at the Dilboy to construct the stage, put together facades for the merch and display tables, and set up the popcorn and cotton candy maker.
The go-away zone.
It's amazing what paperboard, scrap wood, ribbon, thumbtacks, and duct tape can do -- and our constructions really changed the nature of the space. Even Rachel Strutt of the Somerville Arts Council contributed a display of Lemony Snicket-like circus relics.
Emily and Geisslah puttin' up the house.
Between meeting up with Jef at 11, checking out the Dilboy at 12:30, and reconvening for band setup and soundcheck at 6, Saturday was a full day -- and the Handstand Command Sideshow hadn't even happened yet!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
This weekend was the weekend of Art Beat on Davis Square in Somerville. I was involved in two Art Beat-related activities. One, I helped work the Somerville Comics Collaborative table, the brainchild of Jef Czekaj. He spent much of the day overseeing a collective comics creation project in which Art Beat participants could contribute panels and pages to an ongoing narrative comic.
Our spot at Art Beat
Even though the day was overcast and near-rain for most of Art Beat, there was a good turnout -- and the sun finally broke later in the afternoon. "The whole city is drawing a comic! You can help!" I would call into the crowds passing by. Young children, young adults, and even the elderly sat down for a spell to help develop a flip-book comic about a giant cat attacking Somerville, rocket ships, its friend Funky Dragon, giant cookies, dancing, and the sea.
Jef, head of the Somerville Comics Collaborative
We're going to produce a minicomic compiling all of the contributions to redistribute to all of the people who contributed. I was pretty pleased with how it came out -- and thrilled to be able to help Jef at the table. We're even discussing making a Web slideshow of the comic with a voiceover narration. I'll let you know if that comes together.
Somervillains co-create a comic
We shared table space with Dan Moynihan, who made Davis Square T-shirts sporting an image from a nearby traffic sign. He also had handmade note cards and minicomics for sale.
This is Dan. He's not glaring, but the sun is.
He only made 100 of the shirts, and they were quite popular. He was down to less than 10 by the end of the day and says that he might make more.
A better view of the sign. But not necessarily of Dan.
All that said, I spent much of the day hanging and helping out at the Dilboy VFW hall to set up for the Art Beat Sideshow organized by Handstand Command. (Mostly, it was organized by Emily and Beth of the Washington Street Art Center, so many thanks and kudos to them!) We gathered at the Dilboy to construct the stage, put together facades for the merch and display tables, and set up the popcorn and cotton candy maker.
The go-away zone.
It's amazing what paperboard, scrap wood, ribbon, thumbtacks, and duct tape can do -- and our constructions really changed the nature of the space. Even Rachel Strutt of the Somerville Arts Council contributed a display of Lemony Snicket-like circus relics.
Emily and Geisslah puttin' up the house.
Between meeting up with Jef at 11, checking out the Dilboy at 12:30, and reconvening for band setup and soundcheck at 6, Saturday was a full day -- and the Handstand Command Sideshow hadn't even happened yet!
Stay tuned for the rest of the story...
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XII
Been digging the new Apple Switch ads featuring fine folks such as Mark Frauenfelder? Now there's a parody of Mark's spot. It made me smile.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Been digging the new Apple Switch ads featuring fine folks such as Mark Frauenfelder? Now there's a parody of Mark's spot. It made me smile.
Thanks to BoingBoing.
Cashing in on Comics
If you've been inside a comics shop lately -- or scanned the newsstand at your local grocery store -- you might have seen some throwbacks to old standbys: GI Joe, the Transformers, Battle of the Planets, and Thundercats. Why the resurgence of reminiscence? In Ninth Art, Ben Wooler takes a look at the return to time-tested cartoon and comic properties. He consider the market for what he terms a "new nostalgia" and compares the string of rehashed series to Vertigo's revitalization of Doom Patrol, Sandman, Swamp Thing and other titles in the '80s and '90s. While I agree that the new nostalgia is nothing new -- filmmakers, musicians, and cartoonists cyclically return to reconsider successful creative franchises of the past -- I doubt the strength of the Vertigo parallel. The new-old titles we're seeing lately are more media tie-in plays than drastic rewritings a la Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Think Archie's repositioning of Josie and the Pussycats in conjunction with the release of the move. Also, the publishers in question are clearing playing to the post-baby boomer nostalgia many post-Generation X'ers are currently experiencing. But Wooler poses an interesting question, hinged on his fond memories of Voltron and the Masters of the Universe: "We don't really remember the sub-par animation, dialogue and characterisation, do we?"
Do we?
If you've been inside a comics shop lately -- or scanned the newsstand at your local grocery store -- you might have seen some throwbacks to old standbys: GI Joe, the Transformers, Battle of the Planets, and Thundercats. Why the resurgence of reminiscence? In Ninth Art, Ben Wooler takes a look at the return to time-tested cartoon and comic properties. He consider the market for what he terms a "new nostalgia" and compares the string of rehashed series to Vertigo's revitalization of Doom Patrol, Sandman, Swamp Thing and other titles in the '80s and '90s. While I agree that the new nostalgia is nothing new -- filmmakers, musicians, and cartoonists cyclically return to reconsider successful creative franchises of the past -- I doubt the strength of the Vertigo parallel. The new-old titles we're seeing lately are more media tie-in plays than drastic rewritings a la Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman. Think Archie's repositioning of Josie and the Pussycats in conjunction with the release of the move. Also, the publishers in question are clearing playing to the post-baby boomer nostalgia many post-Generation X'ers are currently experiencing. But Wooler poses an interesting question, hinged on his fond memories of Voltron and the Masters of the Universe: "We don't really remember the sub-par animation, dialogue and characterisation, do we?"
Do we?
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