Rock Shows of Note XLVI
Last night was a train wreck! I almost didn't go out, but around 10 p.m., in a fit of wanting to support the scene, I ventured out into the drizzle to head to Charlie's Kitchen to see several local pop bands: Shumai, Spoilsport, and the Tardy. I've already written copious amounts about Spoilsport and the Tardy, so I'll not so say much other than that the Tardy was a tad sloppy and Spoilsport rocked harder than they usually do. (I think it was in honor of my new short hair -- or Mookie quitting her banking job to become a carpenter.) There were much more interesting things happening at the show, and I don't really want to mention them. So there.

But Shumai was new to me. Shumai! A four-piece, they were quite impressive. Relatively solid power pop featuring a female lead singer and a male bassist who sang a couple of songs. They didn't do the boy-girl dual vocals thing much, and the songs the woman sang were usually more interesting than those that the man sang, and all in all, Shumai is well worth checking out. The MP3's on their Web site do them justice even if they sound a bit more twee on recording. I'll go see them again in a minute.

Actually, in a minute, I'm going to leave work and head for home. Lesson: If you're not sure you want to go out, and you finally decide to do so at 10 p.m., don't. It's probably not a good idea, especially if you haven't eaten dinner yet -- as good as Charlie's iceberg lettuce might be. You should probably stay home, continue to read and review comics. Because, then, you'd have published 20-plus comics and zine reviews instead of a photograph of a model. But that's the way the ball bounces, it seems.

Lesson No. 2: Everyone should go to the shows at Charlie's, even if it's raining. Last night was relatively sparsely attended -- perhaps because of the weather -- and if we want to keep the great rock shows coming upstairs at one of Cambridge's best hangouts, we need to keep the headcount up. Lecture over; I'm outie.

PR-D-R-R II
I just got the following "news" release via email, and I can't help myself. Here goes:

Unique modeling firm to cater exclusively to Auto Racing, Motorcycle industries.

Infineon Raceway, CA - (November 25, 2002) - Strap on your race gear! Start your engines! Head out to a venue ASAP!

Armed with hot pants and sun shades, the UmbrellaGirls are coming to raceways across America - and they want to meet you.

The latest innovation in a sport that attracts more fans per event than any other in America, UmbrellaGirls USA is a group of dynamic, beautiful young women promoting goods and services exclusively to the auto and motorcycle racing industries.

"The idea was to cull a roster of some of the most lovely, interesting women in America, and put them to work representing the many companies that vie for advertising space at the raceway," says Ann Asiano, President and Founder of UmbrellaGirls USA. "In Italy, where motorcycle and auto racing is highly revered, upscale event models are a huge part of the race fan experience - in the United States that niche really hasn't been filled as yet. But because there's such a plethora of companies that are interested in getting involved with the racing industry, our UmbrellaGirls offer a great way for a wide array of organizations to get their names out at the raceway via a very appealing medium."


Nice chassis!

Through UmbrellaGirls USA, Asiano plans to promote divergent client types ranging from motor oil companies to retail and clothing firms. Umbrella Girls wear apparel bearing client logos and tote eye catching signature sun umbrellas while meeting and greeting fans, race contestants, and raceway VIP's.

"While they are very attractive, UmbrellaGirls are more than eye-candy at the raceway," says Asiano. "They have an advanced knowledge of racing and truly understand the products and services they are promoting. Some UmbrellaGirls, such as Natalie Jackson, compete in their own right and have been involved in motor sports for years. And since motor sports have such an international appeal, we make it a priority to recruit UmbrellaGirls who are bilingual so they can assist and make welcome the many European, Asian and Hispanic contestants and fans that compete and watch races in the USA."

While scheduled to formally launch in November at the International Motorcycle Show held at the San Mateo Expo Center, UmbrellaGirls have appeared on a limited basis at Infineon and Pomona Raceways, and will continue to preview services at raceways throughout the West Coast in coming weeks.

To learn more about Umbrella Girls USA, visit their website.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for beautiful young women promoting products and services, especially beautiful young women well-versed in motor sports, but I'm curious how this is innovative. From the pages of Easyrider to the boothless babes at most car shows, it seems that there's already a connection between women and wheels. I know I work for a magazine called Fast Company, but this might be better received -- and actually covered -- by the folks at Popular Hot Rodding. Or, yeah! The folks I just met at Raceway Media Magazine.

Shelf-Publishing III
Remember that book I'm working on? We're still working out the reprint permissions, and I might need to gather some more stories and articles, but Off Message is still in progress. I've got folks lined up to do the promo blurbs on the back cover, and the author of the foreward is super, super cool. Should be a rad book.



That's not final, but it just might be the cover. What do you think?

Things for Which I'm Thankful II

Sunshine in the morning

Slow days at the office

Ex-girlfriends who still talk to me

Charlie's Kitchen

Bittersweet chocolate

People who make their own books, zines, comics, and records

Water, preferably cold

From the Reading Pile XII
Before I can tackle the accumulated zines and comics stacked in the milk crate on the floor by the big blue couch, I need to catch up on some unpublished reviews. Apologies to all involved, but these were penned back in March.

Get Bent! #9
Interesting! A year between issues of Get Bent! (this edition came out in spring 2002) in order to concentrate on Unshaven Chi, and still Ben delivers an uneven effort. I wish he'd written a better introduction to "A Fay Zone Leah" instead of describing the premise afterward, because the story, characterization, and phonetic speech don't carry the impact they might otherwise. "The Waterhead Man" is a much better and more explicit treatment of the subject, working in some solid Family Circus references (and Little Nemo, he says) as he explores his reactions to this person who so affected his life and memory. Ben was a 2001 Ignatz nominee, but because the 2001 SPX was canceled, we might never know how great he really is. Just kidding; he's great, although this 28-page comic isn't quite what he could've been. $3 to Ben T. Steckler, P.O. Box 7273, York, PA 17404.

My Life in Family Vacations
This more than matchbook-sized photocopied mini recounts several family vacations taken by Kim Paglia. Her family goes to DC in a mail truck; wear waterproof clothing at Niagara Falls (I did this!); camp in Pittsburgh; abandon several trips to Herhey, Pennsylvania; and eventually go to Georgia instead. This 36-page mini-mini is excellent in its scaled-back presentation, and the holiday travel stories border on the universal. Dude: 50 cents. Get this. I'd like to see some bigger and longer work from Paglia. Kimberly Paglia, 1935 Highway 106 North, Danielsville, GA 30633.

Pussycat
Feh. A well-printed eight-page comic -- screen printing on heavy stock -- but a disappointing premise. Why detourn old romance comics to babble on about pornography? The detourned art has promise, but the writing and lettering falls flat, as does the content of the copy. Shat Platz and Beau Buck.

Typewriter #4
Bound as an old book complete with cloth covers, this wonderfully produced 64-page edition of David Youngblood's comics anthology is dedicated to "old books" everywhere. Featuring nine pieces, the collection features Chris Wright's Tom Hart-like anthropomorphic untitled piece, Jonathan T. Russell's Jessica Abel-inspired drama comic about shopping and self-esteem, Michael Hall's prose-driven space opera, and Youngblood's own surprising blend of Megan Kelso and Greg Cook (love the tree on p. 40, as well as the cloud on p. 45). Youngblood's piece runs eight pages too long -- editor, edit thyself -- but otherwise, this is an awesome assortment of almost unknowns. $5 to David Youngblood.

Unshaven Chi #4
The complement to Ben's fictional Get Bent!, this is "pure autobio." Despite the similar cover stock and screen printing, Ben pays less attention to the artwork, opting for a Dennis Eichler-meets-Big Boy style that's not as solid as his work in Get Bent! Regardless, in this 32-page comic from fall 2001, Ben tracks his genealogy, discusses the value of buying from friends on account, appreciates his grandmother, fondly recalls Joey Ramone, worries about melanoma, and reprints some old -- three years old -- comics. My concerns about the art aside, I find this to be a slightly stronger effort, more ably capturing Ben's life and loves than Get Bent!, which seems more self-aware and -apologetic. $2 to Ben T. Steckler, P.O. Box 7273, York, PA 17404.

As always, materials for possible review in Media Diet are welcome. My mailing address is on the left.

Things for Which I'm Thankful
It is Thanksgiving week. Thursday is Thanksgiving. This year, Thanksgiving falls on the 131st anniversary of the execution of three leaders of the Paris commune (Rossell, Ferre, and Bourgeois, if you must know), and my thoughts now turn from France to friends. Throughout the week I'll continue to post notices of some of the people, places, and things for which I'm thankful. This is where it starts:

Fast Company for giving me a place to spend my days. I'm pretty lucky to have the job I have.

Evan Williams of Blogger for his ongoing assistance and support with Media Diet. The man doesn't really need to respond to my customer service and support queries in a timely fashion -- especially when we don't communicate much otherwise -- but he does. And that's rad.

Jon Ferguson and the other folks behind and inside Cardhouse for helping make Media Diet real.

Media Dieticians everywhere. You know who you are.

My mom, dad, sister, and grandmother.

The Anchormen for their patience and provision of a carthartic creative outlet I wouldn't have otherwise.

"Special" female friends who have much more patience, persistence, and presence in my life than I deserve.

That's seven. And that's lucky. More thoughts of thanks as I think them!

Corollary: Event-O-Dex XII
It was not the High-Steppin' Nickel Kids that I saw at the Milky Way in JP wearing jackets emblazoned with the band's name like they're in some of gang or something, I don't believe. It was, if memory serves, which it often doesn't, skipping school like some silly truant, the Lost City Angels. But who the heck knows.

From the In Box: Anchormen, Aweigh! IX
Wow, Zombies of the Stratosphere is the first compilation the Anchormen have ever been on? Cool! We really thought about your suggestions; now you can order Zombies via email. -- Dan and Deke Logan

Hardcore Logo III
We have a winner! Or at least, an applicant. Joe Szilagyi has contributed the shiny, happy new Media Diet logo you now see at the top of this very page. This doesn't mean that I no longer want people to design logos for Media Diet. The idea is that I'll have several that cycle through periodically. Submissions are still welcome.

Age-Related Angst
Some recent comments Matt made in Retro Rocket got my wheels spinning:

when i was a bit younger, and before i settled upon the law as a career, i used to get mildly bummed out about the direction my life had taken when seeing much younger guys playing professional baseball and football and so on. what must it be like to have such motivation, such talent, such a paycheck, i thought. i got over those feelings a while ago, right around the same time i realized i was too old to be a 'real world' cast member.

now comes the hiring of the boston red sox new twenty-eight year old general manager. are you kidding me? twenty-eight and running a baseball team? and yale law grad, no less. shoot me now.

Having had a bit of a mid-midlife crisis earlier this year, similar thoughts have loomed large in my life of late. Nearing the big 3-0, I realized that I was no longer the surprisingly young man who'd done -- and was doing -- a surprising amount of surprisingly interesting and arguably important stuff. It was now an assumption that I'd be doing stuff similar to what I'm doing. Or at least doing something. Oh, I was no protege, don't get me wrong, but I missed having the age cachet in my, how you say, bag of tricks.

Every so often, I like to think that I'm past that -- and that even though there are notable holes in my life... holes people much younger than me have already filled... I'm still in a pretty good place for 29. I'm far from adult. I'm far from settled. But at least I'm not a Yale law graduate or general manager of a baseball team. And my age still surprises some people. Perhaps I'll miss getting carded when people stop carding me.

Because that seems to start happening again every time I shave my head.

Television-Impaired VIII
Fancyteeth on the history of television.

Thanks to Metafilter.

It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XVII
In Sacramento, California, two billboards will be outfited to change the image they display based on the radio stations tuned into by drivers of passing cars.

Thanks to Just One Thing.

From the In Box: Pulling the Plug VIII
More on Mama Gaia's:

It is with gratitude and a profound sense of humility that I write this response to your emails of support. Since the suspension of operations at Mama Gaia's Cafe, we have become the subject of a powerful show of support from customers, friends, and families. Said support has been manifested in offers of financial contributions big and small, offers to organize fundraising events, and even campaigns of support-letter writing. Unmistakably, such tremendous show of support has taken the management team by surprise. It has been humbling and refreshing to feel and see a community asking us to remain in business and continue our mission of community building and social justice. We felt very much alone and overwhelmed by the developments, the motives behind them, and the unnecessary use of pressure imposed upon us; however, to see members of the Cambridge community, ranging from students to business owners and even homeless people, expressing their sympathy and support is at least unusual and, at best, a sign of hope in times of hopelessness and a clear indication that, even under very difficult circumstances, most of them financial, we have done something right and there are a lot of community members that do recognize and appreciate all the hard work and passion invested in the vision and mission of Mama Gaia's Cafe.

I would like to take this opportunity to brief you on the current status of the negotiations to reopen Mama Gaia's. I am happy to report that your support has allowed us to reopen between Thursday or Friday of this week. However the financial damage of the suspension of sales is expected to have repercussions as we approach the slow business cycle of the Christmas break. Therefore, we find ourselves in need to continue our fundraising efforts to ensure that we won't be closed again. To that end, and in honoring the Spirit in which help has been offered, we will work with many of you to organize fundraising events; we will ask the support of the hundreds of talented musicians, artists and performers, as well as the intellectual, activist, media, and student communities that make up the bulk of Mama Gaia's customer and support base, to join us and show their commitment by participating in activities to fundraise and by increasing their visits as customers of the Cafe.

I have asked Martin Hunter to serve as liaison for all of you who would like to be updated as to our status. In addition, if you wish to circulate updates about Mama Gaia's Cafe situation or send out calls for help to various listserves, we ask you to please coordinate your efforts with Martin in order to avoid duplication of efforts. In turn, all special cases and/or people wishing to help in organizing or performing will be channeled by Martin to Rafael Medina. Rafael will serve as coordinator for special projects. His duties will include to organize the flow of the events, to bring together volunteers with coordinators and to oversee that the outreach is well done so as to maximize the result from all these efforts. Performers, organizers, and idea people should contact Martin requesting to be directed over to Rafael. This way they will continue to be in the main stream of communication while serving on a special projects team.

A bank account has been prepared for those of you who want to help financially. All contributions will have the option to be turned into stock in the equity of the company in the near future, or just be treated as a loan with terms to be determined on an individual basis. Proper documentation will be provided upon receipt of contribution and will be personally guaranteed by me. More information is available to better inform your financial decision. Please contact us to make arrangements. Juan Carlos Kaiten will serve as administrator for the funds and will be in charge of proper documentation of entries and proper communication to those with financial links to us. For all financial questions and contributions please write.

Finally, I would like to pledge with renewed breath and depth my commitment to the principles of community, solidarity, social justice, peace, equality, nature, diversity, and spirituality that make up the fiber of the Mama Gaia's experience. Rest assured that Mama Gaia's will continue to be not only a part but a reflection of this community, which has now grown and expanded to all of you. All our past, and now our current, efforts represent the heart and soul of all of us who still believe in our birthright to live in a better place based on dignity and respect, on true love and commitment to our community and those who will one day continue this age-long struggle for freedom and justice. We will not give in, we will stand out for what is right, it is the only way we can breathe. We can't and will not have any other way.

Thank you sincerely for your support. -- Pedro Noe Morales, founder, Mama Gaia's Cafe

Thanks to Media Dietician George Mokray.

Blogging About Blogging XXXIV
Being featured on Slashdot or Metafilter can send your traffic through the roof. As can being featured prominently in Blogdex.

Around 7 p.m. last night, one Joe Szilagyi in Connecticut noticed that his site had basically "taken over" the second page of Blogdex. It seems that if you combine several domain names tracked by Blogdex -- parking them all in a new domain -- you can accidentally break Blogdex.

Cameron has yet to tweak the system, but needless to say, Mr. Sizzle might need to put in a whole new roof.

Rules for Fools XIV
Rule No. 17: If you get on an elevator that is going up and you are, in fact, wanting to go down, you must either first go up before you can go down -- or get off the elevator and wait for another.

Corollary to Rule No. 17: They'll make more.

Rule No. 18: When you ask people also getting on the elevator to hit your floor button for you ("Three, please."), chances are good that they'll hit their floor button first even if yours comes sooner.

Corollary to Rule No. 18: You do the same, so what's your gripe?

Digesting the Daily IV
Recent editions of the Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper of my alma mater, featured several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians.

Caught in the banter of the Brothers Savage
One Savage advises about sex. The other Savage advises about school.
(Nov. 14, 2002)

Name snafu causes much strife among NU students
Letter writer Dan Abramson sets the record straight on the other Dan Abramson, who draws cartoons for the Daily. The gist of it is that letter-writer Abramson does not draw the cartoons, so stop bothering him
(Nov. 15, 2002)

Among the Literati XVIII
In another creative coup, McSweeney's books is issuing a joint book/CD compiled by Nick Hornby. Songbook will include essays penned by Hornby about some of his favorite songs and songwriters, and the CD will comprise many of the songs mentioned in the book.

To add to the gift-giving goodness of this holiday release, proceeds from Songbook will benefit the TreeHouse Trust, a U.K. charity that helps to educate children with autism and related communication disorders, and 826 Valencia, a nonprofit writing lab based in San Francisco.

Corollary: Event-O-Dex XV
Seriously, though: Buy Nothing Day. After sending out a request for donations from Adbusters readers, the folks behind BND have been able to secure an ad spot on CNN's Lou Dobbs Moneyline. It'll air at 6:49 p.m. EST (3:49 p.m. PST) on Tuesday, Nov. 26. That's tomorrow.

Quoth Adbusters: "After you watch those 30 seconds of TV on Tuesday, make plans to party on Friday, Buy Nothing Day, Nov. 29, 2002. Here's only a glimpse of what's in the works:

"In Norway they're playing volleyball with presents; in the Netherlands they're wearing wings of dollars and flying among consumers; in London they're shooting a film with a human-sized credit card; in Japan, the Zen Santas will meditate; and all over consumerland, activists are hitting big-box stores with whirlmart actions.

"Broadcast your plans -- or locate a group to join."

Several folks in Boston are planning activities. Get involved!

Event-O-Dex XV
Don't forget: Shumai, the Tardy, and Spoilsport are playing at Charlie's Kitchen on Harvard Square tonight. Festivities begin at 9:30 p.m., I believe. I'll be there, grilled cheese and beer in hand.



Also don't forget: Buy Nothing Day is Nov. 29. So buy lots of stuff now. If you like classical music, I heartily recommend H&B Recordings Direct.

Also don't forget: Remember the Alamo.

The Movie I Watched Last Night XLIII
Equal parts catching up on the Netflix rentals that sat at my house while I was traveling and a largely antisocial, domestic weekend, the last few days have been a veritable film festival for me and the big blue couch on Magazine Street.

Friday: Altered States
William Hurt stars in this 1980 movie that I remember vaguely from the Mad magazine parody -- but knew little about. I thought it was about medical research involving sensory deprivation tanks, and to some extent I was right. But it tries to be more, blending elements of Carlos Castenada and Timothy Leary in a story -- partly based at Harvard -- about using psychoactive drugs and other methods to find the "original self." In an interesting, albeit slightly ham-handed, twist, Hurt's character's research cause physical and genetic retrogression, turning the obsessed scientist into a simian creature -- who promptly goes on a rampage. Eventually, Hurt forsakes his research for his true love, played by Blair Brownn, but in a fit of shoddy special effects, they're nearly pulled back into the retrogression for once and for all. Only their love could save them, and what do you know? It did. An interesting movie that might have been more at home in the '70s than in the early '80s, but really only a curiosity at best.

Saturday: Doctor Zhivago
This was one of my parents' favorite movies, and as one of the last epic romantic movies, it doesn't surprise me that it struck the newlyweds so strongly in 1965. Starring Omar Sharif, the extremely long movie -- I fell asleep during the intermission (intermission!) and had to pick it up again on Sunday, it was so long -- tells the story about a doctor and poet who falls in love with a political activist's wife and spends most of the Bolshevik revolution trying to track her down -- and reconcile his love for Lara with his love for his, gasp, wife. As I said, it's a long movie, and -- told through the perspective of Zhivago's half brother -- the film follows Zhivago's progress through marriage, raising a family, World War I, and the revolution. The prison train scenes are particularly notable, as are the sequences in the reclaimed house of ice and snow, but as a love story, it's somewhat passive aggressive. That's understandable, given the backdrop on which the romance plays out, but outside of some commentary on the role art and poetry can play in revolution, Doctor Zhivago is long on history and short on romance. There might be a reason they don't make them like this any more.

Sunday: The Twilight Zone
I recently signed up for Columbia House's Twilight Zone DVD club, and this is the first disc they mailed. The DVD comprises four episodes. In "Nick of Time" (air date Nov. 18, 1960), William Shatner plays a superstitious fiance who, lured by a penny-ante fortune-telling machine, becomes trapped in a small town in Ohio with his bride to be. Shatner shines as an actor who'd yet to develop his schtick, and you can barely tell it's Captain Kirk. Also some neat exposition on the nature of superstition. When I was dating Sarah, she didn't like it if we walked on opposite sides of a lamp post. In this episode, Shatner pulls his fiancee toward him so she walks on the same side of a street sign as he does. "Bread and butter," he says. I had no idea! In "The Prime Mover" (air date March 24, 1961), Buddy Ebsen plays a telekinetic diner employee who helps his friend build -- and then lose -- a gambling fortune. The story is at times a tale about abusing friendship but redeems itself in the end when Ebsen's pal realizes the error of his ways, drops the gambling, and proposes to his girlfriend. "It's a Good Life" (air date Nov. 3, 1961) is the throwaway of the lot. It's a position piece that merely introduces a menacing character, leaving viewers in the askew-viewed world but not resolving any of the issues raised. The basic idea is that a 10-year-old boy has the power to make real -- and unreal -- anything he likes or dislikes. There are some skin-thin religious allegories as the boy creates a three-headed gopher, but otherwise, it offers an insight on the tyranny of children and the need for socialized ethics, and then steps away. Unsatisfying. Lastly, "The Mind and the Matter" (air date May 12, 1961) stars Shelley Berman as a disgruntled office worker who, pushed too far by the hustle and bustle of city life, wishes away humanity. Obviously, he becomes lonely. So he wishes that everyone were like him. Obviously, that's not the best bet, either, and we're left with the message that diversity is good, loneliness is bad, and to some extent, when life gives us lemons, we need to at least make lemonade, if not suck lemons. I look forward to future DVD's in this series -- The Twilight Zone is a wonderful, wonderful show, and its period moodiness and Rod Serling cameos are delightful. My one complaint is the clunkiness of the navigation. The giant eyeball is a pain in the butt, and the pastiche interstitial scenes that occasionally punctuate episode changes are a waste of time.

The A-Team: "Mexican Slayride"
As the pilot for this program, this episode runs hot and cold. Yes, it introduces the characters: Hannibal (George Peppard, natch), Faceman, Howling Mad Murdock, and B.A. Baracus (as played by Mr. T). And yes, it sets us up for the formulaic adventurers-for-hire storylines that would grace the TV screen for five seasons (the pilot aired Jan. 23, 1983). But running over the course of two hours, it's a bit much. Tim Dunigan stars as Faceman, later to be replaced by Dirk Benedict. And so many characteristics are established, so many elements of interpersonal relationships, so many catchphrases first used, that I'm curious how much more the writers have in them. The story is simple. A wayward journalist is kidnaped in Mexico while tracking down a story about drug smuggling. A colleague enlists the A-Team -- a process that involves a racist Asian disguise that almost rival Mickey Rooney's character in Moon River -- which heads south of the border. They are in turn captured by the smugglers but promptly escape, enlist the aid of an oppressed village, and quell the rebel forces funded by the smuggling. It's at this point unclear how the A-Team brings so many resources to bear, but perhaps that'll come clear in the future. One interesting Peppard tidbit. The armor-plated bus that B.A. rigs up reminds me of the vehicle used in the post-apocalyptic Damnation Alley. Just a little.

A Brief Note of Appreciation for the U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685)
They come but once a year, the U.S. Postal Service statements of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685). But when they do, my gears shift, my interest peaks, and my mind turns to the coming year. Usually printed in the December issues of most magazines -- the statements are required for periodicals that want to qualify for second-class mail privileges -- these ephemeral, esoteric snapshots of a magazine's scale, scope, and success are quite intriguing.

It's not that I collect them, per se, but I do clip them out for perusal. Other than the insights the U.S. Postal Service statements of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) offer in terms of total number of copies printed, sales through dealers and carriers, free distribution, and copies not distributed, I'm fascinated by the different design approaches magazine's take in presenting this required data.

Because the information is required to be published, most magazines err on the side of less is more. The least amount of real estate the U.S. Postal Service statements of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) take up, the better. Look at Down East. That magazine basically reduces the actual forms they filed to fill about a sixth of a page, making the information almost illegible. What is Down East trying to hide? That one of their executives is named Koester? That they only sell 10,000 copies on the newsstand? Full disclosure, Down East. Full disclosure!

Meanwhile, Fitness follows a suitable, streamlined approach, separating the comparative data -- preceding 12 months vs. single issue published nearest to filing date -- into orderly columns for easy reading. No workout on the eyes, no sir! YM adds a pleasing plum shading to its statement of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685), asserting that not only is math not hard, but young women should be concerned about the circulation of their magazines -- as well as their own.

Details opts to constrain its statement of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) in a box, ensuring that the dastardly data will neither muss Leonardo DiCaprio's hair nor threaten the correspondent from California. Columbia Journalism Review employs a nasty typeface that is ill-suited for use in a journalism trade magazine, much less in a civilized society -- at the same time deciding not to offer the comparative data side by side but to segregate the two sets of numbers in linear presentation.

Nature Conservancy selects an almost Harper's Index- or McSweeney's-like approach to its statement of ownership, management, and -- get this, quarterly -- circulation. The New Yorker employs a classic -- and classy! -- serif typeface, mirroring its overall design sensibility and offering what might be the clearest parallel to the magazine's general look. And Rolling Stone -- the rebels! -- sticks it to the Man and runs all of its statement of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) in a single line of text without break or columns... refusing to be oppressed, repressed, suppressed, or whatever it is that the Man does to Rolling Stone.

I love these statements of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685), and I like to think that they think kindly of me. For, is it not true that they keep coming back year after year, almost as though to see if I'm still reading, how I'm doing, and if I'm still in circulation? I am, little statements of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685), and I can hardly wait until next year to see how your ownership, management, and circulation has changed -- for the better or worse.

Oh, yeah. Don't let the fate that befell George Schultz befall you. Faithfully file your statements of ownership, management, and circulation (required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) or the U.S. Postal Service will revoke your second-class mail privileges. I think it's safe to say that we all agree that this -- shudder! -- is a fate worse than death.

Silicon and Storytelling
I participated in the Digital Storytelling Bootcamp and Festival under the tutelage of the late Dana Atchley back in 1999. Several colleagues and collaborators of his are keeping the flame alive -- and recently launched the Digital Storytelling Association. Here's the announcement:

Representing eight countries, and over 30 US states, a cross section of media professionals, educators, community activists, artists and enthusiasts have organized a new international membership organization, the Digital Storytelling Association (DSA).  The DSA is dedicated to evolving the practice of digital storytelling by providing services, advocacy, resources, and information. 

 To celebrate the launch of the organization, the DSA will be assisted by the British Broadcasting Corporation in Wales to present a webcast of digital congratulations of statements by DSA affiliates around the world including Melbourne, Brussels, Stockholm, Cardiff, New York, Chicago, San Francisco Bay Area, and Scott County, Kentucky. The program will be available beginning on Friday, November 22, at 5 p.m. PST and will be archived for future presentation.  The webcast event will be featured as part of the launch of the DSA website. The website was designed by a team of graduate students (Nikolai Cornell, Yael Maayani, Cybil Weigel) from the Media Design program at the Art Center School of Design in Pasadena working with the award winning graphic and broadcast designer, Harry Marks.  

 The DSA website will act as the information source for all of the DSA activities and membership information.  As part of the launch, there are a number of new articles and commentaries by DSA affiliates from around the world, the basic descriptions of membership benefits and activities and an online membership application and fee payment.  In launching the organization, the founding participants will make the website a home for new creative activities, community building projects, and interesting discussions over the coming year.

In beginning a membership campaign, the DSA hopes to grow to 500 global members in the next year, and to establish country and local chapters in most areas where there are current constituents. As part of the opening Membership drive, the first 50 new members will receive a free copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements provided by Adobe Systems, Inc.  Individual membership fees are $50/year with a discount fee of $25/year (low income/student/relative international economies).  Memberships for non-commercial and commercial organizations are also available.

As described in the DSA charter, "Digital storytelling uses digital media to create media-rich stories to tell, to share, and to preserve. Digital stories derive their power through weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, and insights."  According to Daniel Meadows, the Creative Director of the BBC Cymru/Wales Digital Storytelling Project, "For over 10 years, a large number of people working as professional and amateur digital media practitioners have associated our work with the idea of Digital Storytelling.  We felt the movement of activity and dialogue around this work has finally achieved a breadth of interest and sophistication to sustain our new association."

Included in the organization's activities in their inaugural year are an online and print Membership Directory database, information resources in the form of an email and web-based newsletter and technology news, the support and development of regional and local chapters, and the hosting and co-sponsorship of gatherings and conferences.

As part of their activities, the DSA is working with partners to develop a US national conference in Arizona in June of 2003 and an international conference in Cardiff, Wales in November of 2003.

In the first year, the DSA will be based at the Center for Digital Storytelling in Berkeley, California. For more information about the DSA, contact Emily Paulos at 510 548 2065.

Congratulations to Denise Atchley, Joe and Nina Mullen, and everyone else involved for getting this wonderful effort off the ground!

Comics and Commentary III
Amy Benfer has launched a new series of columns about comic books and graphic novels in Salon. Her first entry touches on two already-known quantities, Daniel Clowes and Adrian Tomine. She addresses the unwelcoming nature of comic shops, the impact that other pop culture creations can have on the success of a comic or graphic novel, and the reasons why avid fiction readers should also be avid comics readers. Stepping away from Ghost World for a moment, she concentrates on why people should catch up on Eightball by reading the new Twentieth Century Eightball collection. Then she turns her attention to Tomine, spending a scant four paragraphs on his Summer Blonde collection. She draws the obvious parallel to Clowes' work and caps the column by recommending five additional titles, including Jessica Abel's wonderful La Perdida and Rich Koslowski's Three Fingers. It'll be interesting to see what other books Benfer looks at.

Thanks to Bookslut.

Pieces, Particles IX
The following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks.

The Bean Book, Down East, December 2002
It's always interesting to read about yourself.

Between the Lines by Dennis Cass, Mother Jones, November/December 2002

Business as Usual by Miles Maguire, American Journalism Review, October 2002
While news organizations have energetically uncovered corporate abuses and editorialized for reforms, their parent companies have been less than enthusiastic in applying the new standards to their own operations.

The Curse of Tom Wolfe by Michael Shapiro, Columbia Journalism Review, November/December 2002
First, a story. Or rather an "anecdotal lead," which seems essential when writing about magazines -- in this case, where they've gone wrong and how maybe they might recapture one of the great pleasures they've lost: the story. Not the article. Not the piece. The story.

The Cutting Room Floor by Tad Friend, The New Yorker, Nov. 18, 2002
Unseen TV

Does Size Matter? by Michael Scherer, Columbia Journalism Review, November/December 2002
Chances are you won't bother to read this article. It is just one long block of text, after all, unbroken by alluring pictures, snappy captions, or eye-grabbing infographics. You can't click it. You can't flip it. All you can do is read it.

Finding a Niche by Jill Rosen, American Journalism Review, November 2002
From ferrets to tattoos: Specialization is the name of the game in today's crowded magazine world.

Getting a Lot out of "Two Cents" by Joe Strupp, Editor & Publisher, Oct. 21, 2002
Homegrown database helps "Chronicle" reporters meet sources willing to talk

Going Long, Going Deep by Scott Sherman, Columbia Journalism Review, November/December 2002
The Atlantic, one of the few American magazines that still dares to publish high-quality, complex narratives, sits in Boston's Little Italy, a slightly raffish neighborhood with narrow, twisting streets and filled with comfortable little restaurants, espresso bars, and cheese shops.

Hard-Core Philanthropist by Jay Cheshes, Mother Jones, November/December 2002
How can a vibrator in Topeka help halt the spread of AIDS in Hanoi? Just ask Phil Harvey, porn magnate and social entrepreneur.

"How Did I Do This Before Google?" by William Prochnau, American Journalism Review, November 2002
The relationship between newspapers and computers got off to a shaky start, but it was destined to go the distance. What are the ramifications?

Ink by Tad Friend, The New Yorker, Nov. 11, 2002
Finders keeper

Jailhouse Talk by Laura Fraser, Mother Jones, November/December 2002
On Friday nights, prisoners across Texas tune in to hear the voice of a gay ex-con and -- just maybe -- a message from home.

Letter to an Ex-Contrarian by Katha Pollitt, The Nation, Nov. 25, 2002

The Life and Times of AJR by Lori Robertson, American Journalism Review, November 2002
Back in the 1970s, a lowly grad student named Roger Kranz had a crazy idea and a VW bug. The rest is history.

Lilly Heir Makes $100 Million Bequest to Poetry Magazine by Stephen Kinzer, The New York Times, Nov. 19, 2002

Mondo Bond by Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, Nov. 4, 2002
Forty years of 007.

Networking by Amanda Fisher, Comics & Games Retailer, November 2002
Small stores benefit from interaction with others

Not So Funny by Natalie Pompilio, American Journalism Review, October 2002
Several major newspapers are leaving their editorial cartoonist positions vacant. Are these civic needlers an endangered species?

Police Beat Redux, Glass Eyes by the Bottle, and a Convention Stunned to Silence by Peter Spectre, Maine Boats & Harbors, Winter 2003

Revolution at the Reference Desk by Chris Dodge, Utne, November/December 2002
A new generation of librarians see information as a social cause

Running on Empty by Richard Byrne, The Boston Phoenix, Nov. 15, 2002
Serbian rock music helped bring down Slobodan Milosevic. But postwar Serbia is a tough place to make a living as a musician -- or as anything else, for that matter. Can the country rebuild its shattered economy and keep its culture?

Still Shining Independently by Bruce Costa, Comics & Games Retailer, October 2002
A continued discussion with Eric Reynolds of Fantagraphics

Swedish Hot Nights by John Harris, Rolling Stone, Nov. 14, 2002
The women are beautiful and the government pays you to be in a band. Welcome to punk paradise.

This Is a Headline for an Essay About Meta by Laura Miller, The New York Times Magazine, Nov. 17, 2002
Why jokey self-consciousness permeats novels, films, TV -- and our speech.

What's So Funny? by Tad Friend, The New Yorker, Nov. 11, 2002
A scientific attempt to discover why we laugh.

Why Movies Are So Bad by Kim Masters, Esquire, December 2002
The story of the fall of one pushy studio executive is an object lesson in why Saturday nights are getting more boring

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.

Workaday World VIII
Conversation in the elevator:

Julia: Let's hold the elevator door for this woman.
Me: You're too kind.
Julia: That's probably what I am: Too kind.
Woman: You held the elevator for me! You're so polite!
Julia: I was raised by wolves.
Woman: Well, then, maybe we should all be raised by wolves.

North End Moment XXX
The elderly Italian barber I used to frequent whose shop is on the corner just off the alley behind the Scotch & Sirloin building has closed his business. The sign on the door reads, "Closed for retirement. Thanks to all." I'll miss him.

From the In Box: Event-O-Dex XIV
Thanks, Heath. Turns out we had to cancel the event because of planning problems, but I appreciate your help. -- David Callahan

Event-O-Dex XIV
Another last-minute event notice. David Callahan, director of research for Demos, will be at the Harvard Business School this evening for a discussion and reception to celebrate the publication of his book about HBS' class of 1949, Kindred Spirits.

The panel discussion, "Values and CEOs: Lessons from the Harvard Business School Class of 1949," will feature HBS professor Lynn Sharp Paine, whose work focuses on values and leadership; Roger Sonnabend, a lifelong Bostonian and member of the class who is chairman and CEO of Sonesta International Hotels Corp.; George Berman, another member of the class who ran the Boston-based Unitrode Corp. for many years; and Calahan.

Quoth Callahan:

The HBS Class of 1949 was one of the most successful business school classes of all time -- a third became CEOs and graduates led such major companies as Xerox, Johnson and Johnson, and ABC. The experience of the class sheds light on changes in the value systems that guide CEOs, as well as a variety of business trends of the postwar era.

If you're interested and in the Boston area, the event is tonight at 6 p.m. in HBS' Hawes Hall, room 203.

Seat Sickness II
Like to watch stuff blow up and fall down? Implosion World is an interesting site that serves the demolition industry -- the world of controlled destruction. What's most interesting about the site is the many video clips of hotels, bridges, steel mills, and stadiums reaching their end of days.

Thanks to Memepool.

Digesting the Daily III
Recent editions of the Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper of my alma mater, featured several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians.

Turn on, tune in
On the air and behind the scenes at the Evanston Community Media Center
(Nov. 7, 2002)

"Dateline" reporter: Remain critical of media
Correspondent says election coverage lacked depth, forgot specifics of issues
(Nov. 12, 2002)

Listserv to keep students' parents updated on campus news
Student Affairs might extend services to grant family online access to grades

The Movie I Watched Last Night XLII
The Wedding Singer
After stopping by the comic shop, where MIT's Henry Jenkins dropped $100 on comic books for the comics class that runs into December, and by a bookstore, where I picked up Sheila Heti's The Middle Stories, I grabbed a quick dinner at Charlie's with Hiromi. Then it was back to the big blue couch for movie night!

The Wedding Singer isn't indescribably bad, but it's also not awe-inspiringly good. Adam Sandler uses the movie as an opportunity to ham it up lounge stylee, portraying a washed-up heavy metal musician who's now making bank singing wedding schlock. After his fiancee ditches him on the day of their wedding, he starts spending time with a cocktail waitress who also works at the reception hall -- played by one Drew Barrymore who is cute as a button, a real chicken pot pie, in this movie. She, too, is engaged, but to the wrong fellow. Over the course of the movie, Sandler and Barrymore's characters become better acquainted, and the inevitable happens.

What's the inevitable? A sickly looking Billy Idol saves the day on a plane to Vegas. Yes, that's right. Billy Idol. The scene on the plane, admittedly, almost brought a tear to my eyes, it was so cheesy yet poignant and touching. Overall, an enjoyable, throwaway movie that also features cameos by SNL alumni Kevin Nealon and Jon Lovitz, as well as a lusciously lush Steve Buscemi. Curious why the latter two were uncredited roles?

Event-O-Dex XIII
Tonight at the Lucy Parsons Center in the South End, Eric Drooker will "read" from Flood!: A Novel in Pictures and give a sneak preview of his new book, already on shelves, Blood Song: A Silent Ballad. That's at 549 Columbus Ave. at Mass. Ave. If we don't have band practice, I might have to check it out. I'm thinking: slide show!

Monday, the Anchormen will seethe with jealousy while bouncing on their heels with glee. Three quality area pop bands, Shumai, our friends Spoilsport, and Jef's scaled-down side project, the Tardy will rock the upstairs at Charlie's Kitchen on Harvard Square. I'll be there, munching on a grilled cheese and sipping on a Harpoon IPA.

Mention Me! XIX
A couple of new links to Media Diet from the referral logs might be worth mentioning.

Da Sophomore, a local hip-hop artist (don't you dare call him a rapper!), was scheduled to perform at Mama Gaia's before it closed down. He was also slated to play at the Phoenix, which also used to have a home on Central Square, just before it closed down. Lesson: If you run a cafe, don't book Da Sophomore. He's the kiss of doom. I just downloaded some MP3's, so we'll soon see if the kiss is sweet, at least.

Meanwhile Circa1977, a site that's part of the Bostonites blog ring, has sent some people my way. He doesn't mention me or Media Diet anywhere, although he does refer to Fast Company, so perhaps he found his way here via the ring. Recent entries address a business trip, buying a house, and car troubles.

Anchormen, Aweigh! X
More, later, about the mixing sessions this past weekend at Q Division, but for now, here are the rough mixes we've done for "Idlewild" and "Another Gentrification Song." Rumor is that the CD-EP will be titled "A Nation of Interns," and -- as always -- the Anchormen are open for feedback. And business. But whatever.

It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XVI
This video clip makes me sad.

And this one makes me even sadder.

This one, on the other hand, made me smile a little bit.

Joke-O-Matic
Thanks to a friend in Chicago:

Q: What's brown and sticky?
A: A stick.

And that's the kind of pick-me-up I'm needing right now. Hit me!

Rock Shows of Note XLV
Despite concern about the approaching Nor'easter on Sunday -- which brought next to no snow in Boston proper even though parts outside got blanketed with snow -- I ventured to Sanders Theatre for a performance by the Boston Chamber Music Society. A subscriber to the society's series this year, I had to miss the first performance because of the CoF Roadshow.

Sunday night, however, I was quite pleased that I'd subscribed. Since college, I haven't taken in much classical music, much less smaller setting chamber music, and the program was delightful. As might be expected, the society balanced better-known works with more adventurous pieces that push the envelope -- at least in terms of "popular" classical music acceptance. And the first piece, opus 15d of Gyorgy Kurtag's "Hommage a Robert Schumann," while clearly the evening's outlier, was -- to me, at least -- the most interesting.

A Romanian-born Hungarian, Kurtag studied in the shadow of Stalinism, and his brief, concentrated compositions have an air of imminent oppression, as well as rebellious playfulness, about them. The movements of this piece were all quite short, and the interplay between Thomas Hill on clarinet and Nokuthula Ngwenyama on viola was extremely lively and clever, especially with the undercurrent of Mihae Lee's piano work. Hill impressed with some breathy noise-making -- not straight-forward classical clarinet fare -- and ended the piece with a dramatic, humorous percussion solo. Awesome. I'll have to explore more of Kurtag's work.

The second piece, Maurice Ravel's 1914 "Piano Trio" was less impressive and interesting. If you know Ravel's music -- and, admittedly, I know little outside of "Bolero," and even not much about that -- it might be rooted in an occasionally sing-song melodic style with occasional dramatic swells. Parts of this almost led me to nod off, but the animated finale caught my attention and held it. Despite my impressions of the piece -- the pop side of classical music -- Lee, Ronald Thomas (on cello, and the society's artistic director), and Ida Levin (on violin) performed well. It's just not my cup of tea, especially when following Kurtag's angular, disjointed, and intriguing work!

Following a brief intermission, the society returned to more popular fare, performing Johannes Brahms' "Piano Quartet in G minor (opus 25)". (Memo to Media Dieticians: I have no idea whatsoever how to title classical compositions!) Featuring Levin, Ngwenyama, Thomas, and Lee, the piece had four movements, of which I was excited by two: the Allegro, and the Rondo alla Zingarese (presto). This might have been the crowd favorite. Before the performance began, a fellow seated behind me told a friend that he was "in for a real treat."

Reading Steven Ledbetter's commentary in the program, I am ashamed of the facile nature of most of my musical reviews, much less my limited knowledge of classical music, but I know what I like. And of this performance's program, Kurtag is the clear winner. I'll have to seek out more of his work.

The Movie I Watched Last Night XLI
Three Kings
Even if you've already seen this movie, it's worth revisiting given the current state of world affairs and the possibility that we'll go to war with Iraq again. What starts out as a treasure hunt adventure story in the wake of the Gulf War -- in which a quartet of soldiers still stationed in Iraq set out to "liberate" some Kuwaiti gold -- turns into quite another movie altogether. For the most part, Three Kings is a political commentary on the responsibilities of warring nations. After the Gulf War ended and the United States encouraged Iraqis to rise up against Saddam Hussein, should US forces have pulled out without offering any assistance to the civilians they'd set up for persecution? Do the strained race and other relations within the American armed forces limit our sensitivity to ethnic differences in other countries? That's the real meat of the movie. Spike Jonze portrays an undereducated private to complement the able performances offered by George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, and Ice Cube -- not always to good effect -- and Nora Dunn offers a cartoony representation of an aging war correspondent. The media commentary -- the role of the media during wartime -- gets clouded by the shallow political analysis, but the questions are there, despite the movie's cloaking as an adventure story.

From the In Box: Technofetishism XVIII
I got your Web site through access analyze scripts on my Web site. I am very happy to hear that you use my desktop picture on your PC and you like it. I am a Japanese, not Thai. My Web site introduce some ordinary lifestyle of Thailand to Japanese due to I have a chance to stay in Thailand now. I will try to post more new desktops and icons as sooner. Thank you for your visiting my Web site. -- E. Mizokami

Blogging About Blogging XXXIII
There's a Web movement making some noise in Philadelphia. In response to a local columnist's recent efforts to get locals to market the city for themselves, a group of small business owners have pulled together a site called PhillyBlog.

The response, which is being orchestrated by a relatively new transplant to the city, lauds and lambastes many of the city's characteristics, positioning it as a valid alternative to cities such as Boston. The multi-author nature of the project makes for some disjointed reading, but recent posts have been quite active, and the comment count is high.

An interesting parallel to some of the regional blog directories, local blog rings, and other similar projects.

Technofetishism XVIII
I've been spending some time this afternoon messing around with my desktop, icons, and dock skin. That's been fun, although I don't quite have the hang of replacing icons yet. I'm worried I won't be able to go back to what I had before. Yikes! But there are several sites you check out if you use a Mac and want to play around with how your computer looks.

Pixelgirl Presents offers several interesting sets of icon replacements. P'girl's tastes tend toward the Asian, so we're gifted with headshots of Japanese actresses, Thai logos, sushi, and several cute-animal icon sets, including one from Sanrio. She also offers a bunch of well-done desktop pictures. My desktop is now sporting some Thai noodles courtesy of Tao Hua Ng Design. Beautiful!

I Heart NY also offers icons, as well as dock skins. I'm tempted by the Adium Domo-Kun icon set, but, still, I have to be more comfortable before I change all my icons. The dock skins also appeal, but I need to tinker around with that for awhile, too. Still, a tutorial includes a downloadable set of restoration icons in case you need to switch back. Phew!

Lastly, a disappointing piece of shareware. Unsanity's WindowShadeX promises to replace the double-click shade-closing action that was so useful in OS 9. Thing is, if you're using WindowShadeX as an application enhancer, it doesn't just reintroduce the double-click shade-closing action that effectively closes the window but keeps a slim bar on the desktop -- it removes the yellow-ball window-diminishing dock tuck. Or whatever it's called. So even though I've installed it, I'd rather tuck apps and windows into my dock than window-shade them. So I've deactivated it. Harrumph.

Oh! I also just downloaded Andreas Lindkvist's wonderfully retro miPong screensaver from MacMotiva. Now we're getting somewhere!

Am I being too uptight about my icons? Let me know if I should just jump in with both feet.

Seat Sickness
While Googling for information on how to best acquire the 2003 Slingshot planner, I came across this Quicktime video of the amusement park ride in action. Not my cup of tea!

Rock Shows of Note XLIV
Last night, after hanging out at the Sail Loft with some friends from work, a bunch of us went to the Middle East to see Luna. After paying $15 and sticking out one of the opening bands -- the Skating Club? Jr. Corduroy? -- it didn't take much of Luna's set to remind me that I don't really like Luna that much. Despite the $15 cover -- the most expensive show I've gone to in a long time; why not Jonathan Richman? -- I decided to leave after several songs. Better suited for listening to at work, I think.

Television-Impaired VII
John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up, which I finished reading on the T this morning (look for a three-month Books Worth a Look entry in early December), has got me thinking about the coming Apocalypse.

If Mad parodying the Onion is one of the signs of the Apocalypse, what about a Dr. Who episode written by the late Douglas Adams?

Thanks to Slashdot.

Music to My Eyes IV
I'm still a little miffed with Other Music for closing their Cambridge store and running back home to New York City, so I was less than pleased when they mismailed their mailing list recently. People started replying to the list instead of complaining directly to Other Music, saying the usual stuff like, "Why are you people emailing me?" "Other Music, your mailing list is broken," and "Will you people please stop emailing the list?

Then a fellow sent an email to the group that brought a bit more sunshine to my day. It read:

It could be worse. People might even try promoting things like this.

Every so often, I send out an email to the team at work titled Web Site of the Friday (or whatever day of the week it is, natch), so I sent this out just now. It triggered the usual, "How do you find this stuff?" responses.

Sometimes, you don't find it; it finds you. Happy Friday.

Music to My Ears XVIII
With absolutely no thanks whatsoever to one Joe Germuska, I am now irreparably addicted to and in love with Epitonic. Where else can you go to learn more about and listen to musical groups such as Bride of No No, Ex Models, Les Sans Culottes, Red Shirt Brigade, and the Styrenes? Insound? Not so much. Insound, I dub thee No. 2. And that's only because I'll visit Epitonic to listen to stuff and then visit Insound to order some of it. Ooh. Feel that quiver? I just felt my record budget increase.

North End Moment XXIX
My boss just got back from picking up his lunch at an Italian deli not far from the Scotch & Sirloin building. His order: a sandwich without tomatoes. Here's what happened:

Vinny: Whaddya got against tomatoes?
Bill: Nothing. I just don't like 'em. Never have.
Vinny: So whaddya put on your macaroni? Oil?
Bill: No tomato sauce. That's different. The medium is the message, right?
Vinny: Ya know, it's funny. I love raw onions. I hate grilled onions. But you give me grilled onions with peas, and I love it! Does that make any fuckin' sense?
Bill: That's what keeps life interesting.
Vinny: You're right. I'll see ya my man.

May you all lead interesting lives.

Media Meet Space II
The boring, oft-described "subversive" magazine Vice is sowing its seeds by extending its brand to embrace clothing stores, a record label, and a book deal. Please. Has anyone actually read the thing? Name drop all you want, but comparing Vice to Answer Me, Forced Exposure, or Grand Royal just doesn't make any sense beyond parallels to occasionally controversial business and cross-marketing savvy. Just because people buy an "underground" mag doesn't mean that it's not a rag. I'd much rather read Foul.

Thanks to I Want Media.

Weather Report VII
I don't know what it is, but it's amazing how much a day can make. The beginning of this week, I was rather out of sorts and disgruntled, and the skies were grey, heavy, and thick, obscuring the sun and bringing rain. Today, it's clean, clear, cool, and crisp, and my energy is much higher. Maybe it was the movie, maybe it's the weather. Regardless, I much prefer how this day is starting.

The Movie I Watched Last Night XL
Before Night Falls
I've never read a word of Reinaldo Arenas' writing, but Andrea had this DVD at home, and we wanted to stay in last night, so we watched it. And watching this biographical movie based on Arenas' memoir Antes Que Anochezca makes me want to read him. And to write. I think that those are the two best things you can say about a movie about a writer, no? Arenas was a gay Cuban dissident poet during the early days of Fidel Castro's dictatorship in Cuba, and the movie tracks his developmental years as a child, time as a rebel, emergence as a writer, and eventual oppression as a homosexual intellectual. The most powerful sequences of the film, which is shot in an occasionally documentary manner, include Reinaldo's hallucinations while in solitary prison, his time hiding with other radical artists in a near-destroyed church, and his escape to New York City, where he dies of AIDS. Despite the film's moving representation of the importance of intellectual and creative expression, public speech, and group assembly, a couple of things threw me. One, Arenas' relationship with his mother is never fully explained or resolved, and there are a couple of details that cloud its reality -- his comment on her move to Miami and his hallucination about a refused reunion. Two, Johnny Depp plays two roles, which come across as one -- and that confuses the narrative. First, Depp plays Bon Bon, a prison queen who helps Arenas smuggle a book out of prison. Then, Depp plays Lieutenant Victor, which at first led me to believe that they were one and the same person -- and that Arenas was tricked into smuggling his book only to get caught. It seems that Depp's dual role, while confusing, was indeed a dual role. The one saving grace about that is the sexual ambiguity inherent in both. While Arenas didn't seem to be attracted to Bon Bon, his smuggling savior, the scene in which Victor interrogates him is awash with homosexual tension, albeit potentially hallucinated. All in all, a movie worth watching, even if you haven't read Arenas. I know that I now must. And I hope that some day, I write something so important that I have to hide it under a roof or smuggle it out of a country. Then again, maybe I don't.

Mention Me! XVIII
Traffic today is a bit heavier than average, so I went into my referral logs to see what was up. While Media Diet hasn't been Slashdotted, it has been Metafiltered courtesy of one Brian K. Seems he liked the recent post about Mad's parody of the Onion.

I feel like I should welcome all of the folks coming here from Metafilter. Hello! Welcome to Media Diet! Thanks for coming. Pull up a chair. The keg's in the back. No, no... the other back. Yeah, that's the way. (Who let him in?)

I also feel like I should let folks know that I came across the parody thanks to the Oooh! Oooh! Oooh! It's My Turn to Type thread in the Books & Literature discussion in the Atlantic's Post & Riposte forum. Credit adequately given, we are now left to entertaining our new guests.

Among the Literati XVII
Gareth Branwyn, patron and perhaps even saint of all things technological, has drafted a guide to suck-less writing. It's a clever, catchy look at crafting better writing for the Web.

Thanks to BoingBoing.

Focus Coups
Jim O'Laughlin, a writer and reading series host in Iowa, regularly adopts various consumer personas to participate in focus groups that are short on attendees. He's pretended to shave with certain razors, want a job in the aerospace industry, like a certain beer, or watch certain TV shows. In a recent piece for the Web zine La Petite, he shares some of his adventures in marketing and corporate manipulation.

Thanks to Utne Web Watch.

From the In Box: Street Art II
Dallas spends $50,000 at each new rail station for art designed to reflect the local community -- pillars, sculptures, mosaics, etc. DART also sponsors poetry contests periodically -- winners are then printed on colorful posters and displayed inside buses and trains. One of the winners has also won the national poetry slam. NYC transit has some cool stuff, too (if you know where to look). Took a great tour a couple of years ago. If you are really interested, the American Public Transit Association could connect you with locations of interesting transit art here and overseas. Oh yeah -- not a train station, but I came through the Copenhagen airport last year. Very cool art, including a large raku fountain in a terminal lobby and a flock of large multi-colored fused-glass seagulls suspended in a sunny concourse. -- Terri Adkisson

From the In Box: The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night XV
John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up: I really like that book. Did a video book review of it once when I was doing video. Prescient, as most of the things he was writing about in the late '60s and early '70s have come to pass.

When 911 happened, I pulled it out again to look at the last few pages where he talks about the United States declaring war, but not knowing against whom. A year on, we're not quite in that position. We have declared war on everybody and anybody in the world we want to. -- George Mokray

Products I Love V
Quite awhile ago, I went through a mint phase. Mint tea, mint shampoo, mint soap. And the best mint soap comes to us from Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps. Based in Escondido, California, Dr. Bronner's family produces the all-one, hemp, pure-castile soaps in liquid and bar soap. The runner-up soap, lemon, only comes in bar form. The soap works well, smells great, and is 100% natural. And each bar wrapper is imprinted with some of Dr. Bronner's moral ABC's, as well as notable quotations from thinkers such as Chief Seattle, Buddha, Einstein, and Booker T. Washington. Clean your body, clean your mind.

Digesting the Daily II
Having spent some time last weekend on the big blue couch catching up on two months' worth of the Daily Northwestern, I've decided to keep up with them as they're mailed. And I found several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians.

NU not using its wireless network
NUIT officials blame lack of equipment for unpopularity; students say it's poor publicity
(Oct. 31, 2002)

Life in a dead city
This group of NU students knows that while everyday life can be a drag, Saturday night is all right for biting
(Oct. 31, 2002)

Living history
Local author, magazine founder Robinson aims to enliven undocumented stories from Evanston's black community
(Nov. 1, 2002)

Students at Ariz. St., Indiana busted for shooting porn films
Expulsion, suspensions follow filming; NU officials would deny any requests
(Nov. 1, 2002)

Student CEOs must balance work, school
Budding college-aged entrepreneurs get taste of the business world ahead
(Nov. 4, 2002)

Wireless networking isn't used at NU because it's inconvenient
Letter writer Benjamin Shapiro compares NU's network to that of UCSD
(Nov. 5, 2002)

NU lags behind, but Kellogg uses wireless to its potential
Letter writer Derek Yung says the "b" in B-school stands for "better"
(Nov. 5, 2002)

CNN may try to win youth with slang talk
Some Medill profs, students say news would lose its respect, professionalism
(Nov. 6, 2002)

High-tech ventures offered at DevLab
New director brings center big hopes for NU's business-minded community
(Nov. 6, 2002)

Bylines of the batch: Sarah Warning and Andy Nelson. I went to grade school with an Andy Nelson.

Magazine Me XXI
Mad makes fun of the Onion. And the world caves in on itself.

Clothes Whore V
Absolutely no one has sent me a T-shirt to photograph myself wearing for Media Diet. So I'm left with checking out all of the different outfits that Winona Ryder wore during her shoplifting trial appearances. Now you can, too.

Among the Literati XVI
Four independent literary journals that have also stepped into the realm of book publishing -- Fence, McSweeney's, Open City, and Verse -- have joined forces to create the BigSmallPressMall. The BigSmallPressMall is a collaborative effort that will co-promote each imprint's titles, as well as readings and other related events.

You can even order a sample pack that includes an item from each participating press. That page includes the funny sentence, "Please note that since the the four publishers are in different locations, each book from the package will be delivered separately." Heh.

What a fine, fine idea. Any and all independent record labels and publishers could learn from this project.

Ho Ho, It's Mr. Show! III
David Cross of Mr. Show fame has released a comedy CD on SubPop. It's two CD's chock full of hilarity recorded during Cross's 2002 tour of rock clubs across America. You can even download some sampler MP3's if you're foolhardy. Rock on, David Cross. Rock on.

From the In Box: Digesting the Daily
Thanks a million for the mention on your site. I'm glad you like my strips (and understand Blammo and Mitch). I'm never sure how people are receiving my comics, specifically "Bottom of the Food Chain" because I rarely do get feedback about things. My recent battle is to keep "Bottom of the Food Chain" accessible online -- no one at the Daily seems to understand that there are people out there who may not see a Daily day in and day out. Knowing that there are people out there like you who read the strip really motivates me, and I'll be goddamned sure those monkeys keep my strips online for people who may not have subscriptions. Anyway, thanks for reading. I'll keep drawing! -- Alex Thomas

Wait... the Daily is produced by monkeys these days? When I was there, we had a staff of trained emus.

From the In Box: Music to My Ears XVII
File this under "Biting off More than You Can Listen to," I suppose...

Sorry for the impersonal email, but so many people have signed up for the CD Mix of the Month that I'm forced to get a little impersonal.

Thanks everybody for signing up. I just wanted to mention something:

This thing has gotten very large over the last couple of months. It used to be remarkable if I'd trade CDs with 40 people in a month. Well, last month, almost 400 people signed up, and this month's not too far behind.

So... last month I was forced to ask for money. Here's the deal: I'm asking you to please put $3 or $4 in your envelope when you send your CD's to me. I know it's annoying, but it costs me about $3 in materials and postage alone for each person trading. That's an expense I'm willing to support when there are only a couple dozen people trading, but when the numbers get this large, I really have no interest in (or resources to support) blowing $1,000 a month on this.

So please throw a few bucks in your envelope. (More's always welcome, of course, and goes directly to the Josh Benton Student Loan Pay-Off Fund.) If you've already send your discs, you can always PayPal me.

If you've got any questions, just email me. I'm really sorry to have to do this, but if I didn't ask for cash to meet some of my expenses, I'd be forced to kill off the club entirely. (For anyone concerned: I'm still not making any money off this thing. Last month, I still paid about $100 out-of-pocket for this.)

Remember, please get your mixes in the mail ASAP; November 25 is the deadline, but earlier's always better. I finally settled the November mix this weekend, and it should be hella good. -- Josh Benton

See what happens when you make an offer like that? Wow. 40 to 400 requests in a month or two. I'm of mixed mind when thinking about his recent email to potential traders, though. I can understand the overwhelming response he's received -- and can appreciate his concerns about the increase in out-of-pocket expense to support the project. At the same time, this is what "trade" means. If you want to trade mix tapes -- or zines, or whatever -- you trade. If you don't want to bear the brunt of the trade economy, you "sell" your wares. I'm not convinced that it's worth paying for a mix made by a stranger -- even if I can see past playlists -- and especially if I am requested to send a mix in exchange as well. I'm not getting reimbursed for my materials and postage. I'm trading. Trading and paying at the same time seems a bit much to ask. Still, I don't begrudge Benton the success of his project, and I don't begrudge him his change of heart.

Be careful what you ask for; you might get it. That said, my offer still stands. If you send me a mix tape or CD at the address in the left-hand column of Media Diet, I will reciprocate. (Until I experience the Benton Effect, I guess.)

Digesting the Daily
As a former editor and columnist for The Daily Northwestern and as an alumnus of Northwestern University, I subscribe to the Daily to keep up with campus happenings and the state of student journalism. Yesterday, I spent some quality time on the big blue couch to catch up on the last two months' worth of the Daily. And I found several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians.

Student-written book offers candid look at NU
New unofficial handbook gives readers an alarming look at campus living
(Sept. 24, 2002)

WebRoomz lets students select own roommates
Company has two client universities; NU housing calls service unrealistic
(Oct. 1, 2002)

Cosmo terrifies as it entices, but most of all it lies
Columnist Mike Sherman analyzes the foibles of women's magazines
(Oct. 1, 2002)

Cosmo's trashy, but macho Maxim does equal damage
Letter writer Jason Spitz counters with an analysis of the foibles of, ahem, men's magazines
(Oct. 2, 2002)

Universities limit speech to set zones, bar protests
Colleges designate campus locations where students able to demonstrate
(Oct. 8, 2002)

Che's revolution is lost in sea of hip marketing
Columnist Kristina Francisco rages against the lifestyle marketing machine
(Oct. 9, 2002)

Former Daily columnist's plagiarism regretted
Just goes to show that stealing from widely read sources like Slate is silly, students
(Oct. 10, 2002)

Officials mull contract with hat company
University plans to weigh reports by labor-conditions watchdogs
(Oct. 11, 2002)

Role-playing group seeks out game vampires
NU group's live-action, year-long fun focuses on storytelling and characters
(Oct. 11, 2002)

Cosmo editor dazzles NU crowd with anecdotes, advice for women
Helen Gurley Brown speaks to a full audience to kick off Medill's Crain Lecture series
(Oct. 15, 2002)

Unrestrained nanotechnology enthusiasm potentially deadly
Looks like letter writer Clif Brown reads and respects Bill Joy
(Oct. 15, 2002)

Speaker: Rap music aids society in Africa
Popular music provides Tanzanians with sense of community, self-worth
(Oct. 15, 2002)

You can't tell if I'm telling you the whole truth
Perhaps concerned by recent reports of columnist plagiarism, Kristina Francisco admits a factual error in last week's column
(Oct. 16, 2002)

Nobel may increase NU Press cash flow
Troubled printer could profit from books' sales, but won't alter outlook
(Oct. 17, 2002)

Campus media need to know value of dissent
Columnist Jesse Abrams-Morley takes on the Daily's conservative counterpart, the Chronicle
(Oct. 17, 2002)

Nobel Prize emphasizes importance of NU Press
The Daily's editorial board takes a brave, pro-Nobel position
(Oct. 21, 2002)

Prof: Donated clothing sets trends in Africa
Media fails to see secondhand clothes as a cultural influence, professor says
(Oct. 22, 2002)

NU will renew contract with clothing company
Report: New Era improved labor conditions
(Oct. 23, 2002)

WNUR to keep online broadcast despite fees
Costly fee won't affect broadcasting, but cuts back amount of webcasting
(Oct. 24, 2002)

Tunnel vision
The long, hot journey to and through the hidden world beneath NU
(Oct. 24, 2002)

Student scrawlings on stall turned into book
"Penn State Whizdom" peak at what college kids read while taking a leak
(Oct. 25, 2002)

Free spirited, heavy minded
NOWAR adds its name to NU's infrequent history of activism
(Oct. 30, 2002)

Beyond the standard articles, editorials, columns, and letters of comment, several Daily features stand out as worth their salt issue after issue.

The comic strips and editorial cartoons of Alex Thomas are a joy to behold, especially his "Bottom of the Food Chain" anthropomorphic campus comedy and slightly differently styled "Kampus Komedy!" editorial cartoons starring Blammo and Mitch. Additional kudos for Thomas' editorial cartoon in response to the Sept. 24 feature on the unofficial campus guide published by a couple of snarky Sig Eps. Also, the weekly nyou section sports a "Week in Review" report card that is almost always spot on in its sarcasm and spunkiness. nyou's "Calendar" grid does more than point out upcoming events in the Evanston area; it often deflates the people and projects involved. "Calendar" isn't as darkly humorous as it seemed to be last year, but it's still worth a look.

I'll keep digesting the Daily for Alex Thomas and "Week in Review" alone, but it's good to see writers wrestling with media activism and literacy. Keep it up!

The Restaurant I Ate at Last Night XV
Upon my return from the CoF Roadshow every year, I reassess several aspects of my life. How I spend my time, who I spend it with, how I live my life habit-wise, etc. Not everything gets changed or improved, but this year, my little self-improvement kick includes reconsidering how I eat. How often I cook at home. Whether I eat breakfast. What I do for lunch at work. Last night, I decided that I've fallen into a restaurant rut. When I eat out, there are maybe two or three places that I frequent. At one of them, I order the exact same thing every single time I visit. This, I must change. There are a lot of restaurants in Boston. There are a lot of restaurants in my neighborhood. And I've never been to most of them.

So last night, I went somewhere new, to read John Brunner's The Sheep Look Up and to eat dinner before meeting Andrea for a drink later in the evening. The restaurant I picked? Well, it kind of picked me because India Pavilion was crowded and I'm not too comfortable eating and reading by myself in crowded restaurants. So I walked a couple of blocks to the Gandhi Restaurant instead.

The service at the Gandhi is extremely friendly and inobtrusive, and my waiter said "please" every time he came by the table. I liked that. The food? Rather average but passable Indian cuisine. I started with a lentil soup that was relatively free of lentils, and which had a slightly acrid tartness to it. Still, tasty and warm, perfect for a windy autumn evening. The aloo channa masala was a highlight, and it's good to see people adding other ingredients to the chickpea standby. That rested on a bed of aromatic jasmine rice. The garlic nan wasn't much to speak of -- I prefer my nan fixings to be cooked inside the nan rather than just peppered on the outside, and I missed the availability of aloo nan, my favorite -- but the papadam was crispy and good. I washed everything down with a mango juice and some water before moving onto dessert. Dessert was good. Gulab jamun is similar to warm donut holes in a sugar and rose water syrup -- also a highlight of the meal. But the coffee? Weak.

So Gandhi gets mixed reviews. Not too expensive, but not too impressive. I doubt I'll return until I'm able to compare it to the other Indian restaurants on Central Square.

Magazine Me XX
Los Angeles magazine includes a relatively decent feature about Giant Robot magazine in the November issue. Don't forget to tell Martin he looks silly in the photo.

From the In Box: Pulling the Plug VIII
Mama Gaia's Cafe, in Central Square (Cambridge), is facing unexpected and unreasonable pressures around its property lease, and may be forced out of business as a result.

I myself am not part of Mama Gaia's management or investor base, but I am moved to write on their behalf. I am a regular customer of Mama Gaia's Cafe who values deeply the elements of community building, and social justice, which the place embodies. It would be a great loss if Mama Gaia's were closed down for good.

It is natural to ask oneself how did this crisis develop, and to wonder whether their business just wasn't working out well enough. I have talked about this with their management, and the story is actually quite the opposite: Mama Gaia's regular customer base is strong, and its business has been growing steadily and according to plan. Unfortunately, their landlord is now wanting to change the lease terms in order to capitalize on that success, and he is doing so in a very heavy-handed, intransigent way. Last weekend, the landlord evicted them with merely 48 hours notice, in a move intended to show "who's boss" at the negotiating table. Pre-emptive leverage building, I guess!

So...

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

Write letters/emails of support to Mama Gaia's Cafe, proclaiming and describing your love for the place, and how sorry you would be if it were forced to closed down. This simple act, when joined with the voice of many others, can be remarkably powerful in demonstrating to City officials and investors the solid base of support that Mama Gaia's enjoys in the community at large.

*** URGENT *** Lend them whatever cash amount you feel called to contribute. All loans, small or large, will be given the option to be turned into stock in due time or just be repaid as a small loan over time -- to be determined on a case by case basis.

I know, this requires a certain leap of faith: that Mama Gaia's itself is doing its part, and that your contribution is essential and dignified. Remember, though, that we're not talking Enron or Halliburton here, but Mama Gaia's! These are folks with a vision, and that vision is being threatened by one individual's excessive greed.

If you do want to help out with cash, it is imperative to do it immediately. Mama Gaia's has met the bulk of the cash demands precipitated upon them this week, but they are still short on the order of $5,000. Any amount will help.

For more information, to submit your letters or to discuss loans, please contact:

Pedro Morales
Mama Gaia's Cafe Founder
617-207-1210
morales@mamagaiascafe.com -- Martin Hunter

Thanks to George Mokray for passing this on!