Mention Me! XIV
My boss just told me to go home, but here's one last tidbit. I've been drawn into a discussion over at the Atlantic Unbound -- Post & Riposte -- which amuses me because the Atlantic is located two floors above me and I've never once stopped by their discussion area. Even though I used to hang out with Wen, Unbound's former editor.

In any event, there's a bunch of David Eggers fans, young writers, and journal publishers -- including one of the folks involved in Pindeldyboz -- and they were recently discussing one of my recent Media Diet posts about Dan Zevin. Long story short, they're good people. Fine, upstanding people. And discussion wavers between the chatty and the in depth.

Some hip lit-related sites recommended by these people include Tatlin's Tower, Opium Magazine, Surgery of Modern Warfare, and Eyeshot. I have yet to dig deeply into those resources, but I have vetted, aided, and abetted Zulkey, which I recently added to my Media Morsels.

OK. Time to go home. On the agenda: show, party, weekend. See you Monday.

Off the Shelf III
That might not be the most appropriate headline, but so far, all of the Off the Shelf entries have mentioned Steve Portigal, so here's to tradition!

Steve recently emailed me commenting on Media Diet and his blog -- even comparing me to Wil Wheaton, whom, I admit, I might look like -- but more importantly, he turned me on to the Boombox Museum.

Kickin' it old school, as they say, the museum outlines the history of the humble ghetto blaster from 1976-1989, dividing the narrative into three periods: the birth, the golden age, and the decline and fall. The images in the 1976-1981 section are the most interesting, but the golden age, which covered 1981-1985, touches on the role boomboxes played in early hip-hop and breakdancing culture -- and warrants the most coverage. (The Fat Boys and LL Cool J are featured prominently.) Finally, the decline and fall pages show how product design changes followed changes in functionality -- almost every boombox manufacturer chased the ghetto blaster and portable stereo markets simultaneously with awkward hybrid products coupling Walkman-like devices with boomboxes. This is where I came in. I had the Sears LXI as a teenager.

The Boombox Museum is slightly misleading, as it's one of many only exhibitions organized by the Pocket Calculator Show -- which also curates online exhibits of digital watches and Walkmans. Good to hear from you again, Steve! Welcome back from Japan.

Party to Record Releases VI
Back to the books, folks. Top Shelf Productions offers a monthly email newsletter entitled This Month @ Top Shelf. The most recent transmission includes information about Doug TanNapel's new graphic novel Creature Tech and a brief bit on another Top Shelf book currently solicited in Previews. It's a slim edition, but it's a good list to be on -- email Chris Staros to request a subscription. Good people at Top Shelf, yup yep yup!

Rock Shows of Note XXVII
The following report was previously posted Jan. 7, 2002, in the Media Diet discussion forum, which will be deactivated shortly.

So. I walked past the Clairvoyants/Denali show Friday night, and the Middle East Upstairs line area was packed, so I didn't venture in. And, like a dope, I walked home past TT's without going in -- not knowing until later that Just Like Them features former members of the Cretins, a wonderful Boston-area pop punk band.

But I did catch some other good music this weekend. 30 minutes too late to catch Moment -- a fine new band with a CD on Espo -- I caught a set by heavy-metal wunderkinds There at the Middle East Up. This is unabashed, shameless fun metal the way it was meant to be played. \m/ 's all around, a hulking, bearded lead singer, and loads of wanky solos. But not at all ironic. Appreciative. There are the heralds of the New Wave of Boston Heavy Metal!

And last night, at the Washington Street Art Center in Somerville, I caught three musical groups: Sinkcharmer (featuring Paul and Jen from the Operators with Jef from the Anchormen and the Tardy), Red Telephone (which played rather straight-forward college indie rock), and Ad Frank -- who wowed with his Bee Gees-styled vocals, swagger-meets-simper stage presence, and solid song writing. I'm not sure, but he might be the guy I used to see dancing up by the DJ's during Mod Night in Allston. If it is, he's come a looong way.

The latter two acts -- Red Telephone and Ad Frank -- have a residency at Charlie's Kitchen every Monday night this week. In fact, they're playing there tonight. I'm tempted to go. (1) Because Red Telephone said they're usually more "bad ass," and I wasn't that impressed by their scaled down set at the Center, and (2) because Jef says Ad's usually all hyperactive, herky jerky, and new wave when he plays. He wasn't that hyper last night.

Anyhoo: Sinkcharmer play list!

Rubber Legs

Down $2

Poison Arrow

As Nevada

Dusk

Half Life

Hole So Deep

Last Dance

Henry Hudson (slow)

Wisdom Tooth

Rumor is that Henry Hudson was Paul's attempt to write an Anchormen song. I especially liked Half Life -- or Hole So Deep -- I forget which one was the hyperactive number with the yell-along chorus.

Humor Me V
The following magazinedex was previously posted Dec. 18, 2001, in the Media Diet discussion forum, which will be deactivated shortly.

Blast #2, May 1971, G&D Publications, NYC, NY (bimonthly, 40 cents)

Editorial Tyrant: Al Forman
Publishing Bigshot: Howard Reed

Cover: Mike Kaluta image of the Statue of Liberty holding a burning bra and a tablet marked "Liberty or Death." Cover lines: Youthful Satire! Adult Humor! Pubescent Sex!; Fem Lib: Freedom Fighters or Crazies; Other Gross Things in This Issue: TV Shows, School Daze, Boobarella, Swinging Encounter Group, Mod Comix, Up the Military, Sportscast Records, Fetish Magazine, Personality Analysis, and Much More...

p.5 Fem-Lib w/Bob Smolin, d/Mike Kaluta... pointless assortment of women's liberation movement jokes

p. 11 Blotz w/d Nick Cuti... Rorschach test-inspired gag strips addressing sexism, politics, Greenwich Village, psychiatry, and psychedelia

p. 12 Preview of New TV Shows w/ Mel Campbell, d/ Bob Jenney... fantasy TV line-up sporting "The Yuck Lawyers," "The Partridge Fumbly," "The Most Deadly Show," and "Head Acher." Targets include Shirley Jones, Don Knotts, and Rod Serling

p. 16 School Daze with C-Minus Seymour w/d Marvin Myers... series of six comic strips pouncing on computer dating, the French horn, scientists, and long hair

p. 18 Boobarella w/ Mel Campbell, d/ Jim Mooney... parody of Barbarells featuring spoofs of nudity, Flash Gordon, and Mao Tse Tung

p. 23 Analyzing Your Personality w/ Bob Smolin, d/ Bob Jenney... personality analysis test knocking on Sophia Loren, the Black Panthers, the library, and Cuba

p. 26 Swinging Encounter Group Unltd. d/ Mike Kaluta... center spread taking on orgies, fetishes, women's lib, vocabulary, and halitosis

p. 28 Mod Comix w/d Chuck McNaughton... comic-strip parodies aping Little Orphan Annie, Lil' Abner, Blonde, Peanuts, and Archie commenting on women's lib, drugs, homosexuality, Charles Manson, and dodging the draft

p. 34 Up the Military-Industrial Complex w/d Rodrigues (uncredited in masthead)... five gag strips making fun of rank, uniform, and pacifism

p. 36 Moon Child w/d Nicola Cuti... a "pixie created in the void of outer space" encounters a Snappy Answers for Stupid Questions-inspired computer that refuses to fix her watch. Best of Issue

p. 39 World Newsfronts d/ UPI Photos... wire-photo fumetti jabbing Charlie McCarthy and John Wayne. Not as funny as Cracked's photo funnies

p. 40 The Sportscaster w/ M.A. Conley, d/ Alan Weiss... athletic events TV broadcast parody tackling cheerleaders, half-time shows, and statistics

p. 43 What's Real w/d John Stearns... four gag strips featuring... oh, nothing

p. 44 Off the Record w/ Suzanne Douglass, d/ Stan Goldberg... Archie-styled two-pager taking on Top 40 radio programming

p. 47 Fetish Magazine w/ Marv Wolfman, d/ Bob Jenney... "the magazine for the sophisticated pervert" undresses correspondence course ads, fetish gear ads, letter columns, and the Olympics

p. 52 The Sentry w/d Stu Schwartzberg... ugly Americans get theirs

Ads: house ad p. 4, Ace Books p. 46
Extras: Stang credits p. 28 and 44... Stan Goldberg?

Marginalia: Go to work if you're too nervous to steal; Draft Gloria Steinem; The Lord is an Indian giver; Books are better than ever; Viet Nam is the national Edsel; Clark Kent is a transvestite; Support free enterprise -- support prostitution; If the rich could hire people to die for them, the poor could make a wonderful living; Instant cures for varicose veins -- long dresses; Be an Arab hero -- kidnap a child

Technofetishism VII
Work has declined to get me a new laptop to replace the hand-me-down I've been using for the last few years, and I'm currently stuck using another hand-me-down -- one that doesn't crash as frequently, granted, but one that also smelled like suntan lotion when I first got it. Suntan lotion?

To assuage my concerns about working on unstable hand-me-downs that are several years old -- I haven't had worked on a new computer since I started working at Fast Company, always hand-me-downs -- and preparing for that day in the far distant future when I may leave the magazine to go out on my own or do something else, I've decided to bite the bullet and get my own Titanium PowerBook G4.

With the help of a couple of friends and Media Dieticians, I decided not to go top of the line, but instead started at the bottom and upgraded a little. I ended up ordering:

667 MHz

512 MB SDRAM -- 2 SO DIMMs

40 GB hard drive

AirPort card

AirPort base station

Pretty jazzed. Now I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for warchalk marks.

Co-Op 'n' Roll
There's Handstand Command, the energetic yet disorganized music collective that the Anchormen are involved in, and then there's Initech, the rock 'n' roll cooperative recently profiled by the Boston Globe.

Comprising five local record labels, a marketing firm, and a booking agency, Initech shares office space, Net access, and office supplies -- arguably the first indie-rock incubator. While I'm really only familiar with Big Wheel Recreation's roster and operations (my friend Tom used to work there), I'm impressed by Initech's collaboration, concept, and shared services. A model worth exploring!

Party to Record Releases V
Squealer Music launched in 1992 in Blacksburg, Virginia, but not too long ago moved to Cambridge, where it now holds down the fort. Comprising a creative and progressive rock and jazz roster including Acid Mothers Temple, Gold Sparkle Band, the Major Stars, Spatula, and Tower Recordings, the label is one of the most consistently excellent labels I know of that got its start as a tape label. And their Squealer Music News emails, transmitted via the label's announcement list, are no exception. The June 28 edition features news on the Major Stars' new record, recent reviews, and tour; recent developments with Heathen Shame and Double Leopards; information about Acid Mother Temple's hiatus; and other material. The newsletter balances label-centric promotional information with in-depth review and description, as well as rosters of who the musicians in each project are and what they've been involved in previously.

Doctor, Steal Thyself III
As in "steal yourself to go to the doctor," not "Doctor, steal something!" this time. I just got back from the Massachusetts General Hospital's downtown office, where I had my first physical in, um, about seven years. Since going to college, I've not really had a doctor to call my own, and I might have found him. We did the whole nine yards: family history, pre-existing conditions, blood pressure (120/80), temperature, ear check, eye check, hearing check -- a cool test where he put a tuning fork against my forehead and behind my ear to see how my skull conducted sound (I'm a little worried about hearing because of all the shows I go to) -- turn and cough, and a blood test for diabetes and cholesterol.

Because it's been so long since I've gone to a doctor, I was slightly concerned that my slight nervousness would result in a racing pulse or problems while drawing blood, but no worries. In fact, the blood test was pretty cool. They have these little butterfly needles now that slide right in -- no puncture pressure, no pinching -- and it took no time at all to draw the vials of blood they needed for the tests. I walked back to the office with a bit of gauze and a Band-Aid on my vein and treated myself to a Mrs. Field's semisweet chocolate chip cookie and carton of skim milk on my way as a reward for a job well done.

Back on the healthcare track!

Among the Literati IX
Went to a reading last night at Wordsworth to see Sandra Tsing Loh, author of A Year in Van Nuys, and Dan Zevin, author of The Day I Turned Uncool: Confessions of a Reluctant Grown-Up. I sat a row ahead of a bunch of Dan's friends, and having just read the book the night before, I was really looking forward to his reading.

Loh read first. She and Levin are commentators for NPR, and it showed -- both were extremely comfortable reading. Of the two, Loh was more animated, gesturing wildly and modulating her volume and tone radically throughout the reading. At times, she was overly dramatic, but the snippet she shared from her new novel about life in Van Nuys might push me over the edge to pick up the book. It's kind of a take on Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence and tells the tale of a writer with writer's block stuck in a place she'd rather not be. Lots of funny tangents.

Then, Zevin. Before the reading, he distributed a questionnaire about the days people in the audience had felt most cool or uncool -- and he incorporated the crowd response at the end, giving a package of coyote urine -- a gardening aid -- to the person whose entry was the best. I don't have the book with me at work, but Zevin read two pieces: the one about lawn care and the one about his semester abroad. He stuck to the text for the most part but interjected with several clever asides and contextual tangents, even clarifying some of the neighborhood landmarks he'd included in the book -- and pointing out people in the audience who were in the book as characters, or who had had some impact on the writing (like the person who introduced him to the "zen" contractor).

Of the two, I felt like Zevin was more personable and sincere -- maybe it's an East Coast/West Coast thing. And, as always, I wish I hadn't read the book before the reading. It's always best to hear readings fresh. Otherwise, you've already read it, and you're listening for variations and deviations. Zevin's selective edits of the semester abroad piece were well chosen, and for the most part, the reading augmented my experience with the book. Kudos to both!

North End Moment XXII
In the elevator coming back from lunch after navigating my way past a couple of Gentle Giant movers struggling with a file cabinet:

Woman: I just got smashed by a giant!
Me: Not so gentle, are they?
Woman: No.

Mention Me! XIII
The Adventures of Soopa Pig recently added a link to Media Diet. Michael Lally says I'm "behind Fast Company magazine." Actually, I just watch its back.