Wednesday, September 24, 2003

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME!

I'm ditching this joint. Find me here:

http://blogumentary.typepad.com/

Enjoy fine posts, such as:
Blogs Save Lives
LOST IN TRANSLATION: Kill Bill
Bill O'Reilly vs. Terry Gross
Junior Senior live video at SXSW
Chuck Olsen Brings Blogumentary to Carleton Digital Arts Festival"

Did you know Blogumentary is an open source film? Yes, it's true. What the world needs now is an open source documentary so researchers, filmmakers, and bloggers can make their own use of the raw footage. By the way, this is not to be confused with the film about the open source movement, Revolution OS.

Tuesday, September 23, 2003

IT'S GOTTA BE ACTION PACT

Liberry Boy tipped me off to the fabulous new Sloan album Action Pact, for some reason only available in the U.S. as an import. So I give this MP3 to you, dear reader, as a public service. To whet your appetite. Mmmmm, chunky Canadian power pop. When your appetite is good and soggy, go get your own copy (Amazon has a few used copies left).

SLOAN: Gimme That (MP3, 2.4 MB)

If you enjoyed this download, you may want to buy this T-shirt. [ via Kristia ]

ADDENDUM: Check out the video for Rest of My Life. I love that song. Who wants to road trip to Vancouver?

Totally unrelated: Peaches records with Iggy Pop
BLOGUMENTARY GOES DOWN UNDER

Last night I had the pleasure of interviewing Australian filmmaker/blogger Matt Clayfield in the original cyberspace: the place between the phones. He taped himself with a borrowed Sony VX2000. Matt worries about the phone bill, but (a) it's sure cheaper than airfare to Australia, (b) it's tax deductible, and (c) worth every cent. I know he said something particularly brilliant, too, although I have no idea what it was now. Every once in awhile in an interview I'll hear words that make me tingle (no, not down there) because somehow they've boiled the essence of their experience down to a few short scintillating sentences. I know it sounds like sound-byte syndrome, but those are the bits that make a documentary snap-crackle-pop.

This marks the third long-distance Blogumentary production. Viva la Revolucion de 'open-source'!

Matt is involved in all sorts of collaborative filmmaking experiments. Besides filming himself for Blogumentary, he just started The Winter Bolero Project. Ten short films based in his town of Mount Gambier and its people. But there's a hitch. He will limit each film to a topic and aesthetic obstacles that we determine. So release your inner Lars von Trier and email Matt.

Further adventures in global collaborative filmmaking: The Continuity Project.

Monday, September 22, 2003

With autumn descends a sweet melancholy. All strawberries and gold. I want to fall into swirls of psychedelia.
GOOD TIMES WITH MY FRIENDS

Happy 32nd to our gal Maggie. We had a fine time at Azia, not to mention various asian-fusions and mango mojitos. I'm awfully busy so blogging will be light. And GreenCine just linked me, too. Sorry! I'll be back soon enough, with video clips even.

Besides relaunching our corporate site (why oh why did I say I'd have it done this month?) we're packin' up for the big move. Hard to believe we'll be in our new house in less than a week. Oh yeah, and sinus surgery on October 2 – I'll post CT scans of my brain very soon. They'd make a great album cover.

Friday, September 19, 2003

NEW-NO-NOW WAVE
I'm taking a break from Central Standard tonight, but wanted to make sure y'all mark your calendars for THE M-80 PROJECT on Wednesday, Oct 1. (Non-locals, watch for the DVD.) It's re-premiering at the stellar Sound Unseen festival (oh no, another bucket-o-heroin!). M-80 features some amazing stuff from a 1979 No Wave/New Wave concert at the Walker Art Center. You don't want to miss DEVO performing as "DOVE The Band of Love" with two killer songs performed by our hero Booji Boy. I'm tempted to be evil and post a clip, but don't want to spoil it.

Also: Minneapolis punk legends SUICIDE COMMANDOS performing "Complicated Fun" as heard in Target commercials. Speaking of, Complicated Fun (the blog) is supposed to interview my man Chris Strouth about the project. I'll be spending part of my weekend working with Christo on the opening and title graphics for the film, sortof a simpler b&w "24-Hour Party People" style. Not to be missed!

CHUCKUMENTARY UPDATE
Unfortunately I will miss much of Sound Unseen due to moving, sinus surgery, and preparing for an Oct. 8 Blogumentary screening down at Carleton College. Today I interviewed none other than Space Waitress, who was gracious enough to share thoughts about her recent depression before heading off to visit our favorite Iowa bloggers, Lane and Tina. Next week, a long-distance open-source interview with the infamous Matt Clayfield in Australia. Seems he got his hands on a Sony VX2000 – my camera of choice.
CENTRAL STANDARD: A MIXED BAG
Watching thursday night's films, I was simultaneously comforted by and disappointed with the low production value. "Oh, that's kinda crappy... but hey, I can do this!" It's a lot easier to get away with low production value in documentary because you're there to learn, not to see a sweeping panoramic crane shot bursting with technicolor. It's much more difficult all-around to make a convincing and enjoyable narrative film. You need good writing and believable actors, it needs to look nice and resolve somehow. That's a tall order, and Want left me wanting.

I applaud it's vision and creativity – it's loaded with culture-jamming fake ads and creepy sex addiction – but it left me feeling thoroughly icky and wondering what the point was. I can't argue with the Variety writeup though: "Imaginative on a smartly handled low budget." Writer/Director/Editor Michael Wohl was part of the original Final Cut Pro team and authors a book I own, Editing Techniques with Final Cut Pro which is is chock full of Want stills.

The Invisible Powers program was quite good, particulartly Subvertisers and Supermax Wisconsin. I think a much better film can be made on the culture jam movement, but until then Subvertisers will do just fine. To their credit, they don't restrict themselves to interviewing artists and activists. They talk to a Clear Channel exec who says, "Here's my phone, here's my email - nobody is calling me asking to use our billboards." He argues that culture jammers are vandals, and that Clear Channel donates a certain percentage of billboard space to nonprofit organizations. San Francisco's Billboard Liberation Front isn't buying it (heh). They say their billboard liberations are easily removable, and they leave a bottle of scotch for the Clear Channel workers who remove them. I'm not 100% with the culture jammers, but I think we need their voice. We need to question the corporate advertising and media assault we are numbed to everyday. We need antidotes.

Supermax Wisconsin, apparently produced by a bunch of UW-Madison students, looks at the evils of high-security solitary confinement and the prison system in general. At first I was unsympathetic to the film's cause: so they put some prisoners in a white room with a toilet and a concrete bed. It's prison fer chrissake! I was more compelled by the deeper problems with the prison system in general - the prison business, politicans' cheap "tough on crime" stances, the culture of punishment vs. rehabilitation. Nevertheless, it was very skewed and presented no hard evidence or opposing viewpoints. Technically well-produced, and certainly worth a look if it comes to your town.

Thursday, September 18, 2003

THIS LAND WAS MADE FOR DOCUMENTARY
My God. The mind boggles as my eyes pour over the Central Standard Film Festival schedule. It's like giving a big bucket of heroin to a junkie for 4 days. Sure you'll have a good time, but there's just so much! You don't want to waste it, but honey if you do all that smack you'll kill yourself. So put down that needle and let's get started, shall we?

THURSDAY
Shit shit shit. This is a small town, everybody knows everybody and it's our fun supportive scene. As luck would have it, I know five people with films screening on the same night. It's also the only night Jesus Freak is playing, but here's my juggling plan:

Invisible Powers Shorts Program – 3 docs all about sticking it to the man. Yo, I'm all about sticking it to the man. In particular, "Subvertisers" which is about culture jammers. After that I'm very torn. I think I'll stick around to chat with the MNTV shorts filmmakers, including my friend Emily Goldberg who has a teensy preview of her doc "Venus of Mars" about Venus, the transgender singer of All the Pretty Horses. Luckily I'll get to see all this stuff because my TV station airs it. So I'm making a beeline to see Want - "A tale of Dot Com Mania and Sex Addiction" only screening once. How can I not see that?

All the rest of you: See Make 'Em Dance: The Hackberry Ramblers Story. I saw a work-in-progress screening of "Make 'Em Dance" and it's stellar. Would you believe the Ramblers have been kickin' it for seventy years? John Whitehead is one of my documentary gurus and inspirados, and he's really hit his stride with this one. Also screening with "Polka Time." Get this: our mortgage banker was Cinematographer on "Polka Time." That's how small this town is.

That's quite enough for one night. Of course you should see Whole and Detective Fiction, but they have plenty more screenings. Stay Tuned.

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE BLOGOSPHERE
I have not been tending my link garden, and I apologize. Not that you care, that's what Fimoculous is for right? Tony Pierce never fails to kick my ass, and I'm grateful every time. Jeff Jarvis is full of news... like Gawker's Elizabeth Spears heading to a real magazine, and some healthy ruffled feathers for OJR's Mark Glaser and the Online News Association.

Now for this message: blog.art

More than anything, don't forget to keep up with Ratchet Up. I had forgotten myself, but a couple phone conversations with John Schott today reminded me to pay a visit, and oh what treasures! Cody Brown posts about Georgia Tech's Game Morphology Project, which is looking at the "game canon" including video games. Then there's the magical device which projects moving images into thin air. These are Top Secret Grade-A Prime links my friends. You listening Rex?

Please read Star Tribune editorial on Dick Cheney's bald-faced lies on Meet the Press. Via DNC: Kicking Ass

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

BLOGUMENTARY IS OPEN-SOURCE MEDIA
I can't wait to see footage of the TypePad gurus graciously taped by Liza in NYC for Blogumentary and the world.

Hey you camera-totin' Blogumentary fans: You too can be an official Blogumentary correspondent! For example, say you're a budding Australian filmmaker heading off to film school and blogging about it. Or, you're pissed off about George Bush and blogging about it. If you have access to a video camera, turn it on and say who you are and what you're blogging about, and why. Don't think too much, just go with it. Join the Blogumentary open-source media revolution. Email me if you want to know more.
CONJURER OF BEWILDERMENT!


Last night I got a sneak preview of a documentary called "Night Gamers." It's about this group of college kids that dress up and role play as vampires. In a Masonic Temple. That last bit is actually a secret. It seems the head gamer's dad is a Mason who let them gather in the Mason lodge, but didn't know what the hell they were doing until he saw the documentary footage. For some reason he didn't want to associate the Masons with pretentious geeked out college kids in vampire suits drinking Hi-C blood and pretending to decapitate each other. Yeah, I wouldn't want to associate with them either.

Monday, September 15, 2003

WHICH ONE DOESN'T BELONG?

I suppose you want to know a little more information. Very well. Photo #1 is a bowling ball sculpture, one of hundreds on view at Allen Christian's House of Balls. Photo #2 is Rob Graber of legendary Minneapolis rock machine Arcwelder. Next up, well that there is none other than supermodel and Minnesota small-town girl Cheryl Tiegs. Last but not least, transgender goth-metal posterchild Venus of All the Pretty Horses.

So there you go. Have an answer yet? *BZZZZZT* Wrong! The question is trickery! Each of these images belongs quite perfectly to my Saturday night. Please, allow me to explain.

My documentary jedi friend Emily invited me to a soirée at the divinely inspiring wonderland that is the House of Balls. I barely got through the door before I was ferried into conversation about the eyeballs glued to the toilet seat and the evils of television. Emily was next to us, chatting with a handsome guy and a tall blonde woman. When the tall blonde looked at me, I thought... "Hmm. She's probably a dude." This was an especially good possibility, because All the Pretty Horses were playing downstairs and you couldn't safely bet on the sexual orientation or gender of anyone in this crowd. Did I mention there were scary children dressed as clowns?

Long story short: The couple turned out to be Cheryl Tiegs and Dan Buettner (Bio). Here's a pic. I bet Buettner never expected to find himself in the gossip pages, or this blog for that matter. So that's the story of The Time Chuck Thought Cheryl Tiegs Was A Dude.

My companions (Lori and high school chum Andy) and I then hopped over to the 7th Street Entry and pretended to be young again. I don't know if the rumors of First Avenue closing will come to be, but we all have many fond memories of the place. Andy and I drank and moshed our asses off to the Arcwelder boys and their piston-pumpin' motordriven goodtime sound. They finished us off with The Clash's Spanish Bombs. Fuck yeah. Meanwhile, Lori had an old score to settle with the First Avenue dance floor. Lori dancing is a whirling dervish; a fearless mystical blur. So you see, it was 1993 all over again. Except today we're sore as hell. Welcome back to 2003.

Friday, September 12, 2003

IT'S A SAD DAY IN TENNESSEE, BUT A GREAT DAY IN HEAVEN


Rest in peace, Johnny. As I said over on Space Waitress, Johnny's death is definitely hitting me. Partly because I have a strong connection to my mom through our mutual love of Johnny Cash. I was choked up on the way to work listening to a retrospective on MPR.

I was lucky enough to see him a couple of times, once with June Carter Cash and friends. Actually the Jayhawks opened for one of those shows. My mom was luckiest of all though: after Johnny did a railroad song with two harmonicas, he tossed one to my mom with a wink. I actually like to think he threw it at her, because she kept requesting a song. Later she tried to get him out of the tour bus.
I'll have to get the full story and post some pictures here. Mom and I have sortof joint ownership of her old Bitter Tears: Ballads of the American Indian album. Johnny was sticking up for people of this country who get shit on long before it was fashionable or could make you any money.

Watch Johnny Cash's "Hurt" video
SEPTEMBER 12
is Matt's Birthday. Have a good one mate.

Thursday, September 11, 2003

WHERE'S OSAMA? IN WILD TRIBAL LANDS
Very interesting article, and a sticky situation: Closing In: Hunt for Osama bin Laden Narrowed to Hostile, Rugged Region of Pakistan

"If you've drawn off many if not all of your Arabic language resources and sent them off to Iraq you're shorthanded in terms of dealing with intelligence collection problem of fixing bin Laden's location," said [Former CIA counter-terrorism chief] Cannistraro. "So there are fewer resources to deal with in trying to basically find and capture, the principal leader of a terrorist organization that's killing Americans."

MOLLY IVINS AIN'T GONNA TAKE IT ANYMORE
Molly says: "Anybody who opposed this war in the first place was accused of lack of patriotism, and now anybody who points out that it's not going well is guilty of defeatism. If you raise your hand and ask where the weapons of mass destruction are, you're instructed to just Get Over It.

Well, I ain't gonna take it anymore. I am not shutting up for Bill O'Reilly or anyone else."
REMEMBERING
I barely even noticed today is 9/11. I thought since I'd already paid my respects that it was out of my system. Then I went to Jeff Jarvis' blog and I'm reminded once again of the gravity of this day:

: It's the children's voices that make this so much harder.
At the World Trade Center, the month, the day, and the minute come, and their voices cut through the sounds of the city. They sing our anthem: clear and strong and beautiful; that was hard enough. And then they start reading the names, the names that will continue for hours. It takes so long to read the names. It took so little time to kill the people. And then one of the children reads a name and says that this was her father's name. And she adds, "I love you, Daddy, we miss you a lot." God, I can't see how these children have the courage to do this.

I'm standing on the street crying as I have not been able to in two years. I'm not alone.

The street is crowded with people who have come to mourn and pay their tributes. They're crying, too.

Life continues. It is changed forever, but it certainly continues.
NEWS BIAS: ABC SWINGS LEFT, CBS SWINGS RIGHT
Is Dan Rather a super patriot and Peter Jennings a near subversive? Read all about it: Keeping tabs on tilt of TV war coverage. Peter Jennings says he's playing it right down the middle.

I think the most telling statement comes from a news analyst who says there were few dramatic differences on war coverage that was largely driven by the reporters embedded with troops in the region. "Looking for the ideological nuances in the coverage to me is a mistake," he says. "The war was being treated as a technical military story and a human interest story. The question of policy was absent."

HOWARD STERN IS NEWS?
After trying to sound smart in this thread about what is and isn't news, along comes a story like this to goof it all up: FCC Rules 'Howard Stern' Meets Standard Of a News Show. God help us all.

GOSSIPY CHIT-CHAT
Sharon Bush to write tell-all on the Bush clan, Christina Aguilera wants more Madonna smooch-time, and – for the record, Jesse Ventura's show is not cancelled.

AND THE LEFTOVERS
Opus returns to comics! Apparently he's deeply embarassed about his 10-year absence. Talking Points Memo takes Rummy to task on his latest bullshit. Blogger Pro becomes free and rightly so, since TypePad is way better if you're willing to pay a few bucks. Speaking of bucks, peachy new $20 bills are on the way. Remember to Boycott RIAA.

Wednesday, September 10, 2003

PIXIES REUNION!
Holy spooge.

THE TROTTS MEET HOWARD DEAN
Lucky blog superstars. Rob Reiner, too. Ernie met Junior Senior. Damn, theyz some fresh bloggaz in da hizzouse. When do I get to meet famous people? Wait, I've met Ernie and the Trotts so maybe their starpower will rub off.

BETTER THAN DRUGS (OR BETTER ON DRUGS?)
You can buy a Jeremy Blake digital print on eBay for $6000. I'd just assume watch his magical colors in Punch Drunk Love. Makes me want to take a trip to the Coral Castle for some reason.
AL FRANKEN ON THE DAILY SHOW
Continuing on his 'victory lap' after the Fox News lawsuit, Minnesota native son Al Franken of course had to ease into the Daily Show chair. They not only talked about lying liars, but about the liberal media. Or as John Stewart calls it, "the myth that will not die."

Al Franken on Daily Show (Quicktime, 6.3 MB)
Al Franken on Daily Show (Windows Media, 5.1 MB)

(Note this is only Part 1 of his visit. It's late and my hard drive is hiccupping.)

For hot debate on Franken's book and the left-vs-right media, visit this Space Waitress thread.

For more on the Bush Adminstration's lies and how they led to the current mess, read Krugman's latest.

Tuesday, September 09, 2003

BUG! THE BIG URBAN GAME
Sharyn has pics of the giant inflatable game instigated by the U of MN Design Institute.
AUSTRALIAN RADIO INTERVIEW WITH SALAM PAX
Here in RealAudio, cued to the interview.
Thanks to Australian Blogumentary Bureau Chief Matt at Esoteric Rabbit.

'I became the profane pervert Arab blogger' from Guardian UK
INSTEAD OF SLEEPING
Crap. I say 'crap' a lot. Must. Sleep. Too. Many. Good. Links. I'm certain my blog owns more than 44% of me.
Gay Bar... a puppy with wings. Can't stop laughing. Librarian Action Figure. Tiberias "LoveFury" is falling in love with a librarian. In non-librarian news, we've been, like, totally watching Square Pegs reruns. I'm waiting for the episode where DEVO performs "That's Good" at their school. In one episode, they pass a note around that says to hum at 10:42 am. At 10:42 am, all the freshman in the school are humming. I thought: "Huh. The original flash mob."
THE NEW PATRIOTISM
Is it patriotic to define patriotism the old-fashioned way—as a kind of narrow nationalism? That jingoistic definition is carrying a price for the president, who must now go on bended knee to allies he so recently scorned. From Newsweek article: Time for a New Patriotism?

For the record, I was dropping the new patriotism back in January:

I think it's our job to draw attention to the wrongs of America, and want to fix it. Because we want America to be good, and we CAN imagine better ways. More than that, we want humanity and our planet and our souls to be good. In my mind, this is "the new patriotism" - we need to redefine patriotism to be a good thing, to see all sides and simply want to make this a better place.

Okay, I guess I wasn't the first to coin 'new patriotism': New Patriostism Project

Monday, September 08, 2003

BUSH'S COSTLY WAR
In 15 minutes, he attempted to make up for 15 months of misleading the American people and 15 weeks of mismanaging the reconstruction. — Howard Dean responding to President Bush's address to the nation, via CNN [ via eclecticism ]

Gotta love that Dean quote. However I didn't find the Bush speech "nothing short of outrageous" as Dean did. At least he's finally edging toward international involvement in Iraq. As for the $87 billion – can't Haliburton pay for that? Ba-dum-bum-Tssss! In all seriousness, though I opposed everything leading up to this Iraq mess, we can't stop short. I'm personally willing to sacrifice a few bucks for Iraq's reconstruction. Especially if there's a clear plan and the ridiculous tax cuts are repealed. Should I hold my breath?

RUMMAGING THROUGH MY FILTHY PAST
We've got less than 3 weeks until we move, and this time we're purging all the crap we don't need. Okay, some of the crap. It took me two hours to get through one box of stuff tonight, because it was full of treasures such as these:

EXHIBIT A: RONALD REAGAN HUSTLER MAGAZINE AD, 1985


EXHIBIT B: "FART KNOCKERZ" COMIC, DATE UNKNOWN


I'm terribly, terribly sorry to share this with you. Please send your comments and complaints to the address on Page 3 of the "Chuck's Blogumentary: Required Safety Regulations" informational junket you received with your membership card.

Sunday, September 07, 2003

MUSIC BIZ PRETENDS TO BE MORAL
As I mentioned over on Yahoogle, the music biz is getting desparate:

The recording industry, struggling to curb music piracy, is shining the spotlight on another demon lurking on the Internet: pornography. "As a guy in the record industry and as a parent, I am shocked that these services are being used to lure children to stuff that is really ugly," said Andrew Lack, the chief executive of Sony Music Entertainment.

Shocked, I tell you, just shocked! If they really want to crack down on kiddie porn, might I suggest they begin with Britney Spears? Here's the best part:

A study in March by the General Accounting Office found that KaZaA would be effective for someone looking for child pornography. The agency searched for 12 terms associated with child pornography, such as "incest" and "underage." It did not actually download the files it found, but it determined that 42 percent of them had titles or descriptions associated with pornographic images of children.

As Hit & Run points out, those naughty underage files probably featured a 40 year-old in pigtails. Hot teen, riiiiiiight. This is another desparate maneuver by a desparate industry. Lowering cd prices is a step in the right direction, but it's only a matter of time before downloading music will be the primary form of distribution.

Friday, September 05, 2003

MEET THE CUTIE PIE DOT.MOGULS
Attention East Coast blogosphere: Someone please bring a video camera to Ben and Mena Trott's Madison Park meetup. My superpower was supposed to be the ability to videotape Ben and Mena at will, around the world, with a snap of my toes. There must have been a mixup, because when I snap my toes my pants just fall down. That's why I need you, East Coast Bloggers, to reprazent Blogumentary. Don't be shy! They don't bite, unless they're drunk.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANIL DASH. I am forever your blog whore. Whatever that means.
BLOGS AS THE NEW ALT-MEDIA
Emerging Alternatives: Blogworld by Matt Welch. This is probably one of the best articles on the history and significance of blogs ever written. I hereby nominate this article for a Bloggy. Damn, I really need to get Blogumentary to the West coast.

HOLY BJÖRKÅS, IKEA NAMES MEAN SOMETHING
Apparently IKEA product names have a method to their umlauts. Garden furniture? Named after Swedish islands. Bathroom items are named after Scandinavian waters. Play the IKEA game. If I was a Swedish rapper my name would be "FartyG".

OLSEN TWINS TOOTHPASTE...MMM
First Kids Toothpaste Featuring Live Celebrities. Mmm, like spreading live Olsen Twins on my teeth. My question: Why don't they market this as personal lubricant? Ahhhhhgh, it burns! [ via PR Bop ]

INCREDIBLE BURNING MAN PHOTOS
From this year. We gotta go next year. And by 'we' I mean like you there. I want to see you naked, I don't care what the neighbors say.

Thursday, September 04, 2003

"THIS PRESIDENT IS A MISERABLE FAILURE!"
Dick Gephardt just said this three times to great applause. I giggled like a little girl. Tonight a lot of pent-up frustration is going to blow in Bush's face on national television. I wish Bush had a webcam so I could see his reaction.

Now Dean is laying out – one by one – Bush's lies to the American public, the smoke cloud surrounding this unjust war. These are the conversations we've been having on blogs and breakfast tables for so long. Hot damn is it gratifying to hear these words from nearly all of the Democratic candidates, beaming into millions of ill-informed suburban living rooms. Say it with confidence: Bush is a lying self-righteous bastard!

Carol Moseley-Braun is now kickin' it on the wage gap between men and women in this country. Swing out sister. I didn't know much about her before this debate, and I'm impressed.

Edwards: "The only Spanish the President speaks when talking jobs is Hasta la Vista." Okay, a cheap line but I had to laugh. That Edwards, he's a hayndsome southern mayn.

Everytime Lieberman speaks I cringe. Even more so when he tries to speak Spanish. It's painfully clear in this group how conservative he is. "The Bush recession would be followed by the Dean depression." Boo! The first Dean barb of the evening. Sorry Joe, you're out of the running.

Listen to the Complete Debate in RealAudio:
Part I: Gov. Bill Richardson, Debate Rules, Introductions
Part II: Iraq and the War on Terror
Part III: The U.S. Economy, Trade and Employment
Part IV: Health Care
Part V
: Immigration and Migrant Workers


CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE
Check out this entertaining transcript from CNN's Crossfire. A couple of excerpts:

By now, the many Bush falsehoods on Iraq are familiar: Saddam Hussein posed an imminent threat to America. Nuclear weapons programs existed. Chemical and biological weapons could be sprayed on America by unmanned aircraft. And there were links to al Qaeda. But today's "Washington Times" reveals a new Bush whopper. According to a secret Pentagon document, Mr. Bush actually approved the Iraq war plan weeks before Congress authorized force and eight months before the first bomb fell, all while he was telling us that war was -- quote -- "his last option" -- unquote. It turns out war was Mr. Bush's first option, his only option, and telling the truth was his last option.

Inexplicably, it ends with a little interview with Britney Spears. About kissing Madonna of course, but we're also illuminated by her political views:

SPEARS: Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.

Tee-hee! I wish the president was my daddy. I like doing whatever daddy says! Also, my brain is full of little poopies!
DEMOCRATIC DEBATE TONIGHT
Nine candidates. A pit of snakes. Only one will survive. Tonight on PBS. (Locals catch it on TPT-17 at 8PM)

We went to our first Dean Meetup last night. Twas fun and energizing to be part of the movement. I'll post a few lame pics and boring vidclips later.

Oh, and welcome back Liberry Blooze 2.0!

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

SHARE YOUR VOICE ABOUT 9/11
Prompted by the media's minimal coverage of Sept. 11's second anniversary, Michele of A Small Victory offers Voices: Stories from 9/11 and Beyond. I don't think we need to wallow in grief, which was much more tempting last year. Nor should we brush it under the rug, either. I chose to go back in time and share my experience of that day, already foggy and probably inaccurate. I don't think I'll be watching the planes crash into the towers over and over this year, though. Hopefully.

I'd rather think about things like -- are we safer now? As much as I disagree with the way Bush's War on Terror has been conducted and misdirected, Michele points out that there have been no terrorist attacks on American soil since that day. Thank goodness for that. But "American soil" isn't something that particularly resonates with me. Soil isn't nationalistic; soil is of the Earth. Soil brings us life and soil is what we return to. Have I been hanging out with Swami Da Prem too much?
WHY DEAN AND FRANKEN ARE SO HOT RIGHT NOW
Salon premium article that I give you for free: After years of being kicked in the teeth by GOP bullies, Democrats have finally found two brawlers who know how to give it back. By the way, to get Salon Premium's "free day pass" I had to watch a webmercial for the upcoming film thirteen. Go grok their web site so we don't break the web economy.

GET RID OF YOUR SHIT, MAN
I should follow Zeldman's lead. All those LPs, VHS tapes, dusty old music equipment – gone. I'm trying. I got rid of one box of albums, sold my laserdisc player (to Doc Chameleon) and my Ovation acoustic. But now we'll have a house. And a basement. Where men can play records, drink Jameson, and be mellow.

MY MIND IS EXPANDING AND CONTRACTING
From watching this thing. It keeps moving, but it's not going anywhere. Aiiiighhhh, I explode! Must relax. Mmmm. Ahhh, that's better. These are digital artworxxx from Whitey Biennial 2002 curated by Miltos Manetas, whose site tweaked the real Whitney Biennial.

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

VINNIE DOES DULUTH
This is my favourite song for to-day: "Come to Duluth (If You Want To Be An Alcoholic)" (MP3) by the legendary Vinnie & the Stardusters. When the hell did they get good production value? That's so not punk rock. [ via Perfect Duluth Day, natch ]

I FEEL LIKE I MIGHT SAY 'HEY HEY' AND I WAS THINKING ABOUT A ROBOT
Brooklyn kindergarten teacher Sarah Allen gets her class to voice their opinions about the Strokes, Pernice Brothers, Jonathan Richman, Air Miami, and more: Part 1 | Part 2 [ via Pete Scholtes & the gang ]

By the way, some of us are going to a Dean Meetup Wednesday at the downtown Minneapolis Spaghetti Factory at 7PM. Cuz it's National Dean in 2004 Day!
PREZ CAMPAIGN SEASON KICKS OFF
The Dems are cranking up the volume now. Who can take Bush? Who can alleviate the 9 million jobless and clean up Iraq? That's a tall order. Dean is my man on the domestic front, but Kerry's military experience will appeal to voters seeking both economic and national security. On a day that saw Bush donning a union cap, let's be glad Dean didn't pull a Dukakis. He should promote his foreign policy vision and maybe pair up with General Clark. Bush is vulnerable and Dean can take him.

Join the Dean campaign.

AND ANOTHER THING...

  • Sen. John Mccain: The administration should level with the American people about the cost and commitment required to transform Iraq.

  • Walter Cronkite's Ten propositions for the Democrats and some idiotarian responses.

  • Lessee here.... heavy Cartoon Network watcher, into video games, skooters and Hello Kitty... yup, I'm a rejuvenile.

  • Trying to stay current on digital culture, I picked up the first english edition of Neural Magazine. It's quite good, though I wish it covered video/film as much as experimental music. Here's something you'll dig: 'fluID, arena of identities' is a videogame project where the goal is to find / destroy one's own identity by stealing, borrowing or exchanging it with another player.

  • My referrer logs often turn up blogs much better than mine. Hello to Pleasant Blogger.
  • Monday, September 01, 2003

    QUEEN FOR A DAY?
    Queer Guy that didn't make the cut: NBC had dreamed up some new concept about the Culture Guy that I didn't fit. I assumed it had more to do with my age than my race.

    LOSE THAT BLOG FAT
    Online journals provide dieters with anonymous support and encouragement in their ongoing battles to lose weight. For the record, I stayed on the Atkins diet until I lost 658 pounds. Once I got down to 7 lbs I said, "Enough is enough." Now I'm loosely low-carb and maintaining the same weight. But I'm still a lazy bastard.

    BLOGS ARE SO MAINSTREAM, MAN
    Internet giants catch on to blogs. Matt Haughey sez: I'm hopeful that it's a good thing that every Tom, Dick and Harry has a blog. Me, too.

    BEN AND MENA TROTT APPEARING ON CNN!
    This CNN article sez: Six Apart founders Ben and Mena Trott will be discussing their new product on CNN Headline News on Wednesday, September 3. Anybody have more details?