mark.
Monday, December 29, 2008
of Montreal's Kevin Barnes is not only a genius songwriter and totally hot, but also a savvy businessman.
Kevin Barnes from of Montreal, who happen to have recorded one of our favorite albums and played two of our favorite shows this year, wrote this piece for Stereogum back in November, in response to all the shit his band got for Outback Steakhouse and T-moblie's use of their music. I once read an interview with him where he said, replying simply to a question about "selling out" to Outback, "it's very hard for artists to make money." This essay, which is stunning it's brilliance and it's perspective, expands thoroughly and thoughtfully on that statement. Everyone should read this.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Welcome John Holdren
Friday, December 12, 2008
Re-emerging, and OFFICIAL endorsement.
So, we'll be back up and running with some posts on here in the next couple of weeks. We'll be regular if you will. Some exciting things--posts on the year in music, including our lists of favorites; same for movies; concert updates and reviews; some political whatnot if we get the bug; and also notices and accounts of some of the events in which we will be participating. So stay tuned, and be vocal.
But first!
We are officially endorsing Barack Obama for President of the United States of America. We've written about this singular candidate in these annals before, as an exemplary politician of the highest caliber. In weighing the issues, we've found that his vision of leadership for this country is most in line with the direction we'd like to see it go. It may be considered "bold" for us to endorse a one-term junior Senator, who happens to not be white, from one of the more "troubled" political machines in the U.S. But we think he's got a certain something that would do a little good for the people of America. And you gotta admit, if (a big if) this guy pulls it off, it might be kinda historic. Therefore, he has our support.
Barack. Obama. Remember the name. You'll probably be hearing a lot about this guy.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Economics
The economy, and economics in general: not my strong suit. My comprehension of the Wall Street catastrophe lies somewhere between shock/dismay and "uh, what now?" But one would have to be blind to not see that there is something desperately out of place in our economy. And I at least have to touch on this crisis here because it fits so well with one of the mantras of our li'l blog: No Model.
It is clear that economic model of today is broken. Imminent demise had been clear for months. The bubble had been pressurized since last year and everyone said it was only a matter of time. When the government officially intervened with Fannie/Freddie at the beginning of this month, it was the firing of the signal guns. And now this. Point is, we saw it coming. And, like so many others, the Economy is one arena where all bets are off. I can see (despite sickening debt, loss of so many jobs, and fiscal desperation) nothing but good coming of this. We are living in the most exciting time that has ever been, and we have the opportunity for complete and utter overhaul. I'll take the Al Gore approach and say that we are privileged to have the opportunity to reconsider everything. Tear it up and start again. Um, do it right. Or at least do it with the greatest of our consideration. It's to some extent a shame that we have to wait till things completely fall apart before we take notice. Sure, there wasn't much we could do to keep this from happening once the ball was set in motion. And it would be foolish to expect a logical working model when we have John McCain as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. But those of us who care, those of us who are set to take over, should consider it a blessing to have the terribly disjointed models of the past razed to their foundations.
...
One more thing.
We have seen our presidential candidates react to the situation in such extremely different ways. McCain's gut reaction was to either stay calm or remain unaffected and make the unbelievable bogus claim that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" (what!?). When called out for how ridiculous a statement like this is, he got angry! Well, he at least communicated his newfound populism with anger! Not quite sure he knows the difference between the two. He threw the word crisis into every phrase he could. He became Howard Beale, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" But the extent of his anger! went to calling for a "new 9/11 commission" (again, what!?) to assess the situation. Can we spell out-of-touch?
Obama, while not giving the most sound solution, did what he does best. He remained calm, confronted the situation head-on and laid out a clear, reasoned approach solving the problem. While McCain released ads blaming the Democrats and Got Populist on our asses, Obama released a two minute ad, one shot, sitting in a chair all presidential-like, and laying out, clearly if not superficially, what he sees to be the problems and how to tackle them. He then implored everyone to read his economic plan. McCain still doesn't have one of those.
The WALL STREET MASSACRE (as the Metro headline read) provided us with a clear example of how each of these candidates would govern. One was sensible and one made no sense. One was articulate and one was ridiculous. And yet, I still keep hearing these three words that send shivers down my spine: Statistical. Dead. Heat.
mark.
It is clear that economic model of today is broken. Imminent demise had been clear for months. The bubble had been pressurized since last year and everyone said it was only a matter of time. When the government officially intervened with Fannie/Freddie at the beginning of this month, it was the firing of the signal guns. And now this. Point is, we saw it coming. And, like so many others, the Economy is one arena where all bets are off. I can see (despite sickening debt, loss of so many jobs, and fiscal desperation) nothing but good coming of this. We are living in the most exciting time that has ever been, and we have the opportunity for complete and utter overhaul. I'll take the Al Gore approach and say that we are privileged to have the opportunity to reconsider everything. Tear it up and start again. Um, do it right. Or at least do it with the greatest of our consideration. It's to some extent a shame that we have to wait till things completely fall apart before we take notice. Sure, there wasn't much we could do to keep this from happening once the ball was set in motion. And it would be foolish to expect a logical working model when we have John McCain as the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. But those of us who care, those of us who are set to take over, should consider it a blessing to have the terribly disjointed models of the past razed to their foundations.
...
One more thing.
We have seen our presidential candidates react to the situation in such extremely different ways. McCain's gut reaction was to either stay calm or remain unaffected and make the unbelievable bogus claim that "the fundamentals of our economy are strong" (what!?). When called out for how ridiculous a statement like this is, he got angry! Well, he at least communicated his newfound populism with anger! Not quite sure he knows the difference between the two. He threw the word crisis into every phrase he could. He became Howard Beale, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" But the extent of his anger! went to calling for a "new 9/11 commission" (again, what!?) to assess the situation. Can we spell out-of-touch?
Obama, while not giving the most sound solution, did what he does best. He remained calm, confronted the situation head-on and laid out a clear, reasoned approach solving the problem. While McCain released ads blaming the Democrats and Got Populist on our asses, Obama released a two minute ad, one shot, sitting in a chair all presidential-like, and laying out, clearly if not superficially, what he sees to be the problems and how to tackle them. He then implored everyone to read his economic plan. McCain still doesn't have one of those.
The WALL STREET MASSACRE (as the Metro headline read) provided us with a clear example of how each of these candidates would govern. One was sensible and one made no sense. One was articulate and one was ridiculous. And yet, I still keep hearing these three words that send shivers down my spine: Statistical. Dead. Heat.
mark.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Why Do People Call Themselves Artists?
At a bar in Williamsburg, disturbed at a conversation happening next to me. So. I thought I'd take this moment to pose a question: Why would one person call themselves an artist? It's something that's made me sqeamish for a long time. I dunno...
Posted with LifeCast
Posted with LifeCast
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
No More!
The Palin v. Feminism debate is everywhere today. But I am now bowing out. No more for me. I feel I've no more breath about it. My biggest reason is a shift in focus. My energy and breath will be better used not talking about the bottom of the ticket I do not support, but advocating for the top of the one I do. The goal is to get Obama elected. So that's that.
Vote in the locals today!
mark.
Posted with LifeCast
Vote in the locals today!
mark.
Posted with LifeCast
Monday, September 8, 2008
Okay, Not!
So just found another article on feminism in the political arena in today's San Francisco Chronicle. "A Feminist Argument for McCain's VP" by self-described "pro-choice feminist" and FoxNews contributor (yep) Tammy Bruce, is essentially propaganda for the GOP to appeal to disaffected female Clinton supporters (after two weeks, they've realized it isn't working and need some media help) who should be totally in the bag for McCain because his VP pick shares their lady parts. I think I can speak for a lot of folks when I say "ARRRGGH!" So infuriating. Of the many ridiculous things she tries to pass off as intelligent decision-making, she says,
For Democrats, she offers...a chance to vote for a someone who is her own woman and who represents a party that, while we don't agree on all the issues at least respects women enough to take them seriously.
What a laugh! With this sentiment, and the countless obligatory references to the "glass ceiling", she tried to justify the candidacy of a woman who is either a) being used BECAUSE she is a woman or b) so self-interested that she ignores, or herself uses, feminism itself. ARRRGGH! Palin's own obligatory glass ceiling references, if empty, on the day her candidacy was announced tells me she's completely implicit. The simple fact that, prior to Palin's nomination, the two most visible women in the party were the wifeys Laura Bush and Cindy McCain should tell us just how seriously the GOP takes women.
Posted with LifeCast
For Democrats, she offers...a chance to vote for a someone who is her own woman and who represents a party that, while we don't agree on all the issues at least respects women enough to take them seriously.
What a laugh! With this sentiment, and the countless obligatory references to the "glass ceiling", she tried to justify the candidacy of a woman who is either a) being used BECAUSE she is a woman or b) so self-interested that she ignores, or herself uses, feminism itself. ARRRGGH! Palin's own obligatory glass ceiling references, if empty, on the day her candidacy was announced tells me she's completely implicit. The simple fact that, prior to Palin's nomination, the two most visible women in the party were the wifeys Laura Bush and Cindy McCain should tell us just how seriously the GOP takes women.
Posted with LifeCast
Feminism And Not...
There's an article by Michelle Cottle on The New Republic's website today called "A Bad Year For Feminism". You should read it. So should everyone else. It's a beautifully articulated, passionate and thorough (damn funny, too) account of the political state of feminism and the steps backward we've taken in the past 8 months, from Hillary's demise to Palin's rise. Time keeps me from going in depth, but this passage pretty much sums it up.
There's a little scorn there, yes. And rightly so. Things are gross. Frank Rich touched on it this weekend in his Times op-ed. Listen to this.
Yeah. All for now. Read that article, please. You'll be glad you did.
mark.
Posted with LifeCast
Feminism seems no longer to denote a particular set of values or idealogical agenda; it is merely a label appropriated to proclaim that one is committed to the best interests if women--whatever one believes those to be.
There's a little scorn there, yes. And rightly so. Things are gross. Frank Rich touched on it this weekend in his Times op-ed. Listen to this.
We still don't know a lot about Palin except that she's better at delivering a speech than McCain and that she defends her own pregnant daughter's right to privacy even as she would have the government intrude to police the reproductive choices of all other women.
Yeah. All for now. Read that article, please. You'll be glad you did.
mark.
Posted with LifeCast
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Notes On A Convention
Taking a break for a minute while canvassing the L.E.S. to vote in Tuesday's local Primary and I'd like to write a few things about the R.N.C. fiasco we witnessed last week.
It seems as though the Republicans are trying to run on a platform that Obama has been championing for months. Nay, years. HRC tried the same heist and to no avail. While McCain hounds Obama's lack of experience, he strangely and stupidly runs on the one platform he is unarguably less qualified to run on: change. Doesn't fly. This is not to be confused with, though it is linked to, McCain's "maverick" image. Which, to me, means he lacks a governing philosophy.
Also, it absolutely freaked me out how bonkers the Republicans went anytime the words "drill" or "oil" were uttered (or howled, as it were). Whenever Palin or McCain said, "let's drill it!" (which was a lot) the whole convention hall erupted. More so that when anyone said something snide or nasty about Obama or Biden (also a lot). And way more so than during McCain's sad and difficult attempt to rally the crowd with "fight! Fight with me!" It was as though the Republicans were oil fetishists, able to get their jollies publicly for four days. And that's gross. And by "it was as though..." I mean "it is a fact that..."
All for now. We're tropical stormin' here.
mark.
Posted with LifeCast
It seems as though the Republicans are trying to run on a platform that Obama has been championing for months. Nay, years. HRC tried the same heist and to no avail. While McCain hounds Obama's lack of experience, he strangely and stupidly runs on the one platform he is unarguably less qualified to run on: change. Doesn't fly. This is not to be confused with, though it is linked to, McCain's "maverick" image. Which, to me, means he lacks a governing philosophy.
Also, it absolutely freaked me out how bonkers the Republicans went anytime the words "drill" or "oil" were uttered (or howled, as it were). Whenever Palin or McCain said, "let's drill it!" (which was a lot) the whole convention hall erupted. More so that when anyone said something snide or nasty about Obama or Biden (also a lot). And way more so than during McCain's sad and difficult attempt to rally the crowd with "fight! Fight with me!" It was as though the Republicans were oil fetishists, able to get their jollies publicly for four days. And that's gross. And by "it was as though..." I mean "it is a fact that..."
All for now. We're tropical stormin' here.
mark.
Posted with LifeCast
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