44.1

Barack Obama has done more in his first day in office than Bush did in two terms. This includes, but is not limited to, freezing senior staffers' pay, stifling Guantanamo trials, hosting hundreds of WH visitors, meeting with economic team, meeting with foreign policy team, calling several Middle Eastern leaders (something I'm pretty sure Bush never did), shaking the hand of every member of his new staff, congratulating Hillary Clinton on officially becoming Secretary of State, and praying.

Tomorrow he orders Guantanamo Bay closed within a year. That's great and all, but it may be he's rushing to get this in as a diversionary tactic to peacemongers who will be upset to find he's not gonna get the room to move on Iraq like they wanted/voted for him to do.

And this is strange to me. Obama has been a lone voice among Democrats to leave the remnants of the Bush administration where they lie, and not move forward with any sort of investigation of illegal activity, misuse of executive power, etc. I understand where he's coming from, but after his inaugural speech, which seemed to me to be a scathing lambast of the past eight years, it's disingenuous. He also signed this document today. From Politico:

the Executive Order on Presidential Records brings those principles to presidential records by giving the American people greater access to these historic documents. This order ends the practice of having others besides the President assert executive privilege for records after an administration ends. Now, only the President will have that power, limiting its potential for abuse. And the order also requires the Attorney General and the White House Counsel to review claims of executive privilege about covered records to make sure those claims are fully warranted by the Constitution.

I don't know what to make of that. It seems very convoluded for such a simple measure. Is he safeguarding Bush? I understand how that would make sense politically. But his new WH counsel is full of attorneys who have been chomping at the bit to get at 43's record.

Whatever the concerns are, to an extent, it doesn't matter. We have a people's President now and that's wonderful. I know I speak for a lot of people my age when I say that I don't know what that is like, or even what it's like to respect the leader of my country. But I can't wait to find out.

















Also, who isn't dying to know what Bush wrote on the note he left for Obama? On the envelope it read, "To #44 From #43". Anyone care to speculate?

mark.

PS

You should read that article. Bai is phenomenal. Listen.

The legislative process is like Kryptonite to the existential hero; it is designed, somewhat ingeniously, to expose even the most powerful president for the mortal that he is.

The Importance of Seeming

Just paused 4 paragraphs into reading Matt Bai's article in the Times magazine this weekend because something struck me.

With the inauguration only days away, and growing excitement/anticipation/hope/dread of the coming months and years emerging, we are reading and hearing that this is going to change the culture. "Tuesday marks a new day for the American spirit," is what we're cheering. It's conventional wisdom, nowadays. I'd like to submit a small addition to the discussions.

Seems to.

Tuesday seems to mark a new day for the American spirit. Obama's inauguration seems to be the beginning of a change in the culture. Call it healthy skepticism. We don't know, and these things are too "tricky, prickly" of subjects to hypothesize on with such certainty. History has certainly been made, and in a big way. America is different now than it has ever been. And all signs point to it being even more different on Tuesday. It seems to be so, but it isn't yet so. America is a funny place. A man landed a plane in the Hudson River yesterday and today he is a hero. His name is Chelsea Sullenberger and he is now indebted to late-flocking geese.

All I'm saying, it upsets history (and our own determination) to declare that we will be different tomorrow. Or more specifically, that we know HOW we will be different. Change is on the horizon. But you never know what birds will get caught in your engines.

mark.

Surgeon General-in-waiting

I am totally down with this.

mark.

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.

mark.

Welcome John Holdren

So this is the guy Barack Obama tapped to be White House science advisor.  And this is an article he wrote for Scientific American in October.

This is good news.  Next best thing to "The Gore-acle"?

mark

Come

Thursday December 18, 2008

9:30PM

255 McKibbin #202

Brooklyn, NY

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.

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.

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...

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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.

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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.

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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.

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.



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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.

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I Am Terrified Of Sarah Palin

See post title.

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Back Inaction

Of all the things I could write about for my first post in three months--Hurricane Gustav and it's politicization by the GOP; Sarah Palin as John McCain's gross misconception of a vice presidential running mate, which will backfire on him as far as both white women and evagelicals, his two most neccessary and unloved demographics, are concerned; Obama's gutsiest, most intellectually complex (not to mention neccessary) speech yet; and my having seen Grizzly Bear and the Dirty Projectors in the span of a week--I'm going to write about dancing. More specifically, hipsterdancing. It's something I've mentioned before on this thing. I've also mentioned how ridiculous and frustrating it is. The following passage comes from an article in the most recent edition of AdBusters. Douglas Haddow has written a piece about how the hipster is the death knell for western culture. It's hard not agree with him on an emotional level, but the situation is immensely more complex than he allows it to be. But no matter what you think about the article, this observation is spot-on.

The dance floor at a hipster party looks like it should be surrounded by quotation marks. While punk, disco, and hip hop all had immersive, intimate and energetic dance styles that liberated the dancer from his/her mental states -be it the head-spinning b-boy or violent thrashings of a live punk show - the hipstet has more of a joke dance. A faux shuffle that mocks the very idea of dancing or, at it's best, illustrates a non-committal fear of expression typified in a weird twitch/ironic twist. The dancers are too self-aware to let themselves feel any form of liberation; they shuffle along, shrugging themselves into oblivion.

From where I've been, you'd be lucky to get the shuffle. It's frustrating and can actually have an effect on one's good time.

All for now.
mark.

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Another David Byrne Post: "As if I didn't already wish I was him..."

Today David Byrne did this.













He turned a building into a musical instrument. Read more here. It's the Battery Maritime Building and you can see it from today thru the 10th of August at 10 South Street in NY.

Every white haired guy on a bike I see is David Byrne

Yesterday David Byrne did this.

Thats ostensibly a carpet made of pedals, into which he plugged a guitar and let it sit in the middle of the walkway at a benefit for The Kitchen. People would have to walk over the pedals to get from one part of the party to another. The noise would change with each step of each person. There must be an insane amount of range of sounds in there. There are loop pedals and delay pedals, to be sure, so the noise would be in constant flux, controlled not only by the feet at random, but by the sound itself. Byrne explains it here. I can only imagine what it sounds like. Maniac genius.

He also recorded some songs with the Dirty Projectors, which is a brilliant collaboration if I've ever heard of one. And I've heard of one. Will be incredible for sure.

mark.

Attention...

Performed our version of Macbeth in our space about two weeks ago. First show we've done there. I had a blast and the audience seemed to, as well. Thanks to everyone who came out and everyone who was in the show and everyone who put up with our work during the rehearsal process. I hope it was worth it. I think it was. We got a bit of a review Andy Horwitz who write the blog for the theater P.S. 122 downtown, which is a great space and has become a wonderful cultural insitution. He had some nice things to say. Here's the post in its entirety. I'd like to, for posterity, quote a passage from it.

...this production gave me hope for New York Theater.

I guess that's all I'll quote. Please read.



And our home was also grossly misinterpreted in an article in the New York Times this week (the front page, nonetheless). Read it here. It's pretty funny. Though some of the things the author smugly claims point towards the truth, I should say that there are good things about that are not touched on in the article.

Some notes on racism

Reading the "new" Kurt Vonnegut book, Armageddon In Retrospect, a collection of unpublished essays and speeches and letters, and came across this gem from his last written speech, scheduled for a year ago yesterday, April 27, 2007 (not delivered because he fell and hit his head and died):

The most spiritually splendid American phenomenon of my lifetime is how African-American citizens have maintained their dignity and self-respect, despite their having been treated by white Americans, both in and out of government, and simply because of their skin color, as though they were contemptible and loathsome, and even diseased.

I have always admired Vonnegut as a model citizen and held his political persuasions as beacons, and this statement is a great example of why. With this in mind, Obama's proximity to the presidency became again surprising to me. I am not surprised that America is seemingly now ready to let a black man lead the country, but that a black man would even want to be the leader of the country responsible for the things it has done. Not that that in any way gives him more claim to the presidency, but the weight of his desire should be acknowledged in context. As should Clinton's.

While we're on the topic, I feel I should point to this article by a guy named Tim Wise, a polemicist and anti-racist writer. It's about the Reverend Wright "controversy" and why he thinks it's unfortunate bullshit. It violently claims that Rev. Wright was mostly correct in saying the things for which he was condemned. And he blames white people's addiction to lies and historical misinformation for their inability to see the truth in what Wright said. It's worth a read, though it is a little vitriolic for my tastes and at times too general. He also neglects an awful culprit in the mess, the media. But this bit is worth pointing to:

So what can we say about a nation that values lies more than it loves truth? A place where adherence to sincerely believed and internalized fictions allows one to rise to the highest offices in the land and to earn the respect of millions, while a willingness to challenge those fictions and offer a more accurate counter-narrative earns one nothing but contempt, derision, indeed outright hatred? What we can say is that such a place is signing its own death warrant. What we can say is that such a place is missing the only and last opportunity it may ever have to make things right, to live up to its professed ideals. What we can say is that such a place can never move forward, because we have yet to fully address and come to terms with that which lay behind.

Is it just me or does it feel like somethings gotta give sooner or later? The Rev. Wright hullabaloo is certainly far from receding (even today he gave a speech wherein he said that his comments were taken out of context in a damaging way. That speech, incidentally, was taken out of context on every news program I watched and in almost every article I read). And Bill Clinton can't seem to stop whatever it is he thinks he's doing. These are just a couple of instances that make me think this election campaign is going to be more arduous on the American people at large than we think it will be. At least more so than it has been so far. And probably more so than we are ready for.

mark.