Hotel Pasiphae

Michelle just fw'd this to me...
can't wait for this show!

I suspect it will be brilliant.

---

Special Preview Gala, Thursday, July 21 at 7pm! $30 per per person, includes dinner (with wine, and catered by Prego), Hotel Pasiphae and a silent auction. RSVP- space is limited!

June 20, 2005

Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company Presents:

Hotel Pasiphae

By John Harvey

Houston, TX-

A mother remembers her husband sitting in a dark cave, her affair with a bull, the children she abandons to horrible fates. Mildred's Umbrella presents an unusual evening of theater as Michelle Edwards becomes Pasiphae, wife of King Minos, mother of the Minotaur, in John Harvey's new one-act play Hotel Pasiphae. Directed by Patricia Duran and featuring video by Eric Doss, Hotel Pasiphae reinvents Greek mythology through the memories of a woman unable to forget what she has done and who has been harmed. Hotel Pasiphae runs July 21, 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 8pm and Sunday, July 24 at 3pm. The show will be performed at Gremillion and Co. Gallery, 2501 Sunset Blvd, 77005.

Special Preview Gala,

Thursday, July 21 at 8pm! $30 per per person, includes dinner (with wine, and catered by Prego), Hotel Pasiphae and a silent auction.

There will also be a performance of this show on Monday, July 25 at 8pm at Houston Community College Northeast Codwell Campus, 555 Community College Drive. The price for this performance only will be $5.

The Sunday, July 24 matinee, will be ‘Pay what you like’.

For further information or reservations to this show, call 832-418-0973 or email mildredsumbrella@hotmail.com.

Who:

Mildred’s Umbrella Theater Company

What:

Hotel Pasiphae

When:

July 21, 22, 23, 25, 29 and 30 at 8pm and Sunday, July 24 at 3pm.

Where:

Gremillion and Co. Gallery, in the Annex building, 2501 Sunset Blvd, 77005

(Monday, July 25 will be performed at HCC Northeast.)

Price:

$10, cash or check only. Sunday, July 24 is ‘pay what you like.’ Monday, July 25 will be $5.

Lying Media Bastards � Media Economics

Lying Media Bastards � Media Economics:

"...a grand total of 118 people control what you see and hear in the media every day. And those 118 people sit on the boards of 288 corporations. "

not what I see actually...
haven't watched any kind of TV news in I don't know how long (o.k. occasionally The Daily Show)...
I get all my news online at Kos, Eschaton, etc...
I've chosen my own filters,
and I suggest you do the same.

James Wolcott: Oliver Stone and Steven Spielberg: The Doublemint Twins of Treason

It's the talk of the blogosphere:
James Wolcott: Oliver Stone and Steven Spielberg: The Doublemint Twins of Treason

am I the only liberal that thinks Stone is a hack? a skilled hack perhaps...
but a hack nonetheless...
Sure, I cried during "born on the 4th of july" and then I left the theatre mad at the filmmaker and they way he manipulated me...
maybe that's his job, maybe not...but it pissed me off.
I prefer my art with a little more ambiguity...
and don't get me started on "Wall Street"...
You know if you make an anti-greed film and I hate it,
it must be bad.
anyway, just wanted to throw that out there...

Henry Rollins - A conservative?

Via Atrios:

firedoglake: 07/10/2005 - 07/16/2005

Not a huge fan of Henry, but righteous to the point of self-righteous is still righteous,
and the man is righteous...


"Jane. I don't know if I could be called a conservative seeing how I will get up extra early to tell anyone in front of me THAT BUSH IS A COWARD AND A LIAR AND THOSE WHO VOTED FOR HIM ARE PART OF A VERY BAD PROBLEM. THAT THE FOX NEWS CHANNEL IS A BUNCH OF SISSIES WHO CAN'T TAKE A PUNCH...."

damn...

you missed a good show Friday...

The guys from New Orleans were pretty cool...
(the narrative of the laptop piece disrupted the music for me a little much,
but there was a lot of potential) and One Man Machine played some
cool songs based on bass loops, etc...
then Charlie did a very cool solo set - Kelly cello stick against
two droning strings (ebow on electric guitar) run through effects...
good stuff...
Then we did an LB set...due to technical complications it wasn't what
we had planned at all really, but it went well enough we're talking about
playing out again before two years pass...
And then John Cramer brought the rock...
and you missed it...

Saturday - got up early and went to an audition for Mildred's Umbrella...
then rushed to t10 rehearsal...
Later than night went to the Starr Project "Rock Star" party for a bit...
shaved down to a fu manchu, put on a long black wig, and my leather jacket
and headed out there...
had some bad punch, and hung with some of my band members for a while...
we are playing Saturday night, and it should be, uh interesting....
Then I went and hung out with Joe Mathlete, Gie Gie, and Charles Mathlete
and some folks over at Charlotte's house...
we filmed a Christian Rock video "Christian Rock Band meets the Devil"
watch for it!

yesterday - t10 - TDU strategerizing (we're now on HIGH ATE US till August),
and then mathletes practice (we're playing Friday at the Bobbindoctrin benefit! WHOOHOOO!)...

today - shaved off the fu manchu - it just looked too silly. I couldn't look in the mirror without giggling...and now I'm at work...
whoohooo!

so, back to it...

Warrenellis.com � Superburst Mixtape 20 - file under: WHOOHOOOO!

Warrenellis.com � Superburst Mixtape 20



Superburst Mixtape 20

night and day and straight and drunk
sublime to absurd in five easy steps

“Kell Omd” - Tigrics

“Braking” - Quantazelle (this song donated by Quantazelle)

“Creep” - The Oranges Underground

“London Below” - L-10

“Retarded Futuristic Pinocchio Scenario” - The Mathletes (this song donated by The Mathletes)

we make money not art: Chicken nuggets without the chicken

I love chicken, but I do wonder if we shouldn't send these folks copies of "Frankenstein"...
you know, just as a reminder...

we make money not art: Chicken nuggets without the chicken

The Huffington Post | The Blog

The Huffington Post | The Blog:

"Bush needs to be asked the question: why do you continue to give Pakistan veto power over our national security?"

I'd love to hear the answer to that one...
maybe someone could hit Scotty with it at the gaggle?

TONIGHT! THE LAST BASTIONS @ SUPER HAPPY FUN LAND! Whooohooo!

John Cramer's

The Power of Light and Darkness

www.myspace.com/thepowersoflightanddarkness

Last Bastions

Charlie Naked

www.cafepress.com/charlienaked

One Man Machine (New Orleans)

www.sonicbids.com/onemanmachine

2610 Ashland Street (@ W27th Street in the Heights)
Houston TX 77008
(713)880-2100

Doors open at 8pm for all shows unless otherwise specified

This will be Charlie Naked's first live solo performance and the first time The Last Bastions have performed live since their 2003 DIverseWorks residency. 

For those what don't know The Last Bastions is Me and Charlie Naked doing the drone thing (mostly)…
Tonight should be an interesting show…
hope to see a few of you there…

M

WOW! - Ultimate Houston Ballot

GO VOTE!!

This is amazing.
My experience with these kinds of ballots is that maybe
there's one or two folks or groups in a couple categories
that I know and am cool with, or maybe even excited about voting for...

This time there is more than one category where it's actually hard to choose...
two of my favorite dancers from suchu
(who also happen to be two of my favorite people)
A plethora of IBP folks...
IBP, Dos Chicas and Mildred's Umbrella...
Two Star Symphony, Brad Moore...
lots of familiar folks on the ballot
that all deserve yr support...
so get on with it...

Copy, Right?

Ooooh! Cure covers!
I like this stuff way too much.

Copy, Right?


"The Head on the Door" was the first Cure album I heard when it came out...
probably still my favorite.
Although, I love Three Imaginary Boys.
The Cure as surf punk.
totally right.
Kinda like the earliest Gary Numan stuff
(in that it's great, but not like anything else
they'd ever do.)
And sure I dig the dark psychedelic stuff...
Pornography, etc...
(maybe calling it psych isn't right,
but I kind of think of almost all music I like
that way...)
The cassette of "Staring at the Sea" is the one
I probably listened to the most.
Some of the b-sides were great.
What have we learned here?
I was a scary new-wave/goth wannabe?
hmmm...
yeah, and I spent too much time
listening to The Cure.
Still do.

Willie Nelson - Countryman

Willie Nelson - Countryman

FINALLY!
Some of us (o.k probably just me and my friend John) have been waiting for this since we first heard about it years ago...
even has him playing with some of the original Wailers...
WHOOHOO!

New Willie is always good news!

are YOU feeling Irie?

TPMCafe || House Of Labor

TPMCafe || House Of Labor

ok...I'm less a fan of Marshall and some of his peeps than I used to be...
but a new labor blog is, if not worth celebrating,
worth mentioning...

THERE IS STRENGTH IN A UNION!

blah blah

sick yesterday
blah blah
work sucks
blah blah
light blogging
blah blah

Disquiet: field notes - MORE ENO

Disquiet: field notes

So, apparently I'm going to have to start renting all kinds of things I normally wouldn't.

Eno's version of "You don't miss your water" on the Married to the Mob soundtrack is incredible.

The Stain of Torture

via Atrios - go read the whole thing
The Stain of Torture:
"Having served as a doctor in the Army Medical Corps early in my career and as presidential physician to George H.W. Bush for four years, I might be expected to bring a skeptical and partisan perspective to allegations of torture and abuse by U.S. forces. I might even be expected to join those who, on the one hand, deny that U.S. personnel have engaged in systematic use of torture while, on the other, claiming that such abuse is justified. But I cannot do so."

That Guy - hangover reflection #1

The Huffington Post | The Blog

The Huffington Post | The Blog:
"You can almost hear their pulses accelerating and their hormones flowing - the prospect of putting one of their own on the Supreme Court is exactly what arouses these guys and exactly what they fantasize about when the lights shut off in their mansions at night."

He's not talking about the religious right.

It's not just abortion at stake here...
labor law, environmental law, pretty much the whole deal...
with the right judge they really could roll back the new deal, the great society, anything they want...

FIGHT!

Friday Eno Blogging: Another Day on Earth

The new Eno cd could never be as good as I want it to be...
but it is better than I heard it was,
and probably better than whatever you bought last.

Steve Jones (Sex Pistols, etc.) is one of the guitar players on the CD.
I find that funny.

There's nothing as catchy as "Baby's on Fire" or anything,
but it is better than I remember the CD he did with Cale a few years back being...

I need a dark room, "supplies", and a loud stereo (all of which I have at home) and I'll be better able to evaluate it...but so far I can recommend it to anyone who wants to hear what Eno is up to...and what the hell...I can recommend it to the rest of you too...after all, what are you going to do if you don't like it? hunt me down?

Bush: No Successor Til After July 8 and Other White House Stories : Wonkette

Bush: No Successor Til After July 8 and Other White House Stories : Wonkette: "Before naming a successor to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, President Bush will allow Democrats and progressives to spend the 4th of July holiday frantically pleading for moderation and consensus. Then he'll pick whoever he wants. Or as Scott McClellan puts it, 'I can't imagine that the Democrats would want to engage in controversial tactics when it comes to a nominee for the Supreme Court.' "

empahasis mine...
and here I thought Scotty at least had a good imagination...
and filibustering should NOT be a controversial tactic...
at least not to anyone who has ever seen Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

The Washington Monthly

Framing is important, and this is right on...

The Washington Monthly:
"Generally speaking I don't have a big problem with O'Connor's tenure on the court, but when even Democrats start calling her a moderate, it moves the goalposts too far. They should be referring to her as a 'moderate conservative,' a 'mainstream conservative,' or a 'thoughtful conservative.' Anything like that is fine. But whatever they call her, they should make it clear that she's a conservative."

MONSTERS!

My complicity
makes me a monster.
Don't give me that grin,
you're in the same boat.
That's my problem
with art
about the holocaust
art
about the nazis.
If you want
an example
of the banality
of evil
you don't have to
travel in time
you don't have to
go to Germany
all you have to do
is look in the mirror.

I have a job
I ship out computer parts
I ship them to our government
other governments
IRAQ
people in the diamond business
people in the oil business
people in the war business
people in the torture business

I ship them to whoever buys them
to whoever needs a replacement
I provide aid
help
to people and projects
whose morals are reprehensible

I am complicit in crimes against
you, me, all of us...
and I'm just doing my job.

I'm not even going to address
driving a car,
using pharmaceuticals,
eating the products of argibusiness...

there is a web from me
reaching
to the furthest horrors

don't pretend
you're not caught
in it too
you buy lightbulbs
you pay taxes

you're not pure

Who Polices tha Police? International Edition!!!

Well, they may let gay folks get married up in Canadan, but hey,
police culture is still fucked...

Warrenellis.com � Toronto Police “Assault Iranian Bar Owner”:
"...as a matter of fact, up until this point, no badge was shown by the ladies and gentlemen in question. i made them aware of this fact at this point. that’s when one officer pulled out his badge as he started laughing; “are you happy now? boy, now you’re really fucked”
another officer turned to me "

Daily Kos: Supreme Court: What You Can Do RIGHT NOW

Daily Kos: Supreme Court: What You Can Do RIGHT NOW:
"Whatever happens with the Supreme Court nomination battle that is about to ensue, it's going to happen fast. Here are some things you can do right now:
If you have a cell phone, sign up for People at the American Way's Mass Immediate Response site. This way, you'll be able to receive text message action items instantly as events break. (If you signed up during the nuclear option fight, you'll need to re-sign up.)

Also sign up with the Save the Court, another PFAW website devoted specifically to this issue.

Recruit friends and family members to the cause.

Write to the President, telling him he should choose a consensus candidate to replace O'Connor.

Contact your Senators to tell them the same thing."

there's links in the post...so go to KOS and click on em and do the right thing...

happy 4th everybody

Fourth of July
a fuckin lie
When did we ever
Get a piece of the pie
Gotta whole day comin
Without no pay
Cause a fuckin job
Cant gimme no play

-Public Enemy "Hitler Day"

we make money not art: String Thing - file under: I want

we make money not art: String Thing

Four parallel metal rods are each divided into a long and a short section by a bridge element. The pressure and position of the fingers on the longer rod section are sensed to control pitch and expression; pressure on the shorter sections controls velocity, attack and volume. MIDI software converts the data into sound and, through magnets under each rod, vibrates the rod according to the pressure it senses, thus returning haptic feedback to the player.

Off the Kuff: How's it playing in Houston?

Off the Kuff: How's it playing in Houston?:
"Everybody's linked to the SurveyUSA 50-state approval ratings poll for President Bush, for which Garance has the best take, but what interests me is the results for Texas, where Dubya is pulling anemic (but not Perryesque) 50/47 numbers. Inside that is the total for Harris County, where Bush is in negative territory - 43% approve, 54% disapprove."

This means I get to be moderately proud of being a Houstonian...
YAY!

little miss messycovers: Vote for Leopard Boy, Please!

What the lil' miss says:
little miss messycovers: Vote for Leopard Boy, Please!

Leopard Boy is a mythical creature, bar fly, and member of the brazosport lil' players...
and he shoots fire from his fingers...
it's not much of power,
but it impresses the ladies...

REAL ART (and politics and culture)

I guess we can file this in the win column:

REAL ART (and politics and culture): "Nike Skateboarding sincerely apologizes for the creation of a tour poster inspired by Minor Threat's album cover. Despite rumors being circulated, Wieden & Kennedy and Odopod had nothing to do with the creation of this tour poster and should not be held accountable. To set the record straight, Nike Skateboarding's 'Major Threat' Tour poster was designed, executed, and promoted by skateboarders, for skateboarders. All of the Nike employees responsible for the creation of the tour flyer are fans of both Minor Threat and Dischord records and have nothing but respect for both."

This is Pop!: Dylan biopic to debut on DVD, PBS

Here's a little good Dylan news to counteract the scary starbucks Dylan news...

This is Pop!: Dylan biopic to debut on DVD, PBS

The film focuses on Dylan's life and music from 1961-66 and includes never-before-seen performance footage and interviews with artists and musicians whose lives were intertwined in some way with Dylan during that time.

Definitely interested in seeing this...

we make money not art: A service to help you manage lies

Now this looks useful...

we make money not art: A service to help you manage lies

First you have to provide the True.Lies service with a record of your lies and your daily schedule. They catgorise and store the lies on a computer database. As they monitor your schedule and your record of lies, constant reminders are sent to you at the appropriate time through post, email, SMS, cash machines, phone booths, etc. to let you know the record of lies you have already made to the people you're about to meet. Therefore avoiding any embarrassement.

��TBogg��

��TBogg��: "'Oprah describes it as 'one of the most humiliating moments of her life.''

No. Humiliating is having to have to put your life on hold and re-open the store so that a woman who has made a career out of pretending to care for the common man can come in and browse around with her friends for an overpriced gift watch so that the recipient will be forced to acknowledge how fucking wonderful and generous she is. "

somebody give that man a cigar...
if the store was closed they was no reason to open the store for Oprah, me, or Queen Goldilocks...
sheesh...
give somebody all the money in the world and suddenly they think they are important.

April Winchell: Multimedia

April Winchell: Multimedia
uhm, Paul Winchell (voice of tigger, ventriloquist and inventor of the artificial heart) died recently.
His daughter posted some stuff about it, and pissed people off, and then posted something very moving and honest...(go to her main page to read it)
I wanted to be a ventriloquist when I was a kid...
but I'm not here to talk about all that...

I'm here to point you to an amazing collection of cool multimedia stuff she has up...

You can d/l the soundtracks to KFC training films AND


TONY RANDALL SINGING NATURE BOY!

she's got Sonny Bono's "Pammy's on a Bummer" and I bet it's a transfer from a copy cleaner than mine...

and NICHELLE NICHOLS singing the theme from "Star Trek"

so get over there now and start torturing your ears,

THEY DESERVE IT!

The Huffington Post | The Blog

A glimpse a Larry David's internal monologue in the middle of the night...
The Huffington Post | The Blog: "I like how they keep saying the science isn’t in on global warming. They just don’t know. No proof. But, of course, it’s in on God. Lots of proof on that. Tons of empirical evidence. They got God’s DNA. And Moses parted the Red Sea. He said, “Open sea,” and it opened. And Jesus walked on water. Those are some tricks. People must have been after Moses to do it again until he finally got sick of them and lost his temper. 'No, I'm not parting it again, now leave me alone.' 'C'mon Moses, please?' 'I said no, now get the hell outta here!' You'd think anyone who believes this stuff would be so embarassed they'd keep it to themselves. But those maniacs shout it from the rooftops and they're running our country. God talks to Bush all the time. I don’t care if you’re President, if you say God talks to you, you’re a schizophrenic and a menace to society. You should be on drugs in a mental institution, like the Son of Sam. What’s the difference between God or a dog talking to you? It’s still a voice in your head. That means you’re certifiably fucking crazy!"


mine has more worries about money in it...
and women...
but otherwise is remarkably similar...

Stay Free! Daily: No, I'm happy to see you

Stay Free! Daily: No, I'm happy to see you:
"The article has reviews of package-enhancing briefs, including some that feel 'like wearing your mother's underwear.' I don't know the reviewer so ... is that a good thing? Are they roomy? Silky? Incredibly creepy? Newsweek doesn't let on, and if I try to figure it out next Thanksgiving, it would be the last one I spend with family."

Hmmm...
think I'll go with CREEPY!

This is Pop!: Starbucks to release Dylan bootleg

This is Pop!: Starbucks to release Dylan bootleg

ok...
this is one instance where I have to encourage everyone to just download this and send bob a dollar or something...
really...

mathletes gig

tomorrow night...
at a church
in sugarland
benefit for a women's shelter

think it starts around 6
we're playing around 8

3300 Austin Parkway
Sugarland, Tx

um...use google maps or something...

Joe says I'm not allowed to talk at this show...
and since it's in a church and for a women's shelter we won't be doing diaperland
or our song about animals raping one another...

breakage

this weekend - car, computer and bass...
car - brakes going out...
computer - video card going out
bass - don't make no noise

so, this paycheck is taking a hit before it even gets to the bank...
uh, yay?

and there's too much work to do to say much more...

oh yeah, failed my CCNA again...
whoohoo?

and there's a mathletes gig in sugarland tomorrow at a women's shelter benefit....
think we're playing at a church...
more details later...

Warrenellis.com � Zombie Dogs. ZOMBIE DOGS - file under :future zombie army!

Warrenellis.com � Zombie Dogs. ZOMBIE DOGS

The animals are considered scientifically dead, as they stop breathing and have no heartbeat or brain activity. But three hours later, their blood is replaced and the zombie dogs are brought back to life with an electric shock.

Click opera - June 26th, 2005 - ahh...The City

It's things like this make me wish I was in New York...
Click opera - June 26th, 2005: "The first day of 'I'll Speak, You Sing' was a success. Three tours came through the gallery, some people sat there for two hours listening, art world celebrities (Takashi Murakami!) dropped by and listened, chuckling, and the two most important critics of the New York art world came by and seemed to leave impressed: Jerry Saltz of the Village Voice and Roberta Smith of the New York Times. Saltz told me afterwards the show was great, and Smith stayed for 45 minutes taking notes. She also asked for pictures, so it looks like we may get a lead review in the Times next Friday or the one after. We shouldn't count chickens, but the reviews may well be good."

Eros Blog: The Sex Blog -- By Bacchus

It's good to know that through the ages Japanese culture has had some constants -
Eros Blog: The Sex Blog -- By Bacchus:
"OCTOPUS MAXIMUS: All eigth legs (arms?) to interwine with!! How do you likeit htis way? Ah, look! The inside has swollen, moistened by the warm watersof lust. 'Nura nura doku doku doku...'"

Where were the doctors at Abu Ghraib? :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - ch

Via Cursor:
Where were the doctors at Abu Ghraib? :: from www.uruknet.info :: news from occupied Iraq - ch:
"Miles argues that health professionals turned a blind eye, or worse, to the torture and deaths of some of their patients. 'These health professionals could have protested,' he said. Instead, 'the medical system here became one of the professional arms of a torturing society.'"

TAPPED: June 2005 Archives --- File Under: Texas is the reason

TAPPED: June 2005 Archives

Several offices had no comment. Many transferred us into voicemail boxes, and we plan to call them back on Monday if they don’t respond. But we got two offices to react. While Kay Bailey Hutchinson’s staff told us she agrees with Rove’s remarks...

REAL ART (and politics and culture)

One of the many things I didn't post on yesterday that I was tempted to...
Ron gets it, and says it...

REAL ART (and politics and culture): "Okay, so we haven't reached the depravity of the Third Reich's 'Angel of Death,' Dr. Josef Mengele, just yet, but it sounds like we're on the way. The more I learn about what's going on in America's name at these 'detention centers,' the more I believe that 'Nazi' is the right word to use. I guarantee that if this was happening to American soldiers, the right wing would be screaming 'Nazi' at the top of their lungs, and, of course, they'd be justified in doing so. This use of doctors and POW medical records is really fucking creepy. Things are bad. Really bad."

The New Dr. Mengele.
Yes.
Really bad.

Theatreport.com- Theatre in Houston, Texas - News

Theatreport.com- Theatre in Houston, Texas - News:
"This controversy surfaced after the state Employment Security Department issued audits and fines to some theaters for classifying their artists as independent contractors rather than employees. The mid-size theater companies are fearful that they could be faced with similar audits and some have even cancelled productions requiring a cast of 15 and limiting it to a cast of 2. Could this potentially wipe out the mid-size Seattle theater scene? Does the enforcement of the law actually protect the artists? Could Houston ever face a similar problem?"

hopefully there will be a good conversation started over there based on this...
it's important stuff as laborers and artists that we need to think about...

The American Street � Blog Archive � It’s All About Controlling Our Adolescent Daughters

The American Street � Blog Archive � It’s All About Controlling Our Adolescent Daughters: "As I read the story, it looks like “any minors who seek contraception” would have to have their parents notified before they could get their degenerate mitts on the goods. That would include young men who wanted condoms. But Coburn’s Parent’s Right to Know posterchildren are our adolescent daughters. Whores. "

of course nobody has to write a prescription for condoms, so the boys escape...so far...

Burnt Orange Report

Burnt Orange Report:
"Nothing makes me sicker to my freaking stomach than hearing 'Christian' politicians bellyaching about how much Christians are persecuted in the US. You want to see persecution of Christians? Why not swing by East Timor where Henry Kissinger facilitated and supported the liquidation of 200,000 Christians by the Muslim government of Indonesia. Then take a stop in the Sudan where George W. Bush has been content to occasionally lob rhetoric at the government he should be dropping bombs on for slaughtering 2 million Christians. Maybe make a stop in to visit our 'ally' Saudi Arabia, whose leader the President holds hands with as the man continues to enforce laws that make it a crime to be a Christian. You could swing by the People's Republic of China after that, where the same government whose premier gets to cool his heels in Crawford breaks up house churches that seek to escape the stifling politics of official state churches. Not being able to threaten some underclassman cadet into joining your prayer group is hardly persecution."

I almost went and pasted this into a thread over at theatreport...
someone had posted an audition notice looking for born again actors, and damn near started a religious war (well, what do you call the agnostics/atheists vs. the christians?)...

and of course one of our conservative theatre folks started jabbering about liberals being intolerant of Christians...
what is it?
love the sinner and hate the sin?
well I love me some Christians...
it's just Christianity I ain't fond of...
like Islam, or Zoroastrianism, or Voodoo,
or any of that nonsense...
they all limit human potential by allowing folks to rely on/blame something else
for the state of the world, their actions, limits on their freedom, etc...


Just started reading Paine's The Age of Reason last night...
he's always been my favorite founding father, but I've actually never read this...
and it is pretty brilliant...
gonna go up there with Hume's Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion in my list of essential humanist works...

look, believe what you want...
really...
but don't expect me not to think it's silly.
What there is is what there is.
I'm smart enough to know I don't know all the whats what is,
but I don't feel that postulating imaginary whats helps the situation at all...
just accept we don't know it all...
what could be more awe inspiring than accepting mystery?

Mastermix dot org old school pirate bootleg mp3s

Mastermix dot org old school pirate bootleg mp3s
via gutterbreakz

go get some free music...

old school radio mixes (U.K.) at Mastermix and brand new Dub step and more at Gutterbreakz...

and maybe you should stop by and read what Kid Kameleon has to say and grab a mix or two there...
Right now he's engaged in a discussion on homophobia in dance hall and ragga-jungle...

The Defenestration Unit - Sunday at Super Happy Fun Land

That's right, this Sunday, June 26th, starting at, oh I don't know,
let's say around 7:00 p.m. or shortly thereafter, THE DEFENESTRATION
UNIT will be going it alone, live and fully clothed, performing our
unique mixture of free jazz, krautrock, psychedelic music, and
early-70s-style fusion sounds... and not the crappy kind of fusion
sounds either, so don't even go there!

Anyway, the show starts on or around 7:00 p.m. at Super Happy Fun Land,
at 2610 Ashland Street, the corner of Ashland and W 27th street in the
Heights, Houston, TX... come on out and hear some of the interesting
music that Houston has to offer!

-TDU
featuring members of the linus pauling quartet, the mathletes, and uh,
the defenestration unit...
and maybe some special guests?

Hawthorne Improvisation Collective
www.hichouston.org

Blogway Baby | Blue Man Boycott Picket June 19, 5pm, Panasonic Theatre on Yonge (south of Bloor at St. Mary)

Blogway Baby | Blue Man Boycott Picket June 19, 5pm, Panasonic Theatre on Yonge (south of Bloor at St. Mary)


"So besides this event being about the growing boycott of this rogue production, it is now also a celebration of the Charter, which turns 23 this year. It's great to be Canadian." (emphasis mine)

Yes, yes,
I'm sure it is.

life and work related stresses are keeping me from sleeping (went to bed around 9 and woke up an hour ago...
about to try to see if I can get another hour or two in before work...)

So, I'm pro-union...
but I want to make a special case for the arts...
but not for the blue man group.

I am too out of it start writing about this now,
but I'm filing it away in the box where I put all
the things I say I'm going to write about some day
and then never do.

work

changes at work might make blogging sparse over the next few days...

blah.

Click opera - June 17th, 2005 - Momus makes with the smart!

Click opera - June 17th, 2005:
"The introduction of student loan schemes into public policy (effectively a replacement of an equality of opportunity policy with one which admits to actual differences in lived experience), the abandonment of old Marxist models like the one that says that (cultural) superstructure is determined by (economic) base, and even the appearance of a rash of books and art shows about mix tapes... what do these things have in common? I think they might be signs that Bourdieu was right, or rather, that his way of thinking is winning. As advanced societies get more consumer-oriented and more culture-oriented, and as we focus more on quality of life rather than mere affluence, we'll inevitably find ourselves looking at use value rather than exchange value. But we'll also see use value as something which can be translated back into money, which can be exchanged. "

These kinds of discussions are why I miss college.
I'd could bullshit about this kind of stuff over red bull and vodka till sun up.

The Music Post

This is not a compliment.

there's a link - or you can scroll down.

You'll quickly see why all my posts are short, although i could've sworn I'd written more.

Because it was saved as a draft, blogger put it down there...
didn't want it to get overlooked, even as half-assed as it is...

Daily Kos :: Poo pizza: Red State High School Hijinks - File Under: Texas is the reason

Daily Kos :: Poo pizza: Red State High School Hijinks:
"Cheerleaders disciplined for putting feces on pizza
KELLER - Four Keller High School cheerleaders were sent home early from camp after allegedly putting human feces on a pizza and trying to frame rival cheerleaders for the deed."

Democracy on the move in the middle east!

Heard a report on the BBC this morning about an election coming up in the middle east...
In Iran.
They are electing a new president, and everybody is trying to run on a liberalization and reform platform. 70% of the population of Iran is under 30.
They were saying even the conservatives are having to chase the votes of those who are tired of "too many restrictions".

These are the people we'll be bombing soon if Bush and PNAC get their way.

It's maddening.

MotherJones.com | Arts

Have I mentioned that work sucks? and if there is an afterlife and I get to meet Henry Ford I hope I'm in shape enough to kick his sorry ass?

MotherJones.com | Arts:

"MJ: You've written that the concept of boredom didn’t really exist until 1760.

TH: That's the date most of us put on the Industrial Revolution, i.e. the age of the Big Machine. The idea of the machine was that we wouldn’t have to do that kind of work anymore ourselves. But you still need lots of men to work the machines, and these men become robotic because there’s no real skill involved. It’s like in Fast Food Nation where Eric Schlosser says the ultimate successful business could be operated by monkeys. They make it easier and easier to work the machines and keep the wages as low as possible. In the past we had a more varied existence, where you might do a bit of weaving, you’d be tending the garden, you were involved in a whole range of activities. You still see it now, if you go to, say, rural Mexico. Work was mixed in with leisure, and the day was more varied, so it wasn’t boring.
If you look at the literature of the 19th century, you get things like Kafka and Dostoevsky, who basically write about feeling bored and alienated. That’s because we lost contact with the important things in life like work that you enjoy, or the garden, nature, your family and friends. "

Gambit Weekly : Name That Tune : June 14, 2005

A really nice article on "St. James Infirmary" via Bookslut...

Gambit Weekly : Name That Tune : June 14, 2005:
"So I'd heard the lyrics before, but now I was thinking about them. Sad song about a man going to see the corpse of his lover ... . And will she go to heaven or will she go to hell ... . And whatever the answer, she 'ain't never gonna find another man like me.' Wow. That's something. That's beautiful and wrong at the same time. "

I have well over an hour of "St. James Infirmary" on my machine at home, and it's always fun to play...
and now I know more about it...
if you read this, you will to.

am I the only one?

am I the only one who thinks maybe the Senate should, instead of just apologizing for not passing an anti-lynching law, apologize AND go ahead and PASS an anti-lynching law? Oh, sorry, we didn't make that illegal did we? sorry bout that, not that we'll make it illegal now...
the theatre of politics is amazing.

black flag!

Happy Flag Day!

I got a little murkan flag lapel pin made in China from some anonymous boss type...
I'm not sure which is more weird, him handing them out to everyone on the floor...
or that they're made by commies.

anyway, I only fly the black flag!

DesMoinesRegister.com

VIRAL HUMANIST ADVERTS! (via Bookslut)

DesMoinesRegister.com: "Christian pamphlets with titles such as 'Jesus Christ is God' were placed in about 50 library books about Judaism and Buddhism. The pamphlets were printed by the Voice of God Recordings, which is headquartered in Jeffersonville, Ind.
Other books in the library's religion section showed a small plastic card with the wording, 'You do not need a god to live a good life.' That card noted the Web site for the Iowa Secularist organization based in Iowa City."

Guardian Unlimited | Arts features | 'I hate nothing more than art and culture'

Theatre talk from an important old guy!
Guardian Unlimited | Arts features | 'I hate nothing more than art and culture'

little to no

blogging today...
big boss is here...
sitting right behind me...
I'm hanging on by a thread here as it is...

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Audiofile - File Under: HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!!

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Audiofile

jesus h. christ on a discount pogo stick!

Salon is giving away mp3's from the ESP catalog...
and they are starting with AYLER!
AYLER!
AYLER!

go grab ghosts (version 1)...
yes, sit through the ad, or go buy a salon subscription and then you can start exposing yourself to some of the most important recordings of the 20th century...
really...

of course, the sad thing, the people who would be excited about this already have every ESP reissue they could get their hands on, bootleg or not...
and they rest of you, well, if you haven't encountered the little lable inspired by esperanto, it's probably not gonna be your bag...
but I'm pretentious enough to say it should be...

seriously people - this is your chance to expose yourself to some really amazing stuff, fer nothing! whattaya got to lose?

an exceptional weekend...

Friday - Ghost towns with Lisa D. and the IBP posse. Sunburned.
Romance novels free on the porch. DAIRY QUEEN! I didn't get chiggers.

then

Purple Reign at Diverseworks...
amazing...
all of it...

then - The Beer Cellar - too much whiskey and karaoke.
many of my favorite people were there...
why weren't you?
drank like it was the weekend,
which it was,
but then,
9:13 am Saturday -
the phone -
"Mike, you we're supposed to be on shift at nine o'clock."
shit.
ended up working the 11:30-7:30 shift and getting off late -
missed the big range show - Aileen's new piece, and one from Toni with Music by Misha -
got to go home for a few minutes...
then Jeff's surprise party at the axiom.
Wasn't drinking at all,
then had one,
then two,
then I was drunk...
two must've had more whiskey than I thought.
The Misfires rocked.
We showed BLP's latest - "Actorman! a day in the life of Jeff Miller"
and then the Dreambreakers played...
good night...
left around 1 and spent more time running over my monologues before I went to bed...
Sunday got up and worked the monologues till time for co-ops...
co-ops.
what a rush!
crazy crazy crazy...
get home and do nothing (I'm broke)
take a nap,
wait for TDU practice -
get a call - no bill today,
no ryan either,
jim and joe and charlie show up and we decide to blow it off,
so I head to barnevelder - see the show - whoohoo! Aileen is so freakin' talented!
good stuff...enjoyed the whole show! Toni's piece was great too, and Misha's music had some VERY cool stuff in it...I'll see if I still have a program when I get home, if so I'll post more about the pieces. Then to Atomic Cafe for Wayne's 40th birthday - arrive in time to hear the closing lines of the new BLP sketch "Walt goes to Modeling School" - damn! had some bar-b-q and visited with some folks for a while...ran into some peeps who had been in the audience at co-ops - word is I did good - I was told the second one (the pushkin) was not anything like what people expected or had seen me do before...whoohoo!
anyway, then I went home and to bed...
despite having to work hungover all day saturday it was still over all a pretty exceptional weekend...
hope your's was too..

(I'm still working on the Houston Music post...I'll talk more about Purple Reign in it...)

co-ops

Well, I just got back from co-ops...
I didn't get time called on me,
and I didn't make any obvious mistakes...
I did however in the middle of the second monologue
discover that I was more nervous than I'd ever been
performing ANYTHING.
By the time I walked out of Stages I was shaking
and my arms were NUMB. NUMB!
It was all very strange.
Over all it was definitely a good experience
and there were a few friendly faces in the auditing chairs,
so that helped...
Vocally I was pretty on,
but the space did throw off some of the physicality
of the pieces... It was such different circumstances,
that I forgot things like where I'd been looking, etc...
Maybe that just made it more "fresh" and "in the moment"?
who knows?
So, just so I didn't completely waste my time,
I'll do either of my monologues for anybody,
anytime, for a dollar...
how's that for a deal?

Space City or is it Syrup City? music.

This post is totally not done, but it never will be.
Here it is:


after my natural defense mechanism kicked in when Ron dissed Space City's music scene I said I'd post some links to good H-town music -
o.k.
here are some...


Rusted Shut

Here's the thing...even when I don't listen much to Rusted Shut,
I do deep down realize and acknowledge,
this is what Houston sounds like.
They're one of the last links to an age when GIANT BANDS
played the dives of Houston.
No matter what they do
or the personnel changes
they are always
Rusted Shut.

Two Star Symphony

Wow.
If you haven't heard ** Symphony yr really missing something...
They performed at the Purple Rain tribute at Diverseworks last night...
they did a medley of Purple Rain and Pussy Control.
It was the quartet plus Cathy Power, John Dubois, Kirk Suddreath, Chris Bakos, and on vocals none other than Charlie Naked...
and the dancers - Troy, Todd, Sherri, Aileen, and Melissa (as Appolonia)- made it more like a Prince show than anything I'd seen in a while...
or at least like a Prince video...
and there are their collaborations with Bobbindoctrin and their own
amazing stuff...
seriously...
these are some of the most talented and dedicated people I know...


Satin Hooks

The Kants

The Linus Pauling Quartet

Charlie Naked


Poor Dumb Bastards

The Mathletes

The Defenestration Unit

The Kimonos

Jana Hunter

The Sugarbeats

Freedom Sold

ASHS

TV show depicts 9/11 as Bush plot - The Washington Times: World - June 09, 2005

anyone know of any good German TV torrent sites?
TV show depicts 9/11 as Bush plot - The Washington Times: World - June 09, 2005: "According to the plot, which was seen by approximately 7 million Germans, the dead man had been trained to be one of the September 11 pilots but was left behind, only to be tracked down and killed by CIA or FBI assassins.
The woman, who says in the program that the September 11 attacks were instigated by the Bush family for oil and power, then is targeted, presumably to silence her. The drama concludes with the German detectives accepting the truth of her story as she eludes the U.S. government hit men and escapes to safety in an unnamed Arab country. "

The Raw Story | Pelosi interview, part three: The media, the memo, and Iraq

The Raw Story has an interview with Pelosi:
The Raw Story | Pelosi interview, part three: The media, the memo, and Iraq: "Pelosi: Well let me just tell you this first, John. The Republicans in Congress in significant numbers do not support contraception. People find that hard to believe, but I live with it every day here in terms of their votes, and their policy and their statements. And it’s a stunning thing, because if you want to reduce the number of abortions in our country, and we all do, you would say hooray for contraception. But that’s not where they’re coming from on it. And that’s why the Griswold anniversary is such an important one, because it’s not about abortion, it’s about contraception. And you see the numbers which are stunning in terms of what the American people say, so-called pro-life, I think we’re all pro-life, anti-choice and pro-choice alike when it comes to contraception. Sometimes I wonder if these people even know what’s going on in their own families, when I see that they’re willing to hold women, especially poor women in America and in the world, hostage to their radical views on contraception."

She really sounds like a leader...
I'm assuming you never get to hear her on radio or TV...
except maybe C-span, right?

Other than the president do we get to see speeches of any length given by actual elected officials anymore?

anyway, go read what Pelosi has to say, the quote is from and the link goes to page 3, but you should read the whole thing...

praise for the blogroll!

so, I finally updated my blog roll a few days ago...
still trying to keep friend and acquaintances up near the top...
other than that it's like the rest of my life - highly unorganized...

I check all the links to right once a day...even the ones that NEVER update...
some of my favorite blogs are near the bottom, and some are near the top...

For instance, I've been really digging "By the bayou". It's written by a fellow Houstonian (maybe I found it on H-town blogs) and he handles civil rights re: sexual orientation, or "the gay stuff" really well...
There are a couple of things over there right now you should check out (including this story of a teen sent to some scary gay re-education ministry/camp) of course he covers other stuff too (don't mean to be belittling or stereotypical)...anyway, everyday one or two entries, and a good read...


and up near the top, well the linkage shows how I feel about Real Art and Misc. Heathen so I'll tell ya about "Starfucker's Music Blog" first of all let me say that Senor Starfucker is a damned talented individual...knew he could act, sing, play guitar, but does he have to write better than me too? Whether he's writing about music I don't care about at all (read: The Grateful Dead - sorry, but it's true) or ghosts from my own private new wave past (read: The Thompson Twins - yes, I too owned "Sidekicks") his stories are fun to read and his writing is solid...go get an mindful of whatever he's rambling on about today...
you'll be better for it...

I'll try to focus on one or two of the links on the right once a week or so, till I've said nice things about everybody...or I've told them they need to update!!

anyway, try a few of those on the side you've never read...there's a lot of surprises over there...

Daily Kos :: Hollow Army: When Recruiters Attack File Under:OMFG!!!

GO READ THIS!
THIS IS INSANE!
Daily Kos :: Hollow Army: When Recruiters Attack:
"Next thing Axel knew, the same sergeant and another recruiter showed up at the LaConner Brewing Co., the restaurant where Axel works. And before Axel, an older cousin and other co-workers knew or understood what was happening, Axel was whisked away in a car."

yeah, they hate us for our freedom, right...
this sounds like freedom to me...

Click opera

Momus talks about Genie's and Math and Inequality and stuff:
Click opera:
"There's a worldwide ranking of countries by Gini rating here. The most highly unequal country is Sierra Leone (.62 of a genie), the most equal country Belarus (.21 of a genie). Japan is fourth lowest of the nations ranked in this table (dated 2004) at .24 of a genie. Gini is high in the US, about .4 and rising. (In the table, as soon as you go higher than the US you mostly see incredibly corrupt African countries.) The moments you're most aware of America's high Gini are when you're, for instance, passing through the poor parts of Brooklyn on your way to the rich parts of Manhattan, or when you're walking down a street in LA and see that every house has a sign planted in the lawn where a bush should be, a hard-ass sign saying that if you intrude a rapid response SWAT team will be dispatched to fucking fix you. You're aware of it when you see lots of private security guys, or when you're told that X district is safe but Y district is dangerous. People have a tendency to think that these are givens and that they apply anywhere in the world ('you've got to keep your wits about you, know the score, stay safe'). But in fact they're only issues in high Gini places. They're something we organize structurally, and something we can repair politically. The genie can be banished... if you want it."

do you come here often? - June 8th, 2005

Rhodri gets it:

do you come here often? - June 8th, 2005:
"I don't know whether I actually find the endless procession of appalling bands through London venues depressing in itself, or whether it's seeing the faux confidence on their faces, that misplaced self-belief which suggests that they think they're actually going to get somewhere. And where is somewhere? When are bands ever satisfied? If they've started rehearsing, they want to record. If they're recording, they want a record to be released. If they've released a record, they want it to be on the radio. If it's on the radio, they want to be in the press. If they're in the press, they want an agent. If they've got an agent, they want to be supporting a big act. If they're supporting a big act, they want to be headlining. And so it goes on, until they split up. And then what? What mark have they made? All they have left is the music that they've produced. Which is, of course, what they should be doing it for in the first place."

now, go listen to his band.

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Cambodian troops Quarantine Quan'su

The possible advances in the field of Zombie technology are amazing...
maybe my zombie army isn't that far off after all...

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Cambodian troops Quarantine Quan'su

HEADACHE!!!

all day...
not getting better...
keeping me from thinking...
no posting right now...

M

Events Coming Up!

I'm a devout agnostic, a radical humanist,
and somehow I can't get excited about this...

Events Coming Up!:
"Sat, Jun 18
2:30 pm
The June Monthly Meeting of Humanists of Houston in the Unitarian Univeralist Fellowship at 1504 Wirt Road ...

Our speaker will be Roger Brewin, minister at the First Unitarian Church in Hobart, Indiana, and an impersonator of historic characters. He will appear as Clarence Darrow.

ROGER BREWIN has been portraying Clarence Darrow in his trademark rumpled suit and battered Borsalino hat since 1981.His presentation has been described as 'superb: interesting. educational, and funny.' (University Honors Program, Bowling Green, OH)

After this monthly meeting, those interested may join us at the 59 Diner for informal conversation over coffee and snacks.."

I don't know how to get people involved in humanism, but I'm pretty sure this ain't it....
We need X-treme humanism if we're going to survive in today's marketplace of ideas.

My first suggestion:

Let's meet in a bar.

and at night.

The only thing I like to do on Saturday afternoon
is recover from Friday night.

I need an army of young humanists to get this whole door to door prosletyzing for human potential thing going and I don't think I'm gonna find 'em watching a minister from Hobart playing Clarence Darrow.

Although I'm sure he's very good.

the weekend is over

and I'm here...
at work...

what did I get done this weekend...
a lot, but only a little of what I wanted...
didn't get much studying done.
Got one monologue memorized.

friday night - karaoke and drinking
saturday - recovery - studying - not much else
saturday night - night just before the forests, and danseparc (lots of drinking...lots)
sunday - studying - lunch with Margaret Two-Star - oh yeah and filming for a top secret private BLP production - more monologue work - studying - TDU practice (minus two members) and then waiting for someone to show up who didn't...
then more monologue work...
then not enough sleep...
whoohoo!

Spitzer Takes Down Racist Agencies

If you were wondering who Spitzer is and why I referred to him as a superhero in an earlier post - go read this.
Labor Blog

via Atrios

Eschaton - the job numbers...

are crap!!!
The Job Numbers

Republicans are NOT good stewards of the economy by any measure you care to name...

Halley's Comment: Holding Men To A Higher Standard

Breaking my own rule...said I wouldn't talk about chasing women on the blog, but I have to comment on this, and since Halley has comments locked down on her blog, I'll do it here...

Halley's Comment: Holding Men To A Higher Standard:
"Women are holding men to a higher standard -- the SAME higher standard women have been held to for years.

Women are expected to have:

1. good bodies
2. good clothes
3. cute shoes
4. good senses of humor
5. good manners
6. good jobs
7. good credit
8. nice places to live
9. be good cooks
10. be good in bed"

I'll just address there one at a time..

1. good bodies - yes, but good bodies come in ALL shapes and sizes...
2. good clothes - it's best they don't dress like a scarecrow, but if they can make that work that's even good...
3. cute shoes - um, no...ladies, other women are the only ones who care if you are wearing "cute" shoes...Sexy shoes are nice once in a while...but really I'm more interested in the feet inside...mmm....feet.
4. good senses of humor - well, yeah.
5. good manners - Um, considerate and nice? Yes. Knows which fork to use? couldn't care less.
6. good jobs - don't believe there are good jobs, so obviously no.
7. good credit - um, before I judged anyone on that one I'd need to remove the mote from my own bank account.
8. nice places to live - as long as it is not a bigger sty than my place, I'm fine.
9. be good cooks - nope, that's why there are restaurants...who has time to eat at home anyway? It's a nice plus, but certainly not expected.
10. be good in bed - yes. Nobody should have to accept bad in bed.

in a followup Halley says:
I thought men would be upset to read about women expecting so much more from them, holding THEM to a higher standard. Weirdly, I got push back instead on the notion that men are constantly judging and comparing women. A number of men said they don't do this. Huh!!!!???? This seems really strange to me.

I've heard men. I know a few men. They've told me what they really do when a bunch of women walk by. A lot of them can tell you a woman's bra cup size from 50 feet and I've heard them say it. Get real, guys! We know you're sizing us up. The idea that men are not judging women ... yeah, right, I say.

but what has that to do with good cook? cute shoes? credit?

umm...nothing...

Whiskey Bar: A Cox in the Henhouse

Whiskey Bar: A Cox in the Henhouse

This is awful.
I was a stockbroker
in the heady
day-trading
days.
They made adjustments
again and again to keep
the super-rich in charge
and the rest of us out of the
game entirely.
Still, the SEC occasionally busted up
some bad behavior on the part of the house of Morgan
or Goldman/Sachs...

REFORM people...
The Dems should really start pounding on REFORM,
and they should appoint some kind of superhero like Spitzer
to run the SEC when they get the chance...

this is awful.
They are going to be draining $$$ away from the rest of us
in brand new creative ways...
you won't even feel their hand in your pocket.

File Under: Know Your Enemy: BUZZSCOPE :: Take That! #3 - Understanding Nazis - by Capt. America

BUZZSCOPE :: Take That! #3 - Understanding Nazis:
"Evil, as I see it, is any human activity that doesn’t grow out of purity, goodness, the American dream and not killing people with giant swastika robots. Humans simply cannot spend every waking minute being good and pure, otherwise I’d be out of a job and opening WalMarts around the country. There will inevitably be times when humans just don’t have the American dream in their hearts. And because those humans attempt to assert these evolution-bred instinct of trying NOT to do the right thing, evil is the way they assert their identities as individuals and break out of the narrow role goodness casts us in. This is how we get people like the Serpent Society and M.O.D.O.K.

Heh. M.O.D.O.K. "

Everything you needed to know about Nazi's...
but the #1 Nazi hunter!

houstonpress.com | Culture | Wet and Riled | 2005-06-02

houstonpress.com | Culture | Wet and Riled | 2005-06-02:
"Dark, apocalyptic and profoundly disturbing, Bernard-Marie Koltes's Night Just Before the Forests is kick-you-in-the-ass theater -- just the sort of thing Infernal Bridegroom Productions does so well. Produced in cahoots with DiverseWorks in its spare black-box performance space, the ambitious hour of avant-garde theater rails against nothing less than the terrors of fascism and the steely heart pounding without mercy in the core of our new world order. "

I'm going to see it tonight,
and Saturday...
Troy always kicks ass,
and this sounds like it is right up my alley...

Auditions we Hope to Never See Again

Auditions we Hope to Never See Again

"Choose appropriate material. Pieces of extensive anger and/or vulgarity can cause auditioners to tune out. "

"Don't choose a piece with obscene or offensive language"

Well, I'm a vulgar extensively angry guy.
do you want TRUTH or do you want something else?
If vulgarity is going to make you "tune out" chances are I don't want to work with you anyway...

I can at least say that looking through the "Overdone monologues" list I don't see anything I'd even consider there...
so, that's good...

The Washington Monthly - File Under: Mind Control

The Washington Monthly:
"Ernst Fehr of the University of Zurich and colleagues tested 194 healthy male students in a series of sophisticated games of risk and trust....Some players were given a whiff of oxytocin, some inhaled a vial of air. None of the players knew what they were sniffing and none knew whether the trustees were trustworthy or not: they had to make a decision. Those who sniffed oxytocin showed a greater propensity to trust someone than those who simply inhaled air."

We learned a new song!

whoohoo!
eh.
anyway, The Mathletes worked up "Retarded Futuristic Pinocchio Syndrome" last night.
It's about a robot that wants to be a toaster.

"You don't understand my dream how could you now?
it isn't your dream anyhow."

go hear Joe's recording of it here.

then I finished reading True and False. It was great. Inspiring and full of the kind of attitude you'd expect from Mamet. Stop whining and ACT! Speak your lines clearly and try to do something like the author intended.

timed a few of the monologues I was looking at...
they're all too long.
So, I started going through my stuff (which is what I should have done to begin with) and now I'm looking at a piece from Ionesco's Macbett and Pushkin's Don Juan.

I had Joe take some pictures of me and I'm going to use on of them for my head shot.
Everything I read about head shots seem to say the most important thing is that they look like you. Well, I trust Joe to capture that. He knows what I look like.
I'm not expecting anything to come of this audition really, I just want to have the experience of having done it.

and now back to work or something resembling work.

This is Pop!: "Lost" clues

if yr as addicted to "Lost" as I am yr really not looking forward to the summer...
here's a little something to tide you over...

This is Pop!: "Lost" clues

The Comics Curmudgeon � The Family Circus cavalcade of cruelty continues

The Comics Curmudgeon � The Family Circus cavalcade of cruelty continues:

This is why you should read the comics curmudgeon - even if you don't read the comics:

"“When you came along, Billy,” he thinks, “I lost my youth and privacy, I was no longer first in my wife’s affections, and I was ever more firmly shackled to a white-collar job I hate and a soulless suburban home I loathe. Every day I look at your fresh young face, full of life and vigour, and I’m reminded that I’m getting older and closer to death. But by God, at least you can’t get a fastball by me yet.” "

eh...

didn't see star wars after all...
decided to stay in and read.
made it through the monologues and there are few I'm going to play with before I pick two.
Starting reading the Mamet, and while I'm not sure I agree with anything, it is very practical advice, and has made me laugh out loud more than once...
A good read, and an interesting take on acting for sure.
Tonight is Mathletes practice!
whoohoo!

Dangerous Books

miscellaneous heathen / weirdwideweb

There's a lot of good stuff over at Miscellaneous Heathen today. This one is absolutely amazing though...
Chet says maybe "Mein Kampf" is dangerous...
I'd say it's more dangerous to bury "Mein Kampf" than it is to read it.
We need to know what goes on in "monsters" heads if we're to recognize them and stop them early...
and here's the ideas of one of the biggest in his own words...

The Daily Howler

The Daily Howler:
"Why do conservatives often do better in the nation’s endless spin wars? In part, it’s because liberal interests are often promoted by a wide array of self-involved fops. It’s a problem we’ll explore all this week."

Ahhh...The Howler.
I'll be reading all week...

These Days, Kraftwerk Is Packing Light

These Days, Kraftwerk Is Packing Light:
"To some, it may smack of overstatement to compare Kraftwerk to Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, James Brown and the Beatles as among the most influential pop figures of the 20th century, but their DNA is identifiable in everything from techno, house, trance, trip-hop and synthpop to hip-hop. In 1982, pioneering DJ Afrika Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force's 'Planet Rock' blended rap with the melody and beat from Kraftwerk singles 'Trans-Europe Express' and 'Numbers,' respectively, creating a seminal rap recording and one of the most frequently sampled tracks in history. Whether you think of the New Romantics and the synthpop movements of the '80s or today's rave culture, it's hard to imagine what modern music would sound like without Kraftwerk's innovations. What was brand-new in the mid-'70s is no longer an anomaly: Electro culture is everywhere, and Kraftwerk is its daddy."

I hear Kraftwerk almost as often as I hear Eno...
often in the works of people who probably are ripping off someone who ripped off someone who ripped off Kraftwerk (or Eno) and have no idea about the original...
Kraftwerk was/is the real deal.
This is a pretty nice article catching up with them,
and about how technology HAS caught up with them.

File Under: Texas is the reason... "Republican Legislators Unable to Say the 'P' Word"

Andrew at BOR reminds us, in case we forgot, just what the Texas lege accomplished this session:
Burnt Orange Report - Republican Legislators Unable to Say the "P" Word:
"This session could have been a disaster for the poor, but since the Republicans failed miserably in virtually all of their efforts they ended up coming out just beaten and not bludgeoned to death."

the scoop

bad news - failed my CCNA
news - they aren't firing me yet over it
good news - I picked up True and False by Mamet on Miller's recommendation
and a book of monologues which includes a bit of Foreman's President from Symphony of Rats so I'm hoping there'll be some other winners in there too...
good news - dropped off my form for co-ops...
good news - replaced two tires on the trooper...now I'm much less likely to end up stranded or a dead bloody mess!
good news - filmed my last scene in BLP's "MacBeth" this weekend
bad news - Needful Creatures closed this weekend. I miss it already.
news - think I'm finally gonna see Star Wars tonight...
good news - get to see The Night before the Forests this weekend

so, I guess overall, things are good...

TCG - American Theatre - Eyes Wide Shut

Barilla over at the IBP forums points us to this artice in American Theatre:

TCG - American Theatre - Eyes Wide Shut

His legacy is certain. His plays, however, remain open to interpretation. He himself notoriously insisted that The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard were "gay, lighthearted, comedies," but this was ignored by Stanislavsky, who directed the plays, according to Chekhov, as "weepy." The two men were often at loggerheads as a result. The premiere production of The Cherry Orchard, rehearsing in Moscow while the playwright withered in Yalta, gave Chekhov his final chance to decry what he saw as Stanislavky's enduring misinterpretation of his work. As his strength evanesced, he roused himself, fired up his pen and dashed off acid-tinged missives that warned Stanislavsky against employing his familiar, cloying theatrical tricks. These usually involved the offstage sounds of dogs barking, birds singing and frogs croaking. Early in their collaboration, an exasperated Chekhov even exclaimed, "I shall write a new play and the first words will be, 'It's wonderful, this calm! No birds, no dogs, no cuckoos, no owls, no nightingales, no clocks, no sleigh bells, no crickets.'"

I've always thought Chekov was funny.
I hope we get to see new translations/adaptations of everything.

Daily Kos :: PROGRESSIVES!!!??? Like LIEBERMAN!!!???

Daily Kos :: PROGRESSIVES!!!??? Like LIEBERMAN!!!???:
"I am sorry, but if ANYONE actually believed that the Bush Administration was telling the truth, then they are NOT 'progressives.' The whole thing was out there, plain to see, and literally MILLIONS of Americans saw it. People climbing on the bandwagon now who supported this administration in any way whatsoever after it stole the election in 2000 ought to be sent, Cultural Revolution style, out into the working populace and made to mingle with the people until their heads pop on back out of their asses."

Preach on!
That's the thing that keeps getting me...
Folks keep saying, "Well, everyone thought there were WMD's!"

I didn't.
Neither did most of the folks I know.
Neither did most of the folks involved in searching for the programs (Scott Ritter, etc.).
Neither did Colin Powell or Condaleeza Rice if you believe their public pronouncements before the beating of war drums began...
(and yes, I'm too lazy to look for the links right now...)
but yeah, if you've believe Bushco's lies,
it's because you were already inclined to do so,
not because you (in the liberal tradition) looked at the facts on the ground and found your truth there.

Daily Kos :: Professional Women...You're Making Your Man Sick

Daily Kos :: Professional Women...You're Making Your Man Sick:
"In short, men are still geared to a traditional life as the breadwinner. 'We found that the more the man works, the better his wellbeing,' the authors say. "

All I can really say about this is that it's obvious they didn't interview me...
SLACK FOREVER!

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Tale of the tape

Salon.com Arts & Entertainment | Tale of the tape:
" The stories are endless. There is the guy who in college used the same mix tape to impress three different girls -- his girlfriend, a fling and a prospective second fling -- simultaneously and got away with it. There is the 13-year-old whose musical existence was shaken out of a Sex Pistols-Beatles bipolarity by mix tapes from cooler, older friends. There is the guy who made a romantic tape called 'You Best Believe I'm in Love' with nothing on it but New York Dolls songs. "

My first exposure to Bauhaus, The Cure, The Violent Femmes, Husker Du, and in fact most of the bands that I would spend listening to through most of high school were introduced to me on one mix-tape or another...
From Jertsy To Marxy was a tape my friend Monica made me back in the day that included everybody up there and more...
Some guy I knew in band, don't remember his name, but I remember a tape with The Dead Kennedy's and The Dickies among others...
and later making mix-tapes for girlfriends and possible girlfriends (and ex-girlfriends...is there anything sadder than the mix-tape made for an ex?)...
finding ways to make Dylan, and Dwight Yoakum work with The Clash, Brian Eno, The Cure, and more...it was always about maximum eclecticism for me,
even if there was a definite theme or idea working it's way through...
I've always been musically democratic, "all musics for all people" being my ideal,
and the mix-tape, my mix-tapes, were all about that ideal.
My friend Josh would literally work and rework mix-tapes until you could hear snippets of things he'd recorded over in the background. He could work on one for months at a time...

Maybe we can convince Thurston (or his publisher) to set up a site so that we can ALL tell our mix-tape tales...

Candy Jones article - Mind Control Victim? - the precursor to Cathy Phillips and the Presidential Model

For those of you that have read Tranceformation of America I give you a bit of history...

Candy Jones article - Mind Control Victim?:
"Jensen told her that she would need to be in good health for her undercover work and suggested she needed vitamins, which he injected into her intravenously from then on. These 'vitamins' were actually highly experimental drugs. He also told her about hypnosis and its uses, demonstrating it by hypnotising her, although she insisted she couldn't be hypnotised. It was then that he found Arlene, and developed her into someone he could use. Arlene was brought out and took Candy over, and in reality it was her who was sent on various experimental missions at home and abroad. Candy would become Arlene in appearance too, wearing a wig and different make-up. Of course Candy was programmed not to remember all this, but when Donald Bain talked to her for his book she still had one of the passport photos of her as Arlene ( which Bain published), wearing a black wig and dark make-up."

"Candy as Arlene attended training camps, military bases and secret medical facilities throughout America. She was trained to use explosives, to fight in close combat with improvised weaponry such as a hatpin, and taught about disguise and communications. She learned how to kill with her bare hands, resist pain, and deal with interrogation techniques. She carried and was taught to use a .22-caliber pistol, and was introduced to such devices as a lipstick containing poison, which could be used to commit suicide, if captured, by biting into the stick. She also learned how code numbers could be painted on her nails and covered with nail polish. All Candy Jones knew about all this was that she had occasionally delivered mail for her government. She was not aware of her alter ego Arlene at all, though Arlene knew all about her, and thought her weak."

Does this mean Project Monarch has been going on since the 40's?
Does this mean Mark Phillips and Cathy O'Brien picked up on the Candy Jones story and used it as a model for theirs?

I can't believe I haven't come across this before...
good stuff...
I'll be using this for sure...

corrente / Leah, Lambert, Tresy, the farmer, Tom, Xan, RDF, and Riggsveda

corrente / Leah, Lambert, Tresy, the farmer, Tom, Xan, RDF, and Riggsveda:
"Remember, it's a fucking LIE. When I think of Memorial Day, I think of wasted lives. I think of World War One, with its terrible piles of dead. I recall Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I think of the warmongers among us now, drooling over their maps and new weapons, just sure that their special deity is on their side. And I think of the recruiters. And I think of the obscene 'defense' (read 'imperial war') budget. And I put on a recording of 'Universal Soldier' and read Johnny Got His Gun and cry and then get angry, very angry. I'm sorry, soldiers everywhere--one day this madness must end and there are those working toward it. As Dr. King said, we either learn to live together as brothers and sisters or perish together as fools.
Happy Memorial Day. Now there's an oxymoron. "

I think that about sums it up.

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: May 22, 2005 - May 28, 2005 Archives

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: May 22, 2005 - May 28, 2005 Archives:
"Remember, the McClellan/DiRita attacks on Newsweek weren't simply about getting a few facts wrong or weakly sourcing a story. Their claim was that the charges were outrageous, damaging and false, when in fact it turns out they were outrageous, damaging and quite likely true. And even more damaging for the US after McClellan and DiRita spent a couple weeks heaping attention on them."