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Showing posts from January, 2007

Tony Clifton

Y'know, I don't know why I'm fascinated by Tony Clifton. But it may have something to do with Sarah Silverman. "The question of whether she means it is one that Ms. Silverman has faced before. While most actors are reluctant to discuss critics’ opinions of them, Ms. Silverman addresses them head on, particularly a 2005 review of “Jesus Is Magic” by A. O. Scott, a film critic for The New York Times." - New York Times , Janaury 31, 2007 Edward Wyatt from the New York Times wrote about A.O. Scott from the New York TImes writing about Sarah Silverman's Jesus is Magic : “It totally hurt my feelings and was like a kick in the stomach,” but, she said, she found it fascinating. In the review Mr. Scott said her act was “the latest evidence that mocking political correctness has become a form of political correctness in its own right.” “She depends on the assumption that only someone secure in his or her own lack of racism would dare to make, or to laugh at, a racist

Thoughtful Culture

Click the photo above -- a detail of a work by Esther Nisenthal Krinitz , photo by Wes Rowe -- and read the article on one of the exhibitions currently @ Magnes . Nextbook.org is an interesting place, and some of the best writing is by Robin Cembalest of ArtNews , like this one .

STOLEN from metadish

"Is Nothing Sacred?" "Oh great. Victoria Beckham is writing a blog. That just cheapens the entire thing; we don’t want to be a part of a club that would have her as a member. According to People: For the past few months, the former Posh Spice has been penning small missives to fans on her Web site, www.dvbstyle.com . In her latest post, titled "Greetings from L.A.," she gushes about moving to Los Angeles later this year, where her soccer star husband David will play for the L.A. Galaxy. [Translator's note: PLEASE click the link below. And I just hope the "Bang and Olufsen" titled clip is still playing. Is this self-promotion? Or is Posh Spice engaged in some kind of complicated, super-ironic self parody? She's mike-ed. Check the bunny ears by the store clerk or passer by at the beginning. And the spill? And I swear Mrs. Beckham almost walked right into that door. And who's the smoker, by the door, who is so remarkably unengaged by th

Beantown's Finest?

Karmaloop CEO and founder is 30-something Greg Selkoe . According to sources , he may also be one of the company's oldest employees. I keep getting e-mails from these people. And they appeal to the 17 in my 37, but I can't afford the clothes. Does anyone know if this company's doing well? They sure seem to have a strong e-Marketing campaign. Y'know, I wish them luck. An' I'm glad they're out there. They send me e-mails all the time. I love them. And I take their e-mails as a compliment. As if I am deserving of their latest update on signature tattered jeans, urban camouflage and ladies' Paul Frank orange undies/sleep gear. I got on their list because my wife got me a pair of Jean-Michel Basquiat Reebok sneakers. May he, the JMB, rest in pieces, scattered 'cross the universe... And touching lives, like the young ones engaged at the Brooklyn Art Museum's retrospective exhibition .

Radio Star

I'm 'upposed to be on the radio in a couple of weeks and thanks mainly to a chance encounter with one of the more amazing cats I've had the good fortune to meet. Jesse Townley came through the Magnes on a Sunday. We struck up a conversation because he had on all this Alternative Tentacles gear . Jesse's been with the 924 Gilman PUNK ROCK COLLECTIVE . Ran for office he did. He's worked to help the Access Challenged. And he gives off one of the kindest-guy vibes. Jesse's one of the peoples who runs Soap Box Derby on KALX . If I get a tape, I'll send it to ya'...all o' youse. Jesse knows Jello Biafra . Sh*t, he works with him. I was sort of hoping and expecting to meet folks like Jesse when I got out here. It just took a while.

Quoting my friend Tom, who wrote on...

2007-01-20 Dear Tom, Yours is one of the best posts/blogs I have seen on the war...(especially as a fundraiser for arts and education, as I am...when is the, um, air force going to have a, um, bake sale?) I could not "blog" your blog, so I have simply pirated it, with a link to Chock-a-Blog from the Title . You're one of the smartest guys I know...(and I wish I could make that sound like some kinda Jay-Z intro. -- "look what you done, kid...you gone a long way to makin' 'em get it, dog..." o.k. nevermind...) What can you buy for $1.2 trillion? A "doubling of cancer research funding, treatment for every American whose diabetes or heart disease is now going unmanaged and a global immunization campaign to save millions of children’s lives...universal preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old child across the country. The city of New Orleans could also receive a huge increase in reconstruction funds...The recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that have n

Alterity

Tackling Mahler's Fifth Symphony npr : Weekend Edition Saturday. Washington, D.C.: Jan 20, 2007. pg. 1 Scott Simon, host Marin Alsop , guest SIMON: We have a quote from Alma Mahler I want to ask you about. She quoted Gustav Mahler as saying, I am thrice homeless: a native of Bohemia and Austria - that's where he was born - an Austrian among Germans - where he came to live - and as a Jew throughout the world. Everywhere an intruder never welcomed. Do you detect those feelings in his music? Ms. ALSOP: Oh, absolutely. Because I think each one of us has a feeling of being an outsider in some way. And that's probably what draws us to art, because it's a way of expressing that sense of isolation and aloneness. And for Mahler, throughout his music, he's constantly trying to bring these two worlds together, whether it's, you know, his religious heritage, or whether it's the fact that he's from a very simple background. And he loves peasant music, and he loves ma

Fora.tv

I am so pleased that the Magnes has partnered with this wonderful and remarkable group at fora.tv . Founded initially on a political bent, fora finds the important and thoughtful stuff that's happening and pouts it on-line -- from the UN and other world bodies. Now moving into the world of culture...with "political" implications --- see Eno and Wright above, fora has added Magnes as a partner. Search for the Magnes and find programs on Conceptual Art, Art and Outer Space and How to teach the Holocaust to new generations through Art... TV's on my mac...('cuz it ain't a p.c. no more...)

Berkeley Rep

I am posting here the dates of the shows that we will be seeing this winter/spring at Berkeley Repertory Theater downtown. Really, it is just here so I can add these dates to my calendar at work. Pillowman:Feb 4 Lighthouse:Mar 2 Bluedoor:May 4th Oliver Twist:June 8 Their grafix are cool, so two are loaded above.

Blography: Pornography or Subconscious

"When you go on vacation, you take lots of pictures that you put in photo albums when you get home, so you can show them to your friends and thusly share the experience. Blography is the photo album for my continuous Internet vacation." -- from about.php Is the existence of explicit sex on the internetz quite natural? because it's really jus' a collective mind? And doesn't the collective mind hide many sexually explicit grafix? Seeing ourselves naked? Idealizing bodies? Would you share this with your mother? Would you share this wife your wife? Husband or father? Would you share all your thoughts, and is the internetz a collective unconscious or public forum? blography is an inneresting way to explore.

My Blog, my blog, my blog, my blog...

(To be sung to the tune of "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie...) I had just read over Frances Dinkelspiel's blog and noticed she had a counter. I clicked and checked it out, then loaded it on my site using the SiteMeter utility. I already am feeling a bit of the blog addiction. Now there are toys, too?... Then that next morning an article ran in the NY Times titled "Some Bling for Your Blog." . And I had this interesting moment. If I had just did something that was then being reported in the New York Times, was I behind-the-Times (so to speak), with them or what? "According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, about 12 million Americans now maintain a blog. Widgets are elements, often in the left or right columns of a blog, that enhance its usefulness or aesthetic appeal. (The term “widgets,” confusingly, can also refer to compact applications that operate on a computer’s desktop.)" Kirsner, Scott. "Some Bling for Your B

Get the...outta here!

Attached herewith is a video of Jimmy Page that should stand to remind us all that Rock 'n' Roll in Britain stemmed from something they Britons called "skiffle." Basically, Little Richard's got one big ass point. I mean he watched his sh*t get turned into music called "skiffle," performed by fourteen year olds...

Finest Songs and Best Videos Evah

O.K. This, too, is OLD , but I'm thinkin' this may be one of the finest songs and best videos evah. Check it: "nothin's ever promised tomorrow today," "...like Tim its a 'Hard-a-way." "Before you ask me to get a job today, can i at least get a raise on a minimum wage?" "And I know the government administered AIDS..." what the f\/&k is he at?! How'd he get to rhyming "cop car" and "cop car"?! and I think he rhymed cigarette with cigarette ?! ...I mean language it IS a virus? I sith you not. There is somethin' jus' two smart about all this. But that's an OLD observation. Why'd they bury this Michel Gondry vid, tho? Was it for kanye being in the bed with the kidz? Kanye West Heard 'Em Say Mr. West, Mr. Wes'..Mr. Wes'..Mr. Wes... [echoes] [Kanye:] Uh, Yeah, Uh, yeah, uh, yeah, uh, yeah. [Piano drops] And I heard 'em say, nothin ever promised tomorrow today.

Talk about Synergized Media

Darth Vader is imprinted on my upbringing. And "fetish" fashion has been something that I have never really quite understood exacterly. But I have been mightily impressed that there are humans for whom fetish is big. I was just wandering through the Comic Book store on Piedmont when I walked Emil to sleep in the stroller this afternoon. And I noticed there was an "adult" section in the back. The adult section consisted mainly of "fetish" material, whether old Betty Page stuff or newer, weirder...nuthin' like dis doh. I was sent this way by my dear, dear Neva Chonin (*): Yeah, baby! Craptastic blockbusters like War of the Worlds and Revenge of the Sith continue to infest theaters, spreading their spores of stupidity, but on Teh Internets, summer fun and fetishes roam free. No, this isn't another item about the Star Wars Kid. This is a shout-out to an intrepid lass on Yahoo! Korea who has posted pictures of herself in her favorite fetish gear

Casting Call

Yes, this is OLD news, but I can read about Jack Black having a baby over and over... We love us some Jack Black. In the latest celeb baby news, Jack Black is a new dad. His wife, Tanya Haden, gave birth to a baby boy. In a posting on Us Weekly's Web site, the 36-year-old adds, "I'm going to be the best daddy on the planet and I'm going to enter the best daddy competition. And I'm going to win it." And what's Jack Black doing playing me pregnant?! The movie's Levy, Too ...due in the fall of '11.

Who Played You in the Movie?

Mariska Hargitay welcomes a son from Celebrity Babies Update: Mariska's publicist told People magazine that the baby's name is August and he was born at 3:21 p.m. on June 28. Originally posted June 28 8:32 pm: Mariska Hargitay and her husband, actor Peter Hermann, welcomed a baby boy earlier today, who weighed 10 lbs 9 oz, via C-section. She was a week past her due date and she DID look big! Yes, this is OLD news, but I can read about Mariska Hargitay having a baby over and over... We love us some Mariska Hargitay. And what's Jack Black doing playing me in college?! The movie's Levy , due in the fall of '09.

Hydrangea

I'll have to check and see if I spelt this correctly later... Hydrangea is a magical plant that grows well out here in Northern California. I have posted this because I cannot believe the U.S. is supporting Capital Punishment in Iraq. And so here is a mightily pommed Hydrangea, in lieu of writing something inspired or insightful...illustrated by a hanged man.

Traywick

Went to an opening at Traywick Contemporary yesterday on Colusa, just off Solano... I was amazed. What a fantastic sampling of people and a beautiful space.

Quilt Show

Our friend Patricia Bruvry is included in this exhibition of quilted work at the SF Public Library. Following the North Star: African American Quilts - Ten contemporary handmade quilts in the tradition of Underground Railroad quilts that show how certain quilt designs and colors gave coded messages to slaves running north to freedom. Quilt block patterns such as “Wagon Wheel,” “Log Cabin” and others will be explained. The quilts were made by City College Quilters, a multi-ethnic group of women that are enrolled in quilting class at City College of San Francisco. Exhibition: January 27 through March 1, 2007 Main Library, Third Floor, African American Center Related Program: Talk and demonstration on African American quilt-making history Saturday, February 3, 2007, 2 – 4 pm Main Library, Lower Level, Latino/Hispanic Meeting Room 100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Emil

A day getting out to the beach by way of the Tennessee Valley Trail.

NPR on Bush on 60 Minutes

Bush Defends Iraq Plan on CBS' '60 Minutes' by Steve Inskeep

MLK Day

From the Gallery of 20th century martyrs at Westminster Abbey. It is amazing to hear the Reverend Martin Luther King's voice so many times on the radio in the U.S. around this time of year. It can't keep you from crying at times. Then you hear the commentator -- often someone who heard the speech first-hand -- and they remark, "Grown men were crying..." O.K., ...good to post an excerpt: "Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major. Say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. Say that I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things in life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that's all I want to say. If I can help somebody as I pass along, if I can cheer somebody with a word or song, if I can show somebody he is traveling wrong, then my living will not

The Devil Plays for My Son

I usta REALLY like music that was right-here, in-your-face and left you deaf. ...then I had a boy. And I wanna congratulate local bands, falsetto heels and people what wanna help their friends. love it all above . THE THING IS...that my seven-month old son loves the sound of this little incestuous couple. Emil LOVES the White Stripes. The Devil came to our cd player and said, "Hallelujah, I love 'em so."

The Inexplikable

My love it is boundless, and I want to be sure you all get to see this. This BLOG is entitled Love It All Above , with the idea that the title's real specific and indefinite at the same time. Love "it" all above? What's "It?"...Exactly. An article. It ain't nothing and it is everything. It is what eBay's latched on to as its entire campaign. It. It's the cleanliness that's so close to...

Estate of James Brown (R.I.P.)

She also announced that the estate will not only serve as Mr. Dynamite's final resting place but will also be transformed into a museum and potential tourist mecca celebrating the life of one of the 20th century's greatest and most influential entertainers. for full article click here .

Me and the E

I called my good friend Dave in Boston, just to hear his voice and hear how things was jiggin' at the Newbury Comix , life in Beantown, etc. Well and I guess I had to mediate or moderate the way I'd sorta blogged over top of his last blog on my now-English friend Billy's blog . And I said to Dave, "Y'know, I'm sorta doing what it was those folks who used to move into vacant apartments back in nyc and steal their ConEd usta do... What's it..., what was that term?" "Squatting, " said Dave, matter-of-factedly. I had set up this Love It All Above blog some many months ago. So now I will try to use it, and leave my friend Billy a few less "crazy" post responses...

Don't Squat on My BlogSpot, Man.

billy Says: Dear Levy (aka man of a thousand pseudonyms) 1) Yes- Dave is Dave and I am not pretending to be him 2) If I recall, you didn’t remember the land of the lost show (or maybe we made it the year you lived in Maryland) 3) You can do a guest blog, but it would have to be funny, not crazy. Send me some ideas… remember- NOT crazy. 4) Your last post- d.b.a. makes no sense at all. Maybe just to me, but probably to everyone. This is the crazy I’m worried about. 5) Why so angry?