Party House

Hey Party Attendees,

 Here's the address: 1153 Frye, East Lansing, MI, 48823

 and here's a link on gmaps - http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=1153+Frye+Ave,+East+Lansing,+MI+48823&sll=42.732734,-84.46744&sspn=0.008275,0.019312&g=1153+Frye+Ave,+East+Lansing,+MI+48823&ie=UTF8&ll=42.733049,-84.467268&spn=0.008275,0.019312&z=16&iwloc=addr

 so you can see what the house looks like.

 Johnny's making reservations at Los Tres Amigos for tomorrow at 7pm so if you haven't RSVP'd yet you're pretty much fucked. 

 Guests should plan to arrive around 5pm tomorrow unless you're one of the ones I gave special permission to.

  We're going to be shifting cars into the backyard possibly if we have more than 7 so be ready!!

It's going to be so amazing ;) 

Dax's Top Ten 2008

In no particular order...

Vacations & Visitors: Istanbul, Boston, Michigan, Montauk (Long Island). It's become harder to stay in touch with people, so it was especially nice to visit Paul and Ian in their natural habitats. Also, when people pass through NYC it's an opportunity to reconnect while seeing different parts of the city.

Continuing Education Classes at SVA: Advanced Screenwriting, Writing for TV, Weekend Photoshop. They're helping me finish a couple long-standing ideas, and also remind me how much fun writing groups are.

Family: biggest thing is my sister moved to Chicago (I'm proud of her!). My mom has successfully made the transition to empty nest living, and my dad continues to do what he loves -- farm the backyard with Chicha.

Friends: a couple new guys started at VH1 (we play Rock Band together) and one of the guys who sits in my immediate area has loosened up. I got to know my housemate Tyler better, and found out that he's a really funny guy (which I didn't know for the first year we lived together). Also kept active with the usual suspects and strengthened ties with some acquaintances.

Concerts: Selim Sesler, The Dirtbombs, Red Light New Music, Crystal Stilts, Wire, The Black Lips, Mission of Burma, Times New Viking, Julieta Venegas, Liars, Omar-S, Jura, Indian Guides, Fields of Industry, ADULT., Oscillating Fan Club, Child Bite, Tyvek, Terrible Twos, among others.

Helping Fields of Industry: I learned a lot about promoting a band and hopefully got them more name recognition.

Grill-Outs: I made it a goal to utilize our backyard this summer, which I achieved with a little help from my friends. I had a birthday kegger and another time we played Kubb, a Swedish lawn game.

Sports: with Tristan in the house I kept up on stuff more than usual. Football Saturdays were especially nice.

The Election and Financial Crisis: what a nutty year! The stage is set, I hope Obama delivers.

Perfecting my bathroom routine.

SCSF Blowout: Music

Does anyone have a CD player with a line out jack we could use for the party? Johnny has speakers already...

Also, we were toying with the idea of having a setup to play mp3s and make a playlist as the evening goes on, but scratch that -- bring a CD-R mix, not a data disc of mp3s.

Note that this year's mixes are NOT dance mixes. Some songs on your mix may be danceable, but we will NOT dance to them at the party (unless we are in the basement). Let that affect your mix-making process as it may.

UPDATE

From Johnny:

"The CD player is for downstairs to play music to dance to and only if nobody wants to use their ipod.

We can play MP3 CD-R's upstairs just fine either through the PS3 or through the HTPC."

SCSF Blowout: Karaoke

I hope everyone's enjoying the holiday season. We could use a little help with the New Year's party -- we're unable to find a place that rents CDGs (we already have the machine). If you could call a rental place or music (instrument) store in your area and bring karaoke CDs to the party, it would be great. If you do secure the product, please make a new post letting people know. Of course, we'll all split the cost.

Swim Club Super Friends -- mobilize!

Graham 2008 top ten

No particular order.

1. Sunset Television - so much fun and creatively satisfying. Prepare for episode 3, it's gonna be epic.

2. Hanging with my buddy Nicole and awesome new friends and awesome old friends.

3. Photoshop Jammin/New blog

4. Hanging out with Lewis Cole and helping write his book. Then visiting him at the hospital and then speaking at his memorial.

5. TA-ing for two classes, "Elements of the Dramatic Narrative" and "Script Analysis"
5b. One of my students telling me at the end of the class, "You're the best TA I ever had."

6. Spreading the word "jam" around with my friends. I can explain what it means later but you've just got to feel it. The link is an editing jam. Follow-up word: epic.

7. Awesome British Comedies/Tim and Eric

8. Ira Levin and getting down with genre writing in general. Getting closer to figuring out the kind of scripts I want to write.

9. Games. This could very well be called the year of the games - mini-ping-pong, Monday night game night, mafia, xbox 360, iphone free games

10. Kramers Ergot 7

New Years is Coming!!

I hope you're all excited for New Years!

We need to find a ride for Carlie. Is anyone driving from Detroit Metro or Ann Arbor on New Years Eve? Can they pick Carlie up in Belleville?

Has everyone emailed/called me yet who's coming?

Here's a pic of me from last week. I hope it's just a precursor!

Top things of 2008

1. moving to our new house : twice the space for the same price!

2. playing games, taking walks, watching football, and spanning time with this one

3. rediscovering how fun swimming is

4. epic bike rides around pittsburgh

5. seeing Heaven & Hell

6. visiting Texas

7. new friend (complete with dog and fun board game nights)

8. Claire's visit to pittsburgh in July.

9. becoming adept at making quiches (but not the crust)

10. discovering slow italo disco

Needle-sized art

You won't believe this.

Ed Special: The Story of the Naivete

This Christmas Eve, curl up with a glass of eggnog and listen to The Story of the Naivete, by WCBN's Ed Special -- an audio collage conflating Jesus' birth, sex education, and Popol Vuh. Snag it here.

New Years

Hey guys,

Don't forget! New Years is Dec 31st! We have a few things to tell ya:

RSVP TO ADAM, jaros.adam@gmail.com, if you want to grab a delicious Mexican dinner earlier in the evening at Los Tres Amigos.

Make a New Years Mix! We will be able to accommodate both CD and MP3 mixes.

And if you have access to CDG's for a karaoke machine, please post and let us know. We've arranged the karaoke machine but are still working on getting some killer songs.

School ReDesign Episode 2

School ReDesign Episode 1

BUTTSO BOWL II

The time has come.  The Swim Club Super Friends league championship will be decided today in Buttso Bowl II, this year's most highly anticipated fantasy sports championship event.  

It's Fighting Skeeters (Tristan) vs. You Booze You Win (Troy)

Many of you may be asking: Who is this Troy?  Well, Troy is a friend of Josh Schultz's, a native of Jackson, and an alumnus of Michigan Tech, perhaps the UP's finest academic institution.  I met him and he's cool.

FoI @ Mittenfest 2008

If you're home for the holidays, you should turn out to see Fields of Industry play next Friday at Mittenfest in Ypsilanti! The show is at the Elbow Room, and there are other bands playing all weekend. If I were there, I would also catch Lightning Love, Prussia, and Frontier Ruckus.

The bowl boondoggle

Link

Long but good article about college football bowl games. Although now I want to work for a bowl committee.


Excerpt:

Scanning recent tax documents, the Sugar Bowl spent:

• $1.3 million in employee salaries in 2006, including $453,399 in total compensation for Hoolahan

• $494,177 in unspecified “entertainment” (in 2005)

• $455,781 on unspecified “special appropriations” (in 2006)

• $348,487 in “Sugar Bowl entertainment” (in 2006)

• $188,305 on “Hall of Fame” (in 2005)

• $176,277 on “media relations” (in 2006)

• $118,004 on “decorations” (in 2006)

• $114,666 on “committee meetings” (in 2006)

• $84,255 on “conference relations” (in 2006)

• $82,884 on “other expenses” (in 2006)

• $60,932 on “gifts and bonuses” (in 2005)

• $58,995 on “liaison” (in 2006)

• $46,017 on “conference meetings” (in 2006)

Overall the Sugar Bowl spent $11.1 million in 2006 alone. The SEC operated its 2007 Championship Game (in effect a bowl game) for just $2.1 million. The ACC managed to pull off its 2006 title game for $1.2 million.

It’s not easy making a single, three-and-a-half-hour football game cost over $11 million; which might explain why the Sugar Bowl has an actual “committee on golf.”

Then there’s the “special committee on ladies’ entertainment” (which may or may not have anything to do with the “conference relations” tab being so high).

Then there’s the cronies-only-need-apply “football committee” which spent $272,231 in 2006. A good portion of that allowed guys to fly around and watch regular-season games. Despite having to wear a garish sport coat, it remains one of the greatest deals on earth.

Figured It Out

This one is good too:

Roaming Through Michigan

I don't know how to embed a youtube video, but wanted to post this. I thought you would appreciate it. It is kind of long, so at least stay tuned through the part with the bears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMR7veI78f8

You, The Living

I haven't seen this movie yet, but I thought this scene from youtube was awesome.

Two more gifs - click them

Also, I have taken to tumbl-ogging here: www.grahambo.tumblr.com

FoI on some Australian music blog.

In Australia, we are "not for everyone" but "highly recommended" nonetheless.

See.

Betty Paige Died

Link.

The Arsenal

The reporter's brother and nephew examine his remaining footwear collection.  

This link  has good pictures of how the shoe has become a new emblem of anti-occupation protesters in Iraq.

Suburban Sprawl 2008 Holiday Sampler

Suburban Sprawl, a Southeast Michigan indie label, releases a free holiday comp every year featuring covers and originals by Michigan music luminaries. 2008 highlights include entries from Prussia, Lightning Love, Will Yates, and The Oscillating Fan Club. Grab it -- plus past editions -- here.

Death Notes

His death "notes" range from the detailed studies he made of slaughter on the battlefield to an execution in Paris, from the animallike acceptance of death by the muzhiks on his estates to the greatly varying reactions he had to the many deaths in his own family. These, as was customary at all times until our own, included the frequent deaths of children. Sometimes he showed uncontrollable grief over the death of one of his little boys, sometimes almost a callousness, as though he was keeping death in its place.

I learned how to make gifs

click the image

Snoop Dog and Martha

2008 list

Sometimes I got to thinking that 2008 was the worst year of my life. But Alex made a list of 2008 and I remembered- there's a lot of stuff that was great about this year, and no, it wasn't the worst.

It's that time again. Top things of 2008.

1. my mom does NOT have liver cancer
2. Sunset TV friends: the summer/never stops/ping pong/poker/the joker
3. Obama
4. cool internship -> finally got a job
5. close friends' beautiful weddings
6. reading the Financial Times during these financial times/ news junkyism during the election
7. running in Riverside park
8. peanut-avocado sushi, Chipotle, scallion cream cheese
9. getting a digital camera (using money from things I sold)
10. Maybe #10 is the Olympics. Or maybe just this cake

What're yours?

Michigan Connection

Does anyone recognize this guy? His name is James Mangiafico. He taught philosophy and went to law school at U of M. My workfriend Steven's friend is dating him, though she's 22 and he's in his 40s (picture may not be up to date). Here's his work biography.

Confederate Fruit

Confederate Fruit: Rebel Song from Michael Nason on Vimeo.
This is by an acquaintance who lives here in NYC - for some reason I think Brian especially will like it!

Science: what will they think of next?

"An online poll conducted in the '90s set Vitaly Komar, Alex Melamid and David Soldier on a quest to create the most annoying song ever. After gathering data about people's least favorite music and lyrical subjects, they did the unthinkable: they combined them into a single monstrosity, specifically engineered to sound unpleasant to the maximum percentage of listeners. The song is not new, but it resurfaced on Dial "M" for Musicology.

Amazingly, this "most unwanted music" contains little dissonance -- that would have been too easy. For the most part, they seem to have tried to assemble these elements in a listenable way.

Komar & Melamid and David Soldier's list of undesirable elements included holiday music, bagpipes, pipe organ, a children's chorus and the concept of children in general (really?), Wal-Mart, cowboys, political jingoism, George Stephanopoulos, Coca Cola, bossanova synths, banjo ferocity, harp glissandos, oompah-ing tubas and much, much more. It's actually a fascinating listen, worthwhile for the opera rapping alone. (We didn't think that was possible either.)"

I actually really liked the song.
Scientific Attempt To Create Most Annoying Song Ever <--- Clicky for mp3

SilkySlims

A co-worked invited me to play video games with him and his friends on X-Box Marketplace (I think). His screenname is the above; they like to play a "death squad" version of Grand Theft Auto. If you want to play with him, just tell him know you know Dax from work.

SCFL Playoffs Round 2

In two phenomenally exciting round one matchups, the Commissioner's beloved Fighting Skeeters defeated the Caprica Buccaneers, 115-104.  The Bucs had been skillfully managed by Justin's sister throughout this season, and proved an excellent addition to the league.  For a first-year franchise, the trials of paying off the corrupt politicians who secured public financing for your ultra-modern stadium make actually fielding a competitive team cost-prohibitive.  The Bucs somehow managed to get it done and earn a playoff berth.

In the other round one matchup, Annie's Flaming Rancors upset Josh B.'s Sensitive Butchers, 100-84.  Josh is another first-year phenom and has put together an outstanding expansion team.

Josh S. and Troy have been waiting in the bushes to pounce on their second round prey after their first round byes.  This week's matchups are:

#1 Banana Who? (Josh S.) vs. #4 Fighting Skeeters (Me)

#2 You Booze You Win (Troy) vs. #6 Flaming Rancors (Annie)

Should be insanely exciting.  I'll keep you guys posted.

Tarek Found This

Pray

Skin Game

"We don't have to stand for this skin game if we're free Americans."

"Get off this estate."
"What for?"
"Because it's mine."
"Where did you get it?"
"From my father."
"Where did he get it?"
"From his father."
"And where did he get it?"
"He fought for it."
"Well, I'll fight you for it."

Capital One Bowl Baby

Those of you staying for New Years better be ready to party at 1pm on Jan 1st!

A Thought-Tormented Age

A new generation is growing up in our midst, a generation actuated by new ideas and new principles. It is serious and enthusiastic for these new ideas and its enthusiasm, even when it is misdirected, is, I believe, in the main sincere. But we are living in a sceptical and, if I may use the phrase, a thought-tormented age: and sometimes I fear that this generation, educated or hypereducated as it is, will lack those qualities of humanity, of hospitality, of kindly humour which belonged to an older day.

Blip Festival 2008: The Promo

Blip Festival 2008: The Promo from Richard Alexander Caraballo on Vimeo.

Even in Michigan, Not Everyone Wants a Lifeline

"The total of Michigan residents who receive some form of public assistance, like food stamps or home heating credits, is now 1.82 million, or close to 20 percent of the population, a record for the state."

There was an article about Michigan and the bailout in yesterday's New York Times.

No Quarter: SCFL Playoffs 2008

The Swim Club Football League regular season has drawn to a close, and half the league finds itself cruelly shut out of the playoffs.  Their hopes and dreams, the championship they'd envisioned at the start of the season, all that stuff is in the crapper.  Some teams have known for a few weeks that they weren't going to pull it off, while some saw their playoff hopes dashed in the very last week of the season.  I want to thank them all for their participation, and I am sure that they will learn from this disappointing year and start strategizing for the next.

But for now, they are losers.  And nobody likes a loser.  Nobody cares about a loser.  This is the USA, and we love one thing above all else: VICTORY.  Six of the twelve SCFL teams can still, ultimately, achieve the ultimate achievement: the SCFL Championship Trophy, awarded to the winner of the Buttso Bowl and presented by our new corporate sponsor, Baer-Jaros Ostrich Enterprises.

The final SCFL regular season standings:

Playoff bound:

1. Banana Who? (Josh S.)

2. You Booze You Win! (Troy)

3. Sensitive Butchers (Josh B.)

4. Fighting Skeeters (ME.)

5. Caprica Buccaneers (Justin's Sister)

6. The Flaming Rancors (Annie)

Misery bound:

7. Smackdown Zombies (Tricia)

8. Delicious Nachos (Nicole)

9. Vault Boy (Stefan)

10. Super Sea Turtles (My brother)

11. The Calamaties (Marlowe)

12. SuperfluousButtnoids (Justin)

Playoff Round 1:

#4 Fighting Skeeters vs. #5 Caprica Buccaneers

-Will the Commish stay alive in his own league?  He is not all that confident.

#3 Sensitive Butchers vs. #6 Flaming Rancors

-Two first year SCFL franchises collide.

Bye weeks for the top two teams as they await their round 2 prey.

I'll keep you all posted after this week's matchups are done.  For now, bonus insights:

Because people value my opinions regarding these sorts of things, here are some defining aspects of the NFL regular season, as I see it:

-Brett Favre, my all-time favorite athlete, goes to the Jets and is sometimes good, sometimes awful, and gets everyone's hopes up a little too much in NYC.  They'll be pissed off in the end, just like always.

-Al Harris of the Packers ruptures his spleen during a game.  How do you know if you ruptured your spleen during a football game?  When you piss blood during halftime!  He was back in action just a few weeks later.

-Plaxico Burress of the Giants, superstar wide receiver and former Spartan, shoots himself in the leg with his own gun at a Manhattan club!  And he doesn't have a concealed weapons permit!  Uh oh!

-Trick plays are back in the NFL!  Snap it to the running back, have your wide receiver throw passes, the wackier the better!  It's working for some teams and it's awesome!

-Former Wolverine Tom Brady is out for the season.  I get tired of him, so I don't really care.

Thanksgiving

Blogger W. Greg Tonner IV said...

Go hang yourself upon the Liberty Tree.

6:35 PM


I guess no one's quoted poetry without giving the name yet. William Burroughs' sentiments are harsh, but the only one I did not like was the AIDS comment.

If it makes you feel any better, I spent 12 hours on busses and 3 hours standing in the rain to get home yesterday. Like a good American.

Michigan Connection

One of Neil Young's first solo performances is being released -- it was recorded in Ann Arbor at the Canterbury House. You can listen to it on NPR.

New Years Planning Committee: Update

Friends,

Happy Thanksgiving! The New Years Planning Committee has been hard at work on the 08/09 party. We have a few key points which we'd like to share with you at this juncture.

Activities being planned include:

1. Karaoke
2. Beer Pong and other drinking games
3. A dance party
4. Live music (Fields of Industry show?)
5. Mystery Box

Do you have an idea for an activity? Add a comment and let us know!

As with all parties, concerns arise during the planning stages. This party has been no exception!

Concerns:

1. Noise. This will be a "two-tiered" fiesta - if you plan to be loud and crazy, make sure you do so in the lower "tier" - the basement.
2. The mess. We need to make sure that we share cleaning duties on the 1st. After breakfast, remember to pitch in and help clean up!
3. Mystery Box. Who/what is going to be in it?
4. Vlad and Jordan need to be invited.
5. Buttso. Will he show up and betray again?

Now, you may be asking yourself, "What can I do?"

If you haven't RSVP'd yet - please do! Adam and Johnny need to know how many plan to crash.

And let us know if you have a restaurant that you'd like to propose for dinner.

Thank you and God bless,

-The New Years Planning Committee

Naked Thanksgiving

Thanks for the wild turkey and
the passenger pigeons, destined
to be shat out through wholesome
American guts.

Thanks for a continent to despoil
and poison.

Thanks for Indians to provide a
modicum of challenge and
danger.

Thanks for vast herds of bison to
kill and skin leaving the
carcasses to rot.

Thanks for bounties on wolves
and coyotes.

Thanks for the American dream,
To vulgarize and to falsify until
the bare lies shine through.

Thanks for the KKK.

For nigger-killin' lawmen,
feelin' their notches.

For decent church-goin' women,
with their mean, pinched, bitter,
evil faces.

Thanks for "Kill a Queer for
Christ" stickers.

Thanks for laboratory AIDS.

Thanks for Prohibition and the
war against drugs.

Thanks for a country where
nobody's allowed to mind their
own business.

Thanks for a nation of finks.

Yes, thanks for all the
memories-- all right let's see
your arms!

You always were a headache and
you always were a bore.

Thanks for the last and greatest
betrayal of the last and greatest
of human dreams.

Nobody has any sympathy for durable goods manufacturing nowadays.

Good little Time blog post on the Big Three and the slightly unfair way the auto industry is treated by Congress when compared with the banking industry:

"Most Americans simply no longer identify with the domestic auto industry (or with the states of Michigan and Ohio). To the Southerners who now make up the core constituency of the Republican Party, it's a bunch of coddled, unionized workers trying to get handouts that the South's auto industry (Toyota, Hyundai, Nissan, Mercedes, BMW ...) doesn't need. To the coastal urbanites and suburbanites who now make up the core constituency of the Democratic Party, it's an industry that makes crappy big cars and fights against higher fuel efficiency standards. And to the business press it's the worst thing of all: a trio of companies that are neither exciting nor financially successful."

Fan \ Student made Mega Man movie trailer

Looks like NYC is the location, does anyone know the people who did this? The special effects seem really good for a student film.

Fuck the Economy....Let's Do It!

Dr. Church said there might be an alternative approach that would “alarm a minimal number of people.” The workaround would be to modify not a human genome but that of the chimpanzee, which is some 98 percent similar to that of people. The chimp’s genome would be progressively modified until close enough to that of Neanderthals, and the embryo brought to term in a chimpanzee.

“The big issue would be whether enough people felt that a chimp-Neanderthal hybrid would be acceptable, and that would be broadly discussed before anyone started to work on it,” Dr. Church said.

Here.

Disgustingly Cute

My parents are on vacation and Josh and I are dogsitting for them. Yesterday we took "Lil' Bit" out to tour Lansing and took these photos to send to them. I was the handler, Josh the photographer. There are more but sharing them all might be overkill.

'O' Logo for Obama campaign

Here's an interview with the guy who designed the 'O' logo for Obama.

http://campaignstops.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/the-o-in-obama/

A New Breed

For all of our enormous geographic range, for all of our sectionalism, for all of our interwoven breeds drawn from every part of the ethnic world, we are a nation, a new breed. Americans are much more American than they are Northerners, Southerners, Westerners, or Easterners. And descendants of English, Irish, Italian, Jewish, German, Polish are essentially American. This is not patriotic whoop-de-do; it is carefully observed fact. California Chinese, Boston Irish, Wisconsin German, yes, and Alabama Negroes, have more in common than they have apart.

My Mom's Art on Local News

About two minutes into this local news video on local art/retail shops in Grand Rapids you can see footage of an art show by my mom.

Get Hyped

Hey everyone.  This is the trailer to that reality show I'm in.  Think 'Project Runway' meets a lame corporate brainstorming session.  There's going to be two or three pilot episodes over the next few months.  You can check them out at  http://aftered.tv when they're aired.

If any of you happen to watch 'The Amazing Race', you might recognize the voice of the host, one half of the flamboyant duo Tom and Terry from two seasons ago.  He claims they were so famous that Oprah invited them on a dream cruise after they lost the show.  

Dang this is a cool photo of Tristan

Weird Days

Wanted to share these with you guys - my friend Alex, who is on the "Sunset Television" team, has been making these video assemblies pretty prolifically lately and here are my two favorites:


Speed Video #1 from Ben and Alex on Vimeo.


Sacred Geometry of Chance from Alex Goldberg on Vimeo.

Obscure Quotes

Raised in Zebulon, Georgia, where he first started writing songs at the age of five. At 18, a car accident left him partially paralyzed, though it wasn't long afterwards that he realized he could still play guitar. After his recovery he left Zebulon and moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the poetry he read there (by Stevie Smith, Walt Whitman, Wallace Stevens, W. H. Auden, Stephen Crane, and Emily Dickinson) served to inspire and influence him.

Quote of the Day

"How should I fear death? When I am, death is not; and when death is, I am not."
- Epicurus

Life Magazine photo archive

"Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today. Most were never published and are now available for the first time through the joint work of LIFE and Google."

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

Steamboat Willie

Today is the 80th anniversary of Mickey's first sound animation! I love this style of animation. In fact, I'm going to look up some Bosko...

Mason Proper - Point A to Point B

Everybody's Happy

The Americans will be leaving Iraq around 2011.

A Glorious Sermon

The minister, a man of iron with tool-steel eyes and a delivery like a pneumatic drill, opened up with prayer and reassured us that we were a pretty sorry lot. And he was right. We didn't amount to much to start with, and due to our own tawdry efforts we had been slipping ever since. Then, having softened us up, he went into a glorious sermon, a fire-and-brimstone sermon. Having proved that we, or perhaps only I, were no damn good, he painted with cool certainty what was likely to happen to us if we didn't make some basic reorganizations for which he didn't hold out much hope. He spoke of hell as an expert, not the mush-mush hell of these soft days, but a well-stoked, white-hot hell served by technicians of the first order.

Michigan Connection

Owen Gleiberman, film critic for Entertainment Weekly, is from Ann Arbor.

Celeb Sighting

Stefan and I saw Bill O'Reily at the Habitat for Humanity Gala.  His wife slipped 40 grand to our socialist organization while he was busy getting his picture taken with starstruck New York socialites. 

Why I believe in humanity

I heard this story once and I am recounting it. I don't know if it is true but a good part of me needs it to be true:

During the 1950s the Canadian government forced the Inuit into settlements. A family from Arctic Bay told me this fantastic story of their grandfather who refused to go. The family, fearful for his life, took away all of his tools and all of his implements, thinking that would force him into the settlement. But instead, he just slipped out of an igloo on a cold Arctic night, pulled down his caribou and sealskin trousers, and defecated into his hand. As the feces began to freeze, he shaped it into the form of an implement. And when the blade started to take shape, he put a spray of saliva along the leading edge to sharpen it. That's when what they call the "poo-poo knife" took form. He used it to butcher a dog. Skinned the dog with it. Improvised a sled with the dog's rib cage, and then, using the skin, he harnessed up another living dog. He put the poo-poo knife in his belt and disappeared into the night.

Celeb Sighting!

David Arquette, riding the down escalator while I was riding the up escalator at work.

R.I.P. Nathaniel Mayer

Detroit R&B legend Nathaniel Mayer passed away one week ago. You can grab some of his early recordings here (Village of Love is required listening), and stream a WFMU tribute here (starts at 1:30:00).

Sunset Television, Ep 2 - Heavy Metal

Episode 2 (Heavy Metal) from Sunset Television on Vimeo.
Hey guys, this is the next episode of Sunset Television. It's called "Heavy Metal" and is a bit more aggressive than the last one. Features music by Josh and the Arts Vs Entertainment Ensemble.

Election Night

Would people like to share where they were/what they were doing on election night, as well as any thoughts on the election?

"Best Day Ever" Goof

Practice?

New Piston Allen Iverson conducted perhaps the most famous press conference in NBA history back during his days in Philadelphia.

Welcome aboard, AI!

Japan's Response to President Elect Obama

Our Lot for Years to Come

When the tumult and the shouting die, when the bands are gone and the lights are dimmed, there is the stark reality of responsibility in an hour of history haunted with those gaunt, grim specters of strife, dissension, and materialism at home, and ruthless, inscrutable, and hostile power abroad... Sacrifice, patience, understanding, and implacable purpose may be our lot for years to come... Let’s talk sense to the American people! Let’s tell them the truth, that there are no gains without pains, that we are now on the eve of great decisions.

Woah

Michigan. Obviously there are a few momentous things going on the national level. But can we also talk about how proposition 1 was OVERWHELMINGLY passed?!!?!?!?!?!?!?

Gates McFadden - You Can See Russia From Here On A Clear Day

Everyone should download Joel's new album.

Mondale/Ferraro: Teach Your Children

A Thank You Note to Soon Departing Detroit Legend

Dear Chauncey,

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For your noble swagger. For your cold-blooded consistency in the clutch. Thank you for putting the team on its shoulders when no one else felt like doing anything, for punishing Tony Parker in the post and learning to become an world-class point guard. Thank you for the NBA finals MVP performance in 2004, for being part of the best backcourt in the NBA, and above all else, thank you for restoring DEEE-troit BA-SKET-BALL!

You will be missed. All the best in your return home to Denver.

Yours truly,

Swim Club Super Friends.

FoI in The Big Green

Fields of Industry are profiled in the November issue of The Big Green, an online MSU magazine. They got Josh's surname and the album title wrong, but it's still a nice piece.

Freaky Japanese Sex Thing?

Make $$$$. New Fun Job Walking Around New York City With FREAKY-HUGE Giant Stuffed Animals

Position Information
Occupation: Advertising
Industry: Retail
Job Type: Contract
Education: None
Salary: $200 per 1-day video proj

We are looking for uninhibited, outgoing, creative pairs of people to walk around busy Manhattan streets, while carying one of our ENORMOUS giant stuffed animals.

Job Benefits
-Totally NOT a "traditional" boring job
-Gain experience in the new wave of ecommerce video marketing
-Have FUN at work; be able to tell your friends about your really cool, "different" kind of fun job you do

Why So Serious?!

Too Many Things

By 1960, Steinbeck had grown fairly disenchanted with his country; he thought that consumerism and selfishness had begun to run rampant, destroying the community values he regarded as vital to the nation's moral health. In a letter to Adlai Stevenson (whose two unsuccessful presidential bids had frustrated Steinbeck), he complained about the "cynical immorality" of the United States. "Having too many THINGS," he says, "[Americans] spend their hours and money on the couch searching for a soul. A strange species we are. We can stand anything God and Nature throw at us save only plenty. If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much and I would have it on its knees, miserable, greedy and sick."

Happy Halloween!

How's it hangin' on Halloween?

Stock Market Jack-o'-Lantern

Happy Halloween! Last week I went over to my workfriend's house and carved this pumpkin.

NEW YEARS IS IN EAST LANSING

Hey guys,

The New Years Planning Committee has confirmed East Lansing as the location for this year's party. I'll try to rent us an inexpensive cottage/lodge for next year.

As some of you may know, we had looked into Battle Creek, but due to the possibility of Marlowe's house selling at any moment and the quiet suburbs vs. booze-filled-college-town factor, East Lansing is the place.

Please RSVP to this post so that Adam can get a sense of how many people will need to crash at his place.

Lolz

http://www.breakingbadnewswithbabyanimals.com

Johnny Rotten Butter Commercial

eat 'em up

http://barackobamaeatsbabies.com/

VA: Basement (Volume One)

The day after I posted a mix to Muxtape it shut down, but here's the cover:


The mix was a soundtrack for a screenplay I've been writing off-and-on for a while now about a guy who moves back home and goes time-traveling. The songs all represent the past/memory/time either lyrically or musically.

If anyone still wants to share a mix, you can do it at 8tracks.

Who's Got Permanence?

"Who's got permanence? Factory closes down, you move on. Good times and things opening up, you move on where it's better. You got roots you sit and starve. You take the pioneers in the history books. They were movers. Take up land, sell it, move on. I read in a book how Lincoln's family came to Illinois on a raft. They had some barrels of whisky for a bank account. How many kids in America stay in the place where they were born, if they can get out?"

Frontline: The Choice 2008

There was a really good episode of Frontline last week. It profiled the two presidential candidates and looked at how their careers and campaigns are extensions of them as men. You can watch it online here.

The McCain story feels a bit tragic, that he would sell out his record for a grab at the seat. It makes you wonder what things would've been like if he had won the nomination and became president in 2000.

Celeb Sighting!

I think -- think I saw Scarlett Johannson today near the IFC theater.

Banksy's Animatronic Pet Store

http://thevillagepetstoreandcharcoalgrill.com/menu.html

All you New Yo-kaz...get there by October 31st. Greenwich Village, on 7th ave.

Architect: Jurgen Mayer

La Casa de Espantos

Thanks for all the ideas for the haunted house. As students enter, they will be greeted by a panhandler with his gooey, extracted eyeballs in one palm and the other open for change. There will be garbage bag walls to be punched, blood seeping out from under closed doors and bloody screaming faces thrust up against windows, a morgue where the bodies awaken, and more. The high school drama club is going to be my crew, so it should be a fun filled and highly dramatic event. And Josh, I would like to play the music you suggested. Can you send it to me or post a specific title?

DECAMPMENT

I went to see ADULT. perform along to their "Midwestern horror" video on Thursday. Is anybody into them? The guy reminds me of you for some reason, Justin. (He's not in the trailer.)


DECAMPMENT from ADULT. on Vimeo.

Father will be dead in a year they say if he doesn't stop drinking and he wont stop he cant stop since I since last summer and then they'll send Benjy to Jackson I cant cry I cant even cry one minute she was standing in the door the next minute he was pulling at her dress and bellowing his voice hammered back and forth between the walls in waves and she shrinking against the wall getting smaller and smaller with her white face her eyes like thumbs dug into it until he pushed her out of the room his voice hammering back and forth as though its own momentum would not let it stop as though there were no place for it in silence bellowing

Spiders On Drugs

DVN Ep 10: "Tenth Episode Spectacular"

Episode 10: "Tenth Episode Spectacular" from Dax Visits Nicole on Vimeo.

Solution to the Cold War

Palin as President

http://www.palinaspresident.us/

It's funny.

Joe's Social Studies Teacher Sucked

Okay, this bothers me:

“His answer actually scared me even more,” Mr. [Joe] Wurzelbacher said. “He said he wants to distribute wealth. And I mean, I’m not trying to make statements here, but, I mean, that’s kind of a socialist viewpoint. You know, I work for that. You know, it’s my discretion who I want to give my money to; it’s not for the government decide that I make a little too much and so I need to share it with other people. That’s not the American Dream.” (Joe the Plummer)

This notion that re-distribution of wealth is this new, ultra-liberal, socialist idea blows my mind. Has Joe not been paying taxes—like, ever? As far as plumbers go, I prefer Mario.

"You're the intellectual"

I'm creating a booklist about choose-your-own-adventure books for adults. So far it's a sparse landscape. There's a lot of erotic fiction in this format, and only a couple books that aren't steamy. One is a French publication that I thought you all might find amusing:

Basically, you play a 20-year-old trying to get into French intellectual networks: "if you want to try and meet Roland Barthes, turn to page 5; if you want to try and meet Jean-Paul Sartre, turn to page 9." A messageboard said it was translated into English, but the poster didn't have much hope for the translation. He said "The title got rendered as "How to be a French intellectual," which completely loses the genius of the French title: "Un livre dont VOUS etes le heros!", which was the advertising tag lines on the French translations of many classic CYOA-type children's books."

A translated summary:
"PARIS 1960, you're twenty and destined for an intellectual career. On one side, you have the elders (ancients?), with Raymond Picard (specialist on Racine) at the Sorbonne. On the other side there are the moderns, with Roland Barthes, symbol of the New Critique, and Pierre Bourdieu with his sociology. Who will you choose? Thus begins this "book in which you're the intellectual", which retells, in the form of a game, the history of French thought throughout the last forty years. Your goal? Obtain one of the seven seats reserved for France in the College d'Europe. Your weapons? Curiousity and a sense of humor. Play how you will, with disinterest or seriously; use the best of your knowledge or submit yourself to the whims of destiny. Because, as we all know, it's not winning that's important.


UN LIVRE DONT VOUS ETES L'INTELLECTUEL - Biron Michel , Popovic Pierre
Editeur / Edition : Fides (Editions)
Date de parution : 12/02/1999
Pages : 185 pages
Format : 19.00 x 14.10 cm
Poids : 245 g
ISBN : 2762120373

Fashion advice.

You might not have known this, but I look adorable in baseball hats. I'm having a bad hair year, so I have decided to purchase a cap for myself instead of continually stealing Justin's. The question is: what baseball-type hat could I wear that would not clash with my style? Or is my style inherently about clashing?! Should I just buy a Steelers hat and be done with it?

Any suggestions - especially those supplemented by pictures - would be greatly appreciated.

This is a very serious decision.

Kevorkian

Kevorkian is a jazz musician and composer. The Kevorkian Suite: A Very Still Life was a 1997 limited release CD of 5000 copies from the 'Lucid Subjazz' label. It features Kevorkian on the flute and organ playing his own works with "The Morpheus Quintet". In the liner notes for the CD is a message from Kevorkian where he cites Johann Sebastian Bach as his greatest musical hero. He also writes he is a big fan of musicians such as Benny Goodman and Artie Shaw. On the Cover of the Album is a painting from Kevorkian entitled "A Very Still Life".

Kevorkian is an oil painter. Of his known works, 6 were made available in the 90's for print release. The Ariana Gallery in Royal Oak, Michigan is the exclusive distributor of Jack Kevorkian's artwork. The original oil prints are not for release.

New Ghostbusters comic

"The news of a third Ghostbusters film has many (including myself) a little nervous. You want to see them return, but you don't want to see the Ghostbusters nuke the fridge alongside Indiana Jones, the Skywalker clan, and John McClane. But there's one way to get a fix without seeing your childhood heroes abused onscreen -- and that's in a comic book. And the Ghostbusters have one, a mini series courtesy of IDW. It hits shelves today, and MTV's Splash Page has a six page preview. It looks like a hell of a lot of fun -- and I really hope my shop has a copy left for me. My childhood obsession (and crush on Venkman) is flooding back already."

From Cinematical

New Years Continued

Since the last one's getting really long I thought I'd make a new post/ bring up the new issues ppl are contacting me about concerning New Years.

1st. How many ppl will need a place to stay after/before new years eve? How long will you need to stay? Several ppl are buying plane tickets within the next week so I'd like to get these numbers b/c I'll have to shift ppl around Lansing.

2nd. All those of the Masonian faction who want to rent a cabin on a lake, can you look up the cost of renting over new years? (Some ppl are VERY concerned about this)

3rd. Marlowe, if cleaning your parents house after the party is a factor, I'll promise to clean for a few hours the next day - I figure I can clean in 4 hours as much as your did in 4 months b/c I'm so militant :). Which brings us into # 4....

4th. Anyone affirming that the party should be at my house is also pledging to clean the shit out of it the next day :)

Okay, if you haven't been able to get ahold of me just email, it's easier for me to respond to.

Penguin Cafe Orchestra - "Music for a Found Harmonium"

This is one of my favorite songs.

Help me freak out 8th graders

Next week Wednesday, my school is having a jamaica* to raise money for stuff, including a trip to Washington DC that I am leading. All the departments and school clubs are setting up booths to sell junk food, shots at the dunk tank, basketball tosses and the like, and somehow I got stuck with the daunting responsibility of setting up a "spooky house." So far, suggestions have been "hang black garbage bags from the ceiling" and "glow-in-the-dark footprints" and "get a scary music cd from Walmart."

Now, if I want to really rip kids off right and raise some big time money to take my kids to DC (I'm thinking like $2 admission), I want to make this spooky house scary to the degree of making my employers question my mental balance and putting my job in jeopardy. Kids should scream until they gag, claw their way out in a sweaty panic, check to see if their limbs are intact, crying perhaps, in order to best fuel the curiosity of onlookers as they innocently munch Fritos and fiddle with the yo-yo they won playing musical chairs.

Any ideas? Costumes to dress people in? Movies to project on the wall? Music scarier than the Walmart variety? Cost is an issue and the deadline is Wednesday.




*Jamaica - Mexican or South Texas Mexican word for community party/fair/place to spend all one's cash and gain little more than an upset stomach, temporary tattoo on cheek, and a sticky eyeball toy.

Celeb Sighting!

This is weird, recognizing this many people. I saw Clark Duke, friend of Michael Cera and star of the web series Clark and Michael and the upcoming movie Sex Drive, on the sidewalk in Soho.


I was walking with my friend and co-worker Russell, who saw Mike McGlone on the same block. I don't know who he is, but Russell recognized him from The Brothers McMullen.

New Years

So I told Adam I'd make a post. Due to the fact that a lot of people are either busy or don't want a repeat of last year; we are scrapping all talked about plans for new years and starting fresh. For those who want to try and get together, go ahead and brainstorm.

I would suggest NYC but I know some people are coming back for the holiday's and that travel to the big apple around that time could be busy and expensive.

Celeb Sighting!

I'm not sure if he qualifies as a celebrity, but I spotted Kosmo from season one of The Pick-Up Artist on the subway. (Side note: I rooted for him because he's Colombian.) We made eye contact, but then he put on aviators. A woman was hanging on his arm -- Mystery's teachings served him well!

National Debt Clock

I work not too far from this national debt clock, which is mounted outside an IRS office. This week they took it down to add the digit place for 10 trillion.


David Walker says that the debt should be placed at upwards of 50 trillion dollars to account for projected spending on social security, Medicare, and Medicaid.