Rachel Maddow responds to Bobby Jindal's response to President Obama's speech

Rachel Maddow, MSNBC's rising star, who is never at a loss for words was just that the other night. Here is Rachel attempting to respond to Keith Olberman:



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The watermelon roll. . .

The mayor of the Orange Conty town of 12,000, Los Alamitos, is under heavy national under fire for an e-mail he sent out "No Easter egg hunt this year," showing the White House lawn planted with watermelons.

"I have had plenty of my share of chicken and watermelon and all those kinds of jokes," Keyanus Price, a local business owner told The Associated Press. "As a black person receiving something like this from the city-freakin'-mayor - come on." She wants a public apology.

The Orange County Register reported the email earlier this week.

the almost ex-mayor

Mayor Dean Grose confirmed to the AP that he sent the e-mail to Price and said he didn't mean to offend her. He said he was "unaware of the racial stereotype that black people like watermelons. "

On Thursday The Mayor announced he would resign at a City Council meeting on Monday.

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Ed Anger on Bobby Jindal

In an opinion piece this week in the Weekly World News, Ed Anger writes:

"Bobby Jindal says he’s from Crapistan or one of those hellholes, but do we know that for sure? Maybe he’s really a Terminator from the future, except instead of laser beams, he can kill you just by talking. At least that Cheney robot we had for eight years didn’t go on TV and bore you to death, and that Romney one’s programmed to smile once in a while."

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Governor Bobby Jindal's Dr. Faustus Bargain?

An update from the weekly world news tells that Senator Bobby Jindal’s talks with Satan appear to be working, since not long after, he was picked to deliver the official GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union. Unfortunately, it was an unmitigated train wreck. . .


It looks like the wheels may be coming off his deal with The Devil.
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Painting: Eric

click to enlarge

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Poem: Evil Konks Out

1
The sun, and that sweet, sweet moon, cling to heaven.
Bugs, fish, animals, trees, and people
Cling to earth.

Power is like stapling
A target to your back.
Play dumb, play slow, play luckless.

2
Difficulty surrounds
You like a moat,
You persevere.

Spoof, lie, mislead, and spin.
Be a smiler.
Don't awaken their enmity.

3
In the end, evil konks out
Like a squid simmered in its own ink,
Because evil fails the moment

It overcomes good--
Consuming the energy
To which it owed its duration.
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Talking Heads video: Burning Down The House

A video of one of my favorite Talking Heads tunes from the Jonathan Demme film Stop Making Sense...

Is the AG deranged? And by extension are the rails coming off the obama juggernaut fast

By Jack Brummet, Publisher
By Pablo Fanque, National Affairs Editor

This week, Attorney General Eric Holder described the United States Wednesday as a nation of cowards on matters of race, saying most Americans avoid discussing unresolved racial issues.

In a speech we just watched, he explained there were two Americas. One in the workplace, and another one on weekends. . .where the various races largely slip back into their ethnocentric cocoon, with each ethnic group largely separated.

In a speech to Justice Department employees during i Black History Month, Holder said the workplace is integrated but Americans still self-segregate on the weekends and in their private lives.

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," said Holder, nation's first black attorney general.

Holder said, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race." We don't know who he hangs out with, but that is flat wrong. At least in the circles we run with, it is discussed often. And then, what could the AG possible know about average Americans? As it turns out, not much.

"It is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable," Holder said. "If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

Attorney General Holder, as Dante asked in Grandma's Boy, "Where do you get your weed?"
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Dean, in a new role

click Dean to enlarge
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WTF??--> Gary Locke, Ron Simms, and Gil Kerlikowske

Ron Sims

Gary Locke

Gil Kerlikowske

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Man, if this is the cream of the crop. . .we're in for one rocky four years.

President Barack Obama's third pick for Commerce secretary is former Washington Gov. Gary Locke, a senior administration official said Monday. This office is starting to look like the piano player's slot in the Grateful Dead--a ticket to oblivion.

Locke, a Democrat, was the nation's first Chinese-American governor when he served two terms in the Washington statehouse from 1997 to 2005. Obama's choice of Locke arose less than two weeks after his most recent pick, Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, backed out. Just over a week after Obama named him and he accepted, Gregg cited "irresolvable conflicts" with the policies of the Democratic president. And after Bill Richardson bailed out early on, mired in some sordid money scandal. Gary also served as the King County Executive, a slot that the newly appointed Deputy Secretary also held.

Ron Sims - couldn't get elected Senator or Governor. But Obama wants him. I like Ron. I voted for him a few times. But would I have made him deputy Secretary? Probably not.

President Obama's choice to head the Office of National Drug Control Policy — otherwise known as the country's "Drug Czar" — is reportedly Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske. Having served in law enforcement for more than 30 years, Kerlikowske is "known as an innovator and fierce defender of community policing principles that emphasize relationships with citizens over force." He got the Seattle Police Chief job when Norm Stamper (a pretty cool guy, and now an activist for relaxed drug laws) presided over the WTO riots in Seattle.

Seattle appears to have a bizarre lock on high profile jobs in the new administration. Hey, BHO, if you can come up with something for our governor. . .!
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Poem: Tethers

Your tenuous hold on earth
Is disguised in your shadow,
Tethered to the ground
By the soles of your feet
And a theory of gravity.
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Video: The Beatles play Please Please Me, warts and all

I am always fascinated by The Beatles live performances, using PAs and guitar amplifiers far less powerful than what we see in 100 person clubs now. They couldn't usually overmatch the screaming. When I saw them in '66 in their second to last show, it was a murky jumble of sound, and the girl's screams won. And yet, it is amazing how good they were live, with the deck totally stacked against them...

Drawing: The 'Bot Master

click to enlarge

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Sean Penn's Oscar acceptance speech

I know some of my right-leaning friends don't much cotton to Sean Penn for his extra-vehicular, globe-trotting activities. But I love this guy--he's smart, loud, and talented. His personal life has been amusing to watch. Mostly, 'though, his heart is in the right place, and you have to admire someone who Stands Up. I liked his speech.





From Jeff Spicoli to Harvey Milk is a serious leap. . .but with Sean Penn, I like the extremes, and the passages in between.



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Painting: 44

click to enlarge
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A Street Sign In San Pancho

This photo shows a street sign in San Pancho a/k/a San Francisco, Nayarit in Mexico. San Pancho is maybe ten miles from Bucerias, where we've stayed many times. . .I could live there.



click to enlarge
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Five Tattoos people may live to regret

Statististically, and otherwise, we are in the midst of one King-Hell tattoo boom. From 1995-2005, more tattoos were needled on than ever before, and more tattoo parlors opened than in any ten year span.

A Harris poll conducted in 2003 found that 16% of all adults in the U.S. have at least one tattoo. [1]

From 2005 on, it has possibly even increased...I just can't find any data past 2006. In late 2006, Flumesday.com collected the ten most pathetic categories of tattoos:

• The tramp stamp - the tat above the buttocks that skyrocketed to popularity with the rise of thongs and low-rise jeans.
• The Jailhouse tat.
• The teardrop
• Anything on the ankle
• Barbed wire "Nothing says, "I got a tattoo in the late '90s" like the barbed wire arm band."
• Anything on Mike Tyson's body. He has a Maori face tattoo and a picture of Mao on his arm.
• Something tribal
• Something misspelled (awsome for awesome for example)
• Your lover's name
• Chinese characters

Flumesdat also mention in their article that, unlike horn-rim glasses, beehive hairdos, and other fashion statements, tattoos are a bit more permanent.



Where do these folks even work? I mean, we're used to seeing 7-11 clerks and baristas duded up with tats and piercings, but not quite to this extent. . .

[1] I'm pretty sure the number approaches 100% in prisons:


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President Clinton tells President Obama "Speak up!"

click to enlarge POTUS 42

By Pablo Fanque,
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Former President Bill Clinton spoke to ABC News' Chris Cuomo this week, giving President Barack Obama a grade of A on his first month in office, but also told him Obama needs to put on a more positive face when speaking to the American people about the economy, and perhaps even more importantly, must turn up the heat on the Republicans trying to derail his plans. [Ed's note (JB): This has to be a little weird for BHO, Pablo. . .I know how I've felt in the past, when the spouse of one of my employees told me how to run my business. But, then, none of those spouses were President for eight years either.]

"Look, the American people, I think, know The President has tried to reach out to Republicans."

Clinton said "it takes two to tango. I think there are some of them who really believe that just-say-no politics is good politics." He added "sooner or later, I think if he just keeps chugging along, just keeps the door open, invite 'em to every economic conference, invite 'em to every meeting, eventually, he'll start getting some votes [in Congress]."


click to enlarge BHO

In a showdown vote this week, only three Republicans in the Senate and none (!) in the House of Representatives voted for the Obama-endorsed $787 billion economic stimulus proposal.

Clinton said, "I like the fact that he didn't come in and give us a bunch of happy talk. I'm glad he shot straight with us."
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Alien Lore No. 149 - "Fireball" spotted over Dallas and Austin

A large fireball was spotted by hundreds Austin and Dallas citizens on February 15th, but local authorities have found no evidence as to exactly what the falling object might be.

Police from Dallas to Austin were barraged with calls describing a large egg-shaped fireball in the sky. Sonic booms were also reported. but authorities claim to have not been able to locate any debris on the ground.

Authorities confidently state that the "fireball" was "not a result of last week’s US and Russian satellite collision." No authority has, so far, come out and said the object was NOT of extra-terrestrial origin.


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Talking Heads and Laurel & Hardy mash up Slippery People

This is an incredible mashup of the Talking Heads playing Slippery People, mashed with video clips of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy dancing. Who'd have thunk?

The Tom Tom Club play Genius of Love

The Tom Tom Club (Tina and Chris from Talking Heads, and friends and family) play Genius of Love at a Talking Heads show (this may well be from Demme's Stop Making Sense film). When I lived in NYC, we saw the Talking Heads many times at CBGB, at the short lived CBGB Second Avenue, and in Central Park. I always loved watching Tina play bass. And she had great legs.


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Exclusive: Bombshell transcript leaked in Bush-Cheney dogfight over Libby pardon that never happened

Today's New York Times expands upon details of the deep rift we first learned about in a NY Daily News article yesterday:

"Dick Cheney spent his final days as vice president making a furious last-ditch effort to secure a pardon for his onetime chief of staff, I. Lewis Libby Jr., leaving him at odds with former President George W. Bush on a matter of personal loyalty as the two moved on to private life, according to several former officials.

"The officials said Tuesday that Mr. Cheney’s lobbying campaign on behalf of Mr. Libby was far more intense than previously known, with the vice president bringing it up in countless one-on-one conversations with the president. They said Mr. Bush was unyielding to the end, already frustrated by a deluge of last-minute pardon requests from other quarters.

“The biggest myth of the presidency is that Vice President Cheney always got his way.”

"[Cheney believed] Scooter Libby was ill-served by a president who, in their view, failed to return Mr. Libby’s loyalty and sacrifice. And it points up the distance said to have grown between the two men as their worldviews, once largely in sync, seemed increasingly to diverge in their second term as Mr. Bush took a less hawkish stance.

". . .in an interview with The Weekly Standard last month [Cheney said] that “I strongly believe that he deserved a presidential pardon,” and that “I disagree with President Bush’s decision.”

Last week, Pablo Fanque, the national affairs editor of All This Is That received a transcript--from a GOP political operative who worked in the West Wing until January 20th--of a phone conversation between the former President and Vice President on January 18th, two days before they left office. We reprint the conversation here:

Cheney: You just about have things wrapped up George?

Bush: We're getting there Dick. Honestly, I'm ready to get on that plane and remember what life is really like.

Cheney: Mr. President, I am calling about what I feel is some unfinished business.

Bush: Jesus F***ing Christ! Again? The Libby bulls**t? We've talked about it. We've talked about it again. Nothin's changed Dick. The answer is no. I commuted his sentence. And you both should be happy about that.

Cheney: I am talking about loyalty here George.

Bush: Don't you DARE f***in' lecture me about loyalty. I've considered it and I've reconsidered. The answer is still no. I commuted his sentence. You and your pack don't even give me credit for that. You know what kind of heat I took on that one, Dick?

Cheney: Do you think it's going to hurt your g**d***ed legacy to pardon an old and loyal friend? What that man did for us. He could have thrown us all under the bus. And now in his time of need, you turn your back.

Bush: Enough! You bring this up every f***in' time we talk now. I am The President. And the answer is no. I am not going to change my mind. I've taken plenty of motherfu**in' heat for you over the last last 7 years and 363 days. Shootin' your buddy. And that c***suckin' Haliburton mess. And all the rest of it. Now give it a f***in' rest Dick. I don't want this to cost us our friendship. I don't want this to mess up all that we have accomplished here! Let it go.

Cheney: But Mr. President, no one was ever more loyal to us.

Bush: G**da**it! Shut the f**k up and drop it. From what I read in the briefings, your little buddy brought in millions this year. He doesn't need a f***in' pardon. And he's not getting a f***in' pardon.

Cheney: But George. . .

Bush: Don't you f***in' remember what kind of s***storm he brought down on us? Enough![click]

Cheney: G**damnit! Nobody hangs up on me! [aside to aides: "Who the f**k does he think he is? Well, that's all she wrote. I don't know who or what got to him, but he's hung Scooter out to dry."]
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Editorial: The Double Secret stimulus package

By Pablo Fanque

All This Is That National Affairs Editor

If President Obama learned anything from his study of history (and believe me, he did), he knows that for all the talk of the "First Hundred Days" and The New Deal, nothing FDR did fully turned the economy around until after that moment December 7, 1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor.

From December 8th onward, boys flooded recruiting offices, a recalcitrant and isolationist Congress voted to spend massive $$$ on the war, and the U.S. cranked into full wartime production mode. Shuttered factories were re-opened, under-utilized plants went into 24/7 production mode, and virtually every single person in the country--save the feeble, lame, crazy, and elderly (and even some of them)--went to work, planted victory gardens, and bought into commodity, fuel, and tire rationing.

In the midst of a moribund war in Iraq, President Obama has ordered his first major deployment of U.S. combat troops. He has okayed 17,000 additional soldiers and Marines for Afghanistan in what he described as "an urgent bid to stabilize a deteriorating and neglected country. "

Is war the real, double secret Stimulus Package for which we have all been waiting? Already, the far left is screaming. I'm not quite sure why. Obama was clearly against the War in Iraq from the get-go. And yet, in general, he has behaved, more or less, like a Scoop Jackson or JFK "defense Democrat." And with the lure of kick-starting a sluggish economy, one has to wonder if 17,000 troops aren't just a drop in the bucket, and how long will it be before we see 100,000 troops in Afghanistan? Is Obama getting a fantastic twofer here: priming the pump AND keeping the world safe for democracy?

It's something to think about.

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Poem: “lead, follow, or get out of the way”

Following can go either way. . .
Depending upon whom you elect to follow.

If you're an individual contributor
Playing follow the leader,

You may just be wisely holding back,
Allowing the boss

To receive the first barrage
Of arrows and fusillades.
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Painting: Hira & Todd

click to enlarge

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Photo: jack brummet in the hoosegow

click to enlarge

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President's Day -- Poppa George and Lanky Link: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln built the (now demonized) Republican Party into a strong national organization and brought the northern Democrats into the Union fold. With little choice, he went to war against his own countrymen.

In 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves in the Confederacy. In reality, that would take a while, and many people think we're still working at it. He made a few jokes about his face, and truth be told, in many of those daguerreotypes he looks like he is carrying the weight of the world.

The contemporary painter Mark Ryden often includes an image of Lincoln in his paintings. Abe never got to fully preside over the peace, because he was assassinated on April 14, 1865, by a deranged actor and supreme P.O.S., John Wilkes Boothe.



More nonsense has been written about Washington than any other President (except the conspiracy theories around Jack Kennedy and LBJ, about whom more even gibberish has been written because his murder, and LBJ's alleged role in the "conspiracy" literally sparked an industry of conspiracy theorists.

Did young George chop down the cherry tree? Was he lying when he said "Father, I cannot tell a lie," which may be the biggest whopper of all time? "Father, I cannot tell a lie. I cut the tree," George says when asked by his father. This story elevated him into the pantheon and onto Rushmore. It is also bunk, bogus, hokum, flim-flam::::::::::100% ca-ca. Parson Mason Locke Weems concocted the story in a biography of Washington. In The Moral Washington: Construction of a Legend Weems wanted to humanize Washington after a less than flattering earlier biography of him as 'cold and colorless." Weems book was very popular with the public and they equated Washington with honesty.

Did he wear wooden teeth? No. He actually had hippopotamus teeth--from rarely visited Africa. How they became his teeth is a mystery.

His tight-lipped grimace is often attributed to the wooden teeth. We do know that his false teeth has springs that made them adhere in place, but that is not the reason for the tight-lipped grin.

The raconteur, humorist, and radio legend Jean Shepherd talked about Washington on his Washington birthday show on February 22, 1973. Shep tried to bust a few of the myths around The General. In particular, some of the notions that have arisen from Gilbert Stuart's portraits.

We remember President Washington as tight lipped and aloof because as Gilbert Stuart wrote "When I painted him, he had just had a set of false teeth inserted, which accounts for the constrained expression so noticeable about the mouth and lower part of the face." However, we now know that Stuart disliked George Washington and many people speculate this led to the tight lipped portrait, as well as the air of aloofness we sense in Washington. Stuart also wrote that when he would sit for him: "an apathy seemed to seize him, and a vacuity spread over his countenance, most appalling to paint."

Thanks to the portraits, we also think of him as a dandified man, wearing flouncy shirts, an ornate doublet and knickers. We think of his hair as being bright white. As was the fashion at the time, that was a powdered wig!

We tend to also think of him as a genteel and gentle man of restraint (again, partly due to the portraits). However, he was a man of large appetites who enjoyed copious flagons of Madeira wine (and would have no doubt enoyed bourbon, had it been invented yet). He was not afraid to take a another officer out for a round of fisticuffs, and usually won. Martha Washington indicated in more than one letter to friends that "George is at it again," which some have speculated refers to extramarital affairs.

George was a big man. In that time, the average height of a Continental Army soldier was five foot six inches. George Washington stood six foot, two inches. He was literally a giant among men.

Washington was also an incredible horseman, by all accounts, both in peace- and in war-time. He was a strong man, and tough as nails, as he showed in the war, living under-equipped in the appalling climate of Valley Forge and the other battles of the revolution.

Washington State is the only state named for a President. When I grew up in the 50's and 60's, Washington's birthday was still a state holiday (before that abomination known as President's Day). On February 22, in celebration of the event, cherry pies were on sale in the stores and at bake sales by the Rotary, the Civitan Club, Kiwanis, and others.
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Poem: Chasing the ghosts

1
I cheer the scenery whizzing by.
Every day it accelerates;

Every day, I slow it down
And watch the show unravel

Into a multi-colored, quadrophonic
Parade of flora and fauna

Spinning Venn Diagrams
Around each other.

2
I think about the Chinese poets
who left some words for me--

A joke or fine riposte
Drunkenly dashed off--

On a piece of frayed silk
With a bamboo brush and ink.

3
I don't chase ghosts any more
But every once in a while,

On a walk along the sound's tideflats,
Or on a street in Istanbul or California,

I look over my shoulder
And catch one following me.

I see a face in the crowd,
With a sad smile and a halo.
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Valentine Dinner one night early at Poppy in Seattle

Photo of a different, but very similar "Thali" meal at Poppy

We went on our Valentine's Day one day early, at Poppy on Broadway on Capitol Hill - "eat. drink. herb. spice. "

Poppy opened in September, as a highly-anticipated new restaurant from the longtime (17 years!) Herbfarm chef Jerry Traunfeld. Poppy sort of fuses the Indian culinary tradition of "thali"—a platter featuring about ten small dishes— focused on his big love of fresh herbs and spices. And the herbing and spicing stood out in every single dish. Here's what I had (Keelin had a subset of this, with vegetarian dishes substituted for the pork and scallops):

Salt cod fritters with smoked paprika aioli - excellent. I think the soaked cod was blended with potato and some herbs. . .I think it was mainly sorel?

Nettle dill soup - was a little salty and a little bland, and any dill was either cooked away or forgotten in the first place. That being said, it was good enough that I finished it.

A blood orange, endive, and taggia olive salad - perfect, maybe my favorite of the cold ones. It was a tiny salad, and as I was eating it I kept thinking "This is about three tablespoonfuls of salad, and it's one of the best I've ever had. Mas! Mas!"

Celery root remoulade with hazelnuts - celery root--or this particular one--has no taste! it was dressed nicely and the hazelnuts were nicely roasted. The dressing was very nice.

Qualicum scallops with beet-wasabi sauce and burdock root - Perfectly cooked scallops, but the sauce is a little too sweet. And burdock root doesn't have a lot of flavor. The beet-wasabi would have been perfect if it was more savory and less sweet. I devoured the two plump scallops in six bites, if you are keeping track.

Berkshire pork short rib with salt caramelized pear - Nice. The pear was awesomely roasted. The rib was nicely done, and seemed more like pork belly than a rib. . .it was that good. . .nicely charred, tender, and tasty.

Braised red cabbage with pomegranate - Nice, and refreshingly unchallenging. . .almost a palate break in between the other dishes.

Saffron risotto fritter in a yogurt sauce. Nice, but I couldn't taste much saffron. The one small fritter was just the right amount.

Cauliflower gratin - Possibly the best-realized dish. It was the most magnificent treatment of cauliflower I have ever had. And I love cauliflower.

Carrot ribbon pickle - Excellent, and one of the few things with no trace of sweetness. I could identify coriander, but there were other things going on. I also couldn't figure out what the acid was (thinned vinegar probably...there didn't seem to be lemon). I could eat a bucket of this stuff. I must learn the secret. It was sparkling and refreshing.

Nigella naan - a very nice piece of naan, charred at the edges.

And, of course, a couple glasses of red Rioja.

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Painting: Adolph Hitler

click to enlarge

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Poem: The Trouble With Flying

The trouble begins,
and usually ends,

When you make an unplanned transition
From an initial flying state

To a subsequent not flying state.
Falling per se is OK.

The hitch comes the moment
Falling becomes not falling,

Or, what the pros call
The uncontrolled landing problem.
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Poem: A Touch of Evil

Darkness, after having been eliminated,
furtively obtrudes again.

Does the wind blow over the earth
or does it blow under heaven?
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It may not really be nifty to be fifty, but Flight 1549's crew know how to land a plane--American heroes Sullenberger, Skiles,Dail, Welsh, Dent

These crew of that U.S. Airways Flight 1549 that crashed into the Hudson are, so far, my heroes of the century. And they average on the downhill side of 50 except for the one youngster, who was 49. From the crew and passenger's facebook page:

• Captain Chesley B. Sullenberger, III, age 58, joined US Airways (PSA Airlines) in 1980. He has a total of 19,663 flight hours.


• First officer Jeffrey B. Skiles, age 49, joined US Airways (USAir) in 1986. He has a total of 15,643 flight hours.


• Flight Attendant Sheila Dail, age 57, joined US Airways (Piedmont Airlines) in 1980 and has more than 28 years experience with the airline.


• Flight Attendant Doreen Welsh, age 58, joined US Airways (Allegheny Airlines) in 1970 and has more than 38 years experience with the airline.


• Flight Attendant Donna Dent, age 51, was hired by US Airways (Piedmont Airlines) in 1982 and has more than 26 years with the airline.

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Song: Unbroken Chain by The Grateful Dead with lyrics

Unbroken Chain [1] is one of my favorite Dead songs. It was written by their bass player and occasional singer Phil Lesh (check out his autobiography Searching For The Sound, whose title comes from this tune) and his friend Bobby Peterson. They never performed the song live until their last few months on the road--21 years after recording it. [2]



[1] The concept of an "unbroken chain" usually applies to the theory of transmission of authority down across the generations, often used in the sense of religious authority, which fits in well with the song. Religious scholars speak of the "unbroken chain of Moses, Jesus, Paul, Augustine, etc..." (Tenywa, Francis: The Hebraic Tradition.... [dissertation]). An essay on the concept of authority in Dictionary of the History of Ideas: studies of Selected Pivotal Ideas states "The idea of church authority...juxtaposed ideas of authorized power, ... of unbroken binding tradition..." (v. 1, p. 147)

[2]
From chill@omni.voicenet.com
Date: Mon, 20 MAR 1995 07:22:18 -0500
From: Craig Hillwig World Wide Web: http://www.voicenet.com/voicenet/homepages/chill/index.html Subject: Unbroken Chain - How it went down

I thought I'd try to fill you in on how the UC went down. NOT trying to rub it in or anything. I don't usually review shows because I find it's subjective. But for those who missed it:
[Some stuff deleted...]

Don't Ease was also a surprise -- 5th song into the set at about 0:35 into it. I thought, "Man!! Short set. I'll be pissed if they walk off the stage after this."

The band stayed on the stage with the lights down after the Don't Ease, and then we knew that SOMETHING was going to happen. All of the band members were looking at each other somewhat anxiously.

Then the opening chords started wafting through quietly, a nervousness and heightened sense of urgency started rushing through the crowd. Isolated shouts of "Unbroken Chain!" could be heard, and then everyone looked at each other as if, "Can it be?" The cheers became louder, swelling as more and more heads realized what was happening, and by the time the first verse rolled around, the place was going absolutely nuts -- bolts of energy flying through the Spectrum.

Band pulls out of the intro, and all four (non-drummers) step up to the mikes, "Blue light rain" Phil with the spotlight, "whoa unbroken chain . . . ." Devastating -- people just screaming their heads off for about 6 seconds, until, almost simultaneously, everyone decided to quiet down and listen.

The jamming part of the song was the highlight, with Jerry all over the fretboard.

Put it this way. It certainly could have been played better, and it will get better with some playing. But you always remember your first.

Of course, the band left the stage to an extended standing ovation. When the house lights went up, everyone sorta looked at each other and then, in a moment of mutual recognition, the whole placed erupted again, lotsa cheering, hugging.

When the band came out for the second set, Phil did a sweeping bow, and of course, the place erupted once again.

Well, that kinda captures it, I think.

_________________________________

Unbroken Chain

Lyrics: Bobby Petersen
Music: Phil Lesh

Copyright 1974 by Ice Nine Publishing.

Blue light rain, whoa unbroken chain,
Looking for familiar faces in an empty window pane.

Listening for the secret, searching for the sound
But I could only hear the preacher and the baying of his hounds.

Willow sky, whoa, I walk and wonder why,
They say love your brother, but you will catch it when you try.

Roll you down the line boy, drop you for a loss,
Ride you out on a cold railroad and nail you to a cross.

November and more, as I wait for the score,
They're telling me forgiveness is the key to every door.
A slow winter day a night like forever,
Sink like a stone, float like a feather.

(guitar break)

Lilac rain, unbroken chain, song of the sawhet owl.
Out on the mountain, it'll drive you insane, listening to the winds howl

Unbroken chain of sorrow and pearls, unbroken chain of sky and sea.
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John Coltrane's snappy retort to Miles Davis and a performance of So What?

Miles: "How come you play so long?"
'Trane: "Takes that long to get it all in."


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The Banned PETA Superbowl Ad

By Pablo Fanque
All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Ok, maybe becoming a vegetarian does make sense after all. Here is a YouTube video of the banned PETA ad from the recent Superbowl. I don't know how to write this without appearing crude (and the wise course would be not to write it at all), but I note that [quite intentionally] nary a carrot, cucumber, parsnip, or zucchini appear amongst the less blatantly suggestive vegies. And, still, they wouldn't air the ad.


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Poem: S.A.D.

The old kings
Closed the passes
At the time of solstice.

Merchants and strangers
Could not go out.
The King would not travel.

Day by day, the sun returns
Like the return of understanding
After a period of madness.

In the midst of others,
You walk alone.
In the middle of the road,

In the middle of the night,
You tread the earth with no regrets
Because this is as good as it gets.
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Barack channels Ray from Dreams From My Father and cusses up a wonderful storm

By Pablo Fanque

All This Is That National Affairs Editor

Unlike most authors who release "audio books," The President read his own work. And fortunately for us, he read the unexpurgated version of Dreams From My Father. It would have been such fun if someone had dug these up during the election and used them in ads. In fact, it's almost stunning no one turned these up in October, as they combed through every detail of Obama's life. Alas, we'll just have to enjoy them now without the heat of the election. . .

Ray, a fellow classmate of Obama’s, was also bi-racial, and swore like a mofo. In these excerpts Obama channels Ray. I don't know about you, but I think Obama's delivery leads me to believe that he probably doesn't use the word motherf***er on a daily basis.

“This sh*t’s getting way too complicated for me.”

“You know that guy ain’t sh*t. Sorry-ass motherf****r ain’t got nothing on me.”

“There are white folks, and then there are ignorant motherf***ers like you.”

“Sure you can have my number, baby!”

You know that guy ain’t s**t. Sorry-ass motherf***er ain’t got nothing on me, right? Nothin'

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The Best of Google Maps Street View

URLesque has captured some of the top ten moments caught by Google street view cars as they photograph neighborhoods for Google Maps.

In Illinois, a girl flashes the Google car passing by. . .



All over the country, the car caught men urinating in public. . .



Viking quest! Live Action Role Playing in Pittsburgh. . .



A drunk in Australia passed out on his front lawn. . .

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Painting: Bobbins & The Mooch

Click to enlarge

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Painting: SP No. 25 - Jack Brummet in NYC

click to enlarge

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Chemistry for the people—another excerpt from Abbie Hoffman's Steal This Book

People's Chemistry

STINK BOMB
You can purchase buteric acid at any chemical supply store for "laboratory experiments." It can be thrown or poured directly in an area you think already stinks. A small bottle can be left uncapped behind a door that opens into the target room. When a person enters they will knock over the bottle, spilling the liquid. Called a "Froines," by those in the know, an ounce of buteric acid can go a long way. Be careful not to get it on your clothing. A home-made stink bomb can be made by mixing a batch of egg whites, Drano, (sodium hydroxide) and water. Let the mixture sit for a few days in a capped bottle before using.

SMOKE BOMB
Sometimes it becomes strategically correct to confuse the opposition and provide a smoke screen to aid an escape. A real home-made stroke bomb can be made by combining four parts sugar to six parts saltpeter (available at all chemical supply stores). This mixture must then be heated over a very low flame. It will blend into a plastic substance. When this starts to gel, remove from the heat and allow the plastic to cool. Embed a few wooden match heads into the mass while it's still pliable and attach a fuse.*

The smoke bomb itself is a non-explosive and non-flame-producing, so no extreme safety requirements are needed. About a pound of the plastic will produce thick enough smoke to fill a city block. Just make sure you know which way the wind is blowing. Weathermen-women! If you're not the domestic type, you can order smoke flares (yellow or black) for $2.00 a flare [12 inch] from Time Square Stage Lighting Co., 318 West 47th Street, New York, NY 10036.

*You can make a good homemade fuse by dipping a string in glue and then rolling it lightly in gunpowder. When the glue hardens, wrap the string tightly and neatly with scotch tape. This fuse can be used in a variety of ways. Weight it on one end and drop a rock into the tank of a pig vehicle. Light the other end and run like hell.

CBW
LACE (Lysergic Acid Crypto-Ethelene) can be made by mixing LSD with DMSO, a high penetrating agent, and water. Sprayed from an atomizer or squirted from a water pistol, the purple liquid will send any pig twirling into the Never-Never Land of chromosome damage. It produces an involuntary pelvic action in cops that resembles f***ing. Remember when Mace runs out, turn to Lace.

How about coating thin darts in LSD and shooting them from a Daisy Air Pellet Gun? Guns and darts are available at hobby and sports shops. Sharpening the otherwise dull darts will help in turning on your prey.

MOLOTOV COCKTAIL
Molotov cocktails are a classic street fighting weapon served up around the world. If you've never made one, you should try it the next time you are in some out-of-the-way barren place just to wipe the fear out of your mind and know that it works. Fill a thin-walled bottle half full with gasoline. Break up a section of styrofoam (cups made of this substance work fine) and let it sit in the gasoline for a few days. The mixture should be slushy and almost fill the bottle. The styrofoam spreads the flames around and regulates the burning. The mixture has nearly the same properties as napalm. Soap flakes (not detergents) can be substituted for styrofoam. Rubber cement and sterno also work. In a pinch, plain gasoline will do nicely, but it burns very fast. A gasoline-kerosene mixture is preferred by some folks.

Throwing, although by far not the safest method, is sometimes necessary. The classic technique of stuffing a rag in the neck of a bottle, lighting and tossing is foolish. Often gas fumes escape from the bottle and the mixture ignites too soon, endangering the thrower. If you're into throwing, the following is a much safer method: Once the mixture is prepared and inside the bottle, cap it tightly using the original cap or a suitable cork. Then wash the bottle off with rubbing alcohol and wipe it clean. Just before you leave to strike a target, take a strip of rag or a tampax and dip it in gasoline. Wrap this fuse in a small plastic baggie and attach the whole thing to the neck of the capped bottle with the aid of several rubber bands. When you are ready to toss, use a lighter to ignite the baggie. Pall back your arm and fling it as soon as the tampax catches fire. This is a very safe method if followed to the letter. The bottle must break to ignite. Be sure to throw it with some force against a hard surface.

Naturally, an even safer method is to place the firebomb in a stationary position and rig up a timing fuse. Cap tightly and wipe with alcohol as before. The alcohol wipe not only is a safety factor, but it eliminates tell-tale fingerprints in case the Molotov doesn't ignite. Next, attach an ashcan fire cracker (M-80) or a cherry bomb to the side of the bottle using epoxy glue. A fancier way is to punch a hole in the cap and pull the fuse of the cherry bomb up through the hole before you seal the bottle. A dab of epoxy will hold the fuse in place and insure the seal. A firecracker fuse ignites quickly so something will have to be rigged that will deal the action enough to make a clean getaway.

When the firebomb is placed where you want it, light up a non-filter cancerette. Take a few puffs (being sure not to inhale the vile fumes) to get it going and work the unlighted end over the fuse of the firecracker. This will provide a delay of from 5 to 15 minutes. To use this type of fuse successfully, there must be enough air in the vicinity so the flame won't go out. A strong wind would not be good either. When the cancerette burns down, it sets off the firecracker which in turn explodes and ignites the mixture. The flames shoot out in the direction opposite to where you attach the firecracker, thus allowing you to aim the firebomb at the most flammable material. With the firecracker in the cap, the flames spread downward in a halo. The cancerette fuse can also be used with a book of matches to ignite a pool of gasoline or a trash can. Stick the unlighted end behind the row of match heads and close the cover. A firecracker attached to a gallon jug of red paint and set off can turn an office into total abstract art.

Commercial fuses are available in many hobby stores. Dynamite fuses are excellent and sold in most rural hardware stores. A good way to make a homemade fuse is described above under the Smoke Bomb section. By adding an extra few feet of fuse to the device and then attaching the lit cancerette fuse, you add an extra measure of caution. It is most important to test every type of fuse device you plan to use a number of times before the actual hit. Some experimentation will allow you to standardize the results. If you really want to get the job done right and have the time, place several molotov cocktails in a group and rig two with fuses (in case one goes out). When one goes, they all go . . .BAROOOOOOOOOOM!

STERNO BOMB
One of the simplest bombs to make is the converted sterno can. It will provide some bang and a widely dispersed spray of jellied fire. Remove the lid from a standard, commercially purchased can and punch a hold in the center big enough for the firecracker fuse. Take a large spoonful of jelly out of the center to make room for the firecracker. Insert the firecracker and pull the fuse up through the hole in the lid. When in place, cement around the hole with epoxy glue. Put some more glue around the rim of the can and reseal the lid. Wipe the can and wash off excess with rubbing alcohol. A cancerette fuse should be used. The can could also be taped around a bottle with Molotov mixture and ignited.

AEROSOL BOMB
You can purchase smokeless gunpowder at most stores where guns and ammunition are sold. It is used for reloading bullets. The back of shotgun shells can be opened and the powder removed. Black powder is more highly explosive but more difficult to come by. A graduate chemist can make or get all you'll need. If you know one that can be trusted, go over a lot of shit with him. Try turning him on to learning how to make "plastics" which are absolutely the grooviest explosive available. The ideal urban guerrilla weapons are these explosive plastic compounds.

The neat homemade bomb that really packs a wallop can be made from a regular aerosol can that is empty. Remove the nozzle and punch in the nipple area on the top of the can. Wash the can out with rubbing alcohol and let dry. Fill it gently and lovingly with an explosive powder. Add a layer of cotton to the top and insert a cherry bomb fuse. Use epoxy glue to hold the fuse in place and seal the can. The can should be wiped clean with rubbing alcohol. Another safety hint to remember is never store the powder and your fuses or other ignition material together. Powder should always be treated with a healthy amount of respect. No smoking should go on in the assembling area and no striking of hard metals that might produce a spark. Use your head and you'll get to keep it.

PIPE BOMBS
Perhaps the most widely used homemade concussion bombs are those made out of pipe. Perfected by George Metesky, the renown New York Mad Bomber, they are deadly, safe, easy to assemble, and small enough to transport in your pocket. You want a standard steel pipe (two inches in diameter is a good size) that is threaded on both ends so you can cap it. The length you use depends on how big an explosion is desired. Sizes between 3-10 inches in length have been successfully employed. Make sure both caps screw on tightly before you insert the powder. The basic idea to remember is that a bomb is simply a hot fire burning very rapidly in a tightly confined space. The rapidly expanding gases burst against the walls of the bomb. If they are trapped in a tightly sealed iron pipe, when they finally break out, they do so with incredible force. If the bomb itself is placed in a somewhat enclosed area like a ventilation shaft, doorway or alleyway, it will in turn convert this larger area into a "bomb" and increase the over-all explosion immensely.

When you have the right pipe and both caps selected, drill a hole in the side of the pipe (before powder is inserted) big enough to pull the fuse through. If you are using a firecracker fuse, insert the firecracker, pull the fuse through and epoxy it into place securely. If you are using long fusing either with a detonator (difficult to come by) timing device or a simple cancerette fuse, drill two holes and run two lines of fuse into the pipe. When you have the fuse rigged to the pipe, you are ready to add the powder. Cape one end snugly, making sure you haven't trapped any grains of powder in the threads. Wipe the device with rubbing alcohol and you're ready to blast off.

A good innovation is to grind down one half of the pipe before you insert the powder. This makes the walls of one end thinner than the walls of the other end. When you place the bomb, the explosion, following the line of least resistance, will head in that direction. You can do this with ordinary grinding tools available in any hardware or machine shop. Be sure not to have the powder around when you are grinding the pipe, since sparks are produced. Woodstock Nation contains instructions for more pipe bombs and a neat timing device (see pages 115-117).

GENERAL BOMB STRATEGY
This section is not meant to be a handbook on explosives. Anyone who wishes to become an expert in the field can procure a number of excellent books on the subject catalogued in the Appendix. In bombing, as in trashing, the same general strategy in regard to the selection of targets applies. Never use anti-personnel shrapnel bombs. Always be careful in placing the devices to keep them away from glass windows and as far away from the front of the building as possible. Direct them away from any area in which there might be people. Sophisticated electric timers should be used only by experts in demolitions. Operate in the wee hours of the night and be careful that you don't injure a night watchman or guard. Telephone in warnings before the bomb goes off. The police record all calls to emergency numbers and occasionally people have been traced down by the use of a voice-o-graph. The best way to avoid detection is by placing a huge wad of chewed up gum on the roof of your mouth before you talk. Using a cloth over the phone is not good enough to avoid detection. Be as brief as possible and always use a pay phone.

When you get books from companies or libraries dealing with explosives or guerrilla warfare, use a phony name and address. Always do this if you obtain chemicals from a chemical supply house. These places are being increasingly watched by the F.B.I. Store your material and literature in a safe cool place and above all, keep your big mouth shut!
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Cheers to you! Your very own cheers, encouragement, and applause soundtrack

From the Failblog, a Seattle blog related to the LOL Cats phenomenon. . .Cheers to you! Check out their commercial, below...



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American Freedom?

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