Saturday, August 30, 2014

Poem: Bad Timing

By Jack Brummet


He buys a coffee,
Using his last seven words.
He slyly eyes
His last pair of stunning buttocks.
He has zero orgasms, songs and movies,
Two red lights, six blocks,
13 minutes and 993 heartbeats left.
Every millisecond adds up:
Every variable conspires
To remove him from the census.
He steps in front of the car
Three seconds early,
Or two seconds late.
    ---o0o---

The Bill Murray Five Dollar Bill

---o0o---

Friday, August 29, 2014

Richard M. Nixon talks on his Jewish citizens



In a tape-recorded 1972 Oval Office conversation between President Richard Nixon and Rev. Billy Graham, the nation's best-known preacher agreed with a stream of bigoted comments Nixon made about Jews and their perceived influence in American life.


Graham: "This stranglehold (of Jews in the media) has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain." 


Nixon: "You believe that?"


Graham: "Yes, sir."


Nixon: "Oh, boy. So do I. I can't ever say that but I believe it." 


Graham: "No, but if you get elected a second time, then we might be able to do something."

*****
"You know, it's a funny thing. Every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob? What is the matter with them? I suppose it is because most of them are psychiatrists." –President Richard Nixon to White House Chief of Staff Bob Haldeman 
*****
"You know, the big Jewish contributors to the Democrats. Could we please investigate some of the c***s***ers? That's all." –-President Richard Nixon
---o0o---

Drawing: Faces #907 — Civics Lesson: 16 Citizens With 16 Axes To Grind Wait To Testify Before The City Council

By Jack Brummet



This is the original artwork I created, on india ink scratchboard:

---o0o---

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Fruitfly kill off?

By Jack Brummet, Home & Garden Ed.



This is a pretty mundane question, but I'll ask anyway. In Seattle, at around mid-August we typically experience an aggressive and massive invasion of fruit flies (a/k/a Drosophila). They stick around for about three weeks before disappearing. During that time, you can't leave an uncorked bottle of wine (or vinegar) out, you have to put a napkin over anything fruity or winy or sugary you drink and you have to keep fruit and tomatoes in the refrigerator, a/k/a "icebox", and yes, I realize putting tomatoes in the reefer is a crime.

OK. So this year: bupkis. Not a single fruitfly has appeared! Are they extinct? Did global warming off them? Are they becoming like cicadas, only returning every few years? Or maybe they decided Ballard was just too slim pickings? I can't remember if we had fruitflies in Berkeley or NYC or not.

Has anyone else noticed this? I'll actually be happy if you have fruitflies. On a more sinister note, I used to hear bats every night in our Ballard/North Beach nabe, but it has been at least a year and a half since I heard one or saw their silhouette in the streetlight..

---o0o---

The Cuyahoga River on fire, circa 1952

By Jack Brummet, Waterways Ed.

In 1952, the Cuyahoga River caught fire (the industrial waste in it actually).  People say that "the river that caught fire," was one of the major catalysts for the environmental movement in the late 1960s. 

At least 13 fires have been occurred on the River, since 1868.  The 1952 fire was the biggest and most destructive. 

---o0o---

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Is Tony Soprano alive?

David Chase finally coughs up the truth seven years later (god: it's been that long?). I knew it.  See the short article here on Uproxx.  This is the last frame of the series, just before the screen suddenly cuts to black.




---o0o---

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

The Realist, reheated

By Jack Brummet, 60's Ed.



I didn't know this until today, but The Realist (the complete three decade run) is now available here: This is just one of the many Paul Krassner gems to be mined there. . .
---o0o---

The Posies "Failure" reissued

By Jack Brummet

The Posies played a fantastic show Saturday night at Seattle's Triple Door.  They were alternately fascinated to be playing this, and trepidatious about revisiting the album they recorded when they were seventeen years old.  It was an amazing performance.  Watch the trailer below, and then go buy a copy of their remastered and expanded album, even in Green Vinyl if you have a phonograph. . .


 
---o0o---

Monday, August 25, 2014

Drawing: Faces #906 - Kemosabes

By Jack Brummet


click to enlarge
---o0o---

A different pitch: pandhandling outside The Posies show in Seattle last night

By Jack Brummet, Rock and Roll Ed.

We went to the great Posies show last night at the Triple Door in Seattle, celebrating the re-release of the wonderful album that launched their careers.  They recorded this in a basement studio when they were 17 years old.  It was wonderful to see them a little nervously perform this album once again, and see them experience all the emotions of reliving the recording and release, and early moments of their great careers. It's far better than they think.

In any case, leaving the show most happily, we encountered this guy.  Definitely a cut above the usual panhandler.



---o0o---

Friday, August 22, 2014

Woman killed with banjos

Thanks to our friend Dean Ericksen for passing this one along. maybe the strangest part of the story is that he had a backup banjo, when the first one broke.   /Mona G

---o0o---

Painting: "jack brummet A jury of your peers"

By Jack Brummet


---o0o---

Thursday, August 21, 2014

A brilliant tweet from Robyn Hitchcock on demonizing our fellow homo sapiens

By Mona Goldwater, Social Mores Ed.


Robyn Hitchcock (@RobynHitchcock)
When we stop demonizing each other, peace will come. But the spiral of justified grievance is endless.
---o0o---

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Spiders on drugs, spinning webs

By Jack Brummet, Cootie and Critter Ed.

Do you remember the experiments they performed on spiders to see how psychoactive drugs affected their web-spinning abilities? Here is an undrugged web, along with ones created under the influence of mescaline, caffeine, LSD, marijuana, chloral hydrate, and Benzedrine (for you young folks, essentially meth).



Benzedrine web

Caffeine web

chloral hydrate web

LSD web

Marijuana web

Mescaline web


A straight spider, on no drugs
---o0o---

George Bush takes the ALS ice-bucket challenge (and challenges his friend Bill Clinton)


---o0o---