Undecided
THE MORNING BRIEF, Vol. IV, #32 (August 6, 2001) --- Grey cat crossing path.
CONTENTS
Grey Cat
The Rebate Checks are Here!!!
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7th Sign of the Apocalypse
Based on a True Story
Body by Victoria
Silent Bob a Homophobe?
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TOONAGE: String Cheese Incident @ The Greek
TOONAGE: Lagbaja @ Santa Monica Pier
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SIX DISK CHANGER
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UPCOMING
CONCERTS
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CONTRIBUTIONS
GREY CAT CROSSING PATH >>> A grey cat crossed my path the other day, and I thought: what does that mean? A black cat is bad luck, what about grey? I'm still not sure, and the more I am (unsure) the more certain I am that I need to get comfortable with being undecided.
How do I really feel about the Conan O'Brien racial slur incident? I thought I knew last week as I wrote up a comment, but every time I begam to type up the letters, I hesitated. Had trouble. Tried to find a way not to use the word at the center of the issue. It's an ugly word, and being in a joke doesn't make it less ugly. I'll defend Sarah Silverman's right to say the thing, and even point out the context, but do I really like this otherwise funny woman making that joke? I don't think so. I don't know.
It gets greyer from there. Am I madder at Americans for voting in George Bush, or the Democrats and Al Gore for running a pathetic campaign? Did Alan Greenspan "correct" the economy, or intentionally deflate it? Should the Zionists keep fighting for Israel, or go find a nice quiet island they can buy, settle, and live their lives in peace?
The list goes on...money: tool or drug? Marriages: wings or life jackets? Cloning, A.I., "A.I.", my Palm Pilot, birds as pets, Los Angeles, Grateful Dead vibe-resuscitator bands, Starburst licorice...greynesses.
How to interpret that cat? What if it were black? Or white? What if it had gone in some other direction entirely? These questions and more to be answered in upcoming weeks. I think.
REBATE >>> Got my rebate back on Friday. I've decided to spend it on drugs. It's the only thing I can do with $300 that will actually have an impact. Oh, sure, I could go out for a nice dinner, or put it in the bank. But that won't really make a big difference. If I buy drugs, I'll be helping my drug dealer buy a luxury automobile. That will definitely help stimulate the economy.
As for me, I'll be a candidate for arrest, fines, community service, rehabilitation and social programs - becoming a full-fledged participant in the "War on Drugs." So that's productive. Plus, if after all of that I'm still not nudging the economy forward, I'm not gonna feel too, too bad. Because, you see, I'll be on drugs. It's just the "right thing" to do. The only decision that makes about as much sense as giving everyone $300 and thinking it will "fix" the economy.
DUCK AND COVER!!! >>> http://www.ntk.net/ballmer/dancemonkeyboy.mpg
NEW LEVELS OF AUTHENTICITY >>> You've seen the movie, thrilled to the docudrama, now check out television ads "based on a true story." This one, a think-piece about Kosovo (Kosovo bad), is brought to you by the Phillip Morris Company. The real message: People are dying in wars. Might as well have a smoke.
BODY BY VICTORIA >>> Aren't you women getting sick and tired of being told how to look? These women are pretty, but they are not sexy. This commercial might have been interesting...in 1965.
SILENT BOB A HOMOPHOBE? >>> Kevin Smith vs. the World. Writer of the chirpy "Clerks," unheralded "Mallrats," mind-bending "Chasing Amy" and lightning rod-like "Dogma" now has GLAAD snapping at his heels for alleged homophobia in Smith's latest, "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."
"I know Kevin Smith is not a homophobe," says Scott Seomin, GLAAD's entertainment media director. "But we feel the movie he wrote and directed is overwhelmingly homophobic, and there's a huge potential for a negative impact on gay people, particularly gay youth."
Smith responds, "I swear, I caught it from the right wing on Dogma, and now I'm catching it from the left wing on this flick," he adds. "Which am I, people, a bleeding heart liberal or Bible-thumping conservative? And when the hell do I get to make a movie in which I don't have to explain myself afterwards?"
Perhaps Mr. Smith should make a movie about milk. Most people like milk, except for the lactose intolerant, and I don't think even they dislike milk...they just can't drink it without getting all gassy.
TOONAGE: String Cheese Incident @ The Greek Theatre >>> I liked these guys, who are splitting the post-Dead tie-dyed market with Phish, Widespread Panic, et al. Whereas Phish is the more calculatedly commercial experience, and Widespread the workingman's bluesicians, String Cheese Incident has no qualms about invoking Jerry and that magical sound. They could almost be a Dead tribute band if they weren't so bloody musical.
Luckily, these guys are all about the audio. Noodling from free-form jazz to blues to very Dead-like jams, the band had pretty much everyone at the Greek on its feet throughout its 3 and a half hour performance. Add the moonlight and Jerry's actual birthday on Wednesday and you had a very enjoyable incident.
TOONAGE: Lagbaja @ Santa Monica Pier >>> Yet another sublime night at the Santa Monica Pier. At the center was Lagbaja, the tall guy in the grey lion's outfit toting a sax. The music was bright, energetic, and soulful. And the crowd in a participatory mood: lots of dancing instead of the usual L.A. sway. The acts continue on the upswing this week with cajun madman Buckwheat Zydeco. Reverend Horton Heat and Ozomatli are on later this summer.
@ @ @
SIX DISK CHANGER >>> In house-cleaning mode.
1. Herbaliser, "Blow Your
Headphones"
2. Stones, mix CD (something about the Rolling Stones in summer)
3. Pete Yorn, "Musicforthemorningafter"
4. Tindersticks, "Can our love..."
5. Mojave 3, "Excuses for Travellers"
6. Chicane, "Visions of Ibiza, Disk 1"
7. Hed Kandi (Various), "Summer Sampler 2001"
@ @ @
Speaking of grey, does it strike you as odd that when something is colored "charcoal" it's not really the color of charcoal, which is black, but the color of burnt charcoal, which turns un-black when set on fire to become a darkish grey?
Here's hoping you are becoming increasingly comfortable with these sorts of greynesses.
Your pal,
D.
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I have never been, nor will I ever be, ambivalent about ambivalence.
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The Morning Brief can be read every wwweek @ www.smmirror.com -- in the Web Stuff section.
You can also find prior Briefs at www.morningbrief.net if you've got the time. Or load it up from www.avantgo.com and get your Briefs to go.
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DISCLAIMAGE >>> Please feel free to forward The Morning Brief to whomever you like. If you do, in part or in segments, or if you'd like to re-publish, please copy me or just let me know. Thanks for reading!
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Notable shows in and around Southern
California.
Highly
recommended shows this color.
Red
alert; must see!
8.06.01 - Roxy
Music @ The Greek Theatre
8.06.01 - Charlie Haden @
Knitting Factory Hollywood
8.07.01 -
Roxy Music @ The Greek Theatre
8.07.01 - Charlie Haden @
Knitting Factory Hollywood
8.08.01 - The Iguanas @ Conga Room
8.08.01 - Charlie Haden @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
8.09.01 -
Buckwheat Zydeco @ Santa Monica Pier (Twilight Dance Series)
8.09.01 - Patti Smith @ The
Roxy
8.09.01 -
Crystal Method @ Mayan Theatre
8.09.01 - Strunz & Farah
@ House of Blues
8.10.01 - Matthew Sweet @ El Rey Theatre
8.11.01 - Eels @ The Roxy
8.12.01 - Squarepusher @ El Rey Theatre
8.12.01 -
Baaba Maal, Angelique Kidjo @ Hollywood Bowl
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8.13.01 - Tool & King Crimson @ Wiltern Theatre
8.14.01 - Tool & King Crimson @ Wiltern Theatre
8.14.01 - Depeche Mode @ Staples Center
8.14.01 -
Mutabaruka @ The Conga Room
8.16.01 - Venice @ Santa
Monica Pier (Twilight Dance Series)
8.16.01 -
Mose Allison @ MOCA at the California Plaza
8.17.01 - Eric Clapton @
Staples Center
8.17.01 -
Groove Armada, Photek @ Santa Monica Museum of Flying
8.17.01 - Leo Neocentelli
(Meters) @ Knitting Factory Hollywood
8.18.01 - Yellowman @ House of Blues
8.18.01 - Eric Clapton @ Staples Center
8.19.01 - Erykah Badu @ The Greek Theatre
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8.20.01 - Aerosmith @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8.20.01 -
Radiohead @ Hollywood Bowl
8.21.01 - Rahat Fateh Ali
Khan @ Conga Room
8.22.01 - Aerosmith @ Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
8.22.01 - Paloalto @ The Troubadour
8.23.01 - The Reverend Horton Heat @ Santa Monica Pier (Twilight
Dance Series)
8.24.01 -
Junior Brown @ House of Blues
8.24.01 - The Reverend Horton
Heat @ The Troubadour
8.25.01 - The Reverend Horton Heat @ The Troubadour
8.25.01 - Nancy Griffith @ House of Blues
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9.01.01 - Long Beach Blues Festival (Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Koko
Taylor, Jimmie Vaughan)
9.02.01 - Long Beach Blues Festival (Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little
Milton, Shuggie Otis)
9.05.01 - Pete Yorn @ El Rey Theatre
9.07.01 -
King Sunny Ade @ House of Blues
9.07.01 - Gillian Welch &
David Rawlings @ El Rey Theatre
9.07.01 - Latin Alternative Festival @ Universal Amphitheatre
9.08.01 - Taj
Mahal & Funky Meters @ House of
Blues
9.08.01 - Laurie Anderson @
El Rey Theatre
9.09.01 - Laurie Anderson @ El Rey Theatre
9.13.01 -
Third World @ House of Blues
9.14.01 - Melissa Etheridge
(solo) @ Long Beach Terrace Theater
9.15.01 - Melissa Etheridge (solo) @ Long Beach Terrace Theater
9.16.01 - Crosby, Stills and Nash @ Greek Theatre
9.16.01 - Melissa Etheridge (solo) @ Long Beach Terrace Theater
9.18.01 - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ Wiltern Theatre
9.19.01 - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds @ Wiltern Theatre
9.29.01 - Money Mark @ The Troubadour
10.02.01 -
Janet Jackson @ Staples Center
10.06.01 - James Taylor @
Hollywood Bowl
10.12.01 - Etta James @ House of Blues
10.13.01 - Lloyd's Blues Music Fest (BB. King, Buddy Guy, John Hiatt)
@ Universal Amphitheatre
10.19-21 - All Tomorrow's Parties (Sonic Youth, Stereolab, Melvins,
Cat Power) @ UCLA
10.20.01 -
St. Germain @ Hollywood Palladium
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HAVE YOU ever reconsidered? HAVE YOU done something on the spur of a moment? HAVE YOU eaten anything extra yummy? HAVE YOU found a haven? HAVE YOU considered moving to a new climate? HAVE YOU got an axe to grind? HAVE YOU taken a deep breath lately?
RE: CONAN O'BRIEN AND THE SLUR >>> I understood what Sarah Silverman's joke was about. I've thought of doing the same thing on jury duty summons. But the point of MANAA's protest is that "chink" is a word that should never be used. To Chinese, it is the equivalent of "nigger" -- even worse, because Chinese do not use the word in joking about each other. "Chink" is the word uttered by lynch mobs before stringing up Chinese. Substitute "nigger" into Sarah Silverman's joke, and you might get a deeper appreciation of how harsh it sounded to us Asians.
-- Freddy Tran Nager.
RE: RACIAL SLUR >>> I read your note on the Conan O'Brien's apology (I did not see the show). I think it is so ridiculous that he felt the need to apologize for the joke.
As you know, my wife is Asian and my 4 kids are 50% Asian so if these things would offend anyone it should be our family. However, we are smart enough to accept humor for what it is. I think some people need to get their head out of their ass and realize not everything can or should be politically correct. A joke that includes a slur to make the person making the joke look bad is not offensive (see All in the Family). A statement made on the street, in print, etc, to put someone down or offend someone is different. People need to understand the difference and quit trying to make it all the same.
P.S. My 9 year old son and I were watching a show on MTV about the 100 greatest singers of the 1900s (something like that). When describing the upbringing of a performer (I have no idea who it was), a sign was flashed on the screen that said "Whites Only". My son asked me about the sign. We discussed the era this person was raised and discussed racism. He said, "Well, I could go into there." I told him that his Mom was Asian and the same people who were against the blacks in the South were against anyone of Asian decent. I told him there were people who believed that way and that they were not intelligent people and that we try to avoid these type of people. Also we would not go into a place with that supported that attitude.
Later that night I told my wife of our conversation and I asked her if she had experienced any racial prejudice. She had not. I guess I included this incident because I think we need to be aware of prejudice in the world, but we don't necessarily have to hide from it by being afraid of saying something. It is out there, I think it will always be there. A joke on TV is not going to change our lives. An incident in real life may. We need to concentrate our efforts to where they make sense. Worry about jokes after you have stopped racism totally.
-- John Frost.
RE: ENVIRONMENTALISM >>> You make an accurate and defensible point, Rick. Environmental activists and rich democrats like Al Gore - who holds stock in Oxy Petroleum (Yeah, yeah - I know, it's in a "Blind Trust"), are a bunch of self-righteous hypocrites a lot of the time. So are conservatives when they talk loud about free markets, and then subsidize agribusiness (free grazing on public lands, timber business (free roads into the wilderness), and nuclear power companies (liability for a big screw up with one of their reactors falls to us - the taxpayers. Not the corporations themselves and certainly not the individual rich bastards who actually own and operate the plants). There are hypocrites at every level of politics and culture.
That is not the most important point! We have very real environmental problems that will fuck life on earth as we know it if we don't "pull together as a team" (Pink Floyd - Welcome To The Machine)! I mean, come on, does it matter whose fault it is if we screw up the ozone, melt the polar caps, flood the coasts, and unleash climate change resulting in hurricanes, desertification etc.?
As a Nader supporter, I think the republicans and democrats are mostly spineless, greedy, corporate whores. But if they can come up with a reasonable compromise to help mitigate the effects of billions of people driving around in their cars, throwing away their plastic disposable lighters, buying more rainforest beef in disposable fast food petroleum based styrofoam containers, buying and using an endless assortment of truly useless and wasteful electronic household devices (The Electric Can Opener?) - if they can come up with a good idea and get it implemented - I don't care so much about their individual moral inconsistencies.
It is always easier to merely criticize the powers that be, rather than come up with a useful plan of action. There may be questions about the rate of global warming and its environmental effects, but does anyone seriously believe that auto emissions are good for the planet or good for us? There is a real need to address planetary concerns on a global level. As the biggest polluters on the face of the earth, we here in the United States should be leading the worldwide attempt to do something about it. Instead, we are doing everything in our power to keep it business as usual.
As individuals, we need to encourage the process of global cooperation. It is well past time for playing the blame game.
Now let's get it on!
-- John Baltic.
RE: KYOTO TREATY >>> "A picture is worth a thousand words..."
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/viewrecord?8086
Looks like the southern hemisphere, most of which would not be a party to Kyoto, are dropping the most CO2 into the atmosphere (and no, CO2 cannot move on its own from the Northern to Souther hemispheres). In the northern hemisphere, China and India, also not a party to Kyoto, seem to be doing the most damage.
Now you can understand why the Senate voted 95-0 in 1997 against any provision that was not adopted by ALL countries.
-- Richard Gianvecchio.
RE: "A.I." >>> I think I may be the only person in the world (besides my hubby) who really enjoyed A.I. And not just for the beanbag chair. I like to think we posess some sort of 'higher genius' that can truly appreciate the film.
Or maybe we are just average with bad taste!
-- Robin Wachner.