Tuesday, November 29, 2005

I have seen NONE of these movies, but I'm definitely a cult film. Think Rocky Horror...

The Movie Of Your Life Is A Cult Classic

Quirky, offbeat, and even a little campy - your life appeals to a select few.
But if someone's obsessed with you, look out! Your fans are downright freaky.

Your best movie matches: Office Space, Showgirls, The Big Lebowski

Saturday, November 26, 2005

In between jobs, I make another flyer

Photo Hosted at Buzznet.com

No time to talk about it. Later!

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

The FBI and CIA really aren't that into me

I was surprised and pleased to see recent e-mails to me from "Admin" at both the CIA and FBI declaring that I had been recorded as visting "illegal" websites. The e-mails had some sort of attachment that I was urged to open so that I could answer their questions.

Having done my research through the Center for Constitutional Rights, I know that no citizen can be forced to answer questions of the FBI or the CIA if they choose not to answer. With the long history of governmental interference in political activity, I know that the best thing to do is to refuse to answer while getting as much information from the government reps as possible (name, badge numbers, department, interest, etc.). So I stood up for democratic rights and refused to open the attachment as another giant leap for citizen activism. (Of course, I never open attachments, and neither should you, but the story sounds so much more "heroic" this way.)

Well, sure enough I find this little tidbit today:

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Fake FBI, CIA e-mails contain viruses

Nov 22 2:11 PM US/Eastern

The FBI warned Internet users about a scam involving e-mails appearing to come from the FBI, with a computer virus attached.

"These scam e-mails tell the recipients that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI and that they have accessed illegal websites," the law enforcement agency said in a statement.

"The e-mails then direct recipients to open an attachment and answer questions."

The FBI statement said recipients of this or similar messages "should know that the FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited e-mails to the public in this manner."

The messages appear to be sent from an e-mail address such as mailAfbi.gov, postAfbi.gov, adminAfbi.gov or a similar address.

The Internet security firm Sophos said similar e-mails may appear to come from the Central Intelligence Agency, but it noted that both contain a strain of the Sober virus that has been spreading worldwide.

In a four-hour period Tuesday, the worm "has accounted for over 61 percent of all viruses reported to Sophos, making it currently the most prevalent virus spreading across the world."

-------

Well, I'm still claiming major kudos for my "activism through nonactivism". Maybe this will be the start of a new movement!

Monday, November 21, 2005

PMS

From the political to the personal. I just have to ask, WTF do I spend an entire weekend and two nights this week getting the house ready for an onslaught of the relatives for T-day? More to the point, why are they the one thing that motivates me to take care of crap that's been lying around for months? PMS stands for "Pre-Mother Syndrome" in my house. It is the frantic activity we go through in order to prepare the house for the upcoming visit of my mother.

For example:

1. I spent what seemed like hours shredding old, useless bills and financial records that had been gathering dust for months.

2. I bought three lamps to replace the three that have, for years, been limited to either: a. using a pliers to change the switch, or b. unplugging and plugging back in to turn the rusty old pile of shit on or off. What in the world is it that makes me accept this kind of crap up until the day a relative might enter my house and be burdened with the piece of shit?

3. We finally, through joint effort, cleared off the dining room table, thus allowing us to get up off our knees (when using the living room coffee table) to have a decent meal together.

I do respect my relatives and want them to have a relaxing time on T-Day. But why the hell don't I respect my own self and my family enough to fix these things so that we can enjoy them on an everyday basis?

I pride myself on being able to put up with junk that others cannot withstand. It is a benefit of my stressful upbringing. But that is so last century. There really is no reason why I need to continue to put up with useless crap. Just because it's a habit doesn't mean it has to continue.

And just in case I leave the wrong impression, my mother is a wonderful woman who could care less about these details. Nevertheless, it is her visits that provide the motivation for me to deal with all these petty issues that I've ignored for months on end.

Sheesh!

Friday, November 18, 2005

Private

Tonight I volunteered at the final event of the Arab Film Festival. The film finale was an amazing story called "Private" about a Palestinian family in occupied Palestine whose house is taken over by a unit of the Israeli army. Here's the blurb from Mizna's website:

Private (Palestine/Italy, 2004, 90 minutes)

Director: Saverio Costanzo

Synopsis: Inspired by real events, documentary filmmaker Saverio Costanzo's feature debut is a minimalist psychological drama about a Palestinian family of seven suddenly confronted with a volatile situation when the Israeli army decides to seize their house for use as a strategic look-out point, confining the family to a few rooms in daytime and a single room at night. Mohammad refuses to leave his home and, reinforced by his principles against violence, decides to find a way to keep his family together in the house until the Israeli soldiers move on. Living in a state of constant confrontation and fear fragments the family's relationships as every member reacts in different ways to the soldiers' presence in the house. Tensions between the family members and the soldiers nearly reach the breaking point just as the troops are ordered to move to a new post. The family's relief is short-lived, however, as a new group of soldiers moves into the house and the cycle of disruption and occupation continues. In English, Arabic, and Hebrew with English subtitles.


If you have any chance at all to see this film, I urge you to do so. I have more to say, but I'm dead tired. Later, gater.

Monday, November 14, 2005

Intelligent Design

K Marx the Spot points out an interesting irony in the Bush Administration's philosophy:

When President Bush and his political supporters confront a huge amount of evidence that shows that evolution is the process that created intelligent life, they remark that an Intelligent Designer was probably responsible.

Yet when low-level military personnel are caught brutalizing prisoners, not just at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, but also at Guantanamo Bay and in Afghanistan, these same proponents of Intelligent Design claim that there was no policy allowing such practices.

Indeed, by their logic, these brutal practices evolved out of nowhere, independently, at facilities around the world. No Intelligent Design behind those practices at all.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

More stuff

Why you should continue to date me a series of charts and graphs by Joel A. Friesen. Pretty cute. Link found via Presurfer

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Quoting the comedienne Susan Vasss, "I can be the smart one working at 7-11."

You Should Get a MFA (Masters of Fine Arts)

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Test found via Presurfer

Monday, November 07, 2005

Celebrity Slut event

Back at my old hang out on the web I used to post any sitings of celebrities I encountered and called myself a "celebrity slut" for thinking how hot I was for meeting somebody famous (long story, not worth repeating). I figure there's no reason to end that tradition now that I have my own blog.

Last Friday I got to meet Cheech Marin who was in town to help out a Chicano artist who had won a commission for art in a downtown building. I introduced myself and thanked him for his work on the Chicano Visions and Chicano Now projects. As a typesetter, I got to work on some of the promotional materials for the two exhibits and was able to attend both shows. I told him how happy I had been to contribute and how much I learned from the experience.

He was wonderfully gracious, thanked me for my work and for introducing myself. Pretty cool, eh?

If you get a chance to see the Chicano exhibits, take the opportunity. It is beautiful and fascinating work. Here is Marin's statement on Chicano art from the website:

The CHICANO School of Painting
Statement by Cheech Marin

From its earliest roots in the grape fields of Delano, California - where Carlos Almaraz painted signs for the United Farm Workers - to the GRONK retrospective at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the CHICANO School of Painting has always been about reinterpreting a culture. That culture has been shown to be diverse yet unified, profane and spiritual, traditional and avant-garde whether through the autobiographical paintings of Carmen Lomas Garza, that depict her South Texas childhood, or the deeply psychological, urban-hones paintings of Patssi Valdez. While other "schools" of painting have been defined overwhelmingly by stylistic concerns, the CHICANO School combines stylistic innovation with elements of tradition. The blending of Mexican popular and religious iconography with modern images of urban angst reflects the continually evolving role of Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, within the larger American society. This mix of sophistication and naiveté, combined with a socio-political overlay, has produced a uniquely American school of painting based on CHICANO content that is at the same time universal in its aesthetics of the human condition.

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Neighborhood Group Night

Tonight I spent an hour and a half attending my neighborhood group's annual meeting. I have a love/hate relationship with my neighborhood group. To a large extent, they appear to be a bunch of NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) assholes who don't have anything better to do than to come up with regulations about how other people ought to live. On the other hand, I believe that building a strong community is important and that the capitalist system does everything in its power to keep us from organizing amongst ourselves. Because of that, almost any community organizating is a net positive in a world that discourages community and prizes individualism above all.

So, anyway, I went to my neighborhood group's annual meeting tonight and it was chock full of in-group language and multiple assumptions that discourage participation from anyone not familiar with the lingo. There were extensive discussions about NRP Round II. There was talk about the "Foundry" issue. There was a proposal to fund the staff without ever introducing staff members or indicating what they do for the community.

Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhhh!

And they wonder why nobody feels inspired to join in their organization. Well, du-uh!

Battle For New Orleans

Glen Ford and Peter Gamble at Black Commentator have an excellent article calling for collective action to save New Orleans from the plans of "disaster capitalists" and their friends at Halliburton.

The Battle for New Orleans will require lawyers, researchers, city planners, architects, social scientists, psychologists, financiers, educators, pension fund managers, liberation theologians, culture workers, athletes, medical practitioners, criminal justice experts, chefs, t-shirt designers, micro- and macro-organizers, as solid a front of Black politicians as can be assembled - and hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers in struggle.

A vision of the new New Orleans is also required- a full-blown counter-vision to the condo-studded "theme park" corporate blueprint, one that will inspire both those displaced from the city and the African American movement at-large.


The article also includes The New Orleans Citizens Bill of Rights which includes the Right of Return (sound familiar) for the displaced citizens of New Orleans.

Go. Read. It's Good!