Urban Kook Podcast

Maureen Dowd Sums Up Hillary

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:04:00 GMT

The latest Washington Post/ABC poll in Iowa shows Barack Obama four points ahead of Hillary Clinton. In her New York Times column today, Maureen Dowd sums up why the former First Lady is having so much trouble in her campaign: lack of authenticity.

The public still has no idea of what part of [Hillary] is stage-managed and focus-grouped, and what part is legit. Itâs pretty pathetic, at this stage of her career, that she has to wage a major offensive, by helicopter and Web testimonials, to make herself appear warm-blooded.

For full text of Dowd's column: The New York Times

Obama Perfectly Counters Hillary Cackle

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 17:41:00 GMT

Miss Ohio's Beehive Hairdo (Video)

urbankook@gmail.com — Thu, 6 Dec 2007 02:33:00 GMT

With her boyfriend about to be released from prison, Miss Ohio visits La Jean Beauty Parlor in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to get a little glamor into her life. It took several cans of hairspray to achieve maximum height for her beehive.

Show Notes

1. According to a review at billburg.com, La Jean Beauty Parlor will have you "bowing down before the altar of rat combs and peroxide." It's old school.

2. For more on the hipster capital of America, check out Free Williamsburg.

3. "Everybody Loves My Hair," by Captain WAM of the Podsafe Music Network.

4. Search The Hair Archives for more information on the beehive.

Bill Stumbles For Hill

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 17:46:00 GMT

By Jill Lawrence, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON â It was a partial clause in a sentence uttered in Muscatine, Iowa. But Bill Clinton's assertion Monday that he'd opposed the Iraq war "from the beginning" triggered outbursts across the political spectrum. From the left, the right and the media establishment, the judgment was the former president had committed a gaffe that could hurt his wife's presidential bid. STORY: Bill says Hillary can put U.S. on track "Bill Clinton Rewrites History on Iraq?" wondered ABC News' Political Radar blog. "A political blunder of monumental proportions," Dan Spencer wrote at the conservative Redstate.com. At liberal DailyKos.com, the headline was "Bill Clinton's 'truthiness' problem."

Clinton's comment, reported by the Associated Press, came in a discussion of tax cuts for wealthy Americans during wartime. "Even though I approved of Afghanistan and opposed Iraq from the beginning, I still resent that I was not asked or given the opportunity to support those soldiers," he said. New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign posted quotes Tuesday from Bill Clinton in which he highlighted his reservations about using force. Before the war started in 2003, he said that "we don't invade everybody whose regime we want to change" and that if Saddam Hussein disarms, the United States should seek regime change by helping his rivals. "As he said before the war and many times since, President Clinton disagreed with taking the country to war without allowing the weapons inspectors to finish their jobs," said campaign spokesman Jay Carson.

Clinton was more oblique in Little Rock and Iowa City less than a week after the invasion. "Whatever our politics" and "whatever your views," he said, it was time to support President Bush and the troops. Bloggers, however, posted quotes that underscored Clinton's support for Bush and concern about Saddam. For instance:

âIn April 2003 in New York, Clinton said "Saddam is gone and good riddance" and Bush shouldn't be criticized "for trying to act" on the belief that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.

âIn May 2003 at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss., he said that "I supported the president when he asked the Congress for authority to stand up against weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

The hubbub comes as polls show Hillary Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama neck and neck in the race to win Iowa's leadoff nomination contest. They were tied at 29% in a Strategic Vision poll of Iowa Democrats released today. University of Iowa political scientist Peverill Squire said Clinton's remark may revive concern about his wife's vote to authorize war. "It's undoubtedly a distraction," he said. Obama gave a strong anti-war speech in late 2002, while he was a state legislator. Asked Tuesday about Clinton saying he opposed the war from the start, Obama laughed and said: "If he did, I don't think most of us heard about it."

Transvestites Attack McDonald's

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 19:56:00 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. â A troublesome trio of transvestites allegedly laid siege to a Memphis McDonald's restaurant Sunday night, sparking a brawl with the restaurant's crew, according to reports.

Police said they were working on a more detailed description of three men dressed in drag who came into a McDonald's restaurant and started swinging.

Restaurant employee Martez Brisco was working the drive-through window when he reportedly got into an argument with the suspects. When Brisco ignored them tapping at the window, they came in.

"They come to the window, 'Tap, tap, tap.' I'm still ignoring them," Brisco told WMC-TV. "I guess that just pissed them off worser."

For full story: go to Fox News.

Clinton & Obama Switch Roles In Iowa

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:57:00 GMT

By: Mike Allen and Carrie Budoff Brown
November 26, 2007 12:46 PM EST DES MOINES

In a reversal of fortune, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is barnstorming Iowa with a front-runnerâs swagger while Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) scrambles like an underdog. In ways big and small over the weekend, the two campaigns exuded a sense of switched identities â a dynamic driven by poll-driven perceptions that Clintonâs sense of inevitability is slipping and Obama is riding a bit of a wave amid the Midwestern seas of grain. The mood and stump styles of the two campaigns reflect this new reality: An ebullient Obama â coatless, tieless, tireless â conveys a sense that at least he thinks he could be on his way to being the next president. Clinton, mixing her traditional caution with a new toughness, is clearly set on knocking Obama off his game.

For full text: go to The Politico.

Bureau of Workplace Interruptions

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 19:52:00 GMT

Bureau of Workplace Interruptions is a time-stealing agency who work with employees to interrupt the flow of their workday. The purpose is to invigorate some of the time people spend at work in order to create new experiences and possibilities outside the flow of capital.

So, if you're an employee who needs a break from the daily routines you can apply for an interruption at the bureau's website. Subsequently, they will do their best to find the right interruption for you.

When planning the event, they'll take your occupation, work hours, and the means by which they can contact you into consideration. The interruption can take place via mail, email, telephone or, if you're lucky, a workplace visit.

For more about this project: Bureau of Workplace Interruptions

NYC Subway Music - Nicola

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 04:06:00 GMT

Location of Recording: Union Square Subway Station (Nov. 21, 2007)

From Nicola's bio: Over the last few years and 2 LPs, Nicola and her band have racked up an impressive list of rock credentials: sheâs been featured on ABC World Newsâ âMusic Under New York,â? vh1.com, âWomen Who Rockâ? magazine, and NBC News; sheâs been a National Songwriters Hall of Fame featured songwriter; she performed at David Blaineâs âDrowned Alive;â? and sheâs been heard on FM radio in a number of markets in addition to a recent mini-feature on MTVâs Music Video Awards. Her Chicks with Guitars college tour was a major success, and her myspace profile has over 127,000 hits. She and the band have been Spotlight Artists on Sonicbids, and you may have seen them featured on an ABC TV special as well as in Billboard Magazineâs âUnderground LPâ? section for Breaking Artists.

Nicola's latest album, âDonât Take it Personally,â? finds her and her band at the top of their game. From the vicious attack of âMy Name Ainât Maryâ? to the relatively introspective âAlmost,â? to the thrill ride of â(5, 6, 7, 8) Hot Date,â? Nicola is in complete control. Thereâs enough fiery, fun-loving, fiercely independent attitude to blow your speakers off the wall. Her passionate, extroverted, fantastically versatile voice is the ultimate instrument for her unapologetic personality and irreverent wit.

JFK in Dallas - November 22, 1963

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 17:35:00 GMT

This is a series of images in QuickTime movie format of President John F. Kennedy's motorcade in Dallas on November 22, 1963 and of the events following his assassination. The images are accompanied by the U.S. Army Band playing "From Sea to Shining Sea," which is also on the soundtrack from the Oliver Stone film JFK. To view the QuickTime movie, click on the Pod icon beside the post title or on the direct download link at the bottom of the post.

In today's New York Times Op-Ed piece,"J.F.K.'s Death Re-Framed," Max Holland and Johann Rush offer a different perspective on the timing of Oswald's alleged shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. They point out that the Zapruder film captures the Presidential motorcade only after it had turned onto Elm Street in Delay Plaza and quite possibly after the first shot - which the Warren Commission concluded had missed. Oswald would only have had to fire two shots in the sequence of the Zapruder film - not three - making it more plausible that he acted alone.

For a wicked interpretation of the Warren Commission's findings, check out the late, great comedian Bill Hicks (his act is explicit). There was actually a game designer who wrote a PC program called JFK Reloaded and offered a reward to anyone who could exactly recreate the assassination sequence.

How To Carve The Turkey

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 04:22:00 GMT

Concerned about my culinary skills, my father-in-law from South Carolina calls me and reads from an article in The Greenville News entitled, "How To Carve The Turkey." I'm still not so sure I'm ready to try carving a hulking bird. Debbie and I will probably go to Sylvia's Soul Food Kitchen in Harlem on Thanksgiving.

NYC Subway Music - The Drumatics (#2)

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 03:57:00 GMT

You can probably tell...I really like The Drumatics, who I heard last weekend at Union Square. As the mp3 begins, I'm at a distance and walking in the subway tunnel toward the group. I liked their sound and started recording with the Belkin TalkTune Stereo attached to my iPod. Getting that gizzmo was the reason for my trip to the Apple Store Soho...an earlier podcast episode.

Check out the review of The Drumatics at Concretebeat.

A Secret Campaign and Dirty Tricks

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 03:49:00 GMT

The Times of London
November 19, 2007

The mud is starting to fly in the 2008 presidential race, with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama trading shots over rumours of a secret scandal while Republican rivals of Mitt Romney have been forced to deny being behind an underhand âpush-pollingâ? attack on his Mormon faith.

Just days after increasingly acrimonious exchanges in Thursdayâs Democratic debate, agents of Mrs Clinton were quoted as saying that they had obtained unspecified âscandalous informationâ? about Mr Obama.

His campaign responded furiously over the weekend, challenging Mrs Clinton either to make the information public âor concede the truth that there is noneâ?. Mr Obama, who is standing on a platform of changing Washingtonâs adversarial culture, accused the Democratic front-runner of using âSwift Boatâ? tactics of âinnuendo and insinuationâ? similar to those deployed in the 2004 race when John Kerryâs Vietnam war record as a Swift Boat captain was smeared.

âI am prepared to stand up to that kind of politics, whether itâs deployed by candidates in our party, in the other party or by any third party,â? he said. âThe cause of moving America forward demands that we defeat it.

For full article: go to The Times of London.

NYC Subway Music - The Drumatics (#1)

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 01:00:00 GMT

The Drumatics are an amazing group of fusion musicians who I heard last Friday evening in the Union Square subway station in Manhattan. They combine the bucket drums of hip hop street culture with African jembe, shaker, bass drum, African dun duns and the alto sax and bass sax of jazz. The group was formed by Bronx resident William Johnson, who has performed on the streets and in the subways of New York for over 10 years. You can find a discussion of The Drumatics on the blog Concretebeat.

Artists: William Johnson (buckets), David Park (bass drum), Alla (jembe), Alissa (African dun duns), Joel (shaker), Welf Dorr (alto sax), Nick Gianni (baritone sax).

Get Ready To Stop Shopping

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 14:46:00 GMT

STOP SHOPPING TO GO GREEN: This November 23rd in the USA and Canada and November 24th internationally, environmentalists, social activists and concerned citizens in as many as 65 countries will hit the streets for a 24-hour consumer fast in celebration of the 15th annual Buy Nothing Day, a global cultural phenomenon that originated in Vancouver, Canada.

Featured in recent years by the likes of CNN, MSNBC, Wired, the BBC, USA Today, The Age and the CBC, the international event has been gaining mainstream momentum as the climate crisis drives average people to seek out greener alternatives to unrestrained consumption.

For full press release, go to Adbusters.

Imus Is Back!

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 17:31:00 GMT

by Felix Gillette Published: November 13, 2007

Tags: Media, Don Imus

This article was published in the November 19, 2007, edition of The New York Observer.

Reconstructing Don: The undisgraced urban cowboy is bringing his crew back on WABC-AM Radio December 3.

âI think Iâve had some history of defending friends of mine that have been in uncomfortable circumstances,â? said James Carville. âI defend the speaker, not the speech. If thereâs no redemption, what are we here for?â?

Mr. Carville, speaking by phone to The Observer on Monday, was referring to his former boss, President Clinton, but also to another public figure undone by his own indiscipline: Don Imus, the irreverent, sensitive, occasionally boorish, and strangely compelling radio talker who in April was fired from CBS for referring to the Rutgers womenâs basketball team as--remember 2007?--ânappy-headed hoâs.â?

Redemption! Since the dark days of April, Mr. Imus, 67--a denizen of Central Park West, and one of the paradigmatic radio heroes of the 90âs--has accomplished the beginnings of a media resurrection. Last month, he siged a 5-year deal with Citadel Broadcasting, through which heâll return to the radio on December 3rd, as the host of a morning drive time show on the companyâs WABC, the top-ranked AM radio station in New York City. The agreement, which will end Mr. Imusâ six-month sabbatical, is reportedly worth between $5 and 8 million annuallyâa pay-cut from Mr. Imusâ $10 million annual salary at CBS.

Still, his freedom will be curtailed: CBS kept him on only a five-second tape delay, which it rarely used, according to Martin Garbus, Mr. Imusâ lawyer. But a wary WABC told The Observer theyâll have him on a 21-second delay, giving them ample time to bleep out anything...troublesome. It may not be pure democracy, but at least he hasnât abandoned the wide-open spaces of AM radio for the paywall of XM.

Crucially, many of Mr. Imusâ big-name guests from the worlds of politics and media appear ready to welcome him back with open arms, unconcerned about the inevitable charges that by returning to the scene of the crime, theyâre accessories to buddy-buddy bigotry. Indeed, Mr. Carvilleânot a man known for turning down opportunities for publicityâtold The Observer that heâs already locked in as a guest on Mr. Imusâ first day back.

The New Yorkerâs Ken Auletta was similarly unequivocal. âI said I wouldnât go on at the time of the controversy,â? he told The Observer. âBut I wouldnât make that same claim today. Because I think people deserve second chances. If you believe in rehabilitation, if you donât believe in the death penalty, you believe that some people can be reformed and changed.â?

For full text: visit The New York Observer

Taxi Ride To Apple Store Soho

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 04:13:00 GMT

On my way to the Apple Store Soho, I talk computers with a cabbie named Nick, who builds his own. I was a bit foggy on the directions, having been a big hurry as I was looking at the Google map. I had the street wrong; but Nick knew just where the Apple Store was. The fare from Parsons The New School for Design (Fifth Avenue and 13th Street) to the Apple Store at 103 Prince Street cost $8.00 including the tip.

Queen Hillary's Distruptive Court

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 20:47:00 GMT

The press corps finally wakes up to her waffling and evasions. Plus: Norman Mailer's largely forgotten legacy and our disappointing lesbian icons!

By Camille Paglia

Nov. 14, 2007 | The mainstream media have been in a breathless tizzy about how Hillary Clinton waffled, tripped, stumbled or generally screwed up at the Democratic debate in Philadelphia two weeks ago.

But Hillary's performance at prior debates was never as deft or "flawless" as the media claimed in the first place. Conventional wisdom has now flipped, and the air-headed lemmings of our free press have turned on a dime and are stampeding in the opposite direction. This is the same crew who passively swallowed administration propaganda about the urgency of an invasion of Iraq. Don't ask for critical acumen from this lot.

Hillary's stonewalling evasions and mercurial, soulless self-positionings have been going on since her first run for the U.S. Senate from New York, a state she had never lived in and knew virtually nothing about. The liberal Northeastern media were criminally complicit in enabling her queenlike, content-free "listening tour," where she took no hard questions and where her staff and security people (including her government-supplied Secret Service detail) staged events stocked with vetted sympathizers, and where they ensured that no protesters would ever come within camera range.

That compulsive micromanagement, ultimately emanating from Hillary herself, has come back to haunt her in her dismaying inability to field complex unscripted questions in a public forum. The presidential sweepstakes are too harsh an arena for tenderfoot novices. Hillary's much-vaunted "experience" has evidently not extended to the dynamic give-and-take of authentic debate. The mild challenges she has faced would be pitiful indeed by British standards, which favor a caustic style of witty put-downs that draw applause and gales of laughter in the House of Commons. Women had better toughen up if they aspire to be commander in chief.

Whether John Edwards or Barack Obama (toward whom I'm currently leaning) has conclusively demonstrated his superiority for the top of the ticket remains to be seen. They may unfortunately split the anti-Hillary vote (a majority of registered Democrats) so that she slips through. If Hillary is the Democratic nominee, I will certainly vote for her. But I continue to find it hard to believe that my party truly craves that long nightmare of dÃjÃ vu -- with scandal after scandal disgorged and an endless train of abused women returning from Bill Clinton's sordid, anti-feminist past.

For full article go to Salon.com.

Andy Warhol Being Laconic

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 16:09:00 GMT

More artists today should practice being laconic. Andy Warhol adopted this stategy and demonstrated a complete mastery of the media in this exchange about his work (Brillo Boxes made of wood and painted to resemble the consumer brand in supermarkets). He said little (yet spoke volumnes); and still the questions came. Surely, the reporter knew that Warhol would not abandon his aloof stance. The tendency of many artists who feel misunderstood today is to say much, while actually saying very little. Is it better to be a verbose enigma rather than a laconic one?

laÂconÂic /lÉËkon ik/ âadjective: using few words; expressing much in few words; concise: a laconic reply. [Origin: 1580â90; < L LacÅ?nicus < Gk LakÅ?nikÃs Laconian, equiv. to LÃkÅ?n a Laconian + -ikos -ic] âSynonyms brief, pithy, terse; succinct.

Real Acne Faith Healer

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 15:49:00 GMT

Having grown up in the South, where pompador-wearing, polyester-clad, evangelists are believed to be conduits of God's healing power, I couldn't help laughing at this "Real Acne Faith Healer," who actually seems to get it right. If you have acne, don't look to God for the cure...buy some Oxy. Is he doing an Ernest Angley impression...anyone?

In Ohio On Some Steps

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 03:52:00 GMT

A few months ago, while listening to Tartanpodcast by Mark Hunter, I heard a track called "In Ohio On Some Steps," by the indie band Limbeck. My wife and I had just driven across Ohio for the first time to visit two friends from Kenyon College. It rained most of the way. There was something about the song that captured the mood of the whole trip - a mixture of whimsy, randomness and displacement. I've been a Limbeck fan ever since.

Best Political Commercial Ever

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:06:00 GMT

This political commercial on behalf of the Barak Obama campaign is a great critique of what's wrong (and has been wrong for a generation) with Democratic Presidential politics in this country - front loaded primaries, "an inevitable nominee" (think Mondale, Dukakis...now Hillary) and a docile electorate easily manipulated by the party line. In this commercial, we are asked to wake up to the process and ask relevant questions of our candidates...with the expectation of relevant and truthful answers. Kudos. More please.

Letter From Wanda: Confused About Art

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 02:18:00 GMT

Dear Urban Kook,

I like art. But y'all...there's some of it I just don't understand. Take installation art. Now, that stuff looks down right weird. Is it supposed to look that way? Because I got a cabinet maker that come last week to install new cabinets in my kitchen. They look real beautiful. Now, to me that's art. But maybe I'm confused. Is my cabinet maker an installation artist?

Wanda Owens (Pacolet, SC)

Dear Wanda,

Well, a lot of installation artists show work that most people wouldn't understand without an explanation. Bottom line: if your cabinet maker didn't feel compelled to tell you the meaning of his work, then he's probably not an installation artist. On the other hand, he could easily morph into one by ripping your cabinets out of the wall and putting them in a gallery. That would be considered art. Follow?

Urban Kook (New York, NY)

Dark Ambient

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:46:00 GMT

I came across Dark Ambient this week - an excellent ambient music podcast by Jim Butler that he launched in December 2006 and recently got picked up by PodShow. I am a fan of this kind of music and subscribed to the feed. Dark Ambient doesn't adhere to any sort of regular publication schedule. It looks as though one or two new tracks (usually one hour long) appear about every three months, but are worth the wait. This mp3 is the second edition of his podcast.

Genre Background:

Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music which emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of new synthesizer and sampling technology in the electronic music genre and other technical advances in music. Dark ambient is a very diverse genre; it is often closely linked with industrial music, noise, ethereal wave, and sometimes even black metal, yet can be free from any derivatives and connections to other genres or styles. The term is generally used as a catch-all for any form of ambient music that has dark, foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones.

NYC Subway Music - Saxaphone Player

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 17:07:00 GMT

One of the random things that makes New York City great, an abundance of musicians - many of them very good - who play on the subway platforms every day. Many times I take them for granted; but just as often I stop and listen...and contribute. I heard this solo saxaphone player on the Seventh Avenue subway platform at 14th Street. The sound was captured with a Micromemo mp3 recorder by XtremeMac, which I attached to my iPod Classic (formerly Video iPod: I love the way Apple relegates fairly new equipment to the ancient category).

Rev. Vince Anderson - "Dear Lunatics"

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 19:54:00 GMT

Maya Deren - Meshes of the Afternoon (Part II)

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:25:00 GMT

Maya Deren - Meshes of the Afternoon (Part I)

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:23:00 GMT

Numa Numa Revisited - Over 10,000,000 Views!!!

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:38:00 GMT

One day in 2005, Gary Brolsma was just goofing off at home with his video camera, when he decided to post his lip synch footage to "Numa Numa" on the website Newgrounds.com. His video became an instant hit and an internet sensation that has been viewed by over 10,000,000 people worldwide. Overcoming his initial embarrassment at the whole episode, Brolsma recently released a sequel to Numa Numa.

Alloooo whoooooooooooooo hoooooooooo!!!

Star Wars Edition of Monty Python - Black Knight Scene

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:04:00 GMT

False Hope of Idealists

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:56:00 GMT

When confronted with a sort of blissful, unthinking idealism that assumes there will be easy solutions to the most ancient and complex cultural hostilities on the planet, I have a distinctly visceral impulse. Daniel Clowes captured such a moment perfectly in this frame from Twentieth Century Eightball.

Solstice

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 00:07:00 GMT

This is a "guitar solo" that I composed on an M-Audio Keystation 49e. I will repeat my disclaimer of having more time on my hands than musical ability.

-- Urban Kook

Lullaby For Lawyers

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 00:25:00 GMT

"Lullaby for Lawyers" was written by Steve Newman and released on his 2005 album Old Country.

Putting a lawyer in his place:

"You seem to have more than the average share of intelligence for a man of your background," sneered the lawyer at a witness on the stand.

"If I wasn't under oath, I'd return the compliment," replied the witness.

Modern Cavemen

Fri, 22 Jun 2007 01:55:00 GMT

A group of guys in South Carolina gather around a bonfire on New Year's Eve, discussing a movie about the Ice Age and listening to the radio. Some of their children are seen and heard as they play in the vacinity. A solitary figure watches the events from a kitchen window. And, yes, in case your're wondering, that's a bass boat in the background. Just don't ask me what kind of engine.

-- Urban Kook

Redneck Alarm Clock

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:43:00 GMT

If you ever had to wake your friend up with a string of firecrackers...you just might be a redneck. The title of this YouTube video is acutally "How To Wake Up Your Drunk Friend."

Existential Wrestlemania XXV

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 13:39:00 GMT

On the card at Existential Wrestlemania XXV's "Symposium of Destruction" are Jean Paul "The Void" Sartre, "Absurd" Albert Camus, Fried "Richter Scale" Nietzsche and "Sordid" Soren Kierkegaard. This video was produced by the LCD Sketch Comedy Show at Stanford University.

William Eggleston in the Real World

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 15:50:00 GMT

I watched the Michael Almereyda film William Eggleston in the Real World last weekend. I had seen it at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City when it was first released in 2005. This documentary follows the legendary Memphis photographer during his shooting expeditions and "private" moments with friends and family. Although Almereyda does not have much more success than others in drawing the laconic Eggleston into a precise discussion of his work, he does give us insight into how the photographer approaches the mundane objects and places of the world in a way that makes them seem fresh and revealing. Even among piles of debris, Eggleston is fascinated by the beauty of color, texture and form.

Click on YouTube link to: William Eggleston in the Real World

See Eggleston's photographs: The Eggleston Artistic Trust

Music From The Stars #1 (Nebula)

Urbankook@gmail.com — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 03:17:00 GMT

This is the first ambient electronic podcast of Urban Kook, which I composed on a Midi keyboard recently. I am not a musician and claim no musical ability at all, but do claim to have too much time on my hands. That said...I wasn't unimpressed with the result. I will continue to post these ambient podcast episodes from time to time in addition to the video segments I've been posting.

Pipe Dream Man

Thu, 24 May 2007 03:48:00 GMT

One of my drawings, titled: "Stranded on a thought fragment in the middle of the psychic abyss - or how super ego banished fun."

The Mirror: Reality TV Gets Too Real!

Fri, 31 Mar 2006 23:12:00 GMT

From the comic mind of Jeff Kreisler comes "The Mirror," a new reality show that proves nothing is too dumb for TV.

Show Notes
"The Mirror" (Written and directed by Jeff Kreisler)
Actors: Joseph Rocha (NASCAR guy) and Anne Teutschel (his nagging wife)
Announcer: Jeff Kreisler
Editor: Sean Mcgee
Music: Drew Domecq

Wanda Talks Antiques & The American Dream

Sat, 4 Mar 2006 03:26:00 GMT

Wanda shows me her vintage Scooby Doo salt and pepper shakers, contemplates moving into a double wide trailer and discusses the American dream of home ownership.

Rev. Billy's Starbucks Protest

Sat, 25 Feb 2006 00:44:00 GMT

Rev. Billy (Bill Talen) is a New York performance artist who has taken aim at Starbucks, which has over 300 coffee stores on the island of Manhattan alone. He believes that Starbucks has replaced vibrant neighborhood coffee shops with bland corporate clones of the same decor, the same music, the same products. Part of his mission is to call attention to the loss of those unique coffee shops in which people knew one another and made "original culture." He and his congregation - members of the Church of Stop Shopping - have done interventions at numerous Starbucks locations in New York City, protesting the corporation's culture of artificial hipness and $5.00 lattes.

Although he wears an Anglican collar, Rev. Billy preaches against corporate excess with the fervor of a Pentecostal minister. Members of his Church of Stop Shopping literally invade each Starbucks protest location, occupying tables where paying customers would sit, getting cups out of trash cans and pretending to be drinking Starbucks coffee. They pair up and act out invisible comedies - fake private conversations meant to get their message across to those who overhear - based on the work of Brazilian political activist Augusto Boal. At some point, Rev. Billy enters, distributes anti-Starbucks propaganda and launches into his fiery sermon. Starbucks executives have become so disturbed by these protests that they issued a memo to all store managers entitled "What Should I Do If Rev. Billy Is In My Store?" He retaliated by publishing a book on his activities under the same title.

Show Notes

1. Intro: "Dancing Chairs - Piano, " by Marty Buttwinick (Podsafe Music
Network).
2. Rev. Billy and The Church of Stop Shopping
3. Augusto Boal - Brazilian political activist
4. Starbucks

My Ancestors: A Family Of Late Victorian Kooks

hiottb@gmail.com — Thu, 2 Feb 2006 17:36:00 GMT

Letter From Wanda: Confused About Art

hiottb@mac.com — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 09:14:00 GMT