Fury in the Slaughterhouse: Lightning Fields: A Pirate Bar
[Aug. 25th, 2008|11:54 am]
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We've been busy the past couple days because my good friend Avri and his friend Cliff came to stay with us on Thursday. The main goal of their trip (in addition to seeing me/Berlin) was to go to a concert for a band that Cliff has been a huge fan of for many many years called Fury in the Slaughterhouse. The concert was on Friday and we rented a car and drove for hours in traffic and rain (or I should say Carlos drove for hours in traffic and rain) to Hannover. The concert itself was maybe not my biggest cup of tea. But I think Cliff at least had a good time as the band dedicated a song to him for coming all the way from America (and the drummer's wife later called him insane). Carlos and I had a pretty miserable time as we did not have backstage passes and spent much of the time after the concert dodging drunken Hannoverins and trying to figure out where the car was in the rain. We didn't get back until 5 and fell asleep upon arrival. After returning the car the next day, we realized we had paid over 200 euros for the whole experience, which is about 75 dollars each. This morning on the table there was a note written to Carlos from Avri stating his gratitude and suggesting that we had all gotten into more than we had bargained for.
On Saturday, Los and I went to the Sugimoto exhibit at the Neu National Gallery. Sugimoto was at the De Young Museum last year so a lot of the works on display we had already seen. But his newest segment, Lightning Fields, is simply amazing. Negatives of photos of lightning bolts were hung in front of a lit screen (much in the same way x-rays are observed by doctors). The result is that you can see all the "fibers" of the bolts, and the intricate root-like patterns mirrored in other bolts. It was pretty amazing. We took home a poster of his picture of the diorama at Madame Tussards of Henry the 8th. Sugimoto's website is here in case you want to take a look: http://www.sugimotohiroshi.com/ We also saw a temporary exhibit on Rupprecht Geiger who is now 100 years old and experimenting with bright neon colors that are almost too much for human perception. Take that young people.
Sunday we tried to find fun stuff in Berlin amuse our visitors with, but as it was raining not much could be found. We mostly ended up wandering trying to find the Jewish Museum but never did. We stopped at Yaam (a reggae club that was supposed to be having a festival) which was nearly vacant and infested with bees. Los went home. The rest of us went to a pirate bar and had drinks while waiting for a band featuring a violin, guitar, drumset, accordian, and a unicycle (or so we thought) to set up. While waiting, one of Berlin's colorful locals with a bit too much alcohol in 'em came over and started talking to us about the Police. He started off by singing "Sending out an SOS" (which was the song currently on the itunes shuffle lazily abandoned by the bartender). Then he crouched down in front of the table so he was eye level with us and told us how he had seen Sting play at the Ziegman Sea (?) in Overalls(!) And do you know what he was singing?" he asked us incredulously. "No, what?" "He was singing..." his voice escalated rapidly to the point where he was screaming, "about the RHINE!" The small, disinterested waitress came over and with a wristful series of hand gestures told the gentleman to leave. We decided at this point to leave and went to Burgermeister (a sub-metro hamburger joint where railings with padding = seats) for dinner where we overheard a festival band doing covers of "Jump, Jump" "Just Like A Pill" and other songs featured in "NOW" CDs. We went back to the Pirate Bar to see if the unicycle band was up an running. It was, but only in the usual way bar bands are. We left. Went home. Fell asleep.
I'm thinking: "A gay couple finds their lives turned upside down when they inherit a 3-toed sloth from a recently deceased grandmother." But I also think I could come up with an even worse one involving fecalpheliacs...
I grew up in Oakland and have always been frustrated by the chaotic and unending cycle of poverty and violence and all the crazy shit that ensues from both. Among other things, I have accidentally stumbled upon major drug deals getting broken up at Lake Merritt, turned the wrong corner into a drive-by, and dodged illegal street racers on 880. The Dominos pizza by the apartment I used to share with Brady served steamy pies through bullet-proof glass. A couple years ago I used to live on Athol Ave. near the lake. Although a few of my friends were involved from time to time in street violence, I was lucky that nothing major ever happened to me. This morning a friend of mine who still lives in the old building sent me the following story about a Manhunt on my old street. Not only that, but the building they show in the second picture is actually my old apartment building. Just another day at Lake Merritt, I guess. therehttp://brooklynavenue.blogspot.com/2008/08/manhunt-on-athol-ave.html
I re-vamped the tutorial I did last year for Not Just Cosplay for Instructables. Instructables is a DIY site which shows you among other things how to modify your toaster to create Pac Man Shapes, how to cut your ferret's toenails, or how to make the perfect French Silk Pie. The tutorial took almost 2 whole days to re-write and I'm still not happy with the images, but oh well. The tutorial should be live on the site sometime around now. You can view it by clicking here.
( Dear The Daily Show )The Daily Show is aired on Comedy Central as comedy and should not have to be anything but. Its responsibility to its audience only goes as far as making us laugh. Nonetheless, The Daily Show has often gone beyond this, often providing a logical counter-argument to the frequently ridiculous and ideologically slanted media presented to us on other news networks in addition to the jokes. As is evident in the interview I witnessed today, The Daily Show perpetuates a serious discourse which is currently not found elsewhere on most American news programs. ( I want to thank you... )
I'm in Lausanne, but only until tomorrow. Then I go back to lovely, scenic Berlin. I can't say how much this trip has done for me. I feel happier than I have in a long time. Relaxed. Focused. Hopeful. I'm very grateful I was able to have this experience and look forward to taking it with me.
You can see photos of the whole trip here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/everythingandrobots/ (I still haven't had time to add descriptions or put the photos in groups, so feel free to click around unless you want to see 5 million pictures of birds!)
Some interesting and shocking ads from the French ad council. These are from a few years ago but I only came across them recently. I don't know if I like the campaign or not. There is something about coitus with large unfriendly insects which gives me the eebie jeebies... And therefor I think the ad succeeds in what it is trying to do: which is scare the crap of me- specifically with the goal of getting the viewer to practice safer sex. However, I doubt anyone with HIV or Aids would be very flattered... ( Cut for the NSFWorkers )
Lavena Johnson was a 19 year old soldier serving in Iraq when she was raped and killed. Despite the bruises and other signs of violence, her family was told she committed suicide. The family is now demanding a real investigation into their daughter's death: http://www.lavenajohnson.com/
According to the daily kos article in the blog, one in three women who join the military will be the victims of rape or sexual assault... This kind of thing makes me wonder at humanity's callousness and cruelty. You can sign the petition demanding a real investigation here: http://www.colorofchange.org/lavena/
I would like to start by saying that I have officially been using LJ for 10 years. And do love the time I spend on it that I would otherwise spend doing something productive. That said, looking at two of the random things advertised by Six Apart on LJ's homepage, I'm beginning to wonder if Frank the goat is not indeed in charge of things.
First off, there's LJ Aqua- Click this link: http://aqua.livejournal.ru/ and it will take you to a black page with floating excerpts from recent entries. It is... bizarre to say the least. Most entries seem to be about America's dearest topics: memes and lol-animals. I am wondering who was smoking what when they came up with this concept. I am also wondering if they wouldn't mind sharing as I could always use a dose of herbal inspiration.
Secondly, LJ allows you to usurp recently abandoned LJ names (most of them some horrendously spelled version of the name "Amy") in order to change your own. That's pretty cool as not everyone wants to be named "starkitty13" their whole life. However to do this, you must purchase something called a "re-name token" (sounds awfully D&D if you ask me) for $15.00. Okay, so I understand the logic that they don't want everyone to run around swapping names willy nilly, but charging $15.00? Are we commissioning digital elves to move our journal entries manually? Or does the $15.00 go into buying the mortar, tar, and mystical sniffing glue needed to build the database?
http://www.christiansagainstcartoons.com/ Some quotes: Against the very wicked Dora the Explora: "Dora then commands her audience of children to slither like the Serpent. Never before have I, Bro. Cletus, seen such Unholy imagery in one cartoon. Dora the Explorer is plainly telling our children to follow the path of the Devil! ... It is not coincidental that Dora’s popularity is spreading at time when CHAVEZISM, the new Communism, is spreading throughout Latin America." Against hello kitty: "allowing your child to accumulate a menagerie of Hello Kitty dolls is akin to when the Hebrews, after having just been led out of their bondage in Egypt by Moses, decided to mimic their former Egyptian slave masters and worship a calf cast from purest gold!" In regards to why "adult swim" is named thus: "Cartoon Network is likening its block of nightly programming to the Turkish bath or Roman orgy of old or the modern day gay bathhouse of San Francisco."
A: "Oh! I just love that artwork you have hanging on the wall!" B: "Thanks. It's my DNA projected and developed from a cheek swabbing." http://www.dna11.com/gallery_portraits.asp
Today we went to Rahaus and bought a couch for our friends and relatives to sleep on when they visit. Then we ate Kim Chi. Yesterday I spent 4 hours studying grid systems. Today I will be making some. Yay.
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