Nirvana describes cosplay fascists

Charlottesville and its fascist cosplay perfectly explained by Kurt Cobain:

"Load up on guns
Bring your friends
It's fun to lose and to pretend"

Both Sides Now

Am I alone in thinking of Joni Mitchell every time the President talks about "Both Sides"

Tears and fears and Nazi pride
They say “Seig Heil” and the Jews deride
Dreams and schemes of my racist pals
I happily looked the other way

I’ve looked at fights from both sides now
The good and bad and still somehow
It’s only delusions that I recall
I really have no morals at all...

...
"...well something's lost and nothing's gained by lying every day...."

Why We're Here

After a year of writing and about that much time working to layout, edit, design and do it all over again - Why We're Here: The Powerful Impact of Public Broadcasters When They Turn Outward is finally finished. Drawing lessons from our work with public broadcasters, Why We’re Here, documents how these organizations (and others like them) innovate, become more intentional in relating to communities, engaging and mobilizing people and ultimately in deepening their impact in people’s lives.

Oh, and I'm an author along with my boss (Rich Harwood).

Real or Not

I was wondering, if states that support Barack Obama are fake America - where have most of our presidents come from. Turns out fake America is whooping ass.

Name	State	Real?
Clinton	AR	Yes
Nixon	CA	No
Bush, GW	CT	No
Carter	GA	Yes
Hoover	IA	No
Reagan	IL	No
Lincoln	KY	Yes
Adams	MA	No
Adams, JQ	MA	No
Kennedy	MA	No
Bush, GHW	MA	No
Truman	MO	Yes
Polk	NC	No
A. Johnson	NC	No
Ford	NE	Yes
Pierce	NH	No
Cleveland	NJ	No
Van Buren	NY	No
Fillmore	NY	No
Roosevelt, T	NY	No
Roosevelt, F	NY	No
Grant	OH	No
Hayes	OH	No
Garfield	OH	No
Harrison	OH	No
McKinley	OH	No
Harding	OH	No
Buchanan	PA	No
Eisenhower	TX	Yes
Johnson, L	TX	Yes
Washington	VA	No
Jefferson	VA	No
Madison	VA	No
Monroe	VA	No
Harrison	VA	No
Tyler	VA	No
Taylor	VA	No
Wilson	VA	No
Arthur	VT	No
Coolidge	VT	No

Grateful. Proud

Dave pointed out last night that Obama won every single state I've ever lived or worked:

Indiana,
Ohio,
Minnesota,
Iowa,
Michigan,
Wisconsin,
Colorado,
Washington,
DC,
Maryland.

Where were you when...

I'd venture a guess that most of the folks who are inclined to read this blog (or for that matter any blog) come from a generation without a lot of epic shared moments. I'm talking about moments that years later you can reflect on and say without a doubt where you were when XYZ happened. For most it's the Challenger explosion, September 11, Tieneman Square, A couple of Very Special Episodes of Blossom. I mean sure there are probably others, but honestly we're a generation where you may remember where you were when your parents told you where they were when Kennedy was shot.

I wonder if the lack of these moments and the obsessive self-congratulatory nature of the Boomers is why we're so prone to nostaligic overcompensation. Remember the 80s, the 90s. Etc. Either we're really insecure and are trying to redefine our relevance through a constant repetition of meaningless tv jingles, one hit wonders and cartoon icons, or we're all far too close to goldfish when it comes to our memories. Made happy by the castle, or the flashback each time, no matter the interval between the moment and the memory. Speaking of which, remember Ani Difranco's album Little Plastic Castle. Yeah, less than 10 years ago was great.

The moments, the ones that seem to belong in that Jungian collective conscious are often shocking, tragic and sudden. For a generation with "appointment tv" the great moments fall outside those scheduling blocks.

But next week, you can plan for one of these moments. Given the millions (or a lot) of hours of our lives which never leave a lasting imprint on our memories, there's something truly compelling about knowing ahead of time that a moment will be with you forever. That what you're about to experience will be recalled, shared, replayed and definitional. But Tuesday, upon the election of Barack Obama - another moment will be made into memory. I wonder if knowing that in advance will change my perception, if the lack of shock will rob it of its luster.

In the end, I'm left with a thought inspired by David Berman - Tuesday, I will watch as a moment becomes a monument.

State your case

Downloading from Youtube a couple of songs (oh, yes you can strip out the audio from Youtube) I happened to notice that I'd chosen Nebraska by Springsteen and Ohio by CSNY. I started to wonder two things - which states have songs named for them and of these what's the best state name song. Earlier on this blog I'd posed a question about how many songs you could name with colors in the title. So now the question (without a time constraint) is how many songs are there with states as the song title. I'd also add, how many songs are there with cities as song titles.

My list off the top of my head, please add others in the comments

STATES
California Dreaming - Momma's and Papas
Ohio - CSNY
Ohio - Modest Mouse
Ohio - Damien Jurado
Nebraska - Bruce Springsteen


CITIES
Allentown- Billy Joel
Atlantic City - Bruce Springsteen
New York, New York - Frank Sinatra
Twin Falls - Built to Spill
Dallas - Silver Jews
New Madrid - Uncle Tupelo
Istanbul - TMBG

Where is my mind?

When I first started writing this blog I thought myself somewhat witty for selecting the title “where is my mind.” I imagine, I don’t remember well enough to say with certainty, that I was pleased with finding a good pop culture reference, something not too obscure, something not too mundane.

I’m trying to remember the person I was when I first started this blog. It was more than four years ago, I’d not yet lived in Colorado, Washington, or DC. Then like now, I was searching for who I wanted to become, searching for what to make of ability and injury, doubt and arrogance. I believe I began with a desire to share my thoughts, an urge to make known what I believed about the world, myself, and to some extent my place within that world. When I started this blog, Where is my Mind was posed as a question, but first and foremost it was a declaration. A statement that the words below would, if read, and reprocessed illustrate where I was, mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally. When I started this site was an outlet, a microphone, a platform to explore, rant, announce and share. For several years it served me well, and gave me a sense of my own voice, and a way to be public and present in the lives of a great many I love.

As I return to this space, to these pages, to this site. I find that I still like the title. It still seems apt, and slightly cooler than its author. But instead of a certain declaration that the words to follow will add up to some coherent whole, I’m finding myself questioning. I wonder, more than I have allowed myself to in a long while: Where is my mind. I’d like to see what I can learn about the man I am, and the man I seek to become – and I’m eager to see whether this site can give me just such an outlet.

A video I created

Working at The Harwood Institute I find myself getting to write and edit and create all kinds of things. My latest foray into the gaping maw that is media was this video. It's not great, but it's a step in the right direction. And if nothing else, it's a great excuse to play with FinalCut.



And yes, the intro and outro music are from a Josh Ritter song, but I'm hopeful that because the video is educational that it's alright.

New Camera

Updates:

New job (Communications Manager at The Harwood Institute) More on this later (I hope).

New camera. I bought a Nikon D40. I'm in love with this thing. Click here for a whole mess of galleries the most recent 5 or 6 taken with my new toy.

Regionals -- BRDM finished tied for 7th. We upset the 6 seed in the first round on universe point. On universe point I had a d in the endzone and then scored the game winning goal. So that was a nice feeling. We played well the rest of the tournament narrowly missing out on a chance to play on day two.



This is game point...

What's next

So with Al Gore winning the Nobel Peace Prize, he's now won a U.S. Presidential Election, Emmy and an Oscar.

So what's next?

Monster truck driver of the year? I figure that's about all that's left. Though when he unveils Big Carbon Foot Print it's all over

Hello, is this thing on.

So after an unpardonably long hiatus I've decided to revisit this time-suck, ego stroke endeavor I call a blog. Sadly I've missed out on telling some really fun stories and so on. That said, I'm back. Or at least I intend to be back.

Since I last wrote I've been to Alaska. That's probably the most noteworthy change in my life.

I've posted a bunch of photos from the trip on my picasa site.

Sometime soon I hope to write up an account of the stories (story) that give some structure and background to the photos. All in all it was an amazing experience. One of the most transformative of my life.

Since returning I've had a fairly strong gnawing desire to travel. To see more of the world. Something about being in a place largely unbothered by development and encroaching strip malls was incredible. It's made me want to see other ways of being. I want to go to other places. The trip also helped me to be a more adventurous traveler. The best story (one I'll write up soon) essentially convinced me that I can handle tough situations, that with Jess (particularly) I can figure out how to deal with unexpected circumstances and be alright. So I want to go to new places to see new things. I want to bring back stories and photos and memories. Suddenly just going to Boston or Seattle or Columbus feels slightly less satisfying. Not that there aren't amazing and incredible parts about those trips, but now I feel compelled to broaden my horizons as it were. To see what I haven't and try what I haven't.

I know I sound a little like a Sophmore coming back from a backpacking trip through Europe, but there is a little of that naive excitement for travel brewing. We'll see how long it lasts and how quickly I return to the cautious hermit I've long been. But here's hoping I get to see more of the world. It's a great regret of mine right now, and one I'm hoping to fix soon.

Four new works.

I have continued to play around with painting and have 4 new "pieces" to present. I don't know if these are the kinds of paintings that will make the ultimate cut - namely whether they will be scrapped when I need more canvas or if they'll be the kind of work I want to preserve even as I run low on painting surfaces.

A chief frustration right now is that I don't have the technique necessary to express any great ideas, and given that my view of art and interaction with art has been and I imagine will continue to be as conversation, I'm struggling. I'm trying to string together babble and syntactically flawed sentences all while hoping to express something of note. This is the same frustration I had learning French. I don't have the familiarity with the language I need to express the ideas I have. That said, it's still an interesting process. Pieces that I like and those that I disdain seem to emerge as if by accident. It's like some cosmic artistic slot machine. Sometimes I put in the effort and it's apple, orange, plum -- nothing. Other times it just seems to happen that it's cherry, cherry cherry -- and voila it's something I enjoy looking at. Hell with the "Blue Shirt" painting (titles suck) I found myself getting up in the middle of the night to look at it again. Something about it works for me. Scares me, but works for me.

Without further explanation and apology here are some of the things I've been working on lately. Critiques are welcomed. Please, help me get better. If, to continue an already belabored metaphor, I'm misprouncing things, or using bad visual grammar, someone let me know. Oh, and the paintings all look much better in person. In addition to my failings as a painter, I struggle as a photographer of my works. Go figure.

It's warm out. I wonder if that is why I'm hot.

I guess not, apparently according to the tautologically gifted Mims the reason I'm hot is more likely because I'm fly, not because it's warm out. Who knew.

See:



A while back Ann sent me the link to this Village Voice article which is a brilliant analysis of Mims' "This is Why I'm Hot."

A particularly good section of the article, supported by a graphic no less:

The other remarkable, oft-quoted line in "This Is Why I'm Hot" is "I could sell a mil' sayin' nothin' on a track." Critics gibe that "This Is Why I'm Hot" proves precisely that; others muse on what Mims would sell if he deigned to actually say something on a track. Would he sell less than a mil'? Exactly a mil', as when he said nothing? Or a great deal more than a mil'? The song does not elaborate.

In any event, note that he can do those things, not will, which suggests he might not. As these claims and predictions are speculative, there are more possible outcomes; it seems reasonable to assert that Mims can't sell more than a mil' sayin' nothin'. Though we would love to see him try.



If you haven't heard the song, click here. It's catchy, though oddly annoying simultaneously. Like a rap version of "Mmm Bop."

You Said Something.

For the past few days I've been obsessively listening to Talib Kweli and "You Said Something" by PJ Harvey. I've brought the two together into my new running mix. Nothing like mixes to, well, mix up artists into strange new combinations.

The lyrics to the PJ Harvey song that's been rotating through my consciousness for the past few days.

On a rooftop in Brooklyn At one in the morning Watching the lights flash In Manhattan I see five bridges The Empire State Building And you said something That I've never forgotten We lean against railings Describing the colours And the smells of our homelands Acting like lovers How did we get here? To this point of living? I held my breath And you said something And I'm doing nothing wrong Riding in your car The radio playing We sing up to the eighth floor A rooftop, Manhattan At one in the morning And you said something That I've never forgotten You said something You said something You said something That was really important.


From the Talib Kweli "Get By" remix featuring Kanye, Jay-Z and Mos Def.

The best lines come from Jay-Z, which is saying something given the others on the record:

Soon as I closed my eyes
Then I woke up behind
Thinking either I load up these nines
Or blow up with rhymes
cause this flow of mine is like blow up but lines of coca
And your folks think Hov' just wrote stuff to rhyme
Nah, I'm a poster for what happens seein your mom
Doin five dollars worth to work just to get a dime
So pardon my disposition
Why should I listen to a system that never listened to me?

What are you going to do with all that junk.

Alanis Morrisette covers My Humps.

I bow before the genious that is this t-shirt.

All hail, the best merger of high culture and pop culture in recent memory



They are sold out of the tshirts, but I will get one. Oh yes, I will.

If you don't get the reference click here.
I don't know how you da that Dada that you da so well.

Man that was a great moment in weather.

While searching out the weather for this weekend I happened upon an ad for The Weather Channel's "100 Biggest Moments in Weather." The host of the show is Harry Connick Jr. Because when I think of a person capable of fully debating the relative merits of various moments in weather, I would choose a jazz pianist. You know, why not? I've long believed that I can and sometimes will argue any topic for any reason. But this, this is almost beyond my capacity. Honestly the 100 Biggest Moments in Weather? How the fuck does one judge that? That's like the 100 Most Important Electrons of All Time. It's moronic and largely impossible to give meaning to things like that.

For instance, I would have to believe that things like a meteor smashing into the earth and creating a cloud of dust that blotted out the sun and rained ash might count as a big one. But I'm guessing since there's no footage that won't make the list. If the 100th Biggest Weather Moment is any clue the list is going to be ridiculous. They list the 1982 playoff game between the Jets and Patriots where it snowed a lot as the 100 Biggest Weather Moment of All time. We live on a planet that once lacked a water cycle. I figure the creation of a system whereby water moved about the planet would have to include something like 100 moments of greater import than a playoff game (not even a superbowl) in which snow played a factor.

In these list shows usually there are widely recognized if not always trusted "experts" who debate these things. There's Henry Rollins and Melissa Etheridge telling you about how great T-Rex really was. But who the heck is going to bring color to this. Is it a bunch of weathermen sitting around saying, "Man it sure did rain that day." "Yeah, but it wasn't as windy as March 11, 1974, boy howdy that was a Noreastern." Sigh. Nostalgia over weather.

Maybe they'll have sepia toned photographs and slowly pan over them as a robust but reassuring narrator explains the significance of the day by overenunciating and adopting an accent so as to read a copy of the weather report from the day in question. "Wow, Suzie you're right, that Mindy is one "dog-gone" cute puppy. And now for a look at Paul's wacky weather. Better make to bring in Mindy and all her doggy pals today. It's not safe for our four legged friends to be out there tonight. We're expecting winds out of the North East at 30-40 miles per hour. Because, when they're out 'reaching to capture a moment Everyone knows it's Windy.'"

More Knut

My former co-worker Jennifer sent me news that some papers in Berlin are blaming Knut for the death of one of Berlin's pandas. This is slanderous. I will not stand for it.

Oh, and it's innacurate, but still.

Can you imagine this little guy hurting anything. I mean apart from my heart which aches when I look at his cute little self.

And yes, I realize that polar bears are fantastic killing machines and that they hunt humans. Blah, blah, blah. Whatever Jack London groupies. This Knut, he's adorable, and I'm sure cuddly.

Pi is all a"round" you.

Just up the street from my house.