MONDAY MEDS: Cyclonic Reaction/PART 4

- another installment chronicling my banged-up bod.













in this case, how i busted my back on Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster and became instantly old.


somehow - can't remember exactly - i was taken out to my house in Centerport, LI, and was deposited on our couch. the 'can't remember' happened because i was so full of ibuprophen & anything else D had left over from his various bodydings that it was/is a hazefogblur.

(it's only a sprain)

i also don't remember how long i stayed on that couch ( a few hours? days?). i do remeber getting upstairs to the bedroom, and trying to sleep..but i had to keep getting up because our crappy mattress just made my back ache more.

after about a week of this/no improvement/rotted-out stomach due to legal, scored, begged, any and all painkillers...i finally capitulated and made an appointment with an orthopedic doc (or rather 'sports medicine' doc as they grandly and high-billingly now call themselves).

(but it's only a sprain)

i am in the waiting room with the other mangled: soaking wet jet ski guys still in their wetsuits in for cracking into pier pilings/a hulking linebacker from a local HS team just blubbering like a little baby over a crushed toe, and various arms and legs twisted into interesting & playful balloon animal shapes. i was assigned some European guy of indeterminate nationality, & told him i had sprained my back on a roller coaster. after he stopped laughing, i got wheeled into x-ray. und ven der x-rays comz bak frum dis makina, he was still laughing. "well - a sprain, right?" i asked. "vell not-ting, Meester Bittler. let us putt eet dees vay...i vood not conzidder a career aas a pee-anno moo-var".







- right around here...







it was not only a sprain. i had crushed two vertebrae (T10 & T11)...one completely and one partially in a forward pitch. apparently, our spines are 'intelligently-designed' (sorry...couldn't resist) to collapse as shock absorbers - an injury common in car wrecks when a vehicle jumps the kerb or an obstruction, and slams the rider down into their seat. i had walked onto that roller coaster a stumpy Southern Mediterranean 5' 9 1/2"...and had left it a stumpier 5' 8''. my chest had changed shape, with the crushed vertebrae forcing my rib cage out a full inch. i had been very lucky that bone fragments had not sliced into my spinal cord. i was immediately given a fat shot of morphine and (then? later? more fuzzhead) fitted with a back brace that fit under my chin, raised my spine and transferred the weight of my upper body onto my hips...and hurt like HELL. of course, the hospital had given me a generous supply of (drummmmmrrroollllll!) Tylenol with Codeine....crap that had never worked on me even in fistfuls.

3 months? 4 months? more? less? serious fuzzhead for many months that's for sure. and physical therapy and back exercises at the Y and more follow-ups to Dr. Urtsklickstosh. and a nice pile of medical bills.

so as any American in a similar situation would do...i began to think that it was time to sue somebody...

[to be continued]

NP: my ears are still ringing from 23 minutes of "Sister Ray" from last night's show.

PEEVE DE JOUR: it should have been longer...

N.B.A.T.W.P.:

True Love is playing the Guitar World Magazine AIDS/Lifecycle benefit concert THIS TUESDAY night, May 2, at NYC's Knitting Factory along with NADA SURF

Tickets $12 adv./$15 doors

True Love is on @ 10:30, with Nada Surf after us.

Other bands include: The Anabolics, The Border Cops, The Browns, The Dave Diedrich Band, Dirty Dick, Drag Citizen, The Grand Old Party, James Wolfe, Live Perl, The Muscatels, Shattered NYC, Tornado Big Man

INFO: http://www.knittingfactory.com/index.php

D'OUGH!

yes it's true...my "I Know What Boys Like" song was used on tonight's/Sunday's episode of The Simpsons. not as much dosh as you might think, but it might keep The Wolf away for a little while longer.

now THAT was a gig.

I
AM
NOW
THE
WORLD'S
BIGGEST
TIN
HUEY
FAN













my tribe...

THE BIRDS/BATH

...so i am sitting on a rock in my yard in lovely Bath, OH, talking phoneseriousrealdeallifestuff with NC...and i'm telling her about this RED TAIL HAWK that i see everyday that perches on a branch about 40 feet above my small pond that will periodically swoop into the water after a frog or something and invariable MISS...and then sit on a log and preen itself and and try to regain its dignity and hope that nobody saw it's clumsy attempt at feeding itself.








...when as i am talking on the friggin' phone i get BUZZED by this bird i can feel wings whoosh thru my hair damn! that is sooooooo weird!!! thank god no talons out i tell NC what has just happened and she sez maybe i should get the hell out of there and i say yeah it must have a nest nearby and be very territorial and perceive me as a threat (me???) and i see it up in a tree giving me the feathery eye-ball and i agree...so i get off the rock and move towards the house and eeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww the damn thing buzzes me AGAIN and i lose my balance and i fall over and CRACK MY HEAD hard against a rock out-cropping and see stars and have to ring off as the world swims before my eyes and i am friggin' BLEEDING from a nice deep GASH on my left earlobe.

WTTIPIHEDRENF?????

NP: the ringthrobouch in my head...crap, do i have a concussion?

PEEVE DE JOUR: not having a .22 rifle.

FLASH - 9:28AM UPDATE: there are THREE bigass wild turkeys in my backyard RIGHT NOW...normally, i would say yahoo!, but today i am too birdspooked to go outside.

N.B.A.T.W.P.:










TONIGHT, APRIL 29TH

---- 9:30 PM / $7 Admission

TIN HUEY WILL BE PLAYING

THE LIME SPIDER 207 South Main Street AKRON, OH

WITH HALF CLEVELAND (featuring members of Tin Huey + Debbie Smith from CHI-PIG)

and

RALPH CARNEY AND FRIENDS (featuring...um...members of Tin Huey as well)

COOL GEEZERS -

...who are still doin' it:

















BOB MOORE - R. Stevie Moore's Dad - played with Elvis, Roy Orbison and anybody who ever recorded in Nashville who was worth a damn.














PETE SEEGER & A YOUNG FAN - new Springsteen tribute album of all Seeger/Weavers stuff. a true original/still a Red/the real deal/still believes and cares.













RAY DAVIES - new CD reportedly kills. up there with Lennon-McCartney...er...McCartney-Lennon...passed 'em more often than they'd like to admit, too.

[under construction - video coming...i promise!]


MIKE CORDA - Las Vegas piano man/songwriter of the old school...with a new musical coming out...at 85!



















ROY WOOD - The Move/the original brains behind ELO before Jeff Lynne ran off with the idea and turned it into an arena-sized turd. RW's still reaching, still trying new stuff...








from KA in the UK: John Martyn. folk-blues-reggae-ambient-rock music, '60's folk troubadour, friend of Nick Drake, fabulous guitarist, a voice like honey, now down to one leg and still going strong.
















omigod!...HG reminds me - how could i have overlooked Richard Thompson? maybe because i don't think of him as old...until i learned he was born in '49, too... Um...

NP: my palfriend Nikki Corda's doc on her Dad.

PEEVE DE JOUR: not enuff people left alive to post here. leave a comment re: who to include, and i'll see if i can post them. they don't have to be musos either...

N.B.A.T.W.P:

OPENING @ AIV@5700 GALLERY










ARABELLA PROFFER: ARTIST RECEPTION

FRIDAY MAY 5 @ 5: 30 - 8 :30 pm
Where ? NHSGC / 5700 gallery
5700 Broadway in Slavic Village
Clevo, Ohio 44127
free parking !

http://aiv5700gallery.blogspot.com/

http://www.arabellaproffer.com/arabella/index.html

TIN HUEY GIG THIS SATURDAY!

Yo ho ho,

This is your reminder

- THIS COMING SATURDAY, APRIL 29TH

---- 9:30 PM / $7 Admission

TIN HUEY WILL BE PLAYING

THE LIME SPIDER 207 South Main Street AKRON, OH

http://www.thelimespider.com/

THAT'S 2+ HOURS OF:

BIG TASTY CHUNKS O' HUEYS on either side of a cream filling of...


HALF CLEVELAND (Hueys Chris, Harvey, Bongo and Chi-Pig's Debbie Smith)

and

RALPH CARNEY & FRIENDS (pretty much all the Hueys playing with hoses and tire rims)

Hope you Can Come !!!!

<WWW.TINHUEY.COM>

NP: Tin Huey/"Sister Ray" (this just might show up on Sat!)

PEEVE DE JOUR: #$(!@$%&*(&rehearsal&%&#%#%#%#^%

N.B.A.T.W.P.: TOMORROW NIGHT...

BARBIANA COMPLEX

Trash Bar

Thurs, 4/27

9 pm

256 Grand St (Grand & Roebling)

Brooklyn

718-599-1000

Open bar 9-10 pm with admission

JANE JACOBS R.I.P.

I love cities…so did she, but with a critical eye that bucked every trend in ‘contemporary urban theory’ vs. humanizing city life. She lost – just look at downtown Akron/most of Clevo/6th Ave. in NYC/the current state of runaway building in Hoboken. But long before Richard Florida ‘discovered’ the Creative Class, she advocated an idealized/realizable urban life that emphasized neighborhoods/people-scale architecture/24-hour mixed use streetlife.

[Jane Jacobs, OC , O.Ont (May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) was an American-born Canadian writer and activist. She is best known for The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), a powerful critique of the urban renewal policies of the 1950s in the United States. The book has been credited with reaching beyond planning issues to influence the spirit of the times. "Jacobs came down firmly on the side of spontaneous inventiveness of individuals, as against abstract plans imposed by governments and corporations," wrote Canadian critic Robert Fulford. "She was an unlikely intellectual warrior, a theorist who opposed most theories, a teacher with no teaching job and no university degree, a writer who wrote well but infrequently."]

MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs

also visit my pal Lisa Chamberlain's blog on NYC: Polis

bLiTzScReEd WeDnEsDaY!

(a smattering of coolfun stuff i've received thru the week)

- from KA in the UK - "Dance, Monkey, Dance":

http://www.ernestcline.com/dmd/








also "Kirk Cameron: The Banana & Creationism":

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5479410612081345878











- from Michael in Union City (rhymes with monkey, anyway):

http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/burroughs-books/index.html

- from NCSP! in LA. "I'm The Decider" re: President Chimp:

http://decider.cf.huffingtonpost.com/

- from BG in Lakewood. her neighbor likes to drag it up as...um...it's a Clevo thing, B's & G's (no monkey reference...'cept DF in her later years was a tad simian):

http://dorothyfuldheim.blogspot.com/2006/04/welcome.html







- from Ray in Hobo. his new internet radio station is 100% film scores (including 'Planet of The Apes'?):

- http://www.live365.com/stations/shootsandscores

- from DG at the ABJ, on the rise of 'grups' (zero monkey connection):

http://www.newyorkmetro.com/news/features/16529/index.html

- from Lane in NYC (better & more refined than "an infinite number of monkeys banging on an infinite number of pianos will eventually write Beethoven's 9th Symphony"):







FROM RADIOLAB -

Musical DNA

Which came first: Language or Music? We're still not sure, but now we'll ponder what comes next. Producer Jonathan Mitchell brings us a piece about David Cope, the composer and professor at UC Santa Cruz, who cured his artist’s block by writing a computer program to do the dirtywork for him. His program, named EMI (Experiments in Musical Intelligence), deconstructs the works of great composers, finding patterns within the voice leading of their compositions, and then creates brain new compositions based on the patterns she finds. But it's not just copy and paste. She brings something new to the pieces. Drift along to the eerily enchanting music of EMI Mahler and ask yourself this: What would Mahler think of an EMI Mahler score? Brillant music? A forgery?

Listen to show about this: http://www.wnyc.org/stream/ram?file=/radiolab/radiolab042106c.mp3

Listen/download "new" Bach, Mahler, etc. mp3's: http://arts.ucsc.edu/faculty/cope/mp3page.htm

NP: David Bartholomew/"The Monkey Speaks His Mind" and/or DEVO/"Jocko Homo"

PEEVE DE JOUR: being incredibly stoopid re: what i post in this section of this blog.

N.B.A.T.W.P.: Tin Huey gig at The Lime Spider in Akron this Sat., April 29th (more on this tomorrow).

AND

THE CANTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

plus:

The Canton Symphony Orchestra Chorus
Kent State University Women's Chorus
Kent State University Chorale
Kent State University Chorus
The Wayne Center for the Arts Bel Canto Children's Chorus, in partnership with Tri-County Educational Service Center

...and Rick Dailey in a tux!

performing BEETHOVEN'S 9TH SYMPHONY

SUNDAY, APRIL 30TH

Umstattd Performing Arts Hall
2323 17th St. Nw Canton, OH 44708

INFO - http://www.cantonsymphony.org/Beethoven.htm

ARTTUESDAYS - DERF!

- where i get to play culturevultureweathervane and tip y'all off to cool creative stuff in the Akro/Clevo/Hobo area.



















so i won't bore you 'bout how i know this guy...but i do enjoy his company & his work - toss in a little Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, season with sardonicarsenic, baste with vitriol and serve with a side of The Truth. i am an Ace Crank...but he is the Five Star General...and now other folks recognize it, too:

"Cartoon Winner: "The City" by John Backderf is a courageous editorial cartoon that pushes the boundaries of societal institutions. The RFK Cartoon Judges comment, "Derf aggressively attacks the institutions, ideologies and attitudes that create an environment for the continuing oppression and exploitation of the powerless. His outrage is directed not just at the cynicism and hypocrisy of the powerful but at the complicity of all of us who remain docile and passive subjects."

Nicknamed the "Poor Man's Pulitzer", the RFK Journalism Award is given annually to honor professional and student journalists, photographers and cartoonists who prod our consciousness and bring attention to the lives of the disadvantaged throughout the world."

CONGRATULATIONS! - but this means you'll have to go to Washington DC for the awards dinner...and shake hands with President Pitiful. hmmmmmm....

link to all the awards: http://www.rfkmemorial.org

(aside: hey all you New Yorkers - Derf's strip will be in The Village Voice, so you too can share the curmudgeonry)

link: http://www.derfcity.com/

NP: The Who/"In The City" (who needs The Jam???)

PEEVE DE JOUR: The O.O.M.A. actually thinks that I’m still gonna chase her/gonna stick around for very much longer?

N.B.A.T.W.P.: Glenn Mercer & Vinny DeNunzio
(formerly of the Feelies): performing Live @ the Hoboken Art & Music Festival on Sunday, May 7th, 2006 @ 1:00pm on the Main Stage by City Hall.

Performing with Adam Berardo (guitarist), Bob Torsello (bassist) & Dave Weckerman (percussion) playing old Feelie favorites and new tunes from Glenn's upcoming solo CD.

Glenn Mercer is the former leader of the influential, Hoboken-based, alternative band, the FEELIES. Their debut album, “Crazy Rhythms,” was voted in the top 50 albums of the 80’s by Rolling Stone magazine and chosen by Spin Magazine as one of the best Alternative albums. Other critical acclaim included a feature in Time magazine. The Feelies performed on the David Letterman Show and on Broadway and in concerts with Lou Reed, Patti Smith and Bob Dylan.

Glenn’s music has been featured in the films Married to the Mob, Something Wild, Prelude to a Kiss, the Truth About Charlie and the Squid & the Whale. Glenn’s television credits include Dawson’s Creek, Party of Five and the Real World. He has recorded with the Trypes, Yung Wu, the Willies and Wake Ooloo and is currently recording his first solo record.

Vinny DeNunzio has been an influential drummer in the NJ/NY area for 30 years. First appearing on the scene in 1976 with the FEELIES, where he first met Glenn Mercer. Later joining ex-Television guitarist Richard Lloyd and recording the album “Alchemy” for Elektra records in 1979. Touring with Richard Hell & the Void Oids during the 80’s. From 1991 to 2001 he played drum & sang with James Mastro (Bongos) in the Health & Happiness Show. He has also worked with Butch Hancock (Texas singer/songwriter), Garland Jeffreys, Ivan Julian (ex-Void Oid & the Outsets), Certain General and the Washington Squares. Opening up for many diverse artists over the years such as Patti Smith, Sam & Dave, Wilco and Johnny Cash.

MONDAY MEDS: Cyclonic Reaction/PART 3

- another installment chronicling my banged-up bod.








in this case, how i busted my back on Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster and became instantly old.



so i had made it (crumpled and in absolute agony) to D & H's house in Carroll Gardens...only to have had their baby-sitter slam the door in my face.

i pounded on the door and she said she was going to call the cops. "fine", i shouted thru the closed door. "then i'll just have to explain it to them that i used to live here, that D & R are old friends...and you will feel like a perfect idiot. or you can call D's office, ask him if he knows me...and you can avoid all sorts of embarrassment."

i had D's business card with me, which i pulled out of my wallet and held up to the door's window.

"just a minute," she said after giving the card a thorough examination.

(telephone mumbling on the other side of the door)

(it's only a sprain. it's only a sprain)

...and then she cautiously opened the door, and finally let me in. "D. will be home in a while...he said you could lie down on the couch.

…and i stayed there for about 3 hours (an interesting definition of 'a while').

i was in so much pain. i tried every possible position on the couch, but nothing seemed to help for more than a few minutes...then i'd have to shift again. i talked and talked to the baby-sitter, trying to ease her still raging suspicions, but the longer it took D to get home, the more nervous she became. i did convince her to call my Dr., who was conveniently unavailable...but was assured that his partner - Dr. M. - would ring back as soon as he was finished with a patient.

meanwhile, D finally arrived, and immediately gave me a huge pile of ibuprophen to chew on. now, the things you should know about D is that 1) he is extremely intelligent, 2) he is an attorney and 3) at the time, he was an attorney for the City of New York ( a fact that will become very important anon). as i told him my sad tale of woe, his expression changed from concern to lawyerly skepticism...and he began to question me with what i sensed were mixed emotions. before i could ask him about this, Dr. M finally called back. after i told him about my injury (it's only a sprain), he asked "well, do you have any pot?"

????

...then went on to explain that - tho he certainly couldn't sanction my smoking dope - it has been know to be a good muscle relaxant. after D assured me that the house of an NYC attorney did not double as a drug den, we asked what else we could do? (nb: i still was convinved it was only a sprain, and refused getting my ass to a hospital because i did not have health insurance)

his next suggestion was to try some chiropractory-by-phone. there are pictures (somewhere) of D gently twisting me first to the left and then to the right while craddling the phone under his chin.

...which did absolutely nothing to relieve the pain. so the issue changed to - how do we get this cripple back home to Centerpoint, L.I.? to be honest...i have no recollection of how i got back there - did D give me a ride? did my wife come and pick me up?

dunno...but what i do remember is a last final conversation with D.

to recap:

- i had injured myself on The Cyclone roller coaster at Astroland on Coney Island.
- a private family owns The Cyclone, but the land onwhich the ride resides is owned by the City of New York.
- D is an attorney for the City of New York. he now tells me that he defends the City against negligent lawsuits - injuries incurred on City property

point: i had sought help from the very person who would be sitting across the desk from me if i decided to sue the City of New York for damages!

to be continued...

NP: apparently...me...9:51AM on something called Radio Nigel

PEEVE DE JOUR: loneliness. no O.O.M.A. again. no good. sucks.

N.B.A.T.W.P.: BARBES is located at 376 9th st at the corner of 6th Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. 7th ave stop on the F train.

718 965 9177 or

www.barbesbrooklyn.com

Mon 04/24 7:00pm

TRAVELING CINEMA presents:

THE BURKS OF GEORGIA. US. 1976 (53 min) The Maysles clan looks at the Burks clan. A tightly knit family with a strong sense of survival, the Burks live on small plot of land with their 10 children, their spouses and offspring. By David and Albert Maysles.

CHIEFS. US. 1968. (18 min). This short covers a police chiefs convention in Hawaii. Directed by Richard Leackock.

Mon 04/24 - An evening curated by Julianne Carney.

AHNFINOD. 9:30pm
Patterns manifest themselves even in chaos, creating structures. The resulting balance between structure and chaos is the inspiration for Ahnfiod which combines improvised drones, intervals, and sounds provided by Lathan Hardy (saxophone) & Julianne Carney (violin) with projected visual imagery of four Brooklyn artists, presented by Willy Devlin.

HAECKEL'S DREAM - 10:30pm
Named for 19th century biologist/philosopher/illustrator ernst haeckel, "haeckel's dream" is an existential 1950's-esque psychedelic nature documentary. Ornate jellyfish, tumbling and turning amongst undulating seaweed in tidepools on the coast of maine, live and die at the mercy of the wind and tide. Shot on B&W Super 8. 8 min. By alyce santoro. Live soundtrack + added and subtracted prerecorded loops: Alyce Santoro, Loops; Lathan Hardy, Saxophone; Julianne Carney, Violin; & Shara Worden on waterbowls, wine glasses, and other shimmery objects.

IRON DOG - 11:00pm
The duo of Sarah Bernstein on violin and Stuart Popejoy on bass unifies improvisation with composition, electric with acoustic, noise with note, trance with edge. Stuart Popejoy works regularly in African, reggae/dub, and heavy metal contexts, while Sarah Bernstein performs as a violinist and vocalist in rock, jazz, Cuban, and new music ensembles.

"TELL 'EM BARNABY SAID...GOODBYE"

CLEVO MEMORY: i'd tune in just to watch the alky bags under his eyes get darker...and darker...and darker. a mincing/creepy/mega-icky kid's show host...
............
Cleveland Broadcast Legend 'Barnaby' Dies

UPDATED: 8:26 am EDT April 24, 2006

CLEVELAND -- A Cleveland broadcasting legend passed away Sunday.

Linn Sheldon, the man known best as "Barnaby," died at the age of 86.

Sheldon started at WEWS-TV in 1948, one month after the station signed on the air for the first time.

During that time he played a character known as Uncle Leslie, a clown who entertained children.

Because TV was so new, there were only about 500 sets in the state at the time. Sheldon started his career at the station as a human TV guide, telling viewers what was coming up on Channel 5.

"I started sitting on top of a television set announcing the coming attractions for the day, because they weren't announced in a newspaper for the simple reason that no one knew what we were doing or when we were going to go on," Sheldon said. "I have the first contract that WEWS, Scripps Howard put out for a personality. They didn't like to write things down. I have it with me in fact, my wife has it here, it's for $50 and that's scratched out and it says $75. So you can see big money in those days."

Sheldon created Barnaby, the elf who initially hosted a Popeye cartoon show, in 1956. Appearing daily in a straw hat, wax ears and often a candy-striped jacket, Sheldon greeted children with a hearty, "Hi, neighbor!" until he retired in 1990. He created a cast of characters to inhabit his "Enchanted Forest." Foremost among them was Longjohn the Invisible Parrot, which consisted of a birdcage and Sheldon as ventriloquist.

In 1977, he appeared on the WEWS' 30th anniversary special with Fred Griffith and Earl Keys, also known as Mr. Jingeling.

Gib Shanley said being dressed as "Barnaby the Elf" didn't always help Sheldon.

"His car broke down as he got halfway across the Main Avenue Bridge. And he got out and it was a cold, windy day and he was standing there freezing and nobody would pick him up, because there he was in a straw hat, pointy ears and a funny-looking sports jacket," Shanley said.

Sheldon died Sunday morning at his Lakewood home after a long illness. His wife and three children were at his side.

CITY MOUSE/COUNTRY MOUSE

one thing i've learned is that nature is best served by my not interacting with it. plants die in my presence. i don't want them to...i play them Mozart, water them...but they keel over within days. as you can imagine, this does wonders for my self-esteem. i should do as David Rackoff suggested - "if you want greenery...order the spinach".

i grew up in the country. the first thing i ever drove was a tractor - and not one of those weekendlawnboy riding mower jobs, but a real fullsize International Harvester. we had five acres with fruit trees & gardens, and it was my chore to keep 'em looking spiffy. my Italian Dad had that 'the land, boy, the land' thing working, and he also loved the idea of sticking it to The Man by growing much of his own food. well, i fucking hated it - it was just hard, stoopid work...and so i ignored all his lessons on how to tease something edible out of the mud. and lit out for The City the first time i saw a chance.

so i don't know squat about gardening/plants/food plants/plant food.

please look at this picture:












see these herbs? there's thyme, oregano, sage, etc.

(aside: one of the most wonderful events of my life was when my friend Babbette Vosh cooked me dinner in 1981. her house was way up in Les Alpes Maritimes north of Nice. i asked her what we were going to have, and she said she was going to make me ratatouille...but first we had to go 'shopping'...which involved walking up the hillside and harvesting thyme, oregano & rosemary. they are friggin' weeds (!) and grew wild everywhere. so much for the magical secret of Prevencal cooking!)

so my reasoning is that...if i plant 'weeds', and weeds come up...no disappointment, right? but i'm afraid this is the best these plants are every going to look - lush, green and full of promise. i will put them in the ground, give them loving care...and i predict that they won't make it to July 4th.

they've got me buying dirt. in a bag. we live on a big dirt ball...i have to get more from a store?

















well, i read the instructions, and stuck the starts into the ground.












poor little thing...

AM UPDATE: the squirrels got the starts sometime during the night. a new Personal Best - in less than 8 hours = gone...

NP: Robert Plant (ba-dah-boom- crash!)

PEEVE DE JOUR: where's a Mexican illegal alien/migrant farm worker when ya could really use one?

N.B.A.T.W.P.:

The Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque
11141 East Boulevard
Cleveland, OH 44106
(800) 223-4700

(located within the Institute's Gund Building at the corner of East Boulevard and Bellflower Road in University Circle. Free, lighted parking is available in the adjacent CIA lot, located on the north and east sides of the building off of East Blvd.)

Sunday, April 23, at 9:05 pm
New 35mm Print! New Translation and Subtitles!
CLASSE TOUS RISQUES
aka THE BIG RISK
France, 1960, Claude Sautet

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Lino Ventura, and Sandra Milo star in this little-known, newly-reissued gangster classic by Claude Sautet, a director better known for his quiet portraits of the French bourgeoisie (A Simple Story, Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud). Belmondo plays a young thief who’s dispatched to help a veteran thug (Ventura) return to Paris after a thrilling daytime heist in Italy. Admired by both Jean-Pierre Melville and John Woo, this lean thriller “is a tough and touching exploration of honor and friendship among thieves” (The NY Times). “One of the highlights of the movie year…A great specimen of recovered cinema treasure.” –Entertainment Weekly. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. 35mm. 103 min.

www.rialtopictures.com/classe.html

HIPPIE MUSIC

"Hi...my name is Chris,"

"Hi Chris!"

"...and i'm a...i'm a..."

"it's okay, Chris...were with you!"

"i'm a...i'm a...Grateful Dead fan."

(shock & silence)

there...i just outed myself, and thus lost all hipster/New Wave cred. i can take comfort with the following qualifications tho: before they totally messed up and started to try to sing, and write these dumbass three-minute pop/melodic songs (Workingman's Dead onward = ugh), the Dead were an amazing, improvisational combo that fused OrnetteartsongamphetemineEuroexperimentalmusic with rock amplified artillery and produced fantastically complex compositions.

their Anthem of The Sun LP is one of the great lost masterpieces of the 20th Century. Warner Bros. wrote 'em a blank check, and like all good stoner musos they abused the privilege. you name it, it's in there = speed-fueled wecan'tstop live snippets/tape manipulation (most famously - where the right and left stereo channels slide out of sync via Varispeed twiddling)/musik concrete/overdubsoverdubsoverdubs. you can hear the technology of the day groaning as the Dead stretch its capabilities way deep past the red line.

and like all good Deadheads, i have outtakes/studio chatter/rehearsal tapes, plus two vinyl copies (one pressing WITH the trumpet at the fadeout of Side Two, and one without).

what brought this on? well, last night at The Sach, it was a 420 (4:20? 42-0?) fest - National Pot Smokers Day - and i didn't know there were that many hippie bands left in the world, let alone just in Clevo. lots of noodlingnoodlingnoodling (i am a sucker for noodling), a light show, the smell of hemp-fabric clothes and patchouli emanating from not-very-attractive people.

fun. boring. fun again.



i know where of i speak. the hair = c. early '70's. the Chucks = a proto-punk in Hippie Boy drag? wish i still had that Kustom amp & ES-335. never, never ever sell gear...

NP: Phil Lesh/"Seastones"

PEEVE DE JOUR: every band that listened to The Dead got inspired and then went on to get it so, so wrong and for all the wrong reasons.

N.B.A.T.W.P.:

FROM BIANCA BOB in NYC:

A cool spring cleaning event that may have gone under the radar for some....(since the city of nyc did the mailing)

manhattan electronics recycling event 4/23 from 9am-3pm in Union Square park, north plaza

recycle your: working and non-working computers, monitors, TVs, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice, and cell phones. You can bring up to five pieces- NYC residents ( but who is going to check?) link for info is here: http://lesecologycenter.org/les_frames.html

NEUMANN LEATHER - HOBOKEN

i shoulda grabbed a photo when i had the chance. just this last weekend, my kid and i ran all over this amazing building complex in Hoboken, NJ. i've got two spaces in there, but have never really explored...er...'spied around' as The Little Man said.

5 or 6 buildings, some dating back to The Civil War/been filled to almost 100% capacity for years (decades?) with artists/all sizes of businesses/recording studios/book publishers and editors/wood shops (including Steinway Piano's custom & renovation shop), high-tech & internet companies, etc.

big fat parcel of land filled with people doing things that help give the town a bobo/arto/muso vibe that draws residents like all those Richard Florida/Creative Class hungry-as-hell (help us, Richard! we are irrelevant!) cities are dying to suck in.

big fat parcel of land...which is why the complex is now a political football between a desperately out-of-it Mayor with acute ADD, a raging City Council with every agenda but the one they were elected to administer (a/k/a the good of the town), owners who are *&%^#%*!()), developers who can't wait to get their mitts on this property...oh why bother?...you know the drill by now. time and time and time again it's the very people who 'up' a town who soon can't afford to be there. there was a City Council vote tonight, and i probably should of been there...

...but i'm just sick of it. we've got some dough, smarts, and a will to fight...but all we can really hope for is to buy some time and try to work out a compromise so some of the buildings can be saved from the Ball & Chain (the diggers and the tower of cranes - XTC).

on second thought, I don't have the will to fight. i quit...you scumbags can have it.

that's why Ohio wins. by default, but wins nonetheless.

cb/Bath, OH

N.B.A.T.W.P.: we're all going to The Sachsenheim in Clevo today/tonight...right?

SACHSENHEIM
7001 DENISON AVENUE
CLEVELAND, OH 44102
(216) 651-0888

Thursday, April 20, 2006. Three floors. Four stages. A community of musicians and artists coming together for an outrageous event of unprecedented proportions, all tightly coordinated, paced, and packed into one unbelievable afternoon and evening of music, featuring a one-time-only smorgasbord of the best bands in the region, featuring some of the finest players around…at an unbeatable price.

21+.  $12 advance, $15 at the door.
Show starts at 2:00 p.m.

It’s 4/20 B’s & G’s…get it?  National P-Day. Do something fun/naughty.
.
http://sachsenheim.blogspot.com/

bLiTzScReEd WeDnEsDaY

(a smattering of cool stuff i've received thru the week)

- from Bianca Bob in NYC:












- From Jody in FL. this is pretty amazing...and coreographed to Abbey Road, no less:

LINK: Amazing Juggling Finale

- From Irwin in Hobo:

[from Craigslist]

Sophisticated, Powerful Drummer Sought

We are a power and finesse vocalist/harmonica player/songwriter and a bassist/keyboardist/multi-instrumentalist seeking a drummer of equal caliber (John Bonham) for an original and touring band. We will be touring Europe this summer.

We hold real finances to be used for a solid, independent project/partnership. As a vocalist and harmonica player, I have few equals. (Though I also play some guitar, usaully in open tunings for delta blues derivative music, and some percussion, I'm a vocalist.) The bassist, in his sphere, bass/keyboard/mandolin/etc. is equally as authoritative. We will be auditioning for our guitarist seperately and guitar will not be reflected in all the provided recordings.

I speak from the fire and strike heavy with of the sword, in a chorus championing people long oppressed and long suffering. Music is the gift from God to definitively pronounce our uprising and redemption. This means the poor, the meek, and the oppressed.

The name of this band is: The Epsilon Rising.

[and so on ... and on ... and on ...]

- from Higgs in Wayne:

So I'm cruisin' my usual lib websites, looking for even more reasons to despise Bush and Co. (could there BE any more?) and I come across a little tidbit on Ann (the Man) Coulter's new book. Entitled "Godless: the Church of Liberalism," it's due to hit the bookshelves on - get this - June 6, 06. 6/6/06. 666. Isn't she just aDORable?

And then I scroll down and find a blog post by someone with more free time than I who points out one of those kooky numerology thingys about Fox News. Cracked me the heck up.

F-O-X.
F is the 6th letter in the alphabet
O is the 15th letter in the alphabet, 1+5=6
X is the 24th letter in the alphabet, 2+4=6

Coincidence?

That's right, folks, Fox News - the Network of the Beast.

- From Michael in Weehawken:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=i48BP1PUoFI

NP: Froggy 101...i'm, in PA, so it's 7 hours of C & W. (s'okay...a guilty pleasure)

PEEVE DE JOUR: lent my kid my XTC singles cd, but he wants to keep it longer. actually, that's pretty cool, since he's only 6.

N.B.A.T.W.P.: we're all going to The Sachsenheim in Clevo tomorrow/Thursday...right?

SACHSENHEIM
7001 DENISON AVENUE
CLEVELAND, OH 44102
(216) 651-0888

http://sachsenheim.blogspot.com/

ARTTUESDAYS - CIRCUIT BENDING!

(the guts of a Texas Instruments' 'Speak n Spell' = the ur device most folks use to get started)

several years ago, i stumbled into an art space in NYC called The Tank. it was filled with wonders: mad stoner scientists rewiring electronic toys to make fantastic gleeps and gloops their straight engineer/inventors never dreamed could come from these 'educational' toys, other artists (and the were most definitely artists) played synthpopdancesymphonicsoundtrack music on doctored Game Boys ("chiptunes"), and one guy had filled a stairwell with mutated Furbees that spastically lurched & squawked if you didn't tread...very...very...carefully.

if you are ANYWHERE near the NYC area, i urge you to go and see a truly amazing artelectro phenomenon.

Basic circuit-bending info from Reed Ghazala = the Godfather of this stuff:

http://www.anti-theory.com/soundart/circuitbend/

http://www.oddmusic.com/illogic/

from The Tank's info-email:

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The time has come. After 6 months of preparations, the Bent Festival is upon us once again.

Circuit-bending is the creative short-circuiting of low voltage, battery-powered electronic audio devices such as guitar effects, children's toys and small synthesizers to create new musical instruments and sound generators.

The Bent Festival is a week of concerts, art installations, and workshops celebrating this most unusual art form. The first and only festival in the country where one can see a musical instrument built from a singing teddy bear, this year's event will be our most ambitious to date. In addition to nightly concerts and huge beautiful art installations, novices and experienced benders of all ages can participate in workshops led by the best in the business during the day.

One note, workshops with a materials fee are filling up fast, so pre-register on the site to ensure a spot. For the open workshops, feel free to bring your own toys or use ours! All tools will be provided.

Now the blurb:

BENT2006 Circuit Bending Festival
April 18 - 23, 15 Nassau Street NY,NY
http://www.bentfestival.org - buy tix and see all info!
http://www.thetanknyc.org

Tues 4/18 - 7pm - FREE - Concert with: Luke Dubois with Matthew Ostrowski, Tristan Perich/Loud Objects

Wed 4/19 - 3-6pm - FREE - Open Workshop
And 6-8pm - FREE - Intro to Circuit Bending Workshop
And 8-10pm - $7 - Concert with: Daniel Cashin, Shotaro Nakano, Bubblyfish, Pixelform, Gunung Sari

Thurs 4/20 - 3-6pm - FREE - Open Workshop
And 4-8pm - $5 - Building Custom Circuits for Bent Instruments
And 6-8pm - $15 - Building a Square Wave Tone Generator
And 8-10pm - $7 - Concert with: Josh Tobin, Nies-DeVega-Tammen, kingcapitolpunishment, MHCrispo, Receptors

Fri 4/21 - 3-6pm - FREE - After-School Circuit Bending
And 6-8pm - FREE - Virtual Circuit Bending with Max/MSP and Jitter
And 6-8pm - $15 - Voice Changing Megaphone Bending Wokshop
And 8pm-late - $10 - Concert with: The Circuit Bending Orchestra, The Bemus Point, Mystery Circuits, George Lazenbleep, Lorin Edwin Parker, Andrew Bucksbarg with Michele Darling and Terry Golob, Peter Blasser, The Circuit-Bent Project, Travis McCoy Fuller

Sat 4/22 - 12pm-2pm - FREE - A Day at the Circuits Intro Workshop
And 1-4pm - $50 - Building the One-Bit Groove Box
And 1-3pm - $50 (and BYO SK-1) Installing the RCA Patchbay Mod to a Casio SK
And 4-6pm - FREE - Hardware Hacking Workshop with Nic Collins
And 6-8pm - FREE - Hardware Hacking Book Release Party with Nic Collins
And 8pm-late - $10 - Concert with: The Tour Company, Ian Helliwell, Vic Rawlings, Mystery Palace, Peter Edwards, Maikko, Beatrix*Jar, Burnkit2600

Sun 4/23 - 1-3pm - $60 - How to Make a Robot Sing from the Heart Workshop
And 3-5pm - $5 - Concert with: Dafna Naphtali, Alex Waterman and Benton-C Bainbridge, John Morton

Please, won't you join us? These people are descending on NYC for a week with the most insane toys they have spent the year building, and you really owe it to yourself to check them out.

BENT2006 is presented at 15 Nassau, a venue of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Space donated by Silverstein Properties.

Sincerely,

The Tank

In addition to the workshops and concerts at this year's circuit bending festival, we would like to announce the following art installations and interactive experiences available for you to enjoy.

First, the robot monkey battles are back! This year will include an arena and real live computer sound effects. See the monkeys here: http://robotmonkey.net

Second, we have more artists installing circuit bent work in the space this year than any year previous. Come see some of them install their art over the course of the week...the work will be on display during all public events during the festival.

April 18 - 23 | 15 Nassau Street, NY, NY
Circuit Bent Art Installations from:
Caitlin Berrigan
Patrick Bobilin
Sarah Bogner & Aylin Langreuter
Andrew Bucksbarg
Arcangel Constantini
Petko Dourmana
Peter Edwards
Maggie Ens & Marc Sloan
Jacqueline Gordon
Chiara Passa & Mokamed
Phillip Stearns
WATFIV aka Christopher Sorg

Finally, the festival store will be selling Reed Ghazala's book "Circuit-Bending : Build Your Own Alien Instruments", Nic Collins' book "Handmade Electronic Music: The Art of Hardware Hacking", festival T-Shirts and posters, and merchandise from many of the festival participants.

http://www.bentfestival.org

where these:








become these!


























NP: last year's sampler CD

PEEVE DE JOUR: i have to be in Ohio this week. [editor's note: damn! did i get flack for that! i was talking about missing most of this Festival, not dissing Ohio. sheesh!]

N.B.A.T.W.P.: again...this is THE party/event to attend.

MONDAY MEDS: Cyclonic Reaction/PART 2

- another installment chronicling my banged-up bod.














in this case, how i busted my back on Coney Island's Cyclone roller coaster and became instantly old.

it's not uncommon to point to an event in one's personal history that changes one's life forever - meeting the love of your life/artmoviebookrecordcollegeprof/etc. that sends you down a completely different path. but what we often don't consider (since we all feel so friggin' eeemortal) is a physical change/assault that does this to us.

in the nanosecond of freezetime (and i swear, time did freeze), when the roller coaster car whiplashedsmashed me down into my seat and i felt my backbone snap and that rush of unbelievable pain roared thru my stillyoungsupplenothingcanhurtme body...there was that 'uh oh' moment of perfect clarity when it's obvious that...um...things are gonna be different from this point on.

and then time gets unstuck, and the following becomes very clear -

1) i'm on a rollercoaster that is now gonna finish its run whether i'm hurt or not since it's a gravity coaster and thus has no brakes.

2) and this particular coaster is known for the violence it inflicts on its passengers (which is defined as 'fun'), so broken back or no broken back, it's gonna throw me from side-to-side/thrash me up-and-down...'cause that's what it does. for 90 more seconds.

3) screaming will not help - this is a roller coaster, afterall, and it is not unusual for people to scream on a roller coaster.

but the ride eventually ends, and the cars screech into the station, and the few happy/edge 'o barfing passengers wobble off...but i can't move. the attendant comes over, and helps me out of the car (i am bent over like a spinal bifida victim), and over to a bench. where i sit. and sit. and sit. and think thru the agonyhaze "well, i guess i must have sprained something rather severely"/"gee, i guess my not having health insurance is gonna be a problem"/"how the hell am i gonna get home?". the attendant comes back over and asks me if he should call an ambulance (with the voicetone of "you are scaring people, Mr. Pussy Man Couldn't Handle It, and are thus bad for business").

i am moneybroke, so getting medical attention is out of the question. [YES I KNOW...this was a stoopid decision...but when i say broke, i mean nocashnothinglookingforquartersinthesofadamnthatcatfoodlooksgood kind of broke...and the thought of huge medical bills was just to much.]

(it's only a sprain)

i had parked my car just outside the ride's entrance, so by holding onto railings/other people/parking meters, i was able to ease my pretzelshape into the driver's seat. so now what/where? home was about an hour's drive away, but the house where we used to rent an apartment in Brooklyn was maybe 20 minutes away...so i decided to try to get there.

(it's only a sprain)

i had not counted on how much God hated me, because:

°1st difficulty - a manual transmition, and working the clutch was impossible. i somehow managed to get the car started and rammed into second gear....where it would stay for the next two-plus hours as i took the backroads to Baltic Street in Carrol Gardens.

°2nd difficulty - the gas gauge read 'empty'. my wallet also read 'empty'. so i had to find an ATM. which required getting out of the car again. lovely. which then required finding a gas station. lovelier.

° 3rd difficulty - it was just too painful to drive. i had to pull over and stop every five minutes because it hurt too much. and did i mention how crappy the roads are in backwater Brooklyn?...where every bump ratcheted up the already off-the-scale agony to new heights of...well...more agony?

° 4th difficulty - as i am finally approaching Carrol Gardens (relief coming!), i find myself behind a NYC garbage truck, manned by two guys who hate their jobs so much that they will let the whole world know it by working...as...slowly...as...possible...and...not...letting...any...of...the...line...of...cars...behind...them...pass.

(it's only a sprain)

at last! Baltic St.! D. & R. whould help me out! there's a parking space in front of the house! (God had decided i was okay after all!) i rang the doorbell, and...

...the baby-sitter took one look at me - a bentover stranger who claimed to know D & R who was asking to come inside in the middle of the day - and all her NYC streetwise wariness kicked in and she...

...shut the door in my face.

(to be continued next week)









NP: PRINCESS SUPERSTAR/"Bad Babysitter" ('I'm a bad babysitter, got my boyfriend in your shower, Woo! I'm makin 6 bucks an hour!')

FULL LYRICS: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/princesssuperstar/badbabysitter.html

PEEVE DE JOUR: one-month-old cellphone doesn't seem to want to hold a charge.

N.B.A.T.W.P.: Circuit-bending (BENT2006 Festival) at The Tank in NYC this week! this is the COOLEST thing you will ever see - explanation and details tomorrow! tune in, B's & G's...