Wilco fans...

[Doctor Rock]

R.I.P. Jay Bennet

[Doctor Rock]

Are you a fan of ironic clothing?  Would you sport this t-shirt?

[Bizarro]

Chorus of public schoolchildren sings "Landslide."

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/f2p5augniQA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/f2p5augniQA</a>

Stevie Nicks saw this and liked it so much she invited the kids to sing it with Fleetwood Mac at Madison Square Garden.

[matthew]

I recently watched Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father and I can't say that I really recommend it. While I am sympathetic to the feelings of the director and his original aim, around forty minutes into the film he radically alters its trajectory from documenting his friend's life to calling for bail reform in Canada. The questionable techniques that were cloying in the first half of the film become unbearable as a second crime is committed. lending a crass, exploitative true crime (think "City Confidential" or any crime show on any of Rupert Murdoch's television channels) feel to the proceedings. The director's eleventh hour effort to bring us back to the life "rather than the death" of his friend is limp and contrived.

[Bizarro]

Oh, and RIP Jay Bennett. I saw him play an acoustic set with Edward Burch at the Borders downtown right after The Palace at 4 am came out. He came off as much more likable than I Am Trying to Break Your Heart would lead you to believe. I remember at one point, he was introducing "Shaking Sugar" and he mentioned that it had been co-written with Jeff Tweedy. He said some really nice stuff about Tweedy (which was surprising considering the hullabaloo at the time). "My lawyers would actually prefer it if I don't talk about Jeff at all, so I don't accidentally come off as disgruntled. But I'm actually perfectly... gruntled. I'm traught. I'm tressed. I'm appointed." He seemed much more like a goofy, affable music nerd than anything else. It was a good show, too.

[Bizarro]

I recently watched Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father and I can't say that I really recommend it. While I am sympathetic to the feelings of the director and his original aim, around forty minutes into the film he radically alters its trajectory from documenting his friend's life to calling for bail reform in Canada. The questionable techniques that were cloying in the first half of the film become unbearable as a second crime is committed. lending a crass, exploitative true crime (think "City Confidential" or any crime show on any of Rupert Murdoch's television channels) feel to the proceedings. The director's eleventh hour effort to bring us back to the life "rather than the death" of his friend is limp and contrived.

I saw it when it aired on MSNBC and had similar misgivings. I think it works well enough when it's a documentarian of modest means trying to tell his friend's sad, lurid story. But yeah, the political bent he takes on later sort of exceeds his grasp. I'd be a little more complimentary than Matthew by casting it less as a flawed doc and more as an unusually involving television show-type true-crime kind of thing. But either way, we're essentially saying the exact same thing. Even a shocking, interesting true crime story can only carry you so far.

[Bizarro]

Jay co-wrote this:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/I0ZKHljySfI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/I0ZKHljySfI</a>

[Bizarro]

This kid is my new hero.

[bebopbalogna]

so the tip of the audio plug(that connects it to the monitor at sluggo's) broke off inside my ipod's headphone jack.

i think i'm gonna try this guy's technique.  otherwise, i gotta replace the whole frickin thing...


<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/NK7FePLoofc" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/NK7FePLoofc</a>

[Just Some Girl]

R.I.P. Jay Bennet

Only saw him in earlier days (maybe '96 or '97, in Ottawa), and in I Am Trying To Break Your Heart doc, so not like I've been following post-Wilco activities either, but that's indeed shitty news.

This kid is my new hero.

That is one cool fuckin' kid.

[Doctor Rock]

This kid is my new hero.

Maybe that's the trick we need to make kids read!  We must ban books!

[Just Some Girl]

Oh, and I don't think I've officially said "howdy" to Jesse yet, as I've apparently been too busy being depressed and feeling sorry for myself (yes, Dan that is still funny) and being too self-absorbed to post, so....... howdy.

Nothing special to say about me, really, 'cept I'm the old crusty bitch here (old, as in 45-years-old, not as in "I'm an original crap member"), known for: drunk (over-)posting when not too busy feeling sorry for myself, not having a clue about anything in the Comix Isles, occasionally flirting with crappiteers of both genders; being drunk and, um, drinking. (Some also know me as Miss LaVodka.)

and I speak fluent Canadian.

[Just Some Girl]

All right, my time at reception is done. Going back to my desk now, so... lates, dudes.

[Bizarro]

Douchebag/conservative mouthpiece/morning Chicago shock jock Eric "Mancow" Muller has insisted for the longest time that waterboarding is not torture. He was so sure of this, in fact, that he volunteered to have this done to him on air. The average person lasts 14 seconds. Here's how Mancow did:

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/qUkj9pjx3H0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/qUkj9pjx3H0</a>

"It's absolutely torture," Muller remarked afterward. "It's absolutely drowning. I would have confessed to anything to make it stop."

And that's how he felt after 6 seconds, knowing he could stop this at any time, not having it done in a prison, not having it done after sleep deprivation.

[Doctor Rock]

That must feel bloody awful, I mean, if it made a far-right douchebag chickenhawk admit he was wrong!