Something Bad Is Happening

Something very Bad is happening.

Maybe there is something lunar going on. Just too much is too weird for this all to be ok.

The Zipper Factory Theater closed suddenly, and without warning. Such a good space with good adventurous shows. Very sad.

For Round Two: the U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a dirty blow to due process, by cutting off the Exclusionary Rule, which protects against unreasonable search and seizure, at the knees. An odd addendum here is that the first article I saw on this in the Times was by David Stout and had a very glib tone - making it seem that this ruling was a-ok if you prefer not to see the bad guys get off on technicalities. But then on Thursday the Times had this article, by Adam Liptak, which is much better and more circumspect, and looks into the ramifications more. And - this is the weird part - that first article is now nowhere to be found. I'll print it at the bottom of this entry, because I think it's important to acknowledge these sorts of media events, especially in publications as influential as the Times. Not to be all conspiracy theory about it, but - what do you suppose is going on there?

No matter how you slice it, the ruling is bad news. And the fact that it's not being treated as BIG news is a little scary.

Next, we have the Metropolitan Opera facing huge cuts. Check out some of the specifics there: their endowment has dropped by a third, to the tune of $100 million dollars. That's 100 million dollars less than they had a couple years ago. This kind of detail is what causes me to go nuts at the notion of it being some big 'victory' when NEA funding increases by 20 or 50 million bucks. It's just not to scale with the problems, and shows that the arts are literally devalued. Or, if you prefer, undervalued. In any case, it seems to me that our policy-makers are missing the point in a fundamental, not incremental, way.

It's an old and well-worn point, but by way of comparison, bear in mind that NEA budget was $144.4 million in 2008 (and the Bush administration even tried to cut that); and the budget for U.S. Military Bands was $168 million - in 1997. They stopped releasing those numbers (as people started noticing things like this?), but I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that they haven't gone down.

And then - why should those things be enough? - a plane crashes in the Hudson River.

What the heck is going on, people?

But there was a seriously sunny side in the fact that no one died or was even too badly hurt in that crash. SO - soon I'll be posting an entry with some things that feel more like good news.

Meanwhile, here's that first article I saw about Wednesday's Supreme Court Ruling, which appears to have been pulled by the Times.

By DAVID STOUT

Published: January 14, 2009

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the conviction of an Alabama man on drug and weapons charges, emphasizing that the exclusionary rule, which generally bars prosecutors from using evidence obtained by the police through improper searches, is far from absolute.

In a 5-to-4 opinion, the court upheld the federal conviction of Bennie Dean Herring, who from the court records appears to have been very unlucky as well as felonious in his conduct. In upholding the conviction, the court’s majority came to a conclusion that will most likely please those who complain about criminals going free on “technicalities” and alarm those who fear that the high court is looking for ways to narrow the reach of the exclusionary rule.

Mr. Herring had gone to the Coffee County, Ala., sheriff’s department on July 7, 2004, to retrieve something from his truck, which had been impounded. “Herring was no stranger to law enforcement,” as Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. observed dryly in his opinion for the court.

And he was no stranger to Mark Anderson, an investigator for the sheriff’s department, who asked a Coffee County clerk if there were any outstanding warrants for Mr. Herring.

No, Mr. Anderson was told. So he asked the clerk to check with her counterpart in neighboring Dale County, who turned up a warrant against Mr. Herring for failing to appear in court on a felony charge.

Mr. Anderson and a deputy following Mr. Herring as he left the impound lot pulled him over and arrested him. A search turned up methamphetamine in his pocket and a pistol, which Mr. Herring could not legally possess because of an earlier felony conviction, in his truck.

Within minutes, however, the Dale County clerk discovered that the warrant against Mr. Herring had been withdrawn five months earlier and had been left in the computer system by mistake. The clerk immediately called Mr. Anderson, but Mr. Herring had already been taken into custody.

Was Mr. Herring entitled to go free because the officers lacked probable cause and there was no dispute that both the arrest and subsequent search were unconstitutional under the Fourth Amendment? No, the Supreme Court ruled.

“When police mistakes leading to an unlawful search are the result of isolated negligence attenuated from the search, rather than systemic error or reckless disregard of constitutional requirements, the exclusionary rule does not apply,” Chief Justice Roberts wrote in an opinion joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.

“We do not suggest that all recordkeeping errors by the police are immune from the exclusionary rule,” the majority noted. But the justices said the official errors in the Herring case do not compare with the kind of egregious and deliberate police misconduct that gave rise to the exclusionary rule in the first place.

Deciding when to throw out evidence under the exclusionary rule is a balancing act, the majority said. Is the official misconduct serious enough that the evidence should be disallowed to deter future misconduct, even if criminals sometimes go free?

Not in Mr. Herring’s case, the majority ruled, upholding findings by a federal district court and the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Paul Stevens, David H. Souter and Stephen G. Breyer dissented. “In my view, the court’s opinion underestimates the need for a forceful exclusionary rule and the gravity of recordkeeping errors in the law enforcement,” Justice Ginsburg wrote.

But in the majority opinion, the chief justice wrote that the exclusionary rule “is not an individual right and applies only where its deterrent effect outweighs the substantial cost of letting guilty
and possibly dangerous defendants go free.”

At another point, Chief Justice Roberts wrote that “the very phrase ‘probable cause’ confirms that the Fourth Amendment does not demand all possible precision.”

The dissenters were unpersuaded, however. “Negligent recordkeeping errors by law enforcement threaten individual liberty, are susceptible to deterrence by the exclusionary rule, and cannot be remedied effectively through other means,” Justice Ginsburg wrote.

The Great Annual Post-Holiday Funfest Extravaganza

That's the title I gave to my party this year, which happened on Saturday. And, if I may say so myself, it almost lived up to the name.

A few days of prep, and we were ready to go. Mad props to Sherin and especially Cory for all the help - cooking, cleaning, shopping, setting up, decorating and hanging snowflakes. Sometimes, it's hard work having fun. We got a whole bunch of last-minute help from Aaron, Shannon and Jacquie too - getting ice, building bruschetta, setting out crackers & cheese, setting up the bar, all kinds of final-moments-before-the-throng-arrives details. AND - many thanks to Susan for bringing a huge batch of cupcakes in honor of Daniel's Birthday, which had been a couple days prior. Happy Birthday Daniel!

This year's menu, in part:

• Sweet Potato Soup
• Recession Stew with black beans, black-eyed peas, and mystery ingredients
• Bruschetta with goat cheese and olive tapenade
• Cheese platter featuring Tallegio and Danish bleu cheeses
• Chicken and Fennel Stew
• Portabella Mushroom Risotto
• Saffron Shrimp Risotto
• Peanut Blossom Cookies
• Chocolate Chip Date Cake
• Fudge
• Peanut Brittle
• and... Susan's Cupcakes

That's most of it. Vegetarians, Fishitarians and Carnivores were taken care of. Yum!

There was a healthy debate as to whether or not the Peanut Blossoms looked like boobs. Every party should have at least one conversation like this.

The bar was pretty well stocked with booze and mixers, and people brought beer and wine to fill it out. Conviviality flourished, and as usual it was a gathering that brought together loyal longterm friends and some of my newest friends and colleagues. About 30 people turned up in all; only a few were scared off by the nasty weather (which turned out to be milder than the histrionic meteorologists warned us it would be). This year's snowflake theme was Impressions of Obama (what the hell, it's an unprecedented Inauguration we're going to have next week), and I think that there may have been more snowflakes created this year than ever. The Argentinians really got into it!

No pictures yet. I was so psyched to shoot at this party, but when the time came I didn't want to do anything that felt like work. But other people took a bunch, I think, so I should be able to post some shots before long.

Special shoutout to Cory for the Iranian saffron (I think it's from Iran; I know she bought it in Istanbul though), which was featured in some of those dishes. She brought me some of those tiny but potent threads from her trip to Turkey. SOoooooo good! AND - we stayed up late late late to clean up afterwards, so no giganto mess the next day.

Which meant we got to play a legendary, Titanic game of Scrabble. I scored 311, which is usually enough to win, but not this time. No sir. Miss Cory scored an otherworldly 436. 436, people. That means that even if you took away the bonus points for her two bingos, she'd still have beaten me by 15 points. We used every tile but one. I guess you have to be a Scrabble fan to appreciate this, but let me tell you, it was a pretty cool way to polish off a great weekend.

Secretary of the Arts

Holy crap it's about damn time somebody did this.

Earlier today, Cory sent me an email with a link to a Petition to President-elect Obama, inspired by Quincy Jones, asking him (President Obama) to create the office of United States Secretary of the Arts.

This wouldn't necessarily have to be a Cabinet-level position, (which at any rate might start a political firestorm in the current climate), but the Secretary should have an active role in policy-making, not be a mere ceremonial figure.

As the email mentions, many other nations have some version of a 'Minister of Art and/or Culture' and have had them, in some cases, for centuries. "Well yeah," one might argue, "but these are other countries: places that consider Arts to be a matter of National Pride."

Well, yeah.

And maybe it's tricky for me to be saying this, since I work in the arts, and this can be seen as self-serving. And maybe it is a little self-serving. But I would add that I (and almost all the people I know who work in the arts) have made all kinds of sacrifices for the privilege. And that in addition to my opinion that art is, you know, important, there's tons of evidence that, in the context of education programs and as a part of daily life, artistic endeavor and interest help build the valuable skills of creativity, interpretation, imagination, discipline and critical thinking. AND - lest we fall prey to the argument that "in a time of such severe economic crisis, war and failing healthcare and educational systems, we cannot allow something as frivilous as the Arts to be treated as a truly high priority" - I would propose a fierce and heartfelt response along the lines of: "Smart and ambitious Art programs actually provide economic stimulus, and can amp up discussions in any number of policy areas. Besides, wouldn't you say that creativity, interpretation, imagination, discipline and critical thinking come in handy when constructing, say, a healthcare initiative?

So, in that spirit, I signed the petition with the following comment to President-elect Obama:

As you help America make its long-awaited and much-needed transition to a new era, please remember the importance of the Arts as building blocks of American Culture and Heritage. And remember the lessons of history: that the Arts can also be useful tools for providing employment, improving education and stimulating the economy. A Secretary of the Arts could play a very useful role to that end.

And for what it's worth I, signatory number 15086, encourage you to consider signing it too.

Choral Chameleon

SO, you know that vocal ensemble Choral Chameleon?

What? You don't? How could this have happened??


Alright, you're off the hook. While they'd been in the works for quite a while, they've only had once concert so far: a Holidayish offering at the Broadway Presbyterian Church in December. I know, I know: this is waaaay behind the times, but - the group will be back, and next time you'll get to be one of those lucky people in the know.

Vince Peterson directs a chorus of about 15 voices. While their Vision Statement (not to be confused with their Mission Statement. They make a lot of statements.) claims that they have assembled irrespective of age, they would appear to be a young bunch. This is not a criticism: without sacrificing professionalism or musicianship, they bring a fresh approach to programming, an adventurous spirit and a palpable (and infectious) enthusiasm to their singing.

They performed music inspired by Medieval Plainchant and music adapted from English folksong; Christmas Carols from American Gospel and African vernacular. They sang the relatively obscure (Joan Szymko's Nada te turbe - at any rate, that was unknown to me, and featured a lovely Cello line), and the all too well-known (White Christmas, Winter Wonderland - though that was in a fun new arrangement by Tony Asaro). Their warm voices blended into a hauntingly beautiful reading of Nurit Hirsch's Bashana Haba'ah. And they did not shy away from the very challenging, handling Poulenc's Quatre Motets pour un temps de Noel with intelligence and finesse.

Sure, there were moments of imprecision. Sometimes I would have liked to hear more power (although to be fair, there are only 15 of them). But what a treat to hear a new ensemble with such imaginative programming and ambitious intent. Keep them on your radar.

And maybe next time they won't let that pipe organ at Broadway Presbyterian loom silent behind them...

Snowflakes

One of the things I do before the big party I throw about this time each year is hang up these snowflakes.



They've been accumulating through the years (lots of years) going back to when I was a sophomore in college. And one of the cool things about having a sleeping loft (there are a few cool things) is that it gives you a snowflake's-level perspective.

Beautiful Girl

Just a quick entry to show a shot of that niece of mine in a better, less trigger-happy light.



I think she's gorgeous. I know she doesn't get the photographic attention here that her little sister does, but - take a look at her! The depth of field is kind of messed up, but I like the way this captures her quiet side.

Many thanks are due here to my sister for the new lense which allows me to catch light like this, so: Thanks Lori!!

Happy New Year Again

The theme of this entry is "Great Ways to Spend New Year's Eve."

For the last bunch of years, I have spent New Year's in one part of New England or another. It's a great tradition, and I love it, as I love the people I visit in Boston, Williamstown, and wherever else I end up visiting. However, this year I stayed in New York to say goodbye to '008 and hello to the New Year. And while I missed those friends that I don't get to see often enough, I had a FANTASTIC time here. Enough so that I'll share with you the headlines as a recipe, in case you're looking for a New Year that is true New York, but that could be approximated just about anywhere.

• We went to see a matinee of Speed the Plow on Broadway (including Norbert Leo Butz in his last-minute fill-in for the thermometric Jeremy Piven) You can't do this everywhere, but I bet there's some kind of live entertainment available wherever you live.
• Went to Gazala Place for a quick snack afterwards - yum!
• Cory had to go back to work, including a stint in Times Square shepherding dance fans through the throng to City Center. This is definitely a New York Only kind of thing, but consider: while there is certainly something very fun and maybe even glamorous about it, it was effin cold out, and it's more work dealing with the cops and the crowds than you want to be doing on NYE.
• While she was doing that, I went shopping for food, booze and movies, then proceeded to prepare dinner.
• When Cory came in from the cold, I greeted her with a cup of Kentucky Chocolate with peppermint marshmallows. Mmmmmmm...
• Then we had dinner - a simplified version of Steak Diane, roast potatoes and sweet potatoes, fresh green salad, pomegranate sorbet with chocolate chips. Rather tasty, if I may say so myself.
• Along with dinner, we had a drink that I thought I didn't like very much, but it turns out I like it very much. Prosecco, in this instance with pureed blackberries. MMMMmmmmmm...
• After dinner we watched Harold and Maude, which if you haven't seen, you should. There's a reason I give it a shoutout in the "description" part of this blog.
• Then we watched the Ball Drop Show on New Year's Rockin' Eve and on CNN, including the getting-on-but-still-kicking Dick Clark, and Anderson Cooper with the spirited (dare I say randy?) Kathy Griffin.
• Midnight Toast with more Prosecco. Eventually we polished the bottle and finished the night not too late, not too drunk - but fizzy and mellow and very happy indeed.

So it was short on insanity, but long on festivity. Couldn't have been happier!

Hope your New Year's Eve was happy as could be too, and that 2009 turns out to be your best year so far!

Happy New Year

Just the quickest entry today to wish a very Happy New Year to all and sundry out there on the internets. To celebrate, here's a shot of my youngest niece Anna on Christmas morning. Little bit of flash-induced red eye and harsh lighting going on, but I think that she and her camera and Hello Kitty still come off as pretty cute.



We worked on that puzzle together until her Grandma and Grandpa came over for the Holiday events. 'Twas fun.

For now - I hope that everyone has a safe and amazingly fun time tonight, and the best 009 imaginable (this is the last year we'll be able to celebrate double-Os for almost a thousand years - make the most of it!!)

Home from the Holidays

Well, I was out in Phoenix visiting the Fam for Xmas - had a great time and took a bunch of photos, including a lot with the new lense my adoring and adorable sister got for me. I'll be posting some of those soon: however, I haven't been able to upload them to this computer yet (and forgot to bring the cable with me today). SO - for now you will have to content yourself with this shot that I'm swiping from said sister's blog. I don't feel the least bit bad about it, because I actually took this one myself, just with her camera.

While we were out shooting bottles with pellet guns in the desert (and you thought my family was boring!) I thought it would be fun to get a shot of my niece Mary in Patty Hearst mode.

Hehehe. Fierce.

Anyway, I had a great time, and it's very good to be back.

And in sad news, Freddie Hubbard died today, only 70. One of the greats, and although he hasn't been all that active the last several years, he'll be missed. Great full life - and if you want to listen to him, WKCR has paused their fantastic and brilliant Bach Festival to have a fantastic and brilliant marathon tribute to Freddie. If you can handle listening to Phil Schaap blather on interminably from time to time (I know, I know - Phil's a legend himself, and one of if not THE most knowledgeable jazz aficionados out there, but: sometimes I just want him to shut up and spin some music), it is most definitely a broadcast worth a listen.

Ave atque vale, Freddie.

Yo La Awesome

Yo La Tengo finally took the stage in a blaze of holiday fury. Well, ok, it was more of a good natured shuffle, including commentary on the Menorah (sitting proudly on the piano) which had the wrong candle lit the night before, according to them. Then as they picked up instruments there was a quip that non-earplug portion of the evening had about 3 minutes to go. Which minutes were spent on a loverly version of The Weakest Part, and then, true to their word they launched loudly into a fiery fast version of Big Day Coming.





That photo looks like total crap, but I actually love it because it represents how impossible it was to capture Ira in action on keys, vocals and maraccas on that song. Total action, as Steve would say.


The show was wholly rocking throughout - vintage YLT, with a Velvet Underground cover (Guess I'm Falling in Love), cashmere "hits" (does Yo La Tengo have "hits"? Anyway, they did Autumn Sweater), relative rarities old (Five Cornered Drone) and new (Watch Out for me Ronnie), and collaborations with their guests.

Gotta love that pink sparkly 12-string, right??

They brought it all home with an orgasmic Story of Yo La Tengo and then brought Stephin back up to do some Irving Berlin (Be Careful, It's My Heart - thank you Yo La Blog)

Then came Super Secret Guest #3: Doug Gillard, of the later years of Death of Samantha and some of the highest peak moments of Guided by Voices. They started with George Gershwin's Foggy Day in London Town - this being Hanukkah, a premium was placed on the Jewish American Songbook, to universal acclaim (the universe for the purposes of this discussion consisting of the collected contents of Maxwell's)



The encore set was low-key amazing - more covers, natch. Culminated in "Next Big Thing" which was a perfect lead in for the Super Secretest Guest of them all...

...Ira's mom, who sang "My Little Corner of the World" Fun was had, tears of joy were shed. My understanding is that she comes to sing this at one show every year, but I've never had the fortune to be there before.

Did someone say Hanukkah Miracle? Remember, we were this close to missing not only this show, but the whole series of benefits at Maxwell's (this is a good place to mention that the worthwhile causes for this night's show were Burma Border Projects, and Burmese Refugee Project) Maybe I need to bring a representative of the 12 Tribes to all their shows...

Their Shirts

Before I go on to describe the amazingness that was the headline act of the Hanukkah shows, I feel a responsibility to report on the garb worn by The Magnetic Fields. Being that I'm a fashion maven these days and all. They all had on shirts with the names of famous Art Film Directors done up in fonts associated with heavy metal bands. To wit, Stephin Merritt wore a cotton shoutout to Werner Fassbinder:

Now, perhaps I shouldn't admit that I've never seen Berlin Alexanderplatz, but I lose no props admitting that I know Metallica lettering when I see it, do I?

The rest of the band was rounded out by homages to Ingmar Bergman (Iron Maiden), De Palma (Def Leppard), and Ozu (Ozzy Osbourne, natch).

'Twas then a bit ironic that it was so wintery, even in the club, that they had to wear said shirts under jackets and over sweatshirts; but wear them they did, and for that they're due Collective Fashion Credit.

A Hanukkah Miracle!

SO - it won't come as a surprise to most of you that I can be, well, kind of dumb sometimes. That came up recently as I made plans to take Cory to the Big Opening Night of Hanukkah concert by one of my fave bands, Hoboken's own Yo La Tengo (I've written about these shows before. In fact, it occurs to me that word for word, this may well be every bit as much a Yo La Tengo blog as a Dylan blog). Rather, I thought I'd made plans to see the show on the first night of Hanukkah - what I'd actually done was buy tickets for the 3rd night of Hanukkah, and then somehow convince my reliably unreliable memory otherwise to the extent that I made other, unchangeable plans for that same night.

D'oh! YLT would have to go...

Or would they? Out of nowhere, Cory came up with a pair of tickets for the 2nd night of the Legendary Yo La Tengo Hanukkah Benefit Shows at Maxwells, 2008 Version. (well, it seemed like it was out of nowhere... On the other hand, Cory is one of the Chosen People. Coincidence? You tell me.)

So we were off to Maxwell's for what promised to be a night of good rockin'.

And, ladies and gentlemen, that's what we got, with a lot more thrown in for good measure.

The opening band was The Magnetic Fields, rock artistes extraordinaire. Literate, textured, adventurous, funny, sexy, savvy, hip: what more do you want from four people wielding a guitar, a piano (a real piano, people!) a cello and a bouzouki. Think Leonard Cohen meets the Moldy Peaches, but better.



Ok, it's true. These photos were taken with my cell phone. SO - they kind of suck. But I didn't want to be lugging a camera around for this: can you blame me?

Anyway, they were a great way to open the evening. Universal rejoicing.

Next was the comedy portion of the evening, brought to us by everyone's favorite PC, Johnathan Hodgman.

Yes, that's a martini in his hand, and I think it's only fair. He was, after all, the evening's resident Lapsed Catholic, and I daresay he needed some fortification. Later on, he rocked the ukelele for the sultry Santa Baby. This after a diatribe on the tawdry sexuality that you perhaps didn't realize lurked within Christmas Carols. Beyond I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, beyond Earth Kitt growling Santa Baby, beyond Christmas is Coming (the goose is getting fat), beyond the Valley of the Dolls, there's the inescapable nastiness of When Santa Got Stuck Up the Chimney.
Or at least that's Johnathan's story, and he's sticking to it.

That's it for the opening act. The main event comes later.

Hooray 21st Amendment!

Did you know that it's Repeal Day? Well, it is.

I recommend you make some kind of toast to it with a friend, or even just someone you meet in a bar.

Coffee Art

In honor of a beverage that I enjoy some version of almost every day, here's a reblog to Christoph Niemann's piece in the Times from a couple days ago. It's fun, includes lots of good images, and can be digested in small doses.



Mmmmmmm... coffee...

I am not one of those people who absolutely cannot start the day without some java , but I do like to drink it. A lot. [Those of you pro-health/anti-joy people out there should know that I usually mix caffeinated and decaf to mollify the negative health effects, although sometimes that just gives me an excuse to have more.] And I am one of those people who has a grinder and four separate ways of making coffee set up in his apartment ready to go at a moment's notice:

• Ye olde coffee maker - Mr. Coffee himself, ol' reliable.
• French Press - gift to myself for my birthday, thanks to a gift card from Lauretta.
• Espresso/Cappucino maker - one of the cheapos, with a not-really-powerful-enough steamer, but it does the trick.
• Manual Drip Funnel - when done right, maybe the best of all. Yum!

So there that is. I will surely get a cup of something good to celebrate this entry.

out of touch...

...Blog-wise. Hey, it happens.


So I've decided to get myself back in the habit a little by entering posts for the next few days in a row if I can manage it. Maybe it'll spur me to write something more substantial, and if not, at least I'm putting something out there while I'm in production week of what may be the most puzzling show I've worked on in many years (maybe since Bits of String, way back when I still lived in Boston).

More on that later. For now, as I finish a rather nice portobello mushroom bisque, I'll show you some shots from this year's T-day in Peterborough, NH (you remember T-day, right?)


First, here's Molly making magic in the kitchen:


That'd be the beginning of her legendary broccoli cheese extravaganza.

Next, here we have Eliza, the lady of the house, wondering what's up with all the people.
She's awfully cool, though. And a couple days after we left, her mom wrote that she kept asking for 'the people'

Speaking of her mom, here's Rebecca, the hostess extraordinaire.

She and Jason couldn't have been more gracious, and her home and hospitality reached great heights.

Here's one of the pie-making part of the party.

Notice there are not one, not two, but FIVE people involved with making crusts and fillings. And this was just one of several sessions. Couldn't resist being what SueBee (naturally) called the Pieparazzi. And, especially for my readers in Beijing, check out the beard that Chris is sporting these days.

Last but not least, here's a shot of the field trip we took to downtown Peterborough, to start up the turkey ovens (we needed three ovens for all the cooking, roasting and baking we did) and get a taste of Our Town today. (Did you know that Grover's Corners was based on Peterborough? Well, it was.)

As if we weren't having enough fun with the tandem stroller, we visited an antique shop, arty places, kitchy places, and Tamiko even picked up a heavy-duty log grabber for her fire pit in Boston. 'Twas a cold and blustery day, but the walk was well worth it.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving, and is enjoying the holiday season.

The Y Words

The premise here is that if you have a blog and leave a comment on this post, I’ll assign you a letter. You take that letter and make a list of 10 things you love that begin with that letter. Then, you pass on the letter love to the bloggers who make comments on your post. (Or, if you don't have a blog, comment or email me and we'll go from there.) It’s creative and social!

I got this from walkalong, and the letter I got is Y.

SOOOOoooooo.... In no particular order:

1) Yo La Tengo -

One of the baddest and bitchinest bands out there. Not surprising that they made the list.

2) Yes - The affirmation, not the band. Not. The. Band. (I mean, Roundabout is ok and everything, but those guys don't get into the top ten.) The idea of saying 'yes' to things though, to diving in with positive energy and enthusiasm: that makes the list.

3) The Yes Men - both the movie and (especially) the performing/activist group.

These are the guys who brought the suit shown above to a meeting of the World Trade Organization and held their attention for an entire presentation. The guys who orchestrated the switching of voice chips between talking G.I. Joe and talking Barbie. During the Holiday Season. Like Improv Everywhere but bolder.

4) You. Yes, you! You know who you are.

5) Yo Yo Ma - Cellist extarordinaire. Great work in many genres.

6) YMCA - The gym, not the song. Not. The. Song. But the Y around the corner has been my gym for years, and while it's no-frills, it's not bad. That's my answer and I'm sticking to it.

7) 92nd Street Y - Cultural center, community center, performance space, important to New York. I've performed there, and I've seen and heard LOTS of good stuff there. Did you know that this is a YMHA, not a YMCA? You probably did.

8) Yoga - Sure, I don't practice as often or as intensely as I could, but I love it nonetheless. My daily practice has slipped to the wayside the last couple weeks. Maybe this list will spur me to get back into that.

9) Y chromosomes - You know, those little microscopic things that pair up with X chromosomes to make a person a boy instead of a girl. I wouldn't say that I prefer Y to X inherently, but let's take this opportunity to celebrate maleness.

10) Yoni - Let's take this opportunity to celebrate femaleness. I think it's fair to acknowledge a love of Yoni. Not all Yonis. And NOT Yanni. But, the idea of Yoni, the right Yoni, the Yoni for me, yeah, we can celebrate that.

This installment has been brought to you by the letter Y.

In Honor of the Rally Against Prop 8

There's a big rally at the Latter Day Saints' Temple in New York today opposing California's horrifically bigoted Proposition 8, which revoked Gay Marriage in that state, along with the other anti-equality ballot initiatives that passed last week. The good news is that it would seem a foregone conclusion that these laws (and all like it) will be struck down by the courts. It seems likely to me that eventually (soon?) the U.S. Supreme Court will hand down a ruling covering the whole nation - similar to the one that revoked all laws banning interracial marriages in 1967.

For now, we have to contend with "religious" groups acting out their sexist fears in appalling ways. Well, I guess we appall each other. Don't mean to offend any Mormons who have seen the light (or what I call the light - you know, that thing that clarifies sight). As for any of the closed-minded ones who happen to be reading this, I'd recommend that you let go of your fear, if you're in the mood to listen to my recommendations.

Quick Notes

Life has been busy for us all, yes? Quick notes for now about some (certainly not all) of the things that have been going on:

• Election Party at Cory's in Chelsea - so much fun, such good company, such an amazing, important night. Missed out on some of the dancing in the streets, but got the benefit of very good food & drink, and more reflective revelry.
• South Park Election Episode - Bwahahahahaaaaaaa!
• (Not) Just a Day like Any Other - New full-length show from the NY Neo Futurists. Caught opening night - very cool workshop production, seeds for future brilliance.
• The Hold Steady at Terminal 5 - Rock and Roll Means Well

SUCH a good band. As Frank put it at dinner before the show (he'd never seen them before) "This band... One of the regrets I have in my life, as I look back and examine what I've done and what I've seen, one of my main regrets is... that I am not in The Hold Steady." And once he got a taste of the ironic jubilance of these guys, he liked them even more. Drive-By Truckers opened: it had been reversed the night before - we totally got the better end of that deal. Not that they were bad - on the contrary, they were fantastic. But The Hold Steady is the band you want sending you off into the night. Thanks to Barry Yanowitz for this photo by the way! If you'd rather I not use it, just let me know and I'll take it down.

more to come... lost the links due to some computer nonsense. I'll fix those up later.

November 4, 2008

It's kind of worn territory to say that this is an historic election. Kind of really well worn. What can I add to the discussion? Report that the lines were longer in Hoboken than they've ever been, in my experience? Old news.

That the people in those lines were friendlier and more cheerful to be waiting than people on almost any line I can remember? (other than maybe the lunatics - including me - who stayed out all night for R.E.M. tickets freshman year, but I think there was vodka involved.) It's all over the radio and the internets.

That I'm happy that my polling place was moved from the firehouse to the retirement home a few years ago, because the line at the firehouse was MUCH longer - like, out the door and around the corner long? [Ok, that one may actually be original - though I should add that the people in that line looked pretty happy too.]

That a friend in Brooklyn reported things like being 33rd in line at a quarter to 6 this morning, and another referred to the crowd at the polls being "a bit of a Bed Stuy street party"? This stuff has been ALL OVER THE MEDIA. Oh, and a Bed Stuy blogger whose work I like a lot had a good post on that scene too. Really like his tag line: "Let's make some goddamned history."

So while the Supreme Court listens to arguements over just what constitutes a dirty word on TV, let's do that, shall we? Let's make history. Go to the polls; cast your vote; listen to 'Yes We Can,' or 'Give Peace a Chance,' or 'Fanfare for the Common Man,' or 'Stars and Stripes Forever' or 'I'm Proud to be an American' or whatever, on your way home; do some door-to-door or make some calls if you can spare the time; then gather with friends and lovers to watch the returns over some patriotic food.

But take it from a Red Sox fan: take it vote by vote. Please consider leaving the Champagne in the fridge until you hear a concession speech.

Crunch Time

Welcome to November. Hope you had a Happy Halloween. If you are running the Marathon, I hope you are doing it swiftly, and with no extreme discomfort.

The Month of Mick is over. Now, it's all about Getting Out the Vote.

Are you ready for Tuesday? Will you vote? No matter how long the line is?

There has been some fun around this election - for instance the young gentleman in Decatur, Georgia who used Halloween to get out the vote.

There has also been some real nastiness. Lots and lots of nastiness. There is almost no end to the nastiness.

And not all of it has to do with the Presidential Election. There are many important State Elections, including the now-famous Proposition 8 in California. Which is essentially a manifesto of intolerance couched in terms of protecting traditional values.




Is it an exaggeration to compare same-sex marriage to interracial marriage? Is it unfair to suggest that the culture war that is fueling the McCain/Nameless campaign - indeed keeping it alive in the face of overwhelming opposition - is couched in racism and fear? (to clarify for those who wonder why I refer to her this way, I refuse to name her until she makes herself available to the media in a serious way. My heart was warmed when I saw that Christopher Hitchens wrote an article to this effect as well.) I don't think so.

But everywhere you look, people are responding to the hate with logic, eloquent rhetoric, tenacity, and positive energy. And also with some silly good humor. Lots of people. Millions and millions of them.

Some in places you wouldn't necessarily think of. Like Nebraska.


Indiana.


And even Arizona, in groups large and small.




Is it a real movement? It has felt like it at times. I hope it is (and those of you who have known me for a long time know that this whole 'support a Democrat who actually has the nomination' thing is kind of a step to the right for me.) Because it's only through real social movement, with follow up that goes way beyond the election that real change actually happens. And there are moments that this feels like that. And the momentum has felt strong. Dizzyingly so at times. Right now in the key 'battleground state' (man, those war images keep popping up) of Pennsylvania, Cory is getting out the vote in Pittsburgh, and will do her lawyer thing to make sure the polls are safe and fair on Tuesday; and JP is in his hometown of Erie, working insanely long hard hours in his unique fashion, and proving essential to the campaign as their resident 'local' - even advising on the location for an important Bill Clinton appearance on Monday.

Please keep your focus, and keep your energy. Take it moment to moment, as the actors say. Keep your eye on the ball, and take it pitch by pitch, as they say in baseball. Drive through to the finish line in your best final kick, as the marathon runners say.

Are you ready for Tuesday? Will you vote? Will you check on your friends to make sure they vote? Will you make a call to your family (or, if you have time, to a whole bunch of people) and find out if they need help getting to the polls, and that they will cast a vote? No matter how long the line is?

Please say yes. And please vote for Barack Obama.