Did ya’ll hear about this?
Tomorrow, from 8-9pm, folks around the world are turning off their lights (“make a statement about global warming,” etc. ).
I’ll be busting out the candles tomorrow night, if anybody wants to join me.
March 2008 Archives
Hi.
I just got back from a roadtrip road trip all down the I-5. It is weird, having anonymity in cities that are hundreds of miles from home; especially when this is contrasted with the fact that the person you’re traveling with knows you better than almost anyone. My head and heart are still somewhere on the road; Bellingham doesn’t feel like home right now.
Part of the reason for this trip was to look at possible future places for me to live (the other part being: looking at grad school possibilities for Marissa). San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland; and now I am more confused and unsure about what I want than I was at the start of the trip. Maybe Anacortes; maybe Vancouver, B.C.
Cory and I saw the Blow on Saturday night. Khaela talked about picking up girls by driving slow in her wagon (because it works for boys- it must- because they keep doing it; that is, leaning out of their cars and hollering as they drive by). She asks, “You wanna get in my car and talk about everything?”
And a girl did.
(I do not know these streets, or these girls- are they in Berkeley? In Portland? Maybe in San Francisco or Seattle, even?)
And they drove around and talked about everything, all night, and afterwards, Khaela dropped the girl off at her house. Then Khaela wrote “Parentheses,” and emailed it to the girl, who took nine days to email her back … and when she did, it was to say, “Sorry, I’m twenty and I have a boyfriend and I just can’t do this right now.”
The Blow will be in Bellingham at the end of April for the B-ham Electronic Arts Festival. Her “oh-ohs” hit me right there, in the chest, and like Plan B says, “It’s Khaela and The Blow’s magic to make everything they do seem as close as a whisper up against the heart’s ear.” Paper Television came out right when I needed a reminder about keeping my heart tender, and Khaela does a really good job of whispering up against my heart’s ear.
If you’re interested, Miranda July did a really fantastic interview in The Believer with Khaela awhile back- it’s about friends who are your touchstones and secret agents and radical lesbo love songs, and you can read it here.
What better way to end an amazing night than watching the critically-acclaimed 2000 release “The Skulls”? Cory & I have a mutual fascination with secret societies & puffy Cheetos; and Cory happens to have this unforgettable gem on VHS. Who’s in it? Why, none other than JOSHUA JACKSON and (OMG, yes!) PAUL WALKER!
This movie is exactly what I hoped for. We started things off with previews for instant classics like “U-571” and “The Flintstones” before getting things started with a tense class confrontation in the dining hall. So this is what the Ivy League is like! Thanks, Universal Studios.
Director Rob Cohen takes us through a super-intense crew race (Pacey’s team wins! Just barely! And after they had to jettison a team member!). Then, we have bonding between Joshua J. (aka “Luke McNamara”) and his African-American roommate/BFF, Will; and his dormmate/major crush, Leslie Bibb.
But Pacey is a totally broke townie! How is he going to come up with the $$$ he needs to go to Harvard Law School? Don’t worry, man- that’s where the Skulls come in! See, it’s a secret society (despite having a clearly-labeled campus location), and its members pay for stuff like that. Then, we get the part where Luke is picked to be in the Skulls; his straight-talking best pal thinks that it’s a betrayal of their friendship and values; and WASP-y Leslie Bibb doesn’t know what to think. (Sidenote: Leslie Bibb wears glasses and paints; this translates to “smart” and “alternative.”) (Also, the university vibe & dorm rooms are totally Harry Potter-does-higher-ed.)
When you join the Skulls, not only do they distribute thousands of dollars into your bank account- oh, no. They also assign you a “soulmate,” with whom you share “complementary characteristics.” Pacey’s life partner is, obviously, the ever-douchey Paul Walker, who is shirtless (no, this does not further the plot whatsoever- it’s just for the 16-yr-olds in the audience- Cory & I can’t fully appreciate this) by his second on-screen appearance. Paul Walker is hellza entitled, classist, & Aryan, and there’s “tension” between him & his dad, the chairman of the Skulls. To cement their membership in the Skulls, and their soulmate status, the newbie Skulls brand each other, on the wrist, with the Skull logo. You know, if you were going to be branded to signify your membership in a secret society, I would pick somewhere a little less obvious- I know it’s cliched, but maybe, like, a buttcheek or something? But it’s cool, because they cover up the brand with a brand-new Rolex. Now no one will guess!
Did I mention the homosocial/homoerotic subtext of the scene where P.W. (aka super-anglo moniker “Caleb Mandrake”- yes, yes) helps Pacey tie his bowtie? Closely mirroring the previous scene of romantic tension between Pacey & Leslie Bibb?
Okay, so now we’re up to date with the liveblog of this kickass Hollywood creation- all the new Skulls are hanging out with the older Skulls at some fancy-schmancy mansion. And not only does the society provide you with cash- no, they also provide you with hot chicks, whose arrival is signaled by a “hard-rock” song by Creed. “Can you take me higher?” Fuck yes, you can.
Whoa, not only chicks, either! Also, sports cars, to be driven down highways as the sun sets!
And now, Luke (Pacey- don’t forget) is ditching crew practice and his friends to do Skulls stuff.
Shit. Caleb Mandrake’s car was broken into! And Pacey’s BFF broke into Skulls HQ to do some investigative journalism, and got caught by Mandrake! Fifty cents say that this is the part where choosing “Skulls over everyone else comes in.” Oh, yep. Fuck. Mandrake has hanged Will (the BFF). God, that’s bad taste. Hang the black kid? Really? They think Pacey did it! The detective (Cory says that he’s a former NFL football player who was on “The Practice”) gets Pacey all riled up. The situation is diffused when the bad guy from “Happy Gilmore” shows up. He must be a Skull, too, because he gets the detective off of Pacey’s case.
(This is getting pretty intense, this whole liveblogging thing, so Cory is helping me out by being my fact-checker through this.)
In Will (aka murdered roommate)’s room, he found some Caleb Mandrake & Skulls-related memorabilia. Apparently Will was doing an expose on the Skulls for the school paper. Cory just informed me that I won’t have to die for her to realize how much she values my friendship; but if that were to happen, maybe it would bring her closer to a hot girl like Leslie Bibb.
Okay, we just had intense hazing-time, in which Pacey & P.W. had to answer questions about each other’s deepest, darkest secrets- “What are you most afraid of,” intense stuff like that. Who knew that Joshua Jackson was such a bad actor? He accuses PW of killing Will, etc. You know. And now- MORE HOMOEROTICISM. Yes! Hot Ivy League white men hanging out in a stone room lit with torches, languorously buttoning up Banana Republic shirts. Wait- I missed something- why were their shirts off to begin with? Oh, they were changing out of their tuxedos, maybe?
Showdown with Mandrake Jr. & Sr.: Will fell off a ledge in Skulls HQ and broke his neck. Mandrake Sr. buys Pacey’s silence with an acceptance to law school & a full-ride. Cory says she can’t believe that I thought the white Cheetos were organic … apparently they’re white cheddar?
Okay, here’s my question about secret societies: who does the cleaning? Do the Skulls induct secret servants to keep their secrets? Everyone knows that’s a risky idea. Do the freshly-hazed Skulls clean the toilets & wait the tables at the banquets? It seems unlikely. YET ANOTHER LOOSE THREAD. Shoot.
Pacey has an ally against the Skulls, though- a drawling Southern senator who wants to help Pacey out. Pacey has enlisted his loser high school friends (who he had mostly ditched) to help him get back at the Skulls, but the plan backfires, and Paul Walker is getting all emotional & oblique with Skulls threats.
Leslie Bibb wears khakis all the time. NOT alternative.
The Skulls think it’s time to kick out Pacey. “He’s lost his loyalty.” They’ve bugged all of his friends. Pacey hangs out with Leslie Bibb in her bathroom, with the shower on, so the Skulls can’t hear their plotting. Of course, this leads to steamy (ha!) make-outs and Leslie Bibb confesses her love. Pacey steals some Skulls surveillance tapes, and runs off with his delinquent townie friends (who wear evil clown Halloween masks to help him? And Leslie Bibb helping, too).
“Paul Walker interprets emotional intensity by yelling.” (Cory)
Pacey has video footage that proves that the Skulls killed Pacey. Paul Walker tells the detective that Pacey did it. Pacey hands the tape over to the detective. The tape doesn’t work; Pacey goes crazy & protests his innocence. Slo-mo do Pacey getting handcuffed, strait-jacketed, sedated, & taken to the secret Skulls hospital for “psychiatric evaluation.”
SECRET SOCIETIES AND INSANE ASYLUMS = CINEMATIC GOLD.
Paul Walker is shirtless again. Leslie Bibb tries to appeal to his sense of humanity; she knows he didn’t kill Pacey’s roomie (learned it from the tape). But the Skulls are after her now! She’s a clever lady, though. She turns her senior-projects paint-machine against the Skulls, and escapes through the dorm dumwaiter! The senator comes to rescue her in his Beemer, and takes her to see Luke in the asylum. He’s hellza drugged up, and the head of the hospital glares disapprovingly. Senator gets ‘em in a car, makes ‘em think they’re okay, then calls someone. Skulls car tries to shove them off the road during their escape; Pacey’s GF shows off her mad stunt-driving skills.
God, how long is this movie?
The detective saves the day! He takes out the evil golfer from the Billy Madison! Then he sends the renegades on their way, with mysterious words of guidance. He’s the anti-Skulls! Like, the good pirates, to the Skulls bad pirates! I wish “Skulls” in this movie was spelled with a ‘z’ at the end. SKULLZ.
Emotionally tense time in shitty hotel room! Puzzling out the ways of the Skulls! Leslie Bibb says, “Ch’mon baby, I just wanna be with you!”
Pacey arrives at the Skulls summer home and quotes the rulebook! “That’s Rule 119, Chairman.”
Oh shit, son! Joshua Jackson has challenged Paul Walker to a duel! (This doesn’t really make sense, even to my fact-checker, but we’ll just go with it.) And P.W. is, in the words of his father, “a crack-shot!” Pacey doesn’t stand a chance!
One of the soulmates will have to die. Cory think that this is a statement on the institution of marriage, but I think that’s kind of a stretch.
Which late-‘90’s teen-heartthrob will it be? Paul Walker has to choose between his dad and his soulmate … and he picks his soulmate! Shoots his dad, then goes to kill himself, but Pacey tackles him, just in time. Now THAT is real.
The lesson Pacey has learned, the one that will roommate told him at the beginning: “If it’s secret, and if it’s elite, it can’t be good.” And then he walks away, from a life of privilege, and we see him kayaking into the sunset. Kissing Leslie Bibb under a lighthouse, because they’ve been through a lot together now.
And that, my friends, was LIVEBLOG: THE SKULLS. No problem.
So, if you’re super-stoked on that experience, you can check out both SKULLZ II and SKULLZ III! And if you want to find out what you’re pledge name is, then theskulls.net can fill all of those needs.
Oh, jeeze! Tonight: The Blow (provided we can get tickets); tomorrow, Easter mass & brunch with extended fam; and then?
ROAD-TRIP with one of my #1 ladies to go see one of my other #1 ladies. San Francisco, Berkeley, Portland (in that order). Back on Friday.
The plumber forgot his heavy-duty flashlight here when he came to fix our toilet yesterday- NO MORE PEEING IN THE BACKYARD!
Light snow/cherry trees flower/happy equinox/this has been a busy week.
Spring break ‘08. Hellz yeah.
Unexpectedly, the New York Times ran a piece this weekend on transmen and genderqueer folks (at East Coast women’s colleges).
That confers legitimacy, in a sense. Think of all the people who read the NY Times- my parents, for example. To have gender variety represented in a non-sensationalistic way, in mainstream national news media, is pretty awesome, especially when it’s representing transmen. Biological men who take on femininity is old news- see: Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot; Christine Jorgenson; Transamerica. But it’s so much rarer to see people in the media who were born female and identify as male and/or masculine, and rarer still to see them portrayed as real people.
You can read the article here.
In related news: I wrote my final paper for my “seminar in sociocultural and legal issues in education” class. In which I tackled the heterosexism of the class materials (and, by extension, the program as a whole). In which I eviscerated the rhetoric of difference used in the classroom texts to describe queer folks , and the lack of support schools provide for queer students and educators. In which I indicted the teacher education program for contributing, unintentionally, to the continued silencing and marginalization of queer folks, people of color, and other oppressed groups in public education/our community/our culture.
It was pretty sweet. I’m turning it in/presenting to the class in one hour … which will be exciting.
Part 2 in my two-part series Fast Weaponss mix-tape series: NY NO-WAVE
No-wave has become a (relatively) recognizable genre, post-punk revival, etc, etc. Whatever. Others have said it better & more knowledgeably than me.
In Brace Paine’s words, no-wave was/is
a neopunk/anti-rock music scene that existed all to shortly in mostly downtown NYC 1979. From this scene rose greats like SONIC YOUTH,GLENN BRANCA,MARS,LYDIA LUNCH,etc…
Dissonant, skronky, abrasive, and occasionally designed for dancing. Or, at least, contorting.
Here’s what I’ve got:
BUSH TETRAS - creeps
This song will eviscerate your resistance to dance. The best part about this video is how downtown NYC 1982 apparently = Brace Paine 2008.
[youtube Qmn-P4qbIwo]
SUICIDE - ghost rider
[youtube 7WqOMPakGCg]
TEENAGE JESUS AND THE JERKS - orphans
lydia lunch in her early days.
[youtube JvVC-OeG-ro]
ESG - moody
The Scroggins make jams that sound like they were beamed to Earth from grooving android futurists.
[youtube A6fS5rr9eFM]
SONIC YOUTH - shaking hell
The kids were barely out of art school when they first recorded this one.
[youtube DhSjbCva8Oo]
CONTORTIONS - contort yourself
Whether performing as James Chance and the Contortions, James White and the Blacks, or by his birth name, James Siegfried, this Contortions song has become one of the most recognizable representatives of NYC’s early no-wave scene … despite this, there aren’t really any decent versions of it on youtube, unfortunately.
[youtube DUe_pyb1GT8]
YES-WAVE.
As usual, I was running late this morning; actually, I was timely, until I had to fiddle with my bike chain for a few minutes, which caused me to miss my bus to
This, in turn, resulted in me being witness to a truck hitting a bike at the intersection of State and Magnolia. The girl on the bike was flying alongside me down
I asked the biker girl if she was okay; she looked shaken, but said she was fine, as she tried to straighten out her panniers next to the Herald building. She said, “The light was still green when I started to cross the street!” But it wasn’t; and although it shook me up and I worried about her (because people on bikes are so fragile when compared to people in cars), I was also frustrated- these are the folks who are spoken of when people complain about “reckless cyclists.” Not that I am always safe; I have definitely had my share of close calls/ridden on sidewalks/bent traffic laws for my convenience. But.
When you are witness to an accident like this, are you supposed to stop and give anyone your contact info or anything? I don’t know what the rules of etiquette or laws in this sort of situation, and I feel like I probably ought to be more familiar with them.
On Thursday, I was roommate-birthday-present-shopping at Village Books, and (of course) ended up in the cookbook section. I did not plan to buy anything (I promise!): I already have so many cookbooks that sit on my shelf and mostly go unused. But I saw that they had THE VEGANOMICON- and although I am not vegan (though most of the food I cook is vegan by default)- how could I resist the most brilliantly-titled cookbook I have yet encountered?
After reading Maria’s Moosewood praises on her cooking blog, I almost considered that one; but I didn’t like the fonts, there weren’t enough pictures, and anyway, I was sold on THE VEGANOMICON when I opened it to the page where it talked about different ways to prepare leeks, from the washing to baking to grilling. Not enough “specialty” cookbooks include these sorts of basics, and for someone like me (who is mostly self-taught when it comes to cooking, and still occasionally has to call Dad or sister for explication on terms like “reduction” and even “blanching”), it’s very helpful to have basic instructions and definition of terms.
I made a curry on Friday that was loosely based on a red lentil and cauliflower curry in the ‘Nomicon. I say “loosely” because I didn’t have red lentils; I thought I at least had green lentils in the pantry, but apparently I was mistaken on that account. So, as usual, my curry became a “clean-out-the-vegetable-drawer-in-the-fridge” sort of affair (which, let’s be honest, are the usual circumstances under which I make curry). Some people make meatloaf with their leftovers; I make curry.
Unsurprisingly, given these conditions, my curry was less than satisfactory- not enough flavor, not enough yams (which improve any soup or curry, but which the Hedge House kitchen was lacking when I embarked upon my cookery), and a questionable assortment of cauliflower, jalapenos, eggplant, apples, potatoes, raisins, and lemongrass. No wonder it wasn’t my best.
But I promise that I will experiment with some Veganomicon recipes soon, and with more attention to the actual recipe, and report on the results, since this cookbook (and the Post-Punk Kitchen ladies in general) have been getting a lot of positive attention on the cooking blogs I read.
[A confession- this was written more in an attempt to unstop my recent blog writer’s block than anything else.]
Finally: the GIRLS ROCK! movie is playing right now in
I think that GIRLS ROCK! is going to be like that night at the Ground Zero, but in film-form. I can’t wait.
[youtube Dbx5PM8jH3w]
Remember those things your teachers used to make you do in health class? Like, keep track of how many hours of tv you watch, or what foods you’re eating, over the course of a week?
If I had to do something like this on my internet usage, I would be in the same boat as those kids in class whose parents let them watch 90210 in elementary school.
And that is the story of how I read all of the archived Dykes to Watch Out For strips in a single weekend.
Electrelane is on fucking “indefinite hiatus.” (They announced it in December, but I only just caught on.)
I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO SASQUATCH LAST YEAR JUST SO I COULD SEE THEM.
Ten years together (and I only caught on in time for the last two)!
I would like to be/do Emma Gaze. One or the other.
[youtube a9bc9Ivrj2E]
When I was in high school, I was a member of the Brace Paine’s FAST WEAPONSS mixtape club. For $3, I received:
NIGHT TAPE MIXXTAPE #001: this tape consists of mostly rare/out of print girl artpunk bands from the UK era 1979-1981. This tape compiles some killer traxx from FUZZBOX, DANNY AND THE DRESSMAKERS, FAMILY FODDER, DELTA 5 … lots lots more… 60 minutes of pure dance party punk action…
When it came in the mail, I couldn’t even handle it. This was the weirdest, most transgressive shit I had ever heard at age seventeen. So messy, so dissonant, so female- shrieks and thuds and rage and desire and a beat you could dance to (if you could actually dig it out).
My epiphany wasn’t with Bikini Kill, or even Sleater-Kinney- it was driving in my parents’ car, making prom plans with my friends and making visceral connection with the Au Pairs.
It was impossible to find, at first- just passing references on listserves that Google sent me to. A deep, powerful secret that was only understand by me & my sister, as post-punk reissues were just beginning.
I was reminded, in conversation today, of a song I hadn’t listened to in years; first, just a line, followed by melody, followed by a ghost of context. Too lazy to dig around in my room for the tape or album, I looked for it online, and found it, no problem! I looked around a little more, and I found a lot of the songs from that UK girl artpunk tape- so here are my findings … pure dance party punk action.
MALARIA! - kaltes klares wasser
This song was covered, a few years ago, by Chicks on Speed; it’s a hot and fucked-up version, but the original is … menacing/mechanical/phenomenonal.
[youtube 379KlQZ3fBM]
SHOP ASSISTANTS - i don’t wanna be friends with you
A 1986 release- the chorus of this song is what triggered this whole reminiscence. In the same category as “You,” by Delta 5, and the Slits’ “Ping Pong Affair.”
[youtube WIaI4F-tGJ0]
FAMILY FODDER - “debbie harry”
I can’t get enough of this song- it gets more incredible every time I hear it. Dominique Levillain proves that Debbie Harry was a sex symbol for more than just boys; and her matter-of-fact genderfuck makes this one of the most charming & subversive songs I’ve ever heard.
[youtube C2WIHjVH1BA]
DELTA 5 - “mind yr own business”
This is the song that I always fast-forwarded to. ALWAYS. Unbeatable.
[youtube YFPm5JdVbIw]
YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS - “credit in the straight world”
Minimalist. It gets under your skin and sticks.
[youtube 82Pa7uf3-8w]
FUZZBOX - “rules & regulations”
One last one (which reached #41 on the UK charts in 1986):
[youtube RkOj282VD-Q]
RIYD: Prag Vec, Rubella Ballet, Modettes, Essential Logic, Slits, Pop Group
