the married priests' rebellion

Hi. Here's an interesting story that I came across earlier today.

P.S. Diana's little video post below is absolute entertainment to the maximum.

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/catholic-fights-to-have-church-lift/20061126104309990001

Vigil for a Filipina Woman raped

Today the Gabriela Network is holding a vigil for "Nicole," a filipina woman who was gang raped by 6 U.S. servicemen outside of a club in Subic Bay, Olongapo City. (a former U.S. naval base site)

check out more info at this site:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/11/23/18332560.php

-maddy

Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre

This is a bit ambigious at the fault of my poor memory but, here goes:

The UCB theatre is an improv comedy club by night, comedian school by day. It's a small little venue in Hollywood and was started by a couple of amateurs seeking out a dream. One of the founders (I believe his name was Matt, but for the sake of clarity, I will just call him Matt for now), still performs occasionally. I actually saw him perform last summer without a script and without a plan except for his pessimistic, average joe attitude and "dirty" jokes (and I mean literally dirty, not obscene dirty). To this day, the theatre has strived to offer affordable, QUALITY improv shows for all ages. So none of that $30 bucks a show deal at Irvine Spectrum. For the bathroom humor-types, there are midnight shows offering vulgar topics attempting to rise to "high humor" however.

Nonetheless, the venue is small and and a find. I think this guy Matt would be interesting to interview because of his founding of the "poor man's improv" and amateur comedy. During his hour-long soliloquoy, Matt shared a little too much of his life story. He pretty much hates his kids, loves being unclean, and just "does" comedy.


For some cheap laughs visit: http://www.ucbtheatre.com/la/


- Janelle

Red Meat Links to Breast Cancer

"The latest issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine reports that eating more red meat appears to be associated with a higher risk of hormone receptor-positive breast cancers. The researchers said the association was only apparent in pre-menopausal women," says women's health website Aphrodite.

Providing another reason to be vegetarian, this study involved 90,000 pre-menopausal women without cancer over a course of 14 years. Those who ate more than one and a half servings of red meat per day had double the risk than women who did not. The researchers claim that the type of iron contained in red meat may "enhance tumor formation". They also claim that these studies have the POTENTIAL to be useful in preventing breast cancer and insist on further evaluation.

For more info and a more in depth article, please see: http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20061015022241_health_news.shtml

- Janelle

Donald Crowdis: Oldest Blogger in the World??

At 92 years old, Donald Crowdis could be the oldest blogger in the world. Originally a television host for Canadian show The Nature of Things, he's been on the blogger since July 2006. He titles his blog site: Don to Earth, A Nonagenarian (90+) Ponders Life, the Universe, and Aging. The name pretty much says it all. And no, he does not preach like old people typically tend to do. Donald actually has something interesting to say and he says it with as much wit and intelligence as a 30-year-old.

http://dontoearth.blogspot.com/


- Janelle

--found this
di

Venezuela Halts Issuing Visas to Israelis

It is ridiculous that Venezuela has ceased issuing tourist visas to Israelis, because Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's is against the occupation regime.
Chavez recalled his top diplomat in Israel to protest the "genocide Israel was committing in Lebanon" during the occupation regime's 34-day invasion of Lebanon.
He also referred to the occupation regime's military offensive in Lebanon as a "new Holocaust". No tourist visa had been issued since two and half months ago. I believe that this so called genocide is not a victory for Israel, nor Lebanon.

for more info visit: www.alalam.ir/English/en-newspage.asp?newsid=018030120061023212018

-maddy

Red Stamp: Creating Godless Money

Atheists all over the nation can rejoice in spending nothing but "godless" money. For the last ten years, an atheist man named Mitchell Kahle has been spending nothing but godless money. He stamps out or inks out the word God in "In God We Trust" with red ink. Under the United States Code, Title 18, Part I, Ch. 17 Coins and Currency, it is legal. In an effort to "fight back", he insists on spending godless money for all. Soon enough, all currency will be inked!

http://www.lava.net/~hcssc/godlessmoney.html

-Janelle

Nazi Stolen Art

Germany Government has called a crisis meeting today about how to deal with art that was sold by, or confiscated from, Jews under the Nazis, due to the controversy over paintings restored to their original families only to be auctioned for vast sums abroad. The Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has summoned culture ministers and museum directors to discuss an overhaul of the restitution law, which critics say is stripping museums of important works. Under the restitution law, paintings and sculptures that were parted with under duress must be returned to their owners or their heirs. But a heated debate over the way the law is operating was fueled last week by two dramatic developments: the sale of an important expressionist work for a record price in New York, and an attempt through the courts to block the auction of a Picasso, owned by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation. Private collectors who spend millions on art are buying out museums' artworks like those of Picasso and Gustav Klimt, for their personal galleries. Many art lovers are complaining now that the artwork is no longer available for public view and this commercial trade is taking away from the German heritage. "Berlin Street Scene" by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, was auctioned by Christie's for $US38 million ($49 million), just months after it was removed from a Berlin museum and returned to a granddaughter of its original Jewish owners - Anita Halpin, chairman of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Through the auction house she sold it to Ron Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics empire, who intends to display the painting at his Neue Gallery in New York.

-Maddy

P.S. Sorry this is so late, was out of town.

Jarhead Red Wine

A red wine made by the marines and for the marines. It was founded by Adam Firestone and Ruben Dominguez for the 1999 USMC Scolarship Foundation Birthday Ball in L.A. but it was only ereleased for sale last year. The two winegrowers were actually redeployed to California to conduct vineyard operations under new MOS's (Marine Operations Speciality). "Make wine, not war." An interesting way to serve the marines.



- Janelle

Alibi Network

A professional corporation committed to providing customers with a variety of alibi services! I didn't think something like this actually existed but apparently it does. A few examples include phone calls appearing from another city, phony jobs complete with business cards and phone numbers, etc., and even professional actors. Prices vary anywhere from $35 for an email to permanent alibis at $90 a month. Everything is conducted legally of course, but morally, I don't know.
For the ultimate alibi:

- Janelle

Peace Through Pork

Another wrist band craze!

Well, I ran into this one..
peacethroughpork.com

A random, pro-pork, B.S. fraternity. They literally pass out bacon!!
Their "Drunken Frat Boy Explanation of Peache Through Pork Agenda"
1. Bacon is really tasty
2. People that don't eat bacon obviously have issues.

Yeah, I don't think it's worth checking out the site unless you want to laugh.

JANELLE

Peace Through Pork

Another wrist band craze!

Well, I ran into this one..
peacethroughpork.com

A random, pro-pork, B.S. fraternity. They literally pass out bacon!!
Their "Drunken Frat Boy Explanation of Peache Through Pork Agenda"
1. Bacon is really tasty
2. People that don't eat bacon obviously have issues.

Yeah, I don't think it's worth checking out the site unless you want to laugh.

JANELLE

some pictures of a "communized" New York Dolls...

Before


After
After

New York Dolls and Communism...

Hey guys, just a short blirb I found about that band I was talking about last week.

excerpt from http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,1225832,00.html:

As soon as the new store was complete, I decided to set sail for the US, to engage, belong, harness, dominate and ultimately, I thought, control the New York Dolls. I decided to make them look not like girls, but worse, like Communist dolls. Red, patent leather Communist dolls. I had a fondness for all that Chinese stuff. Drugs and alcohol had seeped into their lifestyle and they were already past their shelf life. The music industry paid no attention to anyone who liked the New York Dolls, dismissing them mistakenly as homosexuals. It now continued to deteriorate even further.

The Vietnam war was just about to end and for me, red was the colour and I thought it needed to be their colour. Their lyrics, I felt, should have the word "red" in them at least six times. I wanted a chance to have just one affair, one moment, and persuaded them to let me make a show. I found a venue, hung a lipstick logo'd flag outside, and designed a backdrop - a banner with a hammer and sickle on stage. I wrote a press release - a manifesto of sorts that declared the politics of boredom: "Better red than dead". The Dolls came on stage soaked in a ray of red light. David waved Chairman Mao's Little Red Book. Everyone drank red-coloured cocktails and sat on red upholstered chairs.

The critics railed against me: "He's a communist! I know, the NME in London told me." To David Johansen: "What is all this communist shit?" David laughed but got scared and disappeared into the toilets. Backstage, Lenny Kaye - another journalist - and later a member of Patti Smith's group went to Johnny Thunders and asked him the same question. Much to my delight, Thunders said, "What's it to ya?" Johnny had the attitude. Now it was just a question of getting everybody into the same boat. I convinced the group to leave for Florida.

In the article, Malcolm Mclaren (former manager of the band) briefly talks about why symbols such as sex, music, celebrity, and; most relevantly, communism become "fetishsized" by youth. In the case of communist commodification, it is essentially part of consumerism executed with the intent to shock and confront. In the above excerpt, Mclaren says that he made the band, who were originally controversial because they dressed like girls, worse. He made them communists. There's that confrontation and shock that comes along with the commodification of communism. Although quite creepy and not really useable as any real source of information, this site has a similar idea regarding consumerism:
http://www.che-lives.com/home/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=159

I'm not sure how i'm going to approach this idea yet. I do know that I want to do something about Mclaren's ideas regarding why he turned the New York Dolls into communist images. However, I'm not sure if I want to go into that further or try to blend that story with the commodification of communism itself. However, I have found an email address that I could hopefully use to get in contact with Malcolm Mclaren in England and plan to email it soon with relevant questions. If I do get a response and am able to get answers from him, then I will hopefully be able to determine where I could go with the idea. Ok that's all for now.

-Jeggi

Remember the movie “V for Vendetta”?

Well, people in San Francisco definitely remember. In fact today (November 5, 2006) at Ocean Beach, they will be holding a bonfire night, similar to how the British celebrate Bonfire Night, which has been a huge holiday since 1605. This annual celebration also signifies the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. This was a group of Catholic conspirators led by Robert Catesby and Guy Fawkes, who attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in Westminster on Nov. 5 1605 (at the time protestant King James I was present inside). This celebration includes fireworks and bonfires, where “guys” or dummies that represent Guy Fawkes are burned, followed by children chanting “penny for the guy” as they use the dummies to beg for money. I find it funny that the San Francisco Independent Media Center advertises this along with what to bring: blankets, clean wood, beverages, and yourself. I would like to go…

"Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November, The Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason, The Gunpowder Treason, Should ever be forgot."

Harry and the Hendersons...

This post isn't going to be super long due to a severe essay procrastinating situation that I have found myself in. However, I just ran into this article this weekend about this professor of anatomy at Idaho State University named Jeffrey Meldrum. He is one of the foremost scientific believers of the existence of Bigfoot (aka Sasquatch). About 10 years ago, he discovered a set of footprints in the Umatilla National Forest in Walla Walla, Washington. Upon further examination of the footprints, he determined that the physical characteristics of it were actually credible (essentially, it is possible that the footprints are real as opposed to the product of a hoax). Since then, he has conducted exhaustive research, using a 30,000 dollar grant from a fellow Bigfoot believer, towards uncovering the existence of this North American myth. However, the fact that his research is being treated so seriously by Idaho State University (Meldrum was the keynote speaker at a Bigfoot symposium recently held at Idaho State) has received criticism from fellow scientists at the school. Many of them cannot believe that his research of such an unrealistic subject is being treated as an accepted scientific endeavour. Thus, many of his colleagues have isolated him from them and appealed to have his research reviewed and tenure revoked.

here's a link to the story:
http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/news/story.jsp?floc=ne-main-9-l8&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20061104%2F0526369624.htm&sc=1501

and a more technical link regarding his research:
http://www.isu.edu/~meldd/fxnlmorph.html

Personally, I think it is quite a shame that he cannot continue his research. Despite the lack of any real benefits from his studies, I think that he should be allowed to explore something that no one really knows a lot about. It is the purpose of science isn't it? I mean, the only real problem would be the actual purpose and ultimate gains of his studies. However, just because he's looking into something that used to be reserved for sci-fi channel specials shouldn't be means to end the guy's tenure. It's science and the boundaries should be endless! haha. Anyways, yea i've always been fascinated with Bigfoot since my youth soooo that's why I was interested in this. Ok byeeeee

-Jeggi

Banksy

r

So I ran into a book on graffiti artwork by Bansky. I believe he was actually quoted in the book; it's pretty interesting. Anyway, Bansky (nickname of course) is this graffiti artist that tags around the world! But his artwork is not the typically gang sign or anything like that. I actually really like his stuff. Most of his work I noticed involved rats and his sardonic sense of humor. I really wish I knew how to post pictures so you can instantly see some of the stuff he's done. Bansky, who probably could have been a "legitimate" artist chose buildings, streets, etc. as his medium because that is, according to him, where real art should be: free and visible to all people. Most of his artwork is pre-made and stenciled before actually applied onto different surfaces. He also does "sculptures" with orange cones and such. He's got a sense of humor and talent. But still, police are after him! People have different reactions toward him; some love him, some hate him, but nonetheless, his artwork is noticed.

CHECK IT OUT!!!
www.banksy.co.uk/

- JANELLE

Tar and Feather

Underground Economy

Off the Books: Underground Economy of the Urban Poor is a book by Sudhir Alladi Venkatesh basically studying the underground economy. I don't think there's an absolutely accurate estimate of the underground economy. But, according to this site, about $500 billion dollars in income fail to be reported every year. Another more used and preferred exchange method involve cell phones, microwaves, furniture, IOUs, etc. One "underground" seller in Chicago actually got these products and sold them.

http://boingboing.net/

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0674023552/downandoutint-20

-JANELLE