Weekend Recap
9/29/2005
Well, our last gig was cancelled at the last minute due to rain. One of our guitarists has a $5,000 instrument, and the wood finish is getting a little thin due to age. He was worried about moisture seeping into the wood. Also, because my hand drum has a goatskin head (in other words, not waterproof), the moisture in the air flattens the sound. So we all decided to go back to the campsite instead. SOMEBODY cracked open a bottle of Gin. Meanwhile, the little 'oklahoma blues shuffle' band kept on playin' in the rain, and I felt sorry for all that hardware because nothing was covered!
We drove back to Tulsa (an hour drive), and everyone but Gypsy (who was driving) was slightly intoxicated. So we grooved to music on the way back - with Novachild playing DJ on the car stereo.
Landed the car at Seeker's Art Gallery to discover that they were having a huge party. It was their last night with the doors open. So we all got out our instruments and played our set as a farewell to our favorite local art gallery. There were at most 30 people in the building, but we were a big hit.
We have a paying gig on October 8. More details as I get them.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Thursday, September 29, 2005,
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Donohue on O'Reilly
9/23/2005
Read this transcript.
I watched it last night quite by accident, flipping through the channels. I thought these two mad irishmen were going to tear each others' throats out, but they skated right to the edge of reasonable decency without exploding, though Donohue masterfully kept O'Reilly in a perpetual defense. How often does that happen? (can we say NEVER!).
I am suddenly in love with the idea that Phil Donohue shoud run for President. But don't tell my good friend Timbre'Wolf. Maybe TWolf can pick Phil to be his running mate?
posted by Edward Svengali @ Friday, September 23, 2005,
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New Review Journal
9/22/2005
I've decided, quite out of the blue, to start posting my TV/Movie reviews on a different journal. This will help with the organization of novachild.com content. Visitors who don't give a crap about political, music and personal posts won't have to wade through the BS to get to the stuff they want to read.
Of course, considering how busy we've been getting, posts will probably be slow on the review site. Will probably start off by carrying over existing reviews and revising them if and when necessary.
Check it out: http://reviews.novachild.com/
posted by Edward Svengali @ Thursday, September 22, 2005,
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Crumbling Dreams
9/21/2005
No, this isn't the result of Hurricane Katrina. This is a pile of rotting remains left over from Heritage USA, the religious-themed park/resort built by Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker back in the '80s (with great, albeit temporary, success). I wish to praise the nameless photojournalist at illicitohio.com for providing this second look at a fuzzy memory of my childhood. Check out this amazing, sad, pitiful journey into modern-day Heritage USA and touch base with another slice of my past.I'm not exactly proud to have visited the headquarters of PTL (Praise The Lord) Ministries.
According to Frances FitzGerald in an April 1987 New Yorker article, "They [the Bakkers] epitomized the excesses of the 1980s;the greed, the love of glitz, and the shamelessness;which in their case was so pure as to almost amount to a kind of innocence." (wikipedia article)I was mostly oblivious to the corruption and greed at the time. I was just a kid, and I don't think ANYONE had a clue as to the fate of Jim Bakker back then.
Like many other evangelical kids of the '80s, I was dragged along by my parents to Heritage USA with promises of a good time. The christian-themed resort/theme park built mostly on donations to PTL, Jim Bakker's "ministry," was a great attraction for happy, white families that could afford to go, as well as unhappy, poor folk who really couldn't afford to go but probably felt the need to take 'a pilgrimage' of sorts. My parents were terribly excited about it, that's for sure, and they wanted my sister and I to be equally excited. And we were - at least on the ride up to the resort - anticipating great fun and wonderful adventures!
However, when we arrived, I remember being terribly unimpressed with the park. I was too young to enjoy watching sexy, bikini-clad girls by the poolside - and too old to be thrilled by miniature train rides. The water park wasn't built yet, so the only 'fun' to be had was the multiple olympic-sized pools scattered around the resort. They had the 24-hour prayer room, the ampitheater, and the main offices, but little more than that.
The religious veneer of Bakker's resort didn't phase me. I was 8 years old, caught up in thoughts of Star Wars, He-Man, Transformers, riding my bike at the 'snake track' (a home made dirt bike track by our neighborhood), and playing with my friends in the thicket behind our house in Ladson, SC. (as well as sneaking midnight movies on cable TV). Spiritual pursuits didn't impress me then - unless of course I was on the receiving end of an unhealthy dose of praise for reciting a bible verse or raising my hands during worship service.
Reviewing the photos of Heritage as it stands today is a rare treat. In some twisted way, I can empathize with Jim Bakker's sad, unfortunate life. The photos of abandoned buildings damaged by hurricanes, weathered by time, and taken over by weeds provide an amazing metaphor for my perspective of Evangelical Christianity (as well as any 'religion' that promises great material wealth for your sacrifices).
Some day only buildings will remain, and the Christian Rock Music, Christian Clothes, Christian Dating Clubs, Christian Resorts, Christian this and Christian that will all be in a pile like the photo above. All of the materialistic crap that Evangelical Christianity promises will someday be worthless garbage in empty fields, and the human race will have left yet another quiry, silly series of relics to sift through by future men trying to touch base with the past.
How surreal is that?
UPDATE: Jim Bakker's back - The man Jerry Falwell himself once called "the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in two thousand years of church history," is back in the saddle again. After spending several years in prison on charges of fraud, tax evasion and racketeering, he was released and begun a career writing Christian books. Recently, however, he has revived his career as a minister in Branson, Missouri!
One vacation weekend back in 2003, I saw an advert for his new show on a large billboard on our way to Silver Dollar City. I almost ran off the road because I just couldn't contain my laughter. I don't know the man personally, but it seems a little odd (and tacky) that ex-con Jimmy Bakker and his ex-drug-abuser new wife could be taken seriously as a 'ministry team' by anyone. But, as they say, the Lord works in mysterious ways.
And if you donate $200 to Jim Bakker Ministries, you can get this really cool Sword of the Apocalypse to smite the Lord's enemies! See Jim holding it here! Wowie Zowie!
Buy The Eyes of Tammy Faye on Amazon.com
Buy Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker (1980) on Amazon.com
posted by Edward Svengali @ Wednesday, September 21, 2005,
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LIVE! PG5YP! Sept. 24
9/20/2005
BLUE NOTE ROUNDUP
Hanging Rock Camp
7453 Highway 10
Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74464
7453 Highway 10
Tahlequah, Oklahoma 74464
14 miles North of Tahlequah on Hwy 10
3 miles east of Tahlequah on hwy 62 to Hwy 10
North 14 miles to Hanging Rock (on left)
The band will be performing 6-8 pm, Saturday, Sept. 24.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Tuesday, September 20, 2005,
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AntiWar Fair in OKC
The People's Glorious 5-Year Plan is playing a Music Festival on Saturday, September 24. Somewhere in Tahlequah (more info when I receive it. We really should be here as well: AntiWar Fair - OKC. Unfortunately, we can't be in two places at once.
No word as to whether Munchkin/Movie will be held Saturday Night at The Battlefield. If we can make it back in time and we're not utterly exhausted, I think it will happen. But until I know more about the scheduling of the live performance, I won't be able to make a decision either way.
On a more definite note, Novachild will be purchasing a pair of JBL dual-15" 2-Way speakers today for the band. Of course, this means that we will all be very hungry until more money develops, but at least we will have a pair of very nice, professional speakers. And hopefully the rest of the PA will come along smoothly for our Oct. 8 performance.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Tuesday, September 20, 2005,
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Under God
9/15/2005
My wife and I went out on a refreshing dinner date last night, then we hung out in the car and talked for what seemed like hours. From the safety of the car, we watched the lightning roll across the sky in slow, hopping movements. It was a spectacular show, and we didn't have to go anywhere to see it (or pay 8 bucks a pop).
I'm only passively reading the news this week. My 'news addiction' has only been affirming what I already knew before, that the world is completely fucked and changes are too slow to register on any scale.
However, this article put a smile on my face: Pledge in schools ruled unconstitutional. I can imagine a legion of offended jackasses flapping their lips in loud protest all across the country. Oh My! What an outrage! God will punish us all! Oooh!
I was the boy in High School that refused to stand for the pledge. I wasn't the only one. It was a form of protest, not because I don't love my country, but because I felt it unnecessary to constantly reaffirm a pledge until it becomes mindless, droning nonsense. I also felt that the government was far too oppressive and manipulative, weaving its little 'moral' fingers into everybody's lives. Getting at them through every angle. Twisting public opinion and personal needs and self-image.
Why should I drone a pledge to an entity that has failed to serve its masters?
"Under God."
I am an AV geek, so I've watched a number of educational films from the late '40s and early '50s. Believe it or not, early patriotic films featuring the Pledge of Allegiance did not contain the magic words "Under God," and this may surprise some readers.
Here's the history lesson: In 1954, Congress, in its laughable attempts to combat 'atheistic communism' at every possible angle, inserted the famously controversial words 'Under God' into the Pledge of Allegiance to season our patriotism with a subtle religious tone. From that day on, clueless schoolchildren across the country were pressured to swear allegiance to a Christian deity every weekday morning of their lives.
When Eisenhower signed the bill, he stated, "From this day forward, the millions of our schoolchildren will daily proclaim . . . the dedication of our Nation and our people to the Almighty." (link)I hope this recent court decision sticks. I think the Pledge IS unconstitutional for the reasons stated above, and the 'obligatory sensation' it creates hinders a child's sense of individuality. Affirmations that become thoughtless drones serve no purpose. And religious brainwashing is not what civilized people do.
It seems the only thing really being taught is how to be a mindless, working citizen with no ideas of one's own.
RIP Robert Wise. While I don't share many public opinions regarding the status of Citizen Kane (yes, it's a cool movie that you edited, but it isn't the greastest movie ever made), you were most definitely a master of the Silver Screen. I simply HATE The Sound of Music but I recognize it as a cultural icon (and Negativland does have a nice little 're-mix' of one of the songs that I do love). However, I am one of the few SciFi enthusiasts who loved your Star Trek movie, and who can forget The Haunting and the classic The Day the Earth Stood Still!
So wherever you are, enjoy yourself. KLAATU VERATA NIKTO!
Buy Citizen Kane (Two-Disc Special Edition) on Amazon.com
Buy The Day the Earth Stood Still (DVD) on Amazon.com
Buy The Haunting (DVD) on Amazon.com
posted by Edward Svengali @ Thursday, September 15, 2005,
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Down Time
9/14/2005
Not much to write about. Feeling pretty blah this week, and there's so much activity that I can't even begin to detail it all.
Nevertheless, local readers should mark October 8 down in their calendar (pencil). Novachild's band, The People's Glorious Five Year Plan, is tentatively scheduled to play at a local Arts festival in Jenks, Oklahoma that afternoon/evening. More info forthcoming, including confirmation and time. There's also room for another band or group to play, and I will be happy to recommend local or regional artists, though I hardly have any decision in the matter.
Due to overwhelming workload, this journal will likely end up being an announcement board for shows and other activities until things slow down a bit. We shall see.
I WOULD like to extend a personal invitation to anyone with a decent digital camera. Please come and see the band play, and when you do, take good pictures. And get with me about where to email them. If anyone has photos of past performances, even solo works, I'd be up for those as well.
Cheers!
posted by Edward Svengali @ Wednesday, September 14, 2005,
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Why I'm Independent
9/12/2005
This is why I'm not a registered Democrat. I was an inch away from joining the party last fall, but I never turned in my application. Thank gods.
Democrats, who were already planning to press Judge Roberts on civil rights, are likely to be even more aggressive on that front, citing the racial divisions exposed by the hurricane. But they must be careful not to push too hard, some political analysts say, because the suffering on the Gulf Coast has left the public with little appetite for a partisan slugfest. . . . Democrats may be more likely to hold their fire, said Doug Schoen, a Democratic pollster, particularly given that polls show that most Americans expect Judge Roberts to be confirmed. "In the absence of specifics that would throw his nomination into doubt, Democrats will be loath to want to be as combative and confrontational as they might otherwise be," Mr. Schoen said.Let's just get out of the way and let the religious right take everything they want. It'll give us more things to bitch about instead of actually DOING anything to improve the situation. I admire many Democratic Senators, but they really need to speak up about this.
I'm also confused as to what 'specifics' are absent in this case. They have the same internet I have, right?
posted by Edward Svengali @ Monday, September 12, 2005,
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Munchkin & A Movie
9/08/2005
Tulsa Readers take heed:
At The Battlefield - Tulsa's premiere Video Game and DVD Store, I'm co-facilitating a regular Saturday night event called "Munchkin & A Movie." The festivities begin around 8:30 or 9:00 PM every Saturday.
We start off with a round or two of Munchkin, the hilarious Steve Jackson card game, and end the evening with a truly campy, awful STINKING movie (around 11:00-11:30 is when the movie starts).
If you've never played Munchkin before, don't worry. It's easy to learn and the little ubergeek inside you will relish the experience (and you WILL come crawling back for more). If you want, we can arrange to have pizza delivered to the store, or you can just fill up on junk food and soda available at the counter for cheap cheap cheap. If you want to brush up on the rules before you come, here they are for download in PDF form.
We've got Munchkin, Munchkin Fu, Munchkin Blender, Star Munchkin, Super Munchkin (occasionally) - and eventually we'll have Munchkin Bites. We'll also have FRAG and RISK: Godstorm always available, plus one or two variations here and there.
Ah, bad movies. What better things have you to do on a lousy Saturday night? Dates? Friends? Meh, who needs 'em when you have a never-ending supply of gaming fun and pathetically inept movies to enjoy (and riff to your heart's content). We usually decide what to watch at the last minute, so it's likely to be a surprise. And since I'm an AV geek, we'll probably show cheesy educational shorts at the beginning of the feature as well. Last week was "Duck and Cover." This week might be something from my collection of 1950's Sex Ed film reels. We shall see.
So come on. If you need directions, go here. It's just North of Gardner's on Mingo Road before you get to the BA Expressway overpass. Can't miss it.
Buy Munchkin (the Game) on Amazon.com
Buy Munchkin 2: Unnatural Axe (the Expansion) on Amazon.com
Buy Munchkin 3: Clerical Errors (the Expansion) on Amazon.com
Buy Star Munchkin on Amazon.com
Buy Super Munchkin on Amazon.com
posted by Edward Svengali @ Thursday, September 08, 2005,
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Shame on the Governator
You could have been added to a long list of noble civil rights leaders today. But you've chosen to suck up to the hateful, despicable crevices of your political base instead.
Big Clue: The PEOPLE elected those Senators to represent them. It's called Representative Democracy. That is how the people speak on most matters. And you've just betrayed your people by choosing to TERMINATE what would have been the defining moment - not only of your entire career - but also of your entire life.
I sincerely hope you rot in hell. Cheers.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Thursday, September 08, 2005,
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Kindness in Unexpected Places
9/06/2005
Life's been high and low around nova_child land lately, and right now I'm feeling pretty low. Between the bleak hurricane disaster news and the general lack of fulfillment my personal, professional and artistic endeavors are providing lately, I've been feeling pretty sluggish, tired, and generally just fed up with the status quo. I suppose one could call it depression, though that sounds rather too ominous and self-indulgent for what I really am feeling.
This means that I'm no good in public situations for a short spell, and so I will tend to avoid them. I truly long for a little retreat, perhaps a short vacation in the woods far, far away from civilization. But I know that in the end it will be about as effective as 'duck and cover' in the event of a thermonuclear war. Shit just piles up, and that doesn't really help things either.
I'm also desperately trying to complete my live PA rig. But difficulty after difficulty has prevented its fruition. But I press on, knowing nothing but the fulfillment of my goal. Grrrrr!
I spent my Labor Day weekend indoors in my stinky fucking house sitting behind the computer. What I lack is adventure, and the motivation to experience adventure. Because sometimes it's best just to get by, give it all you got and then retreat for a time. Cuz that's all I have left in me this season.
I'm going to take a little break from all that. I'm also going to take a break from the whole live poetry thing, because suddenly I've found myself not having much to say besides "Fuck You!" to the general public.
Now that you're all familiar with my state of mind (yes, I've read the book. Nausea, by Jean-Paul Sartre - lol), you can imagine the welcome relief this poem from a friend offered me tonight.
Buy Nausea by Jean-Paul Sartre on Amazon.com
posted by novachild @ Tuesday, September 06, 2005,
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Suddenly ...
Everybody's an expert on hurricanes, disaster relief, bureacracy and what to do with the City of New Orleans. Aren't you?
The world around me has become a surreal tapestry of ignoramus egos vying for a personal slice of the blabbermouth pie. At worst, the jabbering and shameless opining of nearly everyone has sunk to new lows of extreme human callousness and/or sheer posturing - and not to infrequently, bold-faced racism. I'm especially disturbed by the unthinking crowd who bark about how we should abandon the city and build elsewhere. Here are a few other common 'opinions' I've been hearing of late:
"It was the State's fault."
"They shouldn't have built the city there..."
"They shouldn't have (this or that)."
"That's what those sinful heathens deserve."
"That's what those mostly overweight black folks deserve."
"Mostly gangland anyway. Let the locals deal with it."
"It's a shame things have to escalate to violence. Good white folk wouldn't do [this or that]."
"The hubbub is just a bunch of kneejerk lefties digging for another reason to end the war."
"Stop politicizing the disaster. Support our president."
(etc. etc.)
Let's see what they say when the disaster moves to THEIR town and those over-inflated dumbfucks in D.C. sit on their asses for three days straight.
Of course, I'm focusing on the negative. And by opining, I've probably just added myself to the list of people who are pissing me off right now. Nothing new, I suppose. Everyone's entitled to their different hats, and self-loathing comes with the burden of being human - to a degree. I suppose by pointing out this wretchedness of humanity, I'm also not really helping to improve the state of things. But fortunately, I view journaling as a method for exploring ideas and exercising demons, not changing the fucking world.
And I'm certain if I look a little harder, inspiration can be found amid the chaos. But right now I'm feeling contempt for the race that calls itself 'human' to such a degree that it's nearly drowning out my sensibilities. Once that's over, I'm sure there will be plenty of glorious revelations about the heroic nature of human beings, the power of human kindness against all odds - yadda yadda. And eventually I'll reach another plateau of transcendant human awareness and forgive the human race yet one more time.
It just fucking sucks when 'all odds' includes uncaring, unthinking talking heads, lying politicians, spin doctors, irritating AM hatemongers, stupid racist fucks and carpetbaggers galore. All sitting in grand comfort behind their television sets, sipping on their beverage of choice in their clean, dry clothes, with their clean, white babies bouncing up and down on their big white knees.
I've been through two hurricanes myself, though they were fairly minor and we were far enough away from the coastline in Ladson, S.C. to avoid most of the strong winds. And on the flipside, in the many years I've lived in the Midwest, I've never actually SEEN a tornado (though I did watch a funnel cloud form right above my head once). Never felt an earthquake. Never lived in a house that burned down (though our Westville home burnt to the ground AFTER we left it). So I've been pretty lucky. I don't pretend to be the authority on what to do with NO after the disaster, and I can't pretend to know what most of those people are going through, though it horrifies me to see so much suffering going on.
I cannot claim to know what the citizens of the gulf are feeling. I'm not there. What I am experiencing is television fantasy, as are most people. We can all feel and share the pain that we see, but we can't all be experts. People can keep 'trying on' different opinions until the cows come home. But nothing is a good substitute for the raw, bleeding truth laid bare before the world, and only those who are experiencing post-Katrina can tell it like it is.
One thing's for certain. I will believe a screaming, crying, grieving mother in the flooded streets of NO - damning the fetid stench of political laziness and begging for help with every painful breath - far more quickly than I will believe yet another "Mission Accomplished" from everyone's beloved piece-of-shit president and his good-ol-boy network of supporters.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Tuesday, September 06, 2005,
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Sad, Desperate Times
9/02/2005
Several days into the wake of Katrina and my mind is overwhelmed by the chaos.
Chaos in NO. Chaos in the media. Chaos from the right-wing pundits on all the AM stations. Chaos in general conversation. A ripple of madness in the collective. But at least most people agree that more could be done - and more SHOULD be done - and the governments will be held accountable for the pathetic lack of expediency they have shown over the past week.
Now snipers are taking out looters. But tell me - what the fuck would YOU be doing if you were stranded in a city with no food or water, and the National Guard would not let anyone IN or OUT and help has NOT been coming? I hope the snipers can tell the difference between starving people and robbers. If not, they will have to deal with a lifetime of remorse.
I feel so helpless. I want to help all of them, but so many others have let them down. And that diminishes the efforts of all the brave, selfless people who have flung themselves against the barbed wire to help others.
posted by Edward Svengali @ Friday, September 02, 2005,
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