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Today's Quote
I think Pringles initial intention was to make tennis balls. But on the day that the rubber was supposed to show up, a big truckload of potatoes arrived. But Pringles is a laid back company. They said, "Fuck it. Cut 'em up."
--Mitch Hedberg

Prometheus’ Garden by Bruce Bickford



PROMETHEUS’ GARDEN (28 minutes, 1988) is the only film over which legendary stop-motion animator Bruce Bickford maintained complete creative control. Bright Eye Pictures is making PROMETHEUS’ GARDEN available to the public for the first time since its completion two decades ago. The DVD features a commentary track by Bickford, an alternate score by Shark Quest’s Laird Dixon, and the half hour documentary featurette, LUCK OF A FOGHORN: the Making of Bruce Bickford’s Prometheus’ Garden, directed by Brett Ingram.

Best known for his collaborations with rock iconoclast Frank Zappa in the 1970s (THE DUB ROOM SPECIAL, BABY SNAKES, THE AMAZING MR. BICKFORD), underground animator Bruce Bickford has influenced generations of artists with his startlingly original vision.

[MORE »]

Harmony Kormine's Mr Lonely

HARMONY KORINE catapulted to fame as an enfant terrible, and for a few years he played the part to perfection. He was the young skateboarder turned wunderkind screenwriter behind Larry Clark’s 1995 sensation, “Kids.” At 24 he directed “Gummo” (1997), about glue-sniffing, cat-killing teenagers in a Rust Belt backwater. Most critics hated its junkyard, freak-show aesthetic, but it spawned an instant cult, with devotees including Werner Herzog, who became a mentor and collaborator, and Gus Van Sant. Mr. Korine’s next film, “Julien Donkey-Boy” (1999), inspired by his schizophrenic uncle, continued the gutter-punk provocations.

But after that he largely receded from public view. Now 35, having dug himself out of what he called “a black hole,” he has finally made another film, “Mister Lonely,” a sweetly cockeyed fantasia about a colony of celebrity doppelgängers and a troupe of sky-diving nuns. Over coffee during a recent trip to New York — he now lives in Nashville with his wife, Rachel, not far from his childhood home — this onetime fixture of the downtown party circuit did not seem nostalgic for the old days. [Read More]

"In broad terms, it's a movie about a Michael Jackson impersonator living in Paris who's down on his luck. He meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator at a commune where all these other impersonators live. They want to put on a show in hopes that the world will come see them perform..." (Harmony Korine, Hollywood Reporter)

Deigo Luna, 28, was quite unprepared for the set of his newest film, Harmony Korine's "Mister Lonely," opening Friday, May 2. In keeping with the title, he says it was one of the loneliest experiences of his life - no Internet, no phone, no way to know how Mexico was faring in the World Cup soccer tournament.

"First of all, we were living the life of the characters," Luna says of the production, which was filmed in and around a castle in the Scottish highlands.

Luna was perfecting his moonwalk because he was playing Michael Jackson - or rather, a character who spends his life playing Jackson. Almost all of Luna's fellow cast members are celebrity impersonators: Marilyn Monroe (Samantha Morton), Charlie Chaplin (Denis Levant), the Pope (James Fox), Madonna (Melita Morgan), the queen of England (Anita Pallenberg) and Sammy Davis Jr. (Jason Pennycooke).

And they never break character: Chaplin and Monroe (a couple in the film) sunbathe, the Three Stooges tend sheep and the Pope drunkly presides over communal dinners. Together, they practice their shticks in a performance intended for the local community. They don't judge one another. They're all in the same boat.
Read More

**AND the music is another post in it's own right.**
J. SPACEMAN
SUN CITY GIRLS
MISTER LONELY
MUSIC FROM THE FILM
BY HARMONY KORINE
LP/CD

RELATED:
[::] NYTimes.com
[::] Watch the Trailer
[::] Music from the Film

Citizen Camera!
Each camera was left in place for at least 24 hours with attached instructions to take a picture and leave the camera there. Then uploaded to Flickr.

What a cool idea.

Citizen Camera link | via Blog Asheville

LSD vs Alcohol vs Tree

Original idea: stlive
Modifications: leprosorium.ru

Go See the Whole Panel

CO I L H O U S E
Coilhouse » Magazine is currently developing the premiere issue to be launched in May 2008.

The Orange Peel in current Rolling Stone Magazine

Locals have always known what a treasure we have here in Asheville when it comes to live music. The variety of live music available in intimate settings is enough to satiate any passionate music lover.

The Orange Peel
Asheville, North Carolina
Capacity: 942

In the Seventies, The Orange Peel was a premier funk-and-soul club. Since it reopened five years ago, Bob Dylan and Smashing Pumpkins (who picked the spot for their nine-show reunion run last year) have gone out of the way to play the Peel — drawn by Asheville's bohemian vibe and attentive crowds.

x-posted to Around Asheville

Memo To Petraeus
by Dick Cavett

On Petraeus: Its rule: never use a short word where a longer one will do. It must be meant to convey some misguided sense of “learnedness” and “scholasticism” — possibly even that dread thing, “intellectualism” — to their talk. Sorry, I mean their “articulation.”

No crook ever gets out of the car. A “perpetrator exits the vehicle.” (Does any cop say to his wife at dinner, “Honey, I stubbed my toe today as I exited our vehicle”?) No “man” or “woman” is present in Copspeak. They are replaced by that five-syllable, leaden ingot, the “individual.” The other day, there issued from a fire chief’s mouth, “It contributed to the obfuscation of what eventually eventuated.” This from a guy who looked like he talked, in real life, like Rocky Balboa. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

What would the general be forced to say if it weren’t for the icky, precious-sounding “challenge” that he leans so heavily on? That politically correct term, which was created so that folks who are legally blind, deaf, clumsy, crippled, impotent, tremor-ridden, stupid, addicted or villainously ugly are really none of those unhappy things at all. They are merely challenged. (Are these euphemisms supposed to make them feel better?) And no one need be unlucky enough to be dead or hideously wounded anymore. Those unfortunates are merely “casualties” — a sort of restful-sounding word.

I have a friend who would like the opportunity to say to our distinguished warrior, “General Petraeus, my son was killed in one of your challenges.”

Read More »

Weekend Theremin Festival!

The world's finest Theremin Players are gathering in Asheville to teach and showcase the music of the World's Oldest Electronic Musical Instrument (AND the only musical instrument you play without touching!) - the Theremin. Moog Music will again sponsor this International Theremin Festival – EtherMusic Festival 2008 - a celebration of the Theremin. This event will feature workshops and concerts and much, much more - all sponsored by internationally renowned Moog Music of Asheville, N.C.

Tickets at The Orange Peel website.

link | MySpace

x-posted to Around Asheville

Gary Fernandez

Gary Fernández (1980) is a freelance illustrator and graphic artist based in Madrid, Spain. He's also the co-founder and creative head of the T-shirt brand VelvetBanana. (www.velvetbanana.net)

link

Ibogaine Addiction Therapy

I recently read glowing reviews in the Ibogaine newsletter about an Ibogaine treatment center in Puerto Vallarta called Awakening in the Dream House.

We are a "family" committed to providing a fulfilling and comfortable place for people to detox and recreate their lives. We offer a safe, clean, and calm setting to work in and will assist in meeting your needs. You will be treated as an equal, with respect and an understanding of the path to recovery you have chosen.

'Ibogaine - Rite of Passage' Trailer can be viewed below.



IBOGAINE
Studies undertaken by leading research and academic facilities have shown that ibogaine is invaluable in treating physical dependency and the associated withdrawal symptoms of Heroin, Methadone, and Prescription Opiates. It alleviates 90% of opiate withdrawal symptoms and can address cravings for two to six months. At the same time it changes habitual thought patterns and helps to restore the proper functioning of the brain's neurochemistry that, if left untreated, can make it so difficult to stay free of addiction.

I wonder how soon I'll be able to get Ibogaine in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains?

link | mindvox | lunart | rocky

"Mamajuana Energy has a very sweet strawberry flavor with some sharp citrus tartness."

ENERGY DRINK REVIEWS

is 400+ energy drink reviews & counting. A quest to rate & review every energy drink with pictures, ingredients & caffeine info.

CATEGORIES:
"All Natural"
Dubious Ingredient
Female Friendly
Many Energy Ingredients
Red Bull Clone
Power Promise
Best Taste
Best Buzz

link

Can you name all the Republicans who have been convicted or are currently under criminal investigation in a single breath?

**EDITED TO ADD: the link to the video link

Next Thursday (April 17th, 2008)

A film by Henry Ferrini & Ken Riaf
7:00 p.m., Thursday, April 17
Fine Arts Theatre, 38 Biltmore Ave., Downtown Asheville
Admission: $7 BMCM+AC members + students with ID-$9 non-members
Filmmaker Henry Ferrini will be in town for the screening and will answer questions afterward.

"A beautifully composed homage to one of the few truly monumental American poets of our times." Jack Hirschman, Poet Laureate of San Francisco

"The best film about an American poet ever made." Bill Corbett, The Boston Phoenix

"...an impressionistic, yet informative and moving document about the act of creation that neither shies away nor oversimplifies." Michael Kelleher, ArtVoice

Just in time for National Poetry Month in April, the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, The Captain’s Bookshelf and Western Carolina University present a striking new film about Charles Olson, poet and charismatic leader of Black Mountain College during its final years, at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 17th. Polis is This: Charles Olson and the Persistence of Place wrestles with the six foot eight inch 275lb colossus of poetry through an extraordinary mix of word and image. Filmmaker Henry Ferrini will be present at the April 17th screening at the Fine Arts Theatre to answer questions following the film.

Polis Is This combines interviews, archival footage, commentary and animation into a single voice full of insight and visual beauty. The film allows the audience access to the subject even as it captures the zeitgeist of a formative era in literary history. The 60-minute documentary features John Malkovich, as well as interviews with poets and scholars Robert Creeley, Ed Sanders, Diane di Prima, Gerrit Lansing, John Sinclair, Pete Seeger, Chuck Stein, Anne Waldman, Charles Boer, Susan Thackrey, Amiri Baraka, Robin Blaser, Michael Rumaker, Jonathan Williams, Ammiel Alcalay, John Stilgoe, Vincent Ferrini and the poet’s son, Charles Peter Olson.

Read More »| x-posted to Around Asheville

Earthless

How about some rock and roll for your Tuesday? Especially if work is dragging ass.

Earthless – Cherry Red (Groundhogs cover)

You can also listen to Earthless on LastFM and MySpace.

Checkpoint Dreamyourtopia
Department of Dreamland Security

All people are equal. But some dream. More than others. You have entered your Dreamworld, which is unique and entirely yours. The Dadara project will debut in late summer (burning man).

link | related | ePlaya

ABC7, CSB5, NBC11, KTVU2.
San Francisco (AFP) - Three pro-Tibet demonstrators climbed cables on the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday to condemn China's government in advance of the Olympic torch's run through San Francisco.

Student For A Free Tibet
Free Tibet

Compelling Darfur Images

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide, a horrific event that claimed the lives of more than 800,000 people in just four months. Sadly, today we bring you new proof that genocide is not a problem of the past.

Compelling satellite images, obtained last month by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), evidence a renewed campaign of village bombings by the Sudanese government. The villages were attacked by the government just a few weeks ago, on February 8, using helicopters, MiG fighter jets and Antanov bomber planes, accompanied by uniformed Janjaweed.

The photo above shows the destruction of Abu Suruj, a once bustling village in West Darfur, now largely deserted. Note the small dark pixels around the market-like structures are people. Click here to view more images -- including those from Silea and Sirba -- two other villages in West Darfur that were also bombed and attacked by Janjaweed at the same time.

link


Are we asking the candidates the important questions?

Squatters

Of course I don't hear much about squatter's and squatter's rights here in the US but according to this website it comes up quite often. Globally speaking, no less.

Another option to consider as we continue to wade through the bullshit of predatory lending, greedy corporations while shimmying the fastrack to Recessionville?

link

Honoring Dr King

This weekend many people are honoring the legacy of Martin Luther King, who was gunned down in Memphis, Tennessee, 40 years ago on April 4, 1968.

We know that he was a champion of non-violent protest for social change, and his writings and speeches still resonate for many activists. But I hope that people also know is that it was because of him that many of us found the courage to stand up and be counted.

I remember thinking as a teenager just how bold and brave he was to speak out in a white dominated society. I was thrilled. You were in such a minority to speak out against any injustice back then but he led by example and everybody was listening. He was so wise and passionate that we all felt called to follow him.

So it's not just that Martin Luther King, Jr, was a brilliant orator and facilitator-- he's all that and more, he is also who he is because he helped show us the way.

Blue Cheer - Outside Inside

I sometimes put up a Friday Random 10 song list, but this is what I pulled out of my old childhood record collection today-- Blue Cheer's Outside Inside. And it's still in great shape, too.

How great is it to come back to the old home place and see that some of your old records are still where you left them 40 years ago? (I must have been a baby) Most of my good stuff is long gone through various channels but this Blue Cheer album (1968) is enjoying a revival in my house today. Pure rock and roll.

I'm reading about Blue Cheer's new cd, What Doesn't Kill You, and have heard some of it, too.

link | MySpace

Asking Anti-Abortion Demonstrators an Important Question


"Should abortion be illegal?"

"Yes."

"What should the punishment be?"

"Duhhhrrrrr.... I don't know, I don't think things through obviously, because I'm a fundie abortion protester."

Stop it already.

If I see one more fucking cutesie poo April Fool's prank on the internet I think I may be sick.

Put all that backed up energy to good use and make a stand against Fossil Fuel each year on April 1, Fossil Fools Day.

"They would have us believe that we can escape climate change with techno-fixes, market mechanisms and offset schemes - all technocratic acrobatics that distract us from the truth: the only real solution to climate change is to keep fossil fuels in the ground."

Related: 8 Asheville area residents were arrested during this Fossil Fools Day global effort.

link | link