I attended Portland's 2nd annual Radical Book Fair on Sunday and wrote about it for the Willamette Week newswire.
Read the piece here.
Monday, December 3, 2007
Thursday, November 29, 2007
My favorite band
Aphrodite's Child were a Greek psych band in the late 60's-early 70's. I found their record "666" years ago in a bin somewhere and was attracted to the mythological lyrics on the back: "The day the walls of the cities will crumble away/uncovering our naked souls/we'll all start singing/shouting, screaming/loud, loud, loud, loud." Their music reminded me of another incredibly original European psych band called Magma, with bombastic jazzy prog parts giving way to weird windy reverb emptiness at times.
Another great Aphrodite's Child song has a short 12-word lyric structure: "Alas, alas/for the human race/alas/for the kings of separation." Wow! The song below is more traditional, though I would use that word loosely. The band was living in Paris at the time of this recording, and had more of a rock following. Later, with 666, keyboardist Vangelis would bring the group into a much deeper level of free-jazz and psychedelic exploration that would partially cause the group to break up.
Singer Demis Roussos has a heartbreaking voice that makes me think of Dino and the Belmonts having a nervous breakdown. Watch as he vibrattos his way into the sky in the song "End of the World:"
Another great Aphrodite's Child song has a short 12-word lyric structure: "Alas, alas/for the human race/alas/for the kings of separation." Wow! The song below is more traditional, though I would use that word loosely. The band was living in Paris at the time of this recording, and had more of a rock following. Later, with 666, keyboardist Vangelis would bring the group into a much deeper level of free-jazz and psychedelic exploration that would partially cause the group to break up.
Singer Demis Roussos has a heartbreaking voice that makes me think of Dino and the Belmonts having a nervous breakdown. Watch as he vibrattos his way into the sky in the song "End of the World:"
Sunday, November 11, 2007
really incredible neo-nazi update
At the risk of beating this whole skinhead feud into the ground (see previous related posts,) I have to post the following tome that someone sent me after finding it on the Volksfront website's message board. There are a lot of brilliant points (sarcasm, sarcasm!) to be found in this rant, but my personal favorite is when the angry neo-Nazi writer exposes me, the terribly threatening freelance journalist, as a communist member of NAMBLA! It's true: I hold the singular honor of being the only female member of the North American Man-Boy Love Association, and it's damn time I came out of the closet. Read the full story below:
"Reds, faggots, sharps, anarchists, illegal immigrants and alqaeda supporters all united to oppsoe white working class organization on Oct 6th. The reality, by their own admission on Portland Indymedia and the Willamette Weekly, they had 150 persons (the highest estimate we found, many were much lower) turnout to wave rainbow flags and preach the destruction of the United States Constitution. And thats an exagerated number. Yet Communist writers like (real name) who writes under the pen-name Mary Christmas for the Willamette Weekly claims the whole town wants Nationalists out, well unfortunately for this daft cunt, 150 people in a city over a million isn't quite a mandate is it? The real shocker, by VF's count, Hammerfest had 209 persons not counting children. So if more numbers equal a public mandate then perhaps its the anti-American faggots who ought to get on the short bus out of town.
The local media frezy has raised some eyebrows by other nationalists and with a small of bit of research we have once again revealed the face behind the lies, in a series of Willamette Weekly articles by (real name,) aka Mary Christmas, a New Yorker Communist who converted to Judaism in hopes so she could have a sex change and join the North American Man-Boy Love Association, she revealed information she hoped would result in violence to a retired VF member. She is also a member of the anti-American 'Radical Cheerleaders' who supports terrorist policies against the United States and Europe by attending and 'cheerleading for communist events throughout the country) What she didn't realize is, or failed to compute, is this same former VF member just chased 7 or 8 of her alqaeda loving sharp faggot buddies out of his neighborhood days before and the fleeing the sharp cowards rammed a vehicle belonging to a hispanic man and the driver was arrested for felony hit-and-run and DUII for crimes against a hispanic family. Sounds like a hate crime. As usual the cowards ran like deer from a wolf pack, even though in this case there was only one wolf.
Some other heroes of the anti-Hammerskin rally was Andre 'Aggro', a fat little fuck who we met twice and ran off for pedophilia when he had sex with a 12 year old girls belly button and had a soft spot for LSD and cupcakes. Speaking of anti-racist heroes, the Heroin Spotlight, also known as Oregon Spotlight, had to get their junky thieving asses in the mix, Randy Blazak, the mighty defender of heroin junkies and burglars gave his expertise live from the bowels of the nearest titty bar where he cops his dope (yes we know it) while fondly remembering the days when his co-founder Steven Stroud (now in protective custody) used to get his dope and hookers for him with less hassle while bouncing at local nudey bars.
Communists and anarchists also found out the hard way the results of trying to jump a nationalist with weapons at a local hotel, we will simply crush you everytime, no matter the odds, no matter the weapons. We are the dogs of war and your wimpering communists asses flee like poodles before us. You've been relegated to protests under police protection, hiding in bushes with cameras, half-assed flyering attempts and peeping in windows at pregnant women. We'll fly our flag anywhere in the world anytime we choose and you'll do nothing about it but complain while sucking each other dicks, conrgratulating each other for selling out your class, your race and your country. We tend to our own business and show respect to anyone of any race or belief when it's do, but if you think you are going to impose your twisted belief system on us you better do more than write emails and complain.
As for the event on the 6th of October, all bands played, all speakers had ample time and when we were asked to leave the Elks lodge we simply went to our backup venue minutes away and the event continued with less than an hours interuption. All our aims and agendas were met fully and par for the course, you lose again..."
"Reds, faggots, sharps, anarchists, illegal immigrants and alqaeda supporters all united to oppsoe white working class organization on Oct 6th. The reality, by their own admission on Portland Indymedia and the Willamette Weekly, they had 150 persons (the highest estimate we found, many were much lower) turnout to wave rainbow flags and preach the destruction of the United States Constitution. And thats an exagerated number. Yet Communist writers like (real name) who writes under the pen-name Mary Christmas for the Willamette Weekly claims the whole town wants Nationalists out, well unfortunately for this daft cunt, 150 people in a city over a million isn't quite a mandate is it? The real shocker, by VF's count, Hammerfest had 209 persons not counting children. So if more numbers equal a public mandate then perhaps its the anti-American faggots who ought to get on the short bus out of town.
The local media frezy has raised some eyebrows by other nationalists and with a small of bit of research we have once again revealed the face behind the lies, in a series of Willamette Weekly articles by (real name,) aka Mary Christmas, a New Yorker Communist who converted to Judaism in hopes so she could have a sex change and join the North American Man-Boy Love Association, she revealed information she hoped would result in violence to a retired VF member. She is also a member of the anti-American 'Radical Cheerleaders' who supports terrorist policies against the United States and Europe by attending and 'cheerleading for communist events throughout the country) What she didn't realize is, or failed to compute, is this same former VF member just chased 7 or 8 of her alqaeda loving sharp faggot buddies out of his neighborhood days before and the fleeing the sharp cowards rammed a vehicle belonging to a hispanic man and the driver was arrested for felony hit-and-run and DUII for crimes against a hispanic family. Sounds like a hate crime. As usual the cowards ran like deer from a wolf pack, even though in this case there was only one wolf.
Some other heroes of the anti-Hammerskin rally was Andre 'Aggro', a fat little fuck who we met twice and ran off for pedophilia when he had sex with a 12 year old girls belly button and had a soft spot for LSD and cupcakes. Speaking of anti-racist heroes, the Heroin Spotlight, also known as Oregon Spotlight, had to get their junky thieving asses in the mix, Randy Blazak, the mighty defender of heroin junkies and burglars gave his expertise live from the bowels of the nearest titty bar where he cops his dope (yes we know it) while fondly remembering the days when his co-founder Steven Stroud (now in protective custody) used to get his dope and hookers for him with less hassle while bouncing at local nudey bars.
Communists and anarchists also found out the hard way the results of trying to jump a nationalist with weapons at a local hotel, we will simply crush you everytime, no matter the odds, no matter the weapons. We are the dogs of war and your wimpering communists asses flee like poodles before us. You've been relegated to protests under police protection, hiding in bushes with cameras, half-assed flyering attempts and peeping in windows at pregnant women. We'll fly our flag anywhere in the world anytime we choose and you'll do nothing about it but complain while sucking each other dicks, conrgratulating each other for selling out your class, your race and your country. We tend to our own business and show respect to anyone of any race or belief when it's do, but if you think you are going to impose your twisted belief system on us you better do more than write emails and complain.
As for the event on the 6th of October, all bands played, all speakers had ample time and when we were asked to leave the Elks lodge we simply went to our backup venue minutes away and the event continued with less than an hours interuption. All our aims and agendas were met fully and par for the course, you lose again..."
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Courtesans In Space!
I've just discovered FIREFLY, Joss Whedon's post-Buffy show that muddles plot leaves with its western and sci-fi space explorer themes. Weird! The show isn't as addictive as Buffy, mostly because there aren't as many girls in charge. It's all war and space crime, rusty ships and dusty gunfights atop colonized desert planets.
Firefly's machismo is vindicated, though, by the presence of the character Inara. Beautiful, intelligent, and socially powerful, Inara is the first high-class prostitute I've ever seen realistically portrayed on television. On the show, "Companions" are a class into themselves; women and men with years of training in everything from ritual tea ceremonies to psychology. They choose their own clients, and in several scenes Inara is seen rejecting the virtual files and appeals of some of the world's most powerful men who are vying to purchase her company, just because she doesn't like them enough to warrant the energy involved in a meeting.
Of course, there is a tense relationship with an ignorant ship captain who refers to Companions as "whores" without understanding that they are viewed by the rest of society as ambassadors from a luxury realm. An interesting nod to the fact that while history can transform social groups and eradicate prejudices, it never wipes the slate clean across the board.
Having edited and published $pread Magazine for a couple of years, I've seen a breadth of viewpoints on the sex industry from within and outside its ranks. And there sure are a lot of movies, books, and other materials that attempt to speak for people who live the lifestyle. But this is the first time I've seen a sex-working character, in any medium outside of Tracy Quan novels, that I believed was true. Too bad the show was cancelled in 2003. Wonder who is going to pick up where Joss Whedon's companions left off?
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Vague threats via white supremacists
Being a freelance writer has its costs. About half of the articles I write either spark a little controversy, annoy an interview subject, or result in someone getting hurt or thrown in jail. It can be tough to shoulder the responsibility of, say, a police crackdown, after publishing a piece about escorts on craigslist.
But this is the first time that I've had to consider running out to buy health insurance just in case I get beat up. After the Nazi Skinheads piece (see below) went up on the newswire, the paper received an email from Volksfront. The white power group demanded that we pull the information about Randall Krager's neighborhood from the article (days after it was published, duh,) mentioned both my pen name and my real name (they do their research,) and ended with this lovely bit:
" The use of the address in the context published is
very obviously an attempt to provide criminal elemtents with information
that could harm or members or the general public. We sincerely hope you
consider this request prior to our exploration or other remedy."
Most interesting about Volksfront's letter is their belief that "criminal elements" might use the Krager info to harm someone. Krager is, after all, a man who served time in the Oregon prison system for nearly murdering someone in a racist hate attack. And what do they mean by "exploration or other remedy?" Yikes!
Luckily, I wrote another article covering the anti-racist skins in town and, in the process, met about 10 gigantic bouncer-types who seemed pretty willing to bodyguard anyone the white supremacists might target. I'm not really worried. Even Volksfront knows that if they tried to beat up a journalist there would be a media frenzy of national proportions. But still, it felt like kind of a close call.
Read the anti-racist skinhead article in the Hard Copy section.
But this is the first time that I've had to consider running out to buy health insurance just in case I get beat up. After the Nazi Skinheads piece (see below) went up on the newswire, the paper received an email from Volksfront. The white power group demanded that we pull the information about Randall Krager's neighborhood from the article (days after it was published, duh,) mentioned both my pen name and my real name (they do their research,) and ended with this lovely bit:
" The use of the address in the context published is
very obviously an attempt to provide criminal elemtents with information
that could harm or members or the general public. We sincerely hope you
consider this request prior to our exploration or other remedy."
Most interesting about Volksfront's letter is their belief that "criminal elements" might use the Krager info to harm someone. Krager is, after all, a man who served time in the Oregon prison system for nearly murdering someone in a racist hate attack. And what do they mean by "exploration or other remedy?" Yikes!
Luckily, I wrote another article covering the anti-racist skins in town and, in the process, met about 10 gigantic bouncer-types who seemed pretty willing to bodyguard anyone the white supremacists might target. I'm not really worried. Even Volksfront knows that if they tried to beat up a journalist there would be a media frenzy of national proportions. But still, it felt like kind of a close call.
Read the anti-racist skinhead article in the Hard Copy section.
THUNDERANT!
I am really loving Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein's new comedy duo, Thunderant. This clip was shot in Portland at Reading Frenzy and the 100% geniune feminist bookstore, In Other Words. My favorite parts of the video are the cursing, the silent cursing, and the deconstruction of that fucking 'drumming circle' flier that is absolutely everywhere here.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Spit Out Sister
Come to Someday Lounge (125 NW 5th Ave in Portland) this Friday, October 12th for Sister Spit 2007. There are many great lady writers representing, including special Portland-only guests Nicole Georges and myself. We'll both be reading from the fashion book. It will also, strangely, be the first time ever that I read my writing in front of people.
The Sister Spit tour is made up of sugar and spice and also the writers Michelle Tea, Dexter Flowers, Chelsea Starr, Tara Jepsen, Kat Marie Yoas, Meliza Banales, and the Australian art wonder, Textaqueen.
The press release says this: "Inspired by the legendary Sister Spit Ramblin' Roadshow of the 90s, Sister Spit: The Next Generation is hauling a vanload of killer underground female talent across the USA and into your town. The latest gang hits the road in October 2007, a decade after the first Spit van set sail, carrying on the tradition of rowdy, raucous literary adventure. As they journey across the USA, they're joined by a rag tag bunch of special guests - old Spit travelers of yore, and contributors to the brand new feminist fashion anthology, It's So You. Come and meet your new favorite performers!"
Nazi Skinheads still exist, somehow
I just put this up on the Willamette Week news wire (http://www.wweek.com/wwire/?p=9511) after an insanely long day of running around with activists and then bussing tables on a packed Saturday night shift at the restaurant I work at. I can't wait to go to sleep, but am a little worried that I might have feverish dreams of Nazi's, crystal goblets, leftover Pad Thai, and violent beatings all meshed into one big wierd white power fine dining atmosphere. Let's hope for dreamless rest.
Read on:
Earlier this afternoon in Portland’s southeast Lents Park, anti-racist activists held a rally in response to the gathering of white-power skinheads (and their hardcore bands) known as Hammerfest 2007. (See this week's WW story.) After the rally, a diverse group of about 50 people, including a number of anti-racist skinheads, spontaneously arranged a caravan to a nearby neighborhood to leaflet. The fliers warned residents that one of their neighbors is neo-Nazi Randall Krager , who lives with his partner and fellow “racialist” Abbie Chelf on Southeast 70th Avenue near Johnson Creek Boulevard. The white power leader is one of the founding members of Volksfront, an Oregon-based white power group that helped sponsor Hammerfest 2007. Krager and three others founded Volksfront in 1994 while Krager was serving a sentence for nearly beating to death an African-American father of four and leaving him paralyzed.
Most of the people who were handed fliers by the motley parade of anti-racist activists were concerned and somewhat horrified to learn that a neo-Nazi leader lives steps away from their own homes. Standing in Harney Park at Southeast 70th Avenue and Harney Street, a crew of soccer moms read the fliers and called their kids in from the field, expressing plans to talk to other moms in the area about Krager’s presence. After about 20 minutes of walking around the area, the action dispersed and leafletters went their separate ways without incident.
At the time of the rally, members of the organizing group The Ad-Hoc Committee Against Racism and Fascism still didn’t know the location of Hammerfest. Then around 6 pm, anti-racist organizers were tipped off that the Aryan moshpit was taking place at the Sherwood Elks Lodge at 22770 SW Elwert Road in Sherwood, Ore . They immediately posted their findings to activist newswire portland.indymedia.org, with hopes that Portland area residents might pressure the Elks Lodge to shut down Hammerfest by calling the venue’s booking agent at (503) 625-5977. A look at the Sherwood Elks Lodge website revealed that the club’s motto is “charity, justice, brotherly love, and fidelity,” which raises the question of whether the lodge members are aware that they are hosting an anniversary party for a crew of neo-Nazis with a violent history of assault convictions . Both Volksfront and the Hammerskins have been historically linked to the 1988 Portland killing of 28 year-old Ethiopian college student Mulugeta Seraw, who was beaten to death by racist skins on Southeast 31st Avenue.
The Ad-Hoc Committee's Indymedia post says they spoke with the Elks Lodge booker, and paraphrased his opinion that the gathering was "just a bunch of guys playing music." Check back on WWire for Elks Club response and more updates.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
fashion book release
Please check out the new Seal Press anthology "It's So You."
You can read my piece about surviving the transformation from teen model to punk, with musings on the parallel life of Milla Jovovich, titled "Milla and Me."
There are great essays by great writers in this book, including Eileen Myles, Diane DiPrima, Tara Jepsen, Beth Lisick, Kim Gordon, and some of my friends from Portland too.
It's in bookstores starting tomorrow. Also try the Seal website (link under 'friends.')
You can read my piece about surviving the transformation from teen model to punk, with musings on the parallel life of Milla Jovovich, titled "Milla and Me."
There are great essays by great writers in this book, including Eileen Myles, Diane DiPrima, Tara Jepsen, Beth Lisick, Kim Gordon, and some of my friends from Portland too.
It's in bookstores starting tomorrow. Also try the Seal website (link under 'friends.')
entiende?
I write a blog now, hoping that it will keep my verbs twirling while I kick some writing time aside for school. Being an elderly college coed has its rewards and its frustrations, but most annoying is the fact of putting literary and other creative pursuits on hold.
The title "entiende" comes from my neighbor, Tara Jane, on her last tour of Europe. Apparently the lesbians in Spain use this word (meaning 'you understand?') as a secret code to identify each other. There is an erotic charge in the indirect approach. No "I'm here, I'm queer" bragadaccio, just a raised eyebrow and a subtle question: Entiende?
The title "entiende" comes from my neighbor, Tara Jane, on her last tour of Europe. Apparently the lesbians in Spain use this word (meaning 'you understand?') as a secret code to identify each other. There is an erotic charge in the indirect approach. No "I'm here, I'm queer" bragadaccio, just a raised eyebrow and a subtle question: Entiende?
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