knowitallgirl

Yeah-yeah-yeah-yeah!

Neb and I caught the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Har Mar Superstar at the Fillmore last week (here's a teaser written by Aidin Vaziri, an old high school newspaper acquaintance). The 80s are absolutely now the hip retro look of the moment, if the crowd is any indication, and I have to confess that when I see people wearing clothes I might have donned in seventh grade it makes me shudder. Maybe retro works when it spans decades that didn't personally involve middle school.

The show was great, Karen O was as insane on stage as prior reports promised her to be. HarMar was a SCREAM. I'd never seen him live and only heard his first album (I can't say that based on what I'd heard I'd consider buying anything else.) I think Har Mar would take it as a compliment if you told him the porn star he most resembled was Ron Jeremy. He started out in a sky blue polyester tuxedo that looked like it had been transported from a kids' show in the 70s (Har Mar is all late seventies porn style, no 80s retro for him), and ended the show in his tight, black briefs. I think he's the first musician I've seen who has had girls in underwear and tight shirts gyrating on stage that he's surpassed in nakedness. I couldn't stop laughing, which I'm not sure he would have liked ("Worship me!" was one of his common exclamations). But damn, he does a good early 80s Michael Jackson rip-off.

Imminent Threat?

Watch Rummy get caught in the act of either a severe memory lapse or an outright lie, courtesy of the Center for American Progress (streaming Windows Media File).

October Surprise, Pt. II

Where's Osama? I've been hearing more folks asking that question these days on talk shows like Forum (see the Thursday, March 11th show) where there's been some wondering aloud if the Bush Administration will produce bin Laden before election day, October Surprise style. An article in the March 8, 2004 issue of the New Yorker by Seymour Hersh adds some more fuel to this speculation, as he reports on a horse trade between the Bush Administration and Pakistan giving us the green light to comb the mountains of northwest Pakistan in exchange for letting Pakistan off the hook for the actions of the country's premier nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, who according to Hersh "confessed that he had been solely responsible for operating an international black market in nuclear-weapons materials." While producing bin Laden conveniently before November 2nd would raise a ton of questions about an October Surprise-style operation, one can only speculate on the effect it would have on the Bush reelection campaign (quick analysis: good!).

According to all the papers, instead of waiting until the conventions to kick-off campaign season, Bush has started early, in part because the Republicans are nervous -- the primaries have unleashed criticism of the President as has not been seen since before 9/11/2001, when suddenly any criticism of the President was deemed unpatriotic. And of course, part of that criticism is the reairing of the facts of the 2000 election -- that Bush won it by the sparest of margins, or stole it outright, depending upon what you believe.

While I'm glad they're scared, I do wish they were stupidly cocky, since their fear is driving them to some severely underhanded campaign doings, like the exploitation of 9/11 in his political ads. Again, this campaign will be decided upon by those who are driven by their fears and vote for Bush, versus those who are driven by their desire for change and vote for Kerry.

Massively Improved!

It appears that either Queer Eye has pervaded our nation's consciousness more than most are willing to admit, or that domestically inclined gay men are now only second to women as a market for household products. Whatever the reason, take a look at the new Brawny paper towel man (massively improved!) and tell me if he doesn't look perfectly engineered to appeal to both frustrated women and gay men alike (ok, flannel shirt excluded, although it was PURPLE from 1993 to 2000). A bit more cross appeal than the old circa 1974 Brawny dude (see below). Plus, you have to love marketingspeak like "Thirst Pockets for Spill Relief," or "new and improved "best ever" paper towel technology" (the best ever quotes are theirs -- thankfully they have a sense of humor). And in the best nod to Queer Eye yet -- a "Make Over My Brawny Man" contest. Apparently even your own lumberjack can use some metrosexualizing. FYI, I stumbled across this via a Yahoo! Messenger IMV (company plug not intended).

Papers, please

An interesting case coming before the Supreme Court very soon -- do you have the right to refuse to produce ID when a law enforcement officer asks for it? Read about the case that is bringing the question before the Court and decide for yourself.

The Corporation

Although I haven't seen this movie yet, The Corporation sounds like an excellent film (it just won the audience award at Sundance). As the filmmakers point out, in terms of the law corporations are viewed as persons. The premise of the movie is to explore just what kind of person a corporation would be, if it in fact had a soul. The book is based upon a forthcoming book by Canadian law professor Joel Bakan, who also co-wrote the film. Quote from Balkan's site: "Bakan contends the modern business corporation is created by law to function like a psychopathic personality."

For more on the corporation as person concept, check out POCLAD, which is fighting to change the concept of corporation as person, which they view as inherently anti-democratic.