Blogger Jimmy Akin has apparently found a picture of the legendary Christian comic book publisher, Jack Chick. He was photographed with Pastor Bob Nogalski, whose life story closely parallels the story of “Bad Bob.” “Bad Bob” follows the story of a colicky baby who grows up to be a badass who repents. Thank goodness for happy endings.
April 21, 2007
April 20, 2007
Virginia Tech Photos
Cryptome.org has photos of the mass murder at Virginia Tech. There is a gallery of photos of the victims. Very sad.
Matt Sanchez Biography
Matt Sanchez continues to rewrite history, but some people are onto him. For example, there is an extensive dossier at County Historian. There’s plenty of evidence there that Sanchez worked as an gay porn actor and as an escort. I can understand his desire to put his past behind him, but in this day and age it doesn’t really pay to lie about it.
April 18, 2007
Cho Seung-Hui, Playwright
A classmate of Cho Seung-Hui has posted two the killer’s plays, “Mr. Brownstone” and “Richard McBeef.” They’re awful, awful, awful plays. Nevertheless, the content is a violent and profane, but isn’t nearly as profane or violent as I expected. The only thing really insane about these is that he handed them in for a class.
April 17, 2007
Oragami, Sam Sloan Style
Every once in a while, I like to check out the web site of my #1 favorite crackpot/mad genius Sam Sloan. Sam’s personality comes through quite strongly in everything he does and he passionate about things like books, chess, Asian women, lawsuits, and sex. Sloan is also a bona fide historic figure, as he is the last individual to argue a case pro se in the Supreme Court of the United States. And forget that old adage, about “having a fool for a client” because Sloan actually won the case.
This doesn’t make his other behavior any less bizarre or erratic. Hot damn, if the guy isn’t making DVDs lately and you know that’s got to be tasty. So I did a little reasearch:
“Oragami for Children” sounds so atrocious that I must buy a copy immediately. It’s been reviewed on Amazon, presumably by somebody who knew what he was getting into:
The Documentary has 4 characters. The teacher, the friend, the “perverted wizard” and the Origami monster. (The monster was a 3 yr old girl, who behaved well for a three year old. It’s just that she was far too young for this DVD. The reason I call her “Origami monster” will be evident soon and is purely for dramatic effect)
The DVD starts with the teacher Kayo, teaching how to make a crane, while the 3 year old Origami monster keeps disturbing her. Her greatest joy is to try to unfold, destroy and open/rip any Origami model she can lay her hands on. The teacher is completely out of control and even answers the cell phone in the middle of teaching, completely on camera. Not to mention, speaking in Japanese during the teaching and phone call. Her friend, Mayumi, visits her and demonstrates how to make a not so basic Sonobe type module and eventually makes the 12 piece pointed ball star. What beginners DVD begins with cranes and Sonobe modulars modules?? To add insult to injury, the “perverted wizard,” Sam makes a brief appearance where he sits next to friend and kisses her and is all very touchy and obvious in his affection for his teacher wife’s friend. We all had flashes of some reality TV while watching this.
Part two of the DVD is a more formal teaching of origami. I use the word teaching quiet liberally in this review. The formal teaching is also short lived as after teaching 4 models ; crane, waterbomb, purse and pigeon, the three year old monster resurrects and starts her demolition.
To top it all, the teacher even does some cloth/scarf folding and actually makes a bra.
This DVD can be summed up in the teachers own words (pronounced with her accent), “This is origami ‘sheet'”.
Sloan also reviews his own “Contemporary Dance Festival Performance October 8, 2005,” which starts with the headline “Finally out, after litigation.” There’s very little in Sloan’s life that doesn’t involve some form of litigation; note the numerous legal documents posted on his site.
April 14, 2007
April 13, 2007
Tonic Closes
Generally, I’m all real estate going to the highest value use. But the notion of value is actually pretty elusive because of the great many things you can’t put a dollar value on. One thing you really can’t put dollar value on is the cultural capital of New York. This cultural capital exists only in it’s exercise and we have it. But music exists to be performed and listened to. Without anywhere to play, there will be no more music of the kind that Tonic supported.
It makes me very sad that New York has turned into the kind of place where the only use we have for space is to put a condo on it. New York is killing the vibrant cultural life that makes it a desirable place to live in the first place. Usually, I’m in awe in the kind of the abundance of wealth and choice we enjoy here. This trend of closing clubs and performance venues has me ironically wishing for decay of one thing to save something else that we value.
April 11, 2007
GTA IV
GTA IV – which looks breathtakingly delicious – has got politicians in New York up in arms. The game very closely resembles (is) New York City. As a resident, I welcome the opportunity to indulge my criminal revenge fantasies on my virtual neighbors. Beats going to Rikers.
April 8, 2007
Dec II
The incredibly name Xenius Jones is also tuned into the UTTER TRUTH OF THE WORLDWIDE MAD DEADLY GANGSTER COMPUTER GOD. Like me, Jones was involved in the tape trading circles of the late 80’s early 90’s where bizarre bits of audio were shared by a tenuous web of pre-internet hipster geeks. This was our first exposure to the insanity/genius of Francis E. Dec, Esquire.