Not about Postal Service though. However, Dntel signing with Sub Pop is cool. Dntel’s last album is a work of minimalist genius. Check it out.
But now, according to Pitchfork, he will be a full-time Sub Pop guy, complete with indie guest-stars that will make most high schoolers very happy. And me too.
Perhaps cooler yet, Jim from the Office, is directing a movie. Ben Gibbard, in all his brontosaurus glory, is set to play a part. Neat.
A news editor gets a lot of wacky mail. Check it out:
> From: “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx” > Date: Thu Jan 11, 2007 1:51:23 PM US/Pacific > To: > xxxxxxxx > > Dear Mr. President: Send Even MORE Troops (and you go, too!) …from > Michael Moore > > 1/10/07 > > > > Dear Mr. President, > > Thanks for your address to the nation. It’s good to know you still > want to talk to us after how we behaved in November. > > Listen, can I be frank? Sending in 20,000 more troops just ain’t gonna > do the job. That will only bring the troop level back up to what it > was last year. And we were losing the war last year! We’ve already had > over a million troops serve some time in Iraq since 2003. Another few > thousand is simply not enough to find those weapons of mass > destruction! Er, I mean… bringing those responsible for 9/11 to > justice! Um, scratch that. Try this — BRING DEMOCRACY TO THE MIDDLE > EAST! YES!!! > > You’ve got to show some courage, dude! You’ve got to win this one! > C’mon, you got Saddam! You hung ‘im high! I loved watching the video > of that — just like the old wild west! The bad guy wore black! The > hangmen were as crazy as the hangee! Lynch mobs rule!!! > > Look, I have to admit I feel very sorry for the predicament you’re in. > As Ricky Bobby said, “If you’re not first, you’re last.” And you being > humiliated in front of the whole world does NONE of us Americans any > good. > > Sir, listen to me. You have to send in MILLIONS of troops to Iraq, not > thousands! The only way to lick this thing now is to flood Iraq with > millions of us! I know that you’re out of combat-ready soldiers — so > you have to look elsewhere! The only way you are going to beat a > nation of 27 million — Iraq — is to send in at least 28 million! > Here’s how it would work: > > The first 27 million Americans go in and kill one Iraqi each. That > will quickly take care of any insurgency. The other one million of us > will stay and rebuild the country. Simple. > > Now, I know you’re saying, where will I find 28 million Americans to > go to Iraq? Here are some suggestions: > > 1. More than 62,000,000 Americans voted for you in the last election > (the one that took place a year and half into a war we already knew we > were losing). I am confident that at least a third of them would want > to put their body where there vote was and sign up to volunteer. I > know many of these people and, while we may disagree politically, I > know that they don’t believe someone else should have to go and fight > their fight for them — while they hide here in America. > > 2. Start a “Kill an Iraqi” Meet-Up group in cities across the country. > I know this idea is so early-21st century, but I once went to a Lou > Dobbs Meet-Up and, I swear, some of the best ideas happen after the > third mojito. I’m sure you’ll get another five million or so enlistees > from this effort. > > 3. Send over all members of the mainstream media. After all, they were > your collaborators in bringing us this war — and many of them are > already trained from having been “embedded!” If that doesn’t bring the > total to 28 million, then draft all viewers of the FOX News channel. > > Mr. Bush, do not give up! Now is not the time to pull your punch! > Don’t be a weenie by sending in a few over-tired troops. Get your > people behind you and YOU lead them in like a true commander in chief! > Leave no conservative behind! Full speed ahead! > > We promise to write. Go get ‘em W! > > Yours, > > Michael Moore > > mmflint@aol.com > www.michaelmoore.com > > maillist@michaelmoore.com > > ———————— Andrew Nealon Editor Tri-County News xxx-xxxx ————————
I’m Michael Moore… blech. I’m pithy. Ooh la la.
This next one is actually pretty interesting. I had no idea they had backup packs.
RED CROSS IS DELIVERING MEALS ON WHEELS TODAY
(EUGENE, January 12, 2007) – The Oregon Pacific Chapter of the American Red Cross is providing Meals on Wheels delivery to our clients today.
The Meals on Wheels program sponsored by the local Red Cross serves about 300 hot, nutritious meals each weekday to homebound seniors in most areas of Eugene, parts of Springfield north of Highway 105 and some rural locations.
The program will be serving a hot meal to all Meals on Wheels clients today. Most seniors also will receive a frozen meal meant to be eaten on Monday. The Red Cross is closed on Monday because of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
On Thursday, the Meals on Wheels program called each of our clients to alert them that we would not be delivering that day and to ask them to use one meal from non-perishable blizzard packs that were delivered before winter.
The blizzard packs contain three complete meals. When they are delivered, clients are told to hold their boxes until notified. Then, if winter weather forces the Meals on Wheels program to halt deliveries for a day or two, clients are called and told to break open their blizzard packs.
You can help support the Meals on Wheels program in our community by making a financial gift to the local American Red Cross. Contributions to the Red Cross may be sent to the Oregon Pacific Chapter at 862 Bethel Drive, Eugene, OR 97402 or visit online at oregonpacific.redcross.org. Call (541) 344-5244 for more information
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money and blood to do its work.
Well… I was skeptical at first. Really, I was. I was in love with the BBC version of the Office and thought an American version would just be so much re-hash. Well, I was wrong. Yes the first two episodes were pretty much the same as the British version, heck, the whole first season has undeniable parallels. But at a point, the U.S. version went its own way. You have to watch it.
This is an interesting appeal. I’m not sure using a Star Trek metaphor is the best way to reach other politicians, but it sure would appeal to most every electrical engineer out there.
My Netflix queue has been pretty spectacular recently, as I have a long list of documentaries running right now. I think I am about to largely give up on mainstream film. I haven’t seen a worthwhile big budget movie in a long time, but small indie film studios are making great films.
Now, before I tell you about the Protocols of Zion, a Marc Levin documentary, I want to make it clear this movie is a huge propaganda piece, just like Fahrenheit 9/11 or any other political documentary with spin. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth a view, because it is.
Set around the events following 9/11, Protocols takes the viewer along with Levin as he tries to understand a “popular” conspiracy theory that Jews pulled off 9/11 to force attacks on the Mideast by the U.S. Now, I had never heard the theory until watching this movie, but Levin does less to debunk the theory than he does to frame the current amount of cultural tension that exists in the United States and how absolutely shocking some of these views can be. The best part of this movie, in fact, is watching Levin’s face as he reacts to extremist views.
I can’t deny Levin has a backbone. The film is made up of sequences of Levin talking with Palestinian Americans, Black Americans, Muslims, Arabs, Jews, and, in the films most shocking and funny interview, a very business-minded Skin Head. (He makes a distinction between being a Neo-Nazi and Skin Head and shows Levin his large stock of Nazi flags, swastika boots and classic Nazi propaganda films.) Levin holds his own and even argues his points in situations most would do anything to avoid. Thus, the film, while pushing an agenda, does an amazing job of making you think about other perspectives. For instance, while filled with hate, the white supremacist is very organized and can argue his point. However, his point is hate and separation, but you know, he’s not spewing, he’s speaking.
Anyway, the whole movie is based on fighting the belief that Jews control the world through a secret plan called the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. This is really interesting. The Protocols is a best-selling, highly misunderstood, antisemitic book that was created in Russia by the secret police in the early 1900s. It is nothing more than incredibly successful propaganda.
It seems hate is one of the best motivations to create successful propaganda. The Nazi’s and apparently the Russians created some of the most effective propaganda ever known to man. However, they also went too far on occasion and created propaganda that backfired. Levin uses one such film, The Eternal Jew, as an example of successful Nazi propaganda. However, The Eternal Jew went too far, comparing Jewish Germans to rats and using really horrible imagery. It was not received well. But, many films were.
This is where it gets sad. It seems to me that the Jewish population of the world has all the problems any other cultural division has, but they also have years and years of multi-million dollar, multi-media propaganda against them. That blows! That is where this film is really important. It shows the effects of propaganda in the long term… and the effects are long lasting, scary and really hard to reverse.
After covering the Harrisburg City Council meeting, which was riveting, especially when we went over beekeeping ordinances, I stopped at my local Dari Mart for a pack of cigarettes and some butter. The trip was successful, but when I was checking out, the shopkeep asked what the difference between the blue Spirits and yellow Spirits was. (I smoke blue, and, yes, I have cut back considerably since moving away from college and Portland. I am down to about two a day.) It went something like this:
ME Can I get a pack of American Spirit Blue as well?
SHOPKEEP Sure. Hey, what’s the difference between the blue and yellow?
ME Blue is regular and yellow is light. Like Camels and Camel Lights.
SHOPKEEP What does it matter? A “light” cigarette? It’s all “non-addictive tobacco.”
(She did air quotes.)
ME Right. I think it has to do with the amount of nicotine.
SHOPKEEP It’s all that “non-addictive tobacco” though.
ME Well, the tobacco isn’t addictive. It’s the nicotine.
SHOPKEEP You’re making me angry. You need to leave.
ME On my way.
Okay… so. It turns out, light really doesn’t mean anything. Apparently, light cigarettes have tiny pinholes on the filter that allow smoke to escape, causing the smoker to smoke “lighter feeling” smoke. Everything else is the same. Nothing but tiny holes. In fact, many smokers cover the holes with their fingers or lips, causing the same result as a regular. So, really there is no difference. The argument was pointless to begin with.
But, in the end, should the Dari Mart clerk really try to give me a message? I wasn’t buying porn. Or alcohol. Arguably, these things are just as bad or worse for society. Anyway… thats not the point. Point is… I have literally no idea what the hell she was arguing. No clue. I know it was a critique and I angered her somehow. Oh well… it reminds me of that scene in clerks, but she was throwing the cigarettes at me instead.
Oh… and I was buying butter. Thats like pure fat! But, she was a little overweight, so I guess she wouldn’t yell at me for eating saturated fats.
Well… I found something that might force me to spend an entire paycheck breaking contracts and replacing equipment. The design! Play with the walk through, it really is an amazing piece of equipment, if it works.
My dream is to have an entire house wired by Apple. Things got a little closer to my dream with the new TV box and the iPhone. Now, if Apple can get the price down soon and really market this thing right, like I am sure they will, they have a chance of destroying all other phone models. Can you imagine, who owns any other type of MP3 player? Who owns a zune? Is it a monopoly is everything is well designed?
