Time to put away the personal platitudes and portraits and get back to the business at hand. The amazing, fierce, smart as a smart can be, critic of all things that need to be critiqued, music/feminist warrior Erika Anderson aka EMA is back, sans her badass band Gowns -r.i.p- with her new project, AWE and let me tell you, this stuff is crisper, more cutting and cleaner than anything she's done before. It's as if her vision has been funneled and reduced to a super potent potion. One drop goes a long way. click here for two unreleased tracks from her upcoming EP California (Boys) is AMAZING. Here's a snippet of the music vid that is forth coming, by Erika. But click the link for the entire track.
Excuse me while I toot my own horn here. Best Music Writing came out and in the introduction Ann Powers said the most amazing thing anyone has ever said about my writing ever. Ann is basically one of my heroes and when i read it, I died. The book is out now so go give it a read! Lots of amazing, amazing pieces by Sasha Frere Jones, Michelle Tea, Randall Roberts, Robert Christgua, Jessica Hopper and Mary Gaitskil, to name a few. In other news, Nick has a new blog, ahem, sorry, Tumblr, Tumble, where he is posting the awesomeness that is his brain. Go see why I love the guy so much. He's even posting some of his poetry, which is what he's in grad school for, so you better believe its good stuff! click here to be transported to a tumblr orgy Heather has been in town and we've been kicken it. Here's us at Antie Ems. Courtesy of Athena Schindelhiems. Okay, schmos, talk soon. Also, things you should read if you haven't already The Ihop Papers by Ali Liebegott, The Lost Art of Reading, by David Ulin and Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America by Michelle Tea, any article in ArtForum by Catherine Taft.
In 1969, 27-year- old Dr. William J. Kaufmann III became the youngest Director at any major observatory in the United States. His youth and vitality fueled his efforts to bridge the gap between the scientific community and the general public to allow everyone to share in the advances of astronomy.
Under Kaufmann's direction, Griffith Observatory would host a lunar exhibit, showcasing lunar rocks that allowed visitors to see up-close a piece of the celestial object which has been viewed countless times through the Observatory's telescopes. The exhibits in the Hall of Science reflected the public's interest in the space program, with an exhibit of a "spacemobile" and models of other spacecraft.
The new information about the moon learned by Apollo 11 and 12 also led to a new planetarium show entitled "New Discoveries from the Moon," which not only presented data but also dealt with the practical issue of whether these efforts were worth their lofty price tags.
In 1973, the first Laserium show in the U.S. was presented in the Observatory's planetarium theater. This laser-light program, set initially to classical music and later to songs from artists such as Pink Floyd, proved to be instantly popular. These exhibitions of modern laser light technology were conducted by a "laser-artist" (Laserist for short) with computer-programmed material to create eye-catching images. Kaufmann's goal to reach out to the public extended beyond theatrics, and in 1972 the Observatory premiered its first planetarium show in Spanish. Dr. Kaufmann left the Observatory in 1974 to pursue other interests and passed away in 1995.
As much as it might seem dark and hopeless right now, good things have come in the past from the midst of frustration, anger and disbelief. All at times when we thought it couldn't get worse. This country is all kinds of fucked up, not even taking into consideration the people who have been stepped on, wiped out and used to get where we are now. That aside, we are also a country of loving, compassionate, wonderful, intelligent, capable strong willed individuals, despite our flaws. I'm typing this as much for me as you, dear readers. After all, this country made jazz, coca cola- neither of these things I particularly enjoy, but still!-we line soup kitchens to feed our poor and when we are the poor, we still pause to give thanks, I'm not being corny!! It's true and we know it, we have made beautiful art, erected amazing universities and institutions and in the past admitted when we needed help, or were the first to rush out and offer a hand to those in need. We have opened our arms to the idea of personal freedoms, when we work, there's no one else like us. I have always loved, deeply loved American culture, all its fucked up flaws included. Andy Warhol and I have that in common. Anyway, don't let a few scared, backwards, moonshine fucks give us a bad name. And lets not be be like them either and hate all people that look or sound like them, after all, Elvis is of this country and I live and breathe and go to work in the same country as the great, now dearly departed King. Is there anything so beautiful sounding as the voice of Elvis Presley singing gospel? I am not a religious person, well, I might be Unitarian if push came to shove, but that's something else entirely, Elvis loved god, his country, and all the little children and he moved a nation with his velvety goodness, with his simple belief in human solidarity. He sang for all people, at all times. Lets move gain, forward and onward, oh yes, in the name of Elvis, tonight I go on. post script: if you are a religious person and you do pray, pray that all those before mentioned homophobic, racist, misogynist confused sad fucks, pick up a book, read it, and learn a goddamn thing or two. The worst part is, iced tea was and always has been my favorite beverage, lately, i find myself ordering coffee. Lets drink tea again, lets drink tea and not be ashamed!
