Awright. It's time to get busy. Obama-busy! Thank you to all of you have been. The website for BarackObama has all kinds of new great tools, including Neighbor to Neighbor, that allows us to print off lists of our neighbors to contact about this campaign and this movement. It's easy, cool, and involves you and others in the campaign in a real way, apart from the media.
I know sometimes the political process seems impossible, superficial, and worse. But we're changing that. We're building a campaign of the people, by the people, and for the people.
So, for those of you who think there's not much you can do, or you're not in a battleground state, please know that every phone call, every connection you make, makes a world of difference. And even if you connect to your neighbors in a state that's not at risk, say NY, remember that every person you connect to leads them to connect to others, friends and families in battleground states. There is NO excuse for this being so close.
SUN, SEPT 14th 12:30 show (11:30 doors) BUBBLE DO BEATLES "A HARD DAY'S NIGHT" plus hits! for KIDS!!! After a year of performing 40th anniversary tributes to Fab albums "Sgt Pepper", "The White Album" and "Yellow Submarine", Bubble return to the early days and do the Beatles "A Hard Day's Night"...the complete album that accompanied their '64 feature film. They will also preview their anniversary tribute to "Abbey Road" (coming in '09) with a few tunes as well as revisit some other kid-friendly hits from the Liverpool lads' career spanning catalog. There will also be a selection of rare Beatles cartoons played before the show, as well as a full brunch menu. Kids can dance and sing while their parents enjoy their food and some melodic classics. A splendid time is guaranteed for ALL. HIGHLINE BALLROOM 431 W 16th St, NYC 10011 (between 9th & 10th Ave) 212-414-5994 tickets $15 advance / $20 door
Wednesday, September 17, 2008 9.30pm Jon Langford w/ Burlington Welsh Male Chorus, Antietam, KatJonBand, Sally Timms, and Chris Mills New York, Knitting Factory
Thursday, September 18, 7:30pm KATJON BAND (ft. Jon Langford of The Mekons), CHRIS MILLS, and The Doughboys$10 at Union Hall in Brooklyn.
Thursday, September 18, 2008 at 8pm The Silos' Water Salas and Jonathan Lethem teamed up for an intriguing musical/written word project. This is the launch party! Housing Works 126 Crosby Street, NYC (212-334-3324)
Saturday, October 25, 2008 The Silos' Water Salas and Jonathan Lethem teamed up for an intriguing musical/written word project. CMJ Music Marathon Union Pool 484 Union Ave, Brooklyn
Thursday, November
13, 2008 at 7:00 PM 
The
Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers presents: A
Checkroom Romance. Music by Mark Mulcahy. Libretto and Pictures by Ben
Katchor. Cartoonist and former Cullman Center Fellow Ben Katchor and composer
Mark Mulcahy return to the Library with the world premiere of a multi-media
musical that explores the mystery and wonder of the coat checkroom.
"A Checkroom Romance" was commissioned by the Dorothy and Lewis
B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers - - don't miss this world premiere
event!
TICKETS New
York Public Library Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street New York, NY South Court
Auditorium
My friend Deb Magosci edited a film on this site: Iraqis in Egypt.
Did you dig HBO's 'Recount'? My friend Matt Kohn's film Call It Democracy is now available on DVD from Iron Weed films (a lefty netflixy kinda club thing.)
Adam McKay & Will Ferrell's production company released its first feature film: The Foot Fist Way. It's in limited release, so check it out!
Did you see that we relaunched Pathetic Geek Stories?
I'm writing a column for the printed newspaper the WG News & Arts (online version in the works). Look for it-it's called Dig and Be Dug!
Get off printed mailing lists:
Direct Marketing Association now has a online preference form. You can request to be removed from all of their lists (most catalogs you get are from members of the DMA). You can also selectively choose what you DO want to receive there. It's kinda confusing, but you register, log in, then under manager preferences, choose the third option, which is universal opt-out. I went ahead and used credit card option, to make it immediate, longer-term, and free.
Also, this is an opt-out from the credit bureaus to stop unsolicited offers of credit and insurance.
Do Not Call-remove your cell and home phone numbers forever from telemarketing lists
My nephew had the blues:
Music:
- Jon Langford
- Mekons
- Buried Treasure Records
- Lianne Smith
- Mary Kate O'Neil
- Chris Mills
- Mingus Big Band
- Paul Burch
- Nada Surf
- John Dyer
- Lee Feldman
- Dave Foster
- Greg Peterson
- Roland Benedek
- Battlestar America
- Rob Paravonian Political and funny songs
- Uncle Dave and the Waco Brothers
- Mingus at Cornell in 1964 which they're calling the jazz release of the year (2007). Yay! More at mingusmingusmingus.com
Books
by Friends:
Emily Flake a new book out! "These Things Ain't Gonna Smoke Themselves" She's the best. You can also still get her wonderful Lulu Eightball. Go here to buy. Emily Flake in/on New Yorker.
Stealing God's Thunder : Benjamin Franklin's Lightning Rod and the Invention of America Written by Philip Dray, author of At the Hands of Persons Unknown : The Lynching of Black America. You can listen to him talk about it on Fresh Air here. Finalist for the Pulitzer prize and 2003 winner of the RFK Memorial Book Award!
John Hodgman of the Little Gray Book Lectures has also put out a book of his wonderful thinkings called The Area of My Expertise.
Sheldon Rampton & John Stauber have a new book: The Best War Ever. Sheldon Rampton, author of "Weapons of Mass Deception: The Uses of Propaganda in Bush's War on Iraq" has written a new book called "Banana Republicans: How the Right Wing Is Turning America Into a One-Party State" It's called and can be found at a bookstore near you!
An Inconvenient Truth is out on DVD.
Tonight at Noon by Sue Mingus. A memoir of her life with Mingus, this love story includes never-before published photographs of Mingus and a special epilogue about the activities Mingus' music has taken on since his death. You can dig more about Charles Mingus and the Mingus Big Band at their site.
Othe
Sparkle Television is here. Join the network now to get the inside scoop on how to participate.
Pathetic
Geek StoriesEmily Flake's cartoons and illustrations
Little Commie LLC's Legal representation: Heraty Law. Their site includes good links for small businesses.
The Centered. My friend Karrie Adamany's pilates studio.
Chu Tai Chi Tai Chi Center in Times Square (I recommend the Nei Kung workshop and ongoing classes, and the Eternal Spring Tai Chi--great for beginners but still kicks your ass.)