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I am Heath.
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Friday, February 21, 2003
Tele-phony A friend got her first wrong number SMS this morning. It said, "Do u want to go to the mall later will mom take us." Rock Shows of Note LV Oh, I am burning too brightly as I near my 30th birthday. Last night, Kurt called around 9 saying that he was going to TT the Bear's to see Tim Easton play. Some friends and former bandmates of Kurt's now play in Easton's back-up band. I arrived in time to catch a lengthy set by Jay Bennett and Edward Burch. The club was all a-twitter because Bennett's the guy who "got kicked out of Wilco." Word is he plays a role in I Am Trying to Break Your Heart. They performed a solid set, albeit long, and I spent much of the evening chatting with Kurt and Geraldine. In fact, I didn't really pay much attention to Easton at all, and I went home way too late for a weeknight. Dragging my feet today, Media Dieticians, and it's so beautiful and warm outside. And, adding mystery to misery, I somehow skinned my knuckles last night. I have no idea how I scraped my right hand so. Sigh. Tonight's going to be a quiet night inside, occupied by dishes, laundry, recycling, and the television. I'm getting too old for this. Corollary: Television-Impaired VI Pitchfork has published an article about the indie-rock leanings of Dawson's Creek, and the inclusion of local yokels Choo Choo la Rouge on said show. It's an interesting look at how music is selected for TV shows -- and the impact that inclusion might (or might not) have on a band's "career." Interesting trivial tidbit: The Dawson's Creek Music Guide lists every song played in various episodes, complete with links to bands' Web sites, cross-referenced mentions of other episodes a musical group was featured in, and descriptions of the scenes during which a song was played. You can even compile your own soundtrack of songs from the show. Now if only my copy of the Gilmore Girls soundtrack would arrive, already! Magazine Me XXIII Reasons You Should Read Sports Illustrated Even If You Don't Like Sports: 1. Steve Rushin. The senior writer's Air and Space columns read the way good letters from the editor should: personal, poignant, and principled. 2. The Show. This two-column roundup of one liners penned by David Letterman's head monologue writer, Bill Scheft, offers ample fuel for the water-cooler fire. 3. Faces in the Crowd. Few magazines have celebrated the Everyman -- here represented by junior, high-school, college, and other workaday amateur athletes -- as visibly or consistently. 4. The annual swimsuit issue. Meow! 5. You are -- or you know -- a man. Sometimes, knowing a little about sports, just a little, can be useful. And reading SI is hella better than watching sports, for crissakes. Thursday, February 20, 2003
Corollary: Games People Play V Here are some snapshots fresh from the Bucket Ball tournament. Get your game on. 
The object of our desire: The bucket. 
Referee Daigo explains scoring to Andrew. 
Dan gets in the zone... 
...prepares to throw... 
...and misses! 
The fans in the cheap seats cheer, nonetheless. 
Keeping score. 
Showing team pride. 
Twintern Paul gives Rob a run for his money. 
Boo-yah! 
More from the floor. 
Wicked Dixon! 
A close call. 
Murdoch checking the schedule 
"Oh, let's check the rules to see if that counts." 
Game over. As soon as the BBL releases the official scores and statistics, I'll file another tournament report. Hiking History IV The Boston World Explorers' Foundation gathered this past Sunday for its second expedition. On the coldest day of the winter to date, on the 80th anniversary of the opening of Tutankhamen's tomb, and the day before the Blizzard of 2003, foundation members delved into the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston. The Intrepid Explorers:    Here are some architectural, cultural, and historical highlights we explored in Beacon Hill.                Thanks to everyone who participated! "We may not know where we're going, but we've read a lot about it." Sources: Philip Bergen, Old Boston in Early Photographs, 1850-1918; William Corbett, Literary New England; Fodor's Boston '96; Walt Kellley, What They Never Told You About Boston; Greg and Katherine Letterman, Walking Boston; and A. McVoy McIntyre, Beacon Hill: A Walking Tour Music to My Ears XXVI Bug Bytes is a reference library of digitized insect sounds. Eerily beautiful ambient sounds that, if you listen to too many, may just give you the creeps. Thanks to Memepool. Games People Play V Some co-workers invented a new sport called Bucket Ball. The first Bucket Ball tournament starts tonight at 5 p.m. It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XXIV As if a world in which Maxim shills hair dye for men and Hustler revitalizes seedy strip clubs wasn't bad enough, the female-oriented surf clothes maker Roxy has teamed up with MTV and HarperCollins to create a TV show and book series about girl surf culture. Buy the book, wear the pants. Shades of DC Shoes' Project Detention show. Is that still airing? Thanks to Bookslut. Event-O-Dex XXXVIII One for the day planners: Saturday, March 29: Beantown Zinetown 6 will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Mass College of Art Gym in Boston. Thanks to Lisa Off My Jammy. Radio Raves WNUR-FM is one of the best college radio stations in the country, if not one of the best radio stations period. I DJ'd there between 1991 and 1995 while a student at Northwestern University, hosting the jazz, folk, and Shaking and Stomping show (surf, rockabilly, and garage). WNUR's annual pledge drive -- Phoneathon -- starts tomorrow. Please consider supporting WNUR 89.3 FM this year (between Thursday, Feb. 21, through Feb. 27). The Jazz Show on WNUR runs Monday-Friday from 5 a.m. through 12:30 p.m., giving everyone in Chicago and all over the world via our Webcast 37.5 hours of jazz every week. WNUR depends on its listeners for financial support -- Northwestern University only pays for transmitter-related expenses, basically just enough enough to keep our signal up. Everything else in our budget (programming-related expenses, repairs, replacements, upgrades, etc.) comes from the money we raise. That's just the Jazz Show's email solicitation. You can check out WNUR's programming schedule online, as well as learn more about Phoneathon. I give WNUR money every year. And I don't even mind not receiving the premiums. Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Happy Birthday to Media Dieticians XI I turn 30 next Wednesday. People tell me that that's kind of a big deal. Friends and family ask me what I'm doing to celebrate. I'll tell you what I'm doing. To honor all past, present, and future university teaching assistants and professors, I am holding office hours. That's right: Office hours. If by "office" you mean "bar." (I'm totally serious about the "hours" bit. Turning 29 was hard enough. 30 should be a cakewalk. If by "cake" you mean "beer." And if by "walk" you mean "drink.") The essentials: Any and all Media Dieticians are invited. Come and go as you wish. Bring friends and family members. Bring quarters for the jukebox. Quoth the Boston Phoenix, "The Cambridgeport Saloon is no den of bigotry; it's not even a very rowdy place. There are just as many MIT students and townie sports fans hanging at the bar as there are skinheads. But thank God the latter have taken over the jukebox, which cranks out a collection of '77-vintage UK punk and early American hardcore as extensive as you're likely to find in any bar." Quoth the MIT Tech, "The Cambridge License Commission has voted to require the Cambridgeport Saloon to hire a security guard on weekend evenings to patrol the sidewalk outside the bar." Thank god it's Wednesday. And thank you for your attention. Event-O-Dex XXXVII Friday, Feb. 21: Lloyd Arthur (saxophone and guitar) and Frank O'Dell (drums) perform a free spazz jazz show at 8 p.m. at Twisted Village Records on Harvard Square. Corollary: Big Brother Is Watching XII Portland, Oregon-based attorney Bert Krages has developed a legal handbook for photographers, as well as a downloadable guide to your rights as a shutterbug. Quoth Krages: The right to take photographs is now under assault more than ever. People are being stopped, harassed, and even intimidated into handing over their personal property simply because they were taking photographs of subjects that made other people uncomfortable. Recent examples include photographing industrial plants, bridges, and vessels at sea. For the most part, attempts to restrict photography are based on misguided fears about the supposed dangers that unrestricted photography presents to society. Thanks to Interesting People. Big Brother Is Watching XII Attention, trainspotters! A student at Haverford College was arrested last weekend while working on a homework assignment in Philadelphia. As part of the Cities project, the student was taking pictures of SEPTA facilities when he was arrested, detained for a few hours, and eventually released. Word is that taking photographs of public transit facilities is cause for arrest during "Code Orange" alerts. Thanks to Interesting People. Tuesday, February 18, 2003
It's an Ad, Ad, Ad, Ad World XXIII Ogilvy & Mather in Toronto has created an ad spot for the Television Bureau of Canada's awards, the Bessies. It's a well-produced and bittersweet short film about the birth -- and death -- of an idea. Thanks to Media Dietician Laszlo Perlorian. Corollary: The Blogging of Business Well, one of my questions about how AlwaysOn plans to incorporate members' voices outside of comments and discussion posts has been addressed. In my in box yesterday was an email from Tony Perkins that reads: AlwaysOn wants your opinion! But it has to be 600 words or less. Seems like they're heading in the right direction! Monday, February 17, 2003
Comic Books and Commerce Ninth Art's Paul O'Brien asks: Has Marvel sold its creative soul to the anti-smoking lobby? Blogging About Blogging L Google just bought Pyra Labs, maker of Blogger. Congratulations, Ev! And happy President's Day. Thanks to Interesting People. Event-O-Dex XXXVI The Zeitgeist Gallery in Inman Square in Cambridge is hosting an exhibition of original comic art featuring R. Crumb, Dan Clowes, Rick Altergott, Ariel Bordeaux, Jack Davis, Greg Cook, Art Spiegelman, and others through the month of March. "Comics as Art" can be seen at 1353 Cambridge St., Cambridge. Comics and Community VIII The March 2003 edition of Wizard includes an item about an interesting music-and-comics collaboration between Jim Mahfood and DJ Z-Trip. Now that Mahfood has moved to LA, he's done some "live art" at the El Rey Theater in December. While Z-Trip played hip-hop and funk music, Mahfood threw up some giant murals. Word is they intend to do more comics collaborations in the future. Comic Book Collections IV Not so much comic books as s-f and punk-rock fanzines, here are two interesting DIY archival opportunities. Per the September 2002 issue of Locus, and as mentioned here Aug. 2, 2002, the University of Calgary Library acquired the s-f book and magazine collection of William Robert Gibson, who died at the of 92 in 2001. Gibson's collection spans Jules Verne's 19th-century work to the 21st century's cyperpunk writing. It also comprises pulp magazines from the 1920s-1950s. The library estimates that it needs to raise $500,000 to clean, preserve, catalog, and house the collection, which will be open to researchers. Email Blane Hogue, director of development, information resources, for more information. And in Maximumrocknroll #236, Mykel Board says that the Salt Lake City Library System is paying cash money for non-newsprint zines. Mail materials to Brooke Young, Salt Lake City Public Library, 209 E. 500 S., Salt Lake City, UT 84111 -- with a bill -- and the library will send you a check to cover the donation. Board's already sent them some stuff and gotten his. Pieces, Particles XIII With the onset of winter in Boss Town, I've been spending some real quality time on the Big Blue Couch at Church Corner. I hope to keep up with my clip file more frequently, and I apologize for the daunting entry that follows. That said, the following media-related stories recently spotted in print publications might be worth a look. Heads and decks, only. Heads and decks. Alternative Voices on Campus by Emma Ruby-Sachs and Timothy Waligore, The Nation, Feb. 17, 2003 Progressive journals are key in creating a movement, but they lack support Are You Addicted to TV? by Martiga Lohn, Natural Health, January/February 2003 You can turn it off whenever you want, right? Or can you? Find out what TV is really doing to you and how altering your habits can change your life Big Brother Is Also Being Watched, with a New Alarm by Eleanor Heartney, The New York Times, Jan. 26, 2003 Even before 9/11, artists were looking at issues raised by a society of surveillance Blabberwocky by Scot Lehigh, The Boston Globe Magazine, Feb. 9, 2003 We've all begun to talk in media-driven stupid-speak, clipped cliches and solecisms that amount to a verbal virus Bone: The End, Wizard, February 2003 Boston's Logan International Airport by Douglas Corrigan, Airliners, September/October 2002 Gateway to New England Cable TV System Uprooted, and Some Russian Immigrants See Vestiges of Totalitarian Past by Andy Newman, The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2003 A building manager cuts off reception of a Russian-language channel Charles N. Brown: The Joy of SF by Jennifer Hall, Locus, September 2002 Community Rallies to Aid Creator, Wizard, February 2003 Copyright Monopolies by Andrew Shapiro, The Nation, Feb. 17, 2003 Culture Change by David Goodman, Mother Jones, January/February 2003 Does the selling of Stonyfield Farm yogurt signals the end of socially responsible business -- or a new beginning? Dial Again by Roger Angell, The New Yorker, Feb. 10, 2003 On the Ameche Doctor, My Eyes by Joel Achenbach, National Geographic, February 2003 How we watch TV ads Doing Their Own Thing, Making Art Together by Holland Cotter, The New York Times, Jan. 19, 2003 A new movement of collectives, with names like rock bands, harks back to the 60's (an uncool notion for these digital-age multitaskers). E-Epistles by Anjula Razdan, Utne, January-February 2003 A letter-writing revival Fear of a Punk Planet by Ivan Kreilkamp, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003 Flash News by Geoff Edgers, The Boston Globe, Jan. 26, 2003 Call them reality videos. They show young women willing to life their shirts, and 4.5 million were sold last year The Forest for the Trees by Michael Ackerman, The Big Takeover, No. 51 Game School's Finest Minds by Mark Schone, Rolling Stone, Feb. 20, 2003 Meet the young stars of a university devoted to video games -- they're the happiest dorks in college Get Ready for the Blogs by Leif Utne, Utne, January-February 2003 Making good on the Internet's promise of a global village Getting Your War On by Camille Dodero, The Boston Phoenix, Oct. 25, 2002 Here at GQ by Martin Beiser, GQ, September 2002 Notes on forty-five years of ascendancy Here Comes the Fuzz by Richard Linnett, Advertising Age, Jan. 13, 2003 Bat Boy crosses the line The Hidden Life of Art Supplies by Sara Zaske, Sierra, January/February 2003 Holy Rock 'n' Rollers by Lauren Sandler, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003 How to Write a Catchy Beer Ad by Chris Ballard, The New York Times Magazine, Jan. 26, 2003 Footballs, guitars -- and twins -- turned a commercial into a phenomenon The Hush of History by Cate McQuaid, The Boston Globe, Jan. 26, 2003 Not all at Quabbin is a watery grave; relics of people and towns remain Just Plain Folks Write Songs, Too by Jon Pareles, The New York Times, Feb. 9, 2003 For decades, song-sharking has preyed on naive, hopeful amateurs. But sometimes the racket can turn up winners Ladder to Success by Joanna Weiss, The Boston Globe, Feb. 9, 2003 Step by step, publicists help turn shabby area into hip new district for Boston's martini crowd The Lost Art of Reading the Newspaper at Night by A.J. Jacobs, Esquire, February 2003 Major Labels' Century-Long Abuse of Artists (and Customers), and Why Things Are Finally Starting to Change by Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, No. 51 The Man Who Wasn't There by David Wild, Rolling Stone, Jan. 23, 2003 Being the director of Adaptation and the skate-punk husband of Hollywood royalty is one thing. Being able to talk about it, well, um... A Meter Man with a Mission by Marilyn Berlin Snell, Sierra, January/February 2003 Mexico City's VW Bugs Are Headed for Extinction by Tim Weiner, The New York Times, Jan. 5, 2003 Mobile Afterlife by Katie Fehrenbacher, ReadyMade, No. 5 Where do cell phones go when they die? New Plaque Marks the First Home of the Globe by Karla Kingsley, The Boston Globe, Jan. 25, 2003 Not So Funny by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, Feb. 7, 2003 "Comic" strips get serious about life Online Treachery by Lazlow, Playboy, February 2003 (?) Net gaming has become a sinister playground for lurkers and assholes Orville Poundridge's GQ by David Kamp, GQ, September 2002 A scrapbook of the century past The Power of Music by Ann Powers, The Nation, Jan. 13-20, 2003 Practical Publishers by Phil Hall, The Hartford Courant, Oct. 17, 2002 Online magazines succeed by holding down startup costs, sometimes to zero The "Public Interest" by Bill O'Driscoll, The Nation, Jan. 6, 2003 Real People by Jenn Shreve, ReadyMade, No. 5 In advertising's new reality, the ultimate sales pitch is you The Reconnection by Chris Wright, The Boston Phoenix, Jan. 24, 2003 Two years after his break-up with WBUR, Chris Lydon is back in business Scientists Make Music with DNA, The Boston Globe, Jan. 19, 2003 Social Climbing by Blaize Wilkinson, ReadyMade, No. 5 How to be an urban tour guide Spambusters by Jacqueline White, Utne, January-February 2003 How to rid your inbox of penis enlargement offers Spammers ISO Respect by Brad Stone, Newsweek, Dec. 30, 2002/Jan. 6, 2003 Straight to Video by John Mankiewicz, The New Yorker, Feb. 10, 2003 Tangled up in Spam by James Gleick, The New York Times Magazine, Feb. 9, 2003 Those unwanted messages have become the bane of the Internet. Why we can't just say no Teen Beat by Mark Singer, The New Yorker, Jan. 13, 2003 What happens when a high-school weekly is the only newspaper in town That Sucking Sound by Neal Pollack, GQ, February 2003 Gimmicks, antics and ironic distance. Who needs real talent when you've mastered punk-rock foolishness? TV on DVD: A-OK by Matthew Gilbert, The Boston Globe Magazine, Jan. 26, 2003 Several television series are now available on disc, meaning a longer afterlife and maybe even better programs in the future Urban Legends by Michael Azerrad, The New Yorker, Aug. 12, 2002 Utopia 2.0 by Leif Utne, Utne, January-February 2003 Play games, build a future Video Underground by Mike Miliard, The Boston Phoenix, Oct. 25, 2002 Indie film finds a home Voices of America by Tom Sinclair, Entertainment Weekly, Feb. 14, 2003 For 50 years, ordinary folk have paid to have their verse set to music. Now song-poems are being hailed as art Wall Street Journal Bigs Up NME!, New Musical Express, Jan. 4, 2003 Financial bible acclaims our role in breaking new talent on both sides of the pond Was Romenesko Rebuilt in a Daze? by Greg Mitchell, Editor & Publisher, Nov. 25, 2002 Forget Iraq, Osama, and the ad-revenue blahs: When a favorite Web site gets redesigned, all hell breaks loose in media land What It's Really Like... to Give Birth on Television by Stephanie Karp, Parents, February 2003 We agreed to let a camera crew videotape my labor and delivery and broadcast it to millions When Uncle Sam Wanted Us by Paul Rauber, Sierra, January/February 2003 To Vice President Dick Cheney, conservation is just "a sign of personal virtue." In World War II, it was every citizen's duty Why Information Will No Longer Be Free by Michael Scherer, Columbia Journalism Review, January/February 2003 Zen Is Not a Perfume by Jan Chozen Bays, Buddhadharma, Fall 2002 If you work for a magazine and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left. Digesting the Daily VIII Recent editions of the Daily Northwestern, the student newspaper of my alma mater, featured several media-, technology-, and activism-related items that might be of interest to Media Dieticians. MTV correspondent battles stereotypes, bad music Asian American dishes on celebrities, making it big, in front of crowd of 200 (Jan. 14, 2003) A paper monopoly Norris Bookstore is where NU gets its texts -- but what happens if service falls short? (Jan. 16, 2003) How Norris cornered the market (Jan. 16, 2003) TV star visits As-Am class Actor Shin tells class about difficulties of getting minority roles in television (Jan. 16, 2003) Lord of the lingo NU library employee has mastered the mystical tongue central to Tolkien's trilogy (Jan. 17, 2003) Pick-A-Prof posts profs' grade history on the Web Site already in place at 50 universities; NU has no plans to go beyond CTEC (Jan. 17, 2003) Double trouble Rumor that Olsen twins will attend NY proves false but funny (Jan. 29, 2003) Weekend detention to the Daily's editorial team for thinking that Janeane Garofalo's stand-up appearance on campus was worth so much ink. The Jan. 17, 2003 edition of the Daily features two (2) feature stories about the show, taking up about half of the front page (both with jumps inside). Sure, the pieces are theoretically different. Raksha Varma reports on Garofalo's act, and Jennifer Leopoldt interviews the comedian by phone. But the two stories might have worked much better if combined into one story -- and perhaps included in one of the paper's two feature sections. Access doesn't warrant so much coverage, and unless it's a hella slow news day in Evanston, you wasted a front page. Janeane's great, but she's not all that. If you work for a college newspaper and would like to sign me up for a complimentary subscription, please feel free to do so. My address is in the grey bar over on the left. |
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