say your goodbyes

A little pre-inagural fun being had at a neighborhood in downtown DC. Residents throwing shoes at an inflatable W.

Photo: Evan Elliott

visual reviews of aural entertainment

Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Day Celebration, Kansas City Art Institute, Jan. 19th, 2009; attendance, ~250

live to see the day

I keep hearing folks say they never thought they'd live the day to see a black man be president. Not in their lifetime. I don't understand this. It's as though they never really believed the speeches, the music, or the possibility. Here are but a few examples of words that spoke to a different day, and upon hearing them, one came to believe.

When the thunder of opression roars and crackles, I'll be there
When those who would be free are wearing shackles, I'll be there
For the day is gonna come when they'll throw away their chains
Lift their heads and raise their arms for the struggle that remains
And let me tell you
Let me tell you
Let me tell you
Let me tell you, I'll be there-
--Phil Ochs, I'll Be There

---------------

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.--Dr. ML King, Beyond Vietnam, 4 April 1967, Clergy and Laity Concerned, Riverside Church, New York City

And then later in the same speech, King said,

We must rapidly begin...we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.

----

For every scar on a wall
There's a hole in someone's heart
Where a loved one's memory lives

In the flash of this moment
You're the best of what we are --
Don't let them stop you now
Nicaragua
--Bruce Cockburn, Nigaragua

----

(Brothers and sisters, hey)
Listen if you're missin' y'all
Swingin' while I'm singin'
Givin' whatcha gettin'
Knowin' what I know
While the Black bands sweatin'
And the rhythm rhymes rollin'
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need
Our freedom of speech is freedom or death
We got to fight the powers that be
Lemme hear you say
Fight the power
--Public Enemy, Fight the Power

lance armstrong, outback edition

Sunday, Lance Armstrong begins in earnest his attempt to prove to the world that he's always been clean by racing in the Tour Down Under, the first Pro-Tour race of the season. Fact of the matter is this. You can't take away his seven Le Tour titles-they're in the books. That road been ridden down before and although many of the mighty (Flance aka Floyd Landis, Alexander Vinokourov, Michael Rasmussen, and a host of others) fell off the bike, Lancestrong was always able to stay upright and steer past the allegations.

And this time, he'll have to be clean, since he's signed onto a rigorous anti-doping testing program. And since everyone else will also be clean, and he's still a great cyclist and appears to be in good form, he'll make a good showing. Astana is sending a phalanx of capable riders to help out with the comeback. One thing about these short (1 week) stage events is that there aren't many opportunities for riders to put a whole lot of separation between themselves and the rest of the peleton. The mountains aren't high enough and there aren't enough of them to completely destroy the peleton such as what happens in the Grand Tours. The flat stages are mostly left to the sprinters who shine in mass field sprints. Lance could potentially win a sprint in a breakaway, but he perfers to watch the field sprints from the safety of the peleton. With no time trial and no big mountain stage in the Down Under, it means few opportunities for Armstrong to excel.

Elite athletes, much like politicians before a primary, like to play down comeback expectations. They love to say things like we're only hoping to finish, we're aren't expecting to win, etc. They seem to want to do all this to make any victory, high-placed showing, or stage win (if they happen) seem all that more improbable. Expect Lance to do well, don't expect him to win or even capture a stage. This race is for sprinters. But he'll do well enough to turn next months Tour of California into a media frenzy for yellow bracelets, comeback kids, and American heroes. Ultimately, Down Under and Tour of California aren't races that matter to Lance, except to promote his comeback and causes. And no, Lancestrong's race-that-matters-most is not the Race for the Cure, despite what he might say. The only race that's ever really mattered to Lance is the biggest prize of all - the one that finishes with laps around the Champs Elyesee. His comeback will be designed to win that race, and that race only.

Versus is offering daily wrap-ups of the event on the tube and the web. Cyclingfans.com will likely find some streaming video (or at least audio) to whet the appetites of the truly cycling crazed. For a more local perspective on the race, check out aussie abc.
More at:
daily coverage on cycling fans
aussie abc cycling coverage

secret with the money

Mayor Mark Funkhouser continues to perplex the mind and flex his lack of political savvy. After receiving next year's budget from city manager Wayne Cauthen, the Funk, formerly known as Mr. Transparency-in-Government, decided it was in the best interest of the city to keep the budget a secret from both his constituents and his colleagues on the City Council. One must surmise that the mayor believes that by locking himself in a log cabin in the woods and channeling the ghost of Abe Lincoln during the inauguration of Biggie O, the most perfect solution will rise from the ashes of his failings. Given that Mark was an auditor in a former life, it is quite possible that some very novel solutions will waft up along with the wood smoke and find their way into the very drafty office on the 23rd floor. However, the good mayor continually forgets that no matter the solutions to which he may arise, it takes a vote of the council to pass the budget. And his secrecy in the matter only serves to continue to piss off the council and more importantly the public, at whose discretion, every one serves. Has the recent spate of cold, cloudy weather darkened the mayor's mood and clouded his judgement, and if so, can someone please buy the man a grow-up light? That said, none of it is an excuse for being secret with the money.

the precautionary principle

Some brief notes to the incoming Obama administration.

Forget pursuing the Bushites for crimes against humanity. At least during your first term. There's too much to do, trying Bush/Cheney et al. for war crimes will just waste needed political capital. You'll need to be able to muster all the support you can just to even come close to solving our ever deepening economic strife. Besides, in four years, more and more of those involved will have come forth (as they did this week) with self-incriminating evidence of wrong doing. Let them bring the darkest secrets to light first and then hold them accountable to the rule of law. Which brings us to the next agenda item.

Tim Geithner must not be the Treasury Secretary. Allowing Geithner to proceed sends the message that if you cheat, and then lie, and then lie repeatedly, it's OK - if you're a politician; the rest of America can take a fall. Sorry, President-elect Obama, we just lived through 8 years of this kind of bullshit and we don't need your endorsement of the same. Mr. Geithner paid (or in this case didn't) his money and now he should take his choice (or rather be denied it).

Hillary Clinton will have a hard time solving the Middle East conflict. Her experience indicates that she waffles to the Jewish tune, like most American politicians, and thus a solution won't be forthcoming. The Jews, once victims of internment camps, seem to have forgotten how growing up in a concentration camp tends to seal one's mind into an intractable wasteland of bitterness and hatred. The downside of this for America is just how far-reaching this conflict extends into our own country and adds to our inability to solve our own problems. The Israelis are the ones who could likely send the Middle East into the precursor of WWWIII. What would Jesus/Abraham/Mohammad do then?

We also hope the memebers of the Obama administration have read Dexter Filkins, The Forever War, or if they prefer fiction, Sterling Lawrence's, Montengegro. Because if they haven't, this new administration just might believe that it's possible to transfer 30,000 troops from Iraq into Afghanistan and win the hearts and minds of tribal Afghanis.

a stroll down pennsylvania avenue

The 4-hour season premiere of 24 had just ended when the Chief Executive declared a state of emergency for the incoming Obama administration inauguration ceremonies. With the exception of forcing the Obamas to rent a hotel room in the city they'll soon own, Bush has gone to great lengths to court the incoming President, likely because Bush knows that his legacy can be helped if Obama doesn't spend his first 100 days in office lamenting on how bad things have become and expend early political capital on trying Bushites for crimes against humanity.

It likely the threats against Obama and his family have been many and a few wackos have probably had real intent to harm. Many pray for the families safety and fear the worse might just be around the corner. Each day the headlines are scanned with elation marred with a bit of uncertainty. Some days I'm almost afraid to look.

The problem is that presidents, not just this president-elect, continue to be shielded farther and farther from the public they serve. This distance just builds during their tenure. Instead they are constantly surrounded by advisers, bodyguards, and the security-vetted elite. The interests of the People, for whom the President must swear allegiance to uphold, are then marginalized, pushed behind the barricades, and each face regarded as a potential threat. This prevents an open and transparent government of, and by the people, and leads to a culture of royalty. Even the most well-intentioned and grounded President can't escape this security-bubble because the secret service won't let them. The balance of power shifts slowly away from the electorate to the safety of the back room and the country suffers ill because of it.

One of the best things Obama could do is to insist, as Carter did, to walk down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue and shake hangs with the people during his journey to the White House. (During his second inagural parade, Pres. Bush and the First Lady, briefly stepped from the motorcade to show America that the country was "safe from the terrorists" but the phlanx of secret service agents had grown considerably larger since the Carter days). The police state might not like it, but Obama was elected rather than appointed. We hope for a country where every man, woman, and child - be they black, white, brown or the President, feels safe enough to walk down the street unfettered from fear.

get your hot chocolate on

Unlike Christopher Elbow, we don't charge $4 dollars a mug and we publish the recipe. The key, as always, are fine ingredients. Here's what you'll need.

Freshly roasted, freshly ground coffee, suggest Broadway Coffee Sumatra Mandheling.
1/2 and 1/2, suggest Shatto Farms.
Giradeli Ground Chocolate.
Lindt Dark Chocolate w/ Chilis.
Dash of fresh vanilla.
Twist of orange rind.
Crystallized ginger, soft peppermints, or homemade marshmallows (recipe to follow).

To begin. Grind your coffee for French press. Boil some water in a teapot. If your concerned about calories, you'll probably want to make chamomile tea. This hot cacao isn't something you'd drink everyday.

Use heavy mugs (your favorite) for this because it's special. For each cup of hot chocolate you'll need 1 tablespoon of ground chocolate and 2 squares (approx. 25 g. or about 1 oz.) of chocolate. Stir the ground chocolate into the 1/2 and 1/2 and then slowly heat over a very gentle flame. Add the chocolate and continue stirring to melt the chocolate. Do not boil. Add a dash of vanilla.

Once your water reaches the proper temperature for making coffee, pour it into the french press and let it steep for 5 minutes. Pour the melted chocolate mixture to fill about a third of the cup, then add coffee to the remaining. Stir to incorporate. Garnish with orange twist, candied ginger, peppermints, or marshmallows. Serve fireside.

Note: OK, given your income level you can go up with the ingredients (i.e. use a better chocolate) or you can go down a notch (i.e. use milk and hersey's cocoa. But using freshly, ground and perfectly roasted coffee is key here. Over-roasted coffees will overwhelm the chocolate flavors.

bush explains everything to white house press corps

"sometimes you misunderestimate me." President Bush addressing the White House Press Corps for the last time, Monday, January 12th, 2009.

God Bless him, and may God Bless the United States of America.

moi lands a golden ticket

OK. So, I get this letter in the mail. An over-sized letter. From
(written in calligraphy) The Presidential Inauguration Committee. On the outside it says, "Handle with care." No. It can't be. Can it?

I carefully cut open the envelope to reveal an invitation, printed on heavy, cream-colored cardstock, with the gold-embossed seal of the Inauguration of the President and Vice-President. Suitable for framing. Holy shit! Is this my lucky day? Is this really a golden ticket? I examine it.

The Presidential Inauguration Committee requests the honor of your presence to attend and participate in the inauguration of Barack H. (ed. note: H, for Hussein) Obama as President of the United States of America and Joseph R. (ed. note: R, for Richard) Biden, Jr. as Vice-President of the President of the United States of America on Tuesday, the twentieth of January two thousand and nine in the City of Washington.

OMFG! Not only do they want me to come, they want me to participate. I am important. A player.

There's a letter attached. Only when I reach the 2nd paragraph do I find the catch. "This commemorative invitation invites your presence at any of the public events..." That takes a minute to sink in...I don't really need an invitation to attend the public events...but the thought was nice...just for a moment, that I might be important and lucky enough to go to the inauguration.

There's another brochure in the envelope. I look at it and then realize it's just a marketing gimmick to get me to buy things. They are trying to sell me inauguration branded merchandise. A blanket with the official inauguration seal (only $150 US dollars), a coffee cup ($20), a champagne flute (set of 2, $30). Any, all of it, can be mine. I feel a little let down.

In the almost year since I first gave my eddress to the Obamaites, I've received hundreds of requests for money. And by giving a little, this seems only to have solicited even more requests. The day of the election, I received a request for a donation and then the day after the election another one.

Once Barack officially takes the oath of office,he can't sell his image to make money; he can't benefit financially from the office of the President, that would be against the law. If he could, we might be able to buy ourselves out of the recession. Others though, can and will profit from his image. Perhaps Shepard Fairey can sell enough Barack branded stuff to lift the entire economy up and out of recession? Time will tell.

Maybe I can sell new money? Let's start the bidding right now. Who'll give $5. Five dollars! Now 10, gimme 10. Let's hear it for 10. I get $5 bills, put Barack's image on them and sell them for $10. Double my money. I could make a fortune!
elsewhere:
official key ring of the 2009 inaguration

venison cornbread with mono-ha cornbread

Some of what your parents told was wrong, misinformed, or perhaps even self-centered. Remember?

They said, "don't play with your food!"

But what they may have meant to say was, "don't throw your food; especially not at your siblings". Throwing food tended to leave stains on the walls and whelps on your hind end. However, food should be more than mere sustenance, so being playful with it can help you enjoy it.

In that vein, and in the spirit of mid-winter, why not play with chili? A friend granted us some venison so that was the start. We also found some lovely Purple Prairie barley in the pantry so instead of the typical beans as counterpoint for our chili, we decided the nutty flavor of barley would work well against the venison. And lastly, in doing a little reading on the history of soul food we have been making cornbread, in part, because it's so inexpensive to make. So why not combine all these elements?

Initially the food of slaves, soul food went mainstream during the black pride movement of the 60's. Many of the dishes we think of as soul food, such as fried chicken and biscuits, were celebratory meals. The weren't meant to be consumed daily. Meat was rare and the staple protein during the week was cornbread. Soul food restaurants began to offer what had once been meals to gorge on, daily, and in the process began to inadvertently kill people. In the words of some critics at the time, notably Dick Gregory, glorifying soul food didn't make sense. Soul food, in Gregory's mind, was all about killing black folk-twice. A cuisine born of slavery and then glorified into daily use where it again enslaved folks with heart attacks, high blood pressure, obesity, and strokes.

Primarily because poverty knows few bounds soul food long ago crossed the racial divide and many dishes became southern staple - for blacks and whites. As with any other heavy food, moderation is the key to enjoying soul food.

And to free ourselves from this legacy, we decided to incorporate some conceptual Japanese sculptural approaches into our cooking and lift ourselves up a bit.



Venison and purple barley chili with mono-ha cornbread.

First cook the barley. Use vegetable stock to flavor the barley as it cooks; it must be cooked separately from the venison since it takes much longer to cook. Cooking barley is a bit like cooking wild rice because it takes twice as long and twice as much liquid as you initially imagine; usually an hour or more to get the grains to pop. You can cook the barley the day before if you want and refrigerate.

For the venison chili. Saute an onion in olive oil in a heavy skillet until translucent. Add the ground venison and brown.

The next step is crucial to improving the health of this dish. You want to remove as much of the fat from the meat as possible. Here's a good way to do it. As soon as the meat has cooked throughout, add 1/2 bottle of premium ale or lager to the pan to solubilize the fats. Cook over medium-high heat to reduce the liquid by one-half. This will also add a little flavor and then immediately drain the meat (while hot) in fine mesh stainless strainer. Once the meat is cooked and de-fatted, return it to the pan and then add 1 can of diced tomatoes (this helps the meat from now getting dry) and also at this point add 3 cloves of minced garlic and your favorite chili flavorings (i.e. cumin, paprika, pepper, a little salt). If you like spicy chili then add the pepper of your liking depending upon how much heat you want: poblano for mild, jalepeno for hot, habanero for very spicy. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Now combine the cooked barley with the venison mixture to finish the chili. Serve with sculpted cornbread and fresh, or steamed, julienned carrots that have been flavored with a dash of sesame oil and ginger.

Lower image: Nobuo Sekine, Phase Mother Earth, 1968, photographer unknown.

anarchists for the anti-christ

Atheists of the world unite. The author Richard Dawkins in front a bus in London.

Image: Akira Seumori, Associated Press
More at:
ny times story by sarah lyall

chemistry lesson

Check out this work. It's an interesting mix of art and science.
Visual programming by Aaron Koblin
Dynamics programming by Aaron Meyers
Directed by Blip Boutique
Editing and visual effects by Roger Scott
sic: Interpol - Rest My Chemistry



Upper still: from Visualizing Amersterdam, Aaron Koblin
More at:
visualizing global warming

warrior ant press: 2009 food trends

Not long ago moi's spawn turned me onto this restaurant in Chicago, Alinea, that is so pretentious they've even hired a fashion consultant to dress the kitchen staff. Now the food looks pretty incredible and the web site shows lots of images of cutting edge cuisine, but there are a couple of things that seem to be missing. Women in the kitchen. Stain's on the chef's aprons. The food looks like a mirage but the prices are more like billboards. Fine dining perhaps if you're a one-percenter or have just sold an Illinois Senate seat for a tidy sum, but a little beyond the means of the majority of ants. However, it did get us to thinking, what will cuisine look like in the post-apocalyptic Bush garden?

So today, given the state of the economy, warrior ant press, suggests some food trends you might want to be on the lookout for in 2009.










Gruel. Served with fallen apples. Waste not, want not!

Soul food mash-ups. Examples. Deep-fried free-range cornish hens with balsamic-drizzled collard greens and ginger biscuits. Spicy crab cakes on a concassé of beets, sweet potatoes, and turnips.










Invasive species. For example. Asian Carp en papillote with kudzu sprouts and garlic mustard.

Moonshine martinis.

Yard birds. The original free-range bird; hey, don't be ashamed, it was good enough for your granny.

Stealing chickens. Lure your neighbor's chickens onto your property in time for Sunday dinner. (All things considered, be sure to offer prayers).

2009 will also be the year of lawn-fed beef, deep-fried foam, and smoked air with essence of truffles.

elsewhere:
chicago's most pretentious restaurant
soul food from africa to america

m.o.i.: new money--the cure for what ails you

They're going to try to say, 'Well, you know, he's got a funny name, and he doesn't look like all the presidents on the dollar bills and the five-dollar bills.' --President-elect Barack Obama addressing a crowd in Union, MO, July 30th, 2008.

new money,m.o.i., Found objects on paper, demoninations may vary, 2008.




other resources:
John McCain for President web ad, Seal, June 27, 2008

2008 political ads

warrior ant press: 2009 resolutions

m.o.i believes in resolutions, just not on New Year's Eve. We like to wait a few days, or weeks before coming clean with ours, but we do think commitment, however fleeting, to be a good exercise to undertake. So here are our 2009 resolutions:

Be strong. We actually started this one about 3 weeks before the New Year. It's a strength and conditioning program designed to insure we make it downriver for the 4th annual MR340.

Swim 50 miles. Walk 500 miles. Kayak/canoe 750 miles. Bike 1,000 miles. Lift 1.5 million pounds. [see resolution no.1]

More focused screen time. That means fewer ambling rambles down the lonely Internet path of nonexistence and, it may, mean fewer posts this year, but hopefully it means smarter posts.

More efficient sleeping. However implausible, it sounds worthy.

Fewer weeds, more vegetables. Last year, for the 1st time in more than 30 years, we didn't grow any vegetables (not counting herbs), instead devoting all our energy to flowers. Growing flowers is still a cause worthy of our attention (see The Flower Project) and we will continue to do this, but there's nothing like fresh spinach, lettuce, and tomatoes from the garden.

Kill something and eat it. Besides the vegetables.

Look sharp. At times.

mission accomplished: the impeachment of George W. Bush

mission accomplished: the impeachment of George W. Bush; plastic, duct tape, silicon, found and appropriated objects, 2008, 24" by 30", m.o.i., 2008.

[note: m.o.i. isn't convinced this piece is finished; seems like there need to be more dead civilians, soldiers, and firefighters falling from the sky.]

grinder's drops the ball

Stretch Rumaner enjoys playing with his ball.

rattle and hum: visual reviews of aural entertainment

rattle and hum (U2 cover band): visual reviews of aural entertainment

Free New Year's Eve concert, KC Live; attendance, ~2000

other reviews in the series:
m.o.i.: the wilders @ davey's uptown
m.o.i.: wee snuff
m.o.i.: jametone (j. ashley miller)
m.o.i.: eldar at jardines
m.o.i.: matisyahu @ grinders sculpture park
m.o.i.: eldar @ cccc
m.o.i.: elvis costello and the attractions
m.o.i.: the police
m.o.i.: the swell season
m.o.i.: anne-sophie mutter
m.o.i.: pat metheny trio
m.o.i.: mars volta and isabel bayrakdarian

a resolution for you

Although the tendency is there, we've decided not to wax poetic about change, hope, and the noisy slippage of one calendar day to the next. We'll leave that to the revelers bent on over-consumption of, among other things, adjectives. No instead we offer this gem from a Chick-fil-A owner (located in the Coolsprings Mall, suburban Nashville) and gleaned from one of our favorite shows,This American Life.

There is nothing so fundamentally wrong with our economy that you can't afford a chicken sandwich.

So get to it.

We'll get to our 2009 resolutions on another day.