The Electron Pencil

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THE QUOTE

“Am I really cool? You’re telling me I’m cool? Well, that’s good to hear.” — Paul Giamatti

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GET HIP

How cool do you want to be? Cool as me?

Then check out the Friday Night Sound Clash on Louisville’s WFPK-FM Friday nights from 8-11pm.

Matt Anthony

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Show host Matt Anthony is the smoothest, hippest white man this side of the International Date Line. Last night at about 10 o’clock, for instance, he segued from Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” to “Psychotic Reaction” by the Count Five. He mixes in jazz, Afro-Cuban, Chaka Kahn, Beck, Amy Winehouse, dance, trance, chill, funk, ska, the original Parliament, Fela Kuti, Mos Def, and dub step. And he won’t stop there.

I listen every Friday night after Steve the Dog and I take our walk around the boat docks at Paynetown SRA on Lake Monroe.

Steve doesn’t know what a lucky dog he is to be able to hang out with a cool cat like me.

I’m So Cool I’m Blue

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ASTRO-PORN

Speaking of cool, have you heard about the spectacular ice ball that’s hurtling our way through the Solar System yet?

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is so out there it doesn’t even have a Christian name. Or a Jewish one, for that matter, ala Shoemaker-Levy. It was discovered a week ago last night by a couple of Russkie spies who claim to be astronomers. Yeah, sure.

The Dot In Question, At The Cross Hairs

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Anyway, the two, Artyom Novichonok and Vitaly Nevski, spotted a miniscule dot on some digital images of an area inside the constellation Cancer. They were using a monster telescope that, presumably, can see you inside your bedroom right now, so stop doing that.

The dot, informally dubbed Comet ISON, is too tiny to be seen by the naked eye as yet, considering it’s more than 600 million freaking miles away from Bloomington as we speak.

But by the time of its nearest pass to the Sun in November 2013, it may be bright enough to be seen in broad daylight — no lie! — and at night might be as bright as the full moon.

Passe, Next Year

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It’ll be porn for astro-geeks like me. You’ll get a kick out of it, too, I’m sure.

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SPECIAL PEOPLE

Husbands, wives, girlfriends, and boyfriends of artists have to be remarkable souls.

My mother would say there should be a special place in heaven for them.

That’s because living with a creative sprite can be a special hell.

Think Picasso, Van Gogh, Amy Winehouse, Raymond Carver, Truman Capote, Jack Kerouac, Robert Mapplethorpe, or Marilyn Monroe. Those who befriended them, slept with them, or paid the rent once or a million times for them and didn’t murder them have to be saints.

Robert Mapplethorpe Had Patti Smith

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The drama, the poverty, the ego, and, in the case of many rock stars, the bad hair, or, in the case of painters, the incessant odor of linseed oil, might drive the sanest person bats.

Think Jackson Pollock’s wife, Lee Krasner.

The Kinsey Institute Gallery opened a new exhibit last night dedicated to those selfless few who stayed with their photographer spouses and loves through thin and thin. Called “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners,” the exhibit features images documenting the lives of partners of photographers from the US, China, Brazil, and Japan.

Photographer Yuhki Touyama’s Mate

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Check it out, especially if you’ve been aggravated by your mate of late. He might only let his toenails grow too long; Jackson Pollock, drunk, drove a car into a grove of trees with his young mistress next to him while Lee Krasner waited for him at home.

The exhibit runs through December 20th.

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BLOGGERS I LIKE: RAWRAHS

The Electron Pencil, of course, is the finest and most sublime utilization of the interwebs since the gossip site dlisted came on the scene nearly eight years ago.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t other sites you can click on now and again.

Check out Rawrahs, a political blog written by a midnight surfer from Forest Park, Illinois. This fellow, whom we’ll call, oh, let’s say Rushdie, was one of the first people I ever knew who got much of his info from the Net. He was online when the prevailing forums were bulletin boards and newsgroups.

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In other words, Rushdie was wired as far back as the 1910s. He and Marconi were thick as thieves.

Rushdie’s serious. He doesn’t go for the easy joke (like some people we know.) And he’s got a personal stake in the unionization of public employees.

Go ahead — visit Rawrahs. You have my permission.

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WE’RE ALL SMARTER THAN THE REST

The irreducible Hondo Thompson is grappling these days with a disturbing question.

He asks, “Why can’t we just tell some folks they simply aren’t qualified to participate in this conversation, this government process, this debate, this election? Must every voice really be heard?”

He illustrates his quandary with this clipping from the Letters to the Editor section of some Australian podunk newspaper:

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Yeah, that’s right, the letter writer actually suggests the extra hour of sunlight brought on by Daylight Savings Time might be causing drought. He urges Australia’s CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) to look into the matter.

Need I explain why this is as mad as the notion that Sharia Law is gaining a foothold in this holy land? Maybe madder. Wait, nah.

Anyway, Hondo’s query, although attractive in a perverse way, smacks a tad of elitism, even fascism. Yet each and every one of us has wondered the same thing at one time or another.

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Ambient 1, 1/1

Brian Eno‘s breathtaking, hypnotizing, groundbreaking first foray into environmental sound. Perfect for a Sunday morning. Try it yourself, you’ll see.

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The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Saturday, September 29th, 2012

Brought to you by The Electron Pencil: Bloomington Arts, Culture, Politics, and Hot Air. Daily.

FOOD ◗ City Hall, Showers Plaza — Farmers Market; 8am-1pm

FAIR ◗ Monroe County Fairgrounds, Commercial Building West — 29th Annual American Red Cross Book Fair, +100,000 used books, CDs, DVDs, games, maps, sheet music, etc.; 9am-7pm, through October 2nd

CONFERENCE ◗ IU Memorial Union, Walnut Room — “Where’s the ‘World’ in Popular Music?” Interdisciplinary presented by the Colloege of Liberal Arts & Sciences, click link for schedule of events, free and open to the public; 9:30am-4:30pm

SEMINAR ◗ Various venues — The Combine, 3rd annual display of talent , innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit, featuring speakers, workshops, idea pitches, and mixers; through Sunday, September 30th, today’s events:

❏ Buskirk Chumley Theater — Main Stage Speaking Event, a full day of speakers; 9am

❏ The Atlas Bar, 209 S. College Ave. — Open Gaming, presented by Studio Cypher; 6:30pm

❏ The Atlas Bar, 209 S. College Ave. — Official Unofficial After Party; 9pm

NATURE ◗ Jackson Creek Trail — Exploring Jackson Creek Trail, guided hike, observe wildlife; 10am-noon

WORKSHOP ◗ Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center — Mind Training Through Pain & Disability Series, Presented by Ani Choekye; 10:30am-noon

NATURE ◗ WonderLab — Birds of Prey: A Live Raptor Show, 11am

OKTOBERFEST ◗ Upland Brewing Company, Bloomington Brew Pub — Beer, food, live music; 11am Saturday-1am Sunday

NATURE ◗ Lake Monroe, Paynetown SRA — Harvest Moon Weekend, Family friendly camping weekend, campfire, crafts, & programs; 1pm Saturday-5pm Sunday

STAGE ◗ IU Halls Theatre — Drama, “When the Rain Stops Falling;” 2pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Petulia,” Directed by Richard Lester; 3pm

MUSIC & WINE ◗ Owen Valley Winery — Music in the Garden: Foster Jones; 5-8pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Meet the Fokkens“; 7pm

SPORTS ◗ IU Gymnasium — Hoosier volleyball vs. Northwestern; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — dw Brykalski; 7-9pm

HALLOWEEN FUN ◗ Haunted Hayride & Stables, 8308 S. Rockport Rd.; 7pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “The Search”; 3pm

STAGE ◗ IU Halls Theatre — Drama, “When the Rain Stops Falling;” 7:30pm

STAGE ◗ Bloomington Playwrights Project — Comedy, “RX,” by Kate Fodor; 7:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Woodburn Hall Theatre — Ryder Film Series: “Neighboring Sounds“; 8pm

BALLET ◗ IU Musical Arts Center — “Light and Shade,” Presented by IU Ballet Theater; 8pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Greg Behrendt; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Ritmos Unidos; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ Bear’s Place — Room of Voices; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ Cafe Django — Sam Hoffman Quartet; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ Max’s Place — Wildflower Union, R-Juna, Honors, The Gentle Shades; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ Rachael’s Cafe — The BloomingTones Big Band; 8-10pm

FILM ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium — UB Films: “Katy Perry: Part of Me;” 8pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present“; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — Chase Rice, Corey Cox; 9pm

MUSIC & DANCING ◗ The Root Cellar at Farm Bloomington — 70s Disco Party, Meow Disco; 10pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Greg Behrendt; 10:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium — UB Films: “Katy Perry: Part of Me;” 11pm

ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

• “New Acquisitions,” David Hockney; through October 21st
• “Paragons of Filial Piety,” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi; through December 31st
• “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers,” by Julia Margaret, Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan; through December 31st
• “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century;” through December 31st
• Celebration of Cuban Art & Film: Pop-art by Joe Tilson; through December 31st
• “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

• “What It Means to Be Human,” by Michele Heather Pollock; through September 29th
• “Land and Water,” by Ruth Kelly; through September 29th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

• “Samenwerken,” Interdisciplinary collaborative multi-media works; through October 11th
  

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits opening September 28th:

• “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners;” through December 20th
• “Gender Expressions;” through December 20th

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibit:

• “CUBAmistad” photos

ART ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Exhibits:

• “¡Cuba Si! Posters from the Revolution: 1960s and 1970s”
• “From the Big Bang to the World Wide Web: The Origins of Everything”
• “Thoughts, Things, and Theories… What Is Culture?”
• “Picturing Archaeology”
• “Personal Accents: Accessories from Around the World”
• “Blended Harmonies: Music and Religion in Nepal”
• “The Day in Its Color: A Hoosier Photographer’s Journey through Mid-century America”
• “TOYing with Ideas”
• “Living Heritage: Performing Arts of Southeast Asia”
• “On a Wing and a Prayer”

BOOKS ◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit:

• “Outsiders and Others:Arkham House, Weird Fiction, and the Legacy of HP Lovecraft;” through November 1st
• “A World of Puzzles,” selections form the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

• Celebration of Cuban Art & Culture: “CUBAmistad photos; through October

ART ◗ Boxcar Books — Exhibit:

• Celebration of Cuban Art & Film: Papercuts by Ned Powell; through September

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

• “Bloomington: Then and Now,” presented by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

• “Doctors and Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical professions“

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