Category Archives: Uncategorized

07/12/2013
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Ayn Rand, David Spady, Eric Oliver, Louie Gohmert, Mattel, Mike Huckabee, Paul Ryan, Politichicks, Sean Hannity, Tcuker Carlson, Uncategorized

Your Daily Hot Air

Super Quick Hits

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REAL MEN

The website PolitiChicks, “The Voice of the Conservative Woman,” has selected — get ready for this — The Hottest Conservative Supermen in America.

A panel of six Tory dames, all of whom appear to take cosmetics and physical esthetics tips from the Mattel Corporation, selected hot sausages from among all the talking heads, bloviators, gasbags, intentional misinterpretors, and dissemblers in the Right Wing phoni-verse. I should state here that there are plenty of reasonably intelligent male conservatives in the holy land, including, but not limited to, George Will, David Brooks, Tom Friedman, and Barack Obama. Just because a guy leans Right doesn’t mean he’s suffering from anencephaly.

Barbie Dolls

PolitiChick’s Selection Panel

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OTOH, PolitiChick’s fap list leans heavily troglodytic.

And, yeah, there are some handsome hunks of cartilage on the roster, but, man….

Okay, there are a couple of handsome (or at least non-terrifying) knights on steeds for conservative princesses to fantasize coming to their collective rescue. Consider David Spady of breitbart.com or Sean Hannity of Fox News, both of whom make the list. Any reasonable straight woman or gay man might deem the two bonkable (as long as they could ignore the incipient nausea caused by the duo’s babblings.)

Spady/Hannity

Red Meat: Spady & Hannity

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But get this: the list also contains the eerie specters of Tucker Carlson, Louie Gohmert, and Mike Huckabee. The Carlson tab is mildly puzzling, considering he was probably named Most Likely to Be Molested In A Holding Cell in his high school yearbook. But Huckabee is as attractive as a shift manager at a CVS on the outskirts of Little Rock. And Louie Gohmert? Louie Gohmert, for chrissakes!

Huckabee/Gohmert

Canned Spam: Huckabee & Gohmert

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And here, all this time, I thought the fringe right was wingnutty only in their political thinking.

(h/t to Wonkette.)

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REAL BABIES

Swear to god, liberals and conservatives name their spawn differently, reflecting their political orientations.

This is science, man. A researcher at the University of Chicago, Eric Oliver has discovered that conservatives tend to dub their unfortunate offspring with more traditional names. Not only that, they tend to prefer names with harsh consonant sounds, like Kurt.

Crybaby

Future Republican

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Liberals, on the other hand, dig more vowelly monikers — cool, huh? I just made that adjective up — leading them to hang names like Ella and Sophia on their trophy children. Also, libs like names that have L sounds in them. Duh, right? Ls can be found in the words lesbian and homosexual; whaddya expect?

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REAL EVIL

If you don’t know that Ayn Rand is the single most important figure in American politics today, you don’t know nuffin’.

The US House of Representatives has been commandeered by a pack of ideologues who rode the Me Party wave back in 2010. And because these ideologues refuse to compromise on anything due to the fact that doing so will turn them into commie, fag, Muslim abortionists and (worst of all) RINOs, Congress has ground to a halt. Thanks, pals.

In case you haven’t guessed by now, Ayn Rand, before whom the Paul Ryans of the world genuflect, embodies every single thing in the world I find repellant.

The only thing she did in her entire life that I even slightly approve of is smoke — and that’s because I detest people who don’t have at least one good vice.

Rand

Rand, Smoking

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Not that I don’t detest Ayn Rand. I do. As should everyone with even the slightest shred of human decency, compassion, agape, and good sense.

There.

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12/23/2012
1 Comment
Uncategorized

The Pencil Today:

HotAirLogoFinal Sunday II

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THE QUOTE

“I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white dude would come into my neighborhood after dark.” — Dick Gregory

Gregory

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THE X-MAS SPIRIT

During this season of obsessive/compulsive consumer acquisitiveness and the heroic pretense on the part of our citizenry to pretend they tolerate the obligatory presences of family members, I’m not sure anybody wants to read about how deranged this holy land has become. I know I’m not into writing about it at all.

Ergo, I won’t.

Herewith, I present some fun songs, one or two of them Christmas-oriented and the rest just cool music. That’s my gift to you.

I’ll see you back here on Thursday morning.

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11/14/2012
1 Comment
Anne Hathaway, Barack Obama, Colton Burpo, David Lacks, Dustin Hoffman, Heaven Is For Real, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Jake LaMotta, Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, Les Miserables, Marlon Brando, Matthew McConaughey, Method Acting, Proof of Heaven, Raging Bull, Rebecca Skloot, Robert De Niro, Steve Martin, The Dallas Buyers Club, The Marathon Man, Todd Burpo, Uncategorized

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“Acting is a nice childish profession — pretending you’re someone else and, at the same time, selling yourself.” — Katharine Hepburn

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IMMORTAL

Quickie rec: David “Sonny” Lacks, son of Henrietta Lacks speaks at the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union at 7pm.

He’s the son of Henrietta Lacks, who was the subject of Rebecca Skloot’s bestseller, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.” The story of Lacks mere brings to life issues of cancer, medical malpractice, stem cells, race, scientific research, individual dignity — you name it, the book has it.

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Sonny Lacks will discuss his mother’s story and how it affected the Lacks family — as well as the rest of humanity — for generations to come. He’ll also sign copies of the book.

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ACTORS AND THEIR SCALES

Just a thought: Why do Hollywood actors feel it imperative to lose or gain massive amounts of weight for the roles they play?

I understand it all has to do with what seems to be the illogical evolution of method acting. You know, the discipline that made Marlon Brando (or vice versa) some 60 years ago — live the role and be the part. I get it.

Brando, Getting Into A Part

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That’s why pretty boys who are slated to star in cops and robbers dramas ride along with real police officers before shooting begins so that they can pretend they know what it’s like to to carry a badge.

The latest two stars who’ve turned themselves into broomsticks for their roles are Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey, who are appearing in “Les Miserables” and “The Dallas Buyers Club,” respectively.

Hathaway & McConaughey, Sans Flesh

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This trend goes at least as far back as 1979 when Robert De Niro was working on “Raging Bull.” He packed on approximately three-quarters of a ton of lard, the better to portray Jake LaMotta as a bloated 50-year-old.

A Meaty Role

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De Niro won the Oscar for his portrayal but it wasn’t because he jammed cream puffs into his face for several months before production began. De Niro arguably was the best actor of his generation. He’d have won the Academy Award if he’d never even touched a bag of Cheetos®.

Now, Hathaway and McConaughey are capable actors, although neither breathes De Niro’s rarified air. I’m willing to bet they’d be convincing in their parts no matter what size their waistlines are.

A lot of this has to do with what we like to think of as reality. In a nation where significant portions of the population believe in angels, UFOs, ghosts, and three-year-old kids going to heaven and coming back to tell about it, yet don’t believe in man-made climate change, the movie-going public demands “realism” in its entertainment. We’re all mixed up.

So, I suppose Hollywood actors are giving us what we want. Which is heaping piles of bullshit.

It reminds me of a famous, if apocryphal, bit of acting advice offered by Laurence Olivier to Dustin Hoffman, his costar in “The Marathon Man.” Hoffman, the story goes, stayed awake and ran himself ragged for several days before shooting a key scene. Olivier asked him why he was putting himself through hell. Hoffman replied that he wanted to be convincing.

“Try acting, dear boy,” Olivier said. “It’s much easier.”

To Which Hoffman Replied….

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SPEAKING OF BRATS GOING TO HEAVEN

How many times do I have to harp on this, people?

The latest New York Times Non-Fiction Trade Paperback Bestseller list is topped by “Proof of Heaven,” and “Heaven Is for Real.” Again.

The Burpos, On Earth

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It’s the second week in a row the two fever dream retellings have ranked one and two on the list. (And let’s leave aside the obvious problem: These books are not nonfiction.)

What’s going on? Are the fundamentalist Christians who voted against Barack Obama trying to console themselves by fantasizing about a fab afterlife?

And another thing. What’s with the debate team topic titles? Are these people trying to convince us?

Or themselves?

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HEAVENLY CRASH

Here’s a trivia bit that’ll make you a hit at the next holiday party.

The following bands and acts have recorded songs entitled, simply, “Heaven”:

  • All Saints (natch)
  • Better Than Ezra
  • Bryan Adams
  • Carly Simon
  • Hanson
  • Ice Cube
  • Jamie Foxx
  • Joan Armatrading
  • John Legend
  • Psychedelic Furs
  • Simply Red
  • Suicidal Tendencies
  • Talking Heads
  • The Rascals
  • The Rolling Stones

Heaven?

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  • Uncle Kracker
  • Warrant

Want more? Okay. Here’s a list of selected movies with the word heaven in the title:

  • “Kingdom of Heaven”
  • “Just Like Heaven”
  • “Between Heaven and Earth”
  • “Pennies from Heaven”
  • “Days of Heaven”
  • “Heaven and Earth”

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  • “All Dogs Go to Heaven”
  • “Far from Heaven”
  • “Heaven Can Wait”
  • “Heaven Only Knows”
  • “Heaven with a Gun”
  • “Heaven”
  • “My Blue Heaven”
  • “Back Door to Heaven”
  • “7th Heaven”
  • “Gates of Heaven”
  • “Chance at Heaven”
  • “All This and Heaven, Too”
  • “East Side of Heaven”
  • “Heaven Is a Playground”
  • “Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison”

What Could Steve Martin Have Been Thinking?

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Believe it or not, some of these films are good. Many of them, though, are dogs. Perhaps the bow-wow-iest is “My Blue Heaven” in which Steve Martin tries to play a “Goodfellas”-type mobster for laughs. I love Steve Martin but he made his biggest mistake by simply opening up this script.

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The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Wednesday, November 14th, 2012

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Guest Recital: Jonathan Biggers on organ; 12:15pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Art Museum — Noon Talk Series: “The Light Fantastic,” Presented by Rob Shakespeare; 12:15-1:15pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Artist Diploma Recital: Nathan Giem on violin; 5pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — “Posters from the Revolution: The Anthropology of Graphic Arts in Cuba,” Gerrie Casey talks about her collection; 5pm

WORKSHOP ◗ Monroe County Public Library, Auditorium — “Serve IT: Get Engaged!” Program to help non-profits use social media; 5:30pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — School of Music Lecture Series: Steven Zohn on “Norality, German Cultural Identity, and Telemann’s Faithful Music Master“; 5:30pm

ASTRONOMY ◗ IU Kirkwood Observatory — Open house, Public viewing through the main telescope; 6:30pm

DISCUSSION ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium — David Lacks, son of Henrietta Lacks (subject of the bestseller “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”), speaks about his family’s experiences; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ Bloomington High School North — Fall Concert, Performed by the BHSN Concert Bands; 7-8:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — SOLD OUT: “On the Road“; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center Recital Hall — Senior Recital: Anastasia Falasca on violin; 7pm

PERFORMANCE ◗ Unity of Bloomington Church — Auditions & rehearsal for Bloomington Peace Choir; 7-8:30pm

ROUNDTABLE ◗ IU Ballantine Hall — “Elections 2012: What Went Right, What Went Wrong, and Where To From Here?“; 7:15pm

STAGE ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center, in the Rose Firebay — Drama, “The Rimers of Eldritch“; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Afro Hoosier International; 7:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Woodburn Hall — Medieval Studies Movie Series: “Ostrov (The Island)“; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Max’s Place — Open mic; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center — Symphony Orchestra, David Effron, conductor, Gulrukh Shakirova, piano; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, Dominick DiOria, conductor, Mason Copeland, organ; 8pm

DANCING ◗ Harmony School — Contra dancing; 8-10:30pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Doctoral Recital: Daniel Bubeck, countertenor; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — The Personnel; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Maserati, The Young, Majeure; 9:30pm

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ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “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
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits through December 1st:

  • “Essentially Human,” By William Fillmore
  • “Two Sides to Every Story,” By Barry Barnes
  • “Horizons in Pencil and Wax,” By Carol Myers

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibits through November 16th:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf
  • Small Is Big

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits through December 20th:

  • “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners“
  • “Gender Expressions“

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 — Exhibits:

  • “The War of 1812 in the Collections of the Lilly Library“; through December 15th
  • “A World of Puzzles,” selections from the Slocum Puzzle Collection

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County

The Ryder & The Electron Pencil. All Bloomington. All the time.

11/11/2012
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Bill Cosby, Glenn Beck, Guns, Homophobia, Mattachine Society, Rick Santorum, Susan B. Anthony, The Daily Currant, Uncategorized

The Pencil Today:

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THE QUOTE

“When you carry a gun, you mean to harm somebody, kill somebody.” — Bill Cosby

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A LITTLE ANTHONY IN BLOOMINGTON

The stars were out yesterday afternoon in front of Williams Jewelry on Walnut Street.

Bloomington’s political heavyweights came out to dedicate an historical plaque honoring Susan B. Anthony’s appearance at the long gone Presbyterian church that once stood on the present day site of the Redmen Building.

(From Left) Kruzan, Moore, Thomas, Zietlow, & Crabtree

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Mayor Mark Kruzan, City Clerk Regina Moore, County Commissioners Iris Kiesling and Julie Thomas (elect), County Prosecutor Chris Gaal, County Council members Cheryl Munson (elect), Geoff McKim and Julie Thomas, Bloomington common council member Susan Sandberg, and, of course, the grande dame of local politics, Charlotte Zietlow, all made the scene in the brilliant sunshine.

A group of some fifty citizens watched as speakers told the story of Anthony speaking at the Walnut Street church back in 1877 when she toured the country pushing for women’s suffrage.

Shirley Fitzgibbons & Cathi Crabtree Unveil the Plaque

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The respective women’s commissions of Bloomington and Monroe County sponsored the plaque. The fact that Anthony spoke here only became known again in recent months. Shirley Fitzgibbons of the county commission and Cathi Crabtree of the Bloomington bunch unveiled the plaque after the pols had their say.

One sad note: Sophia Travis also worked to make the plaque a reality. After the ceremony her father offered Cathi Crabtree tearful congratulations.

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QUEER REASONING

How weird is it that satire can so easily be confused with reality these days?

Case in point: The Daily Currant, an Onion wannabe, ran a piece the other day headlined, “Santorum Claims Homosexuals Stole Election.”

What looks to be about half the commenters on the piece expressed shock and revulsion that Pennsylvania’s most notable altar boy had jumped (bare)back onto his fave bandwagon — the fag monster that hides under his bed every single night of his life.

Little Rickey: Always Thinking

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Dig: Santorum thinks about gays more than most gays think about gays; GOP loyalists insisted not only to the bitter end but beyond that their boy Mitt was going to win — this despite the fact that a total of zero independent polls showed him ahead; and, finally, much of the Republican reaction to Tuesday’s election at least hints that fraud was committed in the name of the secret Muslim, socialist, fascist abortionist who was granted a second term.

Ergo, the Cassock Kid coming out with a lavender-tinged conspiracy theory sounds perfectly reasonable. A story about Santorum telling CNN that homosexuals have staged a junta in this (formerly) holy land is no more ridiculous than, oh, Glenn Beck advising his flock to buy farms, pull their kids out of school, and stock up on guns in the wake of the president’s reelection.

Beck: Arm Yourselves, Real Americans!

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Here’s the Daily Currant “quoting” Santorum on the “plot”:

I see the hand of the homosexual in this massive election fraud. Romney was tied or leading in most polls before the election. And then he loses? Homosexual dirty tricks. It is the only explanation that makes sense.

He goes on to accuse noted gays such as David Geffen and Elton John of having the money and the power to initiate a Mattachine overthrow.

It could have been a virus in the election machines, the Currant has him saying.

It’s all a gag — something I suspect Little Rickey knows an awful lot about.

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GUN PLAY

Oh, and speaking of guns, you had to know this was coming: Gun sales have gone through the roof since Tuesday.

Gone Shoppin’

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Barack Obama’s reelection seems to have caused millions of pot-bellied white men to believe their genitalia are shrinking. That’s my take on the gun sales surge.

“Experts” claim jes’ plain folks are snapping up the artillery because they fear Obama will crack down on gun ownership. The problem is, they did the same thing after he was elected in 2008 and Obama did absolutely nothing about guns during his first term.

The dwindling population of pasty-faced reactionaries who still can’t believe a brown man is their leader are arming themselves to the teeth because they honestly fear that, as a soon-to-be minority, they’ll be discriminated against, forced to live in ghettos, and denied equal rights under the law.

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Makes sense. After all, that’s the way they‘ve always treated minorities.

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The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

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Sunday, November 11th, 2012

CLASS ◗ Dagom Gaden Tensung Ling Monastery — Introductory course on Buddhism; 10pm

FAIR ◗ Holiday Inn — Bloomington’s Spirit Fair, Consult with psychics & tarot readers, Shop for New Age objects, Booths for numerology, astrology, reiki, crystal healing, and palmistry; Through Sunday, 10am-5pm

WORKSHOP ◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Cherokee basket weaving; 10am-4pm

CELEBRATION ◗ Trained Eye Arts Center — The Big One: Trained Eye Arts 1-year Anniversary, Featuring live music, games, performers, studio open house; Noon

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Master’s Recital: Nicholas Cline, composition; 1pm

OPERA ◗ IU Musical Arts Center — “Cendrillon (Cinderella),” Presented by IU Opera Theater; 2pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Doctoral Recital: Pei-San Chiu on flute; 2pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center Recital Hall — Junior Recital: Caleb Wiebe on trumpet; 3pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “White Material“; 3pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Senior Recital: Peter Meyer on clarinet; 3pm

ROUNDTABLE ◗ IU Poynter Center — Learning to See: Food Justice; 4pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — International Vocal Ensemble, Katherine Strand, director; 4pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — David Sisson; 5-7pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Doctoral Recital: Tze-Ying Wu on viola; 5pm

TRIBUTE ◗ Buskirk Chumley Theater — Unlikely Bedfellows: Sophia Travis’ Art of Life; 5:30-7pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Darryl Robinson & Tim O’Malley; 6pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Brass Choir, Edmund Cord, director; 6pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Holy Motors“; 6:30pm

STAGE ◗ IU Ivy Tech Waldron Center, Auditorium — Comedy, “Alfred Hitchcock’s 39 Steps“; 7pm

FILM ◗ Bear’s Place — Ryder Film Series: “17 Girls“; 7pm

FILM & COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Documentary: “Road Comics: Big Work on Small Stages,” Performance: Stewart Huff; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Guest Recital: Kuss Quartet; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Musical Arts Center Recital Hall — Junior Recital: Joseph Frank on cello; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Doctoral Recital: Tina Chong on piano; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — Matishyahu; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Shovels & Rope, Carey Murdock; 9pm

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ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “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
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits through December 1st:

  • “Essentially Human,” By William Fillmore
  • “Two Sides to Every Story,” By Barry Barnes
  • “Horizons in Pencil and Wax,” By Carol Myers

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibits through November 16th:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf
  • Small Is Big

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits through December 20th:

  • “A Place Aside: Artists and Their Partners“
  • “Gender Expressions“

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 — Exhibits:

  • “The War of 1812 in the Collections of the Lilly Library“; through December 15th
  • “A World of Puzzles,” selections from the Slocum Puzzle Collection

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County

The Ryder & The Electron Pencil. All Bloomington. All the time.

10/29/2012
Leave a comment
Albert Camus, Anthony Rizzo, Astrud Gilberto, Barack Obama, Baseball, Benghazi Diplomatic Attack, Chicago Cubs, Climate Change, Detroit Tigers, Fox News, Global Weirding, John McCain, Newt Gingrich, San Francisco Giants, Summer Samba, The Daily Mail, Uncategorized, Watergate

The Pencil Today:

THE QUOTE

“In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus

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HAVE YOU VOTED YET?

Why not? Okay, but you only have one week left to do it! Here’s where you can vote today and tomorrow:

The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.; 8am-6pm

IU Assembly Hall, 1001 E. 17th St.; 10am-6pm

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POG PANIC

So, the Republicans are pulling out one last pie to throw in the face of Barack Obama with a week to go before the November election.

According to them, Obama conspired with Muslim extremists to murder four Americans during the attack on this country’s diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya a couple of weeks ago. Then Obama covered up his administration’s complicity in the affair.

The whole shebang, says everybody from John McCain to Newt Gingrich, is worse than Watergate.

They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?

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Of course, I’m exaggerating when I say they’re actually accusing Obama of participating in the attack. About as much as they’re exaggerating about it and Watergate.

And, by the way, the GOP has been salivating for a “Democratic Watergate” for some 40 years now. It hasn’t happened yet.

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ANOTHER ENDING

This day comes every year around this time.

Baseball is finished for 2012.

Boo.

Their Joy; My Loss

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The San Francisco Giants completed a sweep of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series last night. I’ve been listening to the games on live stream. Not only do I love baseball, I love radio (even radio on my laptop.) So I get to combine two of my loves at once.

It’s like having a pizza and spaghetti party.

A Kind Of Heaven

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But it’s over.

I wanted the Giants to win. But not just yet. Not now. Not this soon. Couldn’t they have drawn it out for a few more games or, better, a few more weeks? Baseball’s done. So is summer. So is another year.

My boys, the Chicago Cubs, had one of the worst years in their long and storied history. They’re as far from the World Series as they’ve ever been in my lifetime — and that includes a lot of absolutely rotten teams.

But I’m hoping. The new brain trust led by Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, and John McLeod has gutted the organization, ridding it of deadwood, ne’er-do-wells, and — for all I know — Satan worshippers. That’s a good start. Now they have to gather real ballplayers.

I don’t believe in god or magic or life after death. But the thing I do believe in makes all those things seem rational. I believe the Cubs will win a World Series while I’m still alive.

Anthony Rizzo Will Lead Us To The Promised Land

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Call me a crackpot.

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FACTS, HAH!

Big Think took on climate change skeptics yesterday.

You know, without Fox News, these people would be babbling on a street corner somewhere. Of course, in a sane world, so would the Fox News people.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago The Daily Mail of London ran this ludicrous headline:

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Everybody with a functioning cerebrum ignored it. Except, natch, Fox News.

The Party of God’s house organ ran with it big time:

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Turns out that the Daily Mail piece was completely erroneous.

Doesn’t it scare the crap out of you that a huge percentage of this holy land’s population eats up Fox News on a daily basis?

It makes me want to throw my hands in the air and moan, “I give up!”

On the other hand, maybe Fox is coming around. Their screen headline implies that there was global warming, once. That’s better than denying it ever existed, right?

▲

SO NICE

How about one last blast of summer from Brazil’s Astrud Gilberto?

This song is also known as “Summer Samba.” Light and airy, hopeful and exciting — it’s the perfect metaphor for what I hope every summer will be. They never really turn out that way yet I still dream of those ideal summers in the dark of every winter.

▲

The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

■

Monday, October 29th, 2012

VOTE ◗ Two locations for early voting in Monroe County today and tomorrow:

  • The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.; 8am-6pm
  • Indiana University Assembly Hall, South Lobby, 1001 E. 17th St.; 10am-6pm

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Master’s Recital: Adam Brown on guitar; 5pm

TOWN HALL MEETING ◗ IU Memorial Union — 6th Annual China Town Hall: Local Connections, National Reflections, Speakers include: Zhao Shaung, Scott Kennedy, Abassador Gary Locke; 6pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Barbara McGuire; 7-9pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Juan of the Dead“; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Percussion Ensemble, John Tafoya & Kevin Bobo, directors; 7pm

MUSIC IU Musical Arts Center — MAC Lobby Concerts Series: Jazz Combo; 7:15pm

MUSIC ◗ Max’s Place — Rockin’ Roots: Brownbird Rudy Relic, Los Basttardos Magnificos, Tilford Sellers & the Wagon Burners; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Songwriter Showcase; 8pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ IU Department of Folklore & Ethnomusicology, Begin at the Performance & Lecture Hall — Ghost Walk, Tour haunted spots on campus; 8pm

MUSIC IU Musical Arts Center — Jazz Ensemble, Jeremy Allen, director; 8pm

MUSIC IU Musical Arts Center, Recital Hall — Doctoral Recital: Chappell Kingland, composition; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Margot and the Nuclear So & Sos, Gentleman Caller; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — White Denim; 9pm

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

■

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
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf; through November 16th
  • Small Is Big; Through November 16th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits:

  • “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 from the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

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

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

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

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County

The Ryder & The Electron Pencil. All Bloomington. All the time.

10/26/2012
1 Comment
Uncategorized

The Pencil Today:

■

THE QUOTE

“Don’t follow leaders, watch your parkin’ meters.” — Bob Dylan

▲

WORDS, NOT PIX

From the ED: No images today, kiddies, and very few links. I’m in too much of a hurry. Sorry.

▲

NO EASY WALK IN THIS PARKING GARAGE

At last count, the number of petitions being circulated opposing metered parking downtown has reached into the high five figures.

The way it stands now, virtually every citizen in Monroe County can sign her or his own personal petition. Nevertheless, all these petitions are filling up faster than Bloomington Hospital’s ER on a hot Friday night.

I signed. I urge everyone to sign. Metered parking will dissuade people from taking that spur-of-the-moment shopping trip down to the Courthouse square. Shopowners, restaurateurs, and bars all around downtown Bloomington stand as one against this scheme.

Was it even a half dozen years ago that the city sawed off all the parking meters downtown? Now this.

All that said, the city’s going to go through with Mayor Mark Kruzan’s plan, no matter if a million people sign the petitions. Concrete pourers, engineers, architects, stripe-painters, and and all the rest of the trade laborers who built Bloomington’s white elephant parking garages want to get paid for their work. People are funny that way, no?

Anyway, the city floated municipal bonds to pay for the work and the bonds are coming due with very little of the projected revenue the garages were supposed to generate keeping pace. No one cares to park in the garages, so Kruzan and the city’s accountants are feeling a tad panicky.

Meters, they feel, will force people to park in the garages.

Guess what: It ain’t gonna happen. We’ll be right back here in a year or two, still trying to figure out how to pay off our bonds.

I hope I’m wrong.

The crash brought on by Wall Street deregulation and faux-supervision, as well as two off-budget wars, has put every municipality in the same type of ugly situation Kruzan finds himself in now.

▲

FREE TO BE ME; FORGET YOU

The Young Americans for Liberty raised a squawk yesterday about free speech on the IU campus.

Now, generally, I’m all in favor of free speech. In fact, you might call me a free speech fetishist.

And, I suppose, I endorse the YAL push for fewer restrictions on public expression.

If you sense my support for the YAL effort is tepid, you’re right. The Young Americans for Liberty is a nationwide college organization whose members, by and large, swoon over the likes of Grover Norquist, Ayn Rand, Ron Paul, the Me Party, and others who advocate the position that a good American’s highest calling is to care for himself and not give a shit about anybody else.

At least in this instance the YAL isn’t equating gobs of dough with speech. No, they actually are talking about human beings — individuals — discussing and advocating political, philosophical, and moral positions out of doors.

Still, the YAL is up in arms over the University’s restrictions on what you and I might refer to as hate speech.

The IDS writes: “IU’s Code of Student Rights requires all student speech to be ‘civil’ and prohibits ‘verbal abuse’ as well as ‘expressed or implied threats,’ while IU’s Residence Hall Rules and Regulations police restricts speech on ‘areas frequented by the public’ that can be construed as being ‘offensive’ or ‘inappropriate.'”

So yeah, I’m as big on free speech as the YAL, only it makes me itch to admit it.

▲

UGH, HIM?

Admit it: Whenever you see one of those lists of celebrities who endorse candidates, you look at the ones who back the guy you’re against and you say to yourself, Hah, I never liked his music/acting/TV show.

I thought about this because yesterday Meatloaf appeared at a Willard Romney event and told the crowd that the solar system would split apart if Barack Obama is reelected.

Danged if the first thought that entered my mind wasn’t, Well, Meatloaf sucks anyway.

I mean, look at the roster of celeb endorsers of Willard Romney. It includes Trace Adkins, Alice Cooper, Gene Simmons, Chuck Norris, Erik Estrada, Victoria Jackson, Scott Baio, Donny & Marie Osmond, Adam Carolla and others who’ve robbed the public of their entertainment dollars.

Then, every once in a while, someone like Clint Eastwood — a true giant in filmmaking — throws his or her lot in with the enemy and I have to scratch my head. C’mon now, I think, he made some really great movies. How can he like Romney?

So okay, here are some very talented souls who dig the Mitt:

  • Gary Sinise
  • James Woods
  • Robert Duvall
  • The Beach Boys

And…, and…, and…, well, that’s all I could find. The rest are a bunch of palookas, dumb blondes, hillbilly geetar strummers, and reality show D-listers.

It figures.

▲

The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

✍

Friday, October 26th, 2012

VOTE TODAY ◗The Curry Building, 214 W. Seventh St.; 8am-6pm

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

POETRY & BOOKS ◗ Various locations around IU campus & Bloomington — Sylvia Plath Symposium 2012, celebrating 50 years since the publication of her “Ariel” collection, Through Saturday, Today’s highlights:

  • IU University Club, President’s Room — Janet Bedia speaks about Ms. magazine’s contribution to Plath’s fame; 9:30-9:55am
  • IU University Club, President’s Room — Peter K. Steinberg speaks about Plath and the New Yorker; 10-10:25am
  • IU Art Museum — Noon Talk: Lynda K. Bundtzen on “From Hive to Honeypor: Artists Harvesting Plath’s Bounty“; 12:15-1pm
  • IU University Club, President’s Room — Amanda Golden speaks about Plath in Devon,modernism, and “Lady Lazarus“; 2-2:25pm
  • IU University Club, President’s Room — David Trinidad on biographical references in “October” poems; 2:30-3:20pm
  • IU University Club, President’s Room — Tracy Brain on medicine and the medical world in the “October” poems; 3:30-4:20pm
  • IU Cinema — Plath-oriented cinematic presentations: “Morning Song,” “Lady Lazarus,” The Bee Asana: Healing of Plath,” “Wish I Had a Sylvia Plath”; 8-10pm

ARTS FEST ◗ Foxfire Park, Nashville — Fall Fine Arts Festival; 11am-6pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Ballantine Hall — “Power Transitions and Inter-Korean Dialogue in the Early 1970s,” Presented by Seongji Woo; Noon

MUSIC & LECTURE ◗ IU Morrison Hall, Hoagy Carmichael Room — Tomás Lozano performance & lecture on Spanish traditional romance genre; Noon-1pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Cinema — James Naremore Lecture: Jacqueline Stewart; 4pm

BICYCLING ◗ Assemble at IU Sample Gates , Kirkwood & Indiana avenues— Critical Mass; 5:30pm

TEENS ◗ WonderLab — Teen Night; 5:30pm

ART ◗ IU School of Fine Arts — Open Studios, tours and exhibitions; 6-10pm

MUSIC ◗ Cafe Django — Craig Brenner; 6pm

MUSIC ◗ Malibu Grill — Bob Straight & Guest; 6-9pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “All Together“; 7pm

POETRY ◗ City Hall Atrium — Readings by Ann Haines, Doris Jean Lynch, Shanna Ritter, and Sue Swartz, Sponsored by Writers Guild of Bloomington & Indiana Arts Commission; 7-8:30pm

STORYTELLING ◗ Bryan Park (alternate rain location: Monroe County Public Library) — Festival of Ghost Stories; 7-8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Barbara McGuire; 7-9pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ TC Steele State Historic Site — “Ghost Tours, Stories, and Owls… Oh, My!“; 7-9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Snowbird Vintage Pop Up Show; 7pm

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

SPORTS ◗ IU Bill Armstrong Stadium — Hoosier women’s soccer vs. Ohio State; 7pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Haunted Hayride and Stables — Scary hayrides; 7-11pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ Bakers Junction Railroad Museum — Haunted train; 7pm

STAGE ◗ IU Wells-Metz Theatre — “Richard III“; 7:30pm

HALLOWE’EN ◗ IU Auditorium — Dennis James Hosts Halloween; 7:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Woodburn Hall Theater — Ryder Film Series: “All Together“; 8pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Michael Winslow; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Jenn Cristy; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — “Salón Latino,” Inaugural Latin American Music Center Chamber Series Concert, Erick Carballo, director; 8pm

FILM ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium — UB Films: “The Campaign“; 8pm

FILM ◗ IU Fine Arts Theater — Ryder Film Series: “Side by Side“; 8:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Rachael’s Cafe — Ritmos Unidos; 9-11pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — Main Squeeze; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ Max’s Place — The Vallures, The 220 Breakers; 10pm

COMEDY ◗ The Comedy Attic — Michael Winslow; 10:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium — UB Films: “The Campaign“; 11pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “In a Glass Cage“; Midnight

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — The Cell Phones, Fly Painted Feathers; Midnight

■

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
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf; through November 16th
  • Small Is Big; Through November 16th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits:

  • “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 from the Slocum Puzzle Collection

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Soup’s On — Exhibit:

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

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

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

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County

The Ryder & The Electron Pencil. All Bloomington. All the time.

10/17/2012
2 Comments
Uncategorized

The Pencil Today:

✍

THE QUOTE

[From the Ed: No quote and few pix today, kiddies. I’m in a big rush. Don’t fret, though, my verbal and literary genius are still on display. Enjoy, as always.]

▲

PSST, WANNA HEAR SOME OF THE GOOD STUFF?

How do you like your erotica?

And, honestly, I’m not just using the term as the sensitive guy’s euphemism for porn.

If you dig it tastefully done, by a woman, and with a dash of stereotype-smashing and anti-chauvinism, then I’ve got the stuff for you.

Bloomington author and fedora-chick-about-town Joy Shayne Laughter reads Kate Chopin’s “The Awakening” in a six-part podcast available on WFHB online.

Chopin‘s work was so steamy for the turn of the previous century that she was one of the most banned authors of her time. She grew up among abolitionists and was an early feminist and a believer in a nascent sexual liberation for women.

She was, in other words, hot stuff.

So is Joy’s reading.

▲

A HUNGRY SYMPHONY

So, the Indy Symphony Orchestra will go back to work.

Huzzah.

Only its musicians are taking a 30 percent pay cut.

Several WFIU voices seem to be thrilled that the work stoppage is over. Sadly, the limited pay stoppage is just beginning.

Anyway, thanks again to our friends in investment banking and the creative financial instrument Mafia for tanking the world’s economy five years ago.

Many municipalities and arts and humanities organizations have struggled for their lives ever since.

Last I heard, none of the no-good bastards who drove us to the brink have missed a meal since the crash. More than a few Indy musicians probably will this season.

▲

DEBATE DEBACLE

As my bustling throngs of loyal readers know, I never listen to or watch the debates.

I’ve got a million reasons and here’s one: Barack Obama and Willard Romney signed a shady deal covering the debate schedule, formats, and exclusions.

Dealmakers

✍

No other minor party candidates would be allowed to participate and the scope of questioning and topics was narrowed in such a way as to ensure our boys would never really have to talk about this holy land as it really is.

Go to Democracy Now! where reporter Nermeen Shaikh interviews George Farah of the Open Debates group for more dope on devilish pact (Shaikh’s report begins at about the 11:49 mark.).

All politics is theater, babies.

▲

CRAZY FOR GOD: A NEVER-ENDING SERIES

Yeah, I make fun of the right and the religionists of this holy land.

But our god-fetishists got nothin’ on our brothers in the Muslim world.

A gang of Muslim world diplomats recently spent some 13 years trying to get the United Nations to declare a ban on insults to religion — primarily, one would assume, their own.

An organization called the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, comprised of 57 member nations, began lobbying the UN to ban blasphemy worldwide in 1998. The secretary general of the OIC, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu of Turkey, says his group’s effort has been stymied by European nations and the United States.

Their objection? A little thing we like to call free speech.

Ihsanoglu said this week the West has a “strange understanding” of free speech. Of course, his understanding of the term means speech can be restricted.

If this guy opened a nudist camp, he’d make it a rule that everybody had to be clothed.

Islamic radicals in September killed some 75 poor souls in an effort to prove to the Big Daddy-o in the Sky that they won’t take insults against him lying down.

The mobs that took to the streets in more than 30 countries after the release of some knuckleheaded video called “The Innocence of Muslims” were — surprise! — exclusively male.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, some fellows in Allah’s army need to start spending some time around women. It’d be a start.

▲

The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

✍

Wednesday, October 17th, 2012

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

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

DISCUSSION ◗ IU Memorial Union, Sassafras Room — “Blue State, Red State: Can Labor Change Indiana’s Color?” Led by Marquita Walker; Noon

LECTURE & BOOKS ◗ IU Art Museum, Special Exhibitions Gallery — Rachel Berenson Perry discusses & signs “Barry Gealt: Embracing Nature“; 12:15pm

BOOKS ◗ IU College of Arts & Humanities — Penelope Anderson discusses & signs “Friendship’s Shadows: Women’s Friendship and the Politics of Betrayal in England“; 5:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Malibu Grill — Alki Scopelitis; 6-9pm

BOOKS ◗ IU Hutton Honors College, Great Room — Sandra Chapman discusses “The Girl in the Yellow Scarf“; 6pm

CLASS ◗ Monroe County Public Library — Lights, Camera, Write: An Introduction to the Art of Screenwriting; 6:30-8:30pm

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

MUSIC ◗ IU Ford-Crawford Hall — Senior Recital, Matthew Berg on tuba; 7pm

STAGE & BENEFIT ◗ Unitarian Universalist Church — Staged reading of “The Cats that Can,” For Feral Cat Friends; 7pm

LECTURE ◗ Pictura Gallery — Dr. Gerardo Gonzalez discusses the works of pohotographers Tyagan Miller & David Moore, who will be present; 7-8:30pm

PERFORMANCE ◗ Unity of Bloomington Church — Auditions & rehearsal, Bloomington Peace Choir; 7pm

STAGE ◗ Brown County Playhouse, Nashville — Drama, “Last Train to Nibroc“; 7:30pm

SPORTS ◗ IU Bill Armstrong Stadium — Hoosier men’s soccer vs. Butler; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Max’s Place — Open mic; 7:30pm

FILM ◗ IU Woodburn Hall — “Brother Sun, Sister Moon“; 7:30pm

STAGE ◗ IU Auditorium — Musical, “Chicago“; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Player’s Pub — Postmodern Jazz Quartet; 8pm

GAMES ◗ The Root Cellar at Farm Bloomington — Team trivia; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ IU Auer Hall — Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, & Concert Band, Jeffery Gershman & Eric Smedley, conductors; 8pm

ASTRONOMY ◗ IU Kirkwood Observatory — Open house, Public viewing through the main telescope; 8pm

DANCE ◗ Harmony School — Contra dancing; 8-10:30pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — The Hot Sauce Committee; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Giving Tree Band, The Underhills; 9:30pm

✍

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
  • “Threads of Love: Baby Carriers from China’s Minority Nationalities“; through December 23rd
  • “Workers of the World, Unite!” through December 31st
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

ART ◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibit:

  • Buzz Spector: Off the Shelf; through November 16th
  • Small Is Big; Through November 16th

ART ◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — Exhibits:

  • “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

PHOTOGRAPHY ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibit:

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

ARTIFACTS ◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • Doctors & Dentists: A Look into the Monroe County Medical Professions
  • What Is Your Quilting Story?
  • Garden Glamour: Floral Fashion Frenzy
  • Bloomington Then & Now
  • World War II Uniforms
  • Limestone Industry in Monroe County
10/08/2012
Leave a comment
Uncategorized

The Pencil Today:

✍

THE QUOTE

“Yeah, I am lazy. There’s no doubt about that.” — Usain Bolt

▲

HOOKY

I’m taking the day off. You still get our events listings, though. So don’t complain.

▲

The only events listings you need in Bloomington.

✍

Monday, October 8th, 2012

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

STUDIO TOUR ◗ Brown County, various locations — The Backroads of Brown County Studio Tour, free, self-guided tour of 16 local artists’ & craftspersons’ studios; 10am-5pm, through October

LECTURE ◗ IU Maurer School of Law, Moot Court Room — “Uncertainty, Indeterminacy, and the Law School Curriculum,” Presented by Elliott Milstein of American University Washington College of Law; Noon-1pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Memorial Union, Maple Room — The Arab Spring, Presented by Prof. Mahmoud Al-Batal; Noon-1:30pm

FAIR ◗ Bloomington Convention Center — Monroe County College Fair, for high school seniors, visit the booths of more than 60 colleges & universities; Noon

WORKSHOP ◗ Monroe County Public Library, Ellettsville Branch —It’s Your Money Series: Build a Duct Tape Wallet; 4-5:30pm

LECTURE ◗ IU Memorial Union, Maple Room — The Arab Spring, Presented by Prof. Mahmoud Al-Batal; 5-7:30pm

FAIR ◗ Bloomington Convention Center — Monroe County College Fair, Financial Assistance presentation; 6:30-7:30pm

DEBATE ◗ Bartholomew County Public Library, Columbus — The 2nd Amendment, Opening presentation by attorney Rod McGillivray, followed by public participation; 6:30-8pm

Guns, At The Bartholomew County Public Library

✍

MUSIC ◗ Muddy Boots Cafe, Nashville — Joe Sanford; 7-9pm

LECTURE ◗ Monroe County Public Library — Bloomington Mac Users Group, “Tame the Beast of the 21st Century: The Information Flood,” Presented by Bill DeVille; 7pm

FILM ◗ IU Cinema — “Maestra“; 7pm

CLASS ◗ Monroe County Public Library –“On the Brink of Destruction: The Cuban Missile Crisis 50 Years Out,” Part of the IU Lifelong Learning Series, second of three weekly sessions; 7pm

LECTURE ◗ Lawrence County Museum of History, Bedford — “Prehistoric Climate and Life in Southern Indiana: 500 Million Years of Hoosier History,” Presented by geologist Dr. P. David Polly; 7pm

MUSIC ◗ Rachael’s Cafe — Northfleet, Analecta, Keyoung; 7:30pm

MUSIC ◗ Max’s Place — Johnny Nevada; 8pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bishop — Filligar, Keeping Cars; 9pm

MUSIC ◗ The Bluebird — Dave Walters karaoke; 9pm

✍

ONGOING:

ART ◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • “New Acquisitions,” David Hockney; through October 21st
  • Paintings by Contemporary Native American Artists; through October 14th
  • “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
  • “Embracing Nature,” by Barry Gealt; through December 23rd
  • “Pioneers & Exiles: German Expressionism,” through December 23rd

ART ◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “Ab-Fab — Extreme Quilting,” by Sandy Hill; October 5th through October 27th
  • “Street View — Bloomington Scenes,” by Tom Rhea; October 5th through October 27th
  • “From the Heartwoods,” by James Alexander Thom; October 5th through October 27th
  • “The Spaces in Between,” by Ellen Starr Lyon; October 5th through October 27th

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

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“

▼

The Electron Pencil. Go there. Read. Like. Share.

08/02/2012
Leave a comment
Uncategorized

The Pencil Today:

✍

THE QUOTE

“Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.” — R. Buckminster Fuller

♢

TECH THINGS

Good afternoon, readers and other curious folk.

You’ll find today’s post to be about as truncated as can be. The broadband signal coming into Electron Pencil world headquarters has been spotty all morning. So, we’re sneaking in what we can.

The Comcast gods willing, we’ll be back tomorrow with the full menu of laughs, thrills, and borderline libels. Until then, See ya!

♢

MADDOW READS THE MAP

There are a million reasons to love Rachel Maddow. Here’s one: She dug up the map below from a website called Maps of the World.

✍

Three grids covering enormous swaths of India blew out Tuesday, leaving nearly one in ten of the Earth’s humans without electrical power.

600 million freaking people, people!

And get this: another whole 600 million people in India weren’t blacked out.

Yes, India is home to 1.2 billion people.

China’s got more: 1.3 billion.

Two nations. Thirty five percent of the living Homo Sapiens sapiens.

Something’s got to give.

♢

✍

Here’s how I waste my time. How about you? Share your fave sites with us via the comments section. Just type in the name of the site, not the url; we’ll find them. If we like them, we’ll include them — if not, we’ll ignore them.

❏ I Love Charts — Life as seen through charts.

❏ XKCD — “A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.”

❏ Skepchick — Women scientists look at the world and the universe.

❏ Indexed — All the answers in graph form, on index cards.

❏ I Fucking Love Science — A Facebook community of science geeks.

❏ Present and Correct — Fun, compelling, gorgeous and/or scary graphic designs and visual creations throughout the years and from all over the world.

❏ Flip Flop Fly Ball — Baseball as seen through infographics, haikus, song lyrics, and other odd communications devices.

❏ Mental Floss — Facts.

❏ Caps Off Please — Comics & fun.

❏ Sodaplay — Create your own models or play with other people’s models.

❏ Eat Sleep Draw — An endless stream of artwork submitted by an endless stream of people.

❏ Big Think — Tapping the brains of notable intellectuals for their opinions, predictions, and diagnoses.

❏ The Daily Puppy — So shoot me.

♢

✍

Electron Pencil event listings: Music, art, movies, lectures, parties, receptions, games, benefits, plays, meetings, fairs, conspiracies, rituals, etc.

◗ Monroe County Public Library — Meet Mr. McFeely from Mr. Rogers Nieghborhood; 10-10:30am

◗ Monroe County Fairgrounds — Day 6, 2012 Monroe County Fair, Dead Giveaway; 5pm — Bloomington Brass Band; 6pm — Smooth Country/Mike’s Dance Barn; 7pm — Figure 8 Demolition Derby; 7:30pm — Talent Show; 7:30pm; Special Purpose; 7:30pm; Noon to 11pm

◗ Bear’s Place — Jazz Fables: Monika Herzig Acoustic Project; 5:30pm

◗ Bloomington Playwrights Project — Original musical, “Dreams & Nightmares”; 7pm

◗ Cafe Django — The Reuben Gingrich Trio; 7:30pm

◗ Max’s Place — Six Mile; 8pm

◗ The Comedy Attic — Costaki Economopolous; 8pm

◗ The Bluebird — Robert Earl Keen; 8pm

◗ Serendipity Martini Bar — Team trivia; 8:30pm

◗ Max’s Place — New Old Cavalry; 9pm

◗ The Bishop — Cameron McGill, The Calumet Reel, Andrew Combs; 9:30pm

Ongoing:

◗ Ivy Tech Waldron Center — Exhibits:

  • “40 Years of Artists from Pygmalion’s”; opens Friday, August 3rd, through September 1st

◗ IU Art Museum — Exhibits:

  • Qiao Xiaoguang, “Urban Landscape: A Selection of Papercuts” ; through August 12th
  • “A Tribute to William Zimmerman,” wildlife artist; through September 9th
  • Willi Baumeister, “Baumeister in Print”; through September 9th
  • Annibale and Agostino Carracci, “The Bolognese School”; through September 16th
  • “Contemporary Explorations: Paintings by Contemporary Native American Artists”; through October 14th
  • David Hockney, “New Acquisitions”; through October 21st
  • Utagawa Kuniyoshi, “Paragons of Filial Piety”; through fall semester 2012
  • Julia Margaret Cameron, Edward Weston, & Harry Callahan, “Intimate Models: Photographs of Husbands, Wives, and Lovers”; through December 31st
  • “French Printmaking in the Seventeenth Century”; through December 31st

◗ IU SoFA Grunwald Gallery — Exhibits: Bloomington Photography Club Annual Exhibition; through August 3rd

◗ IU Kinsey Institute Gallery — “Ephemeral Ink: Selections of Tattoo Art from the Kinsey Institute Collection”; through September 21st

◗ IU Lilly Library — Exhibit, “Translating the Canon: Building Special Collections in the 21st Century”; through September 1st

◗ IU Mathers Museum of World Cultures — Closed for semester break, reopens Tuesday, August 21st

◗ Monroe County History Center — Exhibits:

  • “What Is Your Quilting Story?”; through July 31st
  • Photo exhibit, “Bloomington: Then and Now” by Bloomington Fading; through October 27th

♢

06/09/2012
1 Comment
Gov. Scott Walker, Great Society, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Tea Party, Uncategorized, War on Poverty, Wisconsin Recall Election

The Pencil Today:

✍

THE QUOTE

“Freedom is not enough.” — Lyndon Baines Johnson

♢

WHAT? HELP THE WEAK AND THE MEEK?

  • “This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.”
  • “Our first objective is to free 30 million Americans from the prison of poverty. Can you help us free these Americans? And if you can, let me hear your voices!”
  • “Do something we can be proud of! Help the weak and the meek and lift them up and help them train and give them an education….”
  • “We have a right to expect a job, to provide food for our families, a roof over their heads, clothes for their bodies, and with your help, and with god’s help, we will have it in America!”

These are the fiery words of the President of the United States. The year was 1964. Lyndon Baines Johnson criss-crossed the country, trying to whip up excitement among volunteers and community organizers and municipal officials, hoping they’d jump on his Great Society bandwagon.

✍

LBJ, for all his sins — and there were very, very, very many, truly believed this holy land was big and rich and powerful and generous enough to eliminate poverty here.

He pounded the podium as he spoke. He pointed at the crowd. He punched his fists in the air. He leaned so far over you might have wondered if he’d tumble into the crowd.

✍

Imagine an old-time, stump-speaking pol, roaring at the crowd from his bully pulpit, challenging them to help the weak and the meek!

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You’ll have to imagine it — no self-respecting pol today would dare utter such silliness.

He or she would be branded naive. Or worse. Liberal. Socialist. Maybe even Muslim.

✍

I’ve lived through the liberal zenith of the mid-60s, highlighted by LBJ’s Great Society, to the nadir of today’s me-first, don’t tax me bro, every man for himself, make sure you’ve got a gun under your pillow, if you’re poor that’s your tough luck, Ayn Rand, Saint Ronald Reagan, Lloyd Blankfein doing god’s work, ugly America.

✍

The unnecessary re-confirmation of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker drives the point home. The people of Wisconsin elected — twice — a Tory to lead them out of the economic wilderness. If there’s one true thing that can be said about people who are worried about their wallets and pocketbooks, it’s that they’ll panic. They’ll go for any tough-talking bastard who blames the weak and the meek for all the nation’s ills.

Somehow, though, for the briefest of moments the United States of America became, for lack a of a better word, holy. We actually talked about helping our brothers and sisters.

This “Christian” nation became for a fleeting instant, well, Christian.

Not anymore, baby.

♢

CLICK AND GO!

♢

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