Oblique Strategy

Go to an extreme, move back to a more comfortable place

click on the blog title to see one of the oblique strategy websites.

I got this very nice poster in the snail mail today from Emily Scudder. So get on over to the Porter Square Bookstore on Wednesday, October 17th. That's at 7pm. Lots of friends doing great things this month. There's Tom Swetland"s art show in Greenfield (blog posted below) and Heather Stewart has a two-woman art show at Harvard Neighbors--reception on October 16th. I'll see if I can get more info from Heather and post it up here.

Federal Street Books Art Show

Tom Swetland invites anyone who can make it to Greenfield, MA to an art show at his bookstore. on October 12th, 7-9pm. Email me at suckerbeagle@gmail.com if you are interested in going. If you can drive I have a car.


At left a sample of art called "Spaceman". Below a link to Toms great website with more pictures.
http://www.federalstreetbooks.com/

Poetry

Our very own HUCTW Writes! poets, Jim Henle and Emily Scudder will be at Porter Square Books on Wednesday, October 17th, 7pm. I'll be there. Let me know if you want come along and cheer them on. More info at link below.

http://www.portersquarebooks.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents&eventId=358083

And be sure to visit Emily's website. It's a lalapaloozer.http://home.mindspring.com/~escudder/index.html

Best Book Cover Ever

Here it is. I made a poster out of it and hung it in my kitchen.

Are We Not Men?

Was it 1979? No one had ever seen or heard anything like it. Here's a scene from my distorted and unreliable memory. Taking Miguel to see Devo.

"God made man but a monkey provided the glue"

Didn't they open for Elvis Costello that night? Devo onstage in yellow rubber boots. This was before the flower pots on the head. Elvis in some kind of checkered jacket. And when was it that we went to see "Rock and Roll High School"? And the Ramones were on stage live that night. Wasn't there a concert with David Johanson, Willie Alexander, Pere Ubu and the Ramones? Those were the days for sure.

Making Music

We're listening to Geoff Smith's latest music. Beachtree, You are a lion and They took my things. The music is sweet and quirky and the lyrics are strangely enticing. They are on my playlist and they seem to stay there.

We are also revisting some of the grand old operas. Seems as we work more on La Barba it brings up the classics. Rigoletto, up until now, has been the greatest story of deception and betrayal. It's hard to believe that any thing written since could come close to the level of duplcity that Rigoletto presents. but La Barba does that with relentless passion and at the same time an attention to detail that leaves the listener breathless. Visit our website, How to Build an Alternative Universe (on the gate way page http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeeal5f/howtobuildanalternativeuniverse/http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeeal5f/howtobuildanalternativeuniverse/ ) for background on Lena and her tortorous struggles for gender identity and a decent aria or two.1:41 am est

Now that Jim is leaving us we'll have to postpone rehearsals. But La Barba will be back. Sorry.

And now..A message from Reverend Billy

The present-day design of the thing called "Art" is to leave us shrugging our shoulders. As the artists writhe on the floor, recite obscure words, and go to college forever, we politely applaud – not wanting to hurt feelings. As in: let's be happy with something riskless that the foundations and corporations can support. At Burning Man there is a strong sensation that we broke through, back into real life. A statement can ring in the air and be carried from this Nevada desert right into our neighborhoods. We leave "Black Rock City" ready to do foolish things in the streets, confront official corrupt BOREDOM, the Starbuckization of the mind and the Halliburtonization of the soul.These images from chantel show our work at the "Astor Playa." The Open Planning Project constructed a perfect replica of the intersection where our church was arrested by Starbucks, chased out of Barnes and Noble, and where we stood up for the local Mud Truck , and down Lafayette a ways, the old Jones Diner. We preached to mostly-naked New Yorkers about the corporations choking Cooper Square. (Now that Walgreens took the Astor Spirits corner – Astor is completely ringed by logos.) Oh, THE SCARY PRAYER OF EXORCISM will return to New York!On the last day of our amazing week, we Fabulously Worshipped in David Best’s "Temple of Forgiveness." David is the man in the photos who looks like Walt Whitman with a trimmed beard. He taught me the physics of forgiveness throughout the week, including such befuddling koans as "The first step to forgiveness takes place when you tell someone 'I'll never forgive you as long as I live!'" In the show, we explored the freedom-to-be-brave that forgiving your enemy can make possible. The Arts suffer badly from a defensive position, a constriction. We didn't feel that when the CODEPINK lovers married at the Temple, and the choir sang the grand, rascally words of Kurt Vonnegut. Then the Temple showed the way for our Art -- it dodged the marketers by bursting into flames! A great Burn!

Visit with Reverend Billy : http://www.revbilly.com/

Ben Shahn

Been hanging' aroun the house for weeks now rolling around in the works of Ben Shahn, kind of like Scrooge McDuck rolled around in his money. There's a lot to be said for saturation.

Also reading book by Shahn: The shape of content. There's that thing again. Get it right at the root and get everything else right. There's really nothing to figure out.

The Fat Man

New album due out next week celebrating Fats Domino. The great New Orleans Artist was feared dead in the wake of Katrina. But NO!!! The 79 year old Fats lives!
Now there's a tribute album and who isn't on it? No one. Check it out below.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/22/arts/music/22fats.html?ex=1191124800&en=4f6d1f15f67d1e41&ei=5070&emc=eta1
The album will raise money to restore Fats's home which was pretty much destroyed in the flood. This promises to rival the Jerry Lee Lewis album "Last Man Standing". There's a link to the Jerry Lee album on my website http://www.suckerbeagle.com/

HUGO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TI0_VzFxTzs

This is not to be missed. Hugo Chavez taunting George W. Bush. The opening line alone is worth it all. "You messed up with me, Birdie." Then Chavez goes on to call Bush a donkey, an assasin and a drunk...multiple times.

I'll make an analogy..maybe. It's like when you get into a groove with drawing or painting. You are no longer conscious of being careful. It's when you do your best work. This is Hugo Chavez stream of consciousness on "Alo Presidente". Not surprising that Mr. Chavez is a painter and a poet. It's all about where it comes from. There's a never ending fountain inside all of us. Go Hugo!!!