Jaded Times

Man: Changing the world! Ha! Kids’ stuff!
Man: I, too, had such ideas when I was young, and now you see…
Mafalda: We’re doomed, guys! It turns out, if we don’t hurry up and change the world, the world changes us!

This is a good moment in time to be introduced or reacquainted with Mafalda. The precocious girl who worries frequently about global problems, which she monitors closely by listening to radio news. She hates injustice, war and soup. She’s also a big fan of the Beatles. Her weekly comic strip debut was almost 41 years ago to this day, on September 29,1964.

Mafalda escapes the problems of the world for a moment with some good music.

Mafalda is cartoonist Quino’s most famous creation. He based the strip around the juvenile characters because he knew he could have them say things that the audience would be less open to hearing from the mouths of grown-ups. He ended the weekly Mafalda in 1973, and has gone on to do mostly more acerbic comics in the years that have followed. In a 2000 interview Quino said the following:

The world of which Mafalda was so critical, the world that existed in 1973 when I stopped producing the strip has not disappeared; perhaps it’s even got worse. Though it flatters me to know that Mafalda is still being read, it’s also sad to think that the social injustice she denounced remains in place.

Imagine what he’d have to say if he was interviewed this day, 2005.

The comic journal Ninth Art wrote a profile of Quino and Mafalda earlier this year.
Although Mafalda has been translated into several European languages and Chinese, it wasn’t until last year that it was published in English. Still read it in Spanish if you can to get most enjoyment out of the Argentine Castellano:

Mafalda: ¿Vos Sos Bueno Gatito?
Gato: Miaouu
Mafalda: Es La Respuesta Más Honesto Que He Escuchado Últimamente

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Ladies and gentlemen, meet Stanislov Petrov, a true Cold War hero.

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What can I say about this show? The overused question that begins every show review, whether writers like to admit it or not (or print it, another device becoming increasingly overused). To be honest, I don’t have many words to describe the show overall, but I will attempt to encapsulate the night as best as possible.

First, LKN. I don’t feel too confident raving about LKN, since she is on Greyday, and I’m not good at whoring. I will, instead, merely relate the opinion of an employee of our distributer who attended the show: “my friend turned to me halfway during the LKN set and said ‘dude, we listen to wimpy music’.”

Next up was Bellini. This Italian/American band (two of the members are Sicilian, two are American) continued flawlessly the edgy, melodic, and aggressive female-fronted theme of the first half of the show. Bellini were the perfect bridge between the hardcore edge of LKN and the melodic overpowerment of Mono. A great stage show and a truly creative and talented band, I saw many leaving with Bellini discs and shirts (I can’t blame them, I probably would have too, had I the money).

Then, the main event: Mono. Mono are a hard band to try to describe; a lot of people compare them to Mogwai, as any instrumental “crescendo-core” band will be: beautiful melodies, long well-executed builds to a height of volume and emotion that is hard to acheive, even with vocals. However, comparing Mono to Mogwai is selling them short; the Japanese four-piece puts forth a far more diverse musical platter than Mogwai, at times bulding off simple RPG-style synth rhythms into powerful wall-of-sound guitars, at other times creating a dark and haunting image closer to Neurosis in nature than any indie-based band. Creative, ecclectic, and beautiful, seeing them–and FEELING them, the sound was so loud it could be felt reverberating through your chest–is a distinct experience that I’ve only seen equalled by Crash Worship many years ago (who are a distinctly different band musically, but had the same raw energy). As Matthew Taylor, the bass player from Bellini, commented with a smile: “Mono is like the great eraser. Any band who plays before them gets immediately forgotten.” I wouldn’t say that, but while it was a well-matched line-up, it definitely felt like there were two different shows happening, though I would be hard pressed to say which I preferred.

Mono and Bellini are out on a full US tour currently–you owe it to yourself to go see them. LKN will be rejoining them early next month for three Florida dates.

Mono/Bellini: Temporary Residence
LKN: Greyday

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President Bush, not one to break with tradition (unless it includes the Constitution), will be spending the day in Texas just as he did before the last major hurricane that hit the United States. I wonder if his aids have had the guts to tell him he’s not travelling there to finish up his vacation.

Spokesman, Scott McClellan, also commented that jabs about George Jr.’s post-Katrina guitar strumming were “unfair”:

since Bush was keeping in touch with relief officials during the California trip and already had decided to return to Washington.

Ahh, it’s nice to keep in touch isn’t it George? My “just thinking of you” gestures include sending my Aunt Gloria cards with butterfly illustrations (she collects figurines and pictures of the colorful creature). Who were you keeping in touch with? Because that guy, Michael “Heck of a Job” Brown wasn’t so in touch himself, what with not knowing about the thirsty people at the convention center and all. I know these are all events of less than a month ago, and some things have changes, let’s hope they’ve changed enough. Here’s to a more truly in touch and effective crew this time.

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Jewish terrorist Earl Kruger was sentenced to 20 years for his part in a plot to blow up a Los Angeles area Mosque and the office of an US congressman of Lebanese descent in late 2001. He and his partner, Irv Rubin, are reportedly members of a Jewish terrorist organization calling itself the Jewish Defense League (or JDL). The two terrorists were arrested in November of 2001; Rubin allegedly committed suicide in jail by, and this is in the article with absolutely NO irony:

Rubin died in November 2002 awaiting trial. Prison authorities said he slashed his throat with a knife and then either fell or threw himself from a prison walkway.

To again quote Jon Stewart, “it’s like they think we’re retarded”.

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A quick little bit from AmericaBlog about how Bush is trying to link the hurricane disasters to his war on terror (utterly ridiculous), and this newsblog about how hard the government really is working to prep for Rita.

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First, the bad news:

Hurricane Rita is causing massive gridlock as a million plus Texas residents (and Louisiana refugees) flee the Houston area. Meanwhile, MSNBC reports that there may be a fuel crisis as a result of the impending storm. At least it was downgraded to a catagory 4 storm today; not the best news ever, as Katrina was a Cat 4 when it hit New Orleans…

Now, the FAUX News:

FOX News decided to focus their coverage of Katrina survivors in a very unique direction. I’d like somebody to tell me how this passage is “fair and balanced”:

In South Carolina, state police checked every evacuee flown there by the government. Of 547 people checked, 301 had criminal records, according to Robert Stewart, state Law Enforcement Division Chief. While most had been law-abiding for years or had committed minor offenses, the group included those convicted of rape or aggravated assault. Two had warrants, but were not held because the states weren’t interested in extraditing them.

This was also filed today, though I must admit it is a far more interesting story.

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What the hell is this? In the middle of an article about the UK pulling troops from the streets of Basra, FAUX news actually has this paragraph (I am not making this up):

Elsewhere, a roadside bomb hit a U.S. convoy in southern Baghdad, killing one soldier and wounding six others Wednesday. Suspected insurgents gunned down at least eight Iraqis in four separate attacks Thursday, officials said.

That is paragraph three, folks. Forget the lack of journalistic integrity, that is simply poor writing. My fifth grade teacher wouldn’t have let me go outside of topic like that, and she was a pothead…

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Sorry, but I’m just so sick of this fucking guy. “Stay the course.” Stay the boot up your ass, dipshit.

Seriously, why he hasn’t been hanged as a traitor by this point is beyond me. But that’s just me editorializing. It really has nothing to do with the article, which is just CNN returning to form as White House PR.

President Bush said Thursday that withdrawing American forces from Iraq would make the world more dangerous and allow terrorists “to claim an historic victory over the United States.”

Christ, what a douchebag. And it gets worse:

“The terrorists concluded we lacked the courage and character to defend ourselves,” the president said. “The only way the terrorists can win is if we lose our nerve and abandon the mission.

I know he’s not big on book learnin’, but let’s look at this, shall we? The terrorists, first off, did not conclude anything, as you draw a conclusion from viewing decision making, actions, etc. Secondly, “defend”, this word, I do not think it means what you think it means. To defend, you have to be in the instance of being attacked. What we are doing is retaliating, or to be more accurate, invading.

And what mission? What the hell? We have a mission? Are we GI Joe or something? There is no mission, there never was, and by the way, Bush, the biggest mistake you made here is in your assumption of how the terrorists can win, because you’re actually causing their victory. They want the Muslim world to hate the US and the west. Guess what? That’s a mission you can actually brand “acomplished”. And fuck you for making me refer to how the terrorists can “win”.

I’m sending the White House a freakin dictionary.

link.

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According to a BBC article filed today, the three EU countries pushing for Iran to be brought before the security council (which could have led to penalties, sanctions, embargos, or military action), France, Germany, and the UK, have apparently backed down from their aggressive stance amidst opposition from Russia and China. This seems to have have pleased the Iranian government, who are no longer irate at the EU countries in question, and now merely pissed:

The Islamic republic insists its nuclear activities have not violated the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It has warned that if referred to the Security Council, it could start uranium enrichment – a possible step toward making nuclear arms – and stop allowing unfettered IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities and programmes.

Russia, who have veto power on the Security Council, had previously advised Iran not be brought before the board.

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