WTF???

An Ode to Date Rape

The song is called "Spectacular," and although its hook is "Last I remember I was face down/Ass up, clothes off, broke off, dozed off/Even though I'm not sure of his name/He could get it again if he wanted/'Cause the sex was spectacular," Kiely claims she's "an actress" and that she wrote the song "to bring attention to a serious women's health and safety issue." (!!!)

@'NY Mag'

Why Netanyahu Canceled His DC Visit, and Why the GOP Is Applauding

For Anne

The Librarian’s Answer to Wikipedia

Flamin' Groovies - Slow Death (Live 1972)

Says it all really

Pope Benedict hit by new Church child abuse allegations

The Pope is facing allegations he was responsible for delaying Church action against a paedophile priest - the first time he has been accused so directly.
The allegations stem from a letter signed by Benedict XVI in 1985, when he was a senior Vatican official.
Associated Press said it had obtained the letter, signed by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, resisting the defrocking of offending US priest Stephen Kiesle.
The Vatican says he was exercising due caution before sacking the priest.
Cardinal Ratzinger - who was at the time the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - said the "good of the universal Church" needed to be considered in any defrocking, AP reported.
Series of scandals
Vatican officials say the letter was part of a long correspondence and should not be taken out of context.

ANALYSIS By David Willey, BBC News, Rome The Vatican claims the letter must be considered in its true context of a lengthy exchange of correspondence between California and Rome about defrocking an American priest who was a known child molester. The Pope's critics claim that he stalled and left unanswered for years letters concerning alleged cases of sexual abuse by priests. American bishops are coming under increasing pressure from their flocks to explain why the church in Rome did not take more robust action or took no action at all. So they are releasing confidential documents which put the future Pope's lack of action in a bad light. The Vatican insists that the Pope was only exercising due caution before sacking a priest for sexual misconduct.

Vatican spokesman Rev Federico Lombardi said: "The press office doesn't believe it is necessary to respond to every single document taken out of context regarding particular legal situations."
The allegations come as the Vatican says the Pope is willing to meet more victims of clerical abuse, and as the Vatican prepares to publish a guide on the internet about how bishops should deal with accusations of sexual abuse.
The Catholic Church has been hit by a series of child abuse scandals, including in Ireland, the US, Germany and Norway, and has faced criticism for failing to deal adequately with the problem.
The allegations come as the Vatican says the Pope is willing to meet more victims of clerical abuse and as the Vatican prepares to publish a guide on the internet as to how Bishops deal with accusations of sexual abuse, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.
'Grave significance'
AP said the Rev Kiesle was sentenced to three years of probation in 1978 for lewd conduct with two young boys in San Francisco. It said the Oakland diocese had recommended Kiesle's removal in 1981 but that that did not happen until 1987.
Cardinal Ratzinger took over the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which deals with sex abuse cases, in 1981.

ALLEGATIONS FACING POPE In 1980 as archbishop of Munich and Freising, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger unwittingly approved housing for a priest accused of child abuse. A former deputy later said he made the decision Cardinal Ratzinger failed to act over complaints during the 1990s about US priest Lawrence Murphy, who is thought to have abused some 200 deaf boys in Wisconsin Cardinal Ratzinger allowed a case against Arizona priest Michael Teta to languish at the Vatican for more than a decade despite repeated pleas for his removal Cardinal Ratzinger resisted the defrocking of California priest Stephen Kiesle, a convicted offender, saying "good of the universal Church" needed to be considered The Pope's supporters say he has been unfairly blamed for cases handled by junior staff, and that he has been proactive in addressing child abuse.

AP says the 1985 correspondence, written in Latin, shows Cardinal Ratzinger saying that Kiesle's removal would need careful review.
Cardinal Ratzinger urged "as much paternal care as possible" for Kiesle.
Kiesle was sentenced to six years in prison in 2004 after admitting molesting a young girl in 1995.
Kiesle is now 63 and is on the registered sex offenders list in California.
On Friday, the Vatican urged Catholic dioceses around the world to co-operate with police investigating sex abuse allegations against priests.
Father Lombardi acknowledged that the Church had lost public trust and said Church law could no longer be placed above civil laws if that trust were to be recovered.
He also said Pope Benedict was prepared to meet more victims of abuse to offer them moral support.

This court... deems it necessary to consider the good of the Universal Church together with that of the petitioner Text of Pope 'letter' Pope willing to see abuse victims

BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott says this is an abrupt change of tone by the Vatican.
He says officials had previously accused critics of trying to smear the Pope personally and only last weekend said he should ignore petty gossip directed at him.
Meanwhile Italian media have reported that the Vatican is to issue guidelines on its website on Monday on fighting paedophilia.
The Vatican has ruled out any possibility of a papal resignation over the scandals.

"Laughing with exploding urine???"

笑いを爆発排尿

Understanding the internet

Looking for quality friends?

johannhari101
If you're looking for class war, you can find it - in David Cameron's policies http://bit.ly/aSGzZs

Censorship hides behind the great Australian firewall

Our digital future is being decided by idiots!

(Click to enlarge)

From the you'd-have-to-laugh-or-you'd-have-to-shoot-yourself department:

The Right Honourable Stephen Timms is the UK's "Minister for Digital Britain." He's the guy behind the Digital Economy Bill, which makes the US DMCA look good by comparison. Seriously, this is some terrible, terrible lawmaking.

Here's what appears to be a letter the DigiMini sent to another MP, explaining why the Digital Economy Bill needs to go forward. It reads, in part, "Copyright owners are currently able to go on-line (sic), look for material to which they hold the copyright and identify unauthorised sources for that material. They can then seek to download a copy of that material and in so doing capture information about the source including the Intellectual Property (IP) address..."

If this letter is genuine (and it seems to be), it means that the guy who's in charge of Britain's digital future thinks that the "IP" in "IP address" stands for "Intellectual Property."

Cory Doctorow (again) @'Boing Boing'

NYT ethicist: OK to pirate ebooks once you've bought the hardcover

Randy Cohen, author of the New York Times's The Ethicist column, was asked to venture an opinion on whether it's OK to download a pirate ebook after you've bought the hardcover. He says it's ethical, even if it's illegal: 

"An illegal download is -- to use an ugly word -- illegal. But in this case, it is not unethical. Author and publisher are entitled to be paid for their work, and by purchasing the hardcover, you did so. Your subsequent downloading is akin to buying a CD, then copying it to your iPod. Buying a book or a piece of music should be regarded as a license to enjoy it on any platform. Sadly, the anachronistic conventions of bookselling and copyright law lag the technology. Thus you've violated the publishing company's legal right to control the distribution of its intellectual property, but you've done no harm or so little as to meet my threshold of acceptability."

Cory Doctorow @'Boing Boing'

Malcolm McLaren - Double Dutch

Bar 303 Northcote Tonight - Oxfam Benefit Gig

	Friday, 09 April 2010 at 19:30
End Time:	Saturday, 10 April 2010 at 01:00
Location:	303
Street:	high st
Town/City:	Northcote, Australia
	View map

Description

The Oxfam Trailwalker team of Tia, Ingram, Marte and Tim, whose powers combined, create 'Connex won't get us there', are proud to present a night of great music.

We are very lucky to have some fantastically enjoyable musicians doing their thing all in the name of a good cause, these include:

Saskwatch - http://www.myspace.com/saskwatchmusic
Saskwatch is a nine-piece collective of young Melbourne musicians playing original Soul, Hip-hop and Funk.

Sophia Exiner - http://www.myspace.com/sophiaxband
Sophia Exiner plays heartfelt songs about love, life and cups of tea.

Right Hand Foot - http://www.myspace.com/righthandfoot
Right Hand Foot is a dirty rock experience infusing dance, grunge, blues and folk influences into their raw rock 'n roll music.

Dan Musil + Friends - http://www.myspace.com/bitofadan
"Mesmerising lap steel guitar & honest original songwiting- your toes will soon tap the heartbeat". To be joined by the sublime David Grant & Jarred Shay.

Also there will be super cool DJ’s spinning a tune or two when the chance arises.

The cost is $10 paid at the door, with 100% proceeds going to Oxfam.

For our part we are foolishly walking 100km in 48 hours to help raise funds for Oxfam’s brilliant work around the globe.

This is what your $10 can supply: provide basic medical supplies for one month for a person living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Hmm, not much to contemplate really.

If for some vaguely plausable reason you can't make it on the night, please do not let this stop you getting behind the team. You can donate online at https://secure.oxfam.org.au/donate/twpaymentevent.php?TeamID=7380&eventstate=VIC

DISCLAIMER:

 That is son#1 impersonating Ringo Starr in the pic above!

The Look

Kim Gordon: Noise Paintings

New York
April 8 - May 8

God's Pee return

HERE

Important

@'iruntheinternet'

Anarchy in the UK

I used to have this poster for the Apollo in Glasgow (a gig that never took place!)

Making a movement

If there's one or two things I've learned from mucking about with brand participation ideas they are as follows.Whatever it is we want people to do it neads to be as easy as possible to participate and the quicker we can make it appear to onlookers that it's a good idea they need to get involved with, the better.

This doesn't mean it has to be a familiar idea.
In fact the more unfamiliar or innovative the idea is then the initial hipsters and 'early adopters', if you like, are more likely to have their interest piqued.

At that point it then becomes 'safe', or 'social proof' emerges, then the slightly more cautious are able to dip their toes in.

This is crucial because a participation idea needs to be 'in public'. The 'outsiders' don't see just the leaders, they mostly see the the followers, new recruits follow the followers, kind of thing, not just the the leaders.

Pondering this I recall a story from Bernie Rhodes (I think it was him).

Rhodes managed The Clash back in the day and was in cahoots with Malcolm Mclaren (Sex Pistols) and Jake Riviera (the unsung 3rd man of the original emergent UK punk scene, and erstwhile manager of The Damned).

Between the three of them they realised that to create a movement that initial 'social proof' needed to be apparent.

One band could not do it on their own, but 3 bands...

Do the arithmetic.

3 bands (Pistols, Clash, Damned) each with four members.
Say each band member has five 'friends', thats 60 people minimum.

So a triple header gig in a small strip joint in Soho has an instant crowd of 60 or so likeminded bods, to any waif or stray thats wandered in off the street it immediately looks like 'something' is happening.

As more people decide to join in it's no longer a risk, if they 'get it' no reason not to join in now, and the codes, language, style is all there for them.
It's very easy to participate.

We are a we-species after all.

And there's your movement. 

Easy in principle but the hard part is having the guts and purpose to innovate in the first place, because if it's not interesting and worth the effort to join in, there will be no takers.Malcolm, Bernie and Jake, my mentors ;)

 Eaon Pritchard @'Never Get Out Of The Boat'

(Thanx Stan!)

Dogmop - For Fifi XXX

4-1

Malcolm McLaren - 22/01/46 - 08/04/10 RIP

Malcolm McLaren, former manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls, died today in New York after a bout with cancer, The Independent reports. He was 64.

During the course of his career, the outspoken impresario worked in the fashion industry and released hip-hop and electronic albums, but he's most famous for his association with the Sex Pistols. The degree to which he helped the UK punk band rise in the late 70s is much debated.

When asked for a job description on Australian talk show "Enough Rope" in 2006, McLaren said, "Somehow or another, I remain permanently cool [...] I try to make ideas happen-- ideas that could change life."

 Ryan Dombal @ 'Pitchfork'
 

Pixels Attack!

I'm voting Labour, founder of Tory gay rights group says

The founder of the Conservative Party's biggest group campaigning for gay rights has said she will now vote Labour at the general election after David Cameron failed to reprimand a Shadow Cabinet member for questioning gay rights.

Anastasia Beaumont-Bott, the first chairman of the LGBTory group, said she felt guilty for having told gay voters to back the Tories in the past after Chris Grayling, the shadow Home Secretary, said he believed bed and breakfast owners should have the right to ban gay couples from staying in their property. She called on the Tory leader to dismiss Mr Grayling. So far, Mr Cameron has refused to take any action against him.

Michael Savage @'The Independent'

Remember that it doesn't matter if you are rich or poor, black or white, straight or straight, Cameron's your man!

Teenager Heads to North Pole to Check In With Foursquare

Pope Opera

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Pope Opera
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Reform

Inside Story: What Are the Rules of Engagement?

Moderat - Clash Music DJ Mix

The mighty Moderat – a combination of two of the best things to have come out of Germany since Erdinger (Modeselektor and Apparat) – supply Clash’s exclusive DJ mix this week, in part one of a two-week takeover of the podcast by BPitch Control – Berlin’s beast of an electronica label. Yum.

Beginning with some… unusual canine sounds (best not to ask), Moderat’s mix slides into the lush tones of the deservedly hyped Darkstar track, ‘Aidy’s Girl’s a Computer’ (giving a cogent example of where UK funky should be headed), before unveiling some garagey, grimy goodness from Untold, a few tasty remixes (including a Zomby rework of Martyn’s ‘Hear Me’, and a Joy Orbison remix of Four Tet) and some techno delights from Marcel Dettmann.

Not that either of the two acts in question really need any introduction, but in case you vowed not to listen to any good music last year, Moderat produced one of the most-anticipated electronic highlights of 2009 with their self-titled album (not forgetting the considerable individual triumphs of Modeselektor and Apparat) before taking their immense sound on the road with a series of live shows.

A mix of deep, uncompromising electronica and future dub from two artists on the cutting edge of dance music.

HERE

Moderat Dj Mix Tracklisting

01. Moondog – Moodog’s Theme

02. Darkstar – Aidy’s Girl’s a Computer

03. Untold - Revenue

04. Luis Digital - Dancefloor Microphysics

05. Jose James - Blackmagic / Joy Orbison Rmx

06. Four Tet - Love Cry / Joy Orbison Rmx

07. Vindicatrix - Private Places / Shackleton & Mordant Music version

08. Monolake - Plumbicon / Sleeparchive Remix

09. Emtyset - Awake

10. Anstam - Cree

11. Monolake - Observatory

12. Max Cooper - Automnemonic

13. Ramadanman - Tempest

14. Martin - Hear Me / Zomby Remix

15. Sbtrkt - Sleep In Tokyo

16. A Made Up Sound - Crisis

17. Marcel Dettmann – Role edit

18. Egyptrixx - The Only way up / Cubic Zirconia remix

19. LV & Untold - Beacon / MtKimbie Remix

20. Rhythm & Sound feat. Cornel Campbell - King In My Empire

@'Clash'

The list of shame

They work for the BPI

New mix from Grievous Angel

grievousangeluk 
I did a nice little garage mix last night. Iwww.grievousangel.net/GAMixes/GarageMixApril2010-GrievousAngel.mp3 vinyl, one take, no edits

Barack Obama signs nuclear treaty with Russia

HERE

Andrew WK: 'It's time to let you hear the song which earned me a juvenile restraining order'

Andrew WK aged 17 (back when he was Andrew Fetterly)

I've never let anyone hear this song before. I'm deeply humiliated and embarrassed at the thought of anyone hearing it. This is probably the most intense and personal song I've ever recorded – it's called My Destiny and it was written and recorded when I was 17. I shouldn't do this.
 
Download
I was in high school in the 1990s, in a town called Ann Arbor in Michigan. I had a crush on a girl and was deeply and passionately fixated on her. She had a baby face, a 14-tooth smile, large eyes, a crowned forehead, an oversized brow and a tender style. She consumed me with both lust and hatred – lust, because I was truly drawn to her beauty and soft skin, and hatred because she rarely spoke to me, wouldn't look at me much and never gave me a chance to show her my deep affections. I used to call her house just to listen to her say, "Hello?" Then I'd hang up, terrified and shaking with nervous ecstasy.
In our senior year of high school, when I was 17, we were required to make a final project which was presented to the head of the school and graded as our final exam. This was when my crush was at its absolute height. I decided to write a song dedicated to her and submit it as my final project for graduation. The song was My Destiny. I've never recorded another song like it, and now – listening to it after all these years – I can see why.
Here are the lyrics:

Called Up Your Number Fourteen Times
To See If You Were Home
Home Is Where I'll Find You
When I Find You
Do You Feel Lonely When You're Alone
A Sheet To Keep You Warm
Warm – Electric Blanket
An Extra Blanket
You Are My Destiny
I'll Make You Fall In Love With Me
I'll Make Myself Your Fantasy
Weeping Like The Willow Tree
Drove Past Your Doorway Fifteen Times
I Don't Want To Cause You Harm
Harm – That's What You're In For
If You Don't Open Your Door
So I'll Keep Knocking A Million Times
I Will Knock Until My Knuckles Bleed
Bleed – That Blood Will Leave A Stain
On You Forever
You Are My Destiny
And I'll Make You Fall In Love With Me, Me, Me

It's horribly painful – the sound of confusion and trouble, which is what I was in. I had wanted the song to have a big impact, but not the kind I got. Be careful what you wish for...

The day after I submitted the song, the head of my school called me and my parents in for a private meeting. They played the song for my parents as I sat next to them, paralysed and devastated by the humiliation. The head of the school recommended that I go into counselling or see the school psychiatrist (my parents did send me to a child psychologist following later exploits in arson, baseball card forgery and mail fraud: his final diagnosis? "You have a devilish side"). That was bad, but nothing compared to what happened a year later.
It turned out that the assistant to the head of school got a copy of my song on cassette and gave it to the girl I had a crush on. This was probably the worst thing that had ever happened in my life. She heard the song and was completely freaked out. Within three days, every kid in school had a copy. She told her friends, teachers and parents: "This guy at school is stalking me and threatening my life." She played them the song and they called the police.
In the end, I had a juvenile restraining order put on me, which lasted until I was 21. I've never told anyone about it since, except my closest friends and family. Three months ago, I was advised by my personal manager and life coach to finally let people hear it, to resolve the nightmare. So, I am. Now is the first time since the incident that I've let anyone hear the song. And I can hear why.

Andrew WK @'The Guardian'

HA!

A plane flying from Washington to Denver Wednesday was escorted into the airport by F-16s after Mohammed Al Madadi, a Qatari diplomat, evidently had a cigarette in the lavatory. When flight attendants smelled smoke and asked him what he'd been doing, he allegedly replied "Lighting my shoes on fire."

UC Santa Cruz taps Nicholas Meriwether to be new archivist for Grateful Dead Archive

The University of California, Santa Cruz, has appointed Nicholas Meriwether as the new archivist for the campus’s historic Grateful Dead Archive.

Meriwether comes to Santa Cruz from the University of South Carolina, where he has served as Oral Historian in the South Caroliniana Library for the past five years. His background experience includes work as an educational, research, and rare-book consultant.

Meriwether holds a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University, plus a Masters in Library Science--with a specialization in archives--from the University of South Carolina.

His research on the Grateful Dead, their cultural significance, and their impact on late 20th century society has resulted in a number of publications.

Meriwether is the editor of All Graceful Instruments: The Contexts of the Grateful Dead Phenomenon (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007), as well as four volumes of Dead Letters: Essays on the Grateful Dead Phenomenon (Dead Letters Press).

His writings on popular culture, music, literature and history have also appeared in numerous anthologies, journals, and books.

“The Grateful Dead Archive at UC Santa Cruz represents an extraordinary collection with immense research value to academics and scholars from a wide range of disciplines—including historians, literary critics, musicologists, and others,” noted Meriwether.

“The material in this archive will enrich our understanding of a range of academic topics that extend far beyond the bounds of popular culture and American music,” he added.

Meriwether’s role as archivist will be to provide managerial and curatorial oversight of the Grateful Dead Archive--planning and supervising the processing of all materials and facilitating the archive’s use by scholars, fans, and students.

“Nicholas is a perfect fit,” said University Librarian Ginny Steel. “We feel very fortunate that he is interested in this position because he has an excellent academic background and exactly the archival experience and training that we were seeking. He also brings deep connections to the Grateful Dead community that will enhance his work as he helps us build and expand the archive.”

The Grateful Dead donated their extensive band archive to UC Santa Cruz in 2008. Representing one of the most significant popular culture collections of the 20th century, it documents the band’s remarkable creative activity and influence in contemporary music history.

“I just can't imagine that there is a better person for this job than Nick Meriwether,” said David Gans, host and producer of the nationally syndicated "Grateful Dead Hour" and author of several books about the Grateful Dead.

“He is the embodiment of academic passion and scholarly dedication. I have spent countless hours in conversation with him about the Grateful Dead, and I have learned from him a great deal about academic rigor and the importance of getting all of this recorded properly for posterity,” Gans noted.

The archive includes a wealth of materials related to the phenomena of the Deadheads, the band’s far-reaching social network of devoted fans, and the Grateful Dead’s highly unusual and successful musical business ventures.

“The Grateful Dead Archive will be, like the Dead, something much more than it initially appears,” noted longtime Grateful Dead publicist and biographer Dennis McNally. “Just as the band was not merely a music group but an adventure, an odyssey, and a subculture, the Archive will reflect not only the Dead, but that most critical of post-war decades, the ineffable 1960s.”

The Grateful Dead Archive is expected to open in 2011, as the centerpiece of UCSC’s new and renovated McHenry Library.

Scott Rappaport @'UC Santa Cruz News'

Dead Central Blog

Upheaval in Kyrgyzstan Could Imperil Key U.S. Base

Imaginary subway maps

@'Transit Authority Figures'

Based on the London Underground map design by Harry Beck