March 2006

On the Web

• Deadguy138’s YouTube Channel: A growing collection of rare live video footage from some great underground bands: noise, punk, metal, jazz, and more.
• Lawsuit Over Brokeback Mountain Reveals Unease Over Pay for “Arthouse” Films: Are major film studios’ “independent” divisions lowballing creative talent and then cashing in on awards buzz? Yes.
• Time to Redesign: Someone has finally taken notice of how much I “suCkSS.”
• Best Fight Scene of All Time: A truly inspiring… See more →

when the prom blacked out
her superfluous hairspray
would light our way out

the Pontiff panicked
swept up in a confluence
of unwed mothers

we remained stolid
Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling
did not interest us

I have a disappointing capacity for insufferable snobbery. I won’t deny it. But I’m not beyond accepting my comeuppance, however quietly self-administered it may be.

Last night, I attended a free screening of Thank You for Smoking, a new comedy which satirizes the tobacco legislation debate. It’s a film designed to hook mainstream audiences with simple, recognizable caricatures of the players on both sides of the issue, and an unfaltering confidence in its own cleverness.… See more →

sainted Uncle Stu
our paterfamilias
has never been kissed

when the business failed
he was succored by his dreams
of a vengeful god

woken by the dawn
she traced a tender aubade
in last night’s dinner

Pál of Hungary
paragon of glass eaters
choked on his danish

See the full gallery (75 items) →

Although most people are completely unaware that it encompasses anything other than music, South by Southwest is one of the world’s largest interactive conferences. 2006 was the biggest SXSW Interactive ever, or so assumes this second-timer, for whom the scope of “ever” begins in 2005. There were more panels, more parties, and most importantly, more people, many of whom were old friends, and many of whom are now new friends.

Things were looking a bit… See more →

If anyone is still reading, I’ll be leaving for Austin in a little over a week for South by Southwest, where I will be immersed in symposiums, cinema, and suds-soaked socialization for five glorious days. Last year’s SXSW was a big part of what made 2005 the best year I have had in a long time; it was a steel-toed inspirational kick in the pants, and a networking free-for-all whose participants generally inhabited more warmth… See more →