Blogging on Meds

In a stroke of genius, Tom Waits interviewed himself for the UK’s Independent. Topics include the things you would and wouldn’t expect from Waits; Route 66 and coffee, film, irony, Times Square, Marcel Marceau, literary and musical influences, and the definition of a gentlemen. Some gems:

Q: What’s wrong with the world?

A: We are buried beneath the weight of information, which is being confused with knowledge; quantity is being confused with abundance and wealth with happiness. Leona Helmsley’s dog made $12m last year… and Dean McLaine, a farmer in Ohio, made $30,000. It’s just a gigantic version of the madness that grows in every one of our brains. We are monkeys with money and guns.

Q: Do you have words to live by?

A: The director Jim Jarmusch once told me, “Fast, Cheap, and Good… pick two. If it’s fast and cheap, it won’t be good. If it’s cheap and good, it won’t be fast. If it’s fast and good, it won’t be cheap.” Fast, cheap and good… pick two words to live by.

For those in the south, good luck getting tickets to his upcoming tour dates.

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An incredibly fascinating science story…from the New York Times:

“Two monkeys with tiny sensors in their brains have learned to control a mechanical arm with just their thoughts, using it to reach for and grab food and even to adjust for the size and stickiness of morsels when necessary, scientists reported on Wednesday. The report, released online by the journal Nature, is the most striking demonstration to date of brain-machine interface technology. Scientists expect that technology will eventually allow people with spinal cord injuries and other paralyzing conditions to gain more control over their lives.”

That’s pretty damn amazing, but my only question is…how long before we go from this…

to this…

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Luckily (and recently) I was able to go to Morocco for work - Marrakech to be specific. Why North Africa and not Palm Springs when they were going for a desert scene - meanwhile trying to save money? Not sure, but I’m not complaining because I got a fucking rad, paid for trip with some friends in Africa. And I met some of the nicest people I’ve met in a while - so warm and friendly those Moroccans are. Enough sugar, more grit…work consisted of photo assisting a photographer who was shooting “lifestyle fashion” for J.Crew ads/catalog. Was actually surprised when I found myself looking at the J.Crew mens clothes and thinking, wow, these clothes aren’t half bad… seems like they got a new head of design. The clothes aren’t as crusty (catalog) as they used to be.

So the last day after the shoot we (the photographer Matthew, the other assistant Taea, the man model Will, and I) ventured into the main square of Marrakech also known as, Djemaa el Fna. Which literally translates to Assembly of the Dead - which is rad right? Inside the Djemaa el Fna, it’s pretty much any crazed shopping tourist’s wet dream when it comes to “North African shopping.” Those souks sell everything from scarves, tea kettles, Moroccan rugs, jewelry, antiques, hash (totally not legal), traditional men’s and women’s clothing, those pointy camel leather Aladin shoes, etc. Basically, anything a tourist can want, and need for a successful shopping spree. The Djemma el Fna is also the place where you’d see the snake charmers, the assholes who remove the fangs of the cobra snakes and blow their flute to mesmerize/charm the snakes for 300 Dirham (approx 30 Euro). I don’t get it. It’s actually not interesting and even possible that it’s actually quite boring. You’ll also see the dickheads who walk around monkeys on metal chains as leashes and basically throw the monkey on your arm, then charge 200 Dirham (20 Euro) if you even attempt to get your camera out and take a photo. Well, we gave in and took photos with the monkeys, and paid the asshole very little, at which time he started yelling at us. The man model almost pulled out his right hook - left jab combo, so he reluctantly walked away. Also, Marrakech’s nightlife is crazy - but mainly in the Djemma el Fna. A few discothèques were “going off” but those aren’t in the Medina, or the old historic part of the city. The clubs seemed more like gay clubs than anything else. Since the photographer we were with enjoys men, he wanted to sneak off and go to the discothèque. Sure enough, within an hour he had joined up with us in the Djemma el Fna. But remember, it’s pretty much a dry booze city, other than the discothèques, clubs and hotel bars. So if you’re there to party, keep it at the hotels.

Any ol’ way, the last day of my trip I had finally succumed to the pressure of getting rugs for gifts for Mom, brothers, friends, etc. After narrowing down the best rug stores for my liking, and after haggling down 3 rugs from his initial price of 4000 Dirhams (400 Euro - which is a fucking lot!!!), all the way down to 850 Dirham (85 Euro - which is cheap as shit!!!) he offered me some mint tea and a hash spliff. Well, why the fuck would I not smoke hash with a carpet dealer? This guy was amazing, and allowed us to sit there and drink his tea, sit in his lounge area for customers, get stoned, which i don’t smoke - hardly ever (3 times in since 2005).

Whatever. All I’m saying, is go to Marrakech and visit. Those people are as friendly and funny as anyone I’ve met. They’re cuisine is as good as anything I’ve tasted. And it’s as beautiful as anywhere I’ve been.

Lots of photos…

Next week I’m in Dubai for 2 weeks. I’ll be camping in Oman for a couple days to get away from the Neo Las Vegas and hopefully go to Kish, Iran…which apparently is the only place in Iran where I wouldn’t need a visa.

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Tonight at 12 Galaxies in SF - Dub Trio, Hour Of Worship and Foreign Islands.

(Ryan and Balto)

Foreign Islands is another former roommate of mine - Dean Baltolunis (producer and Boston hardcore veteran) and singer from the long-defunct legendary NYC hardcore band, Supertouch - Mark Ryan. The ‘touch was an incredible band that tipped hardcore upside down, bringing a whole new approach to the genre with melody, repetitive grooves and a stoner drawl. I saw them first in 1990 at The Channel playing with Gorilla Biscuits, Leeway and Maelstrom - a straight edge band, a metal band and a funk band respectively. At the time, it was the perfect meshing of the UK shoegazer music I always loved with the attitude and approach of a hardcore band that I could mosh to. The entire rush of weirdo-core bands to follow owe a lot to Supertouch, including the great Quicksand and Into Another. Their song “Searching For The Light” on 1988’s “New York Hardcore - The Way It Is” compilation and their only full length record released in 1990, “The Earth Is Flat” both realeased on Revelation Records proves it.

(Supertouch in 1993 - by yours truly)

Foreign Islands’ sound is reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem with a lot more umph! The song “We Know You Know It” sounds like a mix between Turbonegro and Arctic Monkeys but the remix of the same song is ready to be a hipster club hit. Baltolunis is a maniac in (and out of) the studio and Ryan is a true visionary. Listen for yourself at their website.

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Today’s (non-election) Reads
Truce Threatened; Civilians Die At US Hands
As reported by Thom Ricks in last Sunday’s WaPost, Iraq’s most dangerous conflict is with Shiite militias. The most prominent, the Mahdi Militia, has been under a long truce, which was threatened yesterday:

Munthir al-Mosawi, 27, a member of the Shiite militia founded by the militant cleric Moktada al-Sadr, died Sunday in custody after being held for three days on a Baghdad arrest warrant. A medical report concluded that Mr. Mosawi had died of a “bullet in the head,” a military official who had read the document said.

Iraqi officials gave varying accounts of Mr. Mosawi’s death; representatives of Mr. Sadr threatened to call off a cease-fire that had lasted months and been credited with helping to reduce violence in Iraq.

Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, a senior Sadr representative in Najaf, the Shiite holy city, said the death had led militia members to reconsider their détente. In the end they chose not to retaliate, he said, despite their doubts that the Iraqi judiciary would investigate impartially.

Also yesterday, American troops killed 3 more civilians. “An Iraqi couple and their son, 19, have been killed when US soldiers stormed a tiny one-room house north of Baghdad,” reports the BBC.“The attack came a day after the U.S. military said it had inadvertently killed nine civilians in an airstrike in Iskandariyah, south of Baghdad,” adds the Wapost. Bringing the total of innocents killed since Monday to at least 12.

The LAT goes further, asking why we are bombing civilians:

Asked whether the request had led to changes, Air Force Brig. Gen. Burt Field said, “No, I’m afraid not, and the reason is that we are doing everything humanly possible to avoid the death of innocent people.”

Among the weapons in use, he said, were 500-pound guided missiles intended to create extremely targeted explosions. “One of the bombs we are using has been dubbed the ‘Martha Stewart Bomb’ because you can drop it, and it will blow up a house and not even touch the buildings to the left or the right,” Field said.

Maj. Gen. David Edgington, the top Air Force commander in Iraq, said the military ensures that each airstrike meets rules in place to minimize civilian casualties. Factors considered include building materials, civilian schedules in the area and intelligence, he said.

“It’s a very scientific process,” he said.

“We make these analyses on every bomb we’re going to drop and make sure it falls within the criteria” to keep harm to civilians low. “We can pretty much guarantee one bomb for one target.”

Air strikes are not and will never be an exact science. As long as we drop 500pd bombs on Iraqi towns and cities, people will die.

By Hameed Rasheed, AP

Canyon of H-mos
Sports parading is usually a great activity. Not for a NY team though. And “Boston Sucks” was a big chant along the the Giants’ route yest. I love that Plaxico over-Manny-ed it and didn’t even show up. The only cool thing about the NY Giants is that Jim Jones’ a fan. He flies high, the Giants wiggle out of a sack and get off a lucky pass. Supposedly Jim performed at the parade yest, though no pics could be found. So here he is at the G-Star show, dated Feb 5th:

In other Super Bowl related news, InfoUSA’s salesgenie.com racist panda commercial has been withdrawn: “We never thought anyone would be offended,” says InfoUSA’s CEO. Huh? As Anthony P put it, “That’s like having a bunch of monkeys saying ’sup my niggas.’”

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