Bullet Points are Better Than Bullets
- I finished reading T.C. Boyle’s latest book “Talk Talk” riding home on the A train yesterday. I have been a fan of Boyle’s since I read his first novel “Water Music” a quarter century ago. “Water Music” is bold and brilliant. “Talk Talk” is razor-sharp and tough-as-nails. Boyle is a master of the short story and one of our country’s most interesting contemporary writers.
- I read a terrific piece in The New Yorker (”Swingers” by Ian Parker) about everybody’s favorite french-kissing great apes, the Bonobos! The story blasts some of the myths that surround these mysterious relatives of humans. I still love them, even if they do commit the occasional murder. (There’s a wild story about a group of females who savagely attack an aggressive male bonobo, and when they clear away, all that’s left is some fur and blood. They tore him to pieces.)
- Listening to “Secaucus” by The Wrens. Just the right mix of noise and melody for the way I’ve been feeling lately.
- Here are some other musical acts I have had in heavy rotation lately:
- I have read recent reports (here’s one from Alternet) that the records from the Ohio 2004 election have been lost and/or destroyed, even though a judge ordered that they be preserved, and even though destroying those records is in violation of a bunch of laws. Ain’t that amazing? Now the crooks who stole the vote in Ohio (that would be the the Republican Party), helping seal Bush’s 2004 electoral victory, may not face their day in court. Can you imagine that?
- I am kicking around the idea of going down to Baltimore this weekend for the Virgin Festival at Pimlico, but now that I think of it, I will probably hang out in NYC instead to catch some local writers and readings that are part of the Boog City Festival: I’ll be listening to modest poets instead of Modest Mouse, Amy King instead of Amy Winehouse.
- I’m turning 46 in a week. I am not sure how I feel about that. I suppose I don’t care too much that I’ll be numerically older than I am today. I suppose the main emotion is amazement. It’s not really possible, you see. How can I be 46 years old? I feel 25. (I act 14 sometimes, but that’s a discussion for another day.)
- The globe we live on feels small these days. I hope we all find a way to be better neighbors.
- Speaking of neighbors, I’m moving at the end of the month to Williamsburg. I’m looking forward to the move. Living in Bed-Stuy these last eight months has been interesting and educational, but I’ve received enough treatment that implies I am considered an outsider. Some days I do not feel very welcome. I dig it. It’s a “shoe on the other foot” sort of thing. I still love it. It’s still Brooklyn, baby, and Brooklyn is the greatest borough of the five that make up New York City.
- It’s been HOT in the city the past few days. As I walked briskly uptown on 5th Ave today I noticed an electronic sign displaying a temp of 91 degrees F. That was at 6:30 PM. Hot. Sticky. Unpleasant.
- The sentencing of Mychal Bell has been postponed. He faced sentencing on 31 July for a conviction of aggravated second-degree battery. He was the first of the group referred to now as the Jena Six convicted for beating up a white youth in circumstances that stem from the notorious White Tree incident. It seems that the Feds are taking this case seriously; there will be an investigation to see if the civil rights of the Jena Six were violated. If there’s any justice remaining in Jena, Louisiana, the Jena Six will receive the punishment appropriate to the crime. After all, hitting someone with a shoe is not the same thing as attacking someone with a knife or gun. I don’t want to make the mistake of making judgments on a case I have not heard all the facts of, but based on what I have read, the all-white jury railroaded Mychal Bell, and they’ll take down the rest of the young black men awaiting trial unless the Feds intervene.
This was written by
Tim. Posted on
Thursday, August 2, 2007, at 11:07 pm. Filed under
Animals,
Brooklyn,
New York City,
Literature,
Gogol Bordello,
Writers,
Racism,
Review,
Music,
Politics,
Justice,
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