2008-11-22T03:51:47Z Zane Copyright 2008, Zane SPHPBLOG

There were some illustrations from last months Believer that made me stumble upon two things I thought were really cool.

First, a firefox add-on that turns all the adds in your internet browser into 'art.': Ad-art

Second was Packard Jennings website, who does sort of political public disruption performance pieces. His work kind of varies, but the above picture is from a series of cards he made to insert into business reply envelopes that show an office being transformed into a romanticist anarchist utopia. Bakunin would be proud. He also made a stereotyped 'anarchist' doll with packaging, put it into Target, then tried to buy it. The video is pretty funny: The manager keeps saying Target is a pro-family store and wouldn't carry anything like that: Packard Jennings]]> http://zanegrant.org/zngrnt/sphpblog_0511/index.php?entry=entry081118-142600 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z 2008-11-18T00:00:00Z

Despite the fact that twitter as a communication technology is tantamount to signing up for micro-surveillance, at least we are only subjecting ourselves to being observed by everyone, and no one in particular. Let's just not fall into the trap of broadcasting spatial data concerning our every coordinate and purpose over time, through acculturation. With that said, find me on twitter to see which hobo trash barrel I am drinking beside at any given time: my twitter page]]> http://zanegrant.org/zngrnt/sphpblog_0511/index.php?entry=entry081116-115402 2008-11-16T00:00:00Z 2008-11-16T00:00:00Z

After leaving the jet lag study I did for money, not science, I stumbled upon a signing of Rafael Grampá's Mesmo Delivery (see art above) at Desert Island (an indie comic store in Liz's neighborhood). Then, I headed over to a house show where The Vivian Girls were playing with a new cometbus/jawbreaker band. I got to see the Vivian Girls, but was five minutes too late for the other band.

Ever get the feeling you are always five minutes too late? yeah.

Yesterday, Corey and I played chess to another draw (4 in a row now) at a Mexican diner. I spent the afternoon writing my new book review for MRR (you can see the last one in November's issue #306). After Liz got out of her master depositions course, we went to Upright Citizens Brigade for 'let's have a ball', which was no 'i eat pandas/we classy', but I think i eat pandas ruined improv for me because I find myself wanting a piano to appear and the performers to burst into song. Is that wrong? Ended up at Blue Stockings for another book signing/discussion for the new book 'Labor Law for the Rank and Filer'.

I was just going to go back to DC and sit at my house, since my jet lag study flight was moved back, but I'm glad I got to stay.]]> http://zanegrant.org/zngrnt/sphpblog_0511/index.php?entry=entry081116-083731 2008-11-16T00:00:00Z 2008-11-16T00:00:00Z

I was surprised to see an unreferenced clip on CW in the lab I am in, accrediting a 'bombing' of an army recruitment station in New York to French Anarchists. From the video it appears that perhaps they meant a smoke bombing?

My interest picked, I did a search to find out more. Evidently, the New York Post (a tabloid?) cites them as "allegedly carrying anarchist texts and photos of the recruitment center. They also had been spotted at anarchist meetings in New York." While the London Telegraph, tells us that, "Although they had left the US before the bomb attack, they had allegedly been spotted shortly before at American anarchist meetings in New York." A little different from the Post and CW's stories that made it sound like the French people were there for the act itself.

While I'm not surprised, I think it is a weird story: Someone carried books and talked to people at a meeting of some sort. They were later arrested, though it is unclear if it was for the talking or carrying books.


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I got to see Mike Mignola talk about the future of Hellboy and Lynda Barry speak on her new book 'What it is' (excerpt above) at Wordstock in Portland last weekend. Shannon Wheeler was there tabling too. It was nice to stumble in on all that.




My sister and I also briefly discussed real-life superheroes over the weekend. Upon returning to DC, I had a similar conversation with my roommate who told me about Angle Grinder Man, who cuts car-clamps off of booted cars in London. That is a nice superpower.

]]> http://zanegrant.org/zngrnt/sphpblog_0511/index.php?entry=entry081112-104155 2008-11-12T00:00:00Z 2008-11-12T00:00:00Z

I was looking at reviews for Quarantine and realized it was a remake, so I watched the original Spanish film [REC]. Some people said it was like Blair Witch but a zombie movie, and I see that, but I didn't like Blair Witch or think it was at all scary and this was. Who thought that Blair Witch was real? Remember that?

At the same time, after watching Blair Witch, staying at a friends house in Nacogdoches, he started acting like he was the freight train serial killer who was on the run at the time around those parts. He put on a crazy act for the rest of the evening, talking about hell hounds and demonology.

All this to say, I liked REC.

Here is the trailer: [REC]]]> http://zanegrant.org/zngrnt/sphpblog_0511/index.php?entry=entry081108-201040 2008-11-09T00:00:00Z 2008-11-09T00:00:00Z