randomWalks

New at TCBY: Kool-Aid ice cream!

Cause I ride my slant-eyed slope like a brand new Kawasaki Oh me chinky she`s so kinky got me hot like Nagasaki I think I got that jungle fever but I caught it in `Nam She's like an oriental rug cause I lay her where I please Then I blindfold her with dental floss and get down on her knees

Screenshots is a unique and fascinating project – “a series of drawings from an isometric perspective, in the style of a computer game”. Other projects by the creator of Screenshots include historical and pornographic images digitally edited to remove the figures. Saturday’s Lake Effect provides some commentary and context for this challenging work.

It's often said there is an intergenerational responsibility for slavery, for brutality, and people in this generation say, Well, I didn't have anything to do with that. And what's that got to do with me? Well, you know what? Corporations have been around for a long time. They've got perpetual life. And they operated and benefited from the repression of innocent people in this country, and they should be required to pay.

Check out the best analysis of the Democrats and of the left I’ve read this political season.

Bubbling this link to the top: a r b l o g - p o l y m a t h - g r e e n - s m o k e - t e c h n o l o g y because I want to keep an eye on it.

la.indymedia highlights:
realaudio of hip hop panel at shadow convention
when animals attack: unprovoked police charge civilians in a subway station
more protests at the Boston presidential debate Oct 3?
Why? - IMC’s Protest E-zine

If you’ve let yourself be disinformed about the d2kla protests by the corporate media, then it’s your responsibility to educate yourself about the issues raised by the protestors and to keep up on the news as reported by independent journalists as well. A good start would be to find out exactly what a black bloc really is.

A mad depressing metafilter thread on the Kursk accident discusses the sinking of the USS Arizona (pictured) at Pearl Harbor.

After I irresponsibly set it off at MetaFilter, johnb of The Green Boffin stepped in to drop some knowledge – don’t miss the analysis and insight in his posts.

In the future, displays will be wadded up and thrown away. thanks, dad.

Is this what democracy looks like?

“The Robyn Van En Center offers assistance to the enlarging community supported agriculture movement.” Find and join a local CSA project for fresh farm produce, yum!

The official police explanation for shutting down the concert is that the crowd had become unruly, with youths throwing rocks over the fence at the police and starting fires. In truth, the police were looking for a pretext -- any pretext — to shut down the gathering, fire some ammo, and clear a path for departing Democratic delegates. At 9th and Figueroa my group decides to take advantage of this opportunity to ‘dialogue’ (Democrats like that word) with the delegates as they make their way away. I wish one cluster an expiditious journey back to Beverly Hills and I get a look that says, How did you know where we’re going? My friend Sara asks them how they feel about living in a democratic police state. Calling them corporate liberals — and ineffectual to boot — is also surprisingly satisfying. Since Democrats fashion themselves to the left of something, they are disarmed by such taunts.

Meanwhile my friend Dean and I formulate a theory that Richard Nixon — the bane of all middle-aged Democrats — was, on many important issues, to the left of Clinton and Gore. That’ll get their hackles up, we think. We try our new pet theory out on the delegates, but none launches into a defense of their men. All we get is nervous laughter. Finally we get a response from a 50ish looking man wearing a Gore button who ponders the question and responds, ‘You’re probably correct,’ and moves on up the street. We do have one lengthy, honest-to-God conversation with a woman delegate, and a crowd forms to listen to the debate.

Finally, though, we tire of dialoguing and start heading away. As we walk along Figueroa the sounds of sirens and cop helicopters are a constant. We stop at 7th to rest and discuss the evening’s events, only to have three police immediately tell us to move along. We comply and walk to 5th where it seems safe to relax. We lament our sore bodies and decide a bit of yoga is in order and convene a small circle and commence our exercise. What could be more benign? But no! Within minutes four cop cars speed up, lights ablaze, and eight police demand that we desist from our criminal enterprise. Just another case of yoga interuptus on the streets of L.A. Time to call it a night.

la.indymedia.org is working now; sacco.indymedia.org appears to be a mirror but I suggest you use the la. address again.

The man closest to the watertight door closes it, to isolate you from the flooding. . . . After that, you just lie quietly. No unnecessary conversation or movement

It’s a banner year for mycology. Read about the joy of shrooming in the Washington Post and hear about it on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered.

Approximately 60 people were arrested for riding bikes in LA yesterday. Bail for the arrestees has been set at $20,000. Update: From the IMC breaking news page: “9:49pm PST - Police will start releasing the jailed Critical Mass bicyclists at midnight if they post bail of $2500. Citizens may be released without posting bail if they sign a legal form saying that they ‘will not bicycle again’ in Los Angeles!!!”

A Village Voice report on the IMC bomb scare offers details that suggest the timing of the police action was intended to prevent the IMC from conducting a scheduled broadcast during Clinton’s address last night.

The IMC has a write-up of a protest solidarity rally in Asheville, NC (one of the most beautiful towns in the country). The article also hints at demonstrations during the October Presidential Debates in nearby Winston-Salem. I’ll have to look into that.

An IMC reporter has posted an update on the IMC bomb scare.

I’ll read Kendall Clark on the criminalization of dissent this evening when I have some time.

After being threatened by police under pretense of a bomb scare, the LA indymedia center is back in action. The Web site (formerly la.indymedia.org) can now be accessed at sacco.indymedia.org – not sure if this is related to the attempted raid last night.
shot in the face by rubber bullet
LA Times article on last night’s police violence
la imc breaking news
begging for mercy from riot gear cops
raising hell at the DNC – alternet.org full coverage

This video of a plane getting struck by lightning is cool.

Today’s indymedia LA highlights: five-minute roundup of the day’s news (mp3), report from hotel workers' rally in Santa Monica, students at Mumia rally are symbolically silenced.

Washington Post Style Invitational readers update Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire” for the 90s (current contest is at top; scroll down a bit).