La Historia del los Colores
The Story of Colors

for arse poetica

Start a War, No Money Down!

ANNOUNCER: So what are you waiting for? Our operators are standing by at call centers in India. Let "The Republican Guide to Wartime Tax Cuts" change your life, just as it's changed America.

rosie 

My Kind of Convention

The Second Annual Modern Drunkard Convention

When: Friday May 13th through Sunday, May 15th 2005.

Where: The Ogden Theatre in Denver, CO.

What to Expect: Three solid days of heavy drinking and full-bore entertainment Emceed by Titsa Galore, including:

Bands
Marky Ramone
Slim Cessna's Auto Club
Drag the River
Railbenders
King Rat
Reno Divorce
A Shadow of Elvis

Burlesque Troupes
Ooh-La-La!
Oracle Dance Troupe
Satan's Sirens

Stand Up Comedy
Mike Long
Troy Baxley
Roger Rittenhouse

Plus
• Clash of the Tightest Drinking Contest
• Soused seminars
• Hunter S. Thompson Eulogy
• Karaoke
• Panel Discussion
• Booze tastings
• Heavy drinking
• Debauchery
• And much more

L.A. Derby Dolls still looking for a new home

The L.A. Derby Dolls are in need of a new training facility.

Ideally, we are looking for a warehouse space in Los Angeles. Preferred areas include: Downtown L.A., Hollywood, Glendale or Burbank.

WHAT WE NEED -- BARE MINIMUM:
In the short term, we need a space ASAP to use as a training facility with the following requirements:

• We'd like to spend no more than $4,500 per month for minimum 6,000 square feet
• To fit our banked track, we need 110 feet by 70 feet, preferably clear span, if there are support posts they must fit within the center of the track
• The external dimensions of our track size are 56' x 95' and the internal dimensions are 32' x 72'

WHAT WE WANT -- THE IDEAL:
Our long-term goal is to find a space that will serve as a venue for both training and for live bouts with the following requirements:

• 16,000 to 20,000 square feet including office space
• To fund this, we will require a real estate partner
• Long term lease
• 1,500 - 2,000 person capacity
• Space must meet fire marshall's approval for public assembly

Contact: demolicious AT derbydolls DOT com

Because CNN sucks

Move over Al Jazeera, Telesur is here.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, tireless polemist and Bush nemesis, has a new pet project: a continent-wide television network slated for broadcast throughout South America in the coming weeks.

Telesur, or "Television of the South," aims to be a competitor of CNN, Univison and other global giants seen by southern neighbors as minions of American hegemony.

Described by its new director, Aram Aharonian, as South America's "first counter-hegemonic media project," Telesur reportedly has 20 employees but hopes to work its way up to at least 60. The Chavez government has coughed up $2.5 million for the project thus far and is permitting Telesur to operate as an affiliate of Venezuelan state television.

Telesur is painted in populist hues, befitting a World Social Forum keynoter. A kind of Al Jazeera of the South, the commercial-free, state-funded channel will beam news, documentaries and other programming with a uniquely Latin flavor. The network will be boosted by the presence of journalistic heavyweights -- among them, Jorge Enrique Botero, a well-known television producer known for his coverage of FARC rebels.

friday random ten

Lauren has the instructions.

Tremelo - Mission of Burma
Pinhead - Ramones
Liar - Sex Pistols
Floor 13 - Sixteen Deluxe
Swervette - Giant Sand
The New Timer - Bruce Springsteen
I'm Not From Here - James McMurtry
Evil Queen - TunaHelpers
Dirty Old Town - Pogues
Gotta Get Drunk - Motards

Some of My Impressions On the Bolton Nomination*

The John Bolton nomination passes the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 10-8 without recommendation.

Some highlights:

Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Maryland) In his calm, measured way, Sarbanes pretty much said: "Bolton sucks as a manager."

Christopher J. Dodd (D-Connecticut) "Can't we just end it here in committee?"

John F. Kerry (D-Massachusetts) Bolton was "not candid" with the committee. Translation: "He lied".

Barbara Boxer (D-Califonia) "The Chimp in Charge must want a fight."

Barack Obama (D-Illinois) "North Korea became much more of a threat under Bolton's watch."

Bill Nelson (D-Florida) Short and to the point: "Bolton is a miserable failure as a manager."

Some lowlifes:

George Allen (R-Wingnut) "We must destroy the UN in order save it."

Mel Martinez (R-Sycophant) "Of course I support him. Dear Leader nominated him."

*NOTE: These are my impressions of the hearings and not actual quotes from the committee.

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

The flat track Texas Rollergirls skate their third regular bout of the season this Sunday, May 15th.

The first match has the 2-0 Honky Tonk Heartbreakers fighting the 2-0 Hotrod Honeys for #1.

The second match features the Hell Marys smacking around the Hustlers.

Sunday, May 15.

Playland Skate Center

Doors open at 6:30 pm, bout at 7:15 pm.

Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.

Music by the Marshall Ford Swing Band and the White Ghost Shivers.

After party at Ringers Sports Lounge.

Please see the Texas Rollergirls website for more info.

tags:roller derby, rollergirls, Texas Rollergirls, Austin

Rhinestone Cowgirls vs. Hellcats

The banked track Lonestar Rollergirls will bout this Sunday night, May 15th.

The Rhinestone Cowgirls take on the Hellcats.

Sunday, May 15.

At the new Thunderdome.

Doors open at 6:00 pm.

Tickets are $10.

Music by the Flametrick Subs and The Blue Flames.

After party at Club DeVille.

Visit the Lonestar Rollergirls website for more info.

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Lonestar Rollergirls, Austin

Smash Squad vs. Bruisers - Saturday, May 14th

tags: roller derby, rollergirls, Smash Squad, Bruisers

This Bud's For You

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A new line of candy glorifying pot is now a hot seller, not only in the Triangle but around the country.

It's a multimillion-dollar business promoting drugs and one that many parents don't know about. It's candy that tastes like marijuana -- and it's flying off the shelves.

The Web site for Chronic Candy says it all: "Every lick is like taking a hit." Shoppers can buy an ounce or a nickel bag and even order it online.

It's not only available as a lollipop; other companies offer hemp-flavored gum drops and gummi bears.

via PSoTD

Rating the Governors

Survey USA has the approval ratings for all 50 Governors.

Texas Governor Rick "the Hair" Perry ranks 38th.

Do you approve or disapprove of the job Rick Perry is doing as governor?

38% Approve
48% Disapprove
14% Not Sure

Dead last is Bob Taft (R-Ohio) with an approval rating of 19%.

via Tennessee Guerilla Women

High Fidelity

"High Fidelity meme". (Because all the cool kids are doing it.)

Top Five Lyrics That Move Your Heart

"And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" - The Pogues

When I was a young man I carried my pack
And I lived the free life of a rover
From the Murrays green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in nineteen fifteen my country said Son
It's time to stop rambling 'cause there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we sailed away from the quay
And amidst all the tears and the shouts and the cheers
We sailed off for Gallipoli

How well I remember that terrible day
When the blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell that they called Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk he was ready, he primed himself well
He showered us with bullets, he rained us with shells
And in five minutes flat he'd blown us all to hell
Nearly blew us right back to Australia
But the band played Waltzing Matilda
As we stopped to bury our slain
And we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then we started all over again

Now those that were left, well we tried to survive
In a mad world of death, blood and fire
And for seven long weeks I kept myself alive
While the corpses around me piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over tit
And when I awoke in my hospital bed
And saw what it had done, Christ I wished I was dead
Never knew there were worse things than dying
For no more I'll go waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hang tent and pegs, a man needs two legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me

So they collected the cripples, the wounded, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The legless, the armless, the blind, and insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And as our ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where my legs used to be
And thank Christ there was nobody waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
As they carried us down the gangway
But nobody cheered, they just stood and stared
Then turned all their faces away

And now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Reliving old dreams of past glory
I see the old men all twisted and torn
The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
And the young people ask me, "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men answer to the call
But year after year their numbers get fewer
Some day no one will march there at all

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll go a waltzing Matilda with me


"Deportees" - Woody Guthrie

The crops are all in and the peaches are rotting
The oranges are piled in the creosote dumps
They're flyin me back to that Mexico border
To pay all your money to wade back again

Chorus:

Goodbye to my Juan, Goodbye Rosalita
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y Maria
You won't have a name when you ride the big aeroplane
All they will call you will be "deportees"

My father's own father he waded that river
They took all the money he made in his life
My brothers and sisters they worked in the fruit trees
And they rode the trucks till they took down and died

Some of us are illegals and others not wanted
The work contract's out and we have to move on
Six hundred miles to that Mexico border
They chase us like rustlers, like outlaws and theives

Chorus

The skyplane caught fire over Los Gatos canyon
Like a fireball of lightning it shook all our hills
And though our best friends fall scattered like dry leaves
The radio says they are just "deportees"

Chorus

We died in your hills and we died on your deserts
We died in your valleys and died on your plains
We died in your trees and we died in your bushes
Both sides of the river we died just the same.

Chorus

Is this the best way we can grow our big orchards?
Is this the best way we can grow our good fruit,
To fall like dry leaves and rot on your topsoil
And be known by no name except "deportees"?


"Atmosphere" - Joy Division

Walk -- in silence
Don't walk away -- in silence
See the danger -- always danger
Endless talking -- life rebuilding
Don't walk away

Walk -- in silence
Don't turn away -- in silence
Your confusion -- my illusion
Worn like a mask
of self-hate
Confronts and then dies
Don't walk away

People like you -- find it easy
Aching to see -- walking on air
Hunting by rivers, through the streets,
every corner abandoned to soon
Set down with due care
don't walk away -- in silence --
Don't walk away


"She Talks To Rainbows" - The Ramones

She's a little lost girl in her own little world
She looks so happy but she seems so sad
ah ah oh yea oh oh oh yea
She's a little lost girl in her own little world
I'd like to help her I'd like to try
ah ah oh yea oh oh oh yea

She talks to birds she talks to angels
she talks to trees she talks to bees
She don't talk to me
Talks to the rainbows and to the seas
she talks to the trees
She don't talk to me
Don't talk to me

You know she drives me outta my mind
You know she drives me outta my head
You know she drives me outta my mind
You know she drives me outta my head


"An Die Freude (Ode to Joy)" Friedrich von Schiller (Chorus of Beethoven's 9th Symphony)


Top Five Instrumentals

"Rhapsody in Blue" - George Gershwin
"James Bond Theme" - as done by Naked City
"The Wedge" - Dick Dale
"Psyko" (Themes from "Psyko" and "Vertigo") - Laika and the Cosmonauts
"Spec Bebop" - Yo La Tengo


Top Five Live Musical Experiences

Frank Zappa, April 10, 1980, Boulder, Colorado

The Clash, July 30, 1982, Brixton Fair Deal, Brixton, London, England

Nick Cave, August 12, 1985, Metropol, Berlin, Germany

Sue Foley, Tuesday Nights at Antones, Austin, TX 1991-93

Diamanda Galas with John Paul Jones, Novemer 30, 1994, Paramont Theatre, Austin, TX

Top Five Artists You Think More People Should Listen To

Howe Gelb

Kristin Hersh

Alejandro Escovedo

Jad Fair

Bleach

Top Five Albums You Must Hear From Start to Finish

Peggy Suicide - Julian Cope
Daydream Nation - Sonic Youth
Ocean Rain - Echo and the Bunnymen
Double Nickles On the Dime - Minutemen
Exile On Main Street - Rolling Stones


Top Five Musical Heroes

Frank Zappa
Ramones
Woody Guthrie
Kate Bush
Sue Foley

Chicago's Wreckin' Rollers

Chicago's South Side all-women roller derby league, the Wreckin' Rollers.

With fans like Pinhead, their bouts could get... interesting.
Wreckin' Rollers

The Poor Man on Future SATs

Krugman and Herbert

Paul Krugman smacks down Bobo on Social Security:

Hell hath no fury like a scammer foiled. The card shark caught marking the deck, the auto dealer caught resetting a used car's odometer, is rarely contrite. On the contrary, they're usually angry, and they lash out at their intended marks, crying hypocrisy.

And so it is with those who would privatize Social Security. They didn't get away with scare tactics, or claims to offer something for nothing. Now they're accusing their opponents of coddling the rich and not caring about the poor.

Well, why not? It's no more outrageous than other arguments they've tried. Remember the claim that Social Security is bad for black people?

Bob Herbert on Bu$hCo's fantasty war:

Amateurs and incompetents have run the war from the start, and fantasy has trumped reality at every turn. If a movie were to be made of the war, the appropriate director would be Mel Brooks. Even as the administration was listening to the likes of Curveball, it was showing the door to the Army's chief of staff, Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, who made the mistake of speaking the plain truth to officials fluent only in self-serving gibberish.

General Shinseki said it would take hundreds of thousands of troops to pacify Iraq. That was the end of his career.

Bu$hCo. Gets an F

The Center for American Progress Issued a Report card for President Bush.
From bonddad's Daily Kos Diary:

The numbers below are for 2000-2004.
The Financial markets
S&P 500 -15%
NASDAQ -36%
Dow Jones -5.3%
Consumer income and expenses and Standard of Living
Price of a Gallon of Gas +46%
Real Value of the Minimum Wage -7%
Median Household Income -4%
Average cost of 4-year public college +24%
Poverty Rate +11%
Americans filing for Bankruptcy +33%
Annual Increase in Prescription Drug Prices (from 4.1% t0 6.8%) +68%
Number of Americans without Health insurance +18%
Federal Finances
Federal Debt +39%
Monthly Trade Deficit +75%
Annual Trade Deficit +53%
The dollar
Dollar versus Euro -30%
Dollar versus Yen -11%
Consumer Debt
Home Mortgage Borrowing +100%
Total Outstanding Consumer Debt +28%
Household Debt as a Percentage of Assets: 20%
Household Debt as a Percentage of GDP +21%

via cookie jill at skippy the bush kangaroo