secret comics

prose passage of the weekend comes from when saturday comes: the half decent football book:

Formed as Bristol South End in 1894, the club adopted their current name three years later after joining the Southern League.  They were elected to the Football League seven years later.  Their first foray into the top division in 1906 was achieved on the back of the no-nonsense approach of Bill "Fatty" Wedlock.  The substantial center-half -- still City's most capped player with 26 appearances for England -- led the club to their only Cup Final appearance, a 1-0 defeat against Manchester United in 1990, before retiring to a life of being mistaken for silent-film actors.

luke was a terrible nephew

thanks h

Of little interest to those not familiar with/fond of local landmarks in Houston TX but still very much worth mentioning:

Weingarten Realty Investors, which owns the landmark 1937 River Oaks Shopping Center at West Gray and Shepherd in Houston, Texas, has notified tenants in the center that it plans to demolish parts of the center, including the architecturally significant curved wings facing Shepherd Drive and the 1939 River Oaks Theater, to make room for a chain bookstore and a high-rise residential building.  Houston preservationists are afraid that, if Weingarten goes through with its plans, it could also demolish the Art Deco-style Alabama Theater center at Shepherd and Alabama, which now houses a Bookstop and other retail stores.  Either demolition would be a major loss for Houston, as both buildings are examples of late-1930s Art Deco design and are among a handful of viable retail buildings of their age and style in the city. The River Oaks center could begin as early as 2007, based on what tenants have been told.

And so to express your outrage... you can sign a petition.  And you should.   Sign the damn petition.  I'd read about this this weekend, but thanks to laanba for the heads-up on the petition.  It may not add up to much in the end, but at least its something more than nothing.

Not that I think about it, this would also probably spell the end of one of Houston's best bars-cum-makeout-rooms, Marfreless.  A tragedy of epic proportions.  Truly.

Losing the River Oaks theater... damn.  Some of the best movie-going memories I have are from the River Oaks.  It was an amazing place to expand my suburban high school mind with art house greatness (as well as the requisite load of crap art and foreign films that I may or may not have pretended were awesome).  They have an amazing main theater with a classic [insert appropriate art style here... art deco] painted ornamental ceiling, reminiscent of the "golden days" of theater I know very little about.  The two small theaters upstairs were a little small and boxy, but they have a Euro feel that I always enjoyed.  Plus they have a bomb-ass snack bar, with chi-chi candy and real butter popcorn etc. etc.

And River Oaks is still one of the only places to see decent (read: indie) movie in Houston these days.  My mom and caught Capote there this past Thanksgiving in the main theatre and it was one of the most pleasant movie-going experiences I can remember in recent history.  We even shared a nice bag of caramel corn.

OK... what was the first film I remember seeing at the River Oaks?  Hmmm.  That's tricky.  Pretty sure I started seeing movies down there in summer of 1990, when I got my car summer after sophomore year.  So the first film I remember seeing was... Last Exit to Brooklyn?  For some reason this seems right to me.  It was really unpleasant if I recall.  I think I went because it was an adaption of a Hubert Selby novel and for some reason this impressed me.

Maybe I should go right to some of the best River Oaks highlights I can think of:

• Seeing Slacker like 6 or 7 times the summer it came out... 1991?  Yeah, it would have been summer before senior year.  We saw it a bunch of times, anyway.  It was always in the main theatre, which was nice.
• Leningrad Cowboys Go America, oddly, stands out as one of my favorite movies I saw at the River Oaks.  It came out in '89 (or so), so maybe it was one of the first films I saw there.  I know am pretty sure I saw it with Helen Back, probably other people... I can't remember.  It appears that the Leningrad Cowboys have kept on going since then, I guess I haven't been paying attention.
• And my favorite River Oaks memory of all time... The midnight showing of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! with Minnie after the Homecoming dance, our senior year.  We had a lovely dinner (where exactly? some good place on Montrose, I can't remember now) beforehand, spent just enough time at the dance to get a fantastic picture taken (I still have a copy somewhere), and got the hell out of there a.s.a.p. - no dancing.  Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! was a totally amazing way to cap the evening, though I think Minnie dozed off a little towards the end.  A bottle of wine with dinner and it was late, you know?

at 3:34 p.m. cst:

they're streaming the giants/brewers game online.  and the giants are getting slapped, 6-2.  hopefully big brother doesn't read this and pull the plug. 

you're welcome.

...and the giants win 7-6 it in the 9th, thanks in no small part to a lead-off single from barry bonds.  it was a bit of bittersweet victory - derrick turnbow, of queens park rangers, blows his fourth save in a row and takes the loss.

brighter than bright

ladies and gentlemen, from boston massachusetts... the beatings.  here, the beatings play "nothing ventured, nothing gained".  you can also get it here, but why would you?

live 14.2.06 somewhere in montana.  bozeman maybe?  missoula?  is missoula even in montana?  nah, i didn't think so.  anyway, it's a better valentine's day gift than anything you got, i can guarantee that.  who fucking needs lingerie and chocolates anyway?  i've got plenty already, thanks.

an aside: i am still pissed at everyone for not going to the beatings show at emo's this february.  it's the kind of wound that doesn't heal easily.  helen back is double stupid because she missed them here and then a few weeks later in nyc.  boooo.  anyway, that beatings show is still the best show of the year so far i think and i'm not just saying that out of spite.  they stood up in front of like 15 people and destroyed.  if you weren't there... well, you'll never know the greatness of the moments you missed out on.

it lacks credibility

lady with the spinning head

so the world cup is over and italia took home the well-deserved title. fucking zidane disgraced himself today, as if i was rooting for les bleus... which i wasn't, for the record, i was all about the azzuri today. so good for me, and for them.

apparently drinking cider from like 11 am with a just having breakfast/late lunch (it wasn't really "brunch") isn't best idea in the world... especially when you've made friends with the waiter who always wants to know if you're ready for another. well it's fun for a while but then... well, you know. around 8 or so things start to get fucked up.  terrible.  probably better if i just didn't care about anything. alas... goddamn i'm ready for the laughing gas...

currently listening to: U2, achtung baby.
current mood: all the better for your asking,

it's a human life

there may be folks who haven't heard jandek yet, so here's your chance... above is "real wild" from the glasgow sunday performance.  before i go any further let me say: i am slightly uncomfortable putting this work up here.  i feel pretty certain corwood did not approve of this clip being posted, but on the whole i guess i don't have a real problem spreading the of joy and intensity of jandek.  for the time being. 

a caveat: you can (should) purchase copies of the glasgow sunday audio and video recordings (same performance), $8.00 for the CD, $16.00 for the DVD.  the best way to do this would be to contact:

corwood industries
p.o. box 15375
houston tx 77220

you can also go through forced exposure or aquarius records.

amazing!