Faceless!

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Faceless on Facebook, faceless on Twitter, faceless on WordPress, on Gravatar, on OpenID (which, it must be said, I’ve never gotten to work anyway) in fact, faceless anywhere is a powerful statement, especially in an increasingly-overpopulated world where everyone wears their MySpace pruneface at all times, lest they be caught on CCTV looking humdrum.

Just ask Anonymous.

With that in mind, here’s your chance to make a powerful statement and reflect on the importance of cultural expression and how much a part of your life it is, whether you think of yourself as a cultural creative or not.

From NativeEarth.ca:

Faceless

It only took 2 days for our “Faceless” facebook group to reach close to 2000 members.

Here’s what it’s all about:

This is a roll call to all people who believe that Arts and Culture is a part of their lives and is important outside of the political spectrum. This is for artists, families, parents, friends, co-workers, relatives, enemies, neighbors, acquaintances, to all people who enjoy the arts and culture of this country and feel that it must be nurtured and cultivated. We need to send out a message to our politicians to let them know that there are more of us than they think and congruently that we are not going to vote for any person or party that plans to cut funding to arts and culture in the impending election. This is for all of us; people from all sides of the political landscape. This is not about what party you belong to, but how you feel about arts and culture in this country.

So on Monday September 15th (the first day of Parliament) we want you to do one thing. It’s very simple. It will only take a small amount of your time. About the same amount of time it will take to cast your vote for the candidate you feel best represents what you want.

This is it: We would like you to leave your profile picture blank for the day. Use your faceless profile picture as a symbol of the loss of identity Canadians will experience if funding to the arts is cut.

Be a catalyst for change and put your best face forward on election day, but on Monday September 15th leave it blank and send a message so that we can count how many people have joined the fight.

signed

Shebeen Club Meeting Monday: Intro to the Federation of BC Writers

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raincoaster logo yo!This month we’ve moved our meeting to Monday, September 15th instead of Tuesday and across the street so that we can have the brand-new Shebeen all to ourselves! We’ll play host to Sylvia Taylor, President of the Federation of BC Writers, who will give us an overview of the Fed and what it can do for its writers. Some of you will remember Sylvia from a our June meeting, when she spoke on memoir writing and editing.

Welcome to all the first-time Shebeeners! Our meetings are a convivial gathering of literary types of all sorts: editors, writers, publishers, booksellers, and students as well. All are welcome.

Go into the Irish Heather GastroPub, then through the back door to The Shebeen Whisky House, 212 Carrall Street in Gastown. If you get lost, staff can show you the way. Note that this is across the street from the old location.

Your $15 admission includes a great dinner of bangers and mash or vegetarian pasta from the kitchen of the Irish Heather gastropub, plus one glass of wine or pint of beer or pop.

Meet and Greet 7-7:30

Listen and Learn 7:30-8

Signups, networking, and complaining about agents 8-9!

Shebeen Club:

http://shebeenclub.com
And coming soon to Facebook Groups

BC Fed:

http://www.bcwriters.com/

Sylvia Taylor:

http://sylviataylor.ca/

Self-Hatred FTW!

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Fran Lebowitz is right: the products of repression and self-hatred are artistically superior to the products of freedom and self-actualization. I mean: Vincent Van Gogh vs LeRoy Neiman. Case closed.

So this is what architects do in their spare time, when they’re not being paid to create soul-killing, fast-buck developments of appalling vulgarity that stain the surface of the Earth merely by existing:

Dubai just got a little easier to bear

Pearl Jam performs “Theme from HR Pufnstuf”

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Okay, maybe not, but reeeeeeeally close. You KNOW deep down in your heart of hearts that Eddie Vedder knows all the damn words to this song, as do you.

And the words, in case you’ve had tee many martoonies. Because, as we said, we know and you know and Eddie Vedder knows that you and me and Eddie Vedder know ALL the damn words:

Once upon a summertime
Just a dream from yesterday
A boy and his magic golden flute
Heard a boat from off the bay
“Come and play with me, Jimmy
Come and play with me.
And I will take you on a trip
Far across the sea.”

But the boat belonged to a kooky old witch
Who had in mind the flute to snitch
From her vroom broom in the sky
She watched her plans materialize
She waved her wand
The beautiful boat was gone
The skies grew dark
The sea grew rough
And the boat sailed on and on and on and on and on and on.

But Pufnstuf was watching too
And knew exactly what to do
He saw the witch’s boat attack
And as the boy was fighting back
He called his rescue racer crew
As often they’d rehearsed
And off to save the boy they flew
But who would get there first?

But now the boy had washed ashore
Puf arrived to save the day
Which made the witch so mad and sore
She shook her first and screamed away.

H.R. Pufnstuf,
Who’s your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Pufnstuf
Can’t do a little cause he can’t do enough.

H.R. Pufnstuf,
Who’s your friend when things get rough?
H.R. Pufnstuf
Can’t do a little cause he can’t do enough.

The only video of the American Presidential race you’ll ever need to see

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Truman Capote, who knew a thing or two about the subject, once said of Marilyn Monroe that those who choose to become blonde are blonder than those who are simply born that way. Watch this video of ex-Hebridean and new American Craig Ferguson and ask if a similar principle does not apply to those who choose to become Americans:

LOVE the comment about families; I’ve been saying the same damn thing myself for decades!