Iranian election photojournalism

Passing on a link to photos from the tumultuous scene following last Friday's Iranian presidential election. Really remarkable photography that gives a glimpse into the charged atmosphere there.

Dean & Britta, June 5th at the Black Cat

I've grown so accustomed to a fast internet connection that it seems tough to get by when you're just sitting around waiting for a page to load. Trying to pay bills online, but even the Bank of America website is taking its sweet time loading... and watching music videos doesn't seem worth it right now. Either way, it's a nice relaxing day - my day off!

Friday night I went with two of my best concert buddies to see Dean & Britta at the Black Cat. You might also know Dean Wareham from Galaxie 500 or Luna, the influential indie rock bands he formed in the 80s and 90s. Or you might not. Anyway, my friends Chris and Pete got me into Galaxie 500 pretty recently, so I'm a recent fan. But Chris has been following Dean Wareham for something close to 20 years and on Friday, he finally got to meet him! We also met Britta, who is gorgeous. Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips are married and play together as Dean & Britta. Seems a bit poppier than the older stuff, but they're a great live act. The Black Cat was pretty packed that night with a mix of longtime devotees and new listeners.


Watch a video of Galaxie 500's "Tugboat." Also check out the music video for Dean & Britta's "You Turn My Head Around" and others.

Video of the Chamblin Bookmine

Wow. Here's a video of the Chamblin Bookmine, a used-book store of epic proportions in Jacksonville, Florida. I would love to wile away my time there. It's difficult for me even to limit my Idle Time visits to an hour - and Idle Time Books is many, many times smaller than this place looks to be.

The aisles of the Chamblin Bookmine remind me a little bit of the "Five and a Half Minute Hallway" from Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves. Eerie, almost otherworldly... A hallway that knows not the bounds of physical bounds nor human perception. The Borges quote inserted into the video doesn't exactly interfere with that strangeness, either.

Star Trek film

My day off today - just returned from seeing the Star Trek film (out now in theatres) with some friends. I wanted to post quickly to recommend it, as a non-Trekkie, to anyone looking for an entertaining film. Plenty of excellent CG, and packed full of action with a solid cast. It was pleasantly surprising for me, someone who has probably never seen an entire episode of the Star Trek series before. It's directed by J.J. Abrams, aka the co-creator of the Lost series.

Sundays are excellent and it feels great outside. Cherish these fine fleeting moments before the humidity moves in full-force.

Sriracha Chili Sauce

Okay, I realize I'm obsessed with Sriracha sauce (aka "rooster sauce" or "cock sauce"), but I'm finding it's not that uncommon to be... check this out: the New York Times article about it, "A Chili Sauce to Crow About," is presently the #1 most emailed article. What! To its credit, however, it's a good condiment for practically anything - obviously in pho noodles, but also atop any savory rice dish or mixed into other sauces. And new visitors to our house almost unfailingly comment on how great the stuff is. Sriracha-users seem to be pretty enthusiastic fans!

This school year = complete. One more year for me. Time to start on my summer reads!

And a link for ya'll. Here's a neat YouTube-based collaborate music project called In B Flat. These videos seem to harmonize well no matter what order in which you start playing them. Sounds pretty atmospheric, art-school... it kind of depends on which you choose, though. I can't really figure out what's going on with the Nintendo DS there - is the game console itself making the noise?

My present self reading with past self, who had written for future self.

Just some musing during my re-read of The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien:
High school literature class. Learning the language of archetypes, of parallelism. Listing notes on syntax, emulating the rhetoric, claiming recognition of a "transferred epithet." Scribbling that in the margin a half-page above an unfinished meditation on juxtaposition of -

A re-read is an instance of
notes expounding upon notes,
a book carrying a weight great
with pen-ink and trailing thoughts.

(Also confer Billy Collins's poem, "Marginalia.")