if life was fair, I wouldda been there

from Jesse Dayton's latest missive:

Back from a killer run of the Rockies... Thursday night w/ the Supersuckers in Salt Lake was a show to remember... Me, Eddie, Ron, Dan, and Scott, (from the Rev. Horton Heat on drums), played all the Must've Been High material and then some... damn, Rontrose shreds these days! Then it was on to the land of the Railbenders,(these guys gotta killer new record out!)... The JD Band and the Railbenders tore up the Mile High City of Denver... A sold out Hermans Hideaway was a magical night!
We just confirmed more shows for the summer in Europe and Asia... and we leave back to Asia for a few festivals next week. After we get back it's the big HONKY-TONK AND HOTROD FESTIVAL on Feb. 25th at the CONTINENTAL CLUB in HOUSTON... This thing is picking up massive steam w/ more bands, more venues and most importantly more CARS! DON'T MISS THIS ROADKINGS RIOT! This week we're back at Casa Studios working on the new Kings' CD... Our only gig this week is the JD BAND this SATURDAY NIGHT at the legendary CONTINENTAL CLUB for all our peeps in AUSTIN! Damn nice to be home... Driving the sled over to Sams' for some BBQ!
Adios Mi Amigos! JD-

U.S. Casualties in Iraq & Afghanistan reported 1/30-31/06

Sgt. David L. Herrera, 26, of Oceanside, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Herrera was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Pfc. Brian J. Schoff, 22, of Manchester, Tenn., died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 28, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV. Schoff was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Lance Cpl. Billy D. Brixey Jr., 21, of Ferriday, La., died Jan. 27 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, from wounds received as a result of an improvised explosive device while traveling in a convoy in Afghanistan on Jan. 25. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. During Operation Enduring Freedom, his unit was attached to 3rd Marine Logistics Group, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Lance Cpl. Hugo R. Lopez, 20, of La Habra, Calif., died Jan. 27 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Rawah, Iraq on Nov. 20, 2005. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, (Forward).

Cpl. Felipe C. Barbosa, 21, of High Point, N.C., died Jan. 28 from a non-hostile vehicle accident in Fallujah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.The accident is currently under investigation.

get out that powdered wig, it's time for a party....

Everyone sing along, "happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Mozart..." Jan. 27, 1756

took this from an overly long Yahoo news piece on Mozart Birthday celebrations in Salzburg Austria:

"Some history books depict his tenure in Salzburg ending ingloriously in 1781 with a kick in the bottom from a servant of a patron, the city's imperious archbishop, after Mozart refused to follow orders on how to compose."

Full Metal Jacket @ the Museum of the Moving Image

Saturday, February 4, Introduced by Owen Gleiberman2:00 p.m.
FULL METAL JACKET Selected by Owen Gleiberman1987, 116 mins., United Kingdom. Directed by Stanley Kubrick. With Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin. From the moment that Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam film was released, far too much attention was paid to its funny and harrowing Marine basic-training sequence—a brilliant coup de cinéma, to be sure, but merely the prelude to a movie that embodies, as no other has, the unstable and terrifying foreignness of war. More than Coppola or Cimino or Stone, Kubrick caught the insanity—the psychological disintegration—of combat in his film’s very form, creating, in the process, his least-acknowledged masterpiece.—Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

U.S. Casualties in Iraq 1/25-1/27/06

Staff Sgt. Jerry M. Durbin Jr., 26, of Spring, Texas, died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 25, when an improvised explosive device exploded near his dismounted patrol during combat operations. Durbin was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Sgt. Joshua A. Johnson, 24, of Richford, Vt., died in Ramadi, Iraq on Jan. 25, when a rocket propelled grenade struck his vehicle during combat operations. Johnson was assigned to the Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), Jericho, Vt.

Sgt. Sean H. Miles, 28, of Midlothian, Va., was killed in action Jan. 24 from small arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Karmah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Staff Sgt. Lance M. Chase, 32, of Oklahoma City, Okla. and Pfc. Peter D. Wagler, 18, of Partridge, Kan died in Baghdad, Iraq on Jan. 23, of wounds sustained that day when an improvised explosive device detonated near their M1A2 Abrams tank during patrol operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

quotes for the day 1/27/06

Martyrdom... is the only way in which a man can become famous without ability.-- George Bernard Shaw, The Devil's Disciple (1901) act 3

With stupidity the gods themselves contend in vain. -- Friedrich von Schiller

and in more important news than James Frey vs. Oprah...

Joaquin Phoenix's car overturned and crashed into another vehicle when the Walk the Line star's brakes failed Thursday on a canyon road above L.A.'s Sunset Strip, say police. No one was injured, the Associated Press reports. The Golden Globe-winning actor, 31, was driving eastbound on Lookout Mountain Avenue near Laurel Canyon at about 2:50 p.m. when he realized his brakes were not working, said police spokesman Officer Jason Lee. Phoenix lost control of his car, which flipped over and collided with another vehicle also headed in the same direction, Lee said. Both parties exchanged information, and no police report was filed. Phoenix's publicist, Susan Patricola, said in a statement that the actor was wearing his seat belt and walked away from the scene after being helped out of his vehicle by a passerby.

and tomorrow at sundance (Thursday 1/26)

Thursday, Jan. 26
-->Noon Film Church with Elvis Mitchell (Kimball Art Center)
2 p.m. "A Matter of Record: Documentary and War" panel (550 Main St.)
2:30-5:50 p.m. Music Cafe with Sharon Stone & friends (268 Main St.)
3 p.m. "Writing the West: Wim Wenders and Sam Shepard" panel (Yarrow Theater)
7 p.m. BMI dinner (Zoom)
9 p.m. Ascap/Filter party (268 Main St.)
9 p.m.-1 a.m. Shank of the Festival party (VW Lounge)
10 p.m.-2 a.m. "Homos Away From Home" party (Queer Lounge)

Wim Wenders AND Sam Shepard? So not fair...

today at Sunday 1/25/06

2:30-5:10 p.m: Music Cafe with Michael Penn (268 Main St.) [I'm gonna assume that this is canceled?]
5:30-8 p.m: Journey from the Fall cocktail party (VW Lounge)
6-8 p.m: Without a Box/Filmmakers Alliance/Silver Lake Film Festival party (Queer Lounge)
6-8:30 p.m: BMI Songwriters Snowball with Kris Kristofferson and Cary Brothers (Sundance House: 638 Park Ave.)
8 p.m: Sauza/URB NEXT 100 party (Harry O's)
9 p.m: APA party (268 Main St.)
9 p.m: Slamdance Midweek party (608 Main St.)

from variety & various other random email sources.

Mozart's birthday concert Sat 1/28/06

To celebrate Mozart's 250th Birthday, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony (PACS), will be presenting three wonderful works by Mozart: Symphony No. 1, Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter") and Sinfonia Concertante. The soloists for the Sinfonia Concertante will be renowned musicians CATHERINE CHO, violinist, and her husband TODD PHILIPS, violist.Admission is $15 ($10 for seniors/students). Join us at our new home, the All Saints Church, 230 East 60th Street (2nd-3rd Avenues), at 8:00 PM on Saturday, January 28th.Visit our PACS website and our on-line store at http://www.chambersymphony.com

First Fiction reading tonight at Bluestockings

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 7PM: Join us for "First Fiction" night as two fresh voices share tales from their debut works. BILL GORDON is the author of the remarkable novel MARY AFTER ALL (Dial Press, December 2005), which tells the story of Mary, a Jersey City native who comes of age during the turbulent 1970s and discovers her own route to independence along the way. RONNA WINEBERG's award-winning collection of stories, SECOND LANGUAGE (New Rivers Press' Many Voices Project, 2005) has been described as "like entering a series of complex, absorbing worlds" and "beautifully written and deeply satisfying" by critically-acclaimed novelist Margot Livesey. Bluestockings, the Lower East Side's best independent bookseller and cafe, is located at 172 Allen Street (between Stanton and Rivington). FREE. [from Dan/EWN]

U.S. Casualties in Iraq reported 1/21-1/24/06

The following U.S. Casualties were reported in D.O.D. releases dated 1/21-1/24/06.

Roadside bombs claimed the lives of three soldiers, two Marines and two airmen in separate incidents Jan. 22 and 23 in Iraq, officials said today.

Two Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in southeast Baghdad on Jan. 23. One soldier died at the scene and the other soldier died of wounds en route to the military hospital.

Another roadside bomb killed a Multinational Division soldier on a dismounted patrol in southwest Baghdad the same day, officials noted.

Officials at Camp Fallujah reported that two Marines were killed Jan. 23 in a nonhostile vehicle accident near Taqaddum, in central Iraq about 46 miles west of Baghdad. The Marines were assigned to 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

The Defense Department announced today the names of two airmen killed when an improvised explosive device exploded Jan. 22 while they were on convoy escort duties in the vicinity of Taji, about 18 miles north of Baghdad.
Tech. Sgt. Jason L. Norton, 32, of Miami, Okla.and Staff Sgt. Brian McElroy, 28, of San Antonio, Texas. Both airmen were assigned to the 3rd Security Forces Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

DoD also released the names of four soldiers who died in Huwijah, Iraq, Jan. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee during patrol operations: Staff Sgt. Rickey Scott, 30, of Columbus, Ga. ; Sgt. Dennis J. Flanagan, 22, of Inverness, Fla. ; Spc. Clifton J. Yazzie, 23, of Fruitland, N. M. ; and Spc. Matthew C. Frantz, 23, of Lafayette, Ind. Scott, Flanagan and Yazzie were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. Frantz was assigned to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell.

Staff Sgt. Rickey Scott, 30, of Columbus, Ga. Sgt. Dennis J. Flanagan, 22, of Inverness, Fla. Spc. Clifton J. Yazzie, 23, of Fruitland, N.M. and Spc. Matthew C. Frantz, 23, of Lafayette, Ind. were killed in Al Huwijah, Iraq on Jan. 20, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during patrol operations. Scott, Flanagan and Yazzie were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. Frantz was assigned to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Cpl. Carlos Arrelanopandura, 22, of Los Angeles, Calif. and Lance Cpl. Brandon Dewey, 20, of San Joaquin, Calif. were killed Jan. 20 by a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. They were both assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, their unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Lance Cpl. Joshua A. Scott, 24, of Tunnel Hill, Ga.and Pvt. Lewis T. D. Calapini, 21, of Waipahu, Hawaii were killed Jan. 23 in a non-hostile vehicle accident near Al Taqaddum, Iraq. They were assigned to Anti-Terrorism Battalion, 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The accident is currently under investigation.

Sgt. Matthew D. Hunter, 31, of Valley Grove, W.Va., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 23, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his dismounted patrol during combat operations. Hunter was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Short films selected for the 2006 Sundance Film Festival

Dramatic Shorts
Bugcrush (Director: Carter Smith)--A small-town high school loner, whose fascination with a dangerously seductive new kid leads him into something much more sinister than he could ever have imagined.
Common Practice (Director: Marcos Efron)--A young Mexican-American boy in East L.A. whose gift for playing the violin brings his community together.
Dealbreaker (Director: Gwyneth Paltrow and Mary Wigmore)--A down to earth New Yorker, who is finally able to look past superficial flaws when she finds the right man.
The Debt USA/Republic of Georgia (Director: Levan Koguashvili)--Two illegal Georgian immigrants from the former Soviet Union fight for their survival in the streets of Brooklyn, New York.
Divorce Lemonade (Director: Justin Hayward)--A 13-year-old girl covers for her drunk estranged father.
First Date (Director: Gary Huggins)--A volatile ex-con will stop at nothing to keep a date with the underage boy he met online.
Fourteen (Director: Nicole Barnette)--A Mormon girl turns fourteen and her life changes radically.
Gesture Down/I Don't Sing USA/Mexico (Director: Cedar Sherbert)--A graceful and personal adaptation of the poem "Gesture Down to Guatemala" by the late Native American writer James Welch.
Ha Ha Ha America (Director: Jon Daniel Ligon)--From China, a translated harangue laughs at the missteps of the USA.
Hello, Thanks (Director: Andrew Blubaugh)-- Filmmaker Andy Blubaugh's year in the personal ads, looking for love but having his true love affair with the words themselves.
Hold Up (Director: Madeleine Olnek)--A robber who is after more than the money at a corner-store hold up.
La Muerte Es Pequeña USA/Brazil (Director: Fellipe Gamarano Barbosa)--Two strangers looking for apartments end up alone in the same unit, where personal philosophies and bodies collide.
Lighten Up (Director: John Viener)--A man deals with becoming a father while driving his friend to the doctor.
Marjoun and the Flying Headscarf (Director: Susan Youssef)--An Arab-American girl who must come to terms with her sexuality while balancing the mores of two different cultures.
Max and Josh (Director: Kathryn Ann Busby)--Best friends Max and Josh have inane, insane and hilarious arguments, until fate intervenes.
Momma's Boy (Director: John Bryant)--A young man brings his fiance home for Thanksgiving dinner - bad things happen.
One Sung Hero (Director: Samantha Kurtzman-Counter)--A 34-year-old copy machine salesperson (by day) who has found her true calling as a Karaoke Missionary.
The Pity Card (Director: Bob Odenkirk)--Is the best place for a first date really the Holocaust Museum?
Redemptitude (Director: David Zellner)--A preacher ventures deep into the Australian Outback to save the soul of a man who's abandoned his faith.
Robin's Big Date (Director: James Duffy)--Can the Boy Wonder tell the girl of his dreams how he feels about her? Not if The Batman has anything to say about it.
Transaction (Director: Jacques Thelemaque)--A cinema verite-style exploration of the shifting dynamic between a seasoned call girl and her first-time client.
You Turned Back And Held My Hand (Director: Gabriela Tollman)--When do we know the difference between love and sex?
Your Dark Hair Ihsan USA/Mexico (Director: Tala Hadid)--A man returns from Europe to his natal city in Northern Africa, and remembers his childhood and the mother he lost as a child.
Documentary Shorts
The Aluminum Fowl (Director: James S. Clauer)--A glimpse of four brothers' daily obsessions with chickens, rap music, and aliens.
Beyond Iraq (Director: Annalisa Hodgkins)--Soldiers who suffered severe casualties in the Iraq war find an activity to help them deal with their new lives.
A Connversation With Basquiat (Director: Tamra Davis)--A candid interview with an artistic legend at the end of his life.
Losing Lusk (Director: Vance Malone)--In the least populated county in the least populated state a young man leaves behind Lusk.
Lot 63, Grave C (Director: Sam Green)--The mystery behind the man who died at Altamont.
Mind over Matter (Director: Scott Gerow)--The story of a father and son chronicling their separate diseases, each one fighting for his life.
No Umbrella - Election Day in the City (Director: Laura Paglin)--A feisty octogenarian inner city councilwoman takes on election day chaos, an unresponsive bureaucracy and an increasingly agitated electorate.
Preacher With an Unknown God (Director: Rob VanAlkemade)--Performance artist Reverend Billy and his choir travel as they exorcize California Big Boxes and New York City Republicans.
Range (Director: Bill Basquin)--Against a visual tapestry of rural horizons, farm machinery, and newborn lambs, a father discusses with his transgendered son his relationship with his farm.
Through The Ice (Director: Jennie Livingston)--Early morning dog-walkers relate a tragic story.
The Tribe (Director: Tiffany Shlain)--An unorthodox, unauthorized history of the Jewish people and the Barbie doll.
True Story (Director: Stephanie Via)--An elderly lady remembers a tragic childhood moment.
What I Love About Dying (Director: Silas Howard)--A documentary that helps put the fun back in funerals.
Animated Shorts
Fable (Director: Daniel Sousa)--A woman and man's passions are overshadowed by their predatory instincts.
Fumi and the Bad Luck Foot (Director: David Chai)--The story of Fumi and her extremely unlucky foot, including a shotgun barrage, wild moose attack, and infant electrocution.
Gopher Broke (Director: Jeff Fowler)-- No matter how hungry a gopher may be there is no free lunch.
Hadacol Christmas (Director: Brent Green)-- Santa Claus invents Christmas with a belly full of cough syrup and a head full of dying crows.
Los ABCs: ¡Que Vivan los Muertos! (Director: John Jota Leaños)--Do you remember your ABCs? No? Well, you're in luck. Sing along with this group of animated Mariachi social documentarians.
The Wraith of Cobble Hill (Director: Adam Parrish King)--It's up to Felix to either reciprocate the benevolence shown him, or perpetuate the neglect handed down as a family legacy.
INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS
Dramatic Shorts
Antonio's Breakfast, UK (Director: Daniel Mulloy)--A young man and his friends make room for a father's needs.
Aruba, Canada (Director: Hubert Davis)--With domestic violence and drug abuse at home a young boy's only escape is through his imagination.
Bawke, Norway (Director: Hisham Zaman)--A father is forced to choose between two evils to provide for his son's future.
The Beginning of the End, Brazil (Director: Gustavo Spolidoro)--A man struggles to maintain normalcy in a home besieged by war.
Be Quiet, France (Director: Sameh Zoabi)--A simple car trip is beset by politically charged tension and a militarized reality.
Before Dawn, Hungary (Director: Bálint Kenyeres)--Before dawn, people will rise and other people will take away their hope.
Desejo, Brazil (Director: Anne Pinheiro Guimarães)--A journey into the psyche of Atanasio, a doorman in Copacabana.
Exoticore, Belgium (Director: Nicolas Provost)--An immigrant from Burkina Faso attempts to integrate into Norwegian society.
Exoticore, Canada (Director: Maxime Giroux)--After hitting rock-bottom a man shares his feelings with his mother as they drive to Ikea.
Monsieur Etienne, France (Director: Yann Chayia)--An elderly man cannot decide which of his friend's funerals he should attend on the same day.
The Natural Route, Spain (Director: Álex Pastor)--Soon Divad will find out that his destiny is already written and that he can't do anything to change it.
A Supermarket Love Song, UK (Director: Daniel Outram)--A teenage girl on community service takes an old man to the supermarket. A love story in a minor key.
Documentary Shorts
Rape For Who I Am, South Africa (Director: Lovinsa Kavuma)--An insight into the lives of South Africa's black lesbians who, raped because of their sexuality, refuse to become victims.
Smudge, Canada (Director: Gail Maurice)--Witness how a small group of Aboriginal women celebrate their rights to worship in the city their way.
Undressing My Mother, Ireland (Director: Ken Wardrop)--A poignant documentary that explores a woman's unique take on her overweight and aging body.
Animated Shorts
At the Quinte Hotel, Canada (Director: Bruce Alcock)--In an incredible animated version of the Al Purdy poem, a man waxes on about beer and flowers in a small-town basement tavern.
Bob Log III's Electric Fence Story, Germany (Director: Stock 'n' Wolf)--Big difficulties are encountered by Bob Log III in the Black Forest while trying to knock over sleeping cows.
Clara, Australia (Director: Van Sowerwine)--A twelve year old girl's world has just changed forever.
Flesh, France (Director: Edouard Salier)--The Empire unveils everything but sees nothing and its enemies idealize everything but tolerate nothing. For some it's the earthly orgasm of virtual whores, while for others the eternal orgasm of 70 heavenly virgins.
A Half Man, Canada (Director: Firas Momani)--A half of a man has trouble living in society without his organs falling out.
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello, Australia (Director: Anthony Lucas)--In a fantasy future, a navigator goes on a journey to find a cure for the plague killing his fiancee.
Yesterday, I Think, UK (Director: Becalelis Brodskis)--Once there was a baby that made those around him hate...
FRONTIER SHORT FILMS
The Festival's Frontier short film section presents nine films that represent new directions in filmmaking. Utilizing experimental and innovative aesthetic approaches, work in the Frontier category challenges and provokes.
The Bleeding Heart of it, Canada (Director: Louise Bourque)--The house that bursts; the scene of the crime; the nucleus. A universe collapses on itself: all hell breaks loose.
Fantome Afrique, UK (Director: Isaac Julien)--Cinematic and architectural references are weaved through the rich imagery of urban Ouagadougou, the center for cinema in Africa, and the arid spaces of rural Burkina Faso.
High Plains Winter, USA (Directors: Cindy Stillwell)--The cold and magnificent times of a Montana town.
Instructions for a Light and Sound Machine, Austria (Director: Peter Tscherkassky)--An attempt to transform a Roman Western into a Greek tragedy.
Quimera, Brazil (Director: Eryk Rocha)--Man and cat are melting at the invisible limit of their bodies, made of rumors from a mythical creature, a new animal.
Site Specific_Las Vegas 05, Italy (Director: Olivo Barbieri)--One-hundred years after it's foundation and seemingly impermeable to the energy crises and terrorism which face the world today, what has become of Las Vegas?
True North, USA (Director: Isaac Julien)--One of the key members of Robert E. Peary's 1909 Arctic expedition, Henson, an African-American, was controversially and arguably the first person to reach the North Pole.
Uten tittel, Norway (Director: Anja Breien)--A poetic film about a cruel theme, told in a way that doesn't make the spectators close their eyes.
Viscera, USA (Director: Leighton Pierce)--Flowing video explores absence and how absence transforms and influences perception, memory, and imagination.

what's happening at SUNDANCE

I've been too busy with the dayjob & attempting to fend off all those nasty germs my co-workers keep sending my way to keep this up to date on any level but here's the latest from SUNDANCE...

Events for Monday 1/23 (thanks to variety & other various film news e-letters):
Selected parties, panels and music set to hit Park City during the film fest. 6-8 p.m.: GLAAD Media Awards nominations announcement & reception (Queer Lounge)7 p.m.: Anthony Rapp performs (449 Main St.)7-9 p.m.: Variety's 10 Directors to Watch party (Stein Eriksen Lodge)8 p.m.- midnight: ITVS 15th anni party (Riverhorse Cafe)8 p.m.: Blender Session for "Half Nelson"; Broken Social Scene performs (TAO/Harry O's)9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.: Cinetic Media party (Zoom)9:30 p.m.-12:30 a.m.: Spin Reggaeton party (VW Lounge)9:30 p.m.-1 a.m.: Thrive/Benderspink Prods. "Tommyland" party; Tommy Lee DJs (573 Main St.)10 p.m.: William Morris Agency party (The Shop)

The only news from today's slew of info I thought worth repeating is as follows...if you want more, there are various sites giving detailed updates of the deals/films/etc. See the separate post for a list of film shorts being shown (always more interesting to me than all the big movies attempting to obtain cred by screening at Sundance)...

As far as his filmmaking career is concerned, Robert Redford has three projects on the front burner: one about Jackie Robinson and Branch Rickey and the breaking of baseball's color line, and an adaptation of William Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods," both of which would involve Redford as an actor and producer, and "The Company You Keep," based on Neil Gordon's book about radicals who went underground and changed their identities in the late '60s and early '70s.

events for Tuesday 1/24:
Tuesday, Jan. 24By VARIETY STAFF
-->10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Ascap film mixer breakfast (306 Main St.)
11 a.m. Conversations at the Lodge: Jonathan Demme and Neil Young (550 Main St.)
3 p.m. "Creative Independence and How to Keep It" panel (Yarrow Theater)
4-6 p.m. Picturehouse party (Zoom: 660 Main St.)
5-7 p.m. Oxygen Network & BBC Women Filmmakers party (Queer Lounge)
6 p.m. Creative Coalition party honoring WMA's Rena Ronsen and Cassian Elwes (Style Lounge)
9 p.m. "Wristcutters: A Love Story" party; Shannyn Sossamon DJs (Queer Lounge)
11:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. "Don't Come Knocking" party (VW Lounge)

U.S. Casualties in Iraq announced 1/17-1/20/06

Lance Cpl. Jonathan K. Price, 19, of Woodlawn, Ill., died Jan. 13 from wounds received as a result of enemy small arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Cpl. Justin J. Watts, 20, of Crownsville, Md., died Jan. 14 from an apparent non-hostile gunshot wound in Haditha, Iraq. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. His unit was attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. His death is currently under investigation.

Spc. Dustin L. Kendall, 21, of Conway, Mo., died in Baqubah, Iraq on Jan. 15, when his HMMVW accidentally struck an M1A2 Abrams tank and rolled over. Kendall was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. The incident is under investigation.

A Multinational Division Baghdad soldier died yesterday from non-combat related injures, U. S. officials in Baghdad reported today. No further details were available. The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Army Spc. Dustin L. Kendall, 21, of Conway, Mo. , died in Baqubah Jan. 15 when his Humvee accidentally struck an M-1A2 Abrams tank and rolled over. Kendall was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Carson, Colo.

Marine Cpl. Justin J. Watts, 20, of Crownsville, Md. , died Jan. 14 from an apparent nonhostile gunshot wound in Haditha. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. His unit was attached to the 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N. C.

Marine Lance Cpl. Jonathan K. Price, 19, of Woodlawn, Ill. , died Jan. 13 from wounds received from small-arms fire in Ramadi. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, at Camp Lejeune, N. C.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mitchell K. Carver Jr. , 31, of Charlotte, N. C. ; and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle E. Jackson, 28, of Sarasota, Fla died near Sukar Jan. 13 when their OH-58D Kiowa warrior helicopter was hit by small-arms fire. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N. Y.

Pfc. Kasper A. Dudkiewicz, 22, of Mangilao, Guam, died in Mosul, Iraq, on Jan. 15, when his HMMWV was involved in a vehicle collision. Dudkiewicz was assigned to the 511th Military Police Company, 91st Military Police Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y. The incident is under investigation.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Rex C. Kenyon, 34, of El Segundo, Calif.Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ruel Mamaril, 34, of Wahiawa, Hawaii. were killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 16 when their AH64D (Apache) helicoptor was shot down while they were conducting aerial patrols. Both pilots were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Aviation Regiment (Attack), Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Pfc. Adam R. Shepherd, 21, of Somerville, Ohio, died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 17 from a non-combat-related illness. Shepherd was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky. The incident is under investigation.

U.S. Casualties in Iraq, etc. announced 1/12-1/16/06

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mitchell K. Carver, Jr., 31, of Charlotte, N.C. and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Kyle E. Jackson, 28, of Sarasota, Fla. were killed near Al Sukar, Iraq, on Jan. 13, when their OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter came under attack by enemy forces using small arms fire. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Pfc. Michael Anthony Jordan, 35, of Augusta, Ga., died in an automobile accident Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, in Manama, Bahrain. Jordan was assigned to Destroyer Squadron 50, Bahrain.

Sgt. Michael J. McMullen, 25, of Salisbury, Md., died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 10 of injuries sustained in Ramadi, Iraq on Dec. 24, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position. McMullen was assigned to the Army National Guard's 243rd Engineer Company, Baltimore, Md.

photo for the day 1/13/06

Mt. Pleasant row houses

that one-eyed cat photo you've been seeing

excerpted from an A.P. article

PORTLAND, Ore. - A photo of a one-eyed kitten named Cy drew more than a little skepticism when it turned up on various Web sites, but medical authorities have a name for the bizarre condition.

"Holoprosencephaly" causes facial deformities, according to the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the National Institutes of Health. In the worst cases, a single eye is located where the nose should be, according to the institute's Web site.
Traci Allen says the kitten she named Cy, short for Cyclops, was born the night of Dec. 28 with the single eye and no nose.
"You don't expect to see something like that," the 35-year-old Allen said by telephone from her home in Redmond in central Oregon.
Allen said she stayed up all night with the deformed kitten on her recliner, feeding Cy a liquid formula through a syringe. She says she cared for the kitten the next day as well, until it died that evening.
Allen had taken digital pictures that she provided to The Associated Press. Some bloggers have questioned the authenticity of the photo distributed on Jan. 6.
AP regional photo editor Tom Stathis said he took extensive steps to confirm the one-eyed cat was not a hoax. Stathis had Allen ship him the memory card that was in her camera. On the card were a number of pictures — including holiday snapshots, and four pictures of a one-eyed kitten. The kitten pictures showed the animal from different perspectives.
Fabricating those images in sequence and in the camera's original picture format, from the varying perspectives, would have been virtually impossible, Stathis said.
Meanwhile, Cy the one-eyed cat may be dead, but it has not left the building.
Allen said she's keeping the cat's corpse in her freezer for now, in case scientists would like it for research.
She said one thing's for certain: "I'm not going to put it on eBay."

more on New Orleans rebuilding proposal

[from Times-Picayunne]

Rebuilding proposal gets mixed reception
Critics vocal, but many prefer to watch and wait
Thursday, January 12, 2006
By Gordon Russell and Frank DonzeStaff writers
Tempers flared as expected Wednesday with the unveiling of a bold plan to temporarily halt the issuance of building permits in flood-ravaged parts of New Orleans -- a four-month timeout proposed by Mayor Ray Nagin's rebuilding commission to allow for a planning process that would chart the future of those neighborhoods.
The message to Nagin's Bring New Orleans Back commission from many of the roughly 20 audience members who spoke out at the presentation of its land use plan was direct and simple: Don't tell me what I can do with my property. Fueling the anger was the plan's call for using eminent domain, as a "last resort," to buy out homeowners in areas that show few signs of rebirth.
The proposal also drew a pre-emptive Bronx cheer from City Council members, who held a news conference minutes before the unveiling to assail it.
While the mayor appears to be in favor of the four-month planning process, he indicated after the meeting that he is uncomfortable with preventing people from renovating their homes and is unlikely to support the building moratorium.
The chorus of opposition also included groups like the NAACP and Louisiana ACORN, though not all the plan's opponents shared the same objections and some seemed to contradict one another. While representatives of some neighborhoods called the four-month planning process too long, for example, Louisiana ACORN said the time frame was too short to gather enough public input.
After the commitee presented its plan in a Sheraton Hotel ballroom packed to the brim, a number of speakers argued that temporarily barring them from getting permits would choke the progress that is starting to show in their neighborhoods.
"We don't want to wait four months," said Jeb Bruneau, president of the Lakeview Civic Association. "We want to be able to go down to City Hall and get permits. We have the means to help ourselves, so don't get in our way."
Others called the plan a "land grab" cooked up by greedy developers. Carolyn Parker of the Lower 9th Ward warned the group that her home would be taken "over my dead body." Rodney Craft, also of the 9th Ward, warned: "If you come to take our property, you better come ready."
Though most of those who spoke strongly opposed the plan, the crowd of about 500 applauded at several points during the presentation and many seemed willing to listen and consider the proposal.
Even some of those who attacked parts of the plan seemed to welcome its promise of civic participation. Former state Rep. Sherman Copelin, who spoke for the New Orleans East Business Association, criticized the proposed building moratorium but said his Eastover subdivision, one of the wealthiest in the area, welcomed the chance to plan its own rebirth.
"We want to accept your challenge that we come up with a plan. But we want a commitment that you will work with us on that plan," Copelin told commissioners.
The outcry was hardly surprising. Since the mayor's commission began its work, by far its most controversial question has been whether the city's footprint should be made smaller to reflect a population expected to reach only half its pre-Katrina number by 2008.
Nagin himself didn't comment publicly after the presentation ended, but said via e-mail afterward that he has "serious reservations" about the permit moratorium. He said that he is especially concerned that those rebuilding in the flattened Lower 9th Ward may be putting themselves in harm's way -- particularly as long as the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet remains open. But he indicated that, even there, he is inclined to allow residents to rebuild.
"I just do not recommend it (rebuilding there) at this time," Nagin said.
Those objections aside, the mayor said the land use plan is a good starting point from which a shattered city can rebuild itself. "I like the plan," Nagin said. "It was well presented and is well thought out. The committee chairs, commissioners and citizens who contributed should feel proud for a job well done."
In remarks before the plan was presented, Nagin said he realized that many in the audience would object strongly to it.
"This report is controversial," he said. "It pushes the edge of the envelope."
But he reminded the crowd that the proposals are far from final.
"Let's take the time to discuss it, debate it, analyze it and tweak it," he said. "This is a recommendation from the commission. We as a community have the ultimate say in how we move forward."
Joe Canizaro, the banker and developer who chairs the land use panel, said after the meeting that he does not believe the plan requires a halt to permitting for it to succeed.
While some residents interpreted the proposed moratorium as a signal that city leaders don't want them to come back, Canizaro said, the panel's intent was to protect homeowners from investing heavily in renovations and later facing the possibility of a forced buyout.
"I don't have any problem at all if the mayor chooses otherwise," he said of the moratorium, adding that he realizes some flooded sections are already bouncing back. "I hope that the people in this community, when they make those investments, make sure that they're going to have neighbors and they're going to have services provided. The city may not be able to provide services if they're stuck out there by themselves. There are a lot of things that people emotionally in today's environment aren't thinking about."
The plan, which has been subject to numerous revisions over the past few weeks and even late into the night Tuesday, contained a few changes from a draft published Wednesday by The Times-Picayune.
The most significant change was the suggestion that, for neighborhoods to be considered viable, at least half their pre-Katrina population must commit within the next four months to return.
The report also recommended that the buyout legislation proposed by U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, be modified to give homeowners forced to sell in devastated areas 100 percent of their equity. The bill that stalled last month in Congress guaranteed only 60 percent to homeowners.
However, Canizaro also said that even without the Baker bill, he thinks enough federal money will be available -- in the form of Federal Emergency Management Agency grants and other sources -- to make homeowners whole.
The panel estimates it will cost $12 billion to buy out every home that received at least 2 feet of water, but Canizaro said he expects only half of the flooded homes will be bought out in the end.
The commission also recommended that a new public authority be created by the Legislature, tentatively called the Crescent City Recovery Corp., to oversee the expenditure of federal money and in particular the buying, selling and, in some cases, seizure of homes.
Giving the recovery agency the powers the panel wants will require voters to amend the City Charter. Voters would also have to approve the panel's recommendation to take away the City Council's power to overrule decisions of the City Planning Commission. Instead, those seeking to appeal would go directly to the courts.
Canizaro said he hopes both matters will be placed on the ballot at the time of the next election, which may be held in April. Gov. Kathleen Blanco has indicated she plans to call for a special session next month.
For the time being, none of the panel's recommendations has any legal force. On Wednesday, the mayor's committee voted unanimously to accept its report, but it will be up to Nagin to decide how to tweak the proposal, along with those of six other committees scheduled to be heard next week: education, infrastructure, government efficiency, health care, culture and economic development. The White House and a state commission appointed by Blanco that will disburse billions in federal money would also have to OK the plan.
Canizaro said the committee will nonetheless begin to lay the groundwork for the next phase of planning called for in its report. The report calls for planners to begin holding meetings, starting March 20, for residents of each of the city's 13 planning districts. By May 20, those plans would be finalized. The process will be quarterbacked by New Orleans architect Ray Manning and Tulane University's school of architecture dean, Reed Kroloff.
Manning and Kroloff said Wednesday they will begin immediately to assemble data about different neighborhoods. They will also start to formulate a strategy for including displaced residents scattered across the country who may not be able to attend meetings in New Orleans. They said their efforts may include teleconferencing meetings.
The two men acknowledged that they are about to enter uncharted waters.
"This is an evolutionary process," Kroloff said. "We're learning as we go. This is a problem of unprecedented scope and dimension. Answers aren't immediately available. We've got to gather as much as we can from the best minds everywhere to help us come to terms with this."
Manning said the tight timeline is daunting, but not impossible.
"Some of what we have to do is tantamount to doing a study that would normally take, in some places, a year and a half," rather than four months, he said.
Like Canizaro, Kroloff tried to assuage the fears of residents who believe that because they live in a flooded area, their property rights are threatened.
The planning process and the proposed moratorium, he said, should be seen as "a breather, a moment in time to assess these neighborhoods with their residents -- and under the direction of their residents -- to determine what is the best for protecting their long-term future in the city. It doesn't mean they won't be able to rebuild, it doesn't mean they won't be able to come home."
Canizaro said he believes the planning process will help bring clarity to residents and officials alike, and the end result will be a smaller footprint, though he declined to speculate on its shape.
"Nature and people's own emotions will cause them to want to consolidate," he said. "Maybe I'm looking for too much out of this process, but I'm hopeful that it will bring people together to understand what is best for them."
Perceived as the driving force behind the proposal, Canizaro took much of the heat Wednesday. During roll call, scattered boos broke out when his name was announced. More than one speaker mentioned him by name.
"Mr. Joe Canizaro, I don't know you, but I hate you," eastern New Orleans resident Harvey Bender said. "You've been in the background trying to scheme to get our land."
Canizaro buttonholed Bender in the hallway afterward and encouraged him to attend the planning sessions to make himself heard. He also told Bender he does not have any financial interest in any panel recommendations.
Individual residents were not the only ones to attack the plan. In a news release, ACORN leaders said the four-month window was far too narrow for neighborhoods to prove their sustainability. Dorothy Stukes, spokeswoman for the agency's Katrina Survivors Association, said: "They are just changing the rules around to justify a land grab." NAACP branch President Danatus King, meanwhile, suggested that the plan was designed to help "fat cats" and a "chosen few," pointing in particular to sections of town that the land use panel described as "infill areas" where large commercial, industrial and residential development might occur.
The local chapter of the Sierra Club, meanwhile, weighed in with a cautious endorsement of the plan, calling it a "thoughtful step forward" but expressing concerns about the accelerated time period for the planning process and the possibility that there is lingering toxicity in the soils of flooded areas.
First to attack the plan was a group of City Council members who held a hastily called news conference a few minutes before the mayor's commission unveiled its report, just one floor below the ballroom where it was presented. The opposition was not unexpected; the council in December passed a resolution calling for aid and city services to be distributed equally across the entire city, and trashed the notion of a "reduced footprint." Council members, who have been at increasing odds with the Nagin administration in recent months, also complained that they were not briefed on the plan.
Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis, whose eastern New Orleans district was among the hardest-hit by the storm, told reporters that the council had come out with a "strong, forceful declaration of the right of everyone to return."
Councilwoman Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, whose district includes Algiers and the French Quarter, which were lightly touched by the storm, went further, calling the panel recommendations "a blatant violation of private property rights that is unprecedented in America."
Also present were Jay Batt and Renee Gill Pratt.
Mel Lagarde, the usually diplomatic health care executive who co-chairs the mayor's panel, promised to do a better job at communicating with other elected officials, but said he refused to let the debate become a political sideshow.
"The tolerance in this community for any kind of political foolishness is over," said Lagarde, who up till Wednesday has declined to speak publicly about the process. Lagarde said the situation is too dire to worry about making everyone happy.
"The size of the problem always dictates the size of the decision," he said. "And there's no way you're going to be able to finesse a decision around a problem of this magnitude that everybody's going to feel comfortable with. There is no way that is going to happen."

New Orleans rebuilding plan announced

This is the outline of the New Orleans rebuilding plan announced today. Not sure where they think all the flood victims are supposed to go if they can't rebuild?

The Plan
Key proposals made Wednesday by the Urban Planning committee of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Staff reports
BNOB SCHEDULE
The Bring New Orleans Back Commission will release multiple reports. All presentations to be held at the Sheraton Hotel, 500 Canal St.
Jan. 17, 1 p.m.: Education Committee.Jan. 17, 3 p.m.: Cultural Committee.Jan. 18, 1 p.m.: Health & Social Services Committee.Jan. 18, 3 p.m.: Infrastructure Committee.Jan. 19, 1 p.m.: Government Effectiveness Committee.Jan. 20, 1 p.m.: Economic Development Committee.
• Areas with little or no flooding should remain open for immediate redevelopment, but flooded neighborhoods would need to demonstrate viability before redevelopment.
• Give city's 13 planning districts until May 20 to create development plans and prove that at least half of residents in a neighborhood are returning. Areas not meeting standards would be candidates for buyouts or redevelopment as parks or industrial zones.
• Impose a moratorium on building permits in flooded areas until redevelopment plans are approved.
• Request that FEMA release new flood maps within 30 days to help citizens decide about their homes.
• Seek buyouts that would pay home owners who are forced to sell 100 percent of the property's pre-Katrina value, minus mortgage and insurance proceeds. The funds could come through a bill by U.S. Rep. Richard Baker, R-Baton Rouge, which proposes to pay at least 60 percent of a homeowner's equity, or from other sources. The Baker bill is set to be reconsidered in Congress soon.
• Create an independent agency, the Crescent City Recovery Corp., to manage redevelopment. Take away from the City Council the ability to reverse decisions by the city Planning Commission and let appeals be handled by the court. Both moves would need voters to amend the city charter.
• Build a light-rail transit system to spur development.
• Build a park in each neighborhood, and interconnect them with bike paths, canals covered by grassy areas and other amenities.
[excerpted from the Times-Picayunne]

lack of body armor unforgivable

[from hillaryclinton.com email]

Sen. Clinton Says Lack of Body Armor is 'Unforgivable'She Has Called for an Investigation Into Why Soldiers Are Not Fully Protected ABC News January 10, 2006

Dear Friends,
I wanted to let you know that Hillary is taking action in response to press reports that supplying more extensive body armor to our troops in Iraq could have saved lives. She has called for investigations by the Senate Armed Services Committee, of which she is a member, and the Government Accountability Office, and she has written to the Army urging that every effort be made now to provide additional body armor to troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"It is our duty to protect our men and women in uniform," Hillary said in an interview on Good Morning America on Tuesday, January 10. "The very least we can do is give them the very best body armor and armored vehicle."
"This is Bush-Cheney policy. ...The President speaks out strongly and even harshly from time to time about issues he thinks are important. Let's hear him speak about men and women who wear the uniform of our country."
As Hillary wrote to the Secretary of the Army, "According to these press reports, the Army is still deciding what body armor plates to purchase. With every day the Army delays the decision of which additional body armor to procure, we put more of our men and women at risk."
And in her letter to the General Accountability Office she said, "In April 2005, the Government Accountability Office found that there were delays in body armor acquisition as well as ineffective distribution. I request that you expand your investigation to include the military's effectiveness in providing body armor designed to limit fatalities and injuries to our troops."
For full copies of Hillary's letters to the Secretary of the Army, the General Accountability Office and the Senate Armed Services Committee, please go to www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/letters/

U.S. Civilian Casualty in Iraq reported 1/12/06

Darren D. Braswell, 36, of Riverdale, Ga., died Jan. 7 near Tal Afar, Iraq, when the
UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter in which he was a passenger crashed. Braswell worked for the Army and Air Force Exchange Service.

in today's Science news...

Gamma-ray burst study may rule out cosmological constant Dark energy - the mysterious force that drives the acceleration ofthe universe - changes over time, suggest controversial new calculations.If true, the work rules out Einstein's notion of a "cosmological constant" and suggests dark energy, which now repels space, once drew it together.

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article/dn8566

When good vegetarians go blotto, join the club

[from tampabay.com] perhaps the only thing I've read in a while that's made me laugh out loud...

When good vegetarians go blotto, join the club
By Gina Vivinetto
The road to excess leads to the palace of wisdom
-- William Blake (poet, vegetarian)
The recent news that actor Joaquin Phoenix , one of the world's most famous vegetarians, has begun alcohol rehabilitation prompts me to break a confidence about a group I helped spearhead. Phoenix and other high-profile vegetarians, including his brother, actor River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose in 1994, and starlet (and PETA spokesperson) Pamela Anderson, who in Jane this month confesses past drug use, draw criticism to those who forgo meat. That's why I want the world to know of Vegetarians Who Are Sometimes Sober, a group I co-founded in my teens with the late poet Allen Ginsberg, who, I point out, though an advocate of mind-altering drugs, died in 1997 of natural causes.
Some propose a correlation between a vegetarian diet and too much drink or drug use. Nonsense!
VWASS is a veritable who's-who in the worlds of arts, letters and television sitcom. We meet weekly for nutritious vegan dinners. Members have fun, share recipes and discussion, help each other live a cruelty-free lifestyle, and on occasion, spend entire evenings not getting s---faced drunk.
For instance, at our potluck for fellow vegetarian Mary Tyler Moore after her stint at the Betty Ford Clinic, we celebrated with a light tofu cheesecake (leaving out the vanilla extract), and hardly anyone drank until they puked. Same thing on the night little Kelly Osbourne came back after her rehab stint. (Perhaps Osbourne was influenced to go veg -- or go wild -- by her daddy's vegan bandmates in Black Sabbath, Terry "Geezer" Butler and Bill Ward.)
We were inspired by the heroism of Terminator 2's Edward Furlong, arrested last year in a Kentucky grocery store for trying to free lobsters from a tank. Furlong was intoxicated, sure -- this following a 2001 DUI arrest. Even then, our vegetarian brother knew all species are born free! Woody Harrelson is a VWASS member, often bringing his raw food dishes filled with hemp seeds. Harrelson chats up Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders, a fellow pot advocate. At their table you'll find Paul McCartney, famously arrested for pot possession at that Tokyo airport in 1980, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Bonet. George Harrison sat with them, before he died.
Rap mogul Russell Simmons and designer wife Kimora Lee Simmons are proponents of a healthy, vegetarian lifestyle. That's why when Kimora got busted last year for DUI and possession of marijuana, she looked radiant in her prison mug shots. Before Jerry Garcia died of his overdose, he and the other Grateful Dead veggies, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh entertained us with long, trippy jams. Other meatless, clean-living 1960s folks in our group such as Grace Slick, Bob Dylan and the artist Peter Max loved it. Paul Newman comes every once in a while. We gobble all the Fig Newmans he and lovely Joanne Woodward bring. Except Paul, who brags that he drinks 24 beers a day, doesn't eat much. Some in our group like to try to match him, beer for beer, including Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, Kirk Hammett of Metallica, Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes , former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and, goodness, that wild Shane McGowan of the Pogues. And Larry Hagman once upon a time. Nobody outside VWASS realizes Major Tony Nelson is a vegetarian. He got more attention for the cirrhosis and the liver transplant. Which reminds me, television star Brett Butler drops by -- when she's lucid.
So, you see, not all vegetarians compensate for a lack of meat in their diet by consuming too much drug and drink. Some in our group live squeaky clean lives: Fred Rogers, of television's Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, who came each week until he passed away; the late Gandhi was always up for good, clean fun; and our friend John Tesh, who might still be alive -- who can tell from week to week?
Also, in light of recent events, VWASS is more sensitive to those struggling with addiction. We've asked our fellow vegetarian Jesus Christ, who has been so diligent, turning fishes into loaves, at every function, if, at our next potluck, he might refrain from turning the water into wine.
-- Gina Vivinetto gina@tampabay.com "

quote for the day 1/11/06

Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable. --
John Kenneth Galbraith

U.S. Casualties in Iraq reported 1/11/06

The D.O.D. apparently has taken to abbreviating their press releases so they can include more than one casualty in each release. I don't even know how to react to that.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of five Marines: Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Brown, 22, of Newport News, Va., Lance Cpl. Jeriad P. Jacobs, 19, of Clayton, N.C., Lance Cpl. Jason T. Little, 20, of Climax, Mich., Cpl. Brett L. Lundstrom, 22, of Stafford, Va., and Lance Cpl. Raul Mercado, 21, of Monrovia, Calif. All five Marines died on Jan. 7. Mercado was killed when his vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Al Karmah, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Little was killed when his tank was attacked with an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations near Ferris, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Brown, Jacobs and Lundstrom were killed by enemy small arms fire in separate attacks while conducting combat operations near Fallujah, Iraq. They were assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

The Department of Defense announced today the death of eight soldiers. They died near Tal Afar, Iraq, on Jan. 7, when their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed. Killed were: Maj. Stuart M. Anderson, 44, of Peosta, Iowa. Anderson was assigned to the Army Reserve's 3rd Corps Support Command, Des Moines, Iowa, Maj. Douglas A. Labouff, 36, of California. Labouff was assigned to the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.
Capt. Michael R. Martinez, 43, of Missouri. Martinez was assigned to the Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo., 1st Lt. Jaime L. Campbell, 25, of Ephrata, Wash. Campbell was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska., 1st Lt. Joseph D. deMoors, 36, of Jefferson, Ala. deMoors was assigned to the Army's 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo., Chief Warrant Officer 4 Chester W. Troxel, 45, of Anchorage, Alaska. Troxel was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska., Spc. Michael I. Edwards, 26, of Fairbanks, Alaska. Edwards was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska., Spc. Jacob E. Melson, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska. Melson was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, Anchorage, Alaska. The incident is under investigation.

U.S. Casualties reported 01/10/06

Sgt. Radhames Camilomatos, 24, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, died in Taji, Iraq, on Jan. 7, from non-combat related injuries. Camilomatos was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. His death is under investigation.

Spc. Clinton R. Upchurch, 31, of Garden City, Kansas, died in Samarra, Iraq, on Jan. 7, during patrol operations when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV and enemy forces attacked using small arms fire. Upchurch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Sgt. Nathan R. Field, 23, of Lehigh, Iowa. Field was assigned to the Army Reserve's 4249th Port Security Company, Pocahontas, Iowa. Spc. Robert T. Johnson, 20, of Erwin, N.C. Johnson was assigned to the Army Reserve's 805th Military Police Company, Raleigh, N.C. They died in Umm Qasr, Iraq, on Jan. 7, when their HMMWV was hit by a civilian vehicle. The incident is under investigation.

U.S. Casualties reported 1/6-1/9/06

Sgt. Adam L. Cann, 23, of Davie, Fla. was killed in action Jan. 5 by a suicide bomb attack on an Iraqi police recruitment center in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to Security Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward).

Cpl. Albert P. Gettings, 27, of New Castle, Pa. and Lance Cpl. Ryan S. McCurdy, 20, of Baton Rouge, La. died Jan. 5 from wounds received as a result of enemy small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Fallujah, Iraq. Gettings was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. McCurdy was assigned to Headquarters Company, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Lt. Col. Michael E. McLaughlin, 44, of Mercer, Pa., died in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on Jan. 5, when he was conducting a dismounted patrol at an Iraqi police recruiting station and an individual-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his position. McLaughlin was assigned to the Army National Guard's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Washington, Pa.

Maj. William F. Hecker, III, 37, of St. Louis, Mo. , Capt. Christopher P. Petty, 33, of Vienna, Va. , Sgt. 1st Class Stephen J. White, 39, of Talladega, Ala., Sgt. Johnny J. Peralez, Jr., 25, of Kingsville, Texas and Pvt. Robbie M. Mariano, 21, of Stockton, Calif died in An Najaf, Iraq, on Jan. 5, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during convoy operations. The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Sgt. Jason Lopezreyes, 29, of Hatillo, Puerto Rico and Spc. Ryan D. Walker, 25, of Stayton, Ore. were killed in Baghdad, Iraq, on Jan. 5, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during convoy operations. Both soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

bennett miller @ Museum of Moving Image

DIRECTOR BENNETT MILLER WITH 'CAPOTE'
This Saturday at 6:30 p.m. director Bennett Miller will participate in a Pinewood Dialogue following a screening of Capote, his remarkable debut film that won the New York Film Critics Circle Best First Film Award. Capote features a spellbinding performance by Philip Seymour Hoffman as Truman Capote at work on In Cold Blood, his career-defining 1963 novel about a brutal family murder in Kansas. Tickets are $12 public and $8 for Museum members. Call 718-784-4520.

Museum of the Moving Image is located at 35 Avenue and 36 Street in Astoria.Trains: R, V (R, G on weekends) to Steinway. N, W to 36 Avenue. www.movingimage.us

photo of the day for 1/04/06

[from yahoo news]

U.S. Casualties in Iraq reported 1/3/06

Sgt. 1st Class Shawn C. Dostie, 32, of Granite City, Ill., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Dostie was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Sgt. 1st Class Jason L. Bishop, 31, ofWilliamstown, Ky., died in As Siniyah, Iraq, on
Jan. 1, when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Bishop was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Staff Sgt. Ayman A. Taha, 31, ofVienna, Va., died in Balad, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when he was preparing a munitions cache for demolition and the cache exploded. Taha was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Spc. Prince K. Teewia, 27, of Durham, N.C., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 29, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. Teewia was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

U.S. Casualties in Iraq reported 12/31/05-1/2/06

Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Vanderhorn, 37, of Pierce, Wash., died in As Sinia, Iraq, on Jan. 1, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Vanderhorn was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Spc. Marcelino R. Corniel, 23, of La Puente, Calif., died in Baghdad, Iraq, on Dec. 31, when an enemy mortar attack occurred in the vicinity of his observation post. Corniel was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, Fullerton, Calif.

Pvt. Jonathan R. Pfender, 22, of Evansville, Ind., died in Bayji, Iraq, on Dec. 30, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during patrol operations. Pfender was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Pfc. George A. Lutz, II, 25, of Virginia Beach, Va., died in Fallujah, Iraq, on Dec. 29, when his dismounted patrol was attacked by enemy forces using small arms fire. Lutz was assigned to the Army's 9th Psychological Operations Battalion, 4th Psychologial Operations Group, U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.