Mobtown Shank

GodWatch: Christians Freak Out Over Google Honoring Chavez

It's not a proper Christian holiday unless there's a group freakout over some imagined secularist attack on their beliefs.

And this Easter pent up Christian outrage is frothing over. Well, I'm not sure "pent up" is the right phrase since it rarely seems contained.

But today, Google has made itself a target in the "Culture Wars" because it is Caesar Chavez's birthday and they chose to honor the deceased labor leader instead of a resurrected zombie Jesus with their Google "doodle."

Now I'm no expert or anything, but I kinda think Jesus would have dug Caesar Chavez.

Christians were also outraged in 2010 when Google honored Hans Christian Andersen's birthday instead of Good Friday. But c'mon, he at least has "Christian" in his name.

Personally, I am outraged every Good Friday when my recycling isn't picked up because of some bogus sectarian holiday.

Bing responded with a non-religous but more holiday-spirited theme of Easter Eggs.

In 2011, March 31 was declared "Caesar Chavez Day."

It is also amusing to see the number of outraged right wing Christian conservatives who don't know the difference between Hugo Chavez and Caesar Chavez.

Source.

21 Term Republican Rep. Calls Laborers "Wetbacks"

Meet 21 term Republican Rep. Don Young of Alaska.

During a radio interview last week, Young said:

"My father had a ranch; we used to have 50-60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. It takes two people to pick the same tomatoes now. It’s all done by machine.”

Yes, he used the term "wetbacks" to describe Mexican immigrant labor.

Young later fell short of apologizing, claiming that he meant, "No disrepsect."

As in, "Hey, Rep. Young, you're a racist dinosaur who has no place in American politics. No disrespect."

Young finally apologized on his second try a day later, saying:

“I apologize for the insensitive term I used during an interview in Ketchikan, Alaska. There was no malice in my heart or intent to offend; it was a poor choice of words.”

Yes, he meant the ethnic slur affectionately.

#republicanrepranding

Source1.
Source2.

Related articles

Don Young Doesn't See Problem With 'Wetback' Slur

GOP Congressman Refuses To Apologize For Calling Latinos 'Wetbacks'

GOP rebranding update: 'wetbacks'

Alaska congressman apologizes for using ethnic slur

TONIGHT!: Cafe Racers Art Show

7-10PM. $5 (donation). Magnificence!
Hampden, Baltimore.
2981 Falls Rd.
entrance located at back of building off of Steiff Silver rear parking lot

Arwork by:
Allison Lear
Debbie Fitch
Matt Craft
Maurice
Missy August

Custom Cafe Racers by Loaded Gun Customs & many more.

Performances by:
Your Pal Pete
Dan Zink
Mandroids

Curated by Orlando Johnson

TONIGHT! Celebration Plays The Ottobar

8PM. Ottobar.
Remington, Baltimore.
2549 N. Howard St.

Celebration - Infamous psychedelic rock band tarot deck is coming home

Rapdragons - Charm City's favorite chillers and rap duo

Liz King - Wham city's golden woman makes her big return

Gage - Batlimore's up and coming weirdo pop rap

Hopkins' Dr. Ben Carson - Embarrassing Baltimore With Dumbassery

Johns Hopkins Neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson has recently and rapidly become a conservative folk hero.

This week he went on FOX News and compared homosexuality to bestiality and pedophilia.

He said to Sean Hannity:
“Marriage is between a man and a woman. It's a well-established, fundamental pillar of society. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn't matter what they are, they don't get to change the definition. So it's not agianst gays, its against anyone who comes along and wants to change the fundamental pillars of society. It has significant ramifications."

Yes, yes. Groups must never change supposed "pillars of society," If that were true, we'd still have slavery, blacks couldn't marry, people of different races couldn't marry, there'd be no civil rights, women couldn't vote, we'd still have child labor ...

Look, if you're going to go on tv, could you not embarrass all of Baltimore (and Johns Hopkins) by saying stupid shit?

American Standard: Feel The Feelies

by Benn Ray

The Feelies. The Ottobar. Baltimore, MD.
Saturday, March 23, 2013

I'm at that point in my life where, sadly, age sometimes plays a part in my going to see live music.

I don't mean that I miss shows and I use the excuse that it's because I'm too old because I don't have the energy or can't hack getting up for work the next day - I'm still fine in that area, thankfully.

The age problem I have is that I've become all too aware that I am now, sometimes, "The Old Dude."

You know the guy I'm talking about. Imagine you're young (if you're not) and having fun at a show and what the fuck is this geezer doing at your show? What's that about?

Is this music for old people?

Is he just weirdly cool? If he's cool, how come he's all alone?

Is he some kind of generational vampire?

Does he think he's cool?

I now realize my past discomfort with the Old Weird Guy at the Show is that it was an uncomfortable vision of my future self.

Also, there are occasionally shows I'll skip because I expect the crowd will remind me too much of a '90s Baltimore Alterna-rock Scene Reunion. I skip those for the same reason I skip my high school reunions.

Yet, lately, I've felt like there have been a number of bands coming through that I've always liked and not seen, and, well, none of us are getting any younger, so maybe I better see them now, because who knows?

That's why I hit the Jonathan Richman show at the Golden West (well, that and also because it's location was so intimate and convenient).

I had intended to see Mission of Burma at the Ottobar but my plans fell apart.

And that's why I was at the Ottobar on Saturday, March 23 to see The Feelies play what will go down as a legendary show.

Yeah, I knew it was gonna be Old Timers night at the rock club, we all knew it. And I am not exempting myself from that (but it is also nice seeing a show when you're not the oldest person in the room). It started off awkwardly when my friend who had picked up tickets tried to get in the door using a receipt from a local toy store for an item she'd bought her son earlier in the day.

We all had a laugh about that. Well, not the bouncers. Bouncers never laugh.

Once inside the Ottobar it was reunion time - I ran into a number of friends I hadn't seen in ages. And of course, when we saw each other, we all had to acknowledge the average age of the crowd (as well as our own age): "Old timers night tonight, eh?"

But the weird thing was there were a number of kids there too. Because the event was all ages, it was a family affair for some. "Oh those poor kids are going to be so bored," I thought looking at the middle/high schoolers who were brought there by their parents.

I'd already set my expectations low. Best case scenario? I was hoping to be mildly entertained.

The Feelies began the first of two sets shortly after 9 and I was immediately sucked in. They started alternating originals and covers, which I thought was both weird and cool.

They were tight. Not only were they tight, but precise and with each song they got better. And they also got faster.

After the first song, I looked around, and the kids looked bored and the adults looked thrilled. Three songs later, everyone's head was nodding along with the Feelies' rhythm - including the kids'. By 5 songs in, everyone, even the kids, were dancing. Even me.

The Feelies were mixing old songs, new songs, and covers. Their set list was unpredictable and awesome.

One of the things I like most about them is that they don't really care about the audience. They are there to play, period. So there's very little onstage banter. They are far more interested in making sure their instruments are tuned than what some knucklehead in the audience is hollering out at them.

In fact, the only real interaction between the band and the audience would come when bassist Brenda Sauter would announce the song they just finished - which she would always do while the audience was still applauding so as to almost intentionally obscure the information from those who might have needed it.

Then a few songs from the end of what would have been most shows, Brenda announced they'd play a few more and take a break for a few minutes and come back for another set.

And they did.

Set one was great. It was tight. The song selection was interesting. The momentum was building. I could have left at set one with expectations exceeded.

But when the band came back for the second set, they played balls out. Now, when I say The Feelies don't care about the audience, that doesn't mean they're not laying it all out on the stage. They just aren't there to chat or goof or make jokes (or even acknowledge you). They are there to play with everything they have. And you can be into it or not, although I can't imagine anyone not being into it.

In set two each song got faster than the last. The pace was frantic and the two guitarists would jerk about the stage.

But then came the encores - by my count 5. And not just paltry one song encores either but 3 song encores. So essentially, what the audience got was three sets by a band that was founded in 1976. The Feelies took the stage a few minutes after 9 and played until around 12:30. When you factor in the break times, that's a three hour show - and that is a Guided by Voices-style herculean effort.

And the songs just spilled out of them, their tunes blending with covers by The Velvet Underground, R.E.M., Television, The Stooges, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and on and on.

I ran into a local show promoter friend on my way out of the bathroom, and he summed it up thusly, "Holy shit, this is the most punk rock thing I've seen in a long time. They just played The Stooges 3 times faster than the Stooges ever did, and they've done three encores!" At this point there were still 2 more encores to come.

I'm no Feelies expert. I own a few of their records, Crazy Rhythms, Only Life and last year's surprisingly good Here Before. But nothing prepared me for the magnificence of seeing them live.

Nothing had prepared me for what The Feelies poured into the Ottobar on Saturday night. But if any of their other shows on this tour are half as good, any weird ageist hangups will be almost immediately eradicated - until the lights come up and then you see an array of aging faces, stunned and exhausted by being witness to a show we all know would have been unreasonable to expect and we were thrilled to be there for.

For more, check out Brian Line's take over at the Baltimore CityPaper.

Madam 8-Ball's Horoscope: If Blur & Oasis Can Bury The Hatchet...

by Madam 8-Ball

IS NOW THE TIME TO END OLD FEUDS?

AQUARIUS: Outlook good.
PISCES: Outlook not so good.
ARIES: You may rely on it.
TAURUS: Ask again later.
GEMINI: Yes.
CANCER: Don't count on it.
LEO: My reply is no.
VIRGO: Reply hazy, try again.
LIBRA: As I see it, yes.
SCORPIO: Reply hazy, try again.
SAGITTARIUS: Better not tell you now.
CAPRICORN: Better not tell you now.

Specialty Bonus Sign
OPHIUCHUS: Ask again later.

Related articles

Madam 8-Ball's Horoscope: Nom Blocked

MADAM 8-BALL'S HOROSCOPE: The Sequester

Madam 8-Ball's Horoscope: Superbugged

Madam 8-Ball's Horoscope: Poped

Tim Sappington Kills A Horse To Send A Message

When Tim Sappington filmed this video of himself shooting a horse in the head and sending a message to animal activists, he was an employee of Valley Meat Co. - a New Mexico meat processor who is trying to get federal approval to convert from a beef to a horse meat processing plant.

WARNING - VIDEO IS GRAPHIC

More.

TONIGHT! The Feelies At The Ottobar

8PM. Ottobar.
Remington, Baltimore.
2549 N. Howard St.

The Feelies!

"Of the countless bands to emerge from the New York City underground during the post-punk era, few if any were as unique and influential as the Feelies; nerdy, nervous, and noisy, even decades later their droning, skittering avant-garde pop remains a key touchstone of the American indie music scene." -All Music

TONIGHT!: Ozzy Tasting At The Wine Source

5-7PM. The Wine Source.
Hampden, Baltimore.
3601 Elm Ave.

The Long awaited arrival of The Brewer's Art Ozzy in cans has finally arrived!

And tonight the Wine Source will host a tasting to celebrate the coming season of canned beer!