Quel serait l’intérêt d’un combat de lutte sans son cérémonial, son attirail de rituels et de croyances qui donnent à l’évènement toute sa substance, toute sa tension, sa magie ? Au Sénégal, le « xoon » (ou « xoromsi », « xondiomes »), héritage bien vivant de croyances animistes, n’est pas un folklore mais un véritable fait de société.

Qu’on y croit ou non, pratiques obscures pour les uns, hygiène de vie pour les autres, ces rituels magico religieux font partie de notre quotidien. Certains esprits des plus rationnels reconnaissent qu’ils y croient, chacun a au moins un exemple pour témoigner de l’existence de tel ou tel procédé surnaturel.

Moi, je ne demande pas mieux que d’y croire. Mais alors, qu’attendons-nous pour gagner la Coupe du Monde ?

Answering the President’s Call To Serve A Higher Purpose

April 14, 2009 GRID Alternative solar install for Habitat for Humanity

That’s your Creative Greenius in the orange hardhat, and my buddy the Reverend Ron giving the Hang Loose salute, atop the roof of a Habitat for Humanity home we successfully installed a Solar PV system on.  And when I say “we” I mean GRID Alternatives the non-profit whose mission is to empower communities in need by providing renewable energy and energy efficiency services, equipment and training.

That’s Steve from GRID on the far left.  He’s a great guy, working for the modest Americorps paycheck he and the other GRID staff folks make.  It was an honor to work with them and I can’t wait to do my next install with GRID.

I’ve been inspired by President Obama’s call to public service and so I have gotten out of my Steelcase Leap chair and out of the comfort zone of my ocean view office and out among the people and into the neighborhoods to try to respond to the extraordinary challenges our nation faces after eight years of looting and pillaging by the barbarians who occupied the White House and tried to destroy the values and standards our great country was built upon.

Strapping on the roof harness.

Like the President himself, I have had a superb 100 days since January 20 and I am here today to report back to you on this the last day of my downright Ro0sevelt-like April.

Greenius attaching junction box to PV rail.

I’ve been out there, learning new skills and using my existing skills to show what Progressives and Environmentalists like myself are made of and to keep walking the walk.  And to offer myself in marked contrast to the Tea Baggers of our day who as we all know suck more than anyone else does.

That's Alan in the orange shirt and yellow hardhat. I learned more from him in two days than I did from my dad in 18 years!

And I’ve got to tell you, I have never been happier or felt more fulfilled in my entire 51 years on the planet.  I’ve got a spring in my step and a wiggle in my walk and my mojo is benefiting from major juju and gris gris if you grok my meaning.  I’ve been checking out what condition my condition has been in and I am Good To Go Joe.

And I’m talking ’bout more than just the blast I had installing solar with GRID Alternatives. Here’s some of the other volunteer efforts I’ve contributed in the month of April:

1.  Built and launched the new Environmental Priorities Network website – check it out by clicking on the graphic:

Wrote my first speech for California State Senator Jenny Oropeza, who delivered it at the West Los Angeles Democratic Club.  I’m also working on the Senator’s new FaceBook page and currently writing my second speech for her.

From left, Asm. Julia Brownley, D-Santa Monica; and Cara Robin, president of the West Los Angeles Democratic Club,

Created and presented my AB 811 Solar PV Financing Presentation to Jackie Bacharach and Maryln Lyons of the South Bay Cities Council of Government and the South Bay Environmental Services Center, Sharon Weissman of State Senator Jenny Oropeza’s office and Lillian Light, the President of the Environmental Priorities Network…

Gave out CFL lightbulbs and answered energy saving questions on behalf of the SBESC at the Honda Earth Day Environmental Fair, the Toyota Earth Day Environmental Fair, the Manhattan Beach V.O.I.C.E. Annual Earth Day Celebration and the Redondo Beach SEALab Earth Day Celebration.  I hope you saw me out there in my official South Bay Environmental Services Center green t-shirt with the world’s tiniest logo sporting my brand new very impressive enamel name badge.

I really dug the SEA Lab event on April 25 because our booth was right next to the South High Environmental Club booth which was staffed all day by some very cool high school kids.  I was glad I wore my new hip Vanns skateboard shoes.

I especially enjoyed writing Lillian Light’s remarks for the Audubon award she presented to my friend Dency Nelson last Saturday at Madronna Marsh.

I spent two hours on the phone with Dency while he was stage managing a show in Las Vegas to get the material I need to write Lillian’s 5 minutes of remarks.

Of course, Dency being Dency he was too busy to actually be there in person (and me being me, I screwed up the video recording I tried to make of Lillian doing her remarks – sorry Denc) but I was really stoked I was able to go and I also saw about a dozen young people get environmental awards too which made me very happy.  It was so good to see some kids someplace who weren’t talking on the phone or texting.

Perhaps I was lucky enough to talk to you while I was doing my Solangelist thing in the late afternoon at the Manhattan Beach Earth Day event at Polliwog Park on behalf of the EPN where the hot topic was our upcoming May 16 Solar Homes Tour.

I was happy to answer so many questions about how solar PV works and to dispel some of the common myths.

I’m proud to say I also created and produced the solar fact sheet that will be given out at all the homes on the solar homes tour:

Let me be the first to say that there are many fine designers and graphic artists who I have worked with over my 22 years of doing corporate marketing, advertising and communications and I don’t claim to have 1/100 of their talent, ability or eye.  But I get stuff done and I get it done very quickly and responsibly.  And I do it all pro bono so it’s hard to say you’re not getting what you pay for.  But I also do it all with passion and dedication and with the same standards I hold for all my professional projects.

If you’ve been wondering why the economy has slowed down or why you don’t have as much work as you used to, the answer is – to free you up to do the volunteer work that’s just waiting for you to have some free time in your schedule.

Most of us have been working on a lot of disposable and meaningless crap for consumer products companies for too long now.  Now it’s time to do something more important than just make money.

And if you’re not making some kind of contributions using the talents and skills that you have – on the issues and subjects YOU care about, then I guess I have to wonder why not?

But while I’m wondering, I’m going to keep on working and I’m going to continue to support President Barack Obama and his efforts to lead the United States in the direction that me and people like me have been yearning for.

That’s in the exact opposite of the direction this country has been heading since the year 2000. And the polar opposite of where people like Newt Gingrich, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell and Representative Boner of Ohio want to drag us down into.  Every single one of those backwards thinkers has already sold out the health and well being of our future generations to a carbon-based economy more toxic than the bank assets they once swore by.

So go ahead – choose those guys or the Greenius.  I’ll be out doing more volunteer work while you’re thinking about it.

Con el flamenco a algunos nos pasa como con el jazz. No es mi predilección, no controlo, pero cuando escucho una canción o veo una actuación que me gusta lo disfruto mucho y me pregunto: ¿por qué no lo pruebo más? Este sábado actúa en el Auditori de Castellón Enrique Morente y Lagartija Nick (vídeo de arriba), esa mezcla pionera de rock y flamenco que el año pasado nos dejó boquiabiertos en el FIB a los que miramos con descreimiento Omega cuando salió a mediados de los 90, con motivo de las VIII Jornadas Flamencas. Y no vienen solos. De hecho, esta misma noche ya actúa el prestigioso guitarrista vila-realense Salva del Real a las 20.30 en el Teatre Principal. Castellón se convierte hasta el próximo domingo en la capital del pellizco, del duende. De esa sensibilidad tan especial que desprende el cante jondo, la guitarra, la percusión y el baile.

Gloria y Ángela Bernat son de las que sí controlan, de las que se han dejado hechizar por todas las expresiones artísticas del flamenco. Dos de esas personas que, cuando creen en algo, se lían la manta a la cabeza y se meten en un fregao tan proceloso como es organizar un festival de cuatro días, con las ayudas públicas justas y haciendo que todo funcione a base de esfuerzo y dedicación. Las directoras artísticas de esta octava edición de las Jornadas Flamencas de Castellón han compuesto un cartel atractivo para todos los públicos, incluyendo figuras consagradas, nuevos talentos, talleres para hacer proselitismo y un homenaje al cantaor burrianense Juan Varea con motivo del centenario de su nacimiento.

Después de que la Compañía de Salva del Real (foto de arriba) abra hoy jueves las jornadas acompañado de Alfredo Escudero (percusión), José Salinas (cante), Rafael Peral (baile), mañana viernes será el turno de la joven bailaora sevillana Ángeles Gabaldón, con el espectáculo Del Quivir, que tiene como protagonista al río Guadalquivir, desde una perspectiva de lugar de inspiración para poetas, pintores y diferentes artistas.

El sábado llegará el plato fuerte al Auditori con el regreso sideral de Morente Omega y su borrachera de distorsión y cante jondo. Durante el concierto, Enrique Morente -considerado algo así como el José Tomás del flamenco- también realizará un homenaje al legendario cantaor burrianense Juan Varea con motivo del centenario de su nacimiento, con su relectura desde el Albaicín granadino.

Y la compañía Complot se encargará de los talleres del sábado y de cerrar las jornadas el domingo, en ambos casos en el Teatre Principal. Marco Flores impartirá el taller de técnica de pies (17.00), Olga Pericet el de técnica corporal (18.00) y Daniela Doña el de iniciación al flamenco estilizado (19.00). Para terminar, su espectáculo Canta la Mui II, una fusión de estilos de cante, baile y danza que se puede apreciar en el vídeo promocional de abajo, pondrá el broche final a las jornadas.

Programación de las VIII Jornadas Flamencas de Castellón:

Jueves 16. 20.30. Teatre Principal. Salva del Real. Cante y baile.

Viernes 17. 20.30. Teatre Principal. Ángeles Gabaldón. Del Quivir. Cante y baile.

Sábado 18. 17.00-20.00. Teatre Principal. Taller flamenco con Daniela Doña, Marco Flores y Olga Pericet.

Sábado 18. 22.30. Auditori. Enrique Morente y Lagartija Nick.

Domingo 19. 20.30. Complot presenta el espectáculo Canta la Mui II. Cante y baile. Abajo vídeo promocional.

Y, hablando de guitarras, la Universitat Jaume I y los ayuntamientos de Vila-real y Benicàssim han presentado esta semana el disco-libro Nou de Tàrrega, un homenaje al compositor con motivo del centenario de su muerte que recoge 13 piezas adaptadas por el guitarrista castellonense Manolo Brankal y una actualización de su figura histórica. La obra será presentada con un concierto en directo el próximo domingo a las 19.30 en el Auditori de Vila-real.

SUGERENCIAS PARA HOY JUEVES, 16

19.00. Castalia Iuris. Inauguración de la exposición de ‘pintuescultura’ Cuernos con coronas de Marilú García con una  performance-degustación a cargo de Ximo Boix. Hasta el 6 de mayo.

19.30. Museu de Belles Arts de Castellón. Salón de Actos. II Muestra de Cine Indígena, organizada por la ONG Acsud-Las Segovias. Proyección del documental experimental Cuerpo a cuerpo (2005, 7 minutos), sobre la etnia brasileña Yanomami, y de El Grito de la Selva (2007, 1 hora y 37 minutos), la primera película de largometraje realizada por comunicadores indígenas en la amazonía boliviana (abajo, imagen del rodaje). Ambos trabajos han sido premiados en el IX Festival Internacional de Cine y Vídeo de los Pueblos Indígenas, celebrado en Bolivia el año pasado, y esta proyección significa su estreno en Europa. A la muestra asistirá Nicolás Ipamo Paraipano, realizador audiovisual procedente del pueblo boliviano de Chiquitano que coordinada numerosos proyectos en esta materia. Entrada libre.

22.30. Pub Terra. Concierto del grupo vila-realense de rock Gris-Gris, que presentará su EP Des’08 y la canción ganadora del Premi al Millor Tema en Valencià de la última edición de Castellón en Vivo, “Tot plegat”. Entrada libre.

22.30. L’Antic de Vila-real. Circuit Café-Teatre. El humorista valenciano Rafa Forner presenta su monólogo ‘La verdad sea dicha’, metafísico y cercano a la vez, para ver las cosas con un punto faltón. Entrada libre con consumición mínima de 3 euros.

23.00. Gran Casino Castellón. Ciclo de jazz ‘Los jueves son del Casino’. Actuación del armonicista Antonio Serrano, considerado uno de los virtuosos de este instrumento en el panorama jazzístico español. Entrada libre presentando el DNI.

23.30. Pub Soho de Castellón. Circuit Café-Teatre. La compañía de monologuistas de Rafelbunyol Olla Xunta representa ‘L’Humor de l’horta’, en la onda Xavi Castillo. Entrada libre con consumición mínima de 3 euros.

Gris-gris es el regreso a las esencias de Joanmojo y León Gris. A las esencias del rock’n'roll y del blues. A las esencias en la forma de componer. Y en la lengua que progresivamente van utilizando para comunicarse: el valenciano.

Aunque todos sus miembros cuentan con una dilatada trayectoria en la escena local, en sólo año y medio, con dos maquetas y un puñado de conciertos, Gris-gris ha logrado cuajar un estilo propio con el que intentan abrirse camino. De hecho, este mismo mes de febrero se han metido en al estudio de grabación Roquetes para registrar el tema “Tot Plegat”, que formará parte del CD que editará Castellón en Vivo para recopilar canciones de los ganadores de las dos últimas ediciones del concurso de nuevas bandas locales.

Y es que “Tot Plegat”, con ese estribillo tan atinado que proclama que “per a viure no cal patir tant”, fue elegida como Mejor Tema en Valenciano en el Concurso Castellón en Vivo del año pasado. Seguro que cae esta noche en la sala Veneno Stereo, que sigue ampliando su parroquia con tan sólo unos meses de vida, pero también otras que suenan en su MySpace, como “Al sol de la tarde” o “Puede ser”. Joanmojo (voz), León Gris (guitarra), Paolo Gris (teclados), Albert Segarra (bajo, también en Panegírico al Legado) y Richie (batería) seguro que sudarán y harán sudar la camiseta.

Sábado 28. 19.00. Sala Veneno Stereo. Concierto del grupo vila-realense de rock Gris-gris. Entrada libre. 

The Bay Area Psych outfit known as Gris Gris decided to call it quits in 2008. After releasing a couple of extremely strong albums, they’re packing it in. Their label Birdman, has recently unleashed their final recording as a band. It’s called “Live at the Creamery”. It was recorded live in the warehouse in which the main guy Greg Ashley resides. Their sound captures the spirit of their Bay Area psychedelic forefathers such as Pacific Gas and Electric and  Quicksilver Messenger Service. The album is available on vinyl! … we love that.

Gris Gris “Year Zero” – mp3

available on iToons

Antes de nada, recomendar un artículo fundamental de Diego A. Manrique, publicado el pasado miércoles en El País. Basándose en un libro sobre “el espectacular fracaso de la industria del disco en la era digital” recientemente publicado en EE. UU., ‘Appetite for self-destruction’ (del periodista musical Steve Knopper), el director adjunto de Radio 3 dice algunas verdades como templos: “(…) la industria vivió años de vacas increíblemente gordas entre 1984 y 2000, gracias a una afirmación discutible y una clara mentira: convencieron al público de que el CD era un soporte superior al elepé y que su fabricación era más cara”.

De nuevo, el fin de semana viene cargado de propuestas interestantes en Castellón y comarca, destacando especialmente Vila-real. Para empezar, esta noche desembarca en el Raspabar uno de los mejores compositores de canciones pop de los últimos años: Guille Milkyway (vídeo de arriba). Así que el pub de la avenida Capuchinos puede convertirse en un auténtico polvorín con la mejor pirotecnia popera de las últimas décadas. También hoy, el Espai Sonor del EACC ofrece un concierto con un menú mucho más intimista, basado en la experimentación sonora de dos grupos del sello británico Type Recordings. Como decía, en Vila-real hoy coinciden a la misma hora tres actuaciones en directo: Mikel Erentxun en la Caixa Rural, Los Granadians en la sala Japan y Gris-gris en el pub Enigma. Y el domingo es el turno para los ritmos mods-garageros de Graham Day & The Galors en el Four Seasons. La librería Argot de Castellón, por su parte, abre sus puertas a los conciertos acústicos de rock de la mano de Arkanoid.

Pero también hay espacio para el teatro y espectáculos de primer nivel este fin de semana: una obra inspirada en Broadway (’Mi primera vez’ en el Auditori de Vila-real) o el estreno de una ambiciosa ópera local (’Fortuny Venisse’ en el Tetatre Principal de Castellón). Más abajo, toda la información bien detallada y masticada, pero antes, unas cuantas píldoras informativas:

Orbital actuarán por tercera vez en el Sónar

El festival Sónar de Barcelona, que se celebrará entre el 18 y el 20 de junio, ha anunciado esta semana su primera confirmación para su cartel de este año: Orbital. El grupo de los hremanos Hartnoll (los de las gafas-linterna), impulsores en los 90 de lo que se conoció como ‘música de baile inteligente’ junto a Chemical Brothers y Underworld, actuará por tercera vez en el festival por excelencia de música electrónica y de vanguardia.

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band confirman fechas en España

La banda norteamericana estará este verano de gira por el país presentando su nuevo disco, ‘Working on a Dream’, como el año pasado, en grandes estadios. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band actuarán en julio en los estadios de San Mamés de Bilbao (26), en Les Foietes de Benidorm (28) y en La Cartuja de Sevilla (30); y en agosto en el José Zorrilla de Valladolid (1) y el Auditorio Monte Do Gozo de Santiago de Compostela (2). Anoche La 2 programó un interesante documental sobre la grabación del disco.

Lagartija Nick saca disco nuevo en marzo, el décimo

Leo en la revista Efeeme que el grupo granadino sacará en marzo su nuevo disco, el décimo de su trayectoria, que se titulará ‘Las marcas de mi larga duración’. Coincidiendo con el lanzamiento, se editará un comic de la revista Cretino basado en las letras del grupo con ilustraciones firmadas por varios dibujantes (imagen de abajo). En su web oficial, Lagartija Nick ha colgado un adelanto de “Cuerpo y mente”, que sigue la línea del anterior álbum, ‘Shock de Leia’.

Vuelve Javier Corcobado

Y también en la misma revista leo que el poeta y cantante Javier Corcobado regresa con un nuevo disco, ‘A nadie’, que se pondrá a la venta el próximo 16 de febrero. El trabajo, que incluye un DVD documental, arranca con la canción que le da título y en la que Dios habla/canta en primera persona contemplando la Tierra destruida por el hombre. En su web explican que el espectáculo de la gira de presentación será muy especial. A ver si se pasa por Castellón.

PROPUESTAS PARA EL FIN DE SEMANA

VIERNES 30

20.30. Espai d’Art Contemporani de Castelló. EspaiSonor. Concierto de los grupos de música acústica experimental Xela (Reino Unido) y Svarte Greiner (Noruega), ambos de la discográfica independiente inglesa Type Recordings. Música para bandas sonoras imaginarias; por momentos tenebrosa, oscura e inquietante; por momentos evocadora de paisajes imposibles. Para escuchar con los oídos abiertos. Entrada libre.

22.30. Teatre Municipal de Benicàssim. Proyección de la película ‘La comedia de la vida’ (Suecia-Alemania-Francia, 2008), tragicomedia coral dirigida por el sueco Roy Andersson basada en las grandezas y miserias del ser humano, con sus anhelos y surrealistas contradicciones. Nominada por Suecia al Oscar a la mejor película extranjera. Volverá a proyectarse el sábado a las 22.30 y el domingo a las 19.30 y 22.30. Entrada: 3 euros.

22.30. Teatre Mònaco de Onda. La compañía Factoría los Sánchez representa ‘El Candidato’, un espectáculo corrosivo sobre la clase política conebida como un producto mediático. Entrada libre.

23.00. Salón de actos de la Caixa Rural de Vila-real. Concierto de Mikel Erentxun para poner punto y final a los actos conmemorativos del 90 aniversario de la Caixa Rural. Una de las mitades del dúo Duncan Dhu ofrecerá una actuación en la línea de su noveno disco en solitario, ‘Tres noches en el Victoria Eugenia’, especie de epílogo de esta segunda fase de su carrera musical, que vivirá en Vila-real uno de sus últimos capítulos antes de comenzar nuevos proyectos. El músico donostiarra está apareciendo mucho últimamente en televisión, enrolado en el programa ‘La batalla de los coros’ de Cuatro. En el Casino de la Fundación Caixa Rural de Vila-real (también en la plaza Mayor de la localidad) se proyectará el concierto en una pantalla gigante ante la previsión de que se complete el aforo. Entrada libre.

23.00. Pub Enigma de Vila-real. El grupo local de rock Gris-gris presenta su segunda maqueta autoproducida, ‘EP Des’08′ (la que se oye en el MySpace). La banda vila-realense, con músicos muy activos en la escena comarcal como el cantante -Joanmojo-, fue premiada con el ‘Millor Tema en Valencià’ en el concurso Castellón en Vivo 2008. Entrada libre.

23.00. Sala Japan de Vila-real. Concierto del grupo granadino de reggae sesentero Los Granadians, taloneados por la banda de ska-reggae castellonense Contratempo. Organizado por Jamaican Memories. Entrada: 12 euros.

23.30. Raspabar de Castellón. Sesión de DJ Guille Milkyway, cerebro de La Casa Azul. El autor de himnos como ‘La revolución sexual’ o ‘Amo a Laura’ pinchará canciones de sus artistas favoritos (tan variados como The Archies, The Beach Boys, Queen, Aqua o Augusto Algueró) para poner una banda sonora de lujo en la noche del pub castellonense. Si hace una sesión comentada como en el vídeo de arriba, donde habla del último discazo de Brian Wilson, puede estar realmente bien, aunque no sé si es la hora adecuada. En Facebook se ha revolucionado todo el personal con la cita. Seguro que hay llenazo.

SÁBADO 31

17.00. Librería Argot. Concierto acústico de Arkanoid. Entrada libre.

20.00. Auditori de Castellón. Abono de Invierno. Sala Sinfónica. Concierto de los Niños Cantores de Viena, con un programa en el que incluirán obras de Orff, Lotti, Caldara, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Schubert y Johann Strauss. Uno de los coros con el estándar vocal más exigente del mundo, con 95 miembros de entre 10 y 14 años, acostumbrado a viajar por todo el mundo desde 1924. Entradas: 25-45 euros.

20.00. Auditori de Vila-real. El Reló y Trasgo Producciones traen a Vila-real uno de los últimos éxitos de Broadway importado a España: ‘Mi primera vez’, un espectáculo en el que cuatro actores cuentan las primera experiencias sexuales narradas por personas reales a través de la web. Dirigida por Gabriel Olivares, el reparto está formado por Javier Martín, Miren Ibarguren, Bart Santana y Mar Abascal. Segunda sesión a las 23.00 horas. Entrada sin abono: 15 euros.

20.00. Pub D’Leyend. Concierto del grupo valenciano de hard rock The Stone Circus.  

22.30. Teatre Principal de Castellón. IX Ciclo de Ópera en Castellón. Estreno de la ópera contemporánea ‘Fortuny Venisse’ (arriba, imagen de un ensayo), con música de Diego Dall’Osto, libreto del escritor y profesor de la Universitat Jaume I Lluís Messeguer y dirección escénica de Rafael Durán. Basada en una familia de artistas e intelectuales del siglo XIX (especialmente el polifacético Mariano Fortuny Madrazo), a caballo entre España e Italia, la ópera recorre momentos clave de la historia y de la vida cultural europea, entre la esfera pública y privada. La ópera volverá a representarse el domingo 1 de febrero a las 19.00. Entradas: 8-21 euros.

22.30. Espai d’Art Contemporani de Castelló. Ciclo David Lean de La Filmoteca. Proyección de la película ‘Great Expectations’ -’Cadenas rotas’- (Gran Bretaña, 1964). Basada en la novela de Charles Dickens ‘Grandes esperanzas’, el filme narra la historia del hijo de un humilde herrero que es enviado a educarse a Londres gracias al dinero de un benefectar cuya identidad desconoce. Balnco y negro. 118 minutos. Versión original subtitulada en castellano. La película volverá a proyectarse el domingo 1 de febrero a las 18.00. Entrada libre hasta límite de aforo.

23.00. Sala Japan de Vila-real. Concierto del grupo castellonense de rock Raw, que anuncian diversas sorpresas. Entrada

23.30. Pub Terra de Castellón. Concierto del verano grupo de folk de Els Ports Adesiara. Entrada libre.

DOMINGO 1 DE FEBRERO

19.30. Sala Four Seasons de Castellón (vídeo de arriba). Concierto del grupo británico de soul garagero Graham Day & The Gaolers, que presentarán su segundo disco, ‘Triple Distilled’ (Damage Goods, 2008). Graham Day es ya un clásico del revival mod inglés de las tres últimas décadas, ya que fue el cantante y guitarrista de The Prisoners, cuyo sonido Hammond influyó en grupos como The Charlatans o el coetáneo Paul Weller. Tras la disolución de la banda y su paso por otras formaciones (Solar Flares o  Buff Medways), Graham Day se asoció finalmente con los músicos norteamericanos Dan Electro y  Buzz (miembros de The Woggles). El resultado: The Gaolers, una formación que logra un sonido compacto mirando siempre al pasado, desde el fuzz hasta la psicodelia. El músico británico llega ahora a Castellón para repasar los temas de su celebrado ‘Soundtrack to the daily grind’ y presentar su nuevo trabajo. Entradas: 10 euros anticipada; 12 en taquilla.

Belgian Cat and Director Gris Gris’ new film, “Een Buitengewone Werk van Schoonheid,” has Opened in America to the Tune of about $36,000, but angry Protests may have either Disrupted Business for the Movie – or they may have Added to its Appeal (Analysts are Loathe to Guess which).

The Film, which has spawned a Boycott Effort which among other things incorrectly claims that the Title can be Translated to mean “America is Devil-Spawn,” opened over the New Years Holiday Weekend in four Theaters in New York and Los Angeles in order that it might Qualify for Possible Oscar Contention. It is not likely to Qualify in the Foreign Film Category of the Oscars, as Belgian Representatives are considered unlikely to Submit it as the Nation’s Entry for an Award.

In addition to the Boycott’s ire at what they perceive to be Gris Gris’ anti-American Views, they are also concerned about what they have dubbed the “Veg Agenda” – referring to the Fact that Gris Gris is a Vegetarian. Helping their Efforts to Block Citizens from Viewing the Film, Critics have mostly Panned it. Still, it has managed to gain a Reputation as Something to See as a Curio at the very Least; and distributor Magnolia Pictures seems to be Clinging to the Notion that Gris Gris Himself should be Considered for a Writing or Directing Oscar: the Company has taken out Advertisements in Variety Magazine making just such a Recommendation to Academy Voters.

—The Minister of Culture—

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Dead cats and chicken blood? Poppets stuck with pins? Hexes, baby killing, and all that other sick stuff people imaginatively associate with Satanic orgies? It’s all in a day’s work in New Orleans.

Anyone who has visited the Crescent City recalls dozens of tourist shops selling voodoo dolls straight from China, and all manner of strange roots and herbs and bizarre candles and salts and sprays. You may have picked up some lotion or potion or gris-gris bag as a souvenir, or you may have found the weird ritual objects eerie and frightening. Either way, most of us dismiss voodoo and have no idea that it’s a complex and fascinating religion. We’re still afraid of black people.

And we’re SUPPOSED to be afraid of voodoo. Not because it’s devil worship, but because it’s the only defense the African slaves had when they were herded like cattle onto ships and unloaded in the Caribbean and American South. Vodoun, or Dahomey, is a powerful religion practiced to this day in West Africa and beyond, and more macabre strains of the ancient faith steeped into the new world, in forms called Santeria, Voodoo, or Obeah. Here, practitioners used curses and hexes as scare tactics to protect what little they could of their heritage, to express anger at their slavery, to protest rape and child abduction and slavery. Like any religion, voodoo could be mean and vindictive and retaliatory. Old Testament-style animal sacrifices feel repugnant to some of us, and the ’superstitious’ ceremonies from Africa feel bizarre. Indeed, some of the more unusual traditional beliefs are damaging- we may have read in the newspaper how harmful primitive beliefs are: a virgin should cure AIDS, or an outsider has cast a malicious spell and caused diseases or hunger. Is this how ancient cultures make peace with modern problems? Is this so much different from early Euramericans thinking women should be drowned to protect farms from blight?

For the most part, the faith in the new world was also peaceful. Though there is one God in vodoun, there are many loa, or ancestral spirits, usually regional. These spirits provide intercession with God, and the frenzied dances and rites that terrify the unimaginative, lily-livered puritans provided hope of the homeland in times of extreme despair. The drum, long reviled by the God squad, represented the heartbeat, the pulse of life.

The curses and hexes and zombie making and any Satanic-sounding tidbits were manufactured to keep the master out of the slave girls’ beds. It’s interesting to note that the ubiquitous voodoo doll is not of voodoo origin at all; despite its popularity in souvenir sales, the poppet’s place was in white European witchcraft. And though the sale of spells and fortunes has given vodoun’s legitimacy a bad name, making it into parlour entertainment at best and greedy deception at worst, it was only because slaves and their descendants had no means to earn money that began to sell mojos to white people.

Built up of thousands of unusual rituals and ceremonies, making colourful use of trinkets and candles and ‘patron saints’ of a geographic region or a theme in life, vodoun was surprisingly similar to Catholicism. The old ways merged seamlessly with the new prayers and saints. It’s difficult for contemporary theologians, so removed from religions that preceded ours, to reconcile the pagan roots of Christianity. Those roots are black and white, and evident in every Christian custom and ritual, especially the holidays.

Because slaves who practiced their born religions faced death or torture, they often professed complete conversion to Catholicism and simply practiced their rituals privately at appropriate intervals, or cloaked with the Church’s rites. Many were legitimately Christian, seeing no discrepancy between their traditional customs and the new ones. They viewed the faith of their African ancestry as a doorway to the Christian mysteries. They loved Biblical stories and parables, complementing their vast oral histoire of myths, legends, and parables.

New Orleans’s most famous and powerful voodoo priestess, Marie LaVeau was a devout Christian. She was lauded in obituaries as a saint for her lifelong and tireless devotion to the sick and the poor. The known facts about her life are difficult to extricate from the legends and lore of her devotees and enemies. Thousands visit her gravesite today and leave small trinkets in exchange for spiritual favours or good luck. Many saw Marie continue her ritual work long after her death, but this uncanny occurrence was easy to explain: Marie passed her gifts to her daughter Marie, who markedly resembled her mother.

Marie 1 was born in 1801- this date was up in the air, and many accounts say 1784- but Ina Fandrich, a religious history scholar at the Louisiana State University finally found Marie’s missing birth record in 2001. Her birth was not unusual for the time- she was the bastard child of a plantation owner, Charles LaVeau who knocked up his Haitian-descent slave girl. Marie was an unusually beautiful girl with Haitian and native blood from her mother and white from her father, and though little is known about her childhood, she was a free woman of colour, or ‘half-breed.’ Plucky and resourceful, she learned to cut and style hair and began working for herself as a teenager. She was a good listener in addition to a good hairdresser, and a sensible businesswoman. She allegedly wore her own hair beautifully, a constant advertisement of her services.

It is not known from whom she learned the art of voodoo, but it must have been her mom or other relatives, as Haitians at the time (and now) were faithful to their traditional rituals. Smart and insightful and compassionate, Marie was sympathetic to the stories of her hair clients, and as more and more began asking her advice on love, fidelity, money, and other affairs, she saw an opportunity to exchange her gifts instead of giving them away for free. She began selling custom-made spells and charms and advice to her white clients, though she always worked her mojo free of charge for blacks and the poor. Sometimes all that was asked of her was prayer, and from an early age, she devoted much time to visiting prisoners, just like Christ commanded in the book of Matthew. She would provide prayer, solace, advice and companionship free of charge, and she did this into old age.

Though skeptics discredit her intuition, saying she used spies and her own conversational genius to dig information up about each client, only to later astonish them with her clairvoyance, this type of thinking shows a complete lack of understanding of real magic. For the heart of magic is empathy, despite the fact that shoddy psychics and performers have convoluted its essence. Spiritual healing is about more than guessing how many kids or lovers a person will have. It’s about helping people gain confidence and trust in themselves, find spiritual comfort, and seek the truth they need about a situation. To most practitioners of symbolic arts, it’s more about harnessing the power of the spirit to overcome obstacles, to ritualize your needs, and find comfort. If Marie was a good listener and used this skill wisely in her spell work or fortunes, this only attests to her intelligence, not to her fraudulence. She did not claim to be what she was not- she merely sold what was asked of her to those who could afford it, and gave it lovingly to those who could not.

Of course, Marie is infamous, as voodoo is in general, for lascivious sex dances in the city and surrounding bayous. Though ‘negro gatherings’ were illegal, she charmed the police by letting their wives attend. Though so-called orgiastic rites were blamed on the heathen souls of Africa, many voodooists saw nudity or sexuality as sacred gifts. In contrast, the South’s mixing of blood to form the mulatto, quadroon, and octoroon caste systems of old New Orleans happened largely because of rape. A slave, after all, is a man’s property, but the babies that resulted from his lust were not his concern.

Many sympathetic and supportive whites joined in the voodoo rituals: perhaps as many as thirty percent of practitioners in that day were white. Many women were in disagreement with their husbands’ use of black women as chattel, unfaithful to their wives, yet denigrating the black women who they sought out for lust. Forming an alliance through voodoo bonded the women in strange faith.

Whatever unusual cavortings really took place under the moon is impossible to know. Regardless of the festive gatherings, Marie’s one-on-one work was booming, and she was seldom wrong about the outcomes of court proceedings, dalliances, parental heritages, and other standard questions of a priestess. Skeptics say she could hoodoo any court case not by the herbs she mixed in a jar, but by the information she knew about a judge and could bribe him with. Again, a real priestess knows the herbs are symbolic and it is the mind, not the mumbo jumbo that works the spirit. Powerful potions are inert unless blessed and believed, because all ‘primitive’ magic is sympathetic magic. This is not just true in voodoo, but even in plain old wholesome Baptist faith. Is taking a shower the same as the ritual of baptism? No, yet they are the same act. Intent always changes an action into a rite.

Marie continued her successful hair salon, spell sales, and ministry to prisoners and the poor. She encouraged all of her clients to attend mass and take ownership for their misdeeds. There are rumours that she also entertained white men at orgies and that she killed babies, but holy women are often accused of such things, especially if they are sexually active. It is possible she was a midwife or directed midwife abortion services to black girls who had been raped into pregnancy by rich white men, like her mother. There is little evidence to show this rumour to be true. Yet, this role was an unfortunate necessity for some skilled voodooiennes at a particularly tragic time in history.

Some of Marie’s shadier reputation was linked to voodoo Doctor John, who told others he gladly sold whatever he could to the gullible, and acknowledged his work as ‘humbuggery.’ I would argue there are many faithless today who puppet their religion, and many who make a living deceiving others in some way, and still more who make a living selling useless crap. Who could judge a man with no earning options for work as a snake oil salesman? Perhaps the roots of advertising today are in voodoo?

Marie did marry early on, a fellow named Paris, before she was twenty, but just as quickly she was either abandoned or widowed. She went on to a long-term common-law relationship with another, Christophe Glapion, with whom she reportedly had fifteen children. Other reports say six. She definitely had a daughter named Marie the second, who carried on her work with gris-gris, juju, candles and charms. Whether this Marie was gifted also, or just able to carry on in the name of her legendary mother is not certain.

Marie was a brilliant businesswoman, and some of the rumours about white men and orgies may be explained by other rumours- that she ran a brothel, selling mixed girls to rich men of any colour. (In the strange society of the day, a woman whose features were full yet ‘passed’ as white fetched incredibly high prices as a wife or whore, and was considered the most beautiful. To have just ‘a drop’ of black blood was the height of exoticism. From mulatto on down to octoroon- one-eighth black- these exotic mixes were desirable. Anne Rice popularized this history in her book The Feast of All Saints.) She may well have run a brothel. Brothels were not rare in New Orleans, and they have not been rare anywhere in the world, at any time in history. While a brother may be depraved, there was often a kind of safety and solidarity instead- rather than the man taking what he wanted for free, and leaving the girl sick, sad, broken, injured, raped, or pregnant, a brothel could ensure that willing women, or women with few choices, could have a better experience of man’s lust, by being paid and cared for and protected, with access to medical care. Whether Marie was in charge of such an establishment cannot be known for sure, but in many ways, Marie stood for all women of this complicated era- sister, soother, mother, saint, priestess, whore.

Of course I do not underestimate the dark side, but it is not a satin ribbon on a chicken foot, or a picture of the devil that can scare me: it is the darkness in the human heart. Voodoo was a form of faith that was twisted by captivity, torture and rape into something darker than its origin. Our perceptions are completely skewed by racism, and evasive of the hideous crimes in our own faith’s heritage. The accusations of baby killing, devil-fucking, and orgiastic rituals of which voodoo is accused or interpreted are reminiscent of another witch-hunt back in Europe, where women were tortured with iron claws, their breasts torn and their bodies raped by steel because terrified white men accused them of ‘cavorting with the devil’ or of “monstrous desires.” If a wise woman mixed up a few herbs into tea to ease a neighbour’s childbearing pains, she was burned at the stake for succubus humping.

I will not put into softer terms the kind of degradation and ridiculous sex obsession of these men in power. If my words sound sick, it is because they reflect the sickness of their philosophers, and I will not cover up those crimes. The same spiritual terror they had of women’s sexuality in the middle ages also fuels the racism from which we inherited our perceptions of voodoo, and of Marie, and of black people, and their customs at the time. It’s difficult to remove that sick lens and see the narrative clearly. Even the educated among us will quickly mock as strange a scene from a New Guinea initiation ceremony or some unusual body tattooing in Africa. And yet the absolute creativity of rape and torture and devil-obsession or superstition that is a legacy of the European heritages is somehow irrelevant.

Indeed, the accounts we have left of the voodooienne are ironically convoluted by superstitious bias- and racist and sexist bias, making the sparse facts difficult to interpret clearly. And most of them are written a century later, including Robert Tallant’s 1956 novel, the Voodoo Queen. It’s quite a riveting read, but starts out on that left foot: “Marie LaVeau was the last great American witch.” By the second paragraph, whispers of her consort with Satan in the form of snakes and goats already make their appearance.

Jewell Parker Rhodes, a professor of American literature, has devoted most of her writing career to Marie LaVeau. Voodoo Dreams and the sequels that follow the 1993 novel are works of fiction, but Rhodes scholarship and historical and racial sensitivity provide both a fascinating and a sensitive treatment. Remarkably, the works aren’t too sentimental as my work here might be- Rhodes acknowledges that Marie was only human after all, driven to both good and bad as we all can be.

Marie died in her cottage on St. Ann Street in 1881, at the age of 80, though her death certificate stated 98 years! She was beloved and not reviled by the Church, who gave her last Catholic rites without hesitation.

The Daily Picayune reportedly lavished her with affection in the obituary: All in all Marie LaVeau was a wonderful woman. Doing good for the sake of doing good alone, she obtained no reward, oft times meeting with prejudice and loathing. She was nevertheless contented and did not lag I her work. She always had the cause of the people at heart and was with them in everything.”

Lorette C. Luzajic is the girl at www.thegirlcanwrite.net. Writer, artist, editor- her various art creations are everywhere. You may also enjoy her feature food stories and spice column at Gremolata.com. Visit her site for biography, client testimonials, links, or to hire her for your next writing project. Please order her amazing poetry collection, The Astronaut’s Wife.

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Belgian Film Director Gris Gris, whose forthcoming Film “Een Buitengewone Werk van Schoonheid” hits American Theaters this Winter, has given the “Thumbs-Up” to the International Hit ‘JCVD‘ starring Action Star and Brussels Native Jean-Claude Van Damme.

The Film, shot in Brussels and Directed by Mabrouk El Mechri features Van Damme portraying Himself – an Action Hero struggling with a Divorce and a Messy Custody Battle, and willing to accept Any Terrible Film Role in order to Pay his Attorney’s Bills. Amidst it All, Van Damme becomes caught up in a Real Life Action Film Scenario as he stumbles upon a Bank Robbery and is Suspected by the Police to be the Robber.

Gris Gris said he Loved the Post-Moderne Nature of the Film, and felt Particularly Pleased that “mijn vaderland Brussel zal worden gezien door een internationaal publiek.”

Earlier this Year, Gris Gris expressed Disdain over the Negative Portrayal of the Belgian City of Brugge in the British-Produced Film, “In Bruges.”

–The Minister of Culture.

La Terre des Sept Couleurs : une merveille géologique qui étonne plus d'un

Bien loin des traditionnelles illustrations de cocotiers et de plages de sable fin se trouve le sud de Maurice. En effet, cette partie de l’île offre un panorama atypique marqué par une végétation luxuriante riche en arbres et plantes indigènes et de nombreuses montagnes, collines et vallées abritant des chutes d’eau.

Le littoral, bordé ci et là de criques, baies et falaises, s’ouvre généralement sur une mer houleuse jugée dangereuse pour la baignade. Le sud de l’île compte divers lieux répertoriés comme sites touristiques mais promet, toutefois, un paysage invariablement surprenant grâce à sa beauté naturelle et sauvage.

En route vers le sud…

!!!

So maybe the last album I posted was a bit too intense to start with so I am sorry for hurting your heads. This one is much better; Dr. John’s debut album from 1968, Gris-Gris is a weird collection of voodoo, blues, psychedelia and creole. Unfortunately, his career went downhill from there into pretty ordinary blues in the 1980’s, but his early few albums were fantastic. I like that word, so I shall use it again: fantastic. 

I found this album with a friend in some horrible record store down the dirty end of Pitt Street, Sydney. It was a complete accident we bought it, we didn’t even listen to it before we did, but I do own some other Dr. John CD’s from the early 1970’s. This beats them all. If you’re going to listen to ONE thing I post then never come back because you hate me as I am a bastard and a horrible person who deserves to be taken into the yard and shot repeatedly in the back, then this is the one. Some of it is slightly frightening, but not in a Holy Modal Rounders kind of way

P.S. Listen to the album whilst medicated. YES.

1. Gris-Gris Gumbo Ya Ya
2. Danse Kalinda Ba Doom
3. Mama Roux
4. Danse Fambeaux
5. Croker Courtbullion
6. Jump Sturdy
7. I Walk On Guilded Splinters 

Listen: Danse Kalinda Ba Doom
Listen: I Walk On Guilded Splinters

Buy: Opens in iTunes

Third week at work and my blog is suffering greatly. To put a finer point on it, my social life is suffering thus nothing exciting to write about. In the last couple of weeks I went to see King Khan and Friends at Urban Outfitters of all places. Someone told me about these free passes you could print out online to get into the show, so I did and I went.

The show consisted of  King Khan, a tabla player, and members of Gris Gris and Howlin Rain. Their set consisted of half King Khan songs and half Gris Gris songs. Personally, (I fucking hate it when people say personally, like who else’s perspective would you be citing besides your own) I enjoyed King Khan’s mocking of the whole cool yet super square corporate retail show by holding up cut-outs of dicks from gay porno mags and generally talking shit. Overall, the show was a solid 5.5 with the Gris Gris songs coming out in the lead. I

• ANYWAY, if you’re cool you’ll go see Greg Ashley of Gris Gris play along with LOVER! at Ghost Town in Oakland this Monday, October 20th.
• LOVER! is also playing an early show at The Eagle in SF with No Bunny on Oct. 22 at 8pm
• AND a later show at  10pm@Hemlock with Buzzer, The Safes and The Fault Lines.
• HIGHLIGHTS of last week included going out with a bunch of chicks to get drunk/bond/talk smack, we bounced around to several bars until 2am. Everyone called it a night(duh) and I walked the two blocks down to my apartment where, low and behold, one of my friends was going to this chick’s apt. in my bldg.
• “sure, i’ll hang out for a bit, drink a couple more beers, in bed by 2:30.” Umm, no I have no fucking self discipline. I ended upstumbling to my door at 4:30am, washing my face and changing and then taking my dog out to do his bizness.
• 1 double latte and  a large coffee later I arrived one hour late to my job. Good thing it’s not a by-the-book, professional place, otherwise I might have been worried. It was also to my advantage that their was a fire on the Richmond BART line and the trains were delayed. I used that as my excuse.

Sorry, this bullet point stuff is kinda bullshit. I still need help figuring out how to put songs in Quicktime on my blog so they can stream and be saved without going to another page. If you know how to do this PLEASE TELL ME. I have lots of shit to post and I’m sick of having to use box.net.

American Actress Hayden Panettiere has appeared in a Satirical New Public Service Announcement which was directed by Belgian Cat and Film Director Gris Gris.

In the Spot, Panettiere, known for her Role in the Television Show “Heroes” as well as for her Activism relating to Progressive Causes, jokingly Suggests that Viewers vote for Republican Presidential Candidate John McCain, in particular because he is generally considered Elderly. She also Predicts that McCain’s Policies would not Stray from the current Policies of President George W. Bush, who is suffering from Record Levels of Unpopularity in the Country. No Mention is made of McCain’s Democratic rival Barack Obama, nor any other Presidential Candidates.

Gris Gris, whose latest Film has come under Fire with a Threatened Boycott by Right-Wing Activists in America, is known to be a Close Acquaintance of Jet-Set Socialite Murray Malone – who has been Romantically Linked with Panettiere in recent Months.

**The Minister of Culture**

The upcoming Release of the new film by Belgian Cat and Film Director Gris Gris has come under Fire from an American Group called “No More Gris Gris” which is attempting to Block its Release.

The Film, entitled “Een Buitengewone Werk van Schoonheid,” is set for a December Release by Magnolia Pictures, which Acquired the Rights to the Film after a controversial Bidding War following the Sundance Film Festival earlier this Year.

No More Gris Gris claims that the Film is Anti-American and Disgusting, among other Criticisms, and they are calling on a Boycott of any American Theatre which elects to Exhibit the Movie. They are also planning a Campaign to involve American Politicians in the Matter, although such Efforts at Film Censorship have been largely Avoided by the US Government in recent Decades.

-*-The Minister of Culture-*-

Erik poskytol tieto návody (gramatika je jeho vlastná ):

Takže môžeš si spravt kadidlo z :levandule,rúžových plátkov,kadidlovníku a bazalky. To spáliš na drevenom uhlíku pri rituály a budeš pri tom vyzulizovať,,,,,povedzme tak,že si predstavýš seba a dotičnú osobu ktorú bude spájať taká žiara…v podstate tá energia.Zožeň si červené sviečky najlepšie 5 ale postačia aj 2.Takže,sadni s i niekde a začni s meditáciou.Zapál sviečky (ak ich zoženieš 5 tak ich zostav to päťcípej hviezdy zo špičkov hore a sadni si medzi ne.ak použiješ iba dve daj ich predseba medzi ne postav kadidlo a začni vizualizovať).Takže toto by malo pomôcť ale ako hovorím treba sa k tomu pričiniť aj sám.a Ešte jedno odporúčanie.Skus si pri tom otvoriť okno pretože sami pár krát pri kadidle podarilo spáliť ho tolko,že som mal v izbe normálne hmlu. A podarilo sa mi to vyvetrať asi po 5 hodinách ))))

Understated and always chic all black fashion mix and match outfit

< complete style credits after the jump >

This outfit started with the skirt from Mina, part of the Noir collection from LeeZu Baxter. A corset, gloves and a touch of deep burgundy in the boots and I’m ready to hit a few clubs and dance to the beat of DJ Kromus Korobase.

BODY

Skin: Belleza ~ Brooke Medium 15

Hair: Cake ~ Berlin in Black

Eyes: MADesigns ~ Promise Eyes in Green Intense 1

OUTFIT

Dress: LBD [LeeZu Baxter Designs] ~ Part of outfit Noir Mina

Corset: gris-gris ~ Compromise Corset in Black

Gloves: M*A*ii*K*I ~ Part of outfit Striped Strapless in Black/Bronze

Hose: Battered Boudoir ~ Delicate Pantyhose in Chocolate

Shoes: AW Design ~ Schoo Burgundy

Ring: Shiny Things ~ Florina Ring in Silver

Style/Model/Photography: Thalia Jie

Good moment to you all….

So, I spoke with my friend Sarry today, who spent the last two days making preparations and is now ready to get down with Hurricane Gustav.  She just moved into a brick house in Lafayette with a double roof, and she and about ten other peeps filled up their bathtubs, bought drinking water batteries and booze, and are settling into a hurricane party.  Thoughts are with you little mama.  Be safe.

Cats:  Still no sign of Sunset… but I am reconsidering my previous theory of someone stealing her, because we realized today that there’s a bunch of shit missing from one of the rooms in our house, and it happened to be the room the cats were set up in.  So maybe, as our house was being looted, someone saw her and nabbed her.  She is irresistibly cute.  Hey looters, I taped a half chewed up voodoo doll to the window y’all went in… a little touch a da gris gris.

Things I done: Scrubbed the fridge out and moved it out of my house and around to the front yard.  This required removing my front door.  I moved it out front because a couple different people called and wanted to come look at it, which they never did.  I hope it doesn’t rain tonight.  Packed like a muthafucka.  Stole a few boxes from behind Walmart, but I still need a couple more.  Put a bunch of stuff I didn’t want out on the curb with a “free, gratis” sign.  It always amazes me how fast things go.  Did m’dishes.  Loaded up m’car.  Wrote down the license plate number of some suspicious looking characters who were parked for a VERY long time in front of my house, and, now that I think of it, have been hanging around for a few days.  WHERE’S MY CAT 6T88528?

I had the feeling that my house was going to be robbed, so I decided to spend the night at my sister’s.  

That’s m’day.  Not too exciting, but I got a lot of work done.

Time to stretch and get myself to bed.  It’s the bottom bunk, a Bugs Bunny pillow, Precious Moments sheets and a Barney comforter for me tonight  Strawberry Shortcake looks down from above.

Peace peace.

Muffin Decorations: DP YumYum

Hair and Armwarmers: Gritty Kitty
Eyes: Dernier Cri
Skin: Curio
Mask: Bare Rose
Jewelry: Violet Voltaire
Jacket and Skirt: Gris Gris
Top: Momo
Socks: Amerie’s Naughty
Belt and Shoes: Kari

Belgian Cat and Film Director Gris Gris will be putting his Talents to the Stage next Month at the Hub City Theatre Festival in the American Towne of Acadiana, Louisiana. The Towne is located just West of New Orleans, site of the famous Hurricane Katrina three Years ago, and it was also greatly Affected by that Storm.

Gris-Gris Productions will be co-producing a Play with the Assistance of the Festival Leadership, entitled “The Exile of Joe Gagliano.” It is Written by Chere Coen and involves a Family Affected by Katrina and forced to Re-Locate to another Towne.

Gris Gris said in a Statement that the images from that Storm “hebben spookt me voor drie jaar” and that he has been seeking an opportunity to put his Creative Talents into this sort of Endeavour for some time. “Het is een lokale productie over de gevolgen van de orkaan op de plaatselijke bevolking,” he said. “Dit is het soort van artistieke exploratie dat interesseert me.”

The Hub City Theatre Festival shows July 10th through the 12th in Acadiana.

—The Minister of Culture—

Magnolia Pictures picked up the latest Film by Belgian Director Gris Gris, “Een Buitengewone Werk van Schoonheid,” for American Distribution. The Film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last Month to much Critical Panning, which was Followed by a Short-Lived Bidding War for Distribution Rights. Few Companies attempted to Buy the Film, and Bidding went Nowhere after Gris Gris and his Producers presented what were described as “Ridiculous Terms” to those Attempting to Make Bids. The Distributors then Universally Walked Away from Negotiations, and the Film was left for Dead.

A Magnolia spokesperson said that the Company was able to Negotiate the Deal after the Festival had Concluded, and that they intend to Release the Film in the U.S.A. late this Year in Hopes of giving Critics and Audiences a “Fresh Look at it” – and to make a Case for some Manner of Academy Awards Consideration.

Gris Gris said that he was “overwonnen met vreugde en geluk” to know that the Film would be Able to Find a Wider Audience. Two of Gris Gris’ Films have Previously been Released into Theatres in America.

-+-The Minister of Culture-+-

Tennis Superstar Justine Henin and Jet-Set Socialite Murray Malone were Spotted once Again by Eagle-Eyed Celebrity-Watchers, this time on the French Riviera. Reports have them Cuddling, but not necessarily Kissing, and some Photographs have Surfaced.

Rumours have also Surfaced that the two showed up at a Party thrown by Belgian Film Director Gris-Gris in Cannes after the Film Festival there – but those in Attendance were strictly Close Friends of the Director (As Murray is Known to Be), and they have all been Quite Mum about whom or what they may have Seen.

And so, These Blurry Photos are the Best Evidence we can Give you at the Moment. Justine’s Publicist has decried them as “Inconclusive” – but you be the judge!

–The Minister of Gossip–

Belgian Film Director Gris Gris has created a new Film entitled “Een Buitengewone Werk van Schoonheid” which is generating much Buzz at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. The Buzz, however, is somewhat difficult to Decipher.

Though the Film has not yet been Screened for Viewing by the Publick at Large, Critics have seen it and made the following Declarations about its Merits:

“Opaque.” –Dallas Morning News

“Completely unwatchable nonsense.” –Chicago Tribune

“Revolting and offensive.” –New York Daily News

“Vacuous, with nothing to look at or make sense of.” –European Voice

“I would not recommend this movie to anybody, period.” –Los Angeles Times

“Self-righteous rubbish, an insult to everyone in the theater wasting their valuable time on it, and an instant addition to my list of all-time worst films.” –The Guardian

“If the film cans filled with the only copy of this film had lit fire in front of me at the exact moment that I had a sudden desperate need to urinate, I would not have bothered wasting my water to put it out; rather, I would have wet my own trousers in order to ensure that the film had been successfully disposed of.” –Le Monde

“A surefire hot commodity on the indie film circuit.” –Variety

Nevertheless, the Film is in the running for the Palm d’Or, as the Festival Jury has stated that a Film “need not be good to be beautiful.”

-+-The Minister of Culture-+-

(This originally appeared in the Spring ‘07 issue of Skyscraper)

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