Francoise Hardy - Loving

gorgeousness - francoise hardy's "loving" album. released in 1968 - Michael Jackson wrote the album back cover (?)

Who'll be the next in line

Will you love me tomorrow

Lonesome Town

Francoise Hardy Online Discography

Iran Protest Photos

My halloween costume.

from yesterday.

Police @ Tehran University June 18th.

June 18th.

Metro Station

DA to Redlands Fuddy Duddies "Shrug"

Dear people of Redlands, you are a bunch of bumpkins. A couple of 14 yo girls go missing for 48 hours and you totally flip out. Redlands is the home turf of the Mexican Mafia for god sakes... Get a grip. Maybe the cops should try doing something about the most important criminal enterprise on the north american continent instead of hassling some kids who want to listen to techno music. Oh wait- why do you think the Mexican Mafia is so established there? Because the law enforcement is busy hassling kids at raves. Great jobs, Redlands!

REDLANDS - Local officials have taken a stand against raves being held at Pharaoh's Theme and Water Park, but shutting down the all-night electronic dance parties is easier said than done.

The defunct theme park has hosted raves on the property since late 2006, but the events did not start drawing public attention until two 14-year-old girls went missing after taking the drug ecstasy at the Feb. 14 rave. They were found two days later in a Beaumont Home Depot parking lot.

Redlands police Chief Jim Bueermann has been outspoken about the raves.

"I've said it before, I don't believe these events are consistent with the values of this community," he said last week.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office has not shut the raves at Pharaoh's down because the office's role is to prosecute and not necessarily to enforce, said district attorney spokeswoman Susan Mickey.

Deputy District Attorney Nelson Ing works in the District Attorney Office's Narcotics Division and Street Enforcement Team.

He said he works with the Redlands Police Department in prosecuting drug cases stemming from arrests at Pharaoh's.

Ing said there is an important distinction between people who operate a business and people who may use or distribute drugs within that business.

"Anybody has a legitimate right to run a business," Ing said. "It's not the owner who is doing the selling. We would not prosecute unless the owner is knowingly allowing this to happen." (SAN BERNARDINO SUN)

I'm Glad the DEA & ICE Promise to Play Nice Together

In an effort to plug a hole in U.S.-Mexico drug enforcement, the U.S. departments of Justice and Homeland Security announced an agreement Thursday that will give designated immigration agents expanded powers to pursue drug investigations.

A key goal is to end the long-standing turf battles between the Justice Department's Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement that many critics believe have hampered investigations (LA TIMES)

This is just common sense because it's the SAME PEOPLE IN MEXICO that operate Drug Trafficking Organizations and Alien Smuggling Organizations. It's all about moving cargo, know what I mean? The transportation business, as it were.

San Diego Raids Four "Smoke Shops"

Four smoke shops suspected of selling marijuana paraphernalia were raided in the city Thursday, the city attorney's office said.

San Diego police served search warrants at these shops:

420 Smoke Shop on Voltaire Street near Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in Ocean Beach.

Freak Factory on Mission Boulevard near Pismo Court in Mission Beach.

Smoke-n-Stuff on Mission Gorge Road, north of Interstate 8 in Grantville.

Up in Smoke on El Cajon Blvd near 72nd Street near Rolando and the College Area.

(SDUT)

The key to avoiding cops at your business in san diego is avoiding complaints. If the police get a complaint, you've got a problem, always. If there's no complaint, it's pretty easy to do whatever.

Buddyhead Also Mocks Black Lips

The singer of The Black Lips thinks that band Wavves are total pussies. RAD right?!? Let’s have a skinny white dude fight, Buddyhead will host the fight, we’ll get rockstar drink to sponsor it, Steve Aoki is gonna DJ in between punches and we’ll make shitloads off pay-per-view! Who’s in? Black Lips guy? Pussy who can’t handle MDMA from Wavves? Anyways, yeah sure we said last week we really like the dude from Wavves cuz he flipped out but our money is on the Black Lips dude. Check out what Black Lips guy had to say..." (Buddyhead)

Tape Review: No Paws (No Lions)

No Paws (No Lions)

Cassette Tape

Family Time Records 5B

Well first of all it's on a cassette tape. That's pretty cool. It's also labeled "23/45" which is adorable. The music is keyboard- sounds like drum machine in the background. Man I think in light of the community/area that they came from it's really pretty fucking incredible. Temecula/Murrieta is a culturally backward region anyway you cut it and I can just imagine how it is for these guys. It's like the Violent Femmes. So if the question is "Isn't this just random noise and feedback?" the answer is "No- it's songs." But you'll need a tape player. Might I recommend a boom box? I will follow up with the tape playing issue.

David from the Che if you're reading this I'll send you the tape, bro.

Sixth Day Iran Protest Photos: A Woman's Revolution

The veil strikes back.

Mousavi and his wife.

"Not my president!

Female protester.

fake?

A woman's revolution

Twittering?

This is from just after the election.

June 18th protest photos.

June 18th protest photos

Where is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

Speculation is intensifying about the whereabouts of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who claimed victory in the Iranian presidential election but has not been seen in public since Monday, when he was in Russia for a conference. (GUARDIAN UK)

The crisis over the Iranian election has developed with such dizzying speed it is hard to take in the implications. (BBC)

A silent sea of black-clad mourners made its way through the streets of Tehran this afternoon, commemorating the lives of those slain in six straight days of protests since the announcement of President Ahmedinajad’s election victory.

The scenes recalled the mass mourning protests of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when hundreds of thousands took to the streets to play their part in the overthrow of the American-backed Shah. (TIMES UK)

Day Six Iran Protest Photos "Down with the Basij"

Wiman gives flower to paramilitary

Iconic!

DEAD MAN TEHRAN

Murdered by the Iranian Gov't. 2.

hipster revolution.

This is supposed to be from today June 18th

June 18th protest march

victim 3.

From today, June 18th.

From Twitter to Flickr. (flickr)

FRIDAY night @ Soda Bar = Hawnay Troof

Sunday night is Religious Girls and Our Brother the Native @ Whistle Stop. I'm lovin Religious Girls. Next friday night it's Woven Bones (Austin, TX.) & Sunday Times @ Soda Bar. Fun, fun, fun. Shout out to Iranian Protesters!

Flyerzzzzzz

Let's start with Oakland CA and Religious Girls + Our Brother the Native Killer!

Chairlift Los Angeles CA vice party etc

Moviegoers San Diego CA Casbah:

Chairlift San Diego CA Casbah next monday:

Volts- cool venue alert- top of the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park: Say Whaaaaaaatttt?

Iran Protests: Videos

"Protests Tehran" (YOU TUBE)

June 14th marching footage


Silent Protest Footage

Iranian Soccer Players Wear Green Armbands During WC Qualy

(BBC)

Iran Protests: Photos

from today.


Yesterday: Riots.

June 15th: Protest March

Yesterday: protest march.

Police in Tehran

Iran Protests Day Five Summary

It's 10 PM in Iran right now so all this reportage is from today already.

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Tehran in a fifth day of protests as the government intensified its crackdown on opposition figures with the arrest of hundreds of leading critics.

Mainly dressed in black and wearing green wristbands and headbands to show their support for the defeated presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi, crowds gathered in Tir square and streets around it. Most of the protesters were silent and made victory signs, according to Reuters news agency.

Witnesses estimated that as many as half a million people joined the march, with one street leading to the square packed for several kilometres. A young woman held a picture of one of those killed during the recent violence.

(Guardian UK)

Iranian Protests and Twitter

"The predominant information is coming from Twitter" since movement of foreign reporters has been restricted, an Iranian-American activist in Washington told the Post. "They are relying on Iranians and others who are Twittering to get this information out to the mainstream media. A lot of people are coining what is happening in Iran as a Twitter revolution."

(UPI)

Go Iranian Protesters

June 17 Protest along Krimkhan Street in Tehran.

GO IRANIAN PROTESTERS!!! POWER TO THE PEOPLE.

(GOOGLE NEWS: IRAN PROTESTS)

JESUS JONES: RIGHT HERE (live Argentina tv)


Woo hoo social revolution!

Pictures from Banksy Exhibit @ Bristol Museum

(JUXTAPOZ)

Sunday Times, Northern Towns & Los Sweepers @ the Casbah

There is no reality but consciousness. In the beginning, right before the big bang, all matter was in unity and all living beings yearn to experience that oneness, that unity. We all want that: To be at one with the universe & to surrender our consciousness and live in blissful harmony for eternity.

The photo above is from the last Los Sweepers show I saw: at the "Auto Cinema" in Mexicali, Mexico on May 11th, 2007. Things I can remember from that night: crossing the border on foot, walking into Mexicali. Driving to the auto cinema. The air burning my throat. Temperature of 100 plus. Watching Slab City perform after midnight.

Last night, Los Sweepers sounded alot better then they did in Mexicali circa 2007. Credit the Casbah sound system for sure. I don't know, garage isn't really my thing, but people dig it for sure and my thought is that Los Sweepers should get together with Andrew Sess/Beaters and record. I bet Andrew could do a really good job recording them, and it would be interesting to hear the result.


I mean can we talk for a bit about white bands ripping off So Cal/Mexican border culture? Black Lips recording in Tijuana- rip off. Let me tell you something about Black Lips in Tijuana- those guys are clowns. Why don't you watch that video I linked to?

Tyvek naming it's interstitial tracks after El Centro and Mexicali- rip off. The band Calexico? They're not from Calexico, they're from Tucson. So let's give Los Sweepers a shot: they are an authentic Imperial Valley area Mexican American garage rock band. Also, they play covers which should be good for all the passive listeners out there.

Northern Towns: My second show w/ Northern Towns. This time I learned that the burly, charismatic front man is actually English, which makes his vocals a little more creditable I guess. I again noticed that Northern Towns has what I would call an above average local band draw. That is to say- they drew a noticeable amount of people who were there to see them specifically. Their performance was very muscular, aggressive punk that combined elements of mod/ska (basslines), late 70s punk rock (jam cover) and some songs that def. reminded me of Fugazi. Honestly, it's a well executed blend of unfashionable genres.

I think the thing with bands that work in non-hipster genres is when it works, it works, you know what I mean? You just have to kill it at the box office with your draw, and then what are people going to say? They aren't going to say anything. They want your audience to come to your show- that's a good thing and 95% of bands don't make it that far. Northern Towns has already made it that far. They should try to get some shows in the beach towns since I'm pretty sure all the Sublime and Slightly Stoopid fans would go nuts. I'm not entirely positive that they have the mix exactly right- seems like Sublime fans would want "more ska" but then what do I know? Nothing. To me Northern Towns occupies a similar space that Delta Spirit did (in a different genre/fan space, obv.) I'll be interested to see "what happens" with the recordings and how they are distributed.

The Last Blog on Earth had this to say about Sunday Times yesterday, "If you’re into Apes of Wrath and Soft Pack and desperately miss The Prayers, then Sunday Times are your new favorite local band. Clever post-punk that sounds like a cross between Dead Milkmen and The Jam." That is a quip! I literally can't say it better myself. I think Seth has perfectly encapsulated the appeal of Sunday Times. Also, Junior's new song was a real hit- no title. Clean that baby up and record it.

Another Cool Show Tonight w/ Cobalt Cranes & Mermaid

MEDICAL MARIJUANA “COLLECTIVES,” “DISPENSARIES” & THE LAW

Medical Marijuana Dispensary


MEDICAL MARIJUANA “COLLECTIVES,” “DISPENSARIES” & THE LAW
BY SCOTT PACTOR

Reprinted with Permission from the San Diego Criminal Defense Bar Association Newsletter, All Rights Reserved, Copyright JUNE 2009

Medical marijuana dispensaries and “store-fronts” are front page news in many California jurisdictions. Locally, the Board of Supervisors lost their long running attempt to nullify state law when the Supreme Court rejected their petition.1 In Los Angeles, a temporary moratorium has apparently led to a proliferation of “store front” dispensaries as a result of what can only be described as a bureaucratic oversight.2 Some local municipalities are moving to “ban” such store fronts.3 Other cities are licensing “collectives.”4 Of course, Attorney General Holder also indicated a shift in terms of federal law enforce-ment priorities.5


It can fairly be said that there have been a proliferation of legal issues relating to the possession, sale, and use of mari-juana and the trend is towards greater legality of formerly illegal activities, most notably the sale of marijuana via legal, quasi-legal and illegal collectives and dispensaries. There has also been a focus on so-called “store front” operations which resem¬ble regular retail stores in design and operation.

The California Attorney General has promulgated a docu-ment entitled, “Guidelines for the Security and Non-Diversion of Marijuana Grown for Medical Use” (August 2008, found at http://ag.ca.gov/cms_attachments/press/pdfs/ n1601_medicalmarijuanaguidelines.pdf).

Within these Guidelines, pages eight through eleven sum-marize legal issues related to “collectives and cooperatives.” Even with the title the reader can surmise the conflict between the law as it is written, which permits patients and designated care givers (or “card holders”) to “associate within the State of California in order collectively or cooperatively to cultivate mari¬juana for medical purposes” (sec. 11362.775), and the very term “store front” in the context of medical marijuana sales.
These guidelines specify the allowable business forms for a statutory cooperative and “collective.” They speak of general guidelines for “lawful operation” for an otherwise qualifying entity: non-profit operation, business licenses, sales tax and Seller’s Permits, membership application and verification, im¬portance of distributing only lawfully cultivated marijuana, dis¬tribution and sales to non-members are prohibited, permissible reimbursements and allocations, possession and cultivation guidelines, and security. These eight points are about as clear of a read as a consulting attorney is likely to get on how the law is likely to be applied.


Perhaps most helpful to a practicing criminal defense lawyer, these guidelines end with a sub-heading entitled “Indicia of Unlawful Operation.” These helpfully describe “what cops are looking for” to the extent that they are looking: excessive amounts of marijuana, excessive amounts of cash, failure to follow laws related to businesses, weapons, illicit drugs, pur-chases or sales to non members, and distribution outside Cali-fornia.

These guidelines lead logically to the observation that a “legal” marijuana collective would resemble something similar to the “CSA” or “Community Supported Agriculture” movement. In these groups, buyers contract with a specific farm to take a share of produce. That produce is delivered in a weekly or semi -monthly members. Payments are handled over the internet. There is no need for a “store front”; just a periodic “drop off.” This fully existing model for distribution of agricultural products answers near all the legal potholes raised by the “patch work” legal situation. The key relationship is maintaining a sufficient number of qualifying card holders to support a supplier who is only growing for a single cooperative, since, under the law, a lawfully constituted collective may aggregate its supply with one supplier.

On the other hand, any “store front” that resembles a retail sales business is going to be subject to immediate scrutiny and likely prosecution. It is important that anyone considering ren¬dering legal advice in this area understand the difference be¬tween a properly constituted collective and a presumptively illegal “store front” operation.

1 San Diego and San Bernardino counties lose effort to restrict medical marijuana law; May 18th, 2009 Los Angeles Times (found at http:// latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/san-diego-san-bernardino¬counties-lose-effort-to-restriction-medical-marijuana-law.html on June 3, 2009).
2 L.A.’s medical pot dispensary moratorium led to a boom instead; June 3, 2009 Los Angeles Times (found at http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la -me-medical-marijuana3-2009jun03,0,2392842.story).
3 Laguna Beach continues to mull marijuana dispensaries; May 28, 2009 Orange County Register (found at http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-draft-facility-2431233-staff-beach).
4 Pot dispensaries apply for licenses in Palm Springs; May 25, 2009 The Desert Sun (found at http://www.mydesert.com/article/20090525/ NEWS01/905250324/ Pot+dispensaries+apply+for+licenses+in+Palm+Springs).
5 Attorney General Signals Shift in Marijuana Policy March 18th, 2009 ABC News (found at http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=7114447).

Barrett Trap @ O'Connells Tomorrow Night

The Barrett Trap (myspace)

Sunday Times Headlines AML Tonight @ the Casbah

junior metro and tim pyles circa 2006.


If you have not had an opportunity to view Junior Metro's (ex-Fifty on Their Heels) new band "Sunday Times." might I suggest tonight is a perfect opportunity since it also means an early bed time (show's end before midnight usually) and a little Tim Pyles face time. It always baffles me that every local musician in San Diego doesn't go to every single anti-monday league since Tim Pyles is literally the only person involved with San Diego rock radio that a local musician is ever likely to meet. Also playing is Northern Towns and Los Sweepers. Next week is Chairlift, which is also going to be a fun show.

So Cow, Beaters, Christmas Island @ the Casbah 6/12/09

In the past I found the static, unchanging nature of the Casbah a source of frustration, but now I find inner peace there. Bands/Scenes/Trends/Fans will come and go, but the Casbah endures.

Saturday night's show at the Casbah had five bands: Christmas Island, So Cow, Beaters, Still Flyin and Love is All. I watched the first three.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND: There are really two strands within the lo-fi scene: There is K records style lo fi, which is built around quirky drumming and there is Suicide style lo fi, which is built around the absences of a drummer. Christmas Island is the first type.

SO COW: This band came from Ireland. They sang several songs in Korean. This was the last show on their US tour. So Cow is a three piece (drummer, bassist and singer/guitarist.) They ripped through their set but the crowd didn't care: classic Casbah.

BEATERS: Beaters is half ex-Sess, one quarter "member of Power Chords" and a keyboardist who I recognize but have never actually met. The sound is similar to the Sess but with Jeremy singing instead of Sam, and with moogy keyboards and distorted vocals. Let me tell you something: hipsters love it. As far as I could tell, they weren't even on the bill officially and they still packed the Atari Lounge. Def. a band that has already gone as far as they can go in the local scene and one that needs to record a record and start looking for an out of town indie to put it out.

Book Review: "indians" & Mother Right

Books Discussed Here:

Handbook of the Indians of California (Bulletin (Smithsonian Institution. Bureau of American Ethnology) by A.L Kroeber
Originally Published 1925
Smithonsian Press

The Upansihads by Eknath Eswaran
Originally Published in 1987
Nilgiri Press

Myth, Religion and Mother Right; Selected Writings of JJ Bachofen w/ a preface by George Boas and introduction by Joseph Campbell; translated by Ralph Manheim
Originally Published in 1967
Mythos: The Princeton/Bollingen Series in World Mythology


You know what's funny? That Columbus thought he had landed in India and named Native Americans "Indians" and the name stuck for the next four hundred years. That's pretty fucked up and a testament to how little the west gives a crap about the rest of the world, historically speaking.

I've been reading alot about the real India recently, but I wanted to take a break and read AL Kroeber's Handbook of the Indians of California. Kroeber is a cool guy: taught at UC Berkeley, one of the earliest reputable american anthropologists and he was the guy who took care of Ishi. The Handbook was written for the Smithsonian's Bulletin on Ethnology, and it reads like it. At more then 700 pages in length, this not a book to read cover to cover, but rather something you want to dip in and out of. Unfortunately, by the time I realized that it was already too late for me.

California actually had a more diverse indian population then anyplace else in the continental United States: the Northern part of the state was dominated by groups related to the tribes of the Northwest Coast. The southern part of the state featured groups derived from the Shoshonean ethnic group. Unlike most of the rest of U.S. there were very few indian "tribes," rather most natives lived in little villages that were grouped around rivers.

In many ways, the California tribes were out of time- while many modern folks view pre-contact America as a static place, there was continual movement in places like the american mid west- tribes would come, tribes would go, they would move from place to place. On the other hand, Kroeber repeatedly hypothesizes that many of the California tribes had remained essentially unchanged for hundreds of years.

Unfortunately for the knowledge base of humanity, Kroeber was too little, too late. The whole world lost an excellent opportunity to learn about how human culture operated in its most rudimentary form because the Spanish missionaries and American settlers were complete aholes. The native californians were probably as close to whatever original ur-culture we all came from then any on the globe, and we totally miffed it by pretty much exterminating them. Boo on us.

From the most primitive of cultures to one of the most sophisticated, the Upanishads are generally considered to be the crowning achievement of Hindu religion. The Upahishads are a collection of texts that focus on the nature of consciousness and find parallels with Buddhism (whose teachings they closely resemble) as well as the Confessions of Saint Augustine. They were written/collected during a period of time roughly contiguous with ancient greece (although chronology is not an indian strong suit) It's impossible for any reader not to be touched by the deeply, deeply profound teachings in the Upanishads. I'm no seeker, and I'm certainly not religious, but I found the complex wisdom that recurs throughout the Upanishads. The Upanishads are one of those books that you need to take more then one pass at, and I don't doubt that I will. I recommend this book to all: The Upanishads are truly one of the world's great books.

Few Americans have heard of JJ Bachofen (he's a german professor from Basel Switzerland circa the mid 19th century) but he is credited with inventing the theory of "Mother Right." Mother Right is the theory that prior to the patriarchal societies of ancient Greece and Rome, a matriarchal society existed where women ran shit. Much of his work wasn't even translated until the mid 20th century- long enough for his theories to be completely rejected and then re-discovered and embraced by a wide variety of social scientists and thinkers. Bachofen's mode of analysis can be described as "romantic" more then "academic" he kind of throws out his ideas and follows them up with long analysis of various pieces of artwork from the ancient world. It's an awkward style that doesn't cotton to my 21st century ears, but again, it's hard not to be impressed since recent archeological discoveries and europe have, to a certain extent, provided support for his theory of Mother Right. This isn't a book I would recommend to anyone at all, but I'm glad to read it- and it was interesting that in Kroeber's handbook of California indians several groups were described as having matriarchal aspects to their culture (female shamans, mostly.)

So check out the Upanishads if you get a second- the whole lot of them only last for a two hundred pages or so, but it will make for a life time of reading.