Archive for November 20th, 2008
No mo’ Ho Ho fo’ Sacramento
Sacramento, California’s annual Santa Clause parade will be canceled unless organizers can scavenge $15,000 to put on a smaller scale version of the event.
On the upside, at least there is no chance of any children being Scared of Santa.
A familiar festive sight in Downtown Sacramento won’t be happening unless someone can cough up some serious cash.
The annual Santa Parade has been canceled this year unless organizers can somehow manage to raise $15,000 to put on a scaled-down version of the event. Contributors to the event in recent years say they’re coming up dry when it comes to forking over cash needed for the event.
The parade was schedule to take place November 29th.
Tags: California | Culture | Christmas | Santa Claus | Santa Claus parade | Sacramento
Blast in Bangkok Kills Anti-Goverment Protester
At least one person has been killed after an explosion occurred in Bangkok during a pro-democracy protest organized near the city’s Government House.
NowPublic will be updating this story with more information.
An explosion in Bangkok has killed at least one anti-government protester and wounded more than 20, reports say.
The pre-dawn blast rocked an area where demonstrators had gathered in the city’s Government House compound.
Protesters from the ç (PAD) group have occupied the area since late August.
They are demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat’s government, saying it is too close to ousted former PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
Tags: Thailand | World | bangkok | PAD | explosion bangkok | protest bangkok | peoples alliance for democracy | democracy protest
GNR’s Chinese Democracy
Now this is where it gets good.
On the eve of the week of the impending release of a monumental album that’s been fifteen years in the making, brilliant cultural journalist and music scribe, Chuck Klosterman, offers a riveting review of Guns N’ Roses epic album Chinese Democracy.
As one commenter over at the AV Club acknowledges, it’s “like the smartest thing anyone has ever said about music, GNR or anyone else”.
Here’s a taste:
Reviewing Chinese Democracy is not like reviewing music. It’s more like reviewing a unicorn. Should I primarily be blown away that it exists at all? Am I supposed to compare it to conventional horses? To a rhinoceros? Does its pre-existing mythology impact its actual value, or must it be examined inside a cultural vacuum, as if this creature is no more (or less) special than the remainder of the animal kingdom? I’ve been thinking about this record for 15 years; during that span, I’ve thought about this record more than I’ve thought about China, and maybe as much as I’ve thought about the principles of democracy. This is a little like when that grizzly bear finally ate Timothy Treadwell: Intellectually, he always knew it was coming. He had to. His very existence was built around that conclusion. But you still can’t psychologically prepare for the bear who eats you alive, particularly if the bear wears cornrows.
Tags: Culture | Music | gnr | Guns N Roses | Chinese Democracy | Chuck Klosterman review Chinese Democracy | chinese democracy review | chinese democracy album | gnr album | chuck klosterman | klosterman reviews
Blip Festival Celebrates Low-Res Art and Music
New York’s Blip Festival 2008 is playful and fun celebration of “archaic game and home computer hardware” that have been “recast into the unlikely role of musical instrument[s]“.
The four day fest runs from December 4-7 and will feature almost 40 musicians and visual artists who’ve been dabbling in varied forms of 8-Bit culture by creating Commodore 64, Atari ST, and Nintendo Game Boy-inspired beats, blips, bleeps, and bloops.
For the uninitiated, here’s a primer on “chiptunes” and the “chipmusic movement“.
Of course you could also head over to micromusic.com for an auditory preview or check out 8-Bit Generation, Lionel Brouet’s fascinating documentary on the worldwide phenomenon.
While it might be too regrettably late to make a last minute journey to Montreal for tonight’s previously mentioned Gamma 3D, before you pull a low-bit four-color freakout (as above), I’ll note that there’s still plenty of time to plan for NYC’s forthcoming BlipFest, the December 4-7th celebration of NES, C64, Atari ST, and Game Boy “chipmusic and its related disciplines.”
The schedule is all still TBA, so I can’t yet point toward any single can’t-miss night, but the overall line-up is star-studded enough that any night’s a sure bet for something a little bit amazing.
Tags: New York | Culture | Music | festival | electronic music | Blip Festival | Commodore 64 | chiptune | chipmusic | 8-bit | game boy | chip music | atari st
California Supreme Court to Review Gay Marriage Ban
Supporters of gay marriage, who protested the passing of Proposition 8 in California, which instated a ban on same-sex marriage in the state, have a reason to feel hopeful.
California’s Supreme Court has agreed to review the ban and to hear legal challenges that have been “filed by groups of same-sex couples, a gay rights body and a group of local governments”.
The hearing could be held as early as March 2009.
In addition, the Courage Campaign, CREDO Mobile and MoveOn.org have organized a pledge to repeal Proposition 8 which has already been signed by almost 300,000 people. Learn more about the pledge at Repeal Prop 8: Restore marriage equality to California.
For ongoing updates to this story, please see NowPublic’s featured coverage on Proposition 8 and our Prop 8 Scan.
California’s highest court says it will hear legal challenges to a ban on gay marriage, but that the ban will remain in place pending its ruling.
The state legalised gay marriage in May, but 52% of voters backed a move to ban it in a referendum on 4 November.
The measure, Proposition 8, amends the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman only.
Supporters of gay rights have vowed to fight the move, saying majority rule should not set the law.
Judges at the court voted by six to one to review challenges – filed by groups of same-sex couples, a gay rights body and a group of local governments – to Proposition 8.
They agreed to hear arguments on the legality of the voting process.
And how will this affect those same-sex couples who were married before Proposition 8 was passed?
Judges will also examine the impact of the ban on their marriages.
The judges also agreed to examine whether the ban would have an impact on same-sex couples who were married between May and November, reports said.
A hearing could be held as early as March, the court said.
Until the Supreme Court hearing in March no new same-sex marriages will be permitted, however, an eventual reversal of the gay marriage ban would not be without precedent in California.
In 1966, the California Supreme Court struck down an initiative that would have permitted racial discrimination in housing. Voters had approved the measure, a repeal of a fair housing law, by a 2-to-1 margin. Opponents challenged it on equal protection grounds, not as a constitutional revision.
But not everyone supports Prop 8’s protesters and challengers.
Not everyone being the infamous Walker Texas Ranger himself: Chuck Norris.
Chuck Norris has written his latest column for townhall.com on the passage of Prop 8 in California, calling demonstrations in its wake “anarchy.”
Tags: California | Culture | San Francisco | Same Sex Marriage | California Supreme Court | Sacramento | Prop 8 | Proposition 8 | prop 8 supreme court | review gay marriage ban
