This Just In: The identity of Deep Throat has finally been revealed, according to my latest Google image search

joke courtesy jokester, originally uploaded by kuchen.

There's Some Air Out There

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thrillseekers gathered
thrillseekers gathered

Out. No!

Jeremy watched the poets at the slam. He pretended they were speaking a foreign language.
And their mouths, hands, and hips pointed the path to the subway entrance.

The fruit of the Dadivas-Hong loins

samuel dadivas hong
Originally uploaded by kuchen.

Watch out Barnes & Noble, you're next...

I know you've been waiting for more Fargo newspaper inanity:
Blockbuster beware – libraries offer videos, too

If you've just finished reading the above article and felt cheated because it didn't mention Thomas Pynchon, then you could read this as well.

Personal Space

Everybody has sacred spaces in their life. Sometimes you know that they're important as soon as you're there, and other places take on meaning over time. Maybe you have a sudden memory of being connected to a certain environment. Anyway, tonight I'd like to celebrate Showa mountain in Taisho Ward, Osaka, Japan. It's basically a man-made landfill covered up with trees and grass in the middle of a low income housing complex near the port. I really miss it.

The first time I "climbed" the mountain was during the day. When I reached the top, some Okinawan music blared over a transistor radio as an old man practiced singing enka. In fact, most of the people who frequent Showa mountain are quite old. I think I'm one of the few people in the world under 40 who really appreciate Showa-zan.

My last time on Showa mountain was a going away party for Teri and I. Our Taisho gang of Chiaki, Tsukapon, and Hidemo were there, as well as most of the staff at Ju-kai, a very random and hidden late night cafe/restaurant where Chiaki worked. Fuku-chan, an artist who wears the same windbreaker every day and has done album art for Yoshimi of the Boredoms (He introduced me to her once at a Psychobaba show), also rode his bicycle up the mountain and stayed for a while. I remember stopping off at Lawson to pick up snacks and beer before heading up and one of my former high school students saw us. I was carrying a boombox and a six pack and running around with this freaky gang of Japanese crazies at midnight. He seemed a little perplexed.

I can smell the humidity and psychedelic azaleas. I can see the Tsutenkaku tower. I can look over and find the 8th floor where we lived at Chishima Danshi. Somehow my life felt very complete in Osaka, and Showa mountain is a part of that.

Danny Morgenbesser, are you reading this blog or are you on a vision quest in Bensonhurst?

I'm going to be in New York on June 5th. I thought I might stop by.

The Best Rock Video Ever Made?

http://www.paperrad.org/animations/bubble.html

The former hippie and the truth

I really wish I could've seen Norm Coleman's face at this hearing: British Lawmaker Scolds Senators on Iraq. I happened to be watching Charlie Rose last night and Galloway was on. Rose was particularly slow and incoherent in the face of Galloway's blunt opinions on the war in Iraq and the current government there, which he rightly describes as a "puppet". It was almost as if Charlie was personally offended by that.

I don't pretend to know if Galloway had anything to do with the oil-for-food scandal, but isn't it sad how stunned our talk show hosts and senators are by someone who doesn't confine himself to the limited patiotic discourse of post-9/11 politics in the US?

If his kingdom never comes, you'd better run.

david berman courtesy drag city, originally uploaded by kuchen.

Drag City says the new Silver Jews album is finished! We have to wait until fall to hear it though.

If you've never heard a Silver Jews album before, this picture tells you everything you need to know.

Punk Rock Bar Sentimentality

Ralph's%20sign
Originally uploaded by kuchen.

Ralph's Bar in Moorhead is closing in about a week or so. Isn't it weird to call a supposedly "punk" place an institution? In the words of David Berman, "Punk rock died when the first kid said, "Punk's not dead! Punk's not dead!" The same goes for CBGB and First Avenue. I understand these places contain a lot of history, but I think everybody who's crying over Ralph's needs to start thinking about which abandoned Fargo warehouse is going to become a cool new underground spot.

Guadalajara

Guadalajara, originally uploaded by kuchen.

I took this picture with Teri's camera last December. I think it was our last night in Guadalajara. We were sitting in the plaza and shared a coffee while we talked about the trip we had just taken to Oaxaca and Chiapas.

I don't really miss the city, but our time on this bench was the little highlight of my two months there.

, originally uploaded by kuchen.

Fargo art news (not a contradiction in terms!)

james rosenquist, no-no! courtesy www.acaf.net
Originally uploaded by kuchen.

The Plains Art Musuem announced plans for an expansion and a James Rosenquist mural commission, "a proposed 13-by-21-foot painting that will hang on the "great wall" of the Landfield Atrium on the main floor of the Plains - will strengthen the museum's reputation nationally."

read the rest of the article here: Plains Art Museum expanding

star_portrait courtesy bockleygallery.com
Originally uploaded by kuchen.

The current art in the Landfield Atrium, a Star Wallowing Bull and Frank Big Bear mural, is really awesome.

I'm listening to music this morning

MarkeB compilation - Wire magazine
Motorpsycho + Jaga Jazzist Horns- In the Fishtank
Gang Gang Dance - God's Money
Os Mutantes - random downloads
F.S. Blumm - Zweite Meer

My friend Youichi

Originally uploaded by kuchen.

Takagi Transplant

takagitransplant
Originally uploaded by kuchen.

Two Takagis transplant the gallery.

Tazawa-san says, "I really appreciate your kindness and heartful sincerity."

Take That, Ricky Schroeder

the man courtesy ap photos
Originally uploaded by kuchen.

Hasselhoff wins Bollywood honour