A couple of weeks ago, we had to issue a correction as to the date for the Flight to Mars Party (the correct date is this Sat, 8/16; see below for more info), due to an error on the part of our Brazilian fact checker, Gisele. We indicated that we take such mistakes very seriously and Gisele had been appropriately reprimanded.
Several readers emailed us, asking if we had pictures of Gisele being disciplined.
We do, indeed, but only for members of our Platinum Eruption Service, which costs $19.95 per month and provides full access to our secret Party Volcano website, which contains photos not only of Gisele, but of our former Swedish fact checker, Inga, and a spy cam into the bedroom of noted art critic, and Party Volcano contributor, Scott Greer (aka 'Uncle Daddy').
If you are interested in joining Party Volcano's Platinum Eruption Service, we accept VISA, Mastercard, and American Express. Simply email us your credit card number and expiration date. Each month your card will be discretely billed with all charges appearing from 'PV Communications.'
Thank you for your many inquiries.
And now onto our weekly list of events:
Thursday, 8/15
7:30pm "Harvey" (film) @ SAM
8pm The Wally Shoup Trio @ CoCA.
Friday, 8/16
4:30pm New Directions in Alcohol Consumption
6pm Highlights of Indian Art @ Crespinel Studios
7:00pm "Escuela" (documentary) @ 911
7:00pm Rob Zverina's "Eat Me" @ Vital 5
Saturday, 8/17
10am Hempfest @ Myrtle Edwards Park (1st day)
11am The 16th Annual Canterbury Faire in Kent (1st day)
5pm Welcome Back Party for Newly Released Prisoners @ POCAAN
7pm Project 18 @ Sandpoint Arts
9pm Countdown - Flight to Mars (Burning Man Fundraiser)
9pm Nereidian Space Fish (Burning Man Fundraiser)
Sunday, 8/18
10am Hempfest @ Myrtle Edwards Park (2nd day)
11am The 16th Annual Canterbury Faire in Kent (2nd day)
6pm "The Invisible War: Depleted Uranium in the Gulf" (Film) @ IMC
Thursday, 8/15
The Wally Shoup Trio @ CoCA.
by Rakesh Raju, PV's Critic of Ephemerality
I don't think I can begin to explain, let alone review Free-Jazz. But the artist Wally Shoup, himself, does it best I think, when he asks:
Why is it that music, one of the more ephemeral arts, has so many adherents who require it to be instantly recognizable? Though no such requirement is put on the visual arts or dance, many listeners, who, no doubt, consider their tastes sophisticated, need music to be put in song forms or over steady beats in order to gain their attention. Is it possible to "like" music that doesn't immediately satisfy the need for familiarity? What is it about music that makes it feel threatening if it doesn't make quick sense? And why is it that people who routinely expect movies, for instance, to take them to "another place" only want music to take them places they've already visited? And, perhaps, most importantly, why do these questions seem so thorny, as if it's offensive to even pose them?
CoCA, 1420 11th Ave (between Pike and Union on Capitol Hill), 8pm-ish?, Cost?
Entire essay by Shoup: http://www.speakeasy.org/wfp/34/Hearing.html
Audio links: http://www.speakeasy.org/wshoup/excerpts.html
http://www.thestranger.com/2001-11-29/music.html
http://www.cocaseattle.org
Harvey @ SAM.
Just as we go to press, our busy roving film critic, Clint Hutchison, checks in from an Internet terminal at JFK Airport, while waiting to catch a flight to LA to meet with and provide script selection advice for, Leonardo DiCaprio, the boyfriend of PV's fact checker, Gisele. Clint attached an apology to his comments, explaining that they are brief because his plane is about to board.
The 1950 film "Harvey" is funny, subtle, and ambiguous.
The plot revolves around a rich drunkard, Elwood P. Dowd
(James Stewart), who is scandalizing his sister and her
niece with his insistence that he has an invisible
friend named Harvey. After one too many embarrassments
in the high society circles they seek to penetrate, they
decide to have Elwood institutionalized.
An intriguing aspect of the film is how many of the
characters believe in invisible things, like persecution
complexes and social strata, but only Elwood is
suffering for it.
Seattle Art Museum, 100 University Street, $6, 7:30pm.
http://www.seattleartmuseum.org/calendar/eventDetail.asp?eventID=3377&month=7&day=15&year=2002&sxID=&sxTitle=
Gisele's websites: http://www.giselebundchen.hpg.ig.com.br/index.html and http://www.giselencyclopedia.com/
Clint Hutchison can be reached at: Clint670@attbi.com
Friday, 8/16
New Directions in Alcohol Consumption: Heggledy-Peggledy with Amazon's Fraud Dept.
In May we warned our readers about 'getting some drinks' after work with those friendly people from Amazon's fraud department. We said that most people are simply not trained enough in order to keep up with them drinking at a bar without damaging her or his health. Once a month the folks from Amazon's fraud department
leave work at around 4pm and go straight to Linda's until they get kicked out at 1am just in time to lock in some beer at QFC before the 2am deadline for buying alcohol. The May event was not as wild as Cali-Macho in January but this time it's getting serious.
My theory is that they were being relatively reasonable because it was Thursday - or "little Friday" as they call it. This time it's "big Friday" and the invite sounds like some members of the Expedia Fraud Team are getting filled up. (By the way the German slang word for this kind ! of activity is "Druckbetankung" - high pressure refueling.) If you go to evite you can read what some of the Amazonians really have in mind. One comment says: "Hey, I thought the title of this was supposed to be,
'Let's drink Expedia under the table.' "
Jared is always doing a great job of writing funny invitiations. He told me Party Volcano readers are welcome to join their Heggledy-Peggledy Premier Party. You should check out the funny movie he made. Here is the original text of the invitation:
You are cordially invited to the Premier Party for my directorial debut: "Heggledy-Peggledy". Not only will you get to meet some of the more rambunctious members of the Expedia Fraud Team, but you'll also get to meet some of the actors who played in the film.
Festivities begin around 4pm (when Sung gets there) and usually last until the wee hours. Although, we are gettin old, so this thing might close up around 2am. There will be no gambling at this function, unless you plan on ordering the calimari.
I hope the Expedia folks have good health insurance and stay away from calimari at Linda's!
Linda's Tavern. 701 E Pine, free, 4:32pm - 2am.
Invitation: http://www.evite.com/r?iid=BECTKDDMFBVIRDOLTKDH
Heggledy-Peggledy Movie: http://mm.dfilm.com/mm2s/mm_route.php?id=194904
Highlights of Indian Art @ Crespinel Studios.
The press release says: "Highlights of Indian Art is a unique exhibition featuring some of the most well-known names in Indian Art including M.F. Husain, Satish Gujral, Jamini Roy, Ganesh Pyne, Laxma Goud, and Ababnindranath Tagore."
Party Volcano's Resident Expert on Indian Art, Rakesh Raju, weighs in:
Wow, these are some heavy hitters of modern Indian art. Only a couple of them, Husain and Pyne are alive, though. The one I am most familiar with is M.F. Husain, the barefoot white bearded,"picasso of India" who started his painting career mixing tins of color for cinema billboards. That was in the forties. He is still active often painting at concerts and other public venues.
Husain gets to, how should I say, "spark the debate on artistic freedom" in India . His drawings of a Hindu goddess Saraswati in the nude, for instance, got him into deep shit with orthodox Hindus. Deeper still because he has a Muslim name and Islam is supposedly iconoclastic.
He and the others in this exhibition are very Indian in their subject matter. Husain once said, "Art in the West was only concerned with reality. They see only space. We see space and try to surpass it too." I never figured out what he meant by that.
2312 2nd Avenue (between Bell & Battery, in Belltown), Free.
Wed 8/14, 6pm to 9pm: Opening Reception (with wine and cheese)
Fri 8/16, 6pm to 9pm: Another wine and cheese reception.
(Show runs Weds 8/14 to Sun 8/18)
More info: http://www.artswithoutborders.com/common/newsletter/whistler_seattle_exhibitions.html Online gallery: http://www.artsindia.com
911 presents: ESCUELA.
Press release:
The Young Producers Project in partnership with the Cascade People's Center and El Centro de la Raza proudly present this special sneak-preview of the soon-to-be-aired P.O.V. documentary Escuela. Escuela is a moving follow-up to P.O.V.'s La Boda (The Wedding). The saga of the Luis family continues as Liliana and Elizabeth, two of the Luis family daughters, try to make their way in 21st century America. For Liliana, who begins her freshman year in high school, this means dealing with the harsh demands of work in the fields, constant travel and endlessly changing schools, classes and friends as she migrates with her farm-worker family between California, Texas and Mexico. For Elizabeth, a limited education and the struggle to secure citizenship for her husband combine to create an uncertain economic outlook. In this compassionate portrait, Escuela continues the story of one Mexican-American family's drive towards a better future. Join us for munchies and discussion after th! e screening. Your comments will be sent to the filmmakers in the form of videoletter which will be included in the P.O.V. "Talk Back" salon.
911 Media Arts Center, 117 Yale Ave N. 7pm. Free for youth, $2 members, $4 non-members.
http://www.911media.org/events/screenings02/august.html
Rob Zverina's "Eat Me" @ Vital 5
As usual, Vital 5, is hosting another creative, odd event. Rob Zverina has printed photos on rice paper with soy based ink, thus they are entirely edible. Whatever photos don't sell by the end of the night, he will eat. There will also be people walking around covered in edible body paint (attendees are encouraged to lick them) and trays of edible photographs of food for public consumption. Rob is also encouraging anyone else to bring their own edible art (bring it in by 7 pm on Friday. For more info on bringing your edible artwork: rob@zverina.com)
Our fact checker, Gisele, loves the concept: "Oh this is so good for me! Because with photos of food, I can eat everything with no calories! I have photo shoot with Elle, next week, and I have to be careful what I eating." Party Volcano and Gisele will be there.
Vital 5, 2200 Westlake, 7 - 11 pm. Free. But if not bringing edible art, Rob encourages you to bring red wine.
http://gogoweb.com
http://zverina.com
Gisele's websites: http://www.giselebundchen.hpg.ig.com.br/index.html and http://www.giselencyclopedia.com/
Saturday, 8/17
Hempfest @ Myrtle Edwards Park.
by David Kelly, PV's Music Critic.
Hippies, I hate 'em. They smell. They smell like b.o., they smell like patchouli, they smell like marijuana. They wear ill-fitting, handmade, patchwork clothes, way too much purple, and I don't even want to get into the Birkenstock thing right now. At music festivals, they smack you in the head like some out of control dervish-copter crashing into the crowd.
If you hate hippies as much as I do, you'll want to avoid Hempfest at Myrtle Edwards Park this weekend. Other things you can avoid at Hempfest are no less than 56 speakers explaining why hemp is not marijuana. Hey, don't get me wrong, I love hemp products as much as the next guy, and I love marijuana products even more. I know the difference and I'm sure you do, too.
Here's how I know: When I was in 5th grade, my buddy Matt & I actually smoked some Hemp rope to see what would happen. Except fo! r the dizziness associated with smoke inhalation, NOTHING HAPPENED. Other than that event, I only remember 3 things about Matt: He knew Les Schwab personally; his mom worked at a bar called The Funky Chicken; and he only had one lung.
What was I saying about hippies? Oh yeah, now that The Grateful Dead is dead (sort of), Hempfest, Folklife Festival, The Oregon Country Fair, Burning Man & the occasional Pfish concert are the only days I can rest easy knowing all the hippies are in one place and I'm somewhere else.
Myrtle Edwards Park, Saturday and Sunday, 10am-8pm, Free.
http://www.seattlehempfest.com/
The 16th Annual Canterbury Faire in Kent.
Press release:
Not just any arts and heritage event, the Canterbury Faire honors Kent's historic connection to Canterbury, Kent, England, while celebrating the excitement and pageantry of the performing, visual and literary arts. Visitors to the Faire may participate in the re-enactment of history with ornately costumed ladies, lords, knights and jesters, as the arts and sciences of a lost age are demonstrated in the Medieval and Renaissance Villages.
Oh, isn't this nice? Finally, they are recognizing the stately, medieval historical heritage of Kent, Washington's track housing, pre-fab apartments, light industrial factories, and plethora of Burger Kings, Quiznos, and Teriyaki Huts. I bet that when most Kent residents sit down to a BK hamburger with biggie fries and soda, they often forget the deep, rich roots of their lovely city. That's why a "faire" like this is so important.
Mill Creek Canyon Earthworks Park, 742 East Titus Street, the adjacent Kent Senior Activity Center, 600 East Smith Street and throughout downtown Kent.
Sat 11am-7pm, Sun 11am-6pm. Free.
http://www.ci.kent.wa.us/culturalprograms/CanterburyFaire/default.htm
Welcome Back Party for Newly Released Prisoners @ POCAAN.
The press release says: "Help ex-prisoners become part of the community."
Generally speaking, men--even drug-addicted, violent and sociopathic men--after having been locked up for several years, are fairly open to meeting new people, making new friends, and maybe even meeting that special someone. Thus, if you want to liven up your social life in any of these areas you have a pretty good chance at this party. Highly recommended.
People Of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN), 2200 Rainier Ave S, 5pm. Info: 253.638.070.
http://www.pocaan.org/
Project 18 @ Sand Point Arts.
Tonight is the opening reception for a group showing of outdoor sculptural installations by artists Romson Regarde Bustillo, Eddie Hill, Angelena McQuarter, Hahn Rossman, and Katy Stone, at Sand Point Magnuson Park.
PV checked out Katy Stone's exhibition of semi-sculptural, painted strips of film at Greg Kucera Gallery (presently showing through the end of August). Her work is gorgeous, strange, utterly unique. We are looking forward to seeing what she has contributed for this group installation. PV is there.
Sand Point Arts & Cultural Exchange, 7400 Sand Point Way NE Suite 226. Free and open to the public during regular park hours. Opening Reception August 17, 7-11pm, Music by DJ J-Justice. Exhibition is up from 8/16 to 9/28.
http://www.sandpointarts.org/Project18.html
Countdown - Flight to Mars @ The Industrial Arts Factory (Burning Man Fundraiser).
Another Burning Man fund raiser on Saturday, competing directly with the Burning Man fund raiser, immediately below. Here is what the press release says:
Take a ride to the Red Planet in this pre-Burning Man fiery fiesta and fundraiser! Flight to Mars has refueled and is ready for blast-off to Black Rock City. But before heading to Burning Man 2002, this interstellar love lounge will be presenting a special tour of the Red Planet in our hometown!
Hear the smooth interstellar grooves of: MB . USC, Chilipimp . Electro Live PA, Deckard, ModelCitizen, and Tone Fauxfaux.
Feel the heat from triple-armed and twelve-toed Martian fire-spinners with members of Ignis Devoco Industrial Fire Circus and The Fire Academy. And take a tour of the Flight to Mars, from the mystical and mesmerizing Gland Canyon to the stunning vistas of the Martian landscape where gravity takes a holiday beyond the doors of our starship hull.
Tickets to Mars can be purchased at the gate for $15 with a valid interstellar 21+ ID. Come dressed for space travel and receive their special $10 honorary Martian flight pass!
The Industrial Arts Factory. 3427 Fourth Ave. South (just North of Spokane Street Viaduct). Door opens at 9pm. $15/$10.
http://www.flight2mars.com/countdown
Nereidian Space Fish (Burning Man Fundraiser).
And yes, another one. There are so many of these events every weekend that to Party Volcano's mind, the Burning Man Fundraiser market seems over saturated. You know its getting desperate when in an attempt at creative marketing, they start putting their invites in the form of free verse:
From their deep space domains,
The mighty Oceanus and L Sid invite you
To a Benefit Celebration
And to rejoice in the taming
Of this mythical Space creature,
The fantasmalogical Nereidian Space Fish.
Join the Neried Sisters, Mermaids, Sirens and Water Gods
And a host of Celestial gods and goddesses
As they converge
On the Seattle Left Coast Studios waterfront dock
To party and to raise fun(ds)
To send this amazing Creature on it's enchanted voyage to
The Floating World of Burning Man 2002
Please Bring Your Friends!!
118 Alaskan Way (big red doors), 9pm-1am, $10 donation.
http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/partyvolcano/vwp?.dir=/Invitations&.dnm=Nereidian+Space+Fish.jpg
Sunday, 8/18
"The Invisible War: Depleted Uranium in the Gulf" (Film) @ the Independent Media Center (IMC)
No one doubts that depleted uranium armor piercing rounds are most effective. During the gulf war this stuff went through Iraqi tanks like a barroom dart piercing a beetle's carapace.
The hot issue around depleted uranium stems from a fact that it is a by-product of, as its name suggests, uranium, which has been processed for use as nuclear fuel or for nuclear weapons. It is less radioactive than pure uranium, and the US armed forces have claimed it's relatively safe in regards to radiation poisoning. But there have been lots of anecdotal reports linking depleted uranium ordinance to ongoing health problems with American soldiers as well as health problems with civilians in the areas of expended du ordnance, long after the conflict is over. Some link du to the controversial "g! ulf-war syndrome" in US vets. There have also been reports of health problems (the so called "Balkan syndrome") linked to use of du ordnance in Bosnia.
Of course any such reported health problems from soldiers using du ordnance are not nearly as immediately terminal as those folks on the incoming end of du ordnance. For example, check out the first entry in this weird NATO document: http://www.nato.int/du/docu/d010124b.htm We have 860 (!) rounds of 30mm depleted uranium armor piercing slugs basically making Swiss cheese out of a 76 mm Anti-Tank Self-Propelled Gun (a sort of tank-like vehicle, itself), and the Serbian crew inside. No more ethnic cleansing by these guys.
Which brings up the crux of the matter--a classic cost-benefit analysis, of sorts. Controversial long term health effects for both users of du, as well as, civilians later exposed to expended du ordnance VERSUS Clearl! y established superior armor piercing capability and, thus, i! mmediately terminal health effects to those on the receiving end of du ordnance.
Although Party Volcano has not seen this film, given it's title ("The Invisible War", not, say, "The Kick-Ass War") and given that it is showing at IMC (a wonderful left-leaning group), the film doubtless comes down on the side of the NEGATIVES overwhelming the POSTIVES of du. And maybe that is the correct position to take. After all, the US government does not exactly have a great track record about being forthcoming regarding its fuck-ups in regards to jeopardizing the health of its soldiers and citizens. We just hope the filmmakers concentrate on the issue at hand, that is not condemn depleted uranium munitions for its POSITIVE aspects (i.e. that it more effectively kills enemy targets), but, instead, fairly examine the evidence regarding its possible NEGATIVE aspects (unintentionally killing friendly soldiers and remaining civilians due to radiation). Given the emot! ionally charged nature of war, this simple point of clarification often gets loss in the debate.
IMC. 1415 3rd Ave (between Pike & Union). 6pm. Costs?.
www.seattle.indymedia.org
http://www.calsnet.net/imc_sea/d18/08/2002/popup/10
http://www.nonviolence.org/vitw/
Info on du ordnance: http://www.deploymentlink.osd.mil/du_library/
Excellent series of articles on du: http://www.csmonitor.com/atcsmonitor/specials/uranium/
Cold Lava.
First Annual Luau Party (Sat 8/10).
Since none of us were able to make it to the First Annual Luau Party, last Saturday, Party Volcano asked Space Virgin and Animal Control Specialist, Jordan Schwartz, for his report. Here is what we missed:
Without a doubt, the best part of the Luau party was my rear end. Perhaps this opinion is not shared by all, but given the number of times my rump was squeezed, plumped and bumped that night, I can say with high confidence that it is shared by some.
I can not take full credit for my bottom. No, big props to Pat Cole, who dipped into her wardrobe of wonders to deck eight of us out in fine Polynesian threads, dismissing my tan shorts and blue Hawaiian shirt with a wave, instead styling me out in the finest, I say the finest, aqua, pink, rose and pink floral print rayon jumpsuit that you have ever laid eyes on. And did it fit? You be the judge: http://www.hive-mind.com/writing/fineass.jpg
The party itself was a hoot. Actually, it seemed to be two parallel parties: twenty or so PV-types, outdoing themselves as usual in their sartorial excesses, dancing and grinding, and twenty or so who appeared to have! cut their partying teeth in the sororities and fraternities of our fine state universities. Inquiries were made on both sides as to who knew whom, and if there was a link between them, I never found it, but I can say that all were welcome and very friendly and the party was was well-spiced by the presence of PV and posse. Indeed, is there so much difference between the tangled limbs of a chemically-charged gropefest out on the back lawn and the thinly veiled homoeroticism of drunken men wrestling one another into a chilled kiddy pool at 2 am? It's not for me to say. The decorations may have been rented (or maybe they had an outrigger canoe, grass huts, tiki christmas lights, faux coconut drink holders and surf videos on hand), but it came together well and the balmy evening lent itself well to the tropical theme.
The luau went late, later than I went, in any case. At 3 am, booties were still shaking even as my eyelids were sagging. After a brief detour to ensure that! certain sparkly-eyed revelers made it home safely, I made it! safely home myself. Still, tired as I was, I managed to stay awake a few more minutes in front of a mirror, admiring truly the finest, roundest tush this town has seen. Come on, now, take another look and tell me it's not true!
No comments:
Post a Comment