Don't move the farmer's market from Bloomington

The Slantagraph reported today that the Bloomington Farmer's Market, one of our favorite weekly summer events here, might be moved to another location, possibly to Uptown Normal. We'd probably still go, by biking up Constitution Trail, but the current location is much better than Uptown. Hopefully it won't go through!

The Passion of Jesus Christ Superstar

Regarding my last post, written two weeks ago, I have to say that I was extremely disappointed with the production of Jesus Christ Superstar, the Ted Neeley (playing Jesus) tribute performance, that came here to Normal, Illinois. I don't have definitive proof, but I suspect that it was sanitized of its subversive elements for mainstream church-goers. Compared to the 1973 version, which questioned Jesus' divinity and openly compared the Jesus movement to the 1960s counterculture against violence and traditional authority, this production emphasized supernatural biblical themes such as the purported miracles and divinity. The musical even opens with a miracle during the overture and ends with ascension. Most of the whitewashing happens by a subtle shift in mood and mannerisms, such as Jesus' constant mumblings to some unseen force in the sky. But at one point, they even change the words to make sure no devout person is offended. To Pilate Pontius, Neeley's Jesus says "There might be a heaven somewhere, if you only knew" instead of the much more doubting statement "There might be a heaven somewhere, if I only knew."

While I enjoyed the songs, and thought that they were well-sung except for those parts sung by Ted Neeley, this sanitized version left a bad taste in my mouth. I understand that it is supposed to be a tribute to Neeley, but I wondered how he could participate in such a travesty. If the musical wasn't made palatable to the devout, I could forgive Neeley's raspy voice playing a man 32 years his younger. But when he sings, "I have tried for 3 years, feels like 30," I had to laugh. The worst part came at the end, when after Jesus' ascension to heaven, some people were crying at his death and resurrection. In the 70s, the controversy of the musical was to problematize the conflict between Judas and Jesus, to force a reconsideration of who Jesus was and what his death on the cross means. It inspired hate among devout sectarians. Today, the musical might as well be named The Passion of the Superstar. As my wife said on the way out, it was like the story I heard in Sunday school, the rock music version, and perhaps a little more interesting.

Jesus Christ Superstar comes to Illinois State

Next Monday, my favorite musical - Jesus Christ Superstar - is coming to ISU's Braden Auditorium. I've actually only seen the movie version of the musical, so seeing it live and with the original Ted Neeley starring is definitely a thrill. Posted here is one of my favorite scenes, where in his polemic with Judas, Jesus seems a little megalomaniacal in the end. I love this scene because, in unions and social movements, leader worship has been a problem up to the present day.

Hanging out at Theatre's Cool

This past Saturday night we went with some of our friends to Theatre's Cool to hear the bands Oh Alchemy and Constant Velocity. All in all a good time. The venue, located in downtown Bloomington, is next to a coffee shop I sometimes frequent and I always wondered what kind of events they hosted. Turns out that Theatre's Cool is an all-ages theater and acting school, and also host bands. We'll be back in a few weeks to hear my friend's band, Trashing X Paramours.

Learning something new

Thinking about my ecological footprint

I was reading Robert Jensen's book All My Bones Shake, and in the section on living sustainably, he mentions this interesting website by Redefining Progress that estimates your ecological footprint. I took their quiz, found at www.myfootprint.org, and discovered that if everyone in the world lived like my partner and I we would need 4 Earths. We didn't do too badly, relative to the country average, even though I had to include my wife's 7000 miles traveled by plane per year! Check out the site. There might be more like it, though, that use other methods to estimate your footprint. The aspect of the site that I wondered about was Coca-cola's sponsorship. I wonder what Coke's ecological footprint would be?!?! Well, anyway, here are my results.

Winter break memories

Over winter break I traveled by train to Austin, Texas, visited my friend and his family there, did a fair amount of reading, met up with my partner and our friends in St. Louis for New Years, and arrived home to promptly get sick. Tomorrow I go back to work, still sick of course, so I'm fighting off the blues. Just to remember the free times of vacation, I thought I'd post a few pictures from the past 2 weeks...

Demand an end to war for X-mas

Who would Jesus bomb? "Peace on Earth" is an end to imperialist wars.

Trovers Inc.'s Healthcare Recoveries

I have gotten two letters from Cheri A. Hall from Healthcare Recoveries, wanting me to call them regarding the insurance coverage of my recent tendinitis injury. I'm sick of these jokers. It's the insurance companies, and these parasitical companies like Trovers, that are pushing health care costs through the roof. Single-payer now!

Climate crackdown: capitalism at work

I've been following the developments in Copenhagen on Democracy Now! but not as well as I should be. From what I've gleamed the rich nations, including the U.S. and Canada, have controlled the talks and have pushed forward plans for a much weaker agreement than that of even Kyoto. Obama's emission targets have been laughable, amounting to a reduction of 4% of 1990 levels by 2020.

This interview with the leader of Friends of the Earth, who was being kicked out of the conference, was simply incredible.Climate Crackdown: UN Bars Friends of the Earth and Other Environmental Groups from Climate Talks

P.S. Later I found this excellent synopsis on Copenhagen written by Christine Frank.

100th Anniversary of the Cherry Mine Disaster

These pictures were taken at the 100th commemorative anniversary of the Cherry mine disaster in Cherry, Illinois, the weekend of November 14th and 15th. I tried to put them in order of when they were taken but got it backwards. The last picture shows Cherry, Illinois, a normally sleepy town, filled with cars during the Saturday rally. I was late to this main event, arriving just as it was ending, but I got a snapshot of the streets and the rally just before it dissolved. I got some shots of the new memorial to the workers who died in the fire, as well as a decent picture of labor folksinger, Bucky Halker. For some even better pictures of the event, and information on the disaster, visit Ray Tutaj's website.

BNCPJ events

As we await Obama's decision on whether or not to escalate in Afghanistan, I thought I'd post our local anti-war group's actions in the upcoming year. I'm only guessing, but I think we'll need to build a much bigger anti-war movement.

Waiting for winter

Since moving to Bloomington-Normal last year, I've had more reasons to anticipate the chill of winter. Winters here aren't that bad, at least compared to Minnesota, in terms of intensity and duration. I still don't like it when it gets very cold, which does happen occasionally, but overall I don't dread winter here like I did in Minnesota. My anticipation, though, has to do more with my allergies. Because fall is so long here, warmer, my allergies are much worse until the temp consistently dives below freezing in December. So I'm literally waiting for the chill. Plus, now that we have a house that requires yardwork, I'm anxiously waiting for when I won't have to mow the lawn. (I actually enjoy mowing with my motorless push mower, but not when the ground is saturated with water and parts of it are turning to mud!)

The demise of the Greens in Minneapolis

This analysis of the Greens demise in Minneapolis is first-rate. I agree especially with the author's assessment that the Green Party is a small-business party with an incoherent program.

100th Anniversary of the Cherry Mine Disaster

This weekend we're heading up to the village of Cherry, Illinois, where my parents currently live, to commemorate the Cherry Mine disaster. My mother's family is from Cherry, moving there from Italy a year after the disaster occurred in 1909. I'm excited to participate in this event mostly because I've always heard stories of the disaster in my childhood. The commemoration event looks extremely well organized with the full participation of organized labor, and the labor folk singer Bucky Halker will be performing at various times throughout Saturday. Here is a flyer I found. I also like this article, from the Springfield paper, because it is education-related. For a brief history of the disaster, with relevant sources, check out the Wikipedia entry.

Support single-payer, not the insurance industry bailout

Here is Kucinich's excellent summary on why the recently passed health care bill is fatally flawed and not a step in the right direction. You can find a summary at http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/11927 . Some other progressive members, like Grijalva from AZ, were considering voting against it but unfortunately did not at this time. If this were a bill that was even a small step in the right direction, I can see how people would want to support it. But, as it stands, it is a capitulation to the health care insurance industry. By including a weak public option, which only a fraction would be eligible, it is essentially a huge bailout of the insurance industry. It subsidizes with billions of taxpayer dollars the inherent waste and high cost of the current employer-based insurance system. It delivers billions of dollars to the insurance companies, strengthening their already gargantuan power. By eliminating the Kucinich Amendment, which would make possible the choice of single-payer at the state level, it codifies the power of the insurance industry in law. Kucinich argued on Democracy Now! that he could not vote in good conscience on a bill that essentially dooms forever the possibility of real health care reform, a single-payer system or some variation that eliminates the source of the problem - for-profit insurance. He also rightly points out that some of the provisions we can support - like a ban against pre-existing conditions and others - can be done in stand-alone bills and not tied to giant taxpayer-supported give-aways to the corporations.

Single-payer Now!

Double-standards of the Dems

How is moneyed politics bad under Bush, yet fine under Obama? (e.g. Sumner, Geithner, bank bailout, phony cap and trade environmental legislation, health care insurance bailout, and on and on...)

How is Iran dictatorial and its elections illegitimate, and yet Karzai's electoral corruption in Afghanistan is fine by the Administration and justified as the result of a process?

How is NCLB and merit pay bad under Bush, yet fine under Obama?

How is the imperialism bad under Bush, yet fine under Obama?

Posing for Halloween

Halloween at our front door

See the other pictures of our pumpkin carving night at http://www.flickr.com/photos/28574817@N02/sets/72157622623505458/

Yes Men hit the Chamber of Commerce

Yes Men strike again, and this time it's against the Chamber of Commerce. Of all their hoaxes this one has to be the sweetest. The CofC is one of the worst organizations in the country, opposing every possible progressive reform imaginable.

What is this plant?

My Heartland Community College class, on how to design an ecologically sustainable yard with native plants, begins tonight! Getting into the spirit, I can't wait to learn what this amazing flowering plant in our yard is called. I know that it is native to our area, since it is planted at our neighborhood elementary school's native plant garden, and I see it all over Founder's Grove. During most of the summer, the flower part of the plant is a light green, barely looking like a flower. But then in late August and September, the green turns to a beautiful red, then dark red, attracting all the bees in its vicinity.

All out for Oct. 17th!

Anti-war actions are scheduled in cities across the country this Saturday the 17th, organized by the National Assembly to End War and Occupation. Here in Bloomington-Normal, we're supporting the action in Peoria, leaving at 11 AM from the Center for the Performing Arts on East Street.

Three anti-war events tomorrow in Bloomington-Normal

At our last Bloomington-Normal Citizens for Peace and Justice meeting, we noticed that there are 3 conflicting anti-war event happening in town this Wednesday (10/7/09), marking the 8th anniversary of the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan. Wow, that's a lot of activity for a town this size! Check out the three events at the BNCPJ website. I still haven't made up my mind if I'll attend the student vigil at Wesleyan or the ACLU talk on Guantanamo.

Another good source for news

I've watched The Global Report a few times on Free Speech TV and was impressed by the breadth of news covered. By the way, Free Speech TV, and Link TV as well, are simply awesome.

One more reason to keep our cats indoors

Lately I've been feeling a little guilty keeping our cats indoors all the time. Our cats, Lefty and Gigi, frequently try to sneak out the back door, curious to explore more terrain and nooks and crannies, but we (as good cat owners) always frustrate their plans. I think what really spurred my guilt over this was having heard Bill Maher in one of his standup routines , ridiculing the indoor cat as one that lives longer but with no fun and adventure in life. Thinking of Maher's comments, I have reconsidered getting Lefty and Gigi used to the cat leash and taking them for a walk (they can't stand the lease harness), but it would be a controlled walk, with our presence, which couldn't be the cat's idea of freedom.

Well, the other day, Lefty successfully sneaked out the door in the late evening, into a lit area near the garage, and it took us a few seconds to realize that he was outside sniffing around. After grabbing him and hurrying him inside, just a few minutes later, we heard an owl hooting very close by in one of the trees surrounding our house. Strange, mysterious noise, the owl hoot. It hooted for a good half hour. Was it hooting because it got a glimpse of Lefty near the garage? The next day I did a search on the Internet and learned that Great Horned Owls do eat small-to-medium cats and dogs! Of course we dont' know if the owl was a Great Horned. But I have to say that I disagree with Bill Maher; for the cat, a little bit of outdoor freedom is definitely outweighed by a concern for safety. The cat just doesn't know what is in its interest, and would agree with me if it did. After all, they are instinctively cautious animals.

Fall is in the air

Beginning Saturday afternoon, with the onslaught of the current chilly weather, fall has definitely been in the air. Temperatures are in the 60s, for the daily high, and the leaves are just starting to change color. I've always loved the fall - the cool chilly breezes, the early darknesss of late afternoon, the scent of fireplace smoke in the crisp air. But ever since I've moved to Illinois, the beginning of fall has become bittersweet. Fall, for me in central IL, is synomous with major allergies, and just like last year, my allergies became severe as soon as the fall weather ushered in. I'm guessing that the allergy problem has everything to do with the fall corn harvest. Now, as last Fall, I can't tell if I have severe allergies, a minor cold, or some combination of both.

Guilty pleasure

With all that's wrong with the world, I feel guilty looking forward with great anticipation the TV season premiere of Dexter this evening. Maybe it's because a Showtime subscription seems so bourgeois. But is it really? Everyone spends money, just on different priorities. And what's wrong with a little pleasure in life, a little TV or whatever, as long as it doesn't replace other priorities?

ISU brings in 'Super Size Me' director

We loved his movie Super Size Me a few years back, for which reason we'll be heading to ISU in Normal this Wednesday to hear Morgan Spurlock speak on his life and career after his career-making movie.

Hope is in the streets

These great pictures of the Pittsburg G20 protests, taken by photographer Jon Pratt, uplifted my spirits. On not so positive of a note, Cindy Sheehan comments on her blog on the authoritarian police presence in Pittsburg.

For an overview, here is the New York Times coverage.

Thoughts provoked by the Iliad

I'm plowing through Homer's Iliad. Well, actually I'm only in Book 3, but it feels like I'm plowing through it. As I read it, though, I'm reminded by what Bernard Knox said in the Introduction of this volume - that the Greeks in Homer's day had no conception of the after-life being granted to mortals. Immortal deities were lucky to have everlasting existence, but mere mortals died and then retired to an eternal, black sleep. (In this context, Knox comments on the cruelty and capriciousness of the Greek gods, who in intervening in the lives of people and in many cases causing needless suffering and death, they lacked any sense of decent morality given that they did not have to die and be vanquished for all eternity.) I was wondering, however, if this view that death was the end, without afterlife, was true for the Greeks throughout their history, or if it was true only for Homer's age. It seems that I have read that the after life was commented on by later Greek philosophers.