With Friends Like These…
Our friends at the Soo Visual Arts Center have a fun new show starting this weekend. Crazy plush doll creators Friends With You will be showing dolls, huge inflatable creatures, a playground and more. This Miami duo is usually full of imagination.
SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 27
OPENING RECEPTION: FRI, SEPT 28
Open Wed 12-6, Thurs 12-8, Fri 12-5
& Sat 12-4 or by appointment.
Soo Visual Arts Center
2640 Lyndale Ave. S
Minneapolis, MN 55408
612.871.2263
When You Pry It From My Cold Dead Fingers
Wyoming Libraries has a great new bumper sticker, billboard, and radio ad campaign. Every library system needs marketing like this!
Here are some of the bumper stickers
The Shock Doctrine / APA Infighting
I've been reading a lot about Naomi Klein's new book, "The Shock Doctrine", and about the American Psychiatric Association and their internal fighting over issues of torture. Both of these have been featured on Democracy Now, GNN and the Guardian.
The main idea of Klein's book is that the state of shock has been used as the preferred state for torture by our government and that is nothing new. Her real claim is that governments use times of shock such as natural disaster, terrorist attacks, war, etc, to push through harsh policies that society would never put up with in normal periods of calm.
Naomi Klein's website has a short promotional film for her book that is directed by Alfonso Cuaron , the director of Children of Men. The clip is very good.
The APA's internal fighting is based around the organizations inability to pass a rule forbidding its members from participating in acts of torture. By passing this rule licensed psychiatrists within the military would lose their membership in the APA by participating in acts of torture. Losing their membership would all but guarantee that they would not work as a Psychiatrist after their career in the military was over.
Do some digging, these are both great stories.
Books All Kids Can Love – by Glenn Danzig
The NY Times Papercuts Blog has a great entry and YouTube video featuring everyones favorite goth/metal frontman, Glenn Danzig. Glenn gives us the personal tour of his book collection and shows off his young muscles, tats and pearly whites. What a hunk, and who knew that he could read?
Minneapolis Critical Mass Arrests or Message to Anarchists?
Friday Nights arrests of 19 Critical Mass riders in Minneapolis was talked about by local media as just the police reacting to a single out of control rider. When the rider ran from the police tensions flared between riders and the police. My own thoughts differ because of the weekend this event happened on.
Critical Mass rides happen the last Friday of every month in Minneapolis and usually with police cooperation and without incident. This weekend happened to be the first get together of out of town and local anarchists to plan and train for next years Republican National Convention. On the groups website they said they would be participating in the local Critical Mass ride. What better way for the Minneapolis police to welcome them to town than with batons, mace and arrests.
How did the professionals do on this story.
- The Star-Tribune wrote a fairly one sided view of things. Yes the police side.
- The City Pages Blog had a detailed account of things.
- WCCO TV had a decent story.
- KARE TV had a confusing story.
- TwinCities IMC has the most info, but you have to read the comments.
Excellent Personal Accounts: cathek,
For more information on these groups: RNC Welcoming Committee, Jack Pine (Read calendar event for the weekend of August 31st).
Critical Mass Minneapolis does not have a website as no one runs it. Just show up the last Friday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at Loring Park. The September ride is sure to be large and interesting.