The Chi-Tilla Gets Desperate for Arts Funding

Remember how you said you wanted to join Chicago Plumbers Local Union 130 AU to help them dye the Chicago River green for St. Paddy's day? Well, now you can (auction item 1028).

In a desperate bid to raise money for the arts, the City is auctioning off any and all Chicago memorobilia it can get its hands on. This will include parking meters and manhole covers (not this manhole for my Chicago peoples who know the deal), as well as some "priceless" items like balusters (pillows holding up the handrail) that were in the original Grant Park. That would look great in my....backyard lifesize Grant Park replica?

And the time you said you just couldn't live without an original 1960's Bunny Costume donated by Playboy-- here you go (item #1012). Estimated retail value? $14,000.

That is fourteen thousand American dollars, yes.

Jay's status appears to be at an all-time high, perfect time to say goodbye

When I come back like Jordan, wearin the 4-5
It ain't to play games witchu

R.I.P. a/k/a Gun Yoga August 16, 2004-November 4, 2004.

Topping out at 58 total posts, Kris Ex seems to have left this e-mortal coil. Around long enough to declare war on bloggers' "quotidian drama", with, it seems, little taste for irony or humor, and an entitlement to hip hop blogging, he tried to slam dunk a hip hop blogger or two, both of whom are widely read and appreciated for their acerbic wit and irreverant perspectives. After patenting the use of two nines to replace the letter "g" ("This is my life, Ni99as, Clap Back,") it seems that Kris Ex has packed up his Buddhism-themed weblog for greener pastures.

Goodnight, Sweet Prince.

God, this Self-Righteousness is Heavy

It turns out that Mel Gibson has decided to abstain from trawling for Oscars, which normally is a dehumanizing process in which production companies send tapes to Oscar voters as part of elaborate box sets that include little trinkets and gifts themed on their movie. Gibson claims to want to distance himself from any pre-Oscar marketing. The co-owner of his production company said that the movie should be "judged on its artistic merit." However, he did send "thousands" of copies of the DVD to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, so you tell me.

(story)

I Don't Player Hate, I Just Stay Away

Pras on Wyclef: "A real pimp wouldve handled his business. So, if you know you ain't fucking' Magic John Juan leave them girls the fuck alone."

In this video Pras alleges that "'Clef and Lauryn were involved." Watch as Pras goes from preacher's son moralizing to vitriolic resentment when he explains how Wyclef and Lauryn Hill were involved during the making of "The Score," while Wyclef was married.

Hearing from Pras in any situation is entertaining, to say nothing of the fact that it is presented completely without context. We don't know when the video was shot, who the interviewer is, who produced the "documentary," etc. But I kind of like under-curated art-- you can take from it what you want. And I think that Pras on Clef is like when you start a rumor about your fellow 2nd string varsity teammate because he gets more playing time than you, even though you're equally untalented.

I feel like a desperado just like that song by the Eagles / While the peace process is taken apart just like Yoko did the Beatles

Illustration by Tom Bachtell

"The saddest part is that this Nobel Peace Prize winner died without seeing his lifelong dream of eternal war with Israel come to fruition." -- Ellen Carter, Travel Writer

This week's New Yorker has an article by David Remnick that explores (briefly) Yasser Arafat's net influence on the Israeli state vs. Palestinian nationhood dilemma. This article speaks to me more than most other breakdowns of this situation ever has. This could be because I am your basic casual news reader. The Times almost every day, the New Yorker when I can stand it, Harpers when I feel intellectual and Slate almost all the time. I'm equipped to do little more than parrot that which I read in left-leaning publications. This piece discusses an idea that is new to me, but probably not to most people who have made it their business to understand this Middle East situation-- that Yasser Arafat, for all of his militance and manifest destiny failed to realize any part of his dream of recognition and legitimacy for the Palestinian people. Remnick claims that Arafat embraced jihad when palatable alternatives were offered at Camp David and Taba. But, Remnick points out, Arafat

faced a Draconian choice. On the one hand, he could dispense with his dreams of driving out the Zionists and become the leader of the thirteenth-largest Arab state, a leader who would have to forgo the life of a media-age revolutionary and spend his remaining years dealing with matters of road-building, sewage, agronomy, tax collection—the tedious business of governance. At the same time, he would have to confront his people with the limitations of their future, particularly the divided status of Jerusalem and Israel’s refusal to commit demographic suicide by absorbing the Palestinian refugees from abroad.

To me, this is deep. Remnick is asserting that Arafat condoned jihad only to perpetuate his Che Guevara-like hold over his people rather than face the everyday drone of municipal bureaucracy as the leader of a legitmate state.

I am not well-informed enough to really address this. But I wonder if Arafat cancelled himself out by failing to leave a viable Palestinian legacy.

God Loves Ugly

Things are changing here at the quarterwit. Any of you who have read my weblog for any amount of time know that I change templates or URL's with reckless abandon. I get bored so easily. I was going to switch over to a different blogger template, but the two I love most are those that belong to people I read obsessively, so it seemed a tad transperant to so blatantly bite off their stilos.

Furthermore, I realized that these templates are too pretty and overdesigned for me. So, no more green and blue boxes, no fancy fonts, no frills. Just nitty gritty like my home/cowboy up there.

Enjoy.

I know, it's been like a week since I posted.

It has been hectic here and this post marks my entry back to the world of the living. Er, the e-living. Many newsworthy things have happened since I last posted:

- Ol' Dirty Bastard and Yasser Arafat died
- I fell in love with Rollie and the mix he made me
- A trifling blogger tried to get in my face and the faces of some of my buddies.
- My Big Fat Obnoxious Boss fired two employees, one member of Concads and one member of Femron
- Some beavers in Louisiana found a bag of moolah that had been stolen from a local casino and wove it into a dam. Bling!

There are no links in this post because I don't feel like it.

See you soon.

The Mix (updated)

Alright, Rollie. Here you go. 80ish minutes of music that I hope suits you. If not, be gentle.

Album Cover:


Album back:

You Know What Time It Is (edited)

Let's Be Clear:

Finally! A Meth Lab I Can Afford!