Hiatus on Hiatus: Blogging Behind Bars

Almost as soon as I decided I was too busy with life and video games to pack it all in, I found a great 'blog: Eddy Zheng: Thoughts from Behind Bars. To break it down:

Eddy Zheng is an inmate in a California State Prison. He was sentenced to 7-years-to-life for a robbery when he was 16 in 1986. He has served over 18 years and is now 35 years old. While incarcerated, he has learned English, completed his GED, earned a college degree, and has worked with at-risk youth. He is an avid writer, and he organized the first poetry slam at San Quentin State Prison. This is Eddy Zheng in his own words. More info at http://www.eddyzheng.com.

This dude's 'blog is the kind of writing I never tire of: detailed, articulate, literary, compassionate, biting, self-effacing.

I'll spare you the prisoners' rights speech because this 'blog speaks for itself, so go read it.

I Love Ya That's Why I Say Cheerio, Not Goodbye

I never thought I'd say this but for once real life is trumping e-life. I don't have time to 'blog right now-- there is just too much to be done. The only free time I have is quality time with Def Jam Fight for New York (see above). Play on, playa.

I'll be back soon.

Oh My God Oh My God Oh My God

Motley Crue Reunite for World Tour



Motley Crue tour dates:

2/17: Sunrise, FL, Office Depot Center
2/18: Tampa, St. Pete Times Forum
2/20: Greenville, SC, Bi Lo Center
2/22: Cleveland, Gund Arena
2/23: Toronto, Air Canada Centre
2/25: Auburn Hills, MI, Palace of Auburn Hills
2/27: Ottawa, ON, Corel Centre
2/28: Hartford, CT, Hartford Civic Center
3/1: Boston, FleetCenter
3/3: New York, Madison Square Garden
3/4: Philadelphia, Wachovia Spectrum
3/6: Washington, DC, MCI Center
3/8: Columbus, OH, Schottenstein Center
3/10: Rosemont, IL, Allstate Arena
3/12: Milwaukee, U.S. Cellular Arena
3/14: Minneapolis, Target Center
3/15: Kansas City, MO, Kemper Arena
3/17: Grand Prairie, TX, Nokia Live
3/19: Las Vegas, Hard Rock Hotel/The Joint
3/20: Phoenix, Cricket Pavilion
3/22: Chula Vista, CA, Coors Amphitheatre
3/23: Inglewood, CA, The Forum
3/25: Reno, NV, Lawlor Events Center
3/26: Oakland, Oakland Arena

I Wore My Lust Like Cologne, She Called it Obsession

Down and Out in Paris and London (1933)
Burmese Days (1934)
A Clergyman's Daughter (1935)
Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936)
The Road to Wigan Pier (1937)
Homage to Catalonia (1938)
Coming Up For Air (1939)
Animal Farm (1945)
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949)

So, basically I'm done with the fiction and now I'll start on the non-fiction. I haven't yet started to go through his voluminous bibliography of essays, pamphlets, book reviews and newspaper articles. When I get to "Antisemitism in Britain." (Contemporary Jewish Record, April 1945) and "The Lion and the Unicorn; Socialism and the English Genius" (1941), I'll let you know.

Signed Unhype

Sean has posted a few times recently about Eminem and his new album and I pretty much agree with him.* I can't say much that he and/or Sasha Frere-Jones haven't already. Also, deconstructing the likes of someone who says things like

I don't give a fuck if this chick was my own mother,
I'd still fuck her with no rubber, and cum inside her
And have a son and a new brother,
At the same time, and just say that it ain't mine

might not end up being the intellectually fruitful pursuit we all thought it'd be.

And, let's be clear: the above is an amazing verse, one of his best.

So, tearing too much into Slim Shady, his narrative and meaning and his artistic process becomes, like a lot of musical criticism to me, mental masturbation. I'm glad someone does it and I often want to read it, but I can live without a lot of it.

What I always come back to with Eminem is how I feel about a lot of my favorite artists in any medium-- the most brilliant and talented people can make the best stuff you've ever seen, heard or read, and then turn around and produce some of the worst. And just as their best is THE best, their worst is often THE worst ("Just Lose It," anyone)? So, I don't sweat it, I just listen to albums like the Marshall Mathers LP and sleep soundly.

*Good looks on the So, I Married an Axe Murderer reference, by the way.

Eye Color and Sexual Preference Among the Clergy

Irene Elizabeth Stroud, a lesbian Methodist minister in Pennsylvania is charged with being "a practicing homosexual" and was tried in ecclesiastical court (the jury is 13 clergy members and the trial will be presided over by a Bishop) today. Nine votes are needed to convict her.

article

Best quote: "I feel that God created me a lesbian. That's an essential part of my being. It's no more likely to change than the color of my eyes."