The Nervous Breakdown [SF event]

If my schedule allows tomorrow, I am going to try to hit up this event at The Make Out Room.

The Nervous Breakdown

via SFWeekly.com:

Penny For Your Thoughts
By Hiya Swanhuyser

If you're a woman who has ever leaned toward punk, you've either worshipped her or secretly hoped someone like her existed: Penelope Houston is an international icon. Not just as the lead singer of the Avengers, the band famous for the song "The American in Me," either, although the pictures of her in the early days of punk are as punk as anything else -- young, intelligent, infuriated, leather-jacketed. But in the rather many ensuing years, she's done nothing but continue to be admirable, in the form of taking on a new musical genre that's really hard to define: Mod-folk, maybe, or heartfelt go-go New Wave film soundtrack, with autoharp. Tonight, she reads at The Nervous Breakdown series, along with Johnny Genocide aka Hugh Thomas Patterson, Stephen Elliott, Paul Clayton, Lauren Becker, and Thomas Wood.

Literary Events

Make-Out Room
3225 22nd St. (at Mission); San Francisco CA

William Ayers in San Francisco.

I'm disappointed I missed William Ayers last night at The Green Arcade in San Francisco.

I was first introduced to William Ayers via his involvement in the Weather Underground, a 1960's militant student political organization.

The Brilliance that is Royce Reed.

Dog vs. Cat. [cat wins]

This video is brilliant. A cat and dog of generally equal proportions get into a fight. The dog gets slap happy and hyper, even going so far as to hump the perturbed cat, while the cat just waits, annoyed, for the dog to finish his dance and then ends the fight by bitch slapping the dog in the face and walking away.

If felines' vocal chords were developed to the point that they could speak, this cat most definitely said, "fuck you, assbitch."

Seven-Year-Old Japanese Boy Covers "Jesus of Suburbia" on Guitar

Meet Reku, a seven-year-old Japanese child who is learning English through playing the guitar. Music is the one common language we all speak, and it's so awesome so see this kid so passionate about something at such a young age.

94-Yr-Old Woman Graduates from College [touching story]

This is a touching story. A 94-year-old Oakland woman, Hazel Soares, just received her BA in art history from Mill's College in Oakland.

She is believed to be the second oldest person in the world to graduate from college, second to Nola Ochs, a woman who graduated from Fort Hays State University in Kansas three years ago at the age of 95. You go, girl!

Hazel is a living example of the "it's never too late to realize your dreams" mindset.

Video Games through the Ages.

I really want the Magnavox Odyssey and the Telstar. Like mad.





The Telstar is "the most exciting game you will ever see on your TV ," don't you know?



Also, I would feel it almost blasphemous if I didn't mention the Atari. I had an Atari. I had an Atari because I was bad ass.

Oprah is Like Jesus, but with Cupcakes Instead. [oprah mag anniversary]

Oprah feeds the masses cupcakes at the 10th Anniversary of O Magazine at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. I think my favorite part of this photo is Gayle stuffing her face with a cupcake. So classy.

Thanks Tobacco, You Killed My Mom. [educational documentary]

YouTube user sonicbondage writes:

April 13, 2007 — This video was created over a one-year period. At first, it was just random use of a video camera, plus a few pictures taken during a visit in September of 2006. Of course, this was before we knew that Mom had a collapsed lung. She went in for tests, and it was discovered that she had Stage IV Lung Cancer. As we learned of the cancer diagnosis in October of 2006, we tried to get Mom down to California (from Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada). It was a race against logistics and paperwork (i.e. obtaining documentation in order to cross a border and travel), which we unfortunately lost.

Mom suffered a stroke, ironically on the same day as she received her birth certificate, which would have allowed her to travel to Southern California. The stroke left her left side completely paralyzed, and she was stuck in the hospital, no longer the independent woman she once was. We were summoned to fly up immediately, as we were told by her doctors that her death would not be far behind. Mom proved them all wrong, and lived for four more months. Of course, the quality of life was minimal at best. There was no treatment, since the cancer was discovered so late, and due to the stroke. We have since learned that often times, a biopsy can knock loose cancerous material within a tumor, which can cause a stroke.



It was extremely difficult to watch her suffering in a hospital bed, and wondering why her last months had to be made that much worse due to the stroke. So, Mom never did get to come see where we live in California. We continued to videotape the entire ordeal, so that family (who couldn't be with us at that time) could see everything. We ended up with approximately 90 minutes of raw footage, which has been edited down to the 10 minutes allowed here. First, we have done this to honor Mom's last wishes: tell people not to smoke. Second, we have completed this very emotional project to honor her memory, and to help us as we continue through the grieving process. Finally, we are aware that much of the anti-smoking media is not so real to life--it doesn't show the suffering, what the families go through, and the pain that cigarettes actually cause.

This documentary is "non-Hollywood". We have omitted certain things that one might find offensive, including her IV, vomiting, bodily functions, and her actual death itself, which was obviously painful. Instead, we have brought many different segments together, which still conveys our overall message: DON'T SMOKE!

In a letter dated September 24, 2006, from Mom:
"Try not to worry about my health. I go for a CAT-SCAN on October 4th. I should have the results about a week later. The appointments are taking a long time, so I must not be in such dire shape, or they would rush them. I'm glad you never really had the desire to smoke. What do your lungs look like after all of those years of second-hand smoke? I can't wait to see you and Patti more often. Gotta go for now. Love Forever, Mom"

To conclude, one can compare smoking cigarettes to a slow-motion car accident. At any time, you can get out of the car before it crashes. It is your choice. Furthermore, you may be driving your own car, but please remember that you take passengers along for the ride.

Sarah Palin Compares Her E-mail Hackery to Watergate.

David Kernell, the 20-yr-old University of Tennessee student who hacked into Sarah Palin's e-mail, has been convicted of computer fraud and obstruction of justice.

Palin, in a true moment of self-aggrandizement, compared it to Watergate.

via her Facebook page:

"My family and I are thankful that the jury thoroughly and carefully weighed the evidence and issued a just verdict. Besides the obvious invasion of privacy and security concerns surrounding this issue, many of us are concerned about the integrity of our country's political elections. America's elections depend upon fair competition. Violating the law, or simply invading someone's privacy for political gain, has long been repugnant to Americans' sense of fair play. As Watergate taught us, we rightfully reject illegally breaking into candidates' private communications for political intrigue in an attempt to derail an election."

Suicidal Man Brings Cyanide onto NYC Subway.

A 20-yr-old suicidal college man was arrested in Manhattan early Friday for bringing sodium cyanide onto the subway.

Scary!

What Do You Think This Guy Was Convicted Of?

If you guessed rape, you're right on. I am sure ladies do not love his upper lip tattoo.

Countess LuAnna Has "Class," but Can't Sing.

So, in the spirit of Atlanta Housewife Kim Zolciak, New York Housewife Countess LuAnn has recorded her own single, "Money Can't Buy You Class," and it is as awful as you imagined.



Here's Kim's single, "Tardy for the Party," which is wildly popular with the gays (no one said gays had good taste in everything!).



Speaking of gays and Kim Zolciak, it's been confirmed she's been bitten by the ghey bug herself- she's now dating ATL DJ Tracy Young.