WELCOME TO V.
VALE's RE/SEARCH NEWSLETTER #70, March 2008. HERE'S THE NEWS FROM SAN
FRANCISCO... ALL READERS ARE INVITED TO SEND CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK! And please subscribe to our blog at
www.researchpubs.com !
CONTENTS:
1. Meet
RE/SEARCH at Anarchist Book Fair: Sat & Sun March 22-23, 11-5pm, SF County
Fair Bldg, 9th Ave/Lincoln, S.F. Come talk with us and Charles Gatewood! RE/Search books available
discounted!
2.
RE/Search's PRANKS FILM FESTIVAL, Tu-Wed-Thur April 1,2,3 at Roxie Theater, 16th/Valencia
Sts, S.F. Thur 9pm show: special SRL TODD BLAIR BENEFIT!
3. Sat April
12, 6:30pm: RE/Search's "Counter Culture Hour" (with host V. Vale).
S.F. Cable Channel 29, 2nd Sat of the month.
3A. OTHER
FORTHCOMING EVENTS:
() Thrillpeddlers
Fri, Sat March 21, 22, 28, 29 thru May 3. 575 10th St, SF 94103. tel
415-377-4202. www.thrillpeddlers.com presents FLAM-ING SIN: LONDON'S GRAND GUIGNOL.
Eddie Muller directs Noel Coward's only Grand Guignol play: "The Better
Half." Christopher Holland's "The Old Women" or "A Crime in
a Madhouse" PLUS "The Blue Hour," an After-glow Floorshow.
Guaranteed greatness! March 24-28, EC Comics "Spring Break" Session
-- perfect for kids! Also, Support local independent over-the-top theater...
For advance tickets: brownpapertickets.com or 1-800-838-3006.
() DARIO ARGENTO
IN PERSON IN SAN FRANCISCO: Fri April 25!
4. Stephane von
Stephane's cultural
column
5. What
We've Attended...
6. What
We've Been Reading/Seeing/Listening to/What We've Been Sent:
7.
RECOMMENDED LINKS -
thanks to our friends Phil G, Ferrara, James McN-, Derek B. & Others
8. Quotes
9. Feedback
from Readers
--------------
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---------------
**Give gifts
to friends: Brand New "Rare" Stuff not in any store:
() PRANKS
FILM FESTIVAL T-SHIRT! Only 60 made; $30! (blue/white logo on green American
Apparel shirt: girls sizes S,M,L; men's S,M,L,XL,2XL) with artwork by Jared Power.
() RE/Search
LOGO T-shirt! Two styles: Black & Red $30, and Black/Red/White $30. Very
limited run of 36 each.
Here is our friend from Spain, Bruno, enjoying San Francisco in his RE/Search
shirt.
() YO! WHAT
HAPPENED TO PEACE? All color book of anti-war graphics - great! $25 -
www.researchpubs.com
() Gee Vaucher
poster signed by Gee Vaucher & Penny Rimbaud $12 (three left)
() Coming soon!
Gee Vaucher original color silk-screen print $175, $300 archivally matted and
framed.
() Mr Death
"Catch You Later" yellow/black T-shirt (edition of 50; S,M,L,XL, $25)
() R/S 4/5
Burroughs-Gysin-Throb.Gristle **hardback** w/new interview/photos (lim. ed. of
only 500; $60 Amazon, special $35!
http://www.researchpubs.com/Blog/?page_id=13&category=9
() W.S. Burroughs
T-shirt in S,M,L,XL (only 100 printed; $50) http://www.researchpubs.com/Blog/?page_id=13&category=9
() Louder
Faster Shorter Punk 1978 DVD (edition of 500; $20) - http://www.researchpubs.com/Blog/?page_id=13&category=10!
() In
general, To order: info@researchpubs.com, call 415-362-1465, or order on-line
from http://www.researchpubs.com . Or visit our office. We now take PAYPAL,
Visa/MC.
Support
RE/Search: Visit our office and buy direct from us - please avoid amazon - we
don't even make our expenses supplying them our books. Your books can be
autographed by V. Vale; you can experience the "legendary" office.
() You can
acquire our (4) rare, hard-to-find, J.G. Ballard books, plus Search &
Destroy #10 tabloid issue with JGB interview. We have a special: all 5 JGB issues for $65! (save $23)
() The hilarious PRANKS 2 - a follow-up to our first PRANKS book
- isn't in many stores. http://www.researchpubs.com/Blog/?page_id=13&category=11
() Or other rare out-of-print books,
only at our office! http://www.researchpubs.com/Blog/?page_id=13&category=9;
() Plus, INDUSTRIAL CULTURE HANDBOOK limited edition hardback (RE/Search's
edition 1000 copies on gorgeous, glossy paper; Amazon list price $60. Order
direct for Special price $35 (plus $6 shipping U.S.; $15 Air Overseas). http://www.researchpubs.com/Blog/?page_id=13&category=10
() In general,
To order: info@researchpubs.com, call 415-362-1465, or order on-line from http://www.researchpubs.com.
() RE/Search
is on My-Space: If you
would like to be "our friend" - receive bulletins, subscribe to V.
Vale's blog, etc, please Join Us! http://www.myspace.com/108198017 Soon on Facebook,
too!
() *NEW
WEB-SITE* thanks to Elie-Sanh
Ducos. Check it out: www.researchpubs.com - it has a blog by V. Vale (please
subscribe to it), videos, over 200 photos in the gallery, and more...
Suggestions for improvement? Also, what books would you like RE/Search to put
out? Please email us: info@researchpubs.com
1. Meet RE/Search at
Anarchist Book Fair Sat
3/22, 10-6pm, Sun 3/23, 11-5:00pm. SF County Fair Bldg, 9th Ave/Lincoln Way,
S.F. FREE! Meet RE/Search and Charles Gatewood! Our books will be on sale
discounted. Speakers, panel discussions, films, exhibits, kids/family space,
and cafe lunches. http://sfbookfair.wordpress.com/
2. RE/Search
presents the 1st Annual PRANKS FILM FESTIVAL, April 1,2,3 at Roxie Theater, 16th
St/Valencia, S.F. http://www.pranksfilmfestival.com
3. Sat April 12, 6:30pm:
RE/Search's "Counter Culture Hour" (with host V. Vale). S.F. Cable
Channel 29, 2nd Sat of month, 6:30pm (set your recorder). We are accepting underwriters for the
Counter Culture Hour. We have a backlog of interviews but are short on
resources for editing. Please consider becoming an underwriter! You would get
on-screen credit. The channel is beginning on-line streaming now! Please
check http://www.accessf.org - link to "access 1" at showtime
3A. OTHER FORTHCOMING
EVENTS:
() Thrillpeddlers
Fri, Sat March 21, 22, 28, 29 thru May 3. 575 10th St, SF 94103. tel 415-377-4202.
www.thrillpeddlers.com presents FLAM-ING SIN: LONDON'S GRAND GUIGNOL. Eddie Muller
directs Noel Coward's only Grand Guignol play: "The Better Half."
Christopher Holland's "The Old Women" or "A Crime in a
Madhouse" PLUS "The Blue Hour," an After-glow Floorshow.
Guaranteed greatness! March 24-28, Thrillpeddlers present EC Comics
"Spring Break" Session theater camp -- perfect for kids! Support
local independent over-the-top theater... For advance tickets:
brownpapertickets.com or 1-800-838-3006.
() Wed
3/19/08 4-5:30pm, UC Berkeley, 110 South Hall. Free. Interesting debate sponsored by the UC Berkeley
Center for New Media (Ken Goldberg) and friends: "Is the Web a Threat to Our Culture?" -- A debate between Andrew Keen
and Paul Duguid moderated by Geoffrey Nunberg. The term Web 2.0 was coined to
describe this transformation on the Internet, where individual volunteers, not
institutions, control its content. But few agree about what's significant,
what's trivial, and what's irrelevant. Critics such as Andrew Keen believe that
the Web threatens our economy, our culture, and our values. Find bios and more information about
this debate at http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/about/events/dls20080319
() DARIO ARGENTO
IN PERSON IN SAN FRANCISCO: Fri April 25!
ÒDario ArgentoÕs
Mother of Tears will make its United States Premiere on Friday, April 25, at
the 51st San Francisco International Film Festival. Dario is expected to
attend, schedule permitting. Tickets to the screenings and complete Festival
details will be available on April 3 (March 28 to Film Society members). For
tickets and complete information (when available), visit www.sffs.orgÓ
4. Stephane von Stephane's cultural column: Culture Politics
Depiction Disorder. Vale maintains that politics are not
culture. And I would agree with him except in the case of this current
election. And then, only in the sense that popular culture is driving this
particular race. And then, only because of the Internet.
One of the
highlights of February for me was attending a lecture at UC Berkeley: http://events.berkeley.edu/?event_ID=7280&date=2008-02-25&tab=all_events where Vale was speaking along with Naut
Humon on the topic "Attention
Depiction Disorders": Art, Technology and Culture Colloquium. Particularly
interesting to me was: when asked about the relevance of Wikipedia Vale said that he did not like Wikipedia. An
audience member pleaded that the beauty of it was that anyone can edit it, and
vast amounts of knowledge could be gleaned by many. But Vale pointed out that
his own Wikipedia entry was fraught with errors and that a good friend who is
even more Wiki-worthy tried multiple times to correct his OWN entry only to see
the deleted falsehoods reinstated the next day. In other words, don't believe
everything you read.
Sadly, it is a
trend these days to absorb the 'viral' 'knowledge' on the Internet and spread
it without caring if it is real or not. Like a bad joke; everyone knows there
may be a grain of truth in it -- it's mostly bullsh*t, but the fun is in the
gratification of the instant laugh, and that is enough. The alleged truth is
good enough. Most folks don't want to take the time to research the real truth.
This state of affairs is perfect for consumer society. If it sounds good and
looks good, it's good. "Reality is what you can get away with."
And so it is
with politics today. Thus we have Obamania. I am not a fan. From what we know,
his policies and Hillary's policies are practically identical, but his viral
spin is "spinnier." Her unfortunate predicament is: having been a
target of attack for many years by the infant viral armies. This stuff works!
Vale also pointed out in his talk at UCB that people think they are not being
affected by the ubiquitous advertising on Internet sites, or on t.v. for that
matter, but they are; it is slipping quietly into your brain and subconsciously
affecting you. I completely agree with Vale on this.
Advertising is
essential for consumer society. Maintaining the status quo, the structural
hierarchy of class, sex, race very important to keep the machine running
smoothly. Don't be fooled by the appearance of choice -- ain't nothing really gonna
change. I am not saying not to vote; it is important for our morale to have the
illusion that we can actually affect things in our lives. As I see it, the
office of President of the U.S. of A. is symbolic. And for me, the greatest
amount of symbolic change that can occur in this election is if we elect a
female prez. That would be chipping away at the patriarchy a little bit, and
that's important. [This is the opinion of Stephane von Stephane, and does not
necessarily represent the views of RE/Search Publications]
Back to UCB:
what a fun evening! Vale's section of the presentation featured previously filmed images
of himself on the big screen, behind himself sitting at the front of the
auditorium. Himself on the screen doing the talking, and himself in person
sitting and listening to himself along with us audience members. Very Andy
Warhol! I can't even remember most of what he was saying, but I realized that I
really like Vale's
voice. The tone and cadence are appealing. He should put out an audio book of
some sort. Funny how you know someone for so many years and then a thing will
strike you about them that you never noticed before. That thing may not have
changed, but your capacity for appreciation of it has. One of my favorite
quotes from him that night was (paraphrased from someone else); "You can't
pour a gallon of knowledge into a quart-sized brain." The way America has
been (purposefully) dumbed down, we have a lot of quart and pint and
thimble-sized brains and not a whole lot of gallons.
Naut showed
footage of his work as an immersive audio musician, and early films of his art
excursion field trips; cool ideas. One piece he showed featured MSNBC's Soledad
O'Brien reporting on Naut's music. The crowd giggled every time she was on
screen. Possibly because Stephen Colbert regularly jokes about her being the
perfect girlfriend (she's like, 45 different nationalities). Then Marian showed
a split screen film from her own and another film-maker's (don't recall his
name) perspective documenting a Mark Pauline SRL performance which took place a few
years ago at the museum there in Berkeley. Also very cool. Mark was there with
his wife and two boys. One of the boys during Q & A asked "Daddy, do
you have a stinky bu-tt?" Adorable! I love life. -- Stephane von Stephane
5. What We Attended: See V. Vale's blog at
www.researchpubs.com
6. What We've Been
Reading/Seeing/Listening to/What We've Been Sent: see V. Vale's blog at
www.researchpubs.com
() Back in 1979
I [V. Vale] played bass in Richard Kelly's [r.i.p.] The Alter Boys, whose
members included saxophonist Richard Edson. Later Edson moved to New York City.
Here's a little bio: "Richard Edson began taking pictures in earnest in
the late nineties. Since he has had four one man shows - two at the Bedlam
Gallery, one at 410 Boyd, and most recently at ADM PROJECTS in Hollywood. He
has also been in numerous group shows, mostly in and around Los Angeles. His
work has been featured in the magazines, "Juxtapoz", "The
Propagandist", "WaxPoetics", and "Puta".
"Richard Edson
was the original drummer with Sonic Youth and New York based Afro-dance band Konk.
He has continued to pursue music in Los Angeles with Jake LaBotz, Tito and
Tarantula, Mr. Razz, Top Kat, and Gio and the Constellations, and currently his
own band OilCan.
"As an
actor he has been in 72 films, including Oliver Stone's "Platoon",
Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise", and Spike Lee's "Do The
Right Thing"... Wim Wender's "Land of Plenty", three films by
the young French filmmaker, Raphael Nadjari, "The Shade", "I Am
Josh Polanski's Brother" and "Apt. 5C" ... "The Astronaut
Farmer" and "Starsky and Hutch".
7. RECOMMENDED LINKS - thanks to our friend Phil G, Ferrara,
James McN-, & Others who sent us the below:
() From Bruno
R: vidŽo pilots il y a des filles qui... :
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlSAJ6Yc8g
OU/OR http://www.dailymotion.com/arelll/video/x2btug_il-y-a-des-filles-qui_creation
() http://www.socyberty.com/Subcultures/10-of-The-Worlds-Most-Unique-Restrooms-Understanding-the-New-Toilet-Culture.53687
http://score-blog.blogspot.com/2007/12/jaws-et-tf1-la-rvlation-merci-gino.html
http://www.squareamerica.com/cp1.htm
http://www2.canoe.com/techno/nouvelles/archives/2007/11/20071129-132409.html
http://www.mspaintporn.net/index2.html
http://www.temporaryservices.org/pi_overview.html
http://www.tatuagemdaboa.com.br/
http://www.garypanter.com/work_comics.html
http://www.mo49.com/sale2/sale28.html
http://www.hyperdictionary.com/thesaurus
http://www.accidentalmysteries.com/photo_03.html
http://www.liveleak.com/?ogr=1
http://babelfish.altavista.com/
http://www.gilles-jobin.org/citations/?P=l&au=208
http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/Wiktionnaire:Page_d'accueil
http://orthonet.sdv.fr/
http://www.artchive.com/ftp_site.htm
http://www.bilousbox.com/illustration/bp.html
http://www.illusionsmusic.fr/sketch/sketch-graphisme/couvertures/contrebande1.html
http://www.bobzoell.com/main.html
() dŽo pilots il
y a des filles qui... : http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=nvlSAJ6Yc8g AND
http://lsont2sortie.free.fr/
() Didier Hanson's
website: www.moviemusicplastic.com
() Psychedelic:
http://www.scrammagazine.com/technicolor
() They said it
couldnÕt be done. Deep PurpleÕs Smoke on the Water – Japanese styleÉ http://davidthompson.typepad.com/davidthompson/2008/02/blended.html
() ballpoint
pen madness: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=511688&in_page_id=1770&ito=newsnow
() http://www.weirdnj.com/stories/_local04.asp http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/12341
Dean of the
Freaks: "...a deformed idiotic Negro boy, whom P.T. Barnum exhibited as
the connecting link between man and ape. The advertising sheets used during
these years by Barnum always listed among the freaks 'What Is It? or Man
Monkey.'
During the famous trial of John Scopes,
a Tennesseean schoolteacher who dared to teach Darwin's theory of evolution,
Zip offered himself as evidence, and was ready to take the stand as a
"missing link." Always the consummate showman, that Zip." - sent
by Phil G.
() home of bozobama: http://www.senatorobamas.com/
() I've updated
my website with lots of new photos: www.jamesstark,com
() From Phil:
Give it up for Da Fuhrer! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feLqz1udhtY
() Phil G
writes: "I was reading the obit of Dorothy Podber, and among other pranks,
she and a cohort were famous for having "persuaded people they had just
met to allow them into their apartments, where they would then play records
used by speech therapists that contained samples of stuttering." My, what
a prank! I'd like more details on that one."
() For years,
US President George W. Bush was tops on Google for searches on "miserable
failure" until last year's Googlebomb "fix" solved his problem
on Google. But Bush is back, sort of. People are spotting that Bush's official
White House page is ranking tops for who is a failure on Google. http://searchengineland.com/080221-180743.php
() Iggy &
the Stooges performing for Madonna (being inducted into R&R Hall of Fame)? http://www.myspace.com/iggyandthestooges
() Bubblegum & la sunshine pop -- PrŽface
de Bertrand Burgalat -- Faites le savoir
www.cahiersdurock.com
8. QUOTES:
()
"Receive from the mysterious spheres the gift of knowing all things, of
reading every thing in the world, of speaking and writing nobly, in a gay or
serious vein, in verse or prose, for heat or for cold, in sleeping or waking,
on wood and on sand, in joy as in pain, and in every language of the
earth." -- "Seeing the World" by Fitz-James O'Brien (circa
1860!)
()
"Beneath the varnish of poetical expression he discovered all the
artifices of the poet. In the consoling truths in the eternal progress that history
deduces from events, he saw nothing but an arbitrary arrangement of facts. The
invention of a system of philosophy was nothing in his eyes but the desire of
saying something new. For him there was no more music; the majestic harmonies
of Haydn and Mozart struck him as only physical phenomena, as peculiar
vibrations of the molecules of air. When he was among his relatives and
intimate friends he read the evil thoughts in their hearts and the criminal
designs that each nourished against the other." Ibid
() "Why
we're powerless to resist grazing on endless web data: ...we are infovores. For
most of human history, there was little chance of overdosing on information...
Today, though, we can find in the course of a few hours online more information
than our ancient ancestors could in their whole lives... As we become more
familiar with the Web and its torrent of information, we [need to] do a better
job learning what is useful and what isn't." -- WSJ, 3-12-08
9. FEEDBACK FROM READERS:
() John Trubee seeks a better job. (707) 545-7784 PO
Box 4921 Santa Rosa, CA 95402 (he's in our PRANKS book, RE/Search #11)
() "Hi
Vale, Writing you from the Netherlands, where I've been working the last few
months. I bought a copy of J.G. Ballard's autobiography "Miracles of Life" the other day. It's a bittersweet
read, as his final chapter announces the fact that he was diagnosed with fairly
advanced prostate cancer - he is as always a gentleman, praising his doctor for
helping to relieve his discomfort and encouraging him in the effort of writing
this book. The last line: "I am very grateful that my last
days will be spent under the care of this strong-minded, wise and kindly
physician." I fear he will
not be with us much longer.
"While
much of this information is available in the various interviews, here he tries
to make clear what was made up in "Empire of the Sun" (first 118
pages of 278 cover his childhood days in Shanghai). Some pictures included of him, his children (both young and
grown), many I'd seen before but not all... - Curt Gardner"
() "Hi!
RE/Search,
Los Angeles
County Museum of Art (LACMA) opened a new building for contemporary art.
Richard Modiano and I went to a preview of the "Broad Contemporary Art
Museum." Afterward, I watched Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope" -- it
was great! James Stewart was so young. We could only tell for sure of 2
breaks in the change of film in the continuous shot.
"Then
Richard loaned me "Dial M for Murder" -- another movie in one apartment. Timeless!
"Did you
know that Martin Scorsese bought 3 pages of an unfinished Hitchcock movie with
one page missing. He would
like to remake the script in tribute to Hitchcock.
"You
probably already know that Alfred Hitchcock appears in all his films after his 3rd
film because they needed him as an extra in the 3rd film and it was his first
success, so he continued to make cameo appearances in the rest of his
films. In Rope, Richard said there
is only his red neon profile in the background seen from the penthouse as it gets
dark. In Dial M for Murder, he is sitting at the table in the B&W reunion
photograph Ray Milland shows the strangler. -- Cousin Gail"
() From Phil W:
"All you need to know about the US War Against Iraq: George W. Bush and
Dick Cheney have perpetrated one of the great crimes of the modern era by
invading and occupying Iraq. Iraq posed no threat to the people of the United
States. Every reason they gave for invading Iraq turned out to be a lie.
"As many
as one out of every three Iraqis have either been killed, wounded, forced to
flee the country, or become refugees within the boundaries of Iraq. The status
of Iraqi women has been gravely diminished and threatened. Tens of
thousands of US troops have been badly wounded or killed. The total price
tag for this illegal war and occupation is likely to reach $2 trillion,
according to informed estimates."
() From Joe Holliday:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ErXOR02jCpA
"I met
Vale a while back at the Pranks 2 event at Beyond Baroque [recently saved from extinction; congrats
to Fred Dewey and cohorts!] I thought the folks at RE/Search might enjoy this
video I shot.
"This
video was shot in an abandoned Nike nuclear missile base that is currently used
for Los Angeles SWAT team live fire exercises. They even painted Arabic words
on the walls in the bunkers to give officers a "more realistic"
experience.
"I
collected hundreds of rounds of spun ammunition and dropped them into one of
the hatches of the bunkers on site. You and I paid for those bullets. Remember
that!"
()
"Borders is starting a campaign to face more books cover-out, thus
reducing each store's inventory by 5-10,000 titles. And the corporate titles
get the most exposure. That's why RE/Search books are not in Borders or Barnes
& Noble -- they're not corporate, they aren't bribing the stores to face
RE/Search books cover-out. So please buy RE/Search books direct from
www.researchpubs.com. But only if you want to see more books come out..."
-- intern
() "RE/Search has been doing the best and most
important things for over two decades now...just amazing the body of work/ideas
you folks have put out there...please keep it up...thanks so very much for all
the beautiful things -- Volcano Suns, MySpace"
"OH, I
just picked up the Bob Flanagan book you put out at Beyond Baroque and I love it!" [still
available from www.researchpubs.com]
"I saw
your RE/Search #4/5: Burroughs, Gysin and Throbbing Gristle book on amazon and
decided i would rather buy from the publisher." (**THANKS, Travis K!)
"Vale, my
package of 4 J.G. Ballard books showed up today...such beautiful stuff, Vale...the hardback
Atrocity Exhibition is so nice...and I love the new small format on the Ballard
conversations -- what a tour de force of analysis and ideas. Really, Vale,
thank you so much for putting these things out. I have been telling friends who
are Ballard fans about the new things; they didn't even know. Have also been
telling them to order them straight from you and not amazon scuzzies ...you are
right on JGB Quotes: great handy little survival book...this summer I will
probably contact you and buy a few more copies of that to hand out to friends...thanks
again for the gorgeous books, Vale...regards, Jeff" (MySpace)
() SEARCH
& DESTROY tabloids from 1977-79 perfectly preserved in black plastic are
STILL AVAILABLE (for now) from www.researchpubs.com - mention this newsletter for special low
price of $30 for 8 assorted issues (of our choice): info@researchpubs.com
_____________________________
MARCH 2008
RE/Search eNewsletter written by V. Vale & contributors. Newsletter and website powered by http://www.laughingsquid.com
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& PROMISE -- RE: V.
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RE/Search
Publications, 20 Romolo Suite B, San Francisco, CA 94133. Tel (415) 362-1465 Email: info@researchpubs.com website: http://www.researchpubs.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/researchpubs