"The Americans were never really in it."

This is a phrase I heard from Olympics announcers several times yesterday, as supposedly invincible American uber-atheletes fell to teams that were more focused, less cock sure, and just frankly better.

Is it another sign of American obsolescense? For me it begins with the patents thing. Last year for the first time in modern history, America was not the leader in the most patents filed. So much for our famed ingenuity. And now this: the American basketball "dream team", known for an urban warfare style assault on the inside, gets whopped soundly by the Puerto Rican team of more accurate outside shooters and tenacious defenders. The announcer said of our supposedly unstoppable team, "They were never really in it." It's the first time our basketball team has lost a game in the Olympics since they allowed NBA players in. They just looked blase about the whole thing, then surprised, and finally, frustrated and pissy. But did they ever bring any fire to the game? Not really.

Then, later at night, another supposed dream team, the American men's swimming team, scraped by to win an embarrasing bronze in the 400 meter free-style relay. Amid all the hype of Michael Phelps and the USA swimmers, this race was billed as a showdown with the Aussies. See, the Australians had done something which wasn't very friendly by winning the gold in Sydney, ending a twenty-year American streak. Last night, team USA declared they wanted it back, and hit the pool... crawling. Our first lap was the slowest lap of over 50 laps swam in the entire relay. The South Africaans, a real team of monsterously large white men, cut through the water like an armada of colonialist warships bent on world domination... oh wait, I mean like a swim team determined to break a world record. Which they did. The Americans on the podium looked like someone had eaten their last Twinkie, turning up their noses at a proffered bronze.


It shouldn't come as a surprise to find out that Americans are losing their edge in an ever-changing world. I mean, maybe we still lead in collective couch-hours or something. But what is surprising is the look of utter befuddlement on their faces as they're losing it. As if to limply say, "but... but... USA... USA..." If the Olympic competitions are always metaphorical representations of the true nature of politics (think cold war track and field for example) then we're viewing the last days of a waning empire who can't get its head around its growing irrelevance. Oh, unless it responds by playing dirty, throwing its weight around, and pouting when it comes in third.

Keep an eye on the Chinese women's gymnastics team if you want an example of a country on the rise. Focused, precise, creative, and truly united as a team, they may be a glimpse of the world's future.

I have made a page of some more Erie County Fair Pics. We really were like some kind of weird wonky tourists of the future, more bent on documenting than experiencing firsthand. So in case you missed any part of the visual experience, there are more pictures of the fair. I'm jealous of the boys' better camera, though, you'll see why.

But! also! There are pictures of TK's (e:flaccidness) 21st birthday party at (e:rachel) 's house. Follow this to see all of them. Here are some samples:

First things first, you must go out and find The Long Winters album, When I Pretend to Fall . They're on Barsuk Records with Death Cab for Cutie, etc. After hearing one tune on KEXP, I searched the internet, called New World and was like "do you have it? good. put my name on it." The counter boy was impressed by my indy cred I think. Awwwww ;). Anyways, anyone who was even briefly in my prescence this weekend knows that I have been listening to this album non-stop, and probably also agrees with me that it is a brilliant friggin' record! You can listen to some tracks on their (really his, a guy named John Roderick) website. Also, what a hottie to boot... Dare I say, rockstar??



I really really want to move to Seattle now, even more than before. I mean, sensitive guys with marty stouffer beards! My dream come true!

As for the music, to me it's Built to Spill with a byway through Neutral Milk Hotel, add a splash of the Shins, and oh maybe just a little Jeff Buckley for that really heart-bending ole school effect. Or as John Roderick describes it: "This is our new record. It’s made of downtown right as the sun comes out after it’s been raining and a little bit of 3AM city bus in from the airport."

Yup, rockstar.

Thank you John in the Morning! I can't stop lovin' my KEXP. Today I heard this song by the Long Winters, and it's on this new compilation, which I just ordered. I think I may get the whole LW album from Itunes, it sounds pretty good too. Here's the skinny on the compilation though. Now you can listen to great music and feel politically engaged at the same time!

Love,
the Inactivist

"Barsuk's next release will be a fundraising CD compilation, titled future soundtrack for america, a joint project with MoveOn.org and Music For America. (McSweeney's Publishing is also releasing a book with similar fundraising goals that will include a copy of the CD; the future dictionary of america features contributions from an astounding group of almost 200 writers, from Paul Auster to Michael Chabon to Jonathan Franzen to Joyce Carol Oates to Kurt Vonnegut to Wendy Wasserstein.)

One hundred percent of our and McSweeney's profits will go to non-profit progressive organizations, including Music For America, Common Assets, The Sierra Club, and others.

The CD will be available August 17th in most stores and here in the Barsuk shop; something tells us that you just might be able to get it a few days earlier if you're on the MoveOn e-mail list...

Complete artist and tracklisting:

OK Go : This Will Be Our Year
David Byrne : Ain't Got So Far To Go
Jimmy Eat World : Game of Pricks (BBC evening session)
Death Cab For Cutie : This Temporary Life
Blink-182 : I Miss You (James Guthrie mix)
Mike Doughty : Move On
Ben Kweller : Jerry Falwell Destroyed Earth
Sleater-Kinney : Off With Your Head
R.E.M. : Final Straw (MoveOn mix)
Bright Eyes : Going for the Gold (live)
The Long Winters : The Commander Thinks Aloud (future mix)
will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas : Money
They Might Be Giants : Tippecanoe And Tyler Too
Clem Snide : The Ballad of David Icke
Yeah Yeah Yeahs : Date With the Night (live)
Fountains of Wayne : Everything's Ruined (acoustic)
Nada Surf : Your Legs Grow
The Flaming Lips : Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (live on the BBC)
Old 97's : Northern Line
Laura Cantrell : Sam Stone
Tom Waits : Day After Tomorrow
Elliott Smith : A Distorted Reality Is Now A Necessity To Be Free"

It's only $12! Buy it!

Last night I read the entire first volume of Grant Morrison's the (now old) New X-Men that (e:matthew) gave me like a year ago. It was very escapist and helped me get out of my head awhile. But here's what scared me... I think I'm turning into Cassandra Nova...

So yesterday I was pretty miserably, even morbidly depressed. I slept a lot, and dreamt a lot. I thought of a lot of depressive things to write about: my total lack of ambition, my intensifying agoraphobia, my tick tick ticking biological clock (one dream I had involved losing a baby for several days in a labrynthine network of cupboards). But instead of talking about depressing depression, I will tell you a bit about one of the strange dreams I had, that involved some e-peepers. It's brief, since I kept hitting the snooze alarm on my news-tuned clock radio, which meant that the dream ended up as a Bush/Kerry debate, which was also pretty weird.

But here is how it started. I was backpacking by myself through a huge jungle nature preserve. Everything was oversized, giant leaves, spanish moss on everything (thanks south carolina for adding that coolness to my visual reservoir!) There were animals hiding here and there in the woods, including the collage-gorilla (e:matthew) made [inlink]matthew,300[/inlink]. It moved around and was gorilla-sized but was made out of tiny pieces of cut paper. This gorilla was with his family and he watched me calmly if cautiously as a trudged by with my grungy pack.

It seemed like I had been traveling a long time, everything I had on was pretty dirty, and I felt pretty seasoned. I crossed a huge ravine by walking over a fallen log and on the other side I met (e:terry) and weirdly, (e:jeremy) (jungle?). They were happy hippies who came to tour the park too. They asked me if I had touched the gorillas, as if it was the thing you absolutely had to do while you were there, and of course I hadn't. They were like, ohhh, you missed out.

So I went to sleep on a high hill and I didn't pitch a tent, I just put down a green tarp and a sleeping bag and slept out in the air. It rained on me, but as I said I was pretty used to traveling so I was only mildly annoyed. It was like I was an itinerant monk trying to mortify myself.

In the morning I woke up and sat up in the lotus position immediately and started chanting a mantra, Nam myoho renge kyo. Which is weird since I haven't chanted in years, and I never chanted this mantra, and I haven't thought about or practiced Buddhism in ages. As I was chanting, a crowd of Buddhist nuns sat down beside me, and started chanting with me. They had shaved heads and beautifully embroidered white robes. One of them on my left looked directly, intently at me, and then I don't remember any more.

Here's a little something about the mantra:
When deluded, one is called an ordinary being, but when enlightened, one is called a Buddha. This is similar to a tarnished mirror that will shine like a jewel when polished. A mind now clouded by the illusions of the innate darkness of life is like a tarnished mirror, but when polished, it is sure to become like a clear mirror, reflecting the essential nature of phenomena and the true aspect of reality. Arouse deep faith, and diligently polish your mirror day and night. How should you polish it? Only by chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.
On Attaining Buddhahood in This Lifetime- Nichiren

This has prolly already been posted, but here is a really funny flash short bashing both candidates to the tune of woody guthries's "this land is your land", at jibjab.com . even CNN and Newsweek love it, so get with the center people! moderation or death!

Sometimes it seems that moderation in itself can be a kind of extreme.
--Andrew Bird, Weather Systems

"The beast will walk upon the earth and darkness will follow. The several races of man will be as one in their terror and destruction." Aw, that's kind of sweet. Different races coming together.
--Mayor Wilkins, reading aloud from the Books of Ascension, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3, Episode 55.

In other news, I want a pony!

Hey Y'all! Follow this to see all the pictures from my trip down south. Matt there are aquarium pictures just for you!

hello! i'm back from the south! here is a picture that pretty much sums it up:



stay tuned for more pictures soon...