The Annabelle Echo Closet

Transparent Conveyance of Remote Information

2011-11-08T15:32:00.002-06:00

The Spooks in the Adjacent Apartment
by Annabelle Echo
I am an e-weapon guinea pig.
For 7 years, I’ve slept in a sheet metal steel cocoon.
It blocks all AM & FM radio signals.
I bathe in perpetual itch from telemetry,
a technology that allows remote measurement
& transparent conveyance of remote information.
I am a victim of 2 identical microwave pulses:
ELF/VLF rate frequencies transmitted through
carrier waves above 100MHz

Fragment Consider Revising…
by Annabelle Echo
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Melting Sidewalks

2011-06-20T12:10:00.003-05:00

Melting sidewalks slope,
declining toward the end of what?
Note to self:
Check I glass prescription.
My feet are now perceiving what my eyes never did.

Girls’ names that contain the letters C & L ?
Convex Coke™ bottle lenses
photograph nothing but re-arranged furniture.
That’s why we can’t spend time together?

Press TV the Mist

2011-03-04T16:35:00.001-06:00

An MIT Pentagon Paper

2011-01-20T23:32:00.002-06:00

An MIT Pentagon Paper:
Looks Like Blood or
Why the Pentagon
doesn’t care what you do?
Ask Noam Chomsky!

Delivery Failures:

2010-10-19T17:25:00.004-05:00

AC360 - Michigan AG Andrew Shirvell Targets Gay Student.!

2010-09-29T14:34:00.001-05:00

This posting illustrates why Anderson Cooper is the object of Annabelle Echo’s considerable attention.
She set up this blog devoted entirely to tracking Mr. Cooper.
You’re looking at the opening page of the blog.

Question: Is Andrew Shirvell for real or is this an elaborate attention seeking hoax?

WTC 7 Before Collapse

2010-09-13T14:23:00.000-05:00

FoIA footage of the area around WTC 7 before collapse, filmed by a local NYC news station.

Vaca Sacra

2010-09-09T15:02:00.001-05:00

Excerpts from Vaca Sacra by Antibody Danc e.
performed in Puebla, Mexico (@ the Festival de Teatro Susana Alexander), and Chicago, Illinois (@ The Op Shop & The Archer Ballroom), in Spring of 2010.
performed by Silvita Diaz Brown, Craig Rusty Donavin, and Adam Rose

SHINee - Lucifer (MV)

2010-08-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

Who says Mind Control isn't fun or Who says Asian Boys aren't cute!

As United States Collapses, Media Worships LeBron James

2010-07-13T16:45:00.000-05:00

OmniCircus: Garvey Interview

2010-07-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

It Ain't My Fault by Mos Def & Lenny Kravitz | stupidDOPE.com

2010-06-16T14:23:00.000-05:00

Anderson Cooper Nashville TN

2010-05-07T14:42:00.000-05:00

Anderson Cooper & CNN cover the Nashville TN Flood May 6th 2010
Mr. Cooper admitted that for the most part the Times Square Bomber Trumped this flood in the Mainstream Media.

Evil Doers Aisle 5

2010-05-06T11:23:00.000-05:00

Evil Doers Aisle 5
By Annabelle Echo
My X husband Hawaii 5.0 scares people.
He flicks his Bic randomly yet with malice
aforethought menacing all who pass because
he thinks he’s watching re-runs of “Bewitched!”
He speaks into a sardine can talkin’ about “the Evil Doers”.
He wears a plaid necktie over a short-sleeve t shirt.
He matches the plaid with a sporty cap.
He pulled from the dumpster a coffee stained oatmeal lump of
a sweatshirt signifying in bold black letters the word “POLO”.

17 by seventeen

2010-04-26T16:35:00.004-05:00

17 by seventeen
sylvia plath threw herself a going away party
she let fly the entire fall collection of superfluous
lace & crinoline:
17 new looks from seventeen!
the floating wardrobe glided free amongst
menacing manhattan sky scrapers until snagged

Celebrate Sylvia Plath

P U N I S H ‘69 by Annabelle Echo

2010-02-24T18:25:00.002-06:00

In 1969 Jane Fonda totaled her Honda N600.
Before the accident the sedan was 10 feet long & weighed 1300 pounds.
In 2005 Jon Foster of Henderson, Nevada restored it to Full Moon Blue.
Look on the door jamb to locate the auto paint code.
Its original 2 cylinder 36 horsepower 36 cubic inch motorcycle engine
was replaced with a Mustang 385 V8 Triton.
The weather worn & mangled vehicle tags,
found in a remote chasm at the bottom of the crash site,
were reattached to the vehicle.
They read: “P U N I S H”

Jumbo Aspirin 325mg 1000 Tablet Haiku

2010-02-22T14:05:00.000-06:00

X-Husband #54
Keeps 2 Helmets in “Ur Locker”
Scratches Bear Butt

Cold Air Whirls around Knees
Weather Changes
1000 Tablets Buys
325mg @ SafeWay®

Lone Little Girl Rides Yellow Bus
Looks Out 1st Row Window
Sneaks Smile & Cookie

Things I require 2 acquire 2 legally change my name 2 Prestiq®
1.A modestly styled dried blood wig
2.A straight black skirt hemmed & painted below knee
3. A scarlet puffy sleeved high neckline
4.A human being to wind me up

Dr Buzzard’s
6 Flags Saint Louis Jail
Is Stranger than Pulp Fiction

Donna Pecore’s Pet
Pit Bull “Apache”
Claims he’s “one eighth
Mighty Choctaw”

Want More Haiku? My X, Mr. Mothballs says:
“Click Here!”

My X Husband: Mr. Mothballs...

2009-06-25T14:52:00.012-05:00

I’ve been getting a lot of tweets and other types of rude text inquiries concerning one of my many X-husbands, Mr. Mothballs. Instead of trying to answer each and every one of my fans individually, I’m posting this visual & textural portrait illustrating him & describing our relationship:

Want More Haiku? My X, Mr. Mothballs says “Click Here!”

Happy Birthday Anderson Cooper !

2009-06-03T00:00:00.000-05:00

Live from Chicago: Happy Birthday Anderson Cooper !
Borders Book Store describes AC's new memoir of war disasters and survival,
Dispatches from the Edge:
An intrepid correspondent and host of his own news program on CNN, the dashing Anderson Cooper shakes off the cardboard image of the staid news anchor to give reporting a human face. He brings the same candor to his memoir of a year spent covering harrowing stories such as Southeast Asia's tsunami, the war in Iraq, and Hurricane Katrina. In the midst of such devastation, Cooper is gripped by his own painful memories of his father's death when he was a boy, and, not long afterward, his brother's suicide.
My review will be posted soon on this or one of my other blogs. Stay Tuned...
All of us Ladies in Chicago and at fatgirls rio baton, especially Annabelle Echo, want to wish AC the happiest of Birthdays and hope for many, many more. Please be careful out there and watch your back! Yes maybe we are just a bunch of crazy ladies but we love you none the less.
The image above has been updated. Click here to view!

The Annabelle Echo Store

2008-02-01T19:58:00.000-06:00

buy unique gifts at Zazzle

Best of luck at your new address! NOT!

2007-06-10T23:45:00.000-05:00

Best of luck at your new address! NOT!

Last week I called my bank. I told them that I was through with credit. From now on, I wasn’t going to pay interest on things I didn’t really need in the first place. If I didn’t have the money in the bank I wasn’t going to spend it. They told me that if I deactivated my credit card I wouldn’t have a credit history. I relented. But I still cut up my credit card. Then yesterday I found this letter on top of a pile of junk mail.
I can’t make this stuff up:

June 5, 2007
Dear Annabelle Echo,
Congratulations on your recent move and thanks for keeping us up-to-date on your credit card ending in ****. As an added safeguard would you please take a moment to verify the address change requested?
New Address:
445 E Euclid St
Detroit MI 48202
If this information is correct, you are all set. There is no need to contact us. If, however, there is an error - or if you have in fact not requested this address change – please call us toll free at 1-888-***-****. Call us any time and we will be glad to set your records straight. When calling, please remember to have your account number available.

Best of luck at your new address!

Sincerely,
Fraud Operations

Here is my response:

Dear Fraud Operations,
It is my distinct pleasure to inform you that I have never even been to Detroit, Michigan and have no future plans to visit let alone live there. However, if you had done a simple search on Google™ Maps you would see that according to your records I am now living in a VACANT LOT!
Most people might lose a little sleep knowing that someone is out there masquerading and using their identity to buy a lot of worthless junk such as a MacMansion, a gas guzzling sport utility vehicle or a yacht and ruining their credit and putting them into debt. Strangely, I slept like a baby last night. I dreamt that all of the junk mail that usually piles up on my doorstep was being delivered to a vacant lot in Detroit only to swirl and then scatter.
On the Web:
Turning trees into trash…Forest Ethics fights back!
Church of Stop Shopping, Links of Resistance…
What My Identity Thieves bought on Ebay sung by Weird Al Yankovic…
Are you a victim of Identity Theft?

Inside the Brain of Annabelle Echo...

2007-05-05T17:06:00.000-05:00

Panarama of this Venue...

Bloggers Annabelle Echo & Deep H lose themselves to the Version Festival in Chicago’s Bridge Port neighborhood.
“ This is the final struggle/Let us join together and tomorrow/ The International/Will be the human race”

:: VERSION>07 THE INSURECTION INTERNATIONALE ::
On the Web:
I’m a frickin’ american, former male model & faux journalist ;-), Deep H shares his thoughts:
War, the national religion
Divide et Impera
Exactly what are you selling again?

Sexy Silver & Blue: AC 360° & Others....

2006-10-11T18:30:00.000-05:00

Are they as sexy as Anderson Cooper?
The Answer is Yes!
They are The Yes Men.
On the Web, more sexy folks:
The Reverend Billy &
Forest Ethics Report onVictoria's dirty little Secret...

Check out Annabelle Echo Chicago for reports about Economic Hitman, John Perkins, Welsh Music Icon & Painter, Jon Langford and Sculptress, Cynthia Plaster Caster.

On the Web: Friday, May 12th, 2006, The Yes Men Strike Again: Group Poses As Halliburton Reps At “Catastrophic Loss” Conference.
Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! interviews The Yes Men's Andy Bichlbaum :
Halliburton Solves Global Warming

SurvivaBall™ Photographs and Video

Today Forest Ethics sent me this email:
Dear Annabelle,
We’re still waiting! Victoria’s Secret is spending lots of time and money on selling PINK, but they sure are dragging their feet to be green. For two years, Victoria’s Secret has been considering a more environmentally friendly paper for their catalogs, but we are demanding it! While we all wait they continue to send out over a million catalogs a day - destroying over 130 trees a day. The time for action is NOW! Help us keep the pressure on and make sure they hear us loud and clear! We demand they MAKE their decision and make the RIGHT decision - to protect our Endangered Forests. The campaign is heating up. Sign-up to get more involved. There are lots of things you can do. Check it out!
*Organize a Demonstration
*Attend an Event
*Pass Out leaflets to Victoria’s Secret customers
Sign-up NOW!
Victoria’s Secret is an icon of fashion, but they need to realize that destroying forests is never in fashion. That’s because forest destruction for catalogs destroys wildlife habitat and contributes to global warming. Together, we can make sure Victoria's Secret makes a change for the better and help protect our last remaining endangered forests.
For the Forests,
Liz Butler
Organizing Director
P.S. Have you sent a free fax to the CEO reminding him - Forests Matter? Take Action NOW!

I wrote back:
Hello Liz,
Maybe it's a good idea to single out and/or focus on Victoria's Secret because of their sexy image because it brings attention to the problem of waste and destruction of trees. In my experience however I receive a lot of catalogues from Eddie Bauer, Lands End, Nordstrom and L. L. Bean. Every time I buy something online I start getting tons of paper catalogues. Despite buying underwear from Victoria's Secret Stores at least once a year--they have my address-- they've never sent a paper catalogue.
O.K. That being said I support Forest Ethics efforts on my blog:
What I want to know is why does Forest Ethics focus so much on Victoria's Secret when these other retailers are just as or more wasteful. Because of the Internet these catalogues are almost completely unnecessary. If they must send them to some who don't have Internet access they should be printed on recycled paper.
Thanks from Annabelle Echo
Liz wrote back:
The answer is that 2 reasons:
1. They send out 395 million catalogs a year which is much larger then other catalogs. They also send out more to an single person on their list (we have been told that people will get 20-24 a year if they are on the list)
2. Major reason is that they source out of a key endangered forest here is the info on that forests.
I hope this helps.
Liz
Information from Forest Ethics:
Endangered Boreal Forests of Alberta's Rocky Mountain Foothills
* Only 2% of Alberta's Rocky Mountain Foothills eco-region is legally protected from logging, oil and gas drilling and other industrial development. The Little Smoky and Big Horn Endangered Forests are two of the most extensive and least disturbed areas in the Foothills that are in need of immediate protection.
* West Fraser is currently logging both the Little Smoky and Big Horn Endangered Forests and turning them into wood products and pulp that goes into Victoria Secret Catalogs
* The Little Smoky Endangered Forest is adjacent to the Magnificent Jasper National Park and contains some of the most important ecological values found in the Foothills.
* Woodland caribou, grizzly bear, cougar, wolf, wolverine, fisher, marten, moose, elk, and deer still roam freely in this area, and its rivers and streams provide key habitat for a diversity of fish including bull trout, arctic grayling and mountain whitefish.
* Woodland Caribou populations in West Fraser's Forest Management Area have declined 20% over the past 20 years and West Fraser's plans for continued logging threaten their very existence.

Alan Emerson Hicks @ Mercury Cafe

2006-06-30T23:59:00.002-05:00

The irrepressible, enchanting & enthralling Alan Emerson Hicks performed & created a temporal sculpture to illustrate poetry performed and written by Guinness Book World Record nominee, artist & wordsmith Lee Groban.

Mercury Cafe
1505 W. Chicago Ave.
Chicago, Illinois
Tel: (312) 455-9924

On the Web:
Lee Groban
Lee Groban Wikipedia
Emerson Time Machine MMVII 2008
Alan Emerson Hicks Biography

Pride Weekend Report

2006-06-28T14:53:00.000-05:00

Pride Weekend Report

This just in from my relentless reporters Scott & Russell…

Hey Guys!
We figured we’d e-mail you some photos from Pride weekend in Chicago. Scott and I ran in the annual to Run 10K. We both finished in 52 minutes, a couple minutes longer than we’d hoped. But the day was so pleasant that we quickly forgot about that and enjoyed the festivities.
As you can see, there were plenty of colorful outfits, friendly people and wacky entertainment. The twirling marine-types are known as the, Recklessly Outrageous Twirling Corps. They’re an annual feature in the Pride Parade.
George Takei, also known as helms officer Sulu from the original Star Trek presented the top runners with their medals. In addition to saying how lucky he was to be able to greet all of these sweaty and healthy, good looking people, he spoke of his reason for coming out, namely his disappointment with Arnold Schwarzenegger for his refusal to affirm marriage rights to gay Californians. In a radio interview later that evening, he spoke of his frightening experience as a child when the government interned his entire family during the Second World War. These experiences plus his celebrity status made him an excellent Grand Marshal for the Pride Parade.

Thank you Scott & Russell.

If you would like to read more, please check out these links:

Chicago Celebrates 37th Annual Gay Pride Parade
Proud to Run
We Love a Parade 37th Annual Gay Pride in Chicago
by ANDREW DAVIS
2006-06-28
Nick Digilio WGN Radio
Just Chillin' With Takei
George Takei Named Grand Marshal for Chicago's 37th Annual Pride Parade

Fink Different: Anderson Cooper versus Rat Fink

2006-04-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

Found on eBay: Vintage 1960's Ed Big Daddy Roth Rat Fink Figure.
Description: Old plastic Rat Fink figure or ring charm (ring band not included) from a vintage gumball display card. Could use a cleaning, but leaving that up to winner. Measures 1 3/8" tall. Mint condition.
Winning bid: US $162.50 Ended: Apr-16-06 17:30:00 PDT

Fink Different. Anderson Cooper versus Rat Fink:
Who does Annabelle Echo Love More?
What do you Fink? I'll be taking your comments...

I know what you're thinking...This has got to be a joke. But it's not. I'm serious.
It all started sometime in the mid-1960s. I was a little kid. I had a quarter. I had to; as is my usual tendency to this day, spend it. I was in the old Woolworth's in Hyde Park near 55th St. I spied a gum ball type vending machine. But instead of holding gumballs it was filled with little molded plastic toys of every sort enclosed inside of clear plastic capsules.
I was taking a bit of gamble because once I slid the quarter into the slot I was taking a chance not making a choice. The toy that fell down the chute to the little metal door could be anything. But it wasn't. Luck was with me that day. I was just about as thrilled as any kid could be with a new toy even though I know now that at the time it was 25¢ worth of cheap molded plastic. It's weird what we remember as being important.
I looked into the capsule. Inside was an ugly small red doll with the initials: R. F.
I'm not sure how I knew his full name at the time. Maybe he came with instructions? At the time I knew nothing of Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, the creative force behind Rat Fink™ yet Roth's creation soon became the most important doll in my collection. I had other dolls of course. My Liddle Kiddles™ with their I Dream Jeannie eyes came with every sort of accoutrement:
Trikey Triddle, the perennial toddler came with red poofie pigtails and a pink tricycle. One whose name escapes me was more grown up. She was a stylish and sophisticated blond pilot who came with her own little plane. The other whose name I can't remember was the only Black doll in the collection. I believe she might have come with a red wagon but I'm not sure. Because her beautiful wavy black hair was so long I decided that she must be a Hippy so I made her purple flowered bell-bottoms and a matching blouse. I have no idea what happened to her original clothes. I had very little patience or love for Liddle Red Riding Hiddle. Besides her obligatory red hooded cloak she came with a fluffy gray wolf. He despite flashing fierce yellow eyes was nevertheless much more of a pet than a predator. Liddle Middle Muffet was quite a dysfunctional mess when I first unwrapped her. Although quite the tomboy with her plain brown hair woven behind her back into a single braid, she was dressed in an idiotic frilly dress. I dressed her in pants and named her Sara after a playmate she resembled who lived across the alley next to the gang way. Besides an amazing yellow tuffet that served as wonderful pillow she came with a hideous pet tarantula. Yes he was quite frightening to look at with his pointy red hat. But as he and the rest of the crew would soon find out, he was no match for Rat Fink. Teresa Touring Kar was from another time so I had to forgive her Barbra Streisand over the top diva hairstyle and fancy ways. Besides, she came with awesome chartreuse and purple Ford model “A” convertible. Sweet Pea Liddle Kiddle was last but not least. She was the baby of the family and the most beloved. All the other dolls including Rat Fink adored her. She looked quite tiny below the giant flower on her head. Long pink hair flowed from beneath the flower to her ankles. She came trapped in a transparent pink Liddle Kiddle Kologne bottle. When I first saw her high on a shelf at Bargain Town™ I begged my father to pay the 38¢ to purchase her. Like Rat Fink she was special. As soon as I got her out of the bottle I proudly showed her to my great uncle Lou who lived with my family. He kissed her on her little head and like a king bestowed the nickname “Babebush” upon her. The name stuck. Babebush was now like Rat Fink part of the family.
OK. By now dear readers I'm sure if not at a loss for patience you are at least confused. You may be asking why is Rat Fink so important and what the hell does he have to do with Anderson Cooper the journalist. And why should you my readers decide who do I love more? In case you never heard of Mr. Cooper, here is a short excerpt from one of his recent programs.

Anderson Cooper 360º
A Death in Belmont, Part II
Aired April 18, 2006 - 23:00 ET
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Tonight we're looking at “Perfect Storm” Author Sebastian Junger's investigation of a single murder. In his new, and as you'll see deeply personal book, “A Death in Belmont”, Junger asks whether the killer was really a black house cleaner (Roy Smith) or was he the Boston strangler? For him, it's a journey that began with a handyman, Albert DeSalvo, (the Boston strangler) who was working at his family's house. So this investigation comes from Junger's magnifying glass. (On camera): We'll be taking your calls. Who do you think killed Bessie Goldberg on that day in Belmont?

Is it just me or is this an odd way to spend a 2-hour news program? Yet strangely it is how I got the idea for this post. Asking an audience to solve a 40 plus year old murder mystery seemed almost as strange as asking an audience who I love more: Rat Fink or Anderson Cooper. And like Junger, writing this essay has been a deeply personal journey back in time for me. What kind of child was I and who am I now?
While I suspected while watching the show that CNN -Time Warner had some connection to the publishing of A Death in Belmont I found that was not correct. From my research I've determined that this book is independently published by W. W. Norton & Company. Yet I would have preferred to see the show focus some attention on Junger's previous book Fire.
I remember hearing Junger speak to a somber crowd in Chicago at the Harold Washington Library Center about this book shortly after 9/ll

Here is what Junger's own web site has to say about the book:
Fire
(W.W. Norton, October 2001)
Forest fires, terrorism, war: explorations of danger by the author of The Perfect Storm.
For readers and viewers of The Perfect Storm, opening this long-awaited new work by Sebastian Junger will be like stepping off the deck of the Andrea Gail and into the inferno of a fire burning out of control in the steep canyons of Idaho. Here is the same meticulous prose brought to bear on the inner workings of a terrifying elemental force; here is a cast of characters risking everything in an effort to bring that force under control.
Few writers have been to so many desperate corners of the globe as has Sebastian Junger; fewer still have provided such starkly memorable evocations of characters and events. From the murderous mechanics of the diamond trade in Sierra Leone to the logic of guerrilla warfare in Afghanistan and the forensics of genocide in Kosovo, this new collection of Junger's nonfiction will take you places you wouldn't dream of going to on your own.

That's who Rat Fink was for me when I was a child. He was the doll that, unlike the sweet and frilly dolls, could dream of danger and provide a dose of reality to the other doll's lives. Rat Fink was that terrifying elemental force. If Rat Fink were a real person today he would be an ex Navy Seal or ex Special Operation Forces itching to get back in the game. He's not happy being a civilian. He'll always be a soldier. He's the guy who brags that he took a pot shot at Idi Amin and that he once trained Osama bin Laden for the C.I.A.

I don't know if this post makes any sense. Why were Rat Fink & Babebush so important and special to me as a child? I guess because like my new baby doll AC360º, they express so well the two sides of human nature: the sweet goofy adorable creative side and the side that is fascinated with that terrifying elemental force that loves danger.

On the Web:

Tales of the Rat Fink
Welcome to Ratfink
The Official Site of “Big Daddy” Ed Roth - Rat Fink Lives!
Books by Sebastian Junger (Old Link)
Sebastian Junger – Google News
Anderson Cooper 360º transcript:
A Death in Belmont, Part II

Babebush

2006-04-24T00:00:00.000-05:00

The Dreams of Sparrows

2006-03-09T17:00:00.000-06:00

The Dreams of Sparrows

Media giants and the Media underground now use Iraqi stringers almost exclusively because it's too dangerous to explore Iraq for most foreign journalists. Only the intrepid few dare to take the risks. Filmmakers Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy who made The Oil Factor and blogger Dahr Jamail are among the exceptions.
October 24th, 2006 wouldn't be the first time that the Palestine Hotel, a favorite refuge for foreign journalists in Baghdad was rocked by explosions from all sides of the conflict. That evening 20 Iraqis were killed by the blasts. According to Leif Utne of the Utne Reader, Hayder Daffar, the hotel night clerk and the director of The Dreams of Sparrows escaped with cuts and bruises.
His film at the beginning takes surprisingly gentle and subtle approach towards life death and war in Iraq. The horror builds slowly.
In one amazing close-up, a silver-plated Colt 45 handgun fills the screen. The camera pulls out and back to reveal it is held in the hand of an 8-year-old boy. The boy points the gun at a passing toddler. The toddler's older brother hurls a rock in response. After this segment of the film there is an awkward cut an odd and mysterious interval as if the next segment of the film were cut out or maybe the film ran out? In the next shot a young bearded man is holding the gun cautiously, shielding behind his back as if he took it out of the hands of the boy. The boy stands by sheepishly.
Later motorists idling in a long static line are interviewed. They've been waiting on average 4 hours to get gas. The line, several miles long must be shown in jerky fast motion in order to reveal the full impact of war related shortages. This scene begs the question: Is the U.S. military deliberately creating the shortage or are insurgents blowing up the pipelines? The answer is not clear. But one thing is made clear by the film—If you need gas or if you want to make some cash you buy gas on the black market from a guy who has the patience and enough gas cans to hoard gasoline.
Things go from bad to worse. Daffar visits an all girls' school where the students show clever drawings full of tanks helicopters, bombs and guns. Later in the film while visiting museum galleries professional artists also show horrifying sculptures of hooded torture victims from Abu Ghraib prison and paintings of mass graves and the grief stricken to illustrate genocide by Saddam Hussein. Later Daffar’s camera travels down a crumbled trash strewn puddle filled street towards a so-called children’s shelter. The place turns out to be a ruined shell of building full of glue sniffing adolescent boys. They tell him that others calling themselves filmmakers solicited them for pornographic purposes. Later the filmmakers visit a mental hospital. Some of the patients are ill as of result of torture by Saddam Hussein’s son Uday. Often the wrong people are lock up in mental hospitals. An Iraqi writer who also helped make the film admits to playing mentally ill for 4 years beginning in 1986 just to avoid being tortured and likely killed.
One of the most haunting scenes occurs when Daffar visits a dusty tent filled Palestinian refugee camp. His voice-over explains that Saddam had provided housing for them from wealthy citizens with room to spare but when the war started they were evicted. A beautiful bashful little girl peers out from around the rough canvas of her shelter to tell him she doesn't recognize Daffar from his last visit. Her sweet shy smile belies this claim.
This film while quite current and news worthy seems a little naive in that it does not come close to explaining some of the background to this war. According to author and self described Economic Hitman John Perkins this war really started back in the late 1950s.
Iraq had a revolution in 1958. By popular demand Abdul Kassam was voted to power as president of Iraq. He demanded that oil companies pay an oil tax to benefit the Iraqi people. When he also consigned the oil companies to one tenth of one percent of the area of Iraq, he was marked for assassination. The man chosen for the task by the C. I. A. was a little known Bathist party right-winger, 19-year-old Saddam Hussein. On his third attempt in 1963 he assassinated the elected president of Iraq. The C.I.A. then installed Saddam Hussein as puppet president by and for the C.I.A. carrying out their orders on behalf of the American oil companies. For 27 years, his regime tortured, killed and terrorized Iraqi citizens. According to recent news reports, torture and terror continues in Iraq at Abu-Graib, Guantanamo, and hundreds of secret detention camps throughout Iraq, and around the world. The complete story involves most if not all of the Middle East.
The film of course does not have a happy ending. Sa'ad Fakher one of the most creative optimistic and fun loving of the group of filmmakers involved in the film is killed when he accidentally drifts into the so-called “area 55” ironically trying to avoid Iraqi gun fire. Fakher, shown earlier in the film singing and playing a mandolin, is presumed lost on a dark street when he unknowingly drives his car through a heavily fortified area. His car is shredded by American bullets according to the film and later found with its upholstery completely blood soaked. He initially survives the onslaught but cannot walk to safety. His lungs liver and legs are lacerated. Later another of the filmmakers near tears laments, “God Bless his soul. He wasn't supposed to die.” I've heard that at least four friends of the filmmakers have died so far.
The film ends with Daffar making a poignant personal statement to his American producer Aaron Raskin, “US troops and government dirty. Believe me at first we were happy. US troops hard hearted.” He also says, to paraphrase, that a “Cowboy Culture” has acculturated US troops.
According to blogger Dahr Jamail, Daffar was later kidnapped but later let go by the mujahedin when they realized who he was. I believe this happened in Fallaja, a city of rubble now protected by the mujahedin. Bomb remnants found near a school are stenciled with the words: “Made in the USA.” Iraqis say that the purpose of the bombing was to disrupt the educational system.

On the Web:

The Dreams of Sparrows
a film by Hayder Daffar & Aaron Raskin

Harbinger Productions News

The Oil Factor
a film by Gerard Ungerman & Audrey Brohy

Dahr Jamail's Iraq Dispatches

Economic Hit Man John Perkins

The Dreams of Sparrows

2006-03-09T16:45:00.000-06:00

A Whiter Shade of Pale...

2006-03-08T19:00:00.000-06:00

In spite of his crooked yet devastating smile and his flinty impossiblue eyes, Mr. Cooper insists that those who admire him are merely engaging in and succumbing to a fetish for pale skinny gray haired folks. Is his reaction too humble and self effacing? Yes, but that's part of his charm. But I had to think about this and I decided yes maybe I do suffer from some sort of gray hair pale face fixation. Take for example, when I published a fan site dedicated to the late Charley Weaver, a.k.a. Cliff Arquette. I later had to complain to the Mount Ida, Arkansas Chamber of Commerce when they changed Charley Weaver days back to the original Good Ole Days. They said no one remembered Charley Weaver except me and besides they probably questioned why was some crazy woman city slicker tellin’ them how to run their town. Anyway I found out later that the Mount Idy of Arquette’s imagination was probably based on his childhood home in Ohio. Then there was the College Comedy Tour when I won this lame mocking “beauty contest” at the University of Chicago. My prize was a kiss from my hero, Larry Bud Melman, a.k.a. Calvert DeForest. Although this was the realization & the culmination of a dream, I felt very awkward kissing this man. For one thing the man was as white as paper. The other thing was, before I kissed him he accused me in front of the entire Mandel Hall audience of being under the influence of Quaaludes! “No Larry, Valium”, I anxiously countered to throw him off his game...
After this experience, I realized that my comic hero wasn't always such an amusing man to be around after all... especially when put in a stressful situation. I'm sure he was as nervous if not more than I was...

If you have some time to spend on frivolity, check out AC360° looking “pale as a newt”, at the Noose, a leather emporium. How lucky can a girl get? There is also a couple of fascinating news clips. I was especially riveted by an interview with white house reporter/accused male escort Jeff Gannon a.k.a. James Guckert.

On the Web:
Jeff Gannon EXPOSED!

James Frey: A Million Little Pieces

2006-01-12T15:35:00.000-06:00

A day before the scandal broke I was aimlessly browsing through the Barnes & Noble a De Paul University. One cover especially intrigued me. On it was a clenched hand covered like a sticky donut or cupcake with little round multi-colored sprinkles. You know the kind—the ones that delight the eye but poison the soul. I began reading the 1st chapter of A Million Little Pieces, a “memoir” by James Frey. Before finishing the first page I became skeptical. The book begins with the protagonist covered in various body fluids waking up airborne sitting in a commercial airplane seat. Unless a flight is employed as and ambulance, I doubt that a bloody, visibly sick, James Frey would have been allowed passage. Airlines, bus lines cruise lines and passenger rail don’t like being sued when a seriously ill passenger dies or becomes much sicker en route.
I should know. I was once kicked off an Alaskan State ferry when I became sea sick, fainted and lost consciousness. As soon as I was ambulatory I was put ashore at Ketchikan. Hours later after being released from the hospital; I begged the cruise line to radio the ship to tell my traveling companions to wait for me at Haines. I then caught the next ferry to meet them.
But this little blog entry is not about me so I’m not going to write the rest of what happened to me in Alaska. What I wanted to write about was what in my opinion makes a good memoir. The two best that I’ve read are Manchild in the Promised Land by Claude Brown and Going to Extremes by Joe McGinniss. I don’t know how accurate these books are but I believed every word.

Ocean Drive: Indigent Need Not Subscribe

2005-12-26T19:00:00.000-06:00

Ocean Drive: Indigent Need Not Subscribe
New Magazine for the Wealthy May Not Want You as a Reader

Recently, I read in the New York Times that the evil whiz kids at SoBe News that brought the world Ocean Drive Magazine 13 years ago, will introduce an exclusive magazine, Related, in February 2006. According to Andrew Adam Newman, writing for the New York Times, "It will print only 25,000 copies and distribute them exclusively to current and prospective owners of condominiums developed by the Florida-based Related Group, which builds units in the range of $1 million to $10 million." SoBe it!
O.K. I know what you're thinking... How would I know or why do I care!? Well it all started years ago when, like the character Kramer on Seinfeld, I flew into a rage when I received a Pottery Barn catalogue in the mail. And no, I hadn't yet seen this particular episode. When I did finally see it I was surprised and intrigued at the coincidence. This episode changed my life. I decided there and then to, like Kramer, cancel as much as possible, if not all of my mail.
I have yet to be entirely successful in this endeavor. I knew I was in trouble when mysteriously and out of the blue, a copy of Ocean Drive Magazine appeared on my doorstep. A wave of utter shock and revulsion shook my body. Who had sent it? How had they found me? If you've never seen this magazine I will now describe it to you. First of all, it is about the same thickness as a telephone book. Second, it is filled with glossy photo ads for $100,000 watches and other gem studded jewelry, shiny luxury sports cars and other expensive junk. Skinny and often disheveled wind-swept models dressed in skimpy couture and dangerous shoes stare out at the viewer from all angles.
O.K., I thought. This is just a sample- a fluke- a mistake. It won't happen again. But it did. Like clockwork, every month another copy would arrive. I was so embarrassed. What would my mail carrier, the recycling center and my neighbors think?
I decided to take action. You know the annoying postage paid post-card that invariably flies out of every magazine? I wrote on the back, Cancel this subscription! How did you get my name? I have a low income! As a matter of fact, I'm indigent! Who would buy all this junk you sell anyway?
After about 12 months I received my last copy of Ocean Drive magazine. But that's not the end of the story. One day near the end of the time of the subscription, my close friend, Russell, who was at this time sharing an apartment with my cousin, invited me to this cousin's birthday party. After a while at the party, I noticed something strange laying on the coffee table. It was a copy of Ocean Drive magazine! Oh no...!, I exclaimed to Russell, those creeps got your name too. How awful. I then told him about the angry letter I had just sent them. He laughed and admitted it was he who had sent the subscription. It was supposed to be a present. He liked the sexy pictures and thought I would to. I love Russell so I told him that if I had only known I would have saved, at least for a while, some of the issues instead of immediately tossing them into the recycling bin.

On the Web:
Ravenscroft Dog Farm: You Are So Fabulous

For Real News: Check out The Echo Report.

Source:
New Magazine for the Wealthy May Not Want You as a Reader
MONDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2005
Author: ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN
The New York Times
Business/Financial Desk
Late Edition - Final, Section C, Page 5, Column 5

Same Sex, Windy City Shorts

2005-11-15T17:39:00.000-06:00

A Short Film Review....
Same Sex, Windy City Shorts
Reeling: the 24th Chicago Lesbian & Gay
International Film Festival

I usually don't attend film festivals. I know I should but I'm cheap and I usually wait to see the films for free. But for some reason this was my 2nd time going to Reeling. The films I've seen at this festival are unique and refreshing.

Compromise, Jillian Pena, US, 2005 Video, 12 min.
Compromise, by dancer Jillian Pena, misses the mark visually & technically, but still manages to be entertaining. Miss Pena manages to play all of the parts using a number of split screens and cheesey matting techniques. I especially liked when she rapped while wearing a sign around her forehead printed with the word GAME FACE.

Eau Contraire Stephen Deline, US, 2005 Video, 25 min
Eau Contraire is not spelled incorrectly. In fact there are almost no mistakes in the making of this film. It's a story about a magic red bottle of eau de colonge (perfumed water) that changes the sexual persuasion of all that inhale it. The bottle of Eau Contraire causes hijinks and hilarity while it's inventors, Stu and Rod try to tame it's effect on everyone around them.

Johnny, Are You Queer?, David Heckler, US, 2005 Video, 8 min.
This film is dead on perfect spoof of the grainy moth eaten educational films I used to sit through during elementary & high school. The filmmaker was required to make this film for a class at Columbia College Chicago without using sync-sound. This limitation illustrates the old adage, "less is more." In other words Mr. Heckler used this limitation to the film's advantage. My friend, Kurt Biallas stars. This, his first professional performance is out of this world!

Short Trip Home, Sam Patterson, US, 2005 Video, 18 min.
This a film sadly rings true reflecting the disconnection of family life in American. In this case a young gay man reunites with his unaccepting unhappy dysfuntional family at Thanksgiving.

Who Is the Most Famous Gay Man in Chicago?, Ezra Austin, US, 2005 Video, 18 min
This rollicking documentary is a lot of fun and the cover song, (Mary Tyler Moore), you're gonna make it after all!, sung by Joan Jett makes it worth watching again!

If you enjoyed these reviews, check out my other blog: The Echo Report