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selfcallednowhere · 4 years

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March 2, 2018 Los Angeles, CA

They opened with "I Left My Body," and then came an amusing mix-up. The band was playing what was clearly the beginning of "Damn Good Times," and Flans started talking over it. "We're They Might Be Giants from Brooklyn, New York! We have a new album out and this is the single! It's called 'Why Does the Sun Shine?'!"

And then everyone stopped playing because of course "Why Does the Sun Shine?" wasn't the next song--y'know, as evidenced by the fact that they'd already started playing the next song and it was obviously not it. John said, "None of that was true. Not a single word of it. We are not They Might Be Giants." Flans: "Hi, we're Cheap Trick!"

So then they went back to playing what they were actually supposed to be playing. When I'm singing along at shows I normally always sing the lead part, but not on this one--I sing along with John's "Damn! Good times!" in the chorus because it's way more fun and also inevitably describes how I'm feeling right then.

"Why Does the Sun Shine?" actually was the next song up. John informed us that if the sun were hollow a million earths would fit inside "comfortably," and also that "Scientists have found that the sun is a huge atom-smashing machine. They're wrong. But that's what they've found." Also, the heat and light of the sun were caused by the nuclear reaction between "hydrogen, something else, that guy, and everything."

Afterwards, Flans said, "We're frozen in time, but this audience seems more bearded than ever." Then he said that these are complicated, shitty times, and that they were surprised when their management told them they have a new album out. But they thought that was cool, and when they listened to the copies they gave them they discovered that it was "so much better than it had to be." Then he explained that they'd be playing two sets and we should "treat us like you would any other opener--with total emotional distance."

Flans introduced "Mrs. Bluebeard" by saying it was "the part of the show I've all been waiting for." I was looking forward to it too, because at this point I'd just become deeply curious about if John was ever going to manage to get the lyrics right. The correct answer to this question turned out to be NOPE. He messed it up yet again, though he at least managed to do better than the previous night, when some of the things he was singing weren't even words.

After they played "Your Racist Friend," Flans said that during the song he'd been "rocking out stage left" and he'd seen a guy who had his camera out but then had immediately put it away "like he expected me to go all Axl Rose on him." Then he said a thing he'd been joking about other times about how they wanted to encourage flash photography (joke though it may have been, it would've been about the only way one could reliably get decent pictures with the terrible backlit lighting setup they were using), and also if we were recording a bootleg we should send them a copy. He also said that if we had any work emails to catch up on we should feel free to go ahead and do it now.

Next they played "The Statue Got Me High"--on keyboard again, siiiiiiiigh. Once again it was too difficult for me to push past how upset I was about this to properly enjoy one of my all-time fav songs.

After that, John put the contra-alto clarinet on. Flans said that they wanted to thank their corporate sponsor, Microsoft, and that this was Clippy, the mascot of Microsoft Word. John said that he should have just left it at Microsoft, and Flans said he was leaving it at that, that this was all he was allowed to say. Then John told us that it was the contra-alto clarinet. "It's not legal unless you say the whole name." Flans said it was "unrelated to other contra groups," and John said it was "equally controversial." Then Flans said it would be implanting a tracking device in us.

So then they played "All Time What." The more I see that song live, the more I like it.

Afterwards, Flans said that normally he would ask John how his day was, but this time he didn't need to ask because they'd actually spent the whole day together. He said that they'd discussed some documentary about Chicago and "whether the moral ambiguity of Three Billboards was ok or not." Then John said that they'd met four Uber drivers, all of whom enjoyed the job, which surprised him. Flans said they all seemed to have post-doc educations and were interrupting their conversations to correct them about stuff--he said it had happened when they were discussing controlling children and also when they were discussing drugs.

Then John asked Flans if he was staring at his setlist to see what the next song was, and Flans said he absolutely wouldn't slow the show down by doing that (as if knowing what the next song is wasn't the entire purpose of them having setlists in the first place). Then John said the next song was in the movie Mayor of the Sunset Strip, and Flans said the reference was "for people who are old enough to know that Laugh-In wasn't funny." John: "I Think there are people who are old enough to be operating under the delusion that Laugh-In was funny." The song was "Bangs."

Next was "Hearing Aid," and after Flans said that they were "testing the threshold of the PA."

JL: I think I feel the subwoofers under me. JF: I think subwoofers are very expensive, John. *takes microphone off stand* When I take the mic off like this, do you feel like you're about to get a TED Talk? Disrupters. Next slide. JL: You thought this, but no, that. JF: A new way of making deals. They do the work, you make the money. It'll cost you a little to get in on this opportunity. JL: All we need is the kajillions of dollars that you all have. JF: We just need one investor, who has nothing but his Jimi Hendrix replica guitars. We actually did a TED Talk, and we were part of the "what's wrong with this picture" brigade. The theme of the weekend was "genius," which seemed a little fulsome, as my mother would say. We played at like 9 AM, and I was joking that we'd never played that early except at a librarian convention. And afterwards a librarian came up to me and said, "Libraries don't open at 9 AM."

John introduced "The Mesopotamians" by saying it was from "a TV show that was on very early, before Laugh-In."

Before "When the Lights Come On," Flans said that he "forgot if they had an intro to this song," and John said, "That was it right there. You just found it." GOD this song is SO FUCKING GOOD live. I'm so happy that they're playing it so much.

Next came "Nothing's Gonna Change my Clothes" (two completely glorious songs in a row!). All the times I've seen this one live, John sings it in the cadence of the demo, which makes me really happy because I love that version.

After that John held up his coffee and said "Mazel tov." Flans said he didn't think he'd ever heard him say that before, and John said Danny said that he'd said it a couple of days ago. He said Flans said he didn't think he'd ever heard him say it before that time too, but then he said he didn't remember saying it at all. Flans said it was like a KISS concert, with one of them saying over and over that they'd never played a certain song before (which of course made me think of "P.S.O.K."). Then he said that the other day on Twitter some Trump administration official had used the phrase "mazel tov cocktail," and "I salute their scrambled brain." John said that they were talking about all this unrelated stuff and someone had just yelled "We love you!" and it was as if they were saying "Come back!"

After "This Microphone," Flans introduced Curt and said he'd come from Connecticut on a minibike. Then he asked Marty if he was playing a hollowed-out orange, and then asked if he bought it that way or if it came in a kit, then asked him if his sponsor was here. Then Marty said it was supposed to stay on the drumstick, but he hadn't been able to get it to, and Flans said "So you did a mod. It's like a life hack." Then he said that Marty was "putting percussionists out of business."

Next they played "Hey, Mr. DJ, I Thought You Said We Had a Deal," which remains one of the absolute show highlights for me with Curt there. Where we were standing there was a pole just to the right of John when he was at his keyboard, and I was bopping around so much during that song that I kept having the pole block my view of him. Being able to see him during shows is normally priority #1 for me, but I couldn't help it! That's just what that song + trumpet does to me!

They closed the first set with "Particle Man," and then returned for the Quiet Storm. They opened with "Older" as per usual. This time John was pointing at the crowd for parts of it as if he were Death himself (ala that one fantastic Mink Car promo picture).

After "I Like Fun," Flans said that they love the old songs, and they particularly love this one cos it's "so damn old." People were yelling things out, and Flans said "You can shout out all the names of what you think we're going to play and you'll be wrong." Then he said the song was full of "vitriol and unbridled hostility," which was very appealing to them.

So then they of course played "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too," and then did an introduction to "James K. Polk" that was pretty similar to the night before: John said they'd be going all the way from the 1840 of that song into the future of 1844, with "self-driving beards and electric buggy whips," and then that the song wasn't letting their true feelings about its subject come across, which are that "he was a dick." Flans: "It's value-neutral...about someone who was a dick." Then Flans said that he was the reason where we are right now in California is a part of America, but that isn't necessarily a good thing.

So next was "James K. Polk," of course. Right before the bridge, with Flans's solo, John did the silly thing he does sometimes where he says some variation of "John Flansburgh, explain!" Then, after Flans played the first half, he said, "I see, go on." There was also some quality spazziness during the last verse--he's often spazzy during that part, I'm not sure why but of course I love it.

Next they played "The Famous Polka."

JF: The only polka we know. People ask us how we sequence our songs--that was "Polk," and then "Polka." "Polk-a." JL: That was also a Radiohead album. JF: That was the good one. This next song is from the John Henry album. It's underrated. JL: I think it's overrated. JF: It's underrated by me. JL: It has a histogram like this. *holds hand up, then moves down, then across, then up again* There are super-haters, and super-lovers.

It made me sad to hear John call it overrated, since it's tied as my favorite album. I do think he's right about how polarizing it is within fandom though, but the "super-haters" are WRONG WRONG WRONG.

So then they played MY SONG. I swear to god, I could see that song at every single show I go to from here on out and it would never stop being an incredibly special experience for me. I just love the song so, so, so MUCH, and it's a really big deal for me to see them play it. I always cheer like crazy when it's over.

That was the last song of the Quiet Storm, followed by "Istanbul." Then Flans introduced "Bills, Bills, Bills" by fist talking about when they did "Tubthumping." He said that the list of songs the AV Club gave them was "notorious and vaguely dubious," and that they had to figure out "how to make it feel good" so they had the staff come in and sing it with them. Then he said that after that they the "opportunity" to come back a second time, and that there are "many reasons not to cover Destiny's Child," but that the song is so complicated that now that they've learned it they don't want to drop it from the set, like they did it in vaudeville. Then he explained that John will sing Beyonce's part and he'll sing Kelly's part, and that she's "my favorite child--I think they call them children--not that I'm an expert." Then he said that there was "the third one" whose name he couldn't remember, and John said "You have to love all your children the same." Then people were yelling that the third one's name is Michelle, and Flans said "Michelle! It's even in the song!" (I'm not sure what he meant by this.)

So then they played the song (I became a Flansgirl for the length of it as per usual), then "New York City," then "Birdhouse in Your Soul."

When John was getting his Kaoss Pad ready for "Wicked Little Critta," he said, "I pressed the button that makes the song happen." After that he was telling someone in front that he couldn't quite read what their homemade shirt said but that it was "freaking me out." I'm not sure what it said exactly, but then Flans said (apparently in response to it) "Two votes? But what about the midterms?" Then he said he needed one for his mom, and then I think the person must've been starting to take the shirt off, because Flans said, "No no no! My mom's in Florida! She can wait!"

After that Flans went back to his joke of the night before about Dan Miller being Tabitha on Bewitched, repeated almost word-for-word the same as the previous night (disillusioning!), but with the new addition this time that they'd added this "fact" to Wikipedia and no one had caught it yet.

After a run of a bunch of great songs that I don't have any special comments on ("Number Three," "Answer," "Twisting," and "Man, It's So Loud in Here"), they did band intros and then Flans thanked "all the lit majors in the audience" (which was random but did make this particular lit major feel pretty awesome!).

They closed the main set with "The Guitar," rockin' and fantastic as always. As bonuses it featured John (adorably) hopping and (adorably) waving during the "the lion waves good-bye" bit in the last verse.

When they came back for the first encore Flans made an announcement that was very exciting to me as a Pacific Northwesterner: that they'd be touring Canada later in the year. He said they're going to be "going to cities that are a mistake to go to." Then he talked about how they just got the I Like Fun vinyl, and that it resembles "a fireman's calendar from 2012."

Then:

JF: This next song is for everyone. JL: Well, almost everyone. *pause* I'm actually not sure what you mean by that. JF: I didn't want to say that it's for you. JL: Are we talking about the same song? JF: "Do They Know It's Christmas?"?

The next song was actually "Dead," so yes that was a mysterious comment to make! But anyway I was thrilled to see it again, and even more thrilled when they followed it up with "Don't Let's Start" again.

When they came back for the second encore Flans was taking a picture of the crowd with his phone, and John was goofily posing at the edge of the stage to be in it too. When I found the picture later that night it was as great as I hoped it would be.

Then John said that he'd just noticed Danny wasn't wearing red pants, and Flans said we should check out the pants that he was wearing, which were these blue ones with a grid pattern that were indeed pretty wild. Then Flans was saying that there's some festival in Boston that they've played a lot, and that they kept having bands that were opening for them right before they made it big (the example he gave was The Cardigans), but one time it was a band called Royal Clown Revue, and he told the promoters that they absolutely did not want a band with a name like that opening for them, but that they told him it was a typo and it was actually Royal Crown Revue, and they were a ska band. Then he told Danny that if he "wanted to make a lateral move into Mighty Mighty Bosstones," he definitely could with those pants.

Then John was thanking us and said "We love you, in an inappropriate way," which was...strange.

The final song was "Doctor Worm," which I think is a good closer--I like it when they end with something really high-energy like that, and everyone gets so into that one.

So it ended up being exactly the same setlist as in San Diego the night before, which surprised me--I've been to shows multiple nights in a row quite a few times, and I don't think I've ever seen them not switch out at least a couple of the songs from one night to the next. The setlist consisted of some really terrific stuff, don't get me wrong, all of which was really exciting to see, but I'd be lying if I said I weren't a bit disappointed about it being exactly the same. Still had an amazing time, of course!

The final all-important JL wardrobe report: he was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, and I managed to be less upset about his dumb haircut than I was the night before.

#tmbg #show reviews

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captnbarnesrogers · 7 years

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My Love’s So Strong

Pairing/Characters: Bucky Barnes x Reader, Dad!Tony Warnings: stalker behaviour, kidnapping, attempted sexual assault, angst, fluff Summary: You're a very valuable team member of The Avengers and that means you have fans. Some fans just don't know their boundaries. Word Count: 2.5k+ A/N: I deadass know nothing about Philly only that my mom's real brother live's there lmao

INSPIRED BY THESE TWO ASKS:

You admired your boyfriend from the comfortable seat as you held a book just below your eyes. He smirked, feeling your eyes focus on him while he played around on his phone.

"I can feel you watching me." He catches you off guard and you shake your head back into consciousness,

"I have no idea what you're talking about." You answer, blushing and biting your thumb with a smile,

"Mhmm."

Most people would say to never date someone who works in the same field as you but if that was the case, you and Bucky were the exception. You were more than a couple. You were a team. An exceptional duo for the team and the most valuable at that. The super soldier with the metal arm and the daughter of Pepper Potts and Tony Stark, the brains that can battle like there's no tomorrow; You were The Vixen. Your father had first put a 'no go zone' sign your forehead after arriving from a 'special school' but when he saw the way you trained and the way you strategized, he knew exactly who to team you up with. Before you knew it, you'd leaned into him and his lips were locked with yours, Tony Stark's 'no go zone' was now Bucky's favourite person to be with and you were both inseparable.

"Doll?" He bugged,

"Yeah?"

"What's a Twitter?" You laughed at him, putting down your book. You walked over and straddled his lap, taking his phone from his hand,

"Twitter is a way to communicate with friends and fans, I guess."

"I want one."

"Well, you need an email first." You suggested,

"I have one of those, Natasha made me one."

"Alright, well, let's get started." After thirty minutes of telling your boyfriend chill out and wait as you set up his account, it was done. He smiled and took his phone from your hands,

"What about the photo? The profile photo?"

"Well, you can take one if you want or you can use one they've taken of you." You got up from his lap only to be pulled back, your lips landing perfectly on his cheek as he snapped the photo, "Bucky!"

"What?" He dragged out, "We look perfect."

"Well, you do."

"You always look amazing." You blush at his words and give him a kiss on his lips, "You reallg know the way to a woman's heart, don't you, Barnes?"

"Only yours, doll."

"I guess I'll have to follow you on Twitter." You groan, jokingly. You open your phone and go on your Twitter app. You quickly follow Bucky and then go through your hundreds of mentions, suddenly scanning your eyes on an all too familiar account,

'@Johnson_Dylan80: @LaVixenStark I'm coming for you.'

'@Johnson_Dylan80: @LaVixenStark I love you so much. You're mine.'

You couldn't help but shudder. Every day, the same messages for 3 years. You tried not to think about it, maybe everyone had these types of followers. Maybe this Dylan guy wouldn't do anything, it was just an account. But you had a bad feeling in your gut and your gut was never wrong.

Bucky watched as your body language changed. He suddenly held onto your hip tightly, your eyes focused on your phone, unable to explain how you felt.

"Babe, are you okay?" He asked, bringing you back to consciousness, locking your phone,

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure?" You nodded, trying to let him shrug off his worry. Your dad walks around the corner with some envelopes in his hand, not too bugged about you and Bucky on the couch,

"Y/N."

"Hi, dad." You smiled,

"Sweetheart, I have some mail for you and I want you to do something for me, so, meet me in my office in five, okay?"

"Yes, okay, sure." He gave you your mail and a kiss on your forehead, "Thanks dad."

"Who's it from?" Bucky asks, rubbing your arm,

"One's from school and this other one," You shrugged with uncertainty, "Guess we'll just find out." You smiled. Opening up the envelope, inside there is a letter and a polaroid, you'd ignored. The letter had read:

'At night I see, Your eyes asleep, At day I know, My heart you keep, And even though you're with him, I know your heart belongs to me.

DJ'

You take the polaroid in between your thumb and pointer finger. Your eyes could not believe what you saw. A blood covered organ which you assumed was a heart, you dropped the items in your hands and covered your mouth in shock.

"I- I have to go see my dad." You tell your boyfriend whose eyes are full of concern. As you walk away, Bucky picked up the items you'd dropped and looked at them. He saw what'd horrified you and felt the need to protect you more than he already did.

You made your way to your father's office and slapped a fake smile across your faces as you opened the door.

"You wanted to see me, father dearest?" You joked,

"Yes, my one and only offspring!"

"The only one you know of, dad." You winked,

"Oh I wasn't that bad, sweetheart."

"Mom says otherwise." You both laugh, "Where is mom, anyways?"

"She's out and about, anyway, you, being the little actress that you are, I need you to go undercover for me, it'll take a day, tops."

"Oooh, yes!"

"I'll let you be creative with it, I have some files I need to get." He starts going through an overview of your mission.

You get dressed into your disguise; a simple floral off the shoulder top which landed just on top of your blue jeans and a pair of black Converse shoes, a red beanie finishing off your look. Your dad had attached a small microphone into your belt, making sure he could hear you.

"Dad, I look like I'm 16..." You complained, rolling your eyes,

"Good, that's what you're supposed to look like," He smiled, "the party will be in Alex Ames' house, his parents have some connection with HYDRA and they'll be out on a mission where Steve and Sam will take care of them." You nodded, "There should be files on some nuclear weapons HYDRA has created and some of their spies who are in this building, you got this Y/N?"

"Always do, pops."

"Don't say it like that, you're making me feel old."

"You are old, Dad." He laughs and gives you a kiss on your temple. As you begin to walk away, he calls out your name, you turn to face him, "Yeah?"

"Come home safe, okay?"

"Of course, I will." You run up and give him a hug, "I'll just go and say goodbye to Bucky and I'm off."

"I love you, sweetheart."

"Love you too, dad." You pulled away from your father, quickly waving as you walked away. You made your way up to your boyfriend's bedroom, calmly knocking on the door, "Hey, I'm leav-"

"Woah..." He needed to take a second glance, almost not recognising you, "Why do you-"

"Look illegal?"

"Young..." He chuckled at your response, "Not the term I was looking for."

"I'm undercover."

"Roleplay, huh?" He smirked,

"You know I love it, da-" Before you could finish your sentence, you heard a voice through your clear ear piece,

"Don't you even dare finish that sentence, Y/N Stark." You jumped at the sound of his voice,

"Fuck, sorry, dad." Bucky laughed at you and you playfully pushed him off of you, "I gotta go, okay? I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow." He kissed you on the lips and gave you a tight hug, placing a kiss on your neck, "I love you."

"I love you too, Sarge."

"Be careful, okay?" You nodded, walking out of the building and into the black Mercedes-Benz CLS Coupè.

You drove to Philadelphia, two hours going by like the wind, getting there just as the party started. Teenagers flooded the house resting somewhere in Chestnut Hill, music blaring as parents begin to crawl out from the other houses, inspecting the noise of the neighbourhood. You park your car and lower the driver seat mirror. You adjust your hair to make sure your ear piece was covered and finally, applied some lip gloss. You step out of the car, swinging the door shut, making sure the car was completely locked. You entered the house, the smell and vibe of the place hitting you like a tonne of bricks. Everyone one was either dancing or sitting in the corner with their significant other doing god knows what.

"Go down the stairs, Y/N, it's first door to your right." Your dad said through your ear piece,

"Okay." Your fingers grazed against the wood of the railing, the sounds and the music of the party fading out as you entered the neatness of the downstairs office, the scent of fresh wood hitting your nose,

"Alr- on- Hel-" You dad's voice began to cut out through the ear piece,

"Dad? Dad! Hello? FRIDAY come in, FRIDAY." You shouted in a whisper,

"You need something?" A voice said behind you, making you jump in surprise,

"Sorry." You laughed in a high pitched manner, "You scared me, I was looking for the bathroom but I stumbled in here."

"I've never seen you around, what's your name?" He asks,

"I'm Britney O'Connor, I just move here from New York."

"So, you're a city girl." He laughs,

"I guess so." You giggle back,

"I'm Alex Ames." You're so pre-occupied by distracting him, you don't hear him lock the door, behind him, "You look a lot like someone I know."

"Yeah? Is she pretty?"

"Very." He steps closer to you and before you know, his hand has landed on your waist, his other leaning on the bookshelf behind him, "In fact, she lives in Manhattan, you know where that is?"

"Of course, my boyfriend lives there."

"He does, does he?" His face is getting closer to yours, "Little Vixen." You eyes widen and suddenly, a hard object hits your head, knocking you out unconscious.

Tony hasn't slept since your last interaction with him. He paces his offices and bites his nail as every second slips away. There's a knock at his door.

"Tony?" He hears Bucky's voice from the doorway,

"Make it quick frosty, I have Y/N to worry about."

"Y/N? What happened to Y/N?" He asks, concern fully wrapped in his tone,

"Nothing."

"Tony..."

"Her mic cut out," He says, "I haven't heard from her since last night."

"What!? Tony, we have to go get her!"

"I know."

"Then why the hell aren't we moving?" Bucky's begun to huff, unsure of why he's still standing there when he could be saving you,

"We can't just barge in there, Barnes!"

"Why the fuck not!?"

"We have to have a plan." Tony explains,

"I'm going now."

"Bucky!" Tony calls out as Bucky walks out, Bucky's hands curled into fists.

Bucky steps out into the open, his motorbike just waiting outside the building. It didn't matter that he'd promised not to put on his suit again, he needed to save you, he just wasn't going to kill any body. His motorbike roared as he sped away, making two hours seem like thirty minutes. Before he knew it, Tony had landed beside him. He gave Tony a weird look.

"She's my daughter." He shrugged. Bucky checked the house for clearance when he suddenly heard a crashing of a door. He ran to the front to find that Tony had busted down the door, "What? You wanted to rush." Bucky shook his head. They'd checked the house up and down but you weren't to be seen. To his surprise, Bucky had found some blood on a snow globe in the downstairs study room, sending him into a panic,

"Y/N..." He whispers. Bucky runs up the stairs to find Tony, meeting him outside on the porch,

"She's not here." Bucky nods,

"There's blood on a snow globe downstairs," He huffs, "we need to find her."

"You don't think I know that!? She's my fucking daughter and I'll do whatever it takes to get her back."

"The tracking device." Bucky blurts out, "What?"

"The tracking device you put on her phone, s-she was telling me about it, we can find her through that." Tony nods,

"FRIDAY, find Y/N's phone." Tony says into the suit,

"Her device tracker has tracked her in Princeton, New Jersey." FRIDAY begins to track your destination point, giving them directions to your whereabouts. Tony thanks FRIDAY and within an hour both he and Bucky had found where your kidnapper had taken you.

You opened your eyes, head pounding. You couldn't move your hands, the rope around it too hard to tug on, and you realised your mouth was gagged through the first strained groan you let out. You moved a little too much and a little too roughly, making the chair you were tied to tip over.

"Fuck!" You whisper shouted,

"Did you like my heart?" Alex asked, running his finger on the railing of the stairs. You looked up at him with murderous eyes, "It's hard to kill someone when they haven't done anything, you know? But I wanted them to be pure, like you." He pushed your chair back up and ran is hand over your shoulder, "I've dreamt about you for so long, Vixen." You sould feel the heat of his mouth against your cheek, his hand coming around your head to untie the cloth from your mouth,

"You're him. You're Dylan."

"You're very right, baby girl."

"Don't call me that." He grabs your hair, roughly pulling you back,

"I will call you whatever I want, you're mine now." You shook your head from his hands,

"Fuck you." You spat,

"I know you wanted to and I will give it to you." He starts kissing your neck,

"Don't fucking touch me!" You yelled, trying to get him off,

"Stay still!"

"She said," before you could react he was pulled off of you, "don't touch her!" You opened your eyes to Bucky's figure,

"Bucky..."

"No! No, she's mine!" Alex yelled from the floor, "She belongs with me! I love her!"

"Well, buddy, me too." He helps you up and out of the ropes, before punching him unconscious, "C'mon, sweetheart, your dad's waiting upstairs." Your dad walked out of his suit and gave you a hug.

"I was so worried." He whispers,

"I uh..." You took the hidden files that you shoved in the back waist line of your jeans and handed them to your father, "thought you'd still want them."

"You definitely are my daughter." He chuckles, "Let's go home."

You swung your legs on Bucky's motorbike and clung onto him tightly.

"Never again." Bucky whispers,

"What?"

"I'm never letting you go like that, ever, never ever again, we go together like we always do, okay?"

"Okay." He cups your face in his hand, carefully caressing your cheek,

"It's you and me, Y/N, I can't have a me if there ain't no you."

"I love you, old man." You laugh,

"I love you too."

MASTERLIST

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astoundingbeyondbelief · 7 years

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A while back, I came up with an idea for a sequel to Godzilla (2014) centering around an offbeat take on Mothra. Some of you might remember me carrying on about it in group chats. Well, I was never able to set aside the time to hammer out a complete script, but I hope this 3,000-word outline proves entertaining. I started working on it before Kong: Skull Island came out, then reworked it into something that would align with that movie in a couple of marathon writing sessions.

GODZILLA WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS

It’s a Monday morning in 2014. Specifically, the morning after San Francisco was demolished by three prehistoric monsters and nearly vaporized by an American nuclear missile. Godzilla wakes up and drags himself back into the ocean. An intern at a local TV station loses her job for the headline that accompanies his departure: “King of the Monsters, Savior of Our City?” Few care. Seven billion people are busy contemplating a world where they are no longer the dominant species, and what they can do to survive it.

It’s Tuesday. A massive anti-nuclear protest around the former Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository in Nevada turns violent. Similar gatherings around the country follow suit. Drs. Ishiro Serizawa and Vivienne Graham attend a meeting called by Monarch’s new director, U.S. lieutenant general Antonio Connor. He states that there’s only one way for the organization to quell the unrest its decades of secrecy have led to: find a way to kill Godzilla.

It’s Wednesday. WikiLeaks publishes scores of Monarch documents and videos, their source a total mystery. The papers contain information on the Castle Bravo strike, the Skull Island fiasco, the Janjira cover-up, and a series of cave paintings from around the world depicting Godzilla and creatures Monarch has named Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah. Translated at furious speed by amateurs and professionals alike, the documents are read all around the Earth – and beyond it. Two women onboard an alien vessel reel back in horror when they see the painting of Godzilla confronting Ghidorah.

It’s Thursday. The two women (they look like twins, actually) materialize in Oakland. Their presence goes unnoticed, coming as it does in the middle of a massive brawl between demonstrators and police. The former TV intern is among them, using her “King of the Monsters: Savior of Our City” sign as a blunt instrument. The twins dive right in, grabbing abandoned cans of spray paint and marking the nearest wall with an intricate symbol that resembles a cross inside a circle.

It’s Friday. Godzilla surfaces near the Senkaku Islands, earning him a Chinese H-bomb to the head. The weapon is remarkably similar to the high-yield device the U.S. thought would deal a killing blow against the King of the Monsters and his two opponents just a few days ago. It does nothing to Godzilla, but quite a lot to international tensions. Meanwhile, the U.S. invades Skull Island in a desperate face-saving measure, capturing a Skullcrawler for experimentation and driving Kong underground.

Five years later, Admiral Stenz’s carrier group is chasing Godzilla once again. This time, it’s on the attack, using unmanned surface vehicles to spray him with a newly developed (and newly legal) nerve gas called Hedrium. He responds by coughing a little and launching one of the boats a thousand feet into the air with a flick of his tail. The mood aboard the USS Saratoga is grim but resigned. No one expected this to work, least of all Serizawa and Graham, who are struggling to hide their vindication.

The boats abruptly return to the carrier group, not because they’re out of Hedrium but because Godzilla has entered Tokyo Bay. His destination: Haneda Airport, where the JSDF is engaging a giant reptile called Varan. Their battle is brutal but short: Godzilla breaks off one of the spines on his enemy’s back and slices his throat. After a triumphant roar, he returns to the sea.

In the post-action Monarch meeting, Director Connor spins the Hedrium operation as an unparalleled triumph – it is, after all, the first time humanity has managed to cause Godzilla any sort of harm. He’s confident that the nearly-finished Rods from God, a system which launches tungsten rods from a satellite at around Mach 10, will be even more successful. If that fails, well, even Godzilla won’t be able to resist a gravitational singularity. To the awe of most of the attendees, he unveils plans for the “Dimension Tide,” a cannon theoretically capable of firing a miniature black hole.

Serizawa and Graham are the only dissenters, and their objections quickly turn into a shouting match, the basics of which their colleagues have clearly heard many times before. After Connor threatens their jobs, the two scientists confer after the meeting and decide to leak the existence of the Dimension Tide project to the media; it’s a ludicrous waste of taxpayer money at best and a bringer of the apocalypse at worse. This will be no easy task, since they’ve never talked to the media in their lives.

From a San Francisco apartment covered in newspaper clippings and paintings of Godzilla, one of the media’s least reputable figures is putting her own spin on his latest appearance. To former TV intern Yukiko Saegusa, this is just the latest example of Godzilla doing a better job of protecting humanity than the organization formed specifically to fight monsters. The real wrongdoing, she asserts, is the U.S. deployment of a mysterious chemical weapon off the coast of Japan. As she shifts awkwardly into a rant about the second Pacific Rim sequel, her cameraman Mateo’s ringtone sounds. She rebukes him, but only for his song choice. Her apartment is supposed to be a Cosmos-free zone.

Who are the Cosmos? Why, only the world’s most popular pop duo, signed by Clark Nelson of Rolisican Records after a ballad they sang in an Oakland jail cell went viral. Their lyrics are enigmatic, written in a language that somewhat resembles Malay, but their vocal abilities and stagecraft border on the supernatural. They close their latest concert in New York the same way they always do: with a prayer for Mothra to defeat Godzilla, as she has so many other monsters in the past, and usher in a new era of peace. Their audience roars in approval. Fame, however, has brought them no joy. Only their most obsessive fans believe their devotion to the “Queen of the Monsters” is genuine; to everyone else, it’s just a charming gimmick. But they’ve come up with a way for Mothra to prove her benevolence beyond a shadow of a doubt before confronting Godzilla. (They would have sent her against Varan, but slept through the whole incident.) Ignoring Nelson’s protests – she’s a lunatic, a subversive, doesn’t even have a million subscribers – they call Yukiko to request an appearance on the next episode of her show. It takes her about two seconds to say yes.

The Cosmos smile politely at Yukiko’s apartment-wide Godzilla shrine as the interview begins. Well, it starts as an interview, then veers dramatically off course when the Cosmos start going on about how Ghidorah attacked their civilization thousands of years ago, leaving themselves and Mothra as the only survivors; their affection for Earth, which they first visited for the monsters but kept returning to for the people; their conviction that Godzilla, being powerful enough to slay Ghidorah, will inevitably threaten the world; etcetera. Yukiko is bored to tears, thinking it’s an expansion of their act. What she’s curious about is how a moth could beat a fire-breathing dinosaur who has literally eaten nukes for breakfast. Her guests propose a demonstration, one that will prove Mothra’s moral superiority to Yukiko’s hero. Every American can agree that slavery was wrong, so why is the most famous building constructed by slaves still standing?

The Cosmos’ signature metal armbands glow and they begin to sing. As they do, Mothra enters Washington, D.C. airspace, hovering above the White House. The mansion is evacuated as SAM batteries around the capitol open fire, but every missile explodes just before it reaches her. Mothra ignores them and circles the White House, forming a ring of energy. A ray shoots down from its center, obliterating 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Yukiko and Mateo watch slack-jawed as the first confused reports of Mothra’s activities pour in. The Cosmos, as serene as when they first walked into the room, ask if they find the demonstration convincing. Neither gets to answer, because Monarch agents burst into the apartment and tranquilize the four of them.

Now, Monarch is no stranger to abducting people who know too much, but never anyone as famous as the Cosmos, and it shows. Though the singers did not publicize their trip to San Francisco, and Yukiko was planning the video as a surprise, enough people figured out their whereabouts to make a secret raid impossible. Nelson whips the Cosmos’ 80 million Twitter followers into a frenzy. Protests break out in front of Monarch headquarters in Seattle. Unfortunately for Monarch, that’s where the Cosmos are headed. Director Connor wants to speak with them personally, and events are moving too quickly to bring them anywhere else.

The Cosmos refuse to answer any of Connor’s questions – he’s especially interested in what they know about Ghidorah and how they’ve managed to live for so long. In another room, Yukiko and Mateo frantically deny any collusion with their quite terrifying interviewees. Connor changes tactics, telling the Cosmos that the U.S. military killed Mothra with newly-developed atomic heat ray guns outside of Richmond. Their bracelets glow, then they spit in his face for such blasphemous lies. Realizing the significance of their jewelry, Connor orders it destroyed. The twins just scoff, speaking in unison for the first time: “She already knows where we are.”

As it happens, Godzilla knows where Mothra is too. The two monsters make a beeline for Seattle.

Meanwhile, Serizawa and Graham take advantage of the chaos to make copies of the Dimension Tide plans. A guard nearly catches them, but they are saved by the intervention of Mason Weaver, now a veteran Monarch agent. She lets slip afterwards that she was the one who went to WikiLeaks in 2014. When she found out about the plans to invade Skull Island and use Kong for target practice, there was nothing else to do.

Most of Monarch’s employees flee as Mothra casts a massive shadow on their headquarters, but Connor remains. He believes she can’t do anything but threaten them without hurting the Cosmos. He’s quite wrong. Mothra waits until the top floors of the building are empty, tears them off, and webs him to a wall. The Cosmos ascend on one of her legs as the fans outside scream themselves hoarse in celebration. They’re still partying a few hours later when a familiar roar pierces the air and everything goes to hell.

Godzilla, perhaps sensing the caliber of foe he’s facing, readies his atomic breath immediately. Mothra sets the Cosmos down and releases a golden pollen from her wings; his ray ignites it on contact and envelops him in a massive explosion. The match goes poorly for him after that. Weaving between skyscrapers and raining down slashes and laser beams, Mothra seems like she’s going to be able to do what two MUTOs could not. Thousands die as the fight rages on. Neither monster seems to notice.

At the behest of the Cosmos, their fans storm Monarch headquarters, liberating Yukiko and Mateo – as well as Graham and Serizawa, who got stuck in an elevator when Mothra’s arrival triggered a lockdown. They emerge just in time to see the conclusion of the monsters’ battle. With a seemingly erratic shot of his atomic breath, Godzilla decapitates the Space Needle, which falls directly onto Mothra. This time, he has no victory cry to offer; visible exhausted, he makes his way through Seattle, heading east.

Their faces ashen, the Cosmos announce that Mothra still lives. Until she recovers, they have a new mission: to document Godzilla’s path of destruction. For most of their fans, chasing the King of the Monsters is a bridge too far, but a few eccentrics sign on. Serizawa, Graham, Yukiko, and Mateo are among them, sensing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study their obsession up close. Serizawa and Graham let the group into the Monarch garage, where they assemble a truly impressive caravan.

The scientists soon figure out the purpose behind Godzilla’s strange behavior. Using his atomic breath is a serious drain on his energy. When he used it against the MUTOs (collapsing afterwards), he had a handy source of radiation to absorb in the form of the nuclear missile that exploded offshore. Now he’s actively seeking out radioactive materials, and since there are no nuclear power plants left in North America… well, the situation is not good. It is, in fact, about as bad as it can get.

Godzilla’s destination is the ICBM sites around Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana. He’ll arrive in less than a day. If the missiles there don’t satisfy him, he’ll move on to the silos in North Dakota or Wyoming.

Thus begins a road trip like no other. The Cosmos, of course, oversee the livestream. It proves as popular as they hoped; never mind the viewers online, all the major networks are showing little else. Their fans are as worshipful as ever and help them sharpen their critique of Godzilla. It’s now clear that his existence is a threat to the delicate balance of nuclear power which has kept a third world war from breaking out. When this is over, he’s unlikely to stroll into Russia and devour some of their warheads to even things out.

All is not well with the twins, however. They’ve never had their connection with Mothra severed before, and the ferocity she displayed against Godzilla in Seattle disturbs them. If that’s what she’s like when left to her own devices, why should anyone on Earth trust her? And why doesn’t anyone besides their fans seem to appreciate her razing that old building in D.C.?

Serizawa and Graham are having the time of their lives, but pose as abductees, well aware that Monarch is listening and watching them through the others’ phones. It’s all they can do to keep prying eyes aware from the Dimension Tide plans, although with everything Godzilla and Mothra have just done, it remains to be seen if anyone will care when they’re published.

Yukiko and Mateo are hilariously out of their depth. Oh, they were from the moment the Cosmos called, but now that things have calmed down, it’s really setting in. Unable to offer alternative programming (their own phones are either in San Francisco or Seattle), they gravitate towards Serizawa and Graham. With paper and pens, the four make a chronicle of Godzilla’s trek across America. The taunts from the Cosmos and their fans are plentiful, but they do their best to ignore them.

There’s plenty to chronicle, even as the King of the Monsters proceeds without military opposition. While he shows little regard for any buildings unfortunate enough to stand in his path, he starts to walk around gas stations after the first one explodes underfoot. Likewise, he’s mindful of cars, people, and even deer. An attack from a militia group almost seems to make him smile. At night, he pauses to watch some shooting stars and growls at them. The members of the caravan debate endlessly over whether his periodic glances in their direction are acknowledgments or just a general scanning of his surroundings.

During this interlude, Monarch and the U.S. government make preparations on multiple fronts. Yukiko’s interview with the Cosmos is released to the public, albeit with all mentions of Ghidorah removed. The Rods from God are launched, with the stationary Mothra intended as their first target. (Connor has a nightmare where the rods bounce off her like a fistful of plastic straws.) Crews scramble to dismantle the ICBMs at Malmstrom, but it’s clear that Godzilla will have quite the selection to choose from when he arrives. Special forces and drones tail the caravan, waiting for the order to move in.

After Godzilla tears apart the first missile silo, the meal clearly giving him a shot in the arm, the President orders the remaining Malmstrom missiles to be launched into space. The Rods from God prepare to rain metal down on Mothra, but she chooses the moment before their launch to burst out of the Space Needle rubble and dart towards Godzilla. Their rematch is an ugly, face-to-face affair – no nuclear fire or eye lasers, just teeth and claws.

As the ground trembles, the folder with the Dimension Tide plans flies open, and Monarch takes notice. The special forces move in. Our heroes use their vehicles’ various anti-kaiju weapons to fight back, but their lack of combat experience makes the outcome inevitable. Surrounded, they prepare for the end. Instead they get Mothra, who picks up the remaining vehicles and blows away the soldiers with a single beat of her wings. Godzilla watches her set them back down with interest.

Then a curious thing happens. As Mothra reengages Godzilla, he hurls her away from him, seconds before getting speared by a dozen tungsten rods. It’s a devastating blow; his scream of pain shatters every window in the caravan still intact. Mothra hesitates before charging in again – to carefully help Godzilla remove each of the rods and seal his wounds with her webbing. The two start to converse, with the Cosmos helpfully translating Mothra’s end (and chiding her for her language). She persuades him to return to the Pacific, offering to bring him a docked nuclear submarine or two if he needs a boost before then. As he departs, she flies into space and returns with the Cosmos’ ship. The ramp automatically lowers and the Cosmos beckon their fellow monster-chasers inside.

Well, what would you do?

Months later, Yukiko is the face of the first pirate TV station filmed in space, with Mateo still behind the camera and the Cosmos, Serizawa, and Graham as science correspondents. After the latest episode wraps, the Cosmos present her with an invention of theirs: a kaiju communicator for humans. It’s not nearly as elegant as their bracelets, sort of resembling a psychotic dentist’s chair. (And they insist the tiara-like headpiece is essential.) Just before they turn it on, they inform Yukiko that she won’t be talking to Mothra, as she assumed, but Godzilla.

The credits roll before we hear what he says.

Dream Cast:

Yukiko Saegusa – Lyrica Okano

The Cosmos – Auli'i Cravalho (through Orphan Black-style trickery)

Dr. Ishiro Serizawa – Ken Watanabe

Dr. Vivienne Graham – Sally Hawkins

Mateo – Tyler Posey

Director Antonio Connor – Glenn Morshower

Clark Nelson – Steve Buscemi

Mason Weaver – Bette Midler

Admiral William Stenz – David Strathairn

Obligatory Post Credits-Scene: A scaled-down version of the Dimension Tide is tested at a Monarch black site. Though Serizawa and Graham’s exposé was successful in shuttering the project, Connor has cooked Monarch’s books just enough to fund this proof-of-concept device. Since no one has observed a black hole in person before, they think the trio of high-pitched cackles emanating from it are a little weird, but nothing to be worried about.

#godzilla works in mysterious ways #godzilla #mothra #writing

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disinvited-guest · 7 years

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6/2/17 Recap

Ok, here it is, finally. I’ve only have here what I have written about TMBG’s performance, so to put things in context, I am waiting at the rail that separates the crowd from the stage, I have been there for several hours to hold my spot, and am watching Rodriguez perform the end of his set.

Note: I’m not positive about when in the set a few things took place, so I put a question mark at the beginning of those paragraphs.

At some point during the set, Dan Miller came out and stood to the side of the stage, watching the set, I noticed him walk on, but thought it would be weird to stare, so instead I ended up looking at him awkwardly from the corner of my eye for the next 10 minutes until he left.

Then, his set was over, he left stage, and set up began for They Might Be Giants. I was so excited waiting that I started to have trouble breathing, and was glad I brought my inhaler, although I didn’t end up using it. I saw Marty briefly, as he gave instructions on where he wanted the drum riser. And then Flans and Danny over to the side.

As the crew, dozens of people, both with the festival and the band, set things up, I saw a few really exciting things. Flans was using the guitar he used last tour, but he also had a red one with a checkered strap onstage as a backup. Danny was using an awesome blue bass that I had never seen before, and looked fantastic. Also, a red Gatorade was placed behind the drums for Marty, which a very confused looking festival volunteer brought out. Dan Miller had put on a bit of weight, and Flans had lost some.

The MC stepped up to introduce the band at 9:27, three minutes before things were supposed to start, and promised us the band would be onstage “in just a few minutes.” That few minutes turned out to be twelve, as the band took the stage at 9:39 to screams and cheers. They started into Damn Good Times right away and it was a very high energy performance. Instead of singing “she can’t remember the show she saw” Flans sang “he can’t remember the show he saw,” but he kept she/her pronouns at other points in the song. I wonder why.

They moved straight in to Birdhouse in Your Soul, which the whole crowd was super into and were jumping around like crazy for. After the song was over they said goodnight, and that they had enjoyed performing for us, acting as if they were preparing to leave the stage, and then Flans said something about giving us “The full New York treatment” which I didn’t quite catch.

? Linnell commented that it had been a long time since he had been able to see the moon when he was performing, but that now it was right up there and “I can just look up at it and daydream….”

Flans then talked about his internet habits, claiming to be on social media “23, 24, 25 hours a day” and that when he feels bad about the state of the world, he thinks “how can I feel worse” and goes on twitter. “We’ve been hearing a lot about how unreliable the sun is as a source of energy, which is…. We’d like to dedicate this next song to the sun ladies and gentlemen”

This led, of course, into Why Does the Sun Shine. The heat and light of the sun were caused by the nuclear reaction between several Ohio cities, and also some Ohio city names mashed together (like Dakron and Colombuland) when Linnell decided not to give the people shouting out Cleveland what they wanted.

As soon as the song was over, Linnell commented about the unusual insects crawling around on his keyboard, claiming that he had never seen some of them before. By this point, there were literally hundreds of bugs visible on stage, flying and crawling everywhere. Flans was less happy about the variety of insects Ohio provided “You don’t understand ladies and gentlemen, every minute that we are up here singing, we are living in constant terror of swallowing a bug.”

Linnell introduced the next song while giving us some important taxonomy information “This next song… is not about an insect, because it has eight legs.” This, of course, led into Spider, which was a bit of an unusual choice for a festival crowd, but had the man next to me in stitches. Without pause, they went into Everything Right Is Wrong Again, which I had never heard performed lived before and was amazing, even though I got hit in the head with a glowstick during it.

? After the song ended, Linnell announced that he had squashed a bug on his keyboard. He was genuinely concerned about it, and maybe even a little upset “I didn’t mean to, it happened while I was playing”

?Flans then came up to the mic to give a reminder “to always throw your glowsticks away from the stage” although, the only one that got anywhere close that I could see was the one that bounced off of my head and into the photographers aisle. That being said, the crowd seemed to listen and no more glowsticks came up front.

Flans then talked about the girl who had come up to him before the show and said that they were her first tape, which he was obviously touched by. “So here is a song that might have been on her first tape. [a beat] it’s only one and a half minutes long, so I have to stretch out the intro.” This led into Letterbox, which is always truly impressive in terms of sheer number of words per second.

? Afterwards, Flans thanked the festival for putting this together, but joked that the backdrop, which had a large N M F, wasn’t as they had specified. “N-M-F, it was supposed to be a T, and the M is ok, but then a B-G, this is Not…Might….ugh”

Linnell knew though “It stands for Not My Flansy”

“That’s right; it’s my new solo project ladies and gentlemen”

“No, isn’t that those protest signs?”

“Yeah, ‘what happened to that guy? We want the old Flansburgh back’”

They then went into a run of songs, starting with Science is Real, which I have a feeling they will be playing a lot in the next few years, and going into When Will You Die and then Music Jail (Quick side note: I’ve been trying to stay objective, but you guys, Danny was just so goddamn adorable and smiley, especially from this run on and ahhh).

Flans then moved to the back and started pushing different sound effect buttons, leaving Linnell to do the talking “Music Jail everyone [a few bizarre sounds from Flans] I feel like I’m there right now.”

Flans then moved to the front, and said something to Linnell off-mic. Whatever he said, Linnell moved to where Flans had been with the sound effects, and Flans stood at Linnell’s keyboard, saying “I’ve been working on this thing ladies and gentlemen,” which tricked me for a moment into thinking he was gonna play keys (I freaked out more than a little) but instead he introduced the band, including Linnell as he walked back up to the keys, although not as John Linnell, instead saying “returning from the back of the stage to the keyboards Danny Miller”

Linnell gave Flans a quick shake of his head as he got to his keyboard, which I now realize was letting him know that he couldn’t get the sound effect they wanted either, because when Flans returned to the back, he began saying “ring ring” into the mic back there, leading into Mama TMBG, which now apparently has a live outside of older. I don’t remember all of it, but here are some of my favorite parts.

Flans: ring ring

Linnell: we are receiving actual phone call

Flans: ring ring

Linnell: that is the sound of a real phone ringing

Flans: ring ring

Linnell: how embarrassing

Mama: I received a text from a Nelsonville Music Fest guy, he says there is no curfew but to cut down on patter. What does patter mean? Linnell: I think that’s fake Mama: Is it a troll? Is it a troll phishing? Linnell: I think it’s a robot Mama: Is it a troll? Linnell: It was a robot troll phishing Mama: Have I been pwned? Linnell: You’ve been pwned, you’ve been pwned by a robot troll

Mama: I’ve been thinking a lot about when you were born, when all 5 of you sprung from my loins Linnell: Can you be more graphic? Mama: The afterbirth was enormous Linnell: More graphic! Mama: And the mucus plug, it was the size of your father Linnell: There were 5 of us Mama: And my two jewels, Dan and Danny Linnell: Your perfect twins is what you used to call them Mama: I get emotional just thinking about it Linnell, to the audience: this is some people’s favorite part of the show

*audience cheers* Mama: I got another text from that Nelsonville guy Linnell: I think that’s the robot Mama: He says to stop this part of the show *audience boos* Mama: Now it’s just emoticons Linnell: It’s a robot troll! Mama: Hey John? Before I go, what’s the Wi-Fi password for this place? Linnell: It is actually emoticons, it’s that finger across throat, this kinda gesture (demonstrates repeatedly), I don’t know what it means, but it looks like this Mama: Ok

*dial-tone*

Linnell wrapped up the bit, and introduced: “This is a song about the 11th president of the United States,” which led, of course, into James K. Polk. During this song Dan stood behind Marty on the drum riser to play. The song started out with just Linnell, real quietly at the beginning, and then built up into full rock volume.

Flans went offstage to deal with some guitar troubles at the end of the song, and they went straight into Bills, Bills, Bills. He had to rush onstage to get to the mic to come in at the right time, but once he was there, he was super enthusiastic, going out on top of the amps once on each side of the stage to sing directly to different guys in the crowd.

? After the song finished, Linnell told Flans he would never guess “who I talked to earlier while you were offstage.” When Flans guessed Mama TMBG, he was given a curt “No.” and then they started into Older.

I had thought that Mama tmbg showing up earlier in the show had meant they were skipping this song, so I was interested to see what would take her place during the longer pause. Nothing new there, but Linnell did an amusing bit where he turned in slow motion to look at the band, and then back to the audience with a shocked expression before starting the song up again. After Older, they went straight into an especially high-energy Don’t Let’s Start.

Flans then reintroduced Dan, and told us that at the end of the next song he had a really great guitar solo “so watch out for that.” This led in to Fingertips, which was fantastic as always, but a very different experience when most of the crowd doesn’t know it by heart. During the start of Mysterious whisper for example, I put my hands up and started swaying from side to side, which is standard, but got awkward fast, since most people didn’t catch on until Flans had demonstrated for a few seconds.

Dan’s guitar solo was, indeed, magnificent, and after it was over, Flans stepped back to the mic to say that he didn’t know about us, but “I wish that part of the show were four times longer. As he said this, the robot effect was turned on, and he enjoyed this by repeating the phrase “jam band” a few times. Linnell then greeted “Robot Flansburgh” and Flans asked him for the not he had to sing, explaining to the crowd that he only sang one note in the next song. I had been expecting Robot Parade, so when this tipped me off that they were doing Nanobots I freaked out more than a little (may or may not have screamed).

He tested singing his note, and made the crowd sing it with him, shouting “It’s only one note people!“ That may have been the case, but Flans struggled with it a bit during the actual song, and only did backing vocals at the beginning and the very end. Regardless of that, it sounded fantastic and I loved hearing it live!

After the song, Flans brought up the new album, “We are currently working on our 20th album ladies and gentlemen, which is exactly like it sounds, both strangely familiar and yet impossibly difficult.” He then transitioned into talking about the start of the band, and how, just 3 years before, he was attending college in Yellow Springs “Enjoying the raw milk.” “Good times were had by some, I was one of them.” At this point I genuinely thought I was about to hear Out of Jail, but Flans went on to introduce the song as from the first album (I was only a little disappointed), and they started into Number Three, which was great as always, and the line “talking like he was on tv” has a very different meaning with the current President.

After the song was over, Flans introduced Marty to the crowd again, and had him play the beat for the song. He told us that "this is all he plays on that song” and made us clap along for a few seconds, telling us that “we are the only Alabama cover band that matters.” After all of that excitement, Flans apparently forgot with song was next on the setlist.

Flans, to Linnell: What song do we play next? Linnell: This is a new-ish song, off of our 19th album. Flans: Oh, I like this one!

Flans: (off mic) which song is it? L This song has a very long title and that title is I Love You for Psychological Reasons

This song is always fantastic live, and this was no exception, with a very smiley Linnell giving it an

extra edge.

As soon as the song ended, Marty started up the intro to Particle Man, with Flans telling us to “put your hands together on the backbeat,” while Linnell got his accordion. The requested seemed to be too much for the crowd, and Linnell said mockingly “What is a backbeat? It’s so hard!” before he began the song. Once again, the bridge included a Swing from the Chandelier interlude, which was so powerful that I too was ready to lie like Triangle Man doesn’t exist.

Linnell went straight back to put down his accordion after the song (Only one on the accordion? Really?) and returned to his place at the keyboard.

There was a slight, awkward pause, before Flans stepped up to the microphone “Thanks everybody! We can’t start this next song until the lights come up, because I need to see my hands!” This got a laugh and a cheer when the lights guy obliged, and the band started in on; Let Me Tell You About My Operation. It was good, but Flans was less energetic than he sometimes is during the song (because he had to look at his hands, obviously, but still). The final song was the Mesopotamians, which was super high energy, and the guy next to me, who was a teacher, leaned over and said ‘this is what I teach. When it was over, the guys all left the stage and the crowd began whistling and cheering for an encore. I wasn’t sure we were going to get one, but screamed and cheered with the rest, and pretty soon, they all returned to the stage.

Linnell moved to he back to collect his accordion, while Flans stepped up to the mic. He thanked the festival, calling their regular experience a “tunnel of torment” and said that the organization was a nice change. While he was speaking, a guy went around gathering up some of the setlists, and replacing them with other sheets of paper, which I assume listed the songs for the encore. As Flans left the mic, he picked up one of these sheets, glanced at it, and then crumpled it up and put it in his pocket. Linnell moved downstage, now with his accordion, and they started into Doctor Worm.

Since Linnell had his accordion, Dan played keyboard, and the whole thing sounded great. There was no jump off the drum riser from Danny, probably because the riser was on wheels, and Linnell had Rabbi Vole playing the solo.

Dan moved over to his guitars after the song was over, and Linnell put away his accordion. Flans introduced Dan again, and promised us this next song had “an awesome intro.” He then went offstage and put on a jacket (it had gotten a bit chilly), while Dan started into Millerstanbul. As Flans came back onstage, the guitar intro now fully in swing, he made the tiniest little “ohhh” into the back mic. It was random and hilarious, and it made Dan laugh a bit, so that he had to pause before continuing. As always, Dan’s skills were unbelievable, and the song itself was high energy, involved Flans removing his guitar strings, and had two fake endings.

As the song wound down, Flans said “Thank you guys, you’ve been a great audience, goodnight!” and they all left the stage. The majority of the crowd took this as the end of the show altogether, and the lighting guy had to put on a pretty significant lightshow to get the crowd cheering again.

Finally, Flans, Linnell, and Marty came back up to the stage, and Flans said to us all “I’ve learned a lesson in show business today, and that is: Never Say Goodnight,” he went on to introduce the final song of the night, Dead. As he did Danny came onstage, zipping up an adorable coat.

Then they started the song. This was one of the last songs they played in Philly, and it was the song where Linnell teared up, so it was incredibly rewarding for me to see him so incredibly smiley during this performance. They finished the song, and Linnell said “Thank you, goodnight” with a teasing look at Flans, before they all left the stage, ending the show.

Marty ran out very quickly afterwards, with a clear destination, handing over his drumsticks and disappearing again in a matter of seconds.

Soon after, I was surprised to see Flans back out on the stage, and as he approached the front of the stage, I assumed he had stickers or something to hand out. Instead, he bent down to say something to a security guard, who then helped him to step down of the amp, and onto a step above the rail separating the crowd from the stage. He then began signing things, and taking pictures, and chatting with the crowd! I was in shock, but that didn’t stop me from crowding towards where he was.

While I was waiting my turn, I watched Danny’s attempts to get his thigs packed up, while also directing the festival crew on how other things needed to be packed. I guess that he didn’t trust the festival guys. Some people shouted at him for setlists (which if they had been paying attention, they would’ve known had been taken offstage) he ignored them, although eventually one festival crew guy handed out the one off of the keyboards.

Then, I was close enough to hear Flans conversation with the fans. When one of them said something about Linnell, he got really excited and started off on a tangent: about the painter John Linnell. He asked if they had heard of the painter, talked some about his landscapes, and said that he had been friends with a really famous Romantic artist, but he couldn’t remember who (I looked it up later, I think he was thinking of William Blake). The whole time, he was just so Excited and it was adorable. As he wrapped up his Art History lecture, Flans told us as a group that we needed to hurry, because he was needed backstage. We stepped up the pace accordingly.

As he signed, a woman next to me asked him if she brought their old glockenspiel to a show, if they would play Shoehorn With Teeth. He told her they probably would, and asked which glockenspiel it was “We’ve given away a few over the years.” When he found out it was from the show in Columbus with the power outage, he talked about that for a bit “the power grid to the whole city went out. Not many people realize this, but when the power goes out and you’re in a room full of people who don’t feel like they’ve gotten their evening’s worth of entertainment…”

When it was my turn, I got a handshake and a picture (which didn’t turn out, oh well) and walked away, to catch my breath and find my car, already eager for the next show, whenever it will be.

I missed a few things in my notes that I recalled later, I have no idea when in the show they were, but here they are, sans context

At one point, Flans said that the crowd had “The perfect blend of glasses and beards” and then added “that’s just the ladies.”

The person in the Queen Bee costume, who had been walking around the festival all day walked through the crowd towards the end of the set. The band was very surprised and impressed. Danny took a picture, which I’m sure you’ve all seen, and Flans said that the bee was their old manager, and that if you wanted to promote your band, he was the guy. Later, the Bee had Flans sign their costume.

#tmbg #recap

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jackiehadel1 · 5 years

Text

AUGUST 17, 2019

Week 144

Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember. https://theweeklylist.org/weekly-list/week-144/

Pic from Brick Lane Art, August 2019. Artist: SubDude London.

This week Trump’s beloved economy faltered under pressure from his trade war with China, a ballooning U.S. budge deficit, and other global factors. An anxious Trump, realizing a strong economy is essential to his re-election, lashed out at the Federal Reserve, while confiding in allies his plan to blame any downturn on Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Meanwhile his shrinking inner-circle of sycophants assured him forecasts were wrong.

Liège, Belgium. 17aug19

“The Mooch is right. I’m a FAT FUCK.” Liege, Begium. 17aug19

“The Mooch is right. I’m a FAT FUCK.” Liege, Belgium. 17aug2019

Trump held two rallies this week, one at a Shell Chemical plant outside Pittsburgh, where later it was revealed union employees were mandated to attend — “No scan, no pay” — and warned not to protest. At a second rally in New Hampshire, Trump rambled, veering off script and repeating points he made earlier in the speech.

Brussels, Belgium. August 2019

Channeling Obama, a 45 supporter makes a statement, and a reminder that our election system is corrupted. New York City. June 2019

This week the concerns of an uprising and mainstreaming of white nationalism continued, while Trump regime officials continued to make blatantly racist and xenophobic statements, and defend cruel and inhumane treatment of people of color. The Republican Party remained silent, instead seeking to downplay white nationalism and blame Democrats. Trump urged his authoritarian ally in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to deny entry for two Muslim members of Congress — an unprecedented thwart of democracy. Protests heated up in Russia and Hong Kong.

“LOVES the NRA.” Lier, Belgium. 15aug19.

WAPO reported Trump crossed 12,000 false or misleading claims on August 5, his 928th day since taking office. He has averaged 20 lies per day since crossing the 10,000 mark on April 26.

About one-fifth of his lies relate to immigration, and the percentage has grown since the government shutdown over his wall. Trump also lies frequently about trade, the economy, and the Russia investigation.

On Monday, the Twitter account for the House Judiciary Committee tweeted, “We are considering all Article I remedies to Presidential misconduct, including articles of impeachment.”

The panel added, “We will continue our investigation. We will hold @realDonaldTrump accountable. This is America. And no one is above the law. Not even the President.”

On Saturday, Trump retweeted conspiracy theories, tying the death of Jeffrey Epstein to the Clintons, and spreading an unsubstantiated claim that Epstein was on suicide watch, in contrast to his regime’s statement.

On Sunday, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended Trump on “Fox News Sunday,” saying Trump“just wants everything to be investigated,” and criticizing those connecting Trump to Epstein.

On Sunday, the New York City medical examiner’s office said it had completed an autopsy of Epstein, but that it needed more information before determining the cause of death.

NBC News reported that the FBI, which does not normally look into suicides at a federal Bureau of Prisons facility, is also looking into the case out of an “abundance of caution.”

On Sunday, NYT reported that Epstein was supposed to be checked every 30 minutes, but that protocol was not followed. Also procedure for a recent suicide attempt is to have a cellmate, but Epstein’s was transferred out.

WAPO reported Epstein’s guards, who were working overtime, had not checked on him for “several” hours. Also his cellmate, a former police officer in custody on murder and narcotics charges, was not present.

On Monday, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler and ranking member Doug Collins launched a bipartisan inquiry into the circumstances of Epstein’s apparent suicide.

On Saturday, Trump attacked his former press secretary and friend, Anthony Scaramucci, tweeting he “was quickly terminated (11 days) from a position that he was totally incapable of handling.”

Trump also tweeted of Scaramucci’s television appearance criticizing him, “he knows very little about me,” adding, “Anthony, who would do anything to come back in, should remember the only reason he is on TV.”

On Sunday, Scaramucci responded, tweeting he had supported Trump until he “said things that divide the country,” adding, “eventually he turns on everyone and soon it will be you and then the entire country.”

On Monday, Scaramucci told CNN that Trump should be replaced as the GOP presidential candidate in 2020, citing “the racially charged comments, the divisive tweeting,” saying Trump’s rhetoric “is not helping the country.”

On Monday, El Paso Mayor Dee Margo told PBS that during Trump’s visit in Week 143, Trump chastised him, “You’re a RINO” (Republican in Name Only) when Margo corrected Trump about crime statistics in the city.

On Wednesday, former Tea Party congressman Joe Walsh apologized for helping elect an “unfit con man” in an NYT op-ed, and made the case for someone on the right to launch a 2020 primary challenge against Trump.

Walsh said of Trump, “We’ve had enough of your lies, your bullying, your cruelty, enough of your insults, your daily drama, your incitement, enough of the danger you place this country in every single day.”

On Sunday, Trump attacked MSNBC’s Donny Deutsch, tweeting, “So funny to watch Little Donny Deutsch on TV with his own failing show,” saying he and CNN’s Erin Burnett would call and “BEG” to be on “The Apprentice.”

Trump added, during the 2016 election “I would watch as Joe Scarborough & his very angry Psycho wife(?)” push Deutsch “to the point of total humiliation,” but he did not fight back because “he wanted to stay on TV.”

On Tuesday, Trump attacked CNN host Chris Cuomo over threatening a man who called him “Fredo,” tweeting, would Cuomo “be given a Red Flag for his recent rant?” and “He shouldn’t be allowed to have any weapon.”

Trump seemed to be making a mocking reference at “red flag” laws which grant authorities the power to remove guns from those who have been deemed unstable. Trump also tweeted of Cuomo, “He’s nuts!”

Ivanka has called for stricter background checks and “red flag” laws. Donald Jr., who the WSJ reported Trump called his “my gun expert” at a recent fundraiser, is against both. Trump has taken no action on guns.

Trump also tweeted of Cuomo, “I thought Chris was Fredo also,” adding, “The truth hurts. Totally lost it! Low ratings @CNN.” Trump retweeted attacks on Cuomo and CNN from his allies and family all day Monday.

Later Monday, Trump also tweeted, “When a Conservative does even a fraction of what Chris Cuomo did with his lunatic ranting, raving, & cursing, they get destroyed by the Fake News,” adding, “We never learn!”

Later Monday, Trump also attacked CNN, tweeting, “Without being stuck at an airport, where CNN buys (at a big price) an uninterested audience, they’ve got nothing going,” adding CNN “is BAD for America!”

On Monday night, CNN stood by Cuomo. On Tuesday, before heading to a rally in Pennsylvania, Trump told reporters that Cuomo’s behavior is like “a totally out of control animal,” and that he “spews lies every night.”

Trump also defended his promoting conspiracy theories about Epstein’s death, telling reporters the retweet “was from somebody that is a very respected conservative pundit. So I think it was fine.”

When asked if he truly believes the Clintons are involved in Epstein’s death, Trump responded “I have no idea” and highlighted Bill Clinton’s relationship with Epstein, adding he is demanding a “full investigation.”

On Saturday, tens of thousands of Russians protested in Moscow over Putin’s refusal to allow a slate of independent candidates on the city council elections ballot for September.

Unlike past protests, this was an authorized rally, which featured speakers and entertainers. Some among the crowd shouted, “Putin is a thief.” Heavily armed police detained 135 people.

On Monday, NYT reported U.S. intelligence officials are scrambling to understand an explosion that released radiation off the coast of Northern Russia during testing of a new type of nuclear-propelled cruise missile.

The incident killed seven Russians, marking one of the worst nuclear accidents in the region since Chernobyl. The Pentagon and other agencies have described the nuclear missile as a potential new kind of threat.

On Monday, thousands of anti-government protestors stormed the Hong Kong International Airport. The protest began in June over legislation that would have allowed extraditions to mainland China.

The protest led to over 150 flights being canceled. The government of China said protestors had “begun to show signs of terrorism,” also citing previous actions including a gasoline bomb.

On Tuesday, when asked by reporters about the Hong Kong protests, Trump called it a “tough situation,” and said he hopes the situation will work out “for everybody, including China.”

Demonstrations turned violent Tuesday as protestors at the airport clashed with police. Trump has been criticized for not commenting on the protests and defending democracy as other lawmakers on both sides have done.

Later Tuesday, Trump tweeted U.S. intelligence informed him “the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong,” adding, “Everyone should be calm and safe!”

On Wednesday, Trump defended the leader of China, tweeting, “I know President Xi of China very well. He is a great leader who very much has the respect of his people,” and “He is also a good man in a ‘tough business.’”

Trump also offered to meet with Xi, tweeting, “I have ZERO doubt that if President Xi wants to quickly and humanely solve the Hong Kong problem, he can do it. Personal meeting?”

Trump also tweeted Wednesday, then retweeted Thursday, that China is “eating the Tariffs” while “The American consumer is fine,” adding, “China wants to make a deal. Let them work humanely with Hong Kong first!”

On Sunday, NYT reported the El Paso shooter’s 2,300 word manifesto echoed words used by conservative commentators, including “invasion” and “replacement” — words used in the right-wing fringes until recently.

The Times analysis found 300 Fox News programs in the past year have referenced an immigration “invasion,” and found a “shared vocabulary of intolerance” between conservative commentators and the manifesto.

On Sunday, WAPO reported Trump, who considers himself a branding expert, has been unable to shake the label of “racist” — which makes him furious. He has lashed out on Twitter and in public comments to no avail.

On Sunday, NYT reported officials in the Department of Homeland Security have felt that they cannot broach the topics of domestic terrorism and white supremacist violence with Trump because he is not interested.

Reportedly, former secretary Kirstjen Nielsen sought a regular meeting with Trump to brief him on domestic terrorism and other topics, but her proposal was rejected by the White House.

Instead the department has been told to focus on foreign terrorism and immigration, and to pay little attention to domestic extremism. Incidents of white supremacist propaganda have increased 182% in 2018.

On Sunday, Richard Clayton, 26, a white supremacist, was arrested after making online threats about a shooting at a Walmart in Florida, saying “3 more days…then I get my AR-15 back. Don’t go to Walmart next week.”

On Sunday, NYT reported that Taylor Dumpson, the first African-American female student body president of American University, won a $725,000 judgment over neo-Nazi Andrew Anglin for inciting trolls to target her.

The judgment is the third against Anglin, publisher of the website The Daily Stormer, in the last three months. In all, Anglin owes more than $20 million to three people, but has yet to pay a cent.

On Saturday, NYT reported the Trump regime has taken steps to revoke the certification of an outspoken immigration judges’ union which has been critical of some of the regime’s policies, in an effort to muffle dissent.

The regime filed a petition claiming the National Association of Immigration Judges should be decertified, saying its members are considered “management officials” ineligible to collectively organize.

On Saturday, the American Bar Association took the unusual step of raising alarms that judges are receivingintensified personal threats, which have been further amplified by social media.

On Sunday, thousands of Jewish Americans marked the holiday of Tisha B’Av, an annual day of mourning, by protesting in D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, and more over the Trump regime’s immigration policies.

The protestors organized around “Never Again.” In NYC, dozens of protestors, including some rabbis, were arrested after conducting a prayer service outside the Amazon store in downtown Manhattan.

On Monday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus demanded answers on the Mississippi raids, saying its “purpose is to instill fear in Latino and immigrant communities,” adding, “Latinos are already living in terror.”

The Hispanic Caucus tweeted data showing Immigration and Custom Enforcement “has increased their total number of detention beds to over 55,000. This is well above what Congress appropriated for beds.”

On Monday, the Trump regime issued a new rule, called the “public charge” rule, which would enable officials to deny green cards to migrants they believe will receive public benefits like food stamps or Medicaid.

Starting October 15, the new rules will allow customs and immigration officers not only to consider whether an applicant currently receives benefits, but also make a determination on whether they will in the future.

On Monday, Ken Cuccinelli, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, defended the ruleon NPR, saying it was part of Trump “keeping his promises” to reduce the “burden on the government.”

Cuccinelli twisted Emma Lazarus’ words on the Statue of Liberty, saying, “Give me your tired and your poor who can stand on their own two feet and who will not become a public charge.”

On Tuesday, Cuccinelli defended his statement, telling CNN the Statue of Liberty poem is about “people coming from Europe” and that America is looking to receive migrants “who can stand on their own two feet.”

On Tuesday, two California counties filed lawsuits challenging the regime’s “public charge” rule, calling it “arbitrary and capricious,” and saying it “flouts federal law, and seeks to usurp Congress’ authority.”

On Wednesday, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said on CNN of Cuccinelli’s rewrite of the Statue of Liberty poem, “I’ve been a refugee twice. … I think that it is one of the most un-American things I’ve heard.”

On Wednesday, 13 states filed a lawsuit against DHS over the new “public charge” rule. States included Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and New Jersey.

On Tuesday, acting ICE Director Matthew Albence defended Mississippi raids that left children abandoned, saying, “The parents or the individuals that are breaking the law are ultimately the ones that are responsible.”

Albence said of a video showing a young girl crying, “Many officers, on a daily basis — when an officer goes in to arrest somebody for a crime of domestic violence, one of the children in there is going to be crying.”

On Tuesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she has “no intention” of accepting unaccompanied migrant children for shelter in her city, in reaction to a request by a federal contractor, Dynamic Service Solutions.

Similarly, top local officials in Northern Virginia also pushed back at Department of Health and Human Services request to house unaccompanied migrant children there, citing the unacceptable policy of family separation and other issues.

On Wednesday, Ohio AG Dave Yost suspended facial-recognition databases for law enforcement officers, following a report by the Post which found FBI, ICE, and other federal agencies were mining data without permission.

On Wednesday, NBC News reported ICE records obtained by a government watchdog group show the number of detainees put in solitary confinement rose by 15.2% during the first 15 months of Trump’s time in office.

The watchdog group the Project On Government Oversight also found of those in solitary, “a strikingly high proportion have mental illness.” The trend of the data indicated the level of solitary confinement will continue to rise.

On Wednesday, at a Never Again Action protest at Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island, Thomas Woodworth, a correctional officer, drove his pickup truck into a crowd of protestors. The facility works with ICE.

The group of protestors included children and a protestor in a wheelchair. When protestors blocked Woodworth’s truck from making it through the gate, other guards surrounded protestors and fired pepper spray.

In a statement, the Rhode Island attorney general’s office and the Rhode Island State Police said they are investigating the incident. Woodworth has been placed on administrative leave during the investigation.

On Thursday, Fox Business host Lou Dobbs defended the driver, saying he was “within his rights” to plow into ICE protestors on his way to work, and telling his viewers it “must just gladden your heart.”

On Thursday, a federal appeals panel ruled that the Trump regime must provide edible food, clean water, soap, and toothpaste to migrant children as required under the 1977 Flores settlement.

The panel tossed out the Trump regime’s challenge to a lower court, saying the regime was not required to provide specific accommodations, such as soap, as part of the Flores requirement that facilities be “safe and sanitary.”

A legal advocate for child welfare at the National Center for Youth Law, said, “It should shock the conscience of all Americans to know that our government argued children do not need these bare essentials.”

On Thursday, the Clarion Ledger reported ICE separated a 4-month-old breastfed baby from its mother. The mother was arrested while working at Koch Foods, where she had worked for four years, as part of a mass raid in Week 143.

The father is now raising three young children on his own. He too faces possible deportation under the Trump regime, as part of proceedings stemming from an earlier arrest.

On Friday, a federal appeals court delivered Trump a partial victory, narrowing the injunction on the asylum ban by allowing the regime to enforce the policy in New Mexico and Texas, two of the busiest stretches.

On Monday, federal prosecutors charged Justin Olsen, an 18 year-old white man in Ohio, with making threats against law enforcement. Olsen wrote, “in conclusion, shoot every federal agent on sight.”

Olsen’s writings online expressed support for mass shootings, and also was for attacks on Planned Parenthood. He lived in a house with 25 guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition.

On Tuesday, a viral-video showed Michigan police stopping and questioning a black man who was walking into a restaurant, after a white woman called police to say he looked suspicious.

The man was stopped by an officer, then three more responded to the scene and questioned him for almost an hour. On Thursday, the Royal Oak Police Department launched an investigation and apologized.

Race Imboden, a member of the U.S. fencing team who earned a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games, took a knee on the podium during the national anthem to protest racial and social injustice.

On Wednesday, the Des Moines Register reported Rep. Steve King asked a group in an argument to ban abortion, if we pulled out rape and incest from family trees, “Would there be any population of the world left?”

King also told the crowd, “Considering all the wars and all the rapes and pillages taken place and whatever happened to culture after society? I know I can’t certify that I’m not a part of a product of that.”

On Friday, WAPO reported Jerri Kelly, a 46 year-old white woman in Wynne, Arkansas, held four black teenswho were going door-to-door to raise money for their football team, by gunpoint.

Before the four knocked on her door, Kelly emerged with a gun, forced them to lie down, spread their legs and place their arms behind their backs. Kelly was charged with aggravated assault and false imprisonment.

On Monday, the Trump regime said it will change the way the Endangered Species Act was applied, making it easier to remove species from the list and harder to protect species from threats like climate change.

The new rules allow regulators to conduct economic assessments to deciding if a species should be protected, and clears the way for new mining, oil and gas drilling, and development where protected species live.

On Monday, a study released by the American Meteorological Society found greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2018, and their global warming power is now 43% stronger than in 1990.

Other findings included that 2018 was the fourth-warmest year on record, following behind 2015, 2017, and 2016 the warmest. Glaciers melted at a concerning rate for the 30th straight year, and sea levels for the 7th year.

On Tuesday, a coalition of 29 states and cities sued to block the Trump regime from rolling back Obama-era restrictions on coal-burning power plants. The challenge is led by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The Obama-era rule required states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2022 by closing heavily polluting plants. AG James said “the science is indisputable” and called the Trump regime’s plan a “do-nothing rule.”

The case, which could go to the Supreme Court, could weaken future presidents’ power to regulate carbon dioxide pollution, and make it harder for the U.S. to tackle climate change.

Trump selected William Perry Pendley as the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management. Pendley does not believe that government should have public lands, and has spent his professional life fighting it in court.

On Wednesday, the Department of Labor proposed a new rule which would grant businesses with federal contracts “religious exemption” in hiring and firing, impacting employees who are LGBTQ and others.

Acting Labor Secretary Patrick Pizzella said the rule will “ensure the civil rights of religious employers are protected.” About one-quarter of U.S. employees work for an employer that has a contract with the government.

On Monday, at a town-hall meeting with staff, NYT executive editor Dean Baquet said the Times can do a better job covering Trump, race, and politics, and called the headline mistake from last week a “fucking mess.”

On Tuesday, the Times demoted editor Jonathan Weisman, citing “serious lapses” on social media. On Thursday, Trump tweeted that Weisman “Should have been Fired! Totally biased and inaccurate reporting.”

Trump also tweeted of the Times on Thursday, “the paper is a Fraud, Zero Credibility. Fake News takes another hit, but this time a big one!”

On Wednesday, Rep. Deb Haaland became the 123rd House Democrat to call for an impeachment inquiry. Including Rep. Amash the total count stood at 124.

On Monday, government figures showed the U.S. budget deficit is up 27% from a year ago, bringing the deficit through July to $867 billion from $684 billion last year, and on track to top a trillion for the fiscal year.

On Tuesday, Politico reported that over the past few days, economists at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Bank of America warned that Trump’s trade war with China has led to a rising risk of a recession.

On Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC the Trump regime would delay imposing some tariffs on China, saying it was not a trade concession to China, but a decision to help the American consumer.

Ross claimed the “analytical work began well before” Trump imposed additional tariffs, and the market fell off July’s all-time highs.

On Wednesday, Trump quoted a commentator on Fox Business in a tweet, saying “The Fed has got to do something! The Fed is the Central Bank of the United States, not the Central Bank of the World.”

Trump also tweeted, “Correct! The Federal Reserve acted far too quickly, and now is very, very late.” Trump also quoted Fox Business, saying of China tariffs, “but you can’t tell me that it has hurt our economy.”

Later Wednesday, Trump again attacked the Fed shortly before the stock market close, tweeting, “China is not our problem, though Hong Kong is not helping. Our problem is with the Fed. Raised too much & too fast.”

Trump also tweeted, “we are winning, big time, against China,” but “our problem is with the Fed,” and attacked the Fed Chair, “THANK YOU to clueless Jay Powell,” and the “CRAZY INVERTED YIELD CURVE!”

On Wednesday, the Dow Jones closed down 800 points, its worst percentage drop of the year and fourth-largest drop of all time, on fears of a recession.

On Wednesday, a new Fox New poll found Trump’s disapproval rating jumped 5 points from a month ago to 56%, one point below his record disapproval of 57% in October 2017.

On Thursday, Trump blamed the media for the faltering economy, tweeting, “the Fake News Media is doing everything they can to crash the economy because they think that will be bad for me and my re-election.”

Trump offered no evidence to back his claim. He also tweeted that thanks to him, “the economy is way too strong and we will soon be winning big on Trade, and everyone knows that, including China!”

On Thursday, WAPO reported that Trump is worried that a recession could imperil his re-election — his campaign counted on a strong economy. Regime members admitted they had not planned for a recession.

Rather than officials in the regime making plans to stave off a recession, Trump’s economic advisers have been delivering an upbeat message on the economy, arguing it is stronger than many forecasters are predicting.

Trump tweeted the U.S. economy is “the Biggest, Strongest and Most Powerful Economy in the World,” but privately he is anxious. Trump also has a conspiratorial view, telling allies he distrusts statistics in the media.

Trump has privately told allies and aides that Fed Chair Powell will be a scapegoat for a recession. In addition to Trump’s trade war with China and exogenous factors, the regime’s economic message has been muddled.

On Wednesday, Trump held an event at Royal Dutch Shell’s Complex outside Pittsburgh where he was scheduled to deliver a speech on the regime’s energy policies, but turned into a campaign speech.

Trump took full credit for the construction of the plant he spoke at, saying “It was the Trump administration that made it possible,” even though it was initially approved in June 2016, while Obama was in office.

Trump told the construction workers at the event that without him, they would be without a job, and claimed, without evidence, that his time in office was costing him $3 to $5 billion.

Trump again mused about not leaving office after two terms, telling the crowd that to drive the press “totally crazy,” they should use “hashtag third term, hashtag fourth term.”

Trump attacked his 2020 rivals, referring to “Pocahontas and Sleepy Joe,” and went off on a tangent on the Academy Awards, saying no one watches because they got sick of celebrities “disrespecting the people in this room.”

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the large union crowd at Shell’s plant was given the option of showing up to Trump’s rally at 7 a.m. to get their card scanned and stand for hours, or not get paid for the day.

In addition to the “No scan, no pay” warning, workers were informed if they missed Trump’s speech, they would not be paid overtime rates routinely built in for extra time during the week.

Union workers were also ordered not to protest: “No yelling, shouting, protesting or anything viewed as resistance will be tolerated…the event is to promote good will from the unions.”

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported the Department of Labor abruptly canceled apprenticeship contracts with labor and business groups this week, prompting an outcry from unions that had supported Trump.

On Friday, acting Labor Secretary Pizzella walked back the decision. A spokesperson did not reply to Bloomberg on what caused the reversal of course.

On Wednesday, after a suspect shot six police officers in Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney said, “Our officers need help. They need help…They need help with keeping these weapons out of these people’s hands.”

On Thursday, Kellyanne Conway attacked Kenney, a Democrat, tweeting, “What Philly sorely needs is a competent mayor who sufficiently respects and resources our brave men and women of law enforcement.”

On Wednesday, 2020 Democrat candidate Julian Castro ran an ad on Trump favorite “Fox & Friends” blaming Trump for the mass shooting in El Paso, saying, “Americans were killed because you stoked the fire of racists.”

On Wednesday, in a speech at an Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association, Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited “Moscow Mitch,” who “is the grim reaper” in listing all the House measures he has blocked.

On Wednesday, two GOP committee chairs released a memo showing a prolonged investigation by staffers and intelligence could not prove China hacked Hillary Clinton’s private server, a 2016 conspiracy theory.

On Thursday, Politico reported a 34-page report by the State Department inspector general’s office found Trump appointees in the departments engaged in “disrespectful and hostile treatment” of career staffers.

The report also found Trump appointees harassed staffers whom they viewed as “disloyal” due to their suspected political views. One employee was forced out and others stripped of their duties.

The report singled out two senior Trump appointees, Kevin Moley and Mari Stull, saying they have “frequently berated employees, raised their voices, and generally engaged in unprofessional behavior toward staff.”

Stull told Foreign Policy the report is “politically motivated payback” for her efforts to implement “Trump’s agenda over the resistance of Deep State bureaucrats,” and said it contains “false and misleading information.”

On Thursday, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Eliot Engel, who had been advocating for the report’s release, called the report findings “offensive” and said that Moley should “resign or be fired.”

On Wednesday, CBS News reported corrections officers may have falsified reports saying they checked on Epstein as required by protocol. One source said he may have been dead two to three hours before he was found.

On Thursday, WAPO reported an autopsy found multiple breaks in Epstein’s neck bones, including the hyoid bone, which in men is near the Adam’s apple. Such fractures have sparked controversies in contentious deaths.

Jonathan Arden, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners, told the Post a hyoid break is more commonly associated with homicidal strangulation than suicidal hanging.

On Friday, the New York City medical examiner concluded Epstein’s death was a result of suicide by hanging. He hanged himself with a bedsheet attached to the top of a bunk bed.

On Thursday, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reversed himself and sided with Trump over Democratic leaders, prohibiting Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib from visiting Israel.

Hours before the decision, Trump tweeted “it would show great weakness” if Israel allowed the two to visit, saying “they hate Israel & all Jewish people,” and adding, “They are a disgrace!”

Democrats said blocking U.S. lawmakers for practicing free speech is unacceptable and unprecedented. Trump views attacking the two, who are for a boycott movement against Israel and poll poorly, as smart politics.

Several prominent Democrats and organizations who have been critical of the two’s support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, urged the Israeli government to change course and allow them to visit.

Like Trump, Netanyahu has reasons to sow discor: he is politically weak and facing an election on September 17, which if he wins, could keep him out of jail on corruption charges. He also presides over a declining democracy.

Later Thursday, Trump doubled-down, tweeting: “Representatives Omar and Tlaib are the face of the Democrat Party, and they HATE Israel!”

On Friday, Israel reversed course and said Rep. Tlaib would be admitted to see her 90 year-old grandmother, who lives in the occupied West Bank, citing a letter saying it might be her last chance to see her.

Later Friday, Rep. Tlaib said she would not travel to Israel under “oppressive conditions,” which would have included a pledge in writing not to “promote boycotts against Israel” while there.

Rep. Tlaib tweeted, “Silencing me & treating me like a criminal” is not what her grandmother wants for her, adding, “It would kill a piece of me.”

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called it “outrageous,” saying he was not aware of any member of Congress being asked to agree to preconditions to visit Israel.

On Friday, Trump attacked Tlaib again, tweeting, “Israel was very respectful & nice to Rep. Rashida Tlaib, allowing her permission to visit her “grandmother”” — putting grandmother in quotes.

Trump also tweeted Tlaib, “grandstanded & loudly proclaimed she would not visit Israel. Could this possibly have been a setup?” adding, “The only real winner here is Tlaib’s grandmother. She doesn’t have to see her now!”

Trump also tweeted, “Like it or not, Tlaib and Omar are fast becoming the face of the Democrat Party. Cortez (AOC) is fuming, not happy about this!” Rep. Ocasio-Cortez responded with a laughing emoji.

On Friday, Reuters reported her grandmother has not seen Tlaib since 2006, and her uncle said “She was going to slaughter a sheep” to make Tlaib’s favorite food. Tlaib’s grandmother said, “May God ruin Trump.”

On Thursday, Beto O’Rourke, former congressman for El Paso and 2020 candidate said of Trump, “I’m confident that if at this moment, we do not wake up to this threat, then we as a country will die in our sleep.”

On Thursday, Trump promoted another conservative book on his Twitter account, saying, “Go out and get Andrew McCarthy’s new book, “Ball of Collusion.” The book asserts there was collusion, but not involving Trump.

On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to Trump’s former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, and Rick Dearborn, a former White House aide, to publicly testify before the panel.

The subpoena calls for the two to appear on September 17, and testify about actions taken by Trump relating to obstruction of justice, as part of House Democrats decision on whether to move forward on impeachment.

The panel has already approved subpoenas for ten additional witnesses, including Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein, John Kelly, and Jared Kushner.

On Thursday, Chair Nadler also received a letter from attorneys for Hope Hicks, saying despite the proximity of the calls with Michael Cohen, she was not aware of hush money payments, consistent with her testimony.

On Friday, Lewandowski said he was “happy” to testify before Congress, telling Fox News, “I am an open book. I want to go and remind the American people that these guys are on a witch hunt, right?”

On Thursday, Trump doubled-down on re-electing him for a strong economy, telling a crowd in Manchester, New Hampshire even Americans who hate him “have no choice but to vote for me.”

Trump mocked his 2020 rival while bragging about the economy even as it falters, saying, “Oh great. ‘Let’s vote for Elizabeth “Pocahontas” Warren” — again using a racial slur — “We have the best numbers we’ve ever had.”

Trump also repeated many of the themes from his 2016 campaign, attacking Hillary Clinton, the media, Democrats, and U.S. allies in Europe. He also all but endorsed Corey Lewandowski in his 2020 run for senate.

The Times described Trump’s hour and a half long speech as “rambling,” and “veering on and off script.” Trump also repeated points he had made earlier in the speech, as if not remembering he made them.

Trump also mocked a man at his rally, saying, “That guy’s got a serious weight problem,” as several protestors were escorted out of his rally, and, “Go home. Start exercising.”

Trump also said of the man, “Get him out of here please. Got a bigger problem than I do,” adding, “Got a bigger problem than all of us. Now he goes home and his mom says, ‘What the hell have you just done?’”

Later Thursday, aboard Air Force One on his way back to his Bedminster golf course, Trump called Frank Dawson, the man he mocked, to apologize, after learning Dawson was a supporter.

Dawson told Fox News that evening, that Trump “didn’t see me rip the signs away from those three people that were sitting near us, adding, “I think he thought I was part of it, but I wasn’t. I was the good part of it.”

On Thursday, WSJ reported Trump has repeatedly expressed interest in buying Greenland, a self-ruling part of the Kingdom of Denmark, with various degrees of interest, at dinners and in conversation with aides.

People outside the White House describe it as an Alaska-type acquisition that would be part of Trump’s legacy. Trump is scheduled to make his first visit to Denmark next month.

On Friday, leadership of Greenland responded, with Greenland’s foreign minister Ane Lone Bagger telling Reuters, “We are open for business, but we’re not for sale.”

Other lawmakers responded with bewilderment, ridicule, and anger over Trump’s deeply inappropriate suggestion. In a formal statement, Greenland’s government said, “Of course, Greenland is not for sale.”

By Friday, 126 House Democrats supported starting an impeachment inquiry. Of those, only one, Rep. Chris Pappas, is from a district that went for Trump in the 2016 election.

An online petition to rename the street in front of Trump Tower as Obama Avenue was signed by more than 300,000 people; however, the local community board has moratorium against renaming streets.

On Friday, hundreds came to the funeral of Margie Reckard, a victim of the El Paso shooting, after her companion of 22 years, Antonio Basco, invited the public saying he felt heartbroken and alone and had few relatives.

On Friday, a memo of talking points being circulated among Congressional Republicans that was obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, revealed the GOP strategy is to downplay white nationalism and blame Democrats.

The memo falsely described the El Paso massacre and other mass shootings as “violence from the left,” and gave arguments against gun control, and whataboutisms to counter questions.

On Friday, Scaramucci told Vanity Fair that Trump is a “jackass” who is “crazy” and “narcissistic,” adding Trump “has got the self-worth in terms of his self-esteem of a small pigeon. It’s a very small pigeon.”

Scaramucci also called Trump a “paper tiger,” cited his increased mental problems, and predicted he would drop out of the 2020 presidential race by March 2020.

On Friday, an appeals court declined to halt the Trump regime’s rules to prohibit clinics that receive Title X federal funds from referring patients for abortions, meaning the rules will go into effect Monday.

The Weekly List podcast is here! You can find more information here by clicking here.

THE LIST — weeks 1–52 of The Weekly List is out as a book! You can order your copy by clicking here.

5000 union contractors listened to Trump speak at the Shell Chemicals Petrochemical Complex on August 13, 2019 in Monaca, Pennsylvania. It was later reported that workers were mandated to attend or be docked the day’s pay, and were told not to protest.POLITIKS

POLITIKS OF GRAFFITI 145: IF YOU ARE WARNED NOT TO PROTEST, THIS IS NOT A DEMOCRACY. YOU KNOW THAT, RIGHT? AUGUST 17, 2019 Week 144 Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.

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jackblankhsh · 7 years

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Inauguration of a Nightmare -- building the avalanche

JANUARY 20, 2017– the resistance begins

Sirens randomly wailed as emergency vehicles screamed towards grim scenarios. For any city native it’s a common sound, though one is tempted to call it foreshadowing. A palpable dread pollutes the dreamlike atmosphere of this fog shrouded metropolis. Any other night it might feel like the start of adventure and perhaps it still does, though one can’t help feeling what lies ahead is too dark to enjoy. Yet, it’s the perfect time for Chicago to feel ethereal. The last few months have certainly felt unreal.

In that time America elected a new president. By many standards the man is barely human. A mass of congealed hate and rotted dumpster meat wrapped in ruby cheeked Peking duck skin, cloaked in a miasmic aura of narcissism, dishonesty, and the kind of childishness one hopes never to see in a world leader; there are many facets to this wicked pig. Like a matryoshka doll many entities exist within his soul: the Twitter crazed tantrum throwing teenager, world’s most successful conman, the unstoppable pussy grabbing hand rapist, demagogue extraordinaire, and gold plated plutocrat. His obvious flaws caused Olympic grade mental gymnastic in many of his followers, while he fought hard to ultimately lose the popular vote, yet still become president.

So on the night of his inauguration thousands gathered in Chicago. In Washington protesters assembled for the event itself, but they got off on the wrong foot. Violence erupted, and though brief, it tainted the message. The goal of these protests is not to spill blood, or burn the world, it’s to avoid silence. Activists want to show where they stand: against what is coming. This is especially necessary now given Trump’s pathological lying, and routine desire to rewrite history for his benefit. Even after winning the election he found it so implausible that he lost the popular vote he began alleging voter fraud. Not only does he operate under the delusion the country loves him he thinks reality is open to revision, particularly if it doesn’t match the fantasy in his head. That’s why people are gathering in order to leave a mark which cannot be denied.

Walking there, distracted by bleak visions of tomorrow – Vlad and Donnie raping Lady Liberty while dead eyed Stepford wife Melania watches, waiting to be told what to think, and press secretary Spicer prepares alternative facts to explain the grotesquery favorably – I wandered down the wrong street. Instead of joining at the designated assembly point, Wabash and Wacker, I strolled down an empty avenue cordoned off by a smattering of cops. However, police made no move to stop a solitary oddity drifting with the trickle of 9-to-Fivers. I blended in, and got a chance to observe the cops in waiting.

Chicago police have a long history with protests, not all of it good, but in that time they’ve learned a thing or two. Instead of trying to herd the rally they simply fortified the only target of assault. The odds of anyone getting within spitting distance seemed improbable, and because I beat them by chance I will eternally regret not taking the opportunity to hork a wad of phlegm at the building. An officer moved a barricade aside to let me out of the area, complimenting my sideburns as I passed. It made me wonder about their feelings. Some may not have voted for him, but are now ordered to protect his property like dutiful centurions. One can only hope that given a crisis of conscious, a moment that requires humanity not slave devotion to orders, they’ll do the right thing. But for now they simply want the night to pass peacefully. They aren’t alone.

Demonstrators assembled loosely, crowding into a tighter collective by Kupcinet Bridge. There to shout across the river at the name TRUMP glowing in blue tinted lights. Among the masses a throng of musicians calling themselves Sousaphones Against Hate provided an odd soundtrack to the evening’s events. One doesn’t think of sousaphones when picturing a protest, but they added a flavor to the affair more clichéd choices would not. There’s something about a brass band playing “The Imperial March” – it put a smile on the face of a man dressed as a nuclear missile, his costume chillingly implicative, but given the music one could only grin as well.

Homemade signs declared the litany of grievances against President Trump from his failures as a human being and business person to his grotesque, undesirable political agenda. It’s unnerving to watch a young woman hold up a sign in hopes of reminding the world she’s deserves decent treatment because she doesn’t expect it in Trump’s America. After all, she isn’t the right color, or on the right side, literally and figuratively, though it is heartening to witness so many gathered to stand with her.

Amidst the activists at least two different publications vied for attention. Handed for free to any who wanted them, one extolled the virtues of socialism, the other communism, while both asserted this presidency is the fault of capitalism. Some took the papers gladly, though a few accepted them with a roll of the eyes destining them for the trash can unread. Wandering the crowd I picked up discussions as protesters tried to comprehend how this reality came into being. Everyone seemed to subscribe to their own theories which tended to lean toward their personal cause. African Americans asserted racism as a primary factor in Trump’s win, while many women blamed sexism, but it’s important to note no one dismissed anyone else’s idea… except for one young man jabbering a slew of Orwellian weed tangled gibberish. Many politely ignored him. The point being that under a microscope everyone there clearly believed in a different cause, specific to their personal lives, yet those factors go somewhat to the wayside as activists assembled to resist the new president.

A problem with contemporary protests is that everyone wants to come together as one but be heard individually. Of one goal, demonstrators expect to be heard in multiple voices, each distinguishable from the whole. This results in a garbled message. However, that didn’t happen here. Whatever a person’s reasons, everyone came to protest Trump. And that message came across.

That made it sad when the various local news outlets seemed reluctant to record anything. I watched camera operators fiddle with equipment, but not shoot a thing. They swapped idle chit chat waiting for, I can only assume, something unpleasant. Riots are ratings gold after all. I thought maybe they wanted to wait until the crowd reached a more sizable proportion, but honestly, the mass never reached anything critical. Though thousands may’ve come a casual glance could tell the number easily stayed below ten, possibly even five… or dare say two. Friday’s rally didn’t have an astonishing turnout, though Saturday would demonstrate perhaps many merely opted to wait to march in solidarity with the women of America.

Still, this is a new era. Reliance on old media is unnecessary. I saw several in attendance recording, live streaming, photographing and video documenting the event. The regular news may not have covered Friday’s protest in-depth, but the irregular new news, beamed out across social media, spoke volumes.

The night started. Chants kicked up then died down, not enough voices joining in. An organizer shouted into a crackling PA system that occasionally cut out, her voice vanishing before returning midsentence in a cloud of static. Volunteers passed out chant sheets, so anyone in attendance would know what to say. Glancing over one I noticed a preponderance of, “2, 4, 6, 8…” followed by rhymes like, “No more violence, no more hate.” After an hour, though, standing around felt like doing nothing, so I went into Hoyt, a nearby hotel tavern. Also I needed to piss.

Inside I found a pair of bottle blondes taking selfies, giggling over white wine without a care in the world. Most eyes glued to the Hawks game on TV. A few tourists glanced out the windows, and as if for the first time noticed the protesters choking the street. They speculated about what could be happening. It didn’t seem clear despite the “fuck Trump” signs and mass of humanity shouting anti-Trump rhetoric. Then in true tourist fashion they hurried to the windows to snap pics, capturing real world souvenirs.

Then midway through a refreshing Scotch I saw the protesters start marching. I slammed the contents of my glass, and hurried outside.

“This is it!” I thought, “The resistance has begun!”

Rushing to catch up I saw the demonstrators halt at Michigan Avenue. Anticipating the attempt police stood ready to hold the movement back. So for a time the protest seemed destined to merely pinball between two streets until a group of activists turned the flow towards the river walk.

Anxious to storm the Tower, the march poured down the concrete steps. Hurrying to lower Wacker the maneuver seemed naïve. Surely police must’ve anticipated such a move, though in fact they didn’t need to. As already mentioned, barricades stood preventing anyone from getting close enough to piss on the gutters out front. But motion feels like action, so the bulk of protesters surged onward. Signs held aloft elicited honks of support from passing motorists. Cheering, feeling rejuvenated, on the road to success, the march circled like a shark.

It was then I saw a couple pausing from the protest to take a picture. Passing by the infamous Billy Goat Tavern, a boyfriend photographed his girlfriend. She posed to have, not only the landmark, but her sign in the photo as well. The march slowly getting away from them, while they made sure to get the right shot.

Shortly afterward I heard two demonstrators talking:

“Which street do we turn down to get to Trump Tower?”

“The next one?”

This exchange taking place a block after the relevant street. I thought about directing them, but momentum seemed in favor of simply wandering the streets, shouting for attention. When an organizer cried out, “We’re going to Lakeshore Drive!” trying to corral the herd to the Chicago landmark I departed from the march. Gumming up LSD with protesters has become a predictable move in recent years. It felt like the obligatory song of a one hit wonder trying to win back fans drifting to the exit. Make no mistake, the spirit is willing, the flesh is not weak, but the movement is already fatigued.

Every day is a fresh pot of awful drunk choking back vomit. This weekend’s protests are important, but they are more indicative of what’s to come rather than anything expected to effect change. It would take god-sized optimism bordering on lunatic naivety to presume protests alone will unseat this “man.” This is only the beginning.

Now that it’s proven a call to action can assemble the masses it’s time to consider the next move. It isn’t enough to simply get people together. Protests, after all, are more symbolic than effective. Their main accomplishment is proving there is a movement, but they have to have an impact on something other than awareness of said movement.

A friend of mine put it best, and if I may paraphrase: it starts with a snowflake building to an avalanche. We now need the avalanche.

#honestyisnotcontagious #politics #not trump #notmypresident #writing #op-ed #inauguration2017 #political #political commentary #chicago #whyimarch

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