Friday Cultural Guide: Gangsters, Art, and Music

It's Final Friday, and we hope you join us for our rounds.

Practice up on your gangster lingo (we plan to quote Miller's Crossing all night: "What's the rumpus?") and enjoy the staged robbery at Teller's. Get yourself an Asteroid Head cocktail at Pachamama's (it may or may not contain Pop Rocks and kill you). And check out The Spook Lights rocking outside the Arts Center.

After that, we'll be passed out. But the rest of you can stick around for the Netherfriends, who play the late show at the Replay and have an adorable name.

According to their Facebook page they "are that bastard-psych-pop-catchy as hell one-man band that you’ve been searching for."

Netherfriends played the Pitchfork Music Fest in 2010, so they must be sufficiently hip. And we can dig this album cover.

Thursday Scenester Picks: Vigilantes, Baiowolf, Wonder Fair / KC Writing Workshop of the Week: "Writing Fabulous Sex Scenes"

If you're any kind of scenester, you already know that the Rooftop Vigilantes are back, that they have a show at the Replay tonight, that the legendary second album is about to see the light of day. Maybe you read the Pitch piece by @nuthousepunks yesterday. Or maybe you read the Riot on the Plaza
review yesterday.


So there's not much for us to add at this point. We just ask that the Vigilantes keep that fucking racket to a minimum tonight (amps at 11 instead of 12), because our PBR Book Club will be holding its first "official" meeting out back.

Chip: "Come for the literary debate. Stay for the drunken librarians."

Elsewhere in town this evening, Baiowolf will be up to their usual hijinks at the Bottleneck, which look something like this:















And ACB's will be rocking at Wonder Fair (see yesterday's post).

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If you need help writing sex scenes, we hope you've signed up for the "Writing Fabulous Sex Scenes" workshop this Saturday from 9:00-12:00 am at the Writer's Place in Westport: "We’ll write during the workshop, then read our efforts to see if the readers are convinced. If you don’t get excited, your reader won’t either."

Chip: "I call this 'the boner test.' This is going to be a really fun morning."

It will cost you $45 bucks to enroll, but we suspect it's worth it for the weirdness.

In the meantime, would you like to read Salon's piece about the best sex scenes of 2011? Sure, you would. Their contest is all very high-brow and literary and judged by a panel of esteemed writers and critics including "Walter Kirn, Maud Newton, Louis Bayard and Salon's own Laura Miller." The winning passage is from James Hynes' Next (which we've read and loved, and not just for the dirty parts, of which there are many). Go here and check it out if you're into such things.

Here's a teaser:

"The porch railing creaks under their weight, and even drunk and excited Kevin wonders about the farmhouse's craftsmanship...".

And here's Mayard's analysis of the scene:

"The Hynes gets points because it's both hot (i.e., the only excerpt that actually made me want to have sex) and technically assured: that sly interplay, for instance, between the cab driver's chattering and the erotic reverie. It's exact without being mechanical, and its details are spot-on. I particularly loved the porch rail threatening to give way the whole time."

Talkbackers Talk Back About the New Gender Identity Ordinance / Wonder Fair Rock Show

It's a good day for Larryville progressives, as Larryville's City Fathers (or at least 4 out of 5 of them) approved a new gender identity ordinance last night "providing new legal protections to people who are transgender" (LJ-World).

But let's see what the talkbackers are saying, starting with this hateful missive:

AOD506 says: "Ahh, the power of the vote. OK, Like I said a couple of days ago, lets get it together and start listing the names of the traitors, so we can vote these commissioners out next election. All except for Mr.Amyx. America wasn't built on the backs of Trannys. It was built by Red, White, and Blue blooded heterosexual men and women. Send the freaks back to California."


And here is a (confusing) rejoinder from geekin_topekan:

"Umm, unlimited resources secured via genocide and human trafficking in the name of Christ-- Where does R,W and B come into this? Get over your the myths about American (pron:Ah-mer-kin) history and realize that the entitlement complex goes way back, way before the welfare age. I have no numbers as to how many of the Chinese, which made up 90% of the railroad labor force, were in fact gender identified. Do you?"

Chip: "No, I don't, but I think I once spotted a film called 'Chinese Trannies' in the back of Miracle Video."


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If you've noticed that the downtown art scene hasn't been weird enough lately, it's probably because Wonder Fair has been closed. But the gallery is back in a big way this weekend (under new ownership) with a rock show tomorrow and a Final Fridays exhibition.

Thursday's festivities will feature the ACB's, Kusikia, and Mega Bog.

We first thought that last band was called "mega-bong," which is what you should probably hit before coming to the show and rocking out with some free ice cream. Head over to the FB event page and tell them you're coming).

Here's the flier.

Ancient Larryville Traditions and Future Larryville Traditions (Hobo Day, The Big Eat, Bank Robbery Re-Enactments) / Anti-Brownback Bumper Stickers

Yesterday we came across a fun piece in the UDK about "failed" KU homecoming traditions, which included Hobo Day ("students got in two vegetable trucks on campus and had a vegetable fight") and the Potter Lake duck races.

We're also currently reading David Ohle's Cows Are Freaky When They Look At You to gain a better understanding of Larryville's drug-soaked counterculture past. From this source, we discovered "the Big Eat," whose members "assembled annually, most often at Jerry Cantrell's farm, for the drug n' drink n' fuck picnic...where they smoked, dropped, drank, shot up, and competed for most stoned honors in the Kansas Death Match."

We're sad to have missed such things.

But we're hoping this week inaugurates a new tradition in Larryville: the re-enactment of famous local crimes. Yes, if you're downtown on Friday night, you can witness Clyde Barrow's 1932 robbery of the First National Bank (now Teller's). Here's the scoop from the Final Fridays Wordpress site :

"Events begin with a cocktail party at The Eldridge at 7th & Mass St. beginning at 5:45pm complete with various 1930’s cocktails including a Sidecar, Whiskey Sour, Gibson, Mint Julep and Manhattan. Guests will be able to meet “Clyde Barrows”, “Bonnie Parker”, “Ralph Fults” and various other members of the staged re-enactment robbery. Teller’s will be taking dinner reservations for the evening. Guests at Teller’s will be able to watch the robbery happening from the inside of the restaurant. Dinner will be served during this event giving guests an eye-witness advantage to the robbery. At 6:30pm those people on the street will be able to see the event unfold on downtown Massachusetts Street which will include “Clyde”, “Ralph” and “Ray” walking south on Mass St. from The Eldridge at 7th St. to Teller’s at 8th St. Action will also take place in front of Teller’s as the gang shuffles the “bank president” played by Lawrence’s Mayor Aron Cromwell and two actors playing the “tellers” into Teller’s Restaurant."

Sadly, we were not asked to portray any of the characters in this drama, but we still plan to dress in full gangster attire and drink Sidecars at the Eldridge, then hang out in front of Teller's for the action. And look for LC columnist and local history-nerd Courtneybelle dining at Teller's during the robbery (hopefully she'll cover the inside story for us).

Let's hope that this event is so successful that Larryville begins to host other re-enactments, such as the recent crime in which Horse Shit attacked Free State Brewery with a railroad spike (see our old story here ). Or maybe the time that dude wreaked havoc with a cue ball in a Crown Royal bag at Henry's. Or the time a poor guy got his pants set on fire at the Replay.










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Readers, don't think we've forgotten about Brownback's anti-art crusade, because we haven't (and won't). Our buddy Leo Hayden has some new bumper stickers available for $4 bucks each at this week's Final Fridays Lawrence Art Party in the Hobbs building. Go to Leo's site for the full scoop.

Twee Band of the Week: Twin Sister / (Scary) Local Tattoo of the Week

It's fall, and that's when we always miss Transmittens the most. We're looking for a new twee band to listen to while we traipse around through falling leaves and look at puffy clouds. Perhaps the new Twin Sister album, In Heaven, will do:

"More interested in documenting life's minor moments than the big, transformative ones, they sing about things like recommending movies to friends or having an awkward crush go unspoken...This type of narrative might skew a little twee for some...[but] it's important to point out that they buoy these bashful sentiments with some really outward, bouncy music. (Pitchfork, 7.8).

"The best twee music is girded with steel. On “In Heaven,” Twin Sister’s first album, Andrea Estella sings in a small voice, her aims and ambitions under control. She sounds amused and engaged, repeating lost-in-thought lines over and over... The band gazes lovingly into the synthesizer presets of late 1970s and ’80s soft-pop, which is nothing new, but it goes deep... It’s as if some gifted and cloistered young minds had just been introduced to, oh, the Tom Tom Club, Vangelis and the English language" (NY-Times)

Let's clamber up on this Soundcloud and spend the afternoon listening to "Gene Ciampi," why don't we?

Look at this adorable quintet! They'll be opening for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart on Oct. 13 at the Bottleneck and we plan to join them.



















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Our Twitter-buddy @GrandmaSlump sent us this picture taken recently at Pizza Shuttle in Larryville. It's a "simplified Confederate flag." Chances are this guy will kick our ass if we say anything snarky about him. But probably he was simply passing through liberal Larryville on his way back to Top City, so we doubt we'll run into him at the Replay.

Weekend Recap: Donald Glover at Lied Center and Legends of the Phog

We joined the youthful throngs at the Lied Center last night for an evening of dick, shit, rape, and race jokes (all delivered in a playful tone of childlike wonder) from rising star Donald Glover, known to many as Troy on Community.

Favorite line: "Kix is like the handjob of cereal."

Favorite bit of crowd interaction:

Glover (to a group of loud and obnoxious and likely-drunk grad students): "Are you all studying acting?"
Students: "WE'RE MFA's!"
Glover: "I don't understand. I feel like you're just shouting letters at me."

Verdict: big laughs, and a hearty thanks to Glover for sticking around for a wonderful and lengthy and unexpected Q&A session after the set.


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Elsewhere in Larryville, the Legends of the Phog (plus Josh Selby) delivered a rousing performance to a packed Fieldhouse that culminated in a tie game (111-111) after a last second 3-point shot from Mario Chalmers (oh, the memories!).

The announcers spoke of how the tied scoreboard make them think of family and the undying bonds of Jayhawk unity.

Chip: "It made ME think that they needed to finish the fucking game. This ain't soccer, folks."

And over at KU Sports we found this very bizarre (and poetic!) talkback comment from "jaybate" which we're presenting here in full. Let's title it "An Ode to Brandon Rush."

A legendary day!

Pierce has grown up to be an incredible human being.

Mario Chalmers is the man the gods have chosen to do their will.

Danny is our Joe Dimaggio quietly dignified.

And like always, in the background, quietly letting it all play out around him, leaving space and time for every one to play their riffs, to be themselves, there is MY man...

Brandon Rush.

He is the grand master of jazz.

He is the Count Basie of wood.

He is a man out of time in time.

In the age of the ego maniacal, in the age of the grab it all sooner rather later, in the age of XTReme hype, he is the man that makes the whole flipping band play beautiful.

Brandon is still the real invisible hand.

Brandon is still the Dancing Wu Li master.

Brandon is still the only one who gets it all.

Everyone else is playing their role magnificently.

But Brandon is the Kool Jazz goofy Buddha at the center of it all.

He is the axle on this mandella.

He is the youngest brother who has seen it all and gets it all and know you just do what you do and keep the family loose and keep a low profile and step in occasionally, as smoothly as possible, and support them when they need it...expecting no reward.

Brandon even has to be patient with Bill Self, who is so busy with his as ringmaster and being in awe of his own heroes.

Even Coach Self is not yet at a point where he can see Brandon for what he is.

Brandon is The Legacy's Wu Li Master.

Rock Chalk!

Saturday Foodie Blog: Art and Donuts and Queen Lizzy's Fish and Chips

Here's a random sampling of our favorite foodie news of the week.

--If you stopped by the Farmer's Market this morning for a Hurtz Donut, you might have been surprised to find it accompanied by specially designed artwork from BARRR (photo courtesy of @lally_mac ):















Chip: "A man can't even eat a fucking longjohn in this town without being accosted by art. I've reported this to Brownback."


--If you stop by the Burger Stand for a late-night snack tonight (perhaps the new meatloaf burger or Guinness pork chili), your food will be accompanied by the crooning of local crooner (and our old pal and former LC-writer) Dr. Cl.thier, performing in the front window. He promised us he'd play the 'Mats "Unsatisfied" but we're not sure we believe him.

--Have you been hoping for a British restaurant on Mass. Street? If you're willing to shell out some cash, Queen Lizzy's Fish and Chips might open up in Larryville!

For a mere $10 bucks, you "will have a picture of yourself hung on our restaurant wall in the form of a mosaic of the Union Jack flag."

They've got our ten bucks, readers!

Please go here for the full scoop on rewards for your kind donations.

When our British friend King Tosser heard about Queen Lizzy's last night, he expressed disdain for the restaurant's name but pure excitement that a place might cook him some "mushy peas."


And we leave you with our favorite bit of NY-Times restaurant criticism that we read this week (from a review of the Williamsburg restaurant St. Anselm):

"Some attitude from the floor staff may be expected if you are not within the demographic that lives within bicycling distance, or if you have no facial hair, visible tattoos or interesting eyewear."

Weekend Scenester Picks (Music, Comedy, and Legends of the Phog) / We Peruse the Oxford Companion to Beer

Between Oktoberfest celebrations, acclaimed young stand-up comedians (Donald Glover at the Lied Center), and Legends of the Phog, there's plenty to keep you occupied this weekend. Has anyone heard if Legends of the Phog will be accompanied by recreations of legendary off-the-court events, such as the campus brawl or Collins whipping his dick out on an elevator?

On the music front, our KC connection @GregoryStitt, who writes the Riot on the Plaza site , tweets that we should check out the "dark chillwave" of Grave Babies at the Replay on Saturday.

Let's check in with an interweb review:

"Seattle’s Grave Babies opened the show with their goth-y, ‘80s-influenced songs – think Joy Division or Suicide with non-wimpy drums + a little Psychedelic Horseshit + a depressed poet’s diary, written in red ink."

They had us at "depressed poet's diary."

For the hippies (and the kinky fuckers who find us through Google search results), Ashes to Immortality is opening for Truckstop Honeymoon at the Granada tonight and they are the likeliest bet in town to have a barefoot lady fiddler.

And Cowboy Indian Bear is at the Replay for a rocking Sunday matinee with Spirit is the Spirit and Caroline Smith and the Good Night Sleeps, who look like this:


















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If you're literary geeks like us, you've spent a lot of time with the Oxford Companions to various literary periods, but did you know there's now an Oxford Companion to Beer:

"In this one volume are clear-cut explanations of various expressions of beer. The book decodes traditional styles that, even though they have been around for centuries, have not been well understood or explained, as well as styles that have been rejuvenated or invented in the last 20 years, like sour beers, barrel-aged beers and double I.P.A.’s. There are profiles of noted and historical figures, and discussions of controversies over nomenclature. Brewing techniques are broken down, some recognizable, like dry-hopping, and some that may be of interest only to brewers, like decoction, an intensive method of blending water and grains to begin the brewing. For browsers, the book is a treasure trove" (NY-Times).

We're ordering our copy today and there better be a full chapter devoted to the rise of hipster beers like PBR and Hamm's.

Horror Remix Recap (Health Care Edition) / Scenester Pick of the Day: Broncho and Dry Bonnet at Replay

Here's what we learned at last night's "health care" edition (hospital horror flicks) of Horror Remix at the Bottleneck.

--Horror Remix now has a hot dog bar!

--Horror Remix will soon go from free to $1. But don't bitch, scenesters. It's still the best entertainment bargain in town.

--Michael Ironside is ultra fucking creepy, especially when he's wearing a black leather T-shirt (and raping you).

--Any schlocky Canadian horror film is vastly improved by the presence of one Mr. William Shatner.

--"Amuck" is a word that always makes us giggle (as in: The killer is running amuck!).

--For a film with a title like The Last Slumber Party, The Last Slumber Party has a distressing lack of nudity. This still from the film shows you these girls' idea of a slumber party:
















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If you're a local scenester, you're probably very excited by the news that Rooftop Vigilantes are (apparently) back together and poised to rock you again with their brief, blistering, drunken sets.

In the meantime, you should probably check out Oklahoma's Broncho at the Replay tonight. They work some of that same reckless rock and roll vein (but maybe catchier and poppier). The longest song on their album Can't Get Past the Lips clocks in at a lengthy 2:38. We predict the show will be so good that Zach actually stays in the room and runs the soundboard (unlike the patio bluegrass shows we tend to attend). Opening is Larryville's own Dry Bonnet. Rumor has it that they are very hip.

Head to Broncho's Bandcamp and dig "Pick a Fight" ("Broncho, Broncho, your girlfriend's lame. Pick a fight!").

"diamond bicycle moon round cat" : We Analyze the LC's Google Stats

Like most scenesters, we are vain, and sometimes check our blog stats to see if you are paying attention to our shenanigans. Sometimes you are. Thanks.

We also love to look at the stats on how people arrived at our blog through random Google searches, and today we offer some thoughts.

Five people have reached the LC recently by Googling "Dumptruck Butterlips."

We didn't know hippies had computers.

Four people have reached the LC recently by Googling "fiddle barefoot."

We thought we were the only ones with a weird fetish for barefoot lady fiddlers!

Three people have reached the LC recently by Googling "wemon of K-State."

Obviously, these are K-State fans who can't even spell "women" correctly.

Three people have reached the LC recently by Googling "Longhorn girl."

Do you remember her, who achieved brief fame by sitting in the right spot at a KU game while having great breasts and looking like Nicole Kidman?




















Two people have reached the LC recently by Googling "Justin Roelofs + Hawaii."

One of those was probably Justin Roelofs, trying to figure out if he's still in Hawaii or if White Flight's Kickstarter campaign has allowed him to transcend space and time altogether, as promised.

Two people have reached the LC recently by Googling "crotch shot."

Imagine the multitude of pages of search results and wealth of imagery they had to sift through before finding their way to the LC. But probably they enjoyed their journey.

And two people have reached the LC recently by Googling "diamond bicycle moon round cat."

These people are almost certainly mentally ill. We hope they found what they were looking for.

Okkervil River and Wye Oak Review / Twitter Tone Poem of Defunct Larryville Bands / New Sitcom of the Week: New Girl

Readers, it wasn't the most crowded show of the year, but Okkervil River's loyal following of sensitive and bookish types eventually showed up at the Granada last night to bask in Will Sheff's songwriting beneath a large banner of dog-faced people. The banner lit up at one point. That was pretty cool.

Baltimore duo Wye Oak kicked off at exactly nine in a near-empty Granada, rocking their LOUDquietLOUD dynamic that vacillated between shoegaze-y dream pop and furious guitar squalls. We preferred the quiet parts. They seemed like nice folks, and invited us all to the after-party at Jordan Geiger's house (but most of us weren't really invited).

Selfishly, we want Okkervil River to ONLY make dark concept albums about rock and roll culture and its fans, so their new record has left us a bit cold so far, keeping us slightly detached for much of their set despite its high energy level. However, some of the new songs rocked quite nicely in a live setting ("The Valley" was a highlight of the set). And by the time the show reached its stellar, closing one-two-three punch of "Our Life is Not a Movie or Maybe" and "Girl in Port" and "Unless It's Kicks," we were ready to show Sheff our hands, as he repeatedly requested.

Chip: "He meant that we should applaud, and I suspect he was making an oblique reference to Puck's final speech in A Midsummer Night's Dream: 'Give me your hands if we be friends.'"

Check out I Heart Local Music for a review and photos and videos over here

Highlights amongst the audience:

PBR Book Club co-president Bananasuit joined us for much of the set, carrying a copy of Cloud Atlas in her bag. Are you keeping up with the discussion? Lately, there are actually more boner jokes on that blog than there are here.

Hidden Pictures' Richard G. stopped by in the midst of Okkervil's set, muttered "I hate this band," and promptly stomped off.

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Readers, thanks to your submissions we've assembled another Twitter tone poem so you can revel in your nostalgia for the Larryville of yesteryear.

Topic: defunct Larryville bands (though a few of them may not be defunct or from Larryville).

We've edited a lot this time to make it "poetic," and we're sorry if we left your tweet out. It was probably an accident.

Enjoy!


The Sounds of Ancient Larryville

I miss every little punk band
that used to play anyplace
that would have them,
then broke up for no good reason.

SANTO GOLD

Zoom. Lawrence-centric songs. Absolute L-town shibboleths.

Coat Party
(minimal but frenetic dance machine)
and Bandit Teeth
(stage rotations and drunk/clever wordplay)

I miss shallow/the capsules.
And of course danger bob, bubble boys.
The urge.
So many.
Anyone recall the ray-guns?

The Micronotz.
Hellcat Trio had promotional panties.
Kill Creek.

I miss Frogpond and Justine Volpe in short plaid skirts.

Marry Me Moses! Origins in Family Reunion.

Transmittens, you were so twee!

Ad Astra Per Aspera
Noise control
Females rock too
Boo And Boo Too (Why?... vocal delay)
Danger Bob
The Bubble Boys
Getaway Driver
Kelpie
Butterglory
Panel Donor
Nuclear Family
& Vitreous Humor (it counts)

"The Embarrassment" (the Embos) frm Wichita
strong #lfk ties.
The best all-around art/garage band ever

"Get Smart!" was a great one.
Hypnotic, minimal, LOUD, danceable, funny, weird.

Ultimate Fakebook!
wildly unabashed downright wicked pop.

Save The Whales.
Girl/Guy horns.
The Costello bros.
Stony rhodes.
Poopy Pants.
Nothing could stop them but Japanese fishermen.

In ninety five there was a band called Margin Of Error.
They mostly played McCollum Hall.
They were okay.


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With a new sitcom on Fox beginning tonight, called "New Girl," Zooey Deschanel's status as scenester "IT" girl is surely in serious jeopardy, if not altogether over.

Chip: "I haven't beat off to a Fox sitcom since Arrested Development (Portia de Rossi), but there's a good chance that's about to change."

Scenester Pick of the Day: Okkervil River and Wye Oak at Granada

Readers, do you like super-literate bands that stuff so many words into each song that the songs basically explode? We do. So we'll be at Okkervil River tonight to listen closely to "one of indie rock's most ambitious thinkers: a romantic anti-romantic weighing highly literate lyrics against an endlessly bleak worldview" (Pitchfork).

Let's check in with Pitchfork to see if their newest album, I Am Very Far, is sufficiently hip. It is: 7.9.

"There's a throat in every track, either cut and open or bound to be cut: "A slit throat makes a note like a raw winter wind," he sings on "The Valley", adding to its visceral energy."

Chip: "Sounds like a light-hearted evening."

"Of course Jagjaguwar is releasing a small chapbook of lyrics as a promo item and part of the deluxe vinyl edition."

Richard: "I'm totally hoping Will Sheff will sign my chapbook!"





















And what of Wye Oak. Their newest, Civilian, also gets a 7.9:

"Civilian opens with the sound of ambient chatter, a room full of voices quickly washed away by steeled guitar and electronics."

We predict the Granada will be full of ambient hipster chatter during their set. But look for us there, listening quietly and possibly telling you to shut up.

Local Tattoo of the Week, Vol. II / Sunday Scenester Picks

We're still looking for local tattoos to showcase in this occasional series. Up today: our buddy Nicholas from Mammoth Life, who sent us this tattoo recommendation:

"Hit up Brent at Big Daddy aka BDC on Mass St; he did my ML Crest Logo over my heart #thatguyislegit"






















Who's up next? Tweet your tattoo tales to @larryvillelife along with a pic.

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Looks like a dull night in Larryville as far as scenester activities go, but we're amused by L.com's descrption of this evening's Replay matinee with Lonnie Fisher and the Lawn Furniture Show and Positive Wisdom Serpent:

"Both bands will feature a stripped down lineup and explore the outer reaches of their discography" (L.com).

Since we are largely unfamiliar with these vast back catalogues, we plan to spend the afternoon catching up on their work. See you on the patio. But we'll probably adjourn before you metalheads and doom-rockers arrive for Leeches of Lore's late show. They describe their genre as "horse fuckery."

We'll leave you with an old photo of Lonnie Fisher making sweet potato gnocchi at Wheatfield's.

Multiplex Round-up: Drive and Straw Dogs

On a dreary and wet Saturday afternoon in Larryville you can stay home and watch KU (almost certainly) lose to a Georgia Tech team out for revenge or you can check out Nicholas Winding Refn's first foray into mainstream American filmmaking with Drive:

Entertainment Weekly says:

"Drive revels in sensory detail; it's a visually and aurally edgy Euro-influenced American genre movie about the coolness of noir-influenced American genre movies about the coolness of driving...".

Sold!

To prepare, we've spent the week watching the great existential driving films: Vanishing Point, The Stunt Man, Hellman's Two Lane Blacktop, Walter Hill's The Driver. Join us tonight for a pompous discussion at the Pig.

But what about the other major big-screen option this weekend: Rod Lurie's remake of Peckinpah's classic meditation on violence, Straw Dogs. Let's see what the angry Peckinpah-purist film geeks over at AICN are saying:

"...the main problem with Kate Bosworth is that she doesn’t look like she likes to fuck... Now – I know that this isn’t necessarily Kate’s fault, but Rod Lurie as director, because in WONDERLAND and RULES OF ATTRACTION – Kate looked primed. But here… she just isn’t sexual. The Chess piece scene in this version makes the Animal Crackers in ARMAGEDDON seem like Bertolucci."

We'll be seeing this soon so we can join the debate and also because we promised Rod Lurie on Twitter that we'd watch it with an open mind! And we keep our promises, Rod Lurie!

Osceola, Missouri Has Had Just About Enough of Us Uppity Jayhawks! / A Few Scenester Picks

It seems that the Osceola City Fathers have drafted a resolution urging KU to change its Jayhawk mascot, decrying “the celebration of this murderous gang of terrorists by an institution of ‘higher education’ in such a brazen and malicious manner.”

You can read the full article in the Columbia Daily Tribune here .

Our favorite bit:

"...the resolution calls on Missourians to stop spelling Kansas or KU with a capital letter, as “neither is a proper name or a proper place.”

“I don’t expect them to do anything,” Rick Reed of Osceola, who brought the resolution to the aldermen, said of KU. “They are so arrogant and uppity."

Chip: "The next time I stop at Osceola Cheese Company you can bet I'll be dressed in a full-on Big Jay suit!"

In other Big Jay news, did you see this photo of him controversially riding down Jayhawk Boulevard on top of a car. KU Athletics denies knowledge of these shenanigans.

















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So which show are you going to choose this weekend to indulge in some scenester nostalgia? Murderbot at Granada tonight? The Only Children at Jackpot on Saturday?

Or perhaps you'll skip the nostalgia and just enjoy an evening of pure debauchery at the Replay late tonight with Labretta Suede (she gives Chip a boner), the Spook Lights, and Them Damned Young Livers.



















As for us, we'll enjoy the punk/bluegrass of Filthy Still at the Replay matinee this evening. Here's what we discovered in our research. Their washboard has "Sleazy D" written on it and they list a band called Hick'ry Hawkins and the Panty Sniffers as a primary influence. They've already earned our three bucks!

Courtbelle Wrestles With the Concept of Midget Wrestling / Plus, The Return of Chrissy Murderbot and Red Dog in Red Heels

We didn't make it out for midget wrestling last night. Instead, we decided to save our money for the inevitable moment when a "dwarf tossing" competition comes to Larryville, because we truly believe that we could toss a dwarf pretty fucking far. But lucky for us, Courtbelle braved the fratty crowds and witnessed the madness. Here's her review.

Midget Wrestling
By Courtbelle

One is driven by human nature to see the spectacle of midget wrestling. However once you’ve actually seen it, you are immediately overwhelmed by the possibility that we are no longer human. What will the end of society look like? I mean, the exact moment when even the best and bravest of us feed individuality and self respect to the snarling jaws of calamity. What will be the precipitating factor in our inevitable long drop back into the dark ages? What will finally force us to wear football gear and chainmail in the dust blown streets of our Mad Max hellscape?

When half-naked, dirty-faced mole children ask, “Belle, what caused the fall of man?”
I will look deep into their soulless, scurvy eyes and say with absolute certainty –MIDGET WRESTLING.

I don’t mind the “violence”. And we can all agree that it isn’t exploitation since everyone is being paid. I can even let the weak drama of the shit-talking and bravado slide. But there was, at this event, a disturbingly long gimmick involving chicks of the lowest order from the audience and “simulated sex acts”. Hey, I like obscenity as much as the next guy. I realize that as a society we are clearly no longer willing to accept any norms of taste (or hygiene for that matter). But, I mean, Really?!!? I know that what I witnessed is going to be a deposit into many a frat boy’s spank-bank. But the rest of us can’t wash that shit out of our brains. As if I had watched Deliverance, there is now an inky ectoplasm drowning the part of my brain where puppies and rainbows once thrived. Chip would love it.

But other than that, midget wrestling was fun! You should go next time, it was only ten bucks!

Chip: "How about some pictures next time, Courtbelle?"

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Things will be much more scenester-friendly at the Granada on Friday when Larryville welcomes Chrissy Murderbot back to town with open arms.

Pitchfork gives a 7.0 to Murderbot's Women's Studies:

"Chrissy Murderbot is your friendly neighborhood Diplo: a pan-global dance synthesist who believes that backing an entire four-minute track with a looping police siren is a good idea."

Of course it's a good idea, Pitchfork!




















Also on the bill is Machinedrum, whose Bidnezz scores a 7.7 from Pitchfork:

"Dirty South crunk with the cubist contortions of Autechre and Mouse on Mars."

Chip: "?"

All this Pitchfork-approved awesomeness PLUS the antics of Bear Club? We'll see you on the dancefloor tomorrow. Bring your glow sticks.

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Sometimes even the manliest men, such as beloved local fitness guru Red Dog, just want to feel pretty. Check out Red Dog strutting the track in his favorite red heels.















Seriously, though, this is for the annual Red Shoe calendar to benefit Willow Domestic Violence Center. We were hoping someone would nominate Chip as one of the local celebrities to appear, but maybe next year!

Extreme Midget Wrestling Comes to Larryville (Along With Other Weird Competitions) / The Great American Gay Baseball Novel

Readers, let's be honest with ourselves today. In our heart of hearts, behind the facade of cultural sensitivity, what we really want is to get hammered and watch midgets hurl each other around a ring.

Tonight is our chance. Extreme Midget Wrestling comes to the Granada to thrill us all with its pint-sized antics!

We checked out the Extreme Midget Wrestling Federation website today, which requires registration before you get very far but promises that "You will be able to interact with other fans and of course our midgets!"

A concerned Larryville progressive: "I'm terribly concerned by the use of 'our' midgets in that sentence. No doubt these midgets been sold into slavery or, at the very least, indentured servitude and forced to fight for the amusement of drunken rednecks and frat boys."

Chip: "If I pay extra, will I be allowed to get in the ring and wrestle with one of these midgets myself?"



















Or maybe you're looking for something bizarre but not quite so "extreme" as Extreme Midget Wrestling. Consider the Next Level Games at Watson Park this Saturday:

"Beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday in Watson Park, about 50 people will compete in the third annual Next Level Games, a type of strongman competition that will involve flipping 400 pound tractor tires, pulling a half-ton truck down Seventh Street (Seventh between Tennessee and Kentucky will be closed during the event), pushing a weight sled 160 yards, and other such child’s play." (LJ-World Town Talk column).


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Chip's reading interests fall into three categories: pornography, sports, and poetry. A new novel by Chad Harbach called The Art of Fielding delves into two of them:

"In fact, the novel is so rife with literary allusions that you have to wonder whether Harbach, who studied English at Harvard, cares more about baseball or books: a sport, or a pastime? Besides Lowell and Melville, there are explicit or implicit references to Emerson and Dickinson and Whitman, to “Death in Venice” and "A Prayer for Owen Meany"; even the title, “The Art of Fielding,” can be read as a winking reference to that other Henry, who knew something about satiric novels" (NY-Times).

So what's this thing about anyway?

“The Art of Fielding” isn’t really a baseball novel at all, or not only. It’s also a campus novel and a bromance (and for that matter a full-fledged gay romance), a comedy of manners and a tragicomedy of errors — the baseball kind as well as the other kind" (NY-Times).

America has waited a long time for the first great gay baseball novel!

Perhaps this will be a future read for the PBR Book Club, which is currently going strong with discussions of Cloud Atlas from Richard, Bananasuit, and Courtneybelle (nothing from Chip, yet). Crack open a PBR and come join us at the club where, in today's entry, Bananasuit is promising/threatening to discuss "equestrian transformation motifs" in Ukrainian folklore. We're not sure why!

Supergroup of the Week: Wild Flag / Midweek Scenester Pick: Born Gold at Jackpot on Wednesday / Asteroid Head's "Signature Cocktail"

We love scenester supergroups, and Wild Flag (featuring members of Sleater-Kinney, Helium, and the Minders) has us pretty intrigued. Their new album is out today. Since Pitchfork has yet to offer any effusive praise, let's turn to...SPIN:

"Has there really never been an all-female, indie-rock all-star band before Wild Flag? They're late, it's true, but also right on time...t'd be reasonable to expect a "mature" rock record from this quartet, or at least a few of the bittersweet lamentations mandatory for all ex-punks pushing 40 (call it "Wilco syndrome"). Instead, Wild Flag offers odes to volume and youth ("Romance," "Future Crimes"), suggesting the barely contained frenzy of teenagers."

Richard: "I'd prefer 'bittersweet lamentations,' but this will do."

Chip: "I've never heard of this 'Sleater-Kinney,' but isn't Carrie Brownstein the woman from Portlandia? She's funny. I hope she performs some of her sketches when they play at the Record Bar next month. 'Put a bird on it!'"

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Why would a band change their name from Gobble Gobble to Born Gold? Anyway, as best as we can tell, it's the same band, and they are at the Jackpot on Wednesday, doing weird electro-pop shit. Here's an interweb review from www.theaudioperv.com :

"The band at one point even had shovels, a leaf blower, a spaceman sheet creation, a fake ear, human body props, tutus, stilts, circus pants, a giant tent, confetti."

They had us at leaf blower. Born Gold's debut album, Bodysongs, is out on Sept. 20 and the cover looks like this:




















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We haven't heard from Asteroid Head Art Club in awhile, but they've resurfaced with a new "signature cocktail," The Asteroid Head, which (we think) will be available at Pachamama's starting today, along with a new art exhibition. The closing ceremony will occur on this month's Final Friday:

Check out the Facebook event page for important tips about ordering the drink:

"Tell them Jacques sent you, and it will come with pop-rocks on the rim."

We Spend 9/11 With The Ants at the Replay / KU: 20th Horniest College in America!

It was a beautiful, full-moon-lit tenth-anniversary 9/11 evening in Larryville last night, and scenesters sought solace (as they do for so many things) in PBR and rock and roll. The Ants took the stage around sunset with no mention of the day's significance (but with a US flag bass drum) and launched into a tune about how much it sucks to pay two dollar tolls on I-70 when you've drank up all your money. Their Pavement-y guitar licks were complemented on this evening with crystalline lyrics (pretty rare for the patio, especially with Zach running sound). We enjoyed a song about working in an airplane factory in Wichita, and a song from the perspective of a killer which ended with the speaker enjoying some cherry wine with a group of doomed ladies in a bar, and a song with the loudly chanted mantra "Everything I say comes from a genuine place." And, with The Ants, we believe that it does (far more genuine, at least, than the guy in a booth who kept shouting "Never forget" in between songs: go back to the frathouse!). Only in the closer did The Ants address the day's historical significance, with a short tale about playing the Replay just prior to 9/11 followed by a verse from Mellencamp's "Little Pink Houses" followed by a sterling cover of The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again," a perfect capper. Good job, Ants!

"Change it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold that's all
But the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the last war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
And I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again"


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Are you all aware that KU placed 20th on a recent list of "horniest colleges." Impressive, but there's still room to get hornier!

Chip: "I wonder how the results were compiled? Did someone count the boners over a certain period of time? And what about women? I can't always tell when they are horny."

Sunday Vacation

Chip think it's disrespectful to make boner jokes on this solemn day of national memory and reflection.

So we'll just watch football instead, like the rest of America.

See you this week.

We Lament the Lack of PBR Art in Larryville (Plus: Other Larryville Mysteries)

Larryville loves its PBR and loves its art, so we're sometimes baffled by the fact that there's not an inspiring PBR mural downtown or, at the very least, a Final Friday showcase devoted to PBR art (especially since we know for a fact that a KC PBR rep has been trying to find a venue for such a show).

So we often find ourselves turning to www.pbrart.com for our fill of PBR art and related events, such as "Eye Fuck," in Boston, a "graphic display of PBR originality through the eyes of local artists and designers."




















So step it up, Larryville artists, and make art such as this for us to peruse:











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We recently put out a Twitter call for people to send us their #larryvillemysteries , things that puzzle them about life in #lfk , and the responses have been flooding (more like trickling) in.

Here are a few we've enjoyed thus far:

Why there is no curbside recycling service. How in the world KCMO does it and Larry doesn't is a #larryvillemystery

How we only have one decent movie theater in this town & i am not talkin bout southwind!

What became of all the carpeted rafts the hippies built to shuttle skinny dippers to Lake Perry?

how come The Hawk hasn't been raided by ATF agents?

Why do people fondly remember Mass St. Deli?

why would anyone go to Johnny's West?

How in the hell does Carlos O' Kelly's remain open?

And @RealSherylBaby (the Twitter feed of Dennis' doll) offers up this #larryvillemystery : my sudden growth spurt!

Thanks for the submissions!

Weekend Scenester Guide: Rock, Comics, Arts

Our time is limited today, readers, so we offer you this quick guide to local shenanigans this weekend.

Today:

1) Tim Kasher, of Cursive and The Good Life, is at the Jackpot. Are either of those bands still hip? It doesn't matter, because Fourth of July is opening, and they are perpetually hip.

2) The Slow Death is at the Replay. They have their own comic book! Read the Pitch piece by @nuthousepunks over here .



Saturday:

1) Speaking of comics, geek out at the Free State Comicon tomorrow at the fairgrounds. The Astrokitty crew will be on hand drawing a live comic, possibly of a robot who think he's a vampire.

2) It's been a looooong couple of weeks without a Mouthbreathers show while they were on tour, but they'll be back in action on Saturday at the Jackpot. Perhaps they'll play six or so consecutive gigs to make up for their absence. Also on the bill: Spook Lights and Dry Bonnet (we haven't seen Dry Bonnet, but hipster-tipsters like our occasional columnist Duckie have been raving about them).

3) Katlyn Conroy is playing simultaneously across the street at Replay on Saturday. If you're truly hip, you'll see some of both shows. And visit her new Bandcamp page as well. We're playing "Rabbits" as we write this.

Chip: "It's about rabbits, and she says 'fuck' a bunch of times on it."

4) KU has an important home stand against NIU at Memorial Stadium as they attempt to prove they are capable of winning more than one game this season. Catch them before the Big 12 crumbles entirely and our sports teams are left as the sole members, scrimmaging sadly against ourselves.

Sunday:

Get your arts and crafts on at Haskell's Indian Arts Market and the Fall Arts and Craft Festival at South Park (L.com will tell you that the latter is on Saturday: it isn't).

And catch Sissy Spaceship opening for the Ants at the Sunday Replay matinee. We don't know who or what Sissy Spaceship is, but our prediction is: adorable.

This Week in Art: The Painted Donkey Project / This Week in Music: Folkicide / And Biemers Gets Patriotic

We clicked on L.com this morning looking for recipes for some nice autumn soups and unexpectedly came across the intriguing story of the Painted Donkey project:

"Organizers of The Painted Donkey: An Art Auction Event are asking art lovers to write “tales” of why they think the arts are important on triangle-shaped “tails” to be pinned on a cute plywood donkey."

The stories will later be sent to Governor Brownback. But will the donkey be sent as well?

Chip: "Interesting project, but I'd rather that hundreds of artists lined up single file and took turns stepping forward to call Brownback a jackass."

The auction, featuring the work of many artists, is at the Carnegie Building tonight. Full details over here



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We have to thank the Pitch for the most interesting music news we've read this week:

"A handmade CD turned up in the mail the other day from Burnie Booth, a local guy who records under the name Folkicide. It's called Devotional Hymns From the Church of the Darwinian Snuff Film. The album art is a collage, the focal point of which is a nearly nude Filipina undergoing some kind of bloody voodoo operation involving a needle."

Folkicide is playing a "recording release recital" tomorrow night at the Record Bar and we are immediately starting a "bring Folkicide to the Replay" petition!

The article points out that Booth was once "in a band called Big Toe, which was a part of the hardcore scene centered on the Outhouse, outside Lawrence."

Anybody remember? If so, please share your Big Toe memories.

Read David Hudnall's terrific little piece on Burnie Booth over here .


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With the tenth anniversary of 9/11 on the horizon, you may have noticed a few tributes popping up on local business signs. Even Biemers took a break from their usual innuendoes ("Get R Sauce On Your Face") to offer up "9 11 Never Forget." We are moved. But we hope they are back to their usual antics next week. Our suggestion: "Lick Our Giant Sausages."

Local Tattoo of the Week / Heavy Metal Bingo / This Week in Local Theatre

Larryville scenesters, like all good scenesters, love their tattoos and express great loyalty to particular local tattoo artists. We recently quizzed our Twitter army about their local tattoo experiences and we'll be showcasing a few of the responses here.

Today's pick is @lacindkay, who sent us this message and photo (click to enlarge):

"Chris at Ichiban allllll the way man! He's Kansas'd the shit outta my arm!"





















@lacindakay plans to go back for more, adding a good old-fashioned Kansas twister to the mix of sunflowers and windmills.

Chip: "I'm wanting to get something very Larryville-specific. Maybe my two favorite Quinton's waitresses tattooed on each butt cheek? I think they'd ultimately be more honored than disgusted by my tribute."

Readers, do you want your tattoos to be showcased here for Larryville to peruse? Tweet us a message about your tattoo and its artist along with a pic to @larryvillelife .


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Having perhaps tired of children's games like kickball, Larryville scenesters turn their attention tonight to an old folks' past-time: bingo. But this is Heavy Metal Bingo, featuring metal bands (Rimjob and Coventry Sacrifice), free prizes, and (presumably) bingo! It's at the Bottleneck. It's free. The FB event page is here .

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According to the LJ-World, the City Fathers last night "unanimously agreed to pledge $20,000 per year for the next five years" to insure that Larryville's new community theater project (TheatreLawrence) can take shape way out west at 6th and Wakarusa.

Let's check in and see if local talkbackers support this move.

Pete_Schweti says: "My God, these people really will approve anything."

Richard: "On one hand, I remain opposed to moving a "community" theatre outside of the local arts community. On the other hand, it keeps me further away from another fucking production of Nunsense."

Chip: "Actually, there's not even a singing nun play on the bill this season. But they're doing Steel Magnolias in April. I'm going to cry so hard when I see it."

Here's a rendering of your future community theatre via LJ-World:

How We Spent Our Labor Day Vacation / The PBR Book Club Gets a Blog / Scenester Pick of the Day: Ganglians

Welcome back, readers. Just because we took a long Labor Day break doesn't mean we weren't keeping an eye on local events. Here's how we spent our vacation.

We stopped by the Sanctuary reunion party at the Replay on Friday where a (small) group of "Sanctuary people" (as they called themselves) gathered to remember their beloved 80's Larryville dance spot. But very few of them remembered how to dance, apparently, since the dance floor was largely empty during DJ Ray's set.

Chip: "The best song he played was that one from The Breakfast Club."

We stopped by Dumptruck Butterlips' Bottleneck set later on Friday to look at hippie chicks who enjoy dancing with hula-hoops. They played a song for Richard's birthday (thanks, Dumptruck!). Have you given some money to their Kickstarter campaign yet? $250 will get you "a piece of hand made costuming from Ziggy!"

On Saturday, we watched the Hawks win their first (and likely only) game of the season. Actually, we didn't "watch," since the fucking thing wasn't on TV.

On Sunday, we basked in the angelic voice of Gillian Welch and the guitar wizardry of Dave Rawlings at Liberty Hall. Wow.

And on Monday we gathered with the townies on Free State patio to enjoy the blessedly cool temperatures. In one corner, a group of folks sang along while someone strummed "Forever Young" and a Dead tune and a Wham song. In another corner, Father Joe told us about his experiences down South with Reverend Martin Luther King. We were enthralled. And a "kickball legend" listed for us his 100 or so best underrated films from the '80's. We've rarely met anyone who can quote "The Wraith" so extensively. Consider us impressed.


















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During our down time, we also created a new blog (we are so prolific!) which will be infrequent and devoted to our newest ridiculous project: getting people to read and discuss pretentious post-modern novels.

Come visit the PBR Book Club over here .



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If you're not partied out from the weekend yet, you may want to catch a Pitchfork-approved early show at the Jackpot this evening: Ganglians. Their newest album, Still Living, receives a 6.9 along with this description:

"Still Living's cross-section of Byrdsian folk-psych, loose-limbed 80s indie rock, and fizzy Beach Boys-derived harmonies in the nouveau Grizzly Bear/Fleet Foxes mold finds the quietly confident Ganglians nimbly folding in one sliver of melody after another until their songs just glimmer...They're fine enough singers, but after a while, Still Living's reliance on ornate vocal kumbayas seem to weigh down its willowy music."

Chip: "I'm going to pass just because I fear the evening might actually erupt into a hipster kumbaya sing-a-long. I have nightmares about that scenario already."

Ganglians look like this:

Weekend Scenester Picks and the Blog Takes a Labor Day Vacation

Readers, we're taking a few days off to see how many PBRs we can drink between now and Tuesday, but don't forget the weekend's top events:

1) Legendary Larryville DJ Ray Velasquez will rock the Sanctuary Sunset Soiree on the Replay patio tonight from 6:00-9:00, and we predict aging scenesters will come out of the woodwork to reminisce about their 80's days hanging at the Sanctuary. You should read the Pitch piece by @nuthousepunks , in which Velasquez says: "I continue to stimulate the cultural clitoris and generate social lubrication for deeper penetration."

We predict the Soiree might erupt into an orgy (if everyone remembered to take their Viagra today).

Chip: "Why can't this DJ rock a set down at Quinton's?"


2) Danny Joe Gibson's poster exhibit opens in KC's First Fridays tonight! (details in sidebar).

4) KU football returns on Saturday. Most pundits predict the McNeese State game as KU's sole victory of the season. We think those pundits are wrong, and that KU will not win a single game.

4) Gillian Welch at Liberty on Sunday. No snark here, readers. She and David Rawlings are the very best. But this picture of them opening for Buffalo Springfield IS pretty funny.
















See you next week.

Picks and Pans, Vol. III: A Brownback Picnic, A PBR Book Club, and a Pretentious Romanian Film About Adjectives

Aging scenester pick of the week: Sanctuary Reunion Party at Replay's Friday matinee:

Readers, the days of the Sanctuary occurred long before our scenester reign in Larryville but, based on this well-written FB event page for tomorrow's reunion party, they sound kind of awesome. Excuse us for printing the full write-up, but we know most of you won't actually click and read the link if we don't:

"In Lawrence, Kansas, during a decade widely recognized as the 1980's, The Sanctuary, an all lumber, part roadhouse, part ski lodge, multi-level bar/restaurant/night club nestled away from the street at 7th and Michigan in a lush wooded area was true to its name as KU students, townies, greeks, freaks, white, black, brown, red, yellow, gay and straight found refuge from the artificial confines of social hierarchy, cultural blandness, and mainstream musical mediocrity. If rival nightclub Gammons was the cultural Death Star of Lawrence, The Sanctuary was the Rebel Base.

The Sanctuary DJ's, David Randall, Lisa Wilson, and Ray Velasquez forged a fresh and innovative musical direction fusing rock, hip hop, post punk, funk, and disco with select pop hits of the day, serendipitously mirroring the sound of downtown Manhattan. The one in New York, not the one in Kansas.

Tuesday "Dime Draws" was the big night at The Sanctuary where a diverse crowd would booze and groove to Ray's eclectic sets that featured music by The Clash, James Brown, The Beatles, New Order, Afrika Bambaata, The Cure, Konk, A Certain Ratio, Whodini, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Michael Jackson, The Who, Grand Master Flash & The Furious Five, Run DMC, The Doors, Madonna, ESG, The Kinks, Big Audio Dynamite, Depeche Mode, Madonna, Motown, Gang Of Four, Grace Jones, Parliament/Funkadelic, The Monkees…

For the first time since 1983, the original crew, the crowd, and the surviving sinners of The Sanctuary's deliriously decadent golden era will gather for The Sanctuary Sunset Soiree. Returning from New York City for this event, Ray's back behind the beat.

The Sanctuary Sunset Soiree. For some, a harmless stroll down memory lane. For the rest of us, a stagger and a step closer towards the end of the road."

After all of our recent explorations of Larryville lore, we plan to be on the scene gathering stories (or maybe just dancing with some old folks).


Dick Move of the Week: Brownback Picnic

Brownback is throwing a party for state workers in Top City on Friday and giving free ice cream for the first 2000 arrivals. How is this a dick move? Well, does free ice cream make up for shitty treatment the rest of the year?

Chip: "There BETTER be a wide array of flavors at this event. I'm talking mint chocolate chip."



Pretentious Foreign Film of the Week: Police, Adjective

We'll watch any film about a part of speech and adjectives are one of our favorites. Here's an excerpt from the NY-Times review of this acclaimed Romanian award-winner:


"True to its title, the new Romanian film “Police, Adjective” is a story of law enforcement with a special interest in grammar. Its climactic scene is not a chase or a shootout, but rather a tense, suspenseful session of dictionary reading."


Cute band of the day: Deerpeople (playing the Replay tonight).

Go to their Bandcamp and listen to a song called "Dr. Gay Washington" from these adorable Oklahomans.




















Local Book Club of the Year: Larryville's PBR Book Club

At long last, we're teaming up with that zany BananaSuitLibrarian to start a "PBR Book Club" which will meet occasionally and expound pompously and drunkenly on important hipster texts (mostly contemporary and meta, no doubt). Our first choice is David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. The first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 29 at 9:00 at Replay. And don't be intimidated by these frightening tomes: the majority of the meetings will no doubt consist of Chip drunkenly reading things out loud.

From Washington Post review of Cloud Atlas:

"What appears at first glance to be a novel is in fact six novellas whose interrelatedness is only hinted at during the book's first half, then revealed fully and splendidly after the book's middle, which is really the book's end. Confused? You're supposed to be, at least for a little while: It's from this starting point of dislocation that Mitchell begins a virtuosic round trip through the strata of history and causality, exploring the permanence of man's inhumanity to man and the impermanence of what we have come to call civilization."

Chip: "When I choose the book it's going to be something a little bit sexier. Nicholson Baker's House of Holes, probably."


House of Holes excerpt of the week:

Now that we've FINALLY scored a copy of Baker's much-touted, wildly filthy new House of Holes from the Lawrence Public Library (we weren't sure you perverts were ever going to return it!), we can tease you with occasional bits of raunch. Be warned: not a single page is safe for work.

"Just then her attention was diverted by something stiff and warm tracing the curve of the arch of her foot.

'Mr. Borodin, is that you?' she said.

'Yes, that is my cock," said Alexander Borodin. 'It is very hard and very famous.'"

Chip: "There's no question it's the best book I've ever read."