Feeling all emo
Perhaps it's because of lawrence.com's fondness for a well-turned ankle, but we've been getting a kick out a song we stumbled upon while browsing for something completely unrelated. So we herewith provide a so-called hyperlink to same:["Feelin' All Emo (Since I Broke Up With You)"][1] from "CrushBoyfriendHeartbreak" by [the Unlovables][2].It goes well with vegetables. [1]: http://www.theunlovables.com/mp3/emo.mp3 [2]: http://www.theunlovables.com/
Merci, Dieu!
We recently received this (unsolicited) letter from a reader well known among many circles in Lawrence. We avail his communication here (including enclosed photo) without further preface. -ed ![][1] Merci, Dieu! Yes. Reynaud - the only one. Can you believe? I am here once more, for request of Phil Cauthon, Editor - one man with absence of coiffure. When I am leaving Kansas two year before, I have disgust for this stinking goats of Lecompton - but of Lawrence, I am knowing some good thing. For the Thanksgiving, this Editor is asking me for writing the thing in Lawrence for which I give thanks, without speaking of The Outhouse. Therefore I make for you some note of some nice thing I am loving in Kansas. This Birds "Starlingualistes," they are name in France - this black one, shining, having the eye yellow like pustule. This bird are too many in Kansas, always for screaming and eating too much the birds seeds. But many too are other styles of nice birds in the Kansas. This cardinal in red! Ho ho! This lemony meadowlark and the morningwood pecker! I confess I am not liking so much this owl - I catch scare for the Twin Peak. But I am liking very much the sparrow, this busy thing, and in Kansas are many of sparrow. Many these Kansas bird are singing all the day, and so, everywhere is seeming pastoral. Also, too, in the patio of the cafe, you must beware of this table which is under shades of trees. Yes, the poopoo. This Bratwurst One time ago, for this Arts in Parks, I have consume five bratwurst consecutive, in the afternoon. And for one week after, things did not improve until I am eating the yogurt. Oh, this disruptions of bratwurst! For this I am forbid now for enter the toilet of this Bourgeois Pigs. It is the attraction fatal, this explosive sausage, like the absinthe and this "Lost." But I am liking it! Mais oui! With this "kraut," hoopla! This Torments of Kansas I confess I catch nervous sometime for this Kansas torment - la nature sauvage! The sky, black! The wind, enrage! People are fearing the arrival of this whirling cone, which take up to the heaven many the cow and too this mobile homes. One time, for the sudden tunder, I embrace too much one cat and for this I have now the disfigurement (warning: if you see me, say nothing). And this flash lights - the x-ray! For the erection of the tiny hairs! In this torment, I am fearing the window and refusing to bathe! (which is French and good). And so, this torments of Kansas is more strong to me than this scary movie of Japan. This Bugs For so many bug are there so many bird in the Kansas. But this chigger! Inside you it live! In brown places! I am not liking this. But I enchant for this fire-fly of the evening. Once ago in Mexico, I have make the experiment of the peyote and for many year I am seeing the fire-fly - a dream, I am thinking, the cosmic. It is good, in Kansas, such things are existing, not only dreams. Too are good this grasshopper which is making this rasping (LOUD) in summer's time. It is the music of frottage, and when I am hearing this, I am hot! This Squirrels Ho ho! Funny things! So many the squirrel in Lawrence! Some people are saying this squirrels is the rat for the tree, but I am liking very much this beast, with the puffy tail and the rudeness. If you are making bother for some squirrels, this squirrel will say to you many the bad word and some tauntings - in this way squirrels are speaking (chuk-chuk). And so they do only from the arms of the tree, high above. But if you are advancing, this squirrels are running away. For this are the squirrel very much like the French peoples, therefore good. So too are this squirrel always for the coitus in the public place, without shame - also French and very good. This "Stare" In Kansas is this "stare." Yes, I have said it (and I have spoken one time before). To stare is to fix this gaze. In Kansas, this gaze is fixed and also glazed. Even in the France, when the stare is discovered, the one who make the stare must look away. The Kansas people, staring, are not looking away. They have the open mouth - perhaps, this peoples are being "on pause." This "stare" is rude, therefore French and very good. This Trains Sometime, when I am hearing the cries of this trains, I am thinking of the home of which I am belonging and unknowing. This cry of trains is to make for my heart one side the happy, one side the sad. To remain or to ride? To love or to live? This train is always going, and when it comes to you, it cries. And so are some nice things in Lawrence, Kansas. Here, without goats, a life perhaps is O.K. - it is the "laid-back," and some are saying this Lawrence is "oasis." Perhaps. But the place you are living is not so important; for if you are always happy for see the new morning, it is Thanksgiving. [1]: http://media.lawrence.com/img/blogs/i...
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Pitch piece
Commentary by Phil CauthonIrony is a tricky enterprise.First of all, stupid people don't get it.Secondly, it is successfully wielded by only the best communicators, and is perhaps most fit for audio/visual formats where multiple layers of meaning are conveyed at once via tone of voice, delivery, and nonverbal communication, etc.Trickiest of all, though, is irony's potential irony. Irony, you see, may become so thick, so wrapped around itself, so dependant on nuance and subtlety that irony itself is not ironic. Mindblowing, no?All these obstacles were to blame - [reports say][1] - when readers of [The Pitch's latest cover "story"][2] failed to grasp the irony of the satirical piece.That is, few realized it was all a hoax.([Read Kansas City Star article on the hoax][3] - for your convenience, log-in/e-mail: bobross@pbs.org / password: happy3)Entitled "Rebel Hell," the piece dryly related how workers at the Sprint Center construction site unearthed graves of Confederate solders buried there in 1864.The piece - written under the pseudonym Cesar Oman - went on to quote armchair historians as to the significance of the "whoremongering" rebel soldiers' lives, as well as give Deep-Throat-style analysis of how the city's elected officials were coping with the impeding crisis: "Why do we have to get that mushmouthed brat involved?" was attributed to one nameless city official who opposed involving Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt in the brewing SCANDAL.Aficionados of the art of irony might have recognized the piece's tell-tale signs of untruth, or rather of truth behind the surface's untruth:(1) improbable quotes containing words like "whoremongering" and "mushmouthed brat,"(2) unreliable use of sources, including crackpots, anonymous hearsay, and admittedly non-expert sources masquerading as experts,(3) lack of a reputable writer's name at the top of the story,(4) overtones of 'muckracking,' a sensational, scandal-generating form of writing largely left behind after the 19th century by self-respecting journalists (career-minded Fox reporters notwithstanding), and(5) an advertisement for Sprint - the corporate namesake for the arena in question - featuring a black family enjoying the city's culturally diverse atmosphere, strategically placed next to the article.While the first four of these tell-tale signs potentially could have been lost on regular readers familiar with The Pitch's style (ironically -ed.), the placement of the Sprint ad was - [reportedly][1] - the proverbial 'wink, wink, nudge, nudge,' to the reader, signaling that this piece was, in fact, parody. (It should be noted this ad was absent from the online version of the story.)The question remains: what was the piece parodying?The piece's actual author, Managing Editor Tony Ortega, provided the answer to the Kansas City Star, saying his writing was a response to [Gov. Blunt's decision earlier this month to allow the Confederate flag to fly at a state cemetery][4]. He said he was surprised some readers didn't recognize it as satire."I truly did not know how else to deal with" it, Ortega said. "I figured an editorial or column wouldn't do it."Presumably the 'it' Ortega is referring to is drawing attention to Blunt's decision to fly the Confederate flag at a cemetery. However, the piece only mentions that detail in passing among the 3,354-word story, leaving astute readers to make the connection to a weeks-old news item that is wholly unrelated to the Sprint center under construction.Thus a critical element of the parody - its referent - was lost on many readers. And parody without a referent isn't parody. It's just ... untruth.Another common element of parody was absent from the piece - humor. Satirical outlets such as The Onion or The Daily Show have gained national prominence for their biting commentary on current events, and though they are often no more based in fact than The Pitch's piece, their packages repeatedly employ obvious humor such that the audience is constantly cued to the irony.Nor were less elegant forms of alerting the audience to the parody employed by The Pitch piece, such as an editor's note at the beginning or end.Instead the words, pictures, and pull-quotes were all presented as any other factual item in the weekly tabloid.Even now that the truth has come out - with the irony explained thanks to the Star's story - it's hard to reread The Pitch piece as an obvious parody. If anything, it's a boring mockery of Missouri's undeniable Confederate history (that is, despite the state's siding with the Union during the war).But, for the moment, let's give The Pitch the benefit of the doubt.Perhaps they were genuinely trying to make a valid point about Gov. Blunt's decision to fly the Confederate flag. And perhaps they really thought this piece was one way they could do so and really draw attention to it.On the second count they might succeed. If the next couple days are slow for other media outlets, this could make big news even outside the region - "Officials decry paper's fake account of Confederate graves," would make for an enticing headline.But on the first count, they've failed miserably. The story will never be about what the Pitch staff were originally trying to parody. Ironically, it will be about everything but. Regardless of the nobility of their intentions, the story now is akin to those about the scandals surrounding Jason Blair and the other recent "journalists" who fabricated stories.On the one hand, it's commendable for The Pitch to take a chance on making (what they thought necessitated) a bold statement. But when so many people are suspect of the media's intentions - and even doubting its credibility amid the recent slew of scandals about fabricated stories - Pitch editors should have been on high alert going down the parody path, and taken great pains to make sure NO ONE could mistake the irony of the piece.Instead, it was left to be just a piece...of crap, best flushed from memory. Phil Cauthon is the editor of lawrence.com and, like the rest of Lawrence, a Free Stater. [1]: http://lawrence.com/in_lieu_of_reports/ [2]: http://www.pitch.com/issues/2005-06-23/news/feature.html [3]: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/11971400.htm [4]: http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2005/jun...
I Am Trying To Give You $75
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWe don't want to brag, but it's been a good year for lawrence.com. Awards keep rolling in. It's as though we can't make them stop. Ad revenues are at historic highs. And our readers are plentiful, having gone forth and multiplied, converged and then multiplied again. And now we'd like to give something back.![][1] lawrence.com is therefore pleased to announce that we are making available $75 -- that's 3/4 of $100 -- payable in cash to Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy, to be divided in any way they see fit, for a reunion set by Uncle Tupelo at this year's [Wakarusa Music Festival][2].We know that's a lot of money. But we think, dear readers, that you're worth it.As a gesture of good faith and good will (traits we like to think are at the heart of the lawrence.com experience) we'd even be willing to put up over half the total amount, $40, before the set. The remaining $35 will be presented after the set.Messrs Tweedy and/or Farrar, and/or their authorized agents, are encouraged to contact homies [at] lawrence [dot] com.This offer not available in all states, nor for all music festivals. Carefully review prospectus details before accepting. [1]: http://media.lawrence.com/img/special... [2]: http://www.lawrence.com/events/2005/jun/17/8509/
and 1 others
Convergence Capital U.S.A. (i.e, us)
Boy howdy, it's tough being a hometown paper these days. If you're not being bought up by some staff-cutting, profit-mongering non-local corporation, your hometown may still resent you for the lack of media competition, for playing favorites, or for being too rightwing, too leftwing or hardly leftwing enough. Granted, life is rarely fair - that's life. But the outside world is helping put all this into perspective. On Wednesday and Thursday's [NPR "Morning Edition,"][1] The World Company was the subject of a two-part look into media innovation. Take a listen to these mp3 versions of the broadcasts: [Part 1][2] [aired 4/13] [Part 2][3] [aired 4/14] [1]: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4597203 [2]: http://media.ljworld.com/audio/2005/04/12/npr_day1.mp3 [3]: http://media.ljworld.com/audio/2005/04/12/npr_day2.mp3
Free State Brewery and other omissions…
Lawrence - a city with a "lovely campus, many funky shops and a top-notch regional music scene" - was featured as a destination of choice in [Friday's New York Times "Escapes" section][1]. Times writer Seth Sherwood told readers how to spend 36 hours in the city, recommending a stroll down Massachusetts Street, breakfast at Milton's Coffee, barbecue at Gran-Daddy's - "next to a strip club and indifferent to decor" - and stops at the Lied Center, the Spencer Museum of Art and Allen Fieldhouse. Sherwood also recommended Lawrence as "perhaps the most vital music scene between Chicago and Denver," directing readers to the Replay Lounge, Jackpot Saloon, the Bottleneck and Granada Theater. [1]: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/25/travel/escapes/25hour.html?8hpib
Coming soon: the lawrence.com gaydometer™
From a concerned reader:_ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!I try to consider myself reasonably liberal (in some areas) but I'm tired of having gaydom shoved down my throat (no pun intended)!The most recent copy of Lawrence.com (deadwood edition) to hit my front porch made me choke.The front page is 99% gay - including artwork.And if that isn't enough the inside leaf shows a pig having intercourse with a chicken!__I'm not delving any further into that disgusting substitute for information - as for the coupons - I'm pretty sure those responsible can find some special use for the rag content._We'd like to apologize to the reader: our own internal calculations put the "gaydom" level of [the most recent Deadwood Edition][1]'s cover at 91.3%, with a margin of error of +/-3%.As for [the comic][2] on page 2, we'd like to alert the concerned reader that the pig was male and the chicken female, thus contributing 0% to the overall "gaydom" level of the issue (note: the beastiality coefficient was also unaffected, as the comic depicts fictional animal-on-animal sex).lawrence.com is sensitive (which adds 50% to our overall "gaydom" right off the bat, we admit) to its readers' concerns. So, to help our readers decide beforehand the relative level of "gaydom" in lawrence.com, and help them prevent their somehow "catching" gayness by contact with our publication, our crack programming team will shortly begin developing the lawrence.com "gaydometer"™ to alert readers when the level of "gaydom" rises above our normal baseline level.Do stay tuned. [1]: http://www.lawrence.com/deadwood/ [2]: http://www.lawrence.com/comics/
Lost cat
LOST Grey/black striped cat, adult female, shy but friendly once you gain her trust, lanky and tall looking, quite a bit of black on tail and legs, black outline on eyes. She was lost in the area of 12th and Tennessee, but does not know this area and may have run elsewhere to hide or be trying to find her way home (near 25th and Iowa). If seen or found, please call (785)832-0676 or (785)749-5708.
