Urban Honking

If anyone w/cable taped Ego Trip’s Illest Minority Moments, AKA VH-1’s Dumbest Diffusive Re-titling, and wants to trade a copy for some hand-embroidered sweatbands (or other semi-amateur handmade goods), I would be stoked. My email is julianne@portlandmercury.com. I do not know how to make that into a hyperlink.

From my oldest, dearest friend and common-law brother, Steven Lankenau, AKA the only out gay person in our entire high school, Cheyenne, WY, 1994: From: Julianne Shepherd To: Steven Lankenau Subject: RE: homophobes Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 16:12:29 -0800 G. W. B. is seriously going to get BEAT DOWN From: Steven Lankenau To: Julianne […]

Speaking of patriarchs and homophobes, you have noticed we are at a crucial point in the gay civil rights movement. The following message, courtesy my friend Michael, reiterates the detestable conservativism rampant in my generation–conservativism manifested in flippancy and masked as hip and funny, when in actuality, it is not. Apparently, adversity or struggle is […]

P.S. What is up with people doing the Vice Magazine “Richard Pryor without the context” joke thing? That’s like, Mesopotamian in its dull level of hate. That kind of sarcasm is not even as smart as rubbing two sticks together for fire.

From Stephen, AKA DJ the Incredible Kid: “We are in Chandigarh… the city was designed by Le Corbousier and it reminds me of American housing projects more than anything. The greens of the trees are beautiful and give a hint of the legendary fertile soils of the Punjab. We went to the Nek Chand Rock […]

I don’t have MTV so if this is ancient history, SARS*… but like, have you seen this video for “Pull My Hair Out?” (SCROLL DOWN) Sasha pointed out Kanye’s daffy bear suit on the cover of “College Dropout.” Celebrity DJ Samantha Ronson’s video stars a gesticulating Toonces wearing a princess crown. Is Dame Dash going […]

Let it be known that if Travis were on the Nobel Prize Committee, he’d hold up a foam number one finger with the name Mikhail Saakashvili, the US-educated, power-to-the-people/Western-idea-motivated new president of Georgia. Correct me if I’m wrong. Let it be known that if I were on the Nobel Prize Committee, I would use the […]

From the inbox: Danger Mouse Responds to Controversial ‘Grey Tuesday’ (Los Angeles) – Originally intended to be a musical experiment, Danger Mouse’s Grey Album now seems placed in the middle of a brewing showdown between music activists and major music corporations. Danger Mouse’s Grey Album uses the full vocal content of Jay-Z’s Black Album, recorded […]

My friends Anju and Stephen, whose superhero bhangra DJ personas are DJ Anjali and The Incredible Kid, have been visiting India for about a month now, and Stephen’s been sending the most amazing emails. Here’s part of one, reprinted with permission: “I’m in New Delhi now. It’s been several days and the time passes very […]

I am pissed because my high-impact danceaerobics class, “Dance It Off,” has been mysteriously replaced by “Cardio Caliente.” The old Dance It Off teacher was the best, and famous for her awesome disciplinary outbursts. In my favorite class of all time, she slipped into full army-sergeant mode, screaming, “Do you know what this move is, […]