I wasn't sure if I was going to do Bonnnie & Clyde Night this year. And even if I decided to do it, I had a much different, smaller rendition in mind.
Yesterday morning, realizing I couldn't pass up that May 23 was landing on a Friday night, I sent out a last minute invitation to about 15 people. I knew which three or four B & C zealots would actually show. We couldn't have had a lovelier time. (I'll have some pictures to post tomorrow.)
From: Martian Bracelets
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 11:27 AM
To: editorial, CIA Generation, Valium Bloodstream, Bill Clinton, C4, Barack Obama, Gouverneur Morris, Cassette 2 MP3, Marxist Mary Jane, SNL Girl
Subject: May 23. Bonnie & Clyde
A very casual B&C this year.
I will be reading out loud, Haggadah-style, Ch. 36 from B&C historian James R. Knight's definitive 2003 book on the Great Depression outlaws.
Chapter 36, "They Sow the Wind and Reap the Whirlwind," is the "Final" chapter, documenting the 46 shots we celebrate every year.
If you can stop by--and read a paragraph or two, to help with the seance--that'd be cool.
I'll be at Liberty on 15th sometime around 9pm.
Bonus: May 23, that's today, is the actual date of the day they went down 74 years ago. I don't think we've hit that before.
Bonus 2: There'll be a drinking word.
Sorry for the short short notice. (If someone wants to suggest a different bar, that's cool by me.)
From: Valium Bloodstream
To: Martian Bracelets
Date: Friday, May 23, 2008 11:41am
Subject: RE: May 23. Bonnie & Clyde
Excellent--I'll try to make it (with, as it happens, a very appropriate gift).
From: Martian Bracelets
To: Valium Bloodstream
Date: Friday, May 23, 2008 11:46am
Subject: RE: May 23. Bonnie & Clyde
Excellent that you might be able to come.
Really, I think it's just gonna be me... maybe Bill Clinton... maybe CIA...maybe Wendy's Stealing Clothes.
I'd like it that way, actually.
I also invited SNL.
From: Bill Clinton
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 12:25pm
To: Martian Bracelets
Subject: RE: May 23. Bonnie & Clyde
so it's tonight?
From: Martian Bracelets
To: Bill Clinton
Date: Friday, May 23, 2008 12:28pm
Subject: RE: May 23. Bonnie & Clyde
yeah. totally casual. My guess is it'll just be me...maybe Valium....maybe CIA...maybe Wendy's Stealing Clothes.
Are you busy?
Johnny Rotten Shoes is outta town, so I may do a second one next week...???
And later, in the evening, text messages:
From: CIA Generation
Wish I could be there. Stuck with an ex. How late will you be at Liberty?
5/23/08 8:44pm
To: CIA Generation
I'll be there late. There'll be 3 or 4 of us ... Valium, me, ... Um... You.
5/23/08 8:48pm
From: Bill Clinton
On way
5/23/08 8:54pm
To: Bill Clinton
Me 2. Gonna be a small crew. Valium coming at 10. Like I just told him on phone... Sounds perfect
5/23/08 8:56pm
From: Cassette 2 MP3
Bonnie? Clyde?
5/23/08 10:32pm
To: Cassette 2 MP3
We're here.
5/23/08 11:02pm
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Seance
Friday, May 23, 2008
Life in Loops
To: Marxist Mary Jane
Where is the siff quiz movie 2nite?
5/22/08 2:38pm
From: Marxist Mary Jane
Mccaw.
5/22/08 2:45pm
To: Marxist Mary Jane
Btw: u and i saw a great siff quiz movie last year. Remember? Life in loops, i think it was called.
5/21/08 12:26pm
From: Marxist Mary Jane
I do. loved it. No words!
5/21/08 12:27pm
To: Marxist Mary Jane
Siff quiz.
5/21/08 12:58pm
From: Marxist Mary Jane
Siff quiz biz buzz cuz!
5/21/08 12:59pm
The movie we went to see this Thursday night, SIFF's opening night movie, was called "The Battle in Seattle." It was a drama about the 1999 WTO protests starring Charlize Theron, Woody Harrelson, and Andre Benjamin from Outkast.
Here's some of my coverage of the 1999 WTO protests:
"Jailed WTO Protesters Detail Brutality," 12/23/99
"Seattle's Police Chief Resigns as Pissed Officers Blame Him for Everything that Went Wrong at the WTO Conference," 12/9/99
"Without 'Bad Apples,' WTO Protests Wouldn't Have Worked, 12/9/99
"Inside the Ninth and Virginia Squat, Where WTO Protesters Face Off with the Cops," 12/2/99
"Insecurity Plan Local Police Receive Special Training, Set Up "Hard Teams," and Generally Get Paranoid About the WTO Conference," 11/25/99
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Recent Questions
From: Bill Clinton
How did lunch go?
5/19/08 7:42pm
•••
From: Marxist Mary Jane
We still on for cinematic revolution tomorrow? I gotta dig up my dangerous terrorist hat! Can you go 2the gala after? The comps are good 4both
5/21/08 12:20pm
•••
From: Bill Clinton
Yes, want ride?
5/21/08 6:46pm
•••
and by email
From: Salad Head
To: Martian Bracelets
Date: Thursday, May 22, 2008 7:15am
Subject: Yesterday Afternoon
So?
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Martian Bracelets vs. al Qaeda
I've added a new list over in the left column. Scroll down past "The Hex Cast" list; past the "Hex Marks" list (which is the list of my favorite places online); past the "Hex Index;" past "Bookmarks," (books I've read recently); and you'll find a new list called "Martian Bracelets vs. al Qaeda: News Reports from the Middle East."
This is where I'll be linking the latest articles, news reports, polls (like this Palestinian public opinion poll), and editorials about the drama in the Middle East: Iran, Israel, the Palestinian National Authority, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Horn of Africa, bin Laden, Syria.
I'm not going to focus on the news coming out of Iraq unless it rises above the daily minutia of the war and connects to the DNA of defining history like the Grand Mosque takeover in Mecca in late 1979 or defining storylines like Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood vs. the world ... or Iran vs. itself.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Hex Readings #4
Thanks to this pro-net neutrality bill —which was introduced in the U.S. House earlier this month by Reps. John Conyers (D, MI) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA)—the NYT published a pro-net neutrality editorial on Monday.
It's a helpful read on one of the futurama issues of today. They write:The Internet, at least in this country, is a remarkably unfettered medium. If you type in the domain name of a large corporation or a small blog, a government Web site or a radical political party, the pages are sent to your computer with equal speed. Like a telephone line, an Internet connection does not play favorites — it simply transmits the words and images.
I.S.P.’s, the companies that connect users to the Internet, want to change this. They have realized that they could make a lot of money by charging some Web sites a premium to have their content delivered faster than that of other sites. Web sites relegated to Internet “slow lanes” would have trouble competing.
(I've reported on net neutrality with an eye toward fact checking the I.S.P./AT&T spin and tracking GOP campaign gibberish.)
Over at its website today, perhaps in response to the NYT, the free-market Cato Institute posted a pod cast criticizing net neutrality rules, pushing a "Why fix something if it's not broken?" argument. It seems like a shoddy and naive argument to me.
The Internet—the stem cells of the future media—needs to be fostered energetically so that its defining features don't get messed up
Equal access to your favorite websites is a defining trait of the Net. Recognizing this and protecting it against forces that my jeopardize it—AT&T could make billions by prioritizing Fortune 500 sites over teenage witchcraft ones—is heads up public policy.
'08 scorecard: Obama is for net neutrality. McCain ia against.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday Morning Check In
From: Cassette 2 MP3
Thanks for coming last night! I should have some studio time in the next couple weeks.
5/19/08 9:47pm
To: Cassette 2 MP3
Your guys' piece was a show stopper. Nice job. Harp!
5/19/08 10:24am
•••
From: Juvey Hall
SOOO sorry about drunk txts. Embarrassing : )
Ps...enjoyed your middle east posts.
5/19/08 9:52am
To: Juvey Hall
Don't sweat it. Dc is fun. Middle east is too... And dangerous.
5/19/08 10:11am
•••
From: Identity
WHERE WERE U ON FRIDAY????
5/19/08 10:03am
To: Identity
Sigh. Got the reminder. Jonesing to go...And then pooped out at end of the sunny day w a relaxing modelo beer. My apologies baby. Good time?
5/19/08 10:09am
From: Identity
R u saying you chose modelo over ME? I appreciate the honesty but that's harsh! Anyways yes it was fun but missed u!
5/19/08 10:12am
To: Identity
Sad i missed it. We'll drink b4 you go.
5/19/08 10:19am
From: Identity
Hey want to come to J---- Martinez fundraiser on june 10th?
5/19/08 10:33am
To: Identity
Aint got no funds, but... Yeah!
5/19/08 10:35am
•••
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Btw: swell time w SNL. She said i looked like i've been eating oranges and kale. She's funny.
5/19/08 10:33am
•••
To: Wendy's Stealing Clothes
Not finding list on wa dem home page. R u one of the 5 chicks?
5/19/08 11:32am
No Peter Parker Problems Today
To: Bill Clinton
No peter parker problems today, but You're a mench 4 check in call. Thanks 4 invite. Talk soon.
5/17/08 7:45pm
The Weekend in Review
To: Juvey Hall
Tell him you think FTMs are hot.
5/15/08 9:23pm
From: Juvey Hall
He's busy sucking some old guy. He says I should stop texting you.
5/15/08 9:27pm
To: Juvey Hall
Tell him you'll start texting the jr. senator instead.
5/15/08 9:29pm
From: Juvey Hall
I didn't think she was your type.
5/15/08 9:34pm
•••
To: Officer Z
O.Z. O.Z. my dear friend, i am so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.
5/18/08 10:57am
•••
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
You have my scotch tape and tooth paste.
5/18/08 11:44am
•••
To: Bill Clinton
Speaking of 16 year old girls... "You Know Who" propositioned me last night. I didn't go there.
5/18/08 12:56pm
From: Bill Clinton
Hah! Good call.
5/18/08 1:07pm
•••
To: At Any Rate
Done w b ball. Was on bus talking to Sal on phone... On way 2 meet SNL for show ... Who, Btw, asked me if i wanted 2 ride bikes some time.
5/18/08 7:28pm
From: At Any Rate
Free to talk talk now?
5/18/08 7:43pm
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Basketball Diaries #49
My body was itching to play today. I wanted to test out this weird new "I'm-feeling-fit-and-healthy" phenomenon. I had fantasies of lighting up the court. Plus, we didn't have a game last week, when this weird new feeling first started coming on.
I gleefully biked over to the Wallingford Boys and Girls Club for the Legislators' 2 O'clock game (listening to Chuck Berry on my headphones). I was hitting my outside shots during warm ups.
Damn it. I started off with an "oooh and ahhhh" pass for an Oscar Robertson assist and also a couple of clean drives to the basket ... but I missed on the drives. And I missed an easy bank shot after I grabbed the rebound off one of the missed drives. My confidence tanked.
I disappeared. I ended up going 0 for 5 or 6 from the field and 0 for 4 at the line. And I even lost my cool with the ref once. I bitched that he should have given a technical to the guy who fouled me. Those were two of the four foul shots I missed.
I played okay defense. We went man-to-man again. I was covering a shooter, a guy in a red head band (I was wearing my Spider-Man wrist band) who was always cutting to the ball. And I upset his game. But I wasn't around on offense.
Despite my absence, I did play most of the game. And we won.
I biked home, coasting down 45th St NE and Roosevelt Way NE and slaving away a bit up Harvard Ave. E and 10th Ave E.
Here's some good news. I finally found the right combo at the smoothie store. I got blueberry & orange. It was divine.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Re: Hex Readings #3
Earlier this week, when I wrote about a batch of NYT reports from the Middle East (including a series of breaking news stories from Lebanon), I noted that, "In a rare lapse for the NYT, they failed to answer a few elementary questions or lay out the basics behind the news. This isn't a big deal criticism, but it's helpful to have a little more context."
Thankfully, on its website today, reporting the details of kidnappings, torture ("electrical shocks to his genitals") and funerals transformed into impromptu sectarian pogroms, the NYT—with sections like "Battling in the Streets" and "Solidifying Hatred"—filed a 1700-word primer about the situation in Lebanon. I imagine it will be on the front-page of their Sunday edition tomorrow.
The story explains the mainstage conflict between the Shiite Hezbollah movment and the Sunni-leaning government coalition, which is affiliated with secular Sunni leader Saad Hariri's Future Movement. Hezbollah's state-within-a-state status (similar to Hamas' rebel status in Gaza—although, Hamas is Sunni) is nudging the country toward a second civil war.
Here are two disquieting paragraphs from this must-read 101 on Lebanon:
After Hezbollah supporters humiliated Lebanon’s main Sunni political leader, Saad Hariri — crushing his weak militia, forcing his party’s television station off the air and burning two of his movement’s buildings — many of Mr. Hariri’s supporters were enraged, and they said they would look to another Sunni leader who would help them fight back.
That sentiment has stirred fears that moderate, secular Sunni leaders like Mr. Hariri could lose ground to more radical figures, including the jihadists who thrive in Lebanon’s teeming Palestinian refugee camps. Fatah al Islam, the radical group that fought a bloody three-month battle with the Lebanese Army in a refugee camp in northern Lebanon last year, issued a statement Thursday condemning Hezbollah’s actions. The group also gave a warning: “He who pushes our faces in the dirt must be confronted, even if that means sacrificing our lives and shedding blood.”
SUNDAY UPDATE: The NYT did, in fact, put the Lebanon primer on Sunday's front page (top right). They also continued filing news reports from Pakistan with more on Baitullah Mehsud and his militant Tehrik-e-Taliban group. MONDAY UPDATE: The story in Pakistan continued with a suicide bombing.
Friday, May 16, 2008
A Lovely Day
First, I send out an email to the game-theory-email-think-tank gang about '08 and the future:
From: martian bracelets
To: Dr. N
Cc: Numbers, Gregor Samsa, valium bloodstream, shoes, smac
Date: Friday, May 16, 2008 9:47am
Subject: RE: Obama vid
I'm digging O now. He's a peacemaker. I'm always curious how both his domestic foes and America's international foes will deal with him. That's what I like about him. He challenges their belligerence. It's going 2 be hard 4 the radicals in the middle east 2 run their game on O. Valium's been saying this for over year...so, I'm a bit slow.
Then I read the NYT at a coffee shop. And then I make the scene.
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
When do you wanna go for a run?
5/16/08 1:25pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Couple hours? Thought I might just cut out early.
5/16/08 1:28pm
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Just Lemme know. I'm bringing bike by lloyd's now... Then going 2 read somewheres...
5/16/08 1:35pm
After dropping my bike off at the shop, I run into Jean Seberg in the park! I go and get a chocolate chip cookie and then a few hours later, I wind up back at the park. I sit under a tree and read a book and listen to my i-pod.
To: Valium Bloodstream
His response 2 bush was sharp, right, and refined. Sign me up.
5/16/08 4:35pm
From: Valium Bloodstream
Nice! Sound on my laptop is effed up, so I haven't watched yet. A lot more fun to go after W and McC than HRC.
5/16/08 4:39pm
To: Valium Bloodstream
It was funny 2. I think that's what i meant by refined! The big O!
5/16/08 4:42pm
Johnny Rotten Shoes meets me. I pick up my bike. We go for run. We get some dinner at the Roanoke and watch the 4th quarter of an NBA playoff game. We go back to the park and soak our feet in the wading pool. I get a six pack of Modelo especial and play some Generation X Doo-wop on the piano.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Hex Readings #3
The NYT filed a batch of stories from the Islamic world on Tuesday, May 13. All the stories were breaking news items: In Pakistan, key members quit the fragile governing cabinet; in Sudan, rebel forces attack the capital; in Lebanon, the army steps in to quell factional violence in the mountains outside Beirut.
The Middle East has world history by the collar right now, and these stories are the news hooks into the action:
In Pakistan: Representatives from Nawaz Sharif's conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML) abandon the fragile governing coalition cabinet after their demand that the government immediately reinstall anti-Pervez Musharraf judges fails. President Pervez Musharraf, who seized control of Pakistan in a 1999 coup when he ousted Sharif, suspended the Constitution in late 2007, declaring martial law and dismissing several judges from Pakistan's Supreme Court after the Court declared Musharraf's brazen measures unconstitutional.
The PML is the minority faction in the governing coalition cabinet with the left-leaning Pakistan People's Party (PPP). The PML/PPP coalition emerged after emergency elections were held earlier this year, taking control of the Parliament and cabinet and threatening President Musharraf's long standing military rule.
But the issue of reinstating the anti-Musharraf judges, like deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has put the coalition at risk. Ali Zadari's majority PPP, formerly Benazir Bhutto's party before she was assassinated, is more willing to compromise on the judges. Zardari, by the way, is Bhutto's widower. 
In Sudan: The Justice and Equality Movmement (JEM), an anti-government rebel force heavily involved in the Darfur war in the South, attacks Sudan's capital city, Khartoum. The government thinks the flamboyant Islamic/maverick demagogue, Hassan al-Tarabi, a former colleague of Osama bin Laden and a former ally of current President Omar al-Bashir, helped coordinate the alarming assault.
In Lebanon: Days after Hassan Nasrallah's anti-government Hezbollah takes over sections of West Beirut (before voluntarily stepping off the following day), the Lebanese army moves in to stop follow-up fighting between Hezbollah and pro-government Druse fighters in the mountain outskirts. 
•••
In a rare lapse for the NYT though, in their rush to report, they failed to answer a few elementary questions or lay out the basics behind the news. This isn't a big deal criticism, but it's helpful to have a little more context.
The story on Pakistan, for example, doesn't explain where the influential radical fundamentalists from North Western Pakistan, like Baitullah Mehsud and his Tehrik-e-Taliban party, fit in. Do they support Nawaz Sharif's center-right Muslim League-N party? The answer is: No. The fundamentalists, traditionally represented by the ultra-right MMA, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (United Council of Action), lost power in the 2008 elections and are not formally a relevant player in the standoff between Sharif's Muslim League-N and Asif Ali Zardari's center-left Pakistan People's Party.
The story on Sudan doesn't explain why Sunni Islamist rebels would attack the Sunni Islamist government in Khartoum nor where the notorious Janjaweed armies of Darfur fit in. The answer is unclear, but I do know that the rebels, the non-Arab Islamist Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), is fighting the Arab-Janjaweed, who are supported by Omar al-Bashir's central government in Khartoum.
The story on the factional mess in Lebanon doesn't give any details about the government (its agenda? its politics? its religion? its legitimacy?) nor about the Lebanese army. The army—the star of the story—stepped in a little late, according to nervous government supporters, to check Hezbollah, the powerful, armed Shiite dissidents. Nor does the article explain Hezbollah's fundamental grievance with the government.
Lebanese politics are unintelligible. I do know that Hezbollah, operating in Southern Lebanon, is an armed Shiite faction supported by Iran and Syria. Hezbollah originally sought an Islamist government in Lebanon, but now—as a member of the Parliament—simply seems opposed to the multi-culti government, the March 14 Alliance. The March 14 Alliance is made up of secularists, Sunnis, Druse, Christians, and Socialists (but not Shiites) and is united in its opposition to Syrian meddling. The March 14 Alliance is led by Saad Hariri. Hariri, a Georgetown-educated telecom exec, is the son of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri. Rafik Hariri was assassinated (many suspect Syria) in February 2005. His assassination led to Syria's expulsion from Lebanon and the "Cedar Revolution" which created the March 14 Alliance.
•••
On Wednesday, May 14, there was more news from the Middle East as the marquee conflict in the region—Israel vs. Hamas —continued to boil. 
And throughout the week, the NYT continued to follow the stories in Lebanon and Pakistan: There was an article reporting on Lebanon's decision to give in to Hezbollah's demands; a second article detailing how a new round of talks in Lebanon will formalize Hezbollah's increasing power; an editorial on Lebanon faulting the Bush administration for not having the clout to get involved in the crisis; an article about the Pakistani government's pending deal with Islamic militants in North Western Pakistan that, to the chagrin of the U.S., does not address the militants' cross-border raids into Afghanistan nor the presence of foreign Arab fighters there who are using the region as an al Qaeda station; and an editorial about Pakistan urging the U.S. to help fortify the governing coalition in Pakistan rather than derelict President Musharraf.
Finally, just last month, the NYT covered breaking news from a lower profile, but equally zeitgeist conflict in Somalia where the Ethiopain-backed warlord patchwork government in Mogadishu is fighting the Sharia-fetishist Islamic Courts Union (ICU). And this week, the NYT ran a depressing article about starvation in Somalia.
I've tried to write about all this before, using the conflict in Somalia as a lens to lay out the theory that al Qaeda's popular revolution is a ruse. Their "vanguard" movements have been relegated (symbolically enough) to netherland territory like the limbo southern region between Somalia and Kenya and to the remote mountains of Western Pakistan. Their situation is in telling contrast to historic resistance movements like the Viet Cong who found popular refuge in strategic centers, successfully setting up base in South Vietnam. And I use that word "base" as a dig, given that al Qaeda means "the base."
You Should Come Along
From: CIA Generation
Going to bring Gouverneur some DVDs next Wednesday. You should come along.
5/9/08 9:25pm
To: CIA Generation
Will there be girls and drugs? How are you brother?
5/9/08 10:24pm
•••
To: Bill Clinton
welcome home.
5/10/08 3:06pm
From: Bill Clinton
Just in!
5/10/08 3:08pm
From: Bill Clinton
How did you know i was back?
5/10/08 4:26pm
•••
To: SNL Girl
Here. Inside. Got us tickets.
5/10/08 7:33pm
•••
From: Barack Obama
What's the good news? And how'd the meeting you had Sat a.m. go?
5/12/08 10:51am
To: Barack Obama
Meeting went well. Just sent a follow up moments ago. Otherwise: bored.
5/12/08 10:53am
From: Bill Clinton
Saw you on the slog?
5/12/08 10:56am
•••
From: Bill Clinton
Drinks tonight with C4. He leaves wed 4 dc.
5/13/08 8:18am
To: Bill Clinton
I'm there. Where? When?
5/13/08 10:23am
•••
To: Amy Heath
Bored out of my mind. How's dc?
5/13/08 2:12pm
•••
From: Bill Clinton
Taco Taco at 9?
5/13/08 4:18pm
To: Bill Clinton
See you there.
5/13/08 4:49pm
•••
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Traded in the nike coat 4 a blue and red puma zip up!
5/13/08 7:45pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Excellent. Those are better colors.
5/13/08 7:46pm
•••
From: C4
I am here at taco stomach cancer early.
5/13/08 8:23pm
To: C4
Psych. I'm at home doing nothing. See you in a sec.
5/13/08 8:24pm
From: C4
Just so you know, I'm here w/ ————. Boys hours later.
5/13/08 8:25pm
To: C4
Totally.
5/13/08 8:26pm
•••
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
At Taco
5/13/08 8:37pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Oh, I just walked by! Did you see me?
5/13/08 8:39pm
•••
From: Flat-6
Going to Cafe Presse to snack/work. Join! XO
5/14/08 2:29pm
To: Flat-6
Gotta shower. How long will you b there. Love to join ya. Wi fi?
5/14/08 3:19pm
•••
To: CIA Generation
Gouverneur's?
5/14/08 5:08pm
From: CIA Generation
Doesn't work for him. Maybe tomorrow but I don't know yet.
5/14/08 5:09pm
To: CIA Generation
Ok. I'm going down 2 spitfire to watch nba w superdelegate and d gang... You should come.
5/14/08 5:11pm
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Hex Message Readers Respond
1) Hex Cast member (and regular Hex Message reader), Salad Head, dug into Sunday's mystery of the aerospace heiress. Salad Head hopped onto our college alumni site, set up an account, and did a search to find that she's alive and well and working as a college english & writing prof. Salad forwarded her stats along with a recent snap shot she posted. Man, she's still a total fox.
However, the mystery still stands: Why do all press accounts of her powerful family fail to acknowledge her existence, leaving her off the family tree?
2) Yesterday, a reader logged on from Tehran. I am gleeful about this news. I'm all about Tehran (and the Tehran blogosphere.)
November 4, 1979, man. Definitely, Khomeini was a reactionary creep. But by rejecting both the USA and the USSR in 1979, he just seemed so New Wave to my teenage poet laureate brain. And I loved the students. This is a message of the students. 
Even more excellent: The Iranian visitor wound up on Hex Message because he (she?) was doing a web search for 1950s NBA star Bob Petit. I take this as a sign of peace.
(Two excellent books about the hostage crisis and its centerpiece status in history were published in 2004: The Crisis: The President, the Prophet, and the Shah-1979 and the Coming of Militant Islam by David Harris and Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America's First Encounter with Radical Islam by David Farber.)
3) Hex Cast member, Perestroika, sent an email correcting the record and requesting a new name, I think:From: Perestroika
To: Martian Bracelets
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2008 1:32pm
Glasnost.
Sent by Good Messaging (www.good.com)
4) Finally, Hex Cast member (and frustrated Hex Message reader), CIA Generation, sent the following text last Saturday afternoon:
From: CIA Generation
I am hereby boycotting future text messages to you until I have the presence I deserve on your stupid and addictive blog.
5/10/08 6:18pm
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Mystery of the Aerospace Heiress
To: Jxn Galaxy
Discrepancy in history of the world: remember that girl from college, —————. Didn't she say she was part of some super rich, chicago power family? Well, in the big obama article in today's nyt, they chronicle his political courtship of chicago's rich ———— family. Same details she always talked about. family ties to ————— corp. Well, i did some google and there are 4 daughters. Her name is not mentioned.
5/11/08 6:12pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
she is definitely a daughter- remember i was kind of caught up in their dynasty like weirdness.
5/11/08 6:19pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
she was probably disowned. If I remember right, she took dad to court. I believe he wanted her declared insane to get her inheritance.
5/11/08 6:20pm
To: Jxn Galaxy
Yeah. remembering her and the money and the company lore. I did some web searching and she's not part of the family.
5/11/08 6:24pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
that's so fucked up. might explain why she was always so poor.
5/11/08 6:26pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
because now i gotta know.
5/11/08 6:28pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
is there a way to access alumni stuff for someone who didn't graduate?
5/11/08 6:28pm
To: Jxn Galaxy
I'm obsessed too. I find 4 daughters: ————, ————, ————, and —————. But no mention of —————. Family is largest single investor in ————— corp. X percent stake worth $XXX million according to an article from '05.
5/11/08 6:38pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
and then you could write the cover story: "whatever happened to that weird —————— chick?"
5/11/08 6:38pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
each of the kids had something like a $XX million trust
5/11/08 6:42pm
From: Jxn Galaxy
couldve sworn i saw an article about her saga in people mag a few years back
5/11/08 6:43pm
But You'd Better Listen Man/Because the Kids Know Where It's At
"Republican leaders back wiretaps without warrants," By Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post, Sept. 14, 2006.
In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you
But whenever I approach you, you make me look a fool
I wanna say, I wanna tell you
About the young ideas
But you turn them into fears
In the city there's a thousand faces all shining bright
And those golden faces are under 25
They wanna say, they gonna tell ya
About the young idea
You better listen now you've said your bit
And I know what you're thinking
You still think I am crap
But you'd better listen man
Because the kids know where it's at
In the city there's a thousand men in uniforms
And I've heard they now have the right to kill a man
We wanna say, we gonna tell ya
About the young idea
And if it don't work, at least we still tried
In the city, in the city, in the city, in the city
In the city there's a thousand things I want to say to you
Friday, May 9, 2008
Do You Think It's the Vitamin D?
From: Valium Bloodstream
Did you talk to —————?
5/7/08 10:00am
To: Valium Bloodstream
I Left a long crazy voice mail!
5/7/08 10:02am
•••
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
What's up? Totally fell asleep... Do you think it's the vitamin d?
5/7/08 2:39pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Probably! Vitamin d overdoses are very dangerous! KIDDING! Nothing up, just calling 2 chat. Now at gym. Call u later.
5/7/08 2:44pm
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Ha ha...Gregor would love you...
5/7/08 2:47pm
•••
To: Wendy's Stealing Clothes
Whoops. I'm on steamed-soy-milk-and-yoga time. Cut me some slack.
5/8/08 11:19am
From: Wendy's Stealing Clothes
S'cool.
5/8/08 11:19am
•••
From: Dad
Dont worry ill hold my nose and vote for o but i dont think hell win
5/7/08 2:16pm
To: Dad
Dad... He's a flaming lib... And believe me... He doesn't agree w wright.
5/7/08 3:00pm
•••
From: Amy Heath
Quack from the airport!
5/5/08 1:28pm
To: Amy Heath
Cool. Saw —— on tues... He says he told those guys how talented you are and to promote you fast. He also thinks you did the right thing.
5/8/08 10:11am
•••
To: Gouverneur Morris
Oh my goodness. Get well!
5/8/08 9:19pm
•••
From: Valium Bloodstream
And pizza w me on Sun, although meeting ———— & ———— tops that.
5/7/08 10:19pm
To: Valium Bloodstream
Pizza w you sounds pretty great to me. No game on sun... So, we can start spending that gift certificate any time.
5/7/08 10:21pm
My Sources in the Gourmet Community Confirm Sitka & Spruce
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Perestroika is saying sitka and spruce. Where's that? Good? And how's tuesday going?
5/6/08 3:08pm
To: Flat-6
nyc friend coming 2 town... Taking me out to din. He's been told sitka and spruce... Survey says... ? I read your blurb...I'm not sold...
5/6/08 3:16pm
From: Flat-6
What r u in the mood for?
5/6/08 3:26pm
To: Flat-6
U know i don't care much. I'm a veggie these days. He's been sold on s and s. Mainly, i just want your opinion on that.
5/6/08 3:29pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Eastlake, across from zoo. It's EXCELLENT. And good! Everything's thru. La di da.
5/6/08 3:29pm
From: Flat-6
Best in town, not too pricey. Very tiny, casual. You will have to wait. XO
5/6/08 3:34pm
From: Seattle Babylon
Just saw you biking by. '60s civil rights kid!
5/8/08 5:20pm
Thursday arrived. I biked down to Sitka & Spruce at Eastlake and Lynn and pulled into the parking lot at 5:25. Perestroika pulled up in a cab two minutes later. We had no problem getting a table, and we shared a fantastic dinner with non-stop reminiscing, updates, and soothsaying as the place got crowded around us. 
We also had three glasses of red wine each, bread and butter, and dessert (a slice of praline pie topped with fresh ice cream), and we talked and talked for hours as the plates of food arrived. I didn't notice any waiting. Afterwards, we walked up Eastlake to Lo-Fi for a nightcap.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Hex Readings #2
There's a stunning four-paragraph riff in yesterday's lead New York Times editorial that shatters the GOP line on "activist" judges.
And more importantly, it catalogues the about-faces, willful lapses, and hypocritical standards that fell from Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain's mouth during his speech at Wake Forest University Tuesday where he (surprise) pandered to the right wing.
In the speech, billed as a definitive statement on his judicial philosophy, McCain cited Bush SC appointees John Roberts and Samuel Alito as models of the kind of "strict-interpretation" judges—i.e., abortion isn't a right—that he would name to the Court. (Never mind that the right wing likes it when judges turn into activists on behalf of dissident Christian pharmacists.)
Here's the fortissimo four paragraphs from the NYT:
Since President Bush chose Justices Roberts and Alito, the Court has ordered Seattle and Louisville to scrap voluntary school integration, protected employers who illegally mistreat their workers, and constrained women’s right to choose and voters’ right to vote.
Mr. McCain did not mention, of course, how the Roberts-led Court blithely overruled Congress by nullifying a key part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. He did wax nostalgic about what “the basic right of property” has meant “since the founding of America.” (He did not mention that in 1789 many women could not own property and African-Americans were property, but he did criticize the idea that values evolve over time.)
There was a moment when we were briefly cheered. Mr. McCain declared that “all the powers of the American presidency must serve the Constitution and thereby protect the people and their liberties.” We hoped that would be the start of a serious critique of how President Bush has violated cherished civil liberties: endorsing torture, ordering unlawful domestic spying and depriving detainees of the most basic right of habeas corpus.
Mr. McCain himself has eloquently criticized Mr. Bush’s policies on some of these issues, but he did not raise any of them on Tuesday.
Footnote: While the Seattle example definitely highlights a flagrant instance of right-wing activism (one of my first stories in Seattle nearly 10 years ago was about the conservative activists who were pushing the case), I do have mixed feelings about how the left, from afar, cavalierly uses the Seattle case to push its point of view.
But man, 3 Cheers for the no-nonsense takedown of Sen. McCain.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Another Super Tuesday
To: Wendy's Stealing Clothes
Rats. Congrats. Even i think she should concede now.
5/6/08 6:45pm
From: Wendy's Stealing Clothes
Yeah, i'm psyched. She seems to have picked up the low-hanging delegate in Muncie, though! Ball State can suck it.
5/6/08 6:47pm
To: Valium Bloodstream
Game over.
5/6/08 6:48pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Y'all still there?
5/6/08 8:55pm
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Yes. Come on by.
5/6/08 9:01pm
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Flamenco act here.
5/6/08 9:29pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Still there?
5/6/08 9:59pm
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
We're leaving. But I'll meet you 4 a night cap.
5/6/08 10:00pm
From: Valium Bloodstream
Sorry my phone was recharging last night & missed yr historic msg. Joy.
5/7/08 9:50am
Sunday, May 4, 2008
The 10th arrondissement of Paris
About a month ago, thanks to a tip from Hex Mark all star, Mumblefuck.com, I watched the trailer to "Les Chansons d'amour." I've wanted to see the movie ever since.
I went to see it last night at Northwest Film Forum.
Like "Masculine/Feminine" and "Mutual Appreciation" and every Jam song ever written—"In the city there's 1,000 things I want to say to you"—the plot was secondary to lives lived in 30,000-people-per-square-kilometer neighborhoods and in conapts and offices and rock clubs, and at metro station cafes and at night, and on computers and buses and bikes and secret missions. 
The actual plot was awkwardly manufactured and remote—and the movie was sullen in a trite way. But I dug the late nights and neon lights and nitro feelings. 
And like "Starstruck" and "Les Parapluies de Cherbourg" it's a pop rock musical.
I zoomed down Broadway on my bike this morning chewing these sticks of bubble gum. La la toi toi.
Basketball Diaries #48
We had a double header at Seattle Central today. I'm not going to say much about it—we lost both games—but it's worth pointing out that in the first game, we switched to man-to-man defense at the beginning of the second half. And we stuck with that for the rest of the game and all through the next game. I liked this much more than playing zone. While it's tougher to keep up man-to-man, the pay off in rebounds and and blocks and steals and trash and grudges and shoving is exhilarating.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Health Care for the Uninsured
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Run later?
5/3/08 11:47am
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Cool. Went 4 run yesterday. No knee trouble and did catholic hill. Anyway, daily exercise is mccain's health care proposal.
5/3/08 11:51am
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
We're one step ahead!
5/3/08 11:52
I Will Tell Him if I See Him Again
To: Gouverneur Morris
What are you doing in baltimore? And please tell mr ross 2 read my essay on chuck berry.
5/3/08 1:41pm
From: Gouverneur Morris
I had to attend a film festival. I will tell him if I see him again. I did mention you.
5/3/08 1:58pm
I would also mention this:
Friday, May 2, 2008
Free Darius Songaila
To: Valium Bloodstream
Spaghetti got me $100 gift cert to piecora...so...
Re: Arenas. Totally...He shouldn't have gottens as much time as he did in this series. Meanwhile, Secret plus: songaila.
5/1/08 1:43pm
To: Rock Opera
Tomorrow. 4pm. Roanoke. C you there.
5/1/08 6:12pm
From: Rock Opera
Copy that.
5/1/08 6:42pm
To: Rock Opera
Songaila suspended. Series over. Fuck. Check his +/-. I don't think they can win without him.
5/2/08 11:20am
To: Dad
Songaila suspended. This is bad news. He's been excellent this series. I don't think they can win tonight w out him.
5/2/08 11:38am
To: Rock Opera
In back room.
5/2/08 4:14pm
From: Rock Opera
On my way
5/2/08 4:17pm
From: Dad
The season is over as usual we need a change
5/2/08 6:42pm
To: Dad
Ugly performance. Geez, they really know how to go out with a thud.
5/2/08 6:44pm
One of my favorite Hex Marks, Bullets Forever, has all the lousy details. (And even though it's been mostly disappointing news, you guys deserve a serious round of applause for the great Wizards coverage this season. Thanks.)
What/Why?
From: Spaghetti
On my way over
5/1/08 9:00pm
To: Spaghetti
I was about to bail and go see a movie.
5/1/08 9:01pm
From: Spaghetti
Way to talk to fashion models
5/1/08 11:32pm
From: Spaghetti
Text me next week and I'll bring you dead prez and jay z. And let me know what you think of Sarah Marshall
5/2/08 12:34am
To: Spaghetti
Yes jay z. What/why dead prez?
5/2/08 8:37am
From: Spaghetti
Just cuz
5/2/08 8:38am
UPDATE:
To: Spaghetti
Sarah marshall was cute, but why would anyone write or produce that movie?
5/5/08 5:38pm
From: Spaghetti
What do you mean? It was about love and puppets.
5/5/08 5:39pm
To: Spaghetti
I was like: please leave hawaii already!
5/5/08 5:54pm
From: Spaghetti
Right. Then he did and we got the brilliant puppet opera
5/5/08 5:47pm
We Will Go to Tehran
From: Bill Clinton
Having a great time! I hope this woke you up at 2:45 in the morning!
5/2/08 2:45am
To: Bill Clinton
It did. When are you back?
5/2/08 8:43am
From: Bill Clinton
Next sat, am jogging in vienna.
5/2/08 8:44am
To: Bill Clinton
I've never been a travel bug...Want 2 go 2 tehran obviously...But man, I am jealous!
5/2/08 8:46am
From: Bill Clinton
We will go to Tehran together.
5/2/08 8:47am
My +/-
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Doc's at 10:45. Walk over around 10? Thanks! You're a great friend.
4/20/08 9:51pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
No problem! Maybe they'll give you an orange! And you too!
4/20/08 10:18pm
To: Valium Bloodstream
Got results from doc... And get this... All the stuff I've been terrified about? Numbers on cholesterol and blood sugar? Apparently, I'm being crazy. My numbers are great. Three cheers!!!
5/1/08 11:45am
From: Valium Bloodstream
Fantastic! Time to celebrate with a large cheese pizza.
5/1/08 11:58am
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Re: By the Time We Got There, Bobby Seale Was Gone
email:
From: Martian Bracelets
To: 1980-J
Date: Saturday, April 26, 2008 8:38pm
Subject: Thanks!!
Hey 1980-J,
Thanks so much for coming up. I guess I got a little weepy when you left. Don't remember much!
I will say: vanilla coke? Really? You are such a girl. I wake up and I've got a refrigerator full of vanilla coke.
Anyway, you're awesome.
From: 1980-J
To: Martian Bracelets
Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:47pm
Subject: Re: Thanks!!
I'm so glad I headed up! What a weird reunion/trip down memory lane, combined with hanging out with some of my favorite people.
How I escaped a hangover, I do not know. In my crazy state of delirium, I confiscated the vodka and carted it to Slaves' house. Turns out I was carting an empty bottle. Hmmm... Did I really drink that much? If so, I don't remember doing it. ANYWAY! (Vanilla Coke and Vodka—it's your V.C. drink!)
To: Johnny Rotten Shoes
I didn't get it. Now i'm gonna cry again: the vanilla coke was in honor of my drink, viet congs. 1980-J is a genius like that.
4/29/08 7:27pm
From: Johnny Rotten Shoes
Aww!!! That's AWESOME!!! In fairness, she didn't make an announcement.
4/29/08 7:44pm
Sipping Coronas
To: Barack Obama
My wall street friend explained +/- . It's an excellent stat.
4/30/08 1:15pm
From: Barack Obama
I'm anxiously awaiting an explanation as I watch Agent Zero pad my sportsbook bankroll this afternoon.
4/30/08 1:17pm
To: Barack Obama
Agent zero ... Well... Let's just say He has a lamo +/-. It's on butler and jamison
4/30/08 1:20pm
From: Barack Obama
Ping me when you arrive.
4/30/08 3:02pm
To: Barack Obama
Here.
4/30/08 3:10pm
To: CIA Generation, Valium Bloodstream
At a bar drinking a beer, watching b ball.
4/30/08 3:27pm
From: CIA Generation
Good work if you can get it. Wizards winning!
4/30/08 3:28pm
From: Valium Bloodstream
F U. Listening to opera, writing html.
4/30/08 3:30pm
To: Barack Obama
Still here.
4/30/08 3:57pm
From: Barack Obama<