Jack Golightly RSS Feed

The Thomas Pynchon Fakebook sings Gravity's Rainbow

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:13:11 GMT

See it live this eve, and listen at http://thomaspynchonfakebook.org

OBAMA APPOINTS VAN JONES: WOOT

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 01:13:39 GMT

I can’t remember when I’ve been so excited about a White House appointment. On March 10th 2009, Obama announced that he has appointed Van Jones as a special adviser on Green Jobs. Van Jones is a community organizer, environmental and social justice advocate, and founder of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, as well as personal role model and hero to one Jack Golightly. For anyone unacquainted with Van Jones, I highly recommend reading this excellent interview from the March 2008 issue of The Sun Magazine.

HAPPY NEW YEAR YO

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:49:21 GMT

Happy new year, everyone. I LOVE YOU ALL Peace j.g. PDX 12.31.08 [pic courtesy of the lovely JH, who took it on the beach in Santa Cruz CA, 11/27/08.]

PHYSICS GUY RAP

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 03:30:01 GMT

I love this kid. I PREDICT FUTURE NERDCORE STARDOM Somewhere some girl named Amy is either mortified or totally in love. [for the love of all things good somebody get this kid a modular synthesizer]

BUSH LEAVING OFFICE... WITH UTAH, eff. 12/19/08

Mon, 15 Dec 2008 04:40:15 GMT

Our soon-to-be-ex-President has taken it upon himself to sieze Utah’s Redrock Wilderness as an early Christmas gift to oil.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/opinion/14egan.html?em

The NRDC has started a petition against these actions. You can view and sign at

http://www.nrdconline.org/campaign/stop\_wilderness\_giveaway

-j.g., PDX, 12/14/08

WHAT IF... THE MATRIX RAN ON WINDOWS?

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:33:55 GMT

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

OBAMA LAUNCHES CHANGE.GOV 11.05.08

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 02:34:24 GMT

Change.gov launched November 5, 2008

http://change.gov/

Truly a new era.

UNINSURED IN AMERICA

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 23:07:48 GMT

(Note: I wrote this early winter 2008 during the primary debates, and never published it, but decided to put it up today for two reasons: We are three days before a presidential election that, with either candidate, will change how America’s insurance system works. That today is Dia de los Muertos is appropriate as well and I choose it to remember all those who have lost their lives to the injustices of the system. Please vote on November 4! Peace. -j.g., PDX, 1 November 2008)

UNINSURED IN AMERICA
OR, HOW I HAVEN’T YET EARNED THE RIGHT TO BREATHE
BY
JACK GOLIGHTLY

“…She just loved drugs so much that she could not bear to be away from her cocaiana.” We were dying of laughter, picturing Henri’s doe-eyed ex-girlfriend, who had been arrested at the Amsterdam airport for carrying a $1,000 brick of cocaine in her carry-on luggage. “What’s worse,” he said, “was that she was not concerned for any of the normal reasons that you or I would have been in that situation. She did not care that she had just lost a thousand dollars, or that she was going to be arrested. Katarin was sorrowful only over the loss of her beloved drugs and worried that now she would have to find more.” Henri described the change that came over Katarin when she talked about her cocaiana, and said he often felt a jealousy for her affection. “She never looked that way when she spoke of me,” he said. “It was the look of someone who was truly in love.”

Days later, my friend Magi and I were dreaming on her porch. We would buy an island, that was the solution, and would furnish this heaven with our ideals. The list was getting more and more ridiculous- in addition to massive libraries and the freedom of architecture and color, we would have government-sponsored hammocks by the beach. “And universal health insurance,” said Magi, an East German who had married an American and has now lived in the U.S. for four years. We were both quiet a moment, our eyes shining, looking at the stars and thinking of this fantastic place. I looked over to find Magi’s expression as wistful as mine. “Do you realize,” I said, “that when we talk about health insurance, we have the same glow as Katarin when she talked about her cocaiana?” It was true. We were in love with the fantasy of universal health insurance.

The idea of equal access to health care is now surfacing in the presidential debates, with good reason: The U.S. Census Bureau announced that in 2006, 47 million Americans – 15.8% of our population – were uninsured for the entire year.1 Add to this the number of Americans who were uninsured for only part of the year and the number leaps. 85.2 million Americans comprised this category in 2003, exceeding the combined population of thirty-two states and the District of Columbia,2 and that year’s _under_insured added 17.1 million to the number of Americans lacking adequate health coverage.3

American perceptions of the uninsured are strikingly different. My Republican father would tell me that these people just need to go find work, and if they really wanted insurance they could get it. “It’s just not a priority to them,” he has said. “They choose to spend their money on other things.” American Ingenuity won the West; American Ingenuity still works for those who are not too lazy to go out and get what they want; or so the idea goes. It may surprise my dad to learn that four out of five – 83.7 percent – of the un- and under-insured are active in the labor market. According to a Families USA report on uninsured Americans in 2003, a full seventy-eight percent were employed, and 5.7% were actively looking for work. Only 16.3% were not in the labor force, because they were family caregivers, disabled, chronically ill, or not seeking employment for other reasons.4

The cost of being uninsured is deathly high. While the United States spends the world’s highest percentage of GDP on health care – 15.2% to, for example, Canada’s 9.9%5 – coverage has become so expensive that fewer are being treated for chronic health conditions, receiving preventative care, and maintaining treatment regimens for manageable chronic conditions. To quote the American College of Physicians: “Every year, the deaths of 18,000 people between the ages of 25 and 64 can be attributed to a lack of health insurance. This makes uninsurance the sixth leading cause of death, ahead of HIV/AIDS and diabetes.”6

At the end of 2006, I quit social work cold-turkey. For five years I had worked with homeless adults in Seattle, in shelters and housing and as part of a mental health street outreach team. I met hundreds of individuals from all walks of life, and witnessed the ugly reality of uninsurance as I spent a majority of my time trying to secure health services for them. Poverty, it seems, is equal opportunity; I met men and women with advanced degrees, people financially ruined by catastrophic health issues or family breakup, and the extreme: Those too ill to seek care and services for themselves.

It was always an uphill battle, the race of finding appropriate resources – applications for benefits, one-time grants to see a doctor, community appointment slots three months away at the downtown clinic – against the development of some chronic or progressive illness. Many had not seen a primary care provider in years, if ever, and even fewer had received preventative care since being on the streets. When asked who their primary care physician was, a not uncommon answer was “The E.R.”

A number of the men and women I worked with had given up on medical care altogether. “It don’t matter no more,” said Jamie, who had been on the streets for 25 years. “I’m gonna die when I die, can’t nobody do anything about that. I got other stuff to think about like where I’m sleepin’ tonight.” It was not uncommon to have a resident fall gravely ill upon moving from the streets to an apartment. My supervisor explained it like this: “People have an amazing capacity to survive. The body will keep itself running as long as it can. Sometimes it just shuts down when it feels it’s no longer in an emergency survival situation.”

This battle finally ruined me, and I joined the ranks of the previously young and idealistic social workers now cynical and burned-out. I found myself losing hope: If it is so hard for someone so obviously needy to obtain care, what could I expect for myself?

And so it began. I have now been without health insurance for a year. After my exodus from social services, I furiously applied for jobs and, and feeling the strain in my wallet, took a job as a barista – a career that I had, in college, vowed would end when I completed my undergraduate degree. Though the coffee shop didn’t offer health insurance, I made enough money to pay most of my bills. I hoped fervently that I would not become sick, and that my inhalers would last until I found a job with adequate coverage.

I require inhalers in order to breathe sometimes, as I have had chronic asthma for a quarter of a century. When unmanaged it can become emergency-room severe, but with a daily treatment regimen including long-acting inhalers I am quite normal, and able to perform even the most strenuous of activities without so much as a wheeze. The inhaler I require for daily maintenance costs between $200 and $300 per month without insurance, and I have the choice between purchasing it and paying rent. Currently I have decided to remain housed, carrying a rescue inhaler that costs $40 instead (this price increased from $17 last year when new regulations were enforced requiring inhalers to be CFC-free, and there are no generics yet), and use this to fend off attacks. When properly treated I have little use for a rescue inhaler other than to have it around for the rare emergency. When properly treated I breathe easily all the time.

I know this is risky, and expensive, business—especially in this country. Compare two emergency room visits I have had within the last ten years because of asthma. On a college trip to Europe in 1998, the pollution in London aggravated my lungs to the point where, three days later in Paris, I couldn’t breathe. I hobbled to the ER by my hostel and received a diagnosis of Bronchitis following a complete examination, chest x-rays, and breathing treatments. The total, including prescribed medication, was US $142. Fast-forward three years. I had just moved to Washington from central Colorado, and the wetter, warmer climate provided new allergens that seized my lungs within a few days. This time, my bill was over $15,000, and my first round of prescriptions totaled $450. Ultimately, the WA Department of Social and Health Services provided me with emergency coverage of much of this bill, but my spotless credit took a hit, and I continue to pay off credit cards I charged for my medicine and care to this day.

So, I have to ask: Why can’t I walk to the hospital down the street and see a doctor? Why can’t I have health insurance like other working people my age? I can only come up with one answer, and that is: According to those that get to decide, I must not yet have earned the right to breathe.

Experience has already shown me how costly it is to seek medical care in this country without coverage, and I join the millions of working uninsured in hoping that nothing happens until I can get a job that provides health care. I also pray that when I find such a job that I will not be denied for having a pre-existing condition. After sending out dozens of resumes over the months, I have become decidedly un-optimistic. I simply cannot afford health coverage at this time, though the price I will pay is high in any case: An untreated chronic condition, lack of preventative care, and in an emergency, possibly my life.

The United States’ ambivalence regarding its citizens’ health is what I can only describe as inhumane. By refusing to provide universal access to health care, my country is sending a message to its people that they are not worth keeping alive, and the “pursuit of health…” is on their shoulders alone; no matter their resources or situation, they are free to forge their own way or die. I try not to wince in fury at the current hypocrisy of the words inscribed inside the Statue of Liberty:

_“…Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”7
_
Despite my anger, I still have to smile when I read the line regarding “yearning to breathe free,” wryly aware that I must not laugh too hard lest I become seized with a fit of asthma. Today, the inscription might more appropriately read “…Send away your tired… we extinguish the lamp beside our golden door.”

Truer words for me, I think, come from St. Augustine of Hippo (c. 354 – 430 AD):

Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.

Though I am not confident that two years from now we will have truly universal, fair, and accessible health coverage, I hope for change and am encouraged by the current debate. It will be through our action or inaction that our next leader will define what we, as citizens, deserve or do not deserve. We are the uninsured; we are 47 million strong and growing; we are nearly two of every ten Americans. We do deserve to breathe, and must now demand the rights granted to us by our founders: Health, happiness, and the pursuit of liberty. I shall be happy when I have the liberty to ensure that my health is taken care of and need not live in fear of a medical catastrophe. I shall be happy when I have the freedom to pursue my own survival and development without worry that my body will give up and cost me everything.

The message I would send my government is this: The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.

These words are not, in fact, mine. Thomas Jefferson penned them in a 1809 letter to the Republican Citizens of Washington County, Maryland, 200 years before what will be an election that could change the course of our country’s history regarding its citizens’ rights to access health care.

2008 is the year that will call us to arms. It is a year that demands us to stand up and be counted, to educate ourselves, and insist upon our rights and well-being. There must be hope, and that hope must voice itself through anger and courage. It is no longer an option to rely on others to steady our course, for soon we will be so far drifted as to render our voices irrelevant. We must vote, speak up, act. Our lives are too precious to be destroyed through inaction, oversight, and indifference.

Income, Poverty, and Heath Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006; U.S. Census Bureau, August 2007 http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf
Health Care: Are You Better Off Today Than You Were Four Years Ago?; Families USA, September 2004 http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/Are\_You\_Better\_Off\_rev20053139.pdf
The Uninsured in America: Number of Underinsured Grows as Insurance Premiums Rise, Stephanie Taylor, Online NewsHour, April 6, 2007 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth\_coverage/health/uninsured/underinsured.html
Health Care: Are You Better Off Today Than You Were Four Years Ago?; Families USA, September 2004 http://www.familiesusa.org/assets/pdfs/Are\_You\_Better\_Off\_rev20053139.pdf
The Uninsured in America: Number of Underinsured Grows as Insurance Premiums Rise, Stephanie Taylor, Online NewsHour, April 6, 2007 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth\_coverage/health/uninsured/international.html
The Cost of Lack of Health Insurance: A White Paper of the American College of Physicians, 2004 http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where\_we\_stand/access/cost.pdf
The New Colossus, Emma Lazarus, 1903, from a plaque inside the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty

Names have been changed to protect privacy.

JOHN MCCAIN: MY ASPIRATION

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:37:56 GMT

DEAR OREGON, PLEASE VOTE

Tue, 20 May 2008 05:27:52 GMT

I was the only of the three of us kids not born under the administration of a Republican.

I still call myself a Carter baby when people ask how old I am.

This will be my third election:

The first, I voted to make a statement [Nader]

The second, I voted in horrified protest [Kerry]

Now I vote to begin the revolution.

Much time has passed and through eight years of Reagan, twelve years of Bushes, and eight of one Clinton I am two elections wiser, have seen many things, have understood more of what is truly important, and am quite ready to do my part for change.

SPEAK UP

NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO LAZE.

Love,

Jack

Ballots due 8PM Tuesday May 20th… POSTMARKS DO NOT COUNT!

Around PDX drop off at any Multnomah County Library or find an OR state ballot drop location

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BARACK

Sat, 03 May 2008 20:32:21 GMT

BOB AND THE DANGEROUS BROTHERS: An Interview with Mike Dangerous 03.17.08

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:01:36 GMT

L to R: Zoe, Mike, Rick, and Neil Dangerous

Jack got the chance to sit down with Mike Dangerous of Bob and the Dangerous Brothers, a Seattle band dedicated to the freedom of their lead singer, Bob.

JG: Since both of us are superfamous and naturally fascinating, and because I am such a huge fan, it’s about time that we met. I’m glad that your people and my people have finally gotten us together, what with our hectic celebrity schedules and all. How’s it going?

MD: It’s going very well, Jack. This is an exciting time for Bob and the Dangerous Brothers.

JG: For those who may be hearing about you for the first time, can you tell us a little about Bob and how the band got started?

MD: Bob is our lead singer and the founder of the band. The band met him at a show in 1996, and he asked us to join the new band he was forming after the dissolution of his legendary straight-edge band, Violent Sobriety. He is also a worm who has been imprisoned for eating leaves that allegedly belonged to the Leaf Bank, and has been in prison since 2003. Since that time, we have continued to work with him via a audio-visual satellite link. Fortunately, our manager’s cousin works at the Guadalupe County Correctional Facility in New Mexico where Bob is imprisoned and was able to install a video camera and microphone in Bob’s cell. This facilitates Bob’s continuing participation in the band both as at practice/song writing sessions and at shows through some special audio visual equipment we bring to all our performances. Only once have we performed without him, at our first show in Seattle. It was a battle of the bands, and one of the other bands sabotaged our satellite equipment.

JG: I’ve been a fan of Bob since the very early days of Violent Sobriety and glad to know he’s still active in music. Tell me about Bob and the Dangerous Brothers’ current direction and vision for the future.

MD: Well, as you know, we have a new drummer, and any time you change the lineup of a band, that really changes the dynamic. We’re really still in the process of figuring out what that new dynamic looks like with Zoe as part of the band, one that I think is going to be a really positive one. At the same time, we are working on new material for our next record. The new songs, so far, are really influenced by Jeremy Enigk, Poison, and the Bishop and the Warlord. So that’s our current direction. As far as our vision for the future, we’re really hoping that 2008 is the year we’re reunited with Bob and can move forward without the obstacle of him being in prison.

The fascinating and lovely Zoe Dangerous

JG: Let’s take a minute to talk about that new drummer, the glamorous Zoe Dangerous from Luxemborg. How does she feel about her chances, given the historically mercurial and sometimes fatal nature of being a Dangerous drummer? Has she taken any precautions?

MD: Well, I think it’s one day at a time right now for her because she’s still learning the ropes. I would like to point out though that with the exception of Rocko, our other previous drummers are doing quite well for themselves. Dakota and Vivian are both quite wealthy these days actually. Aside from being a really good drummer, Zoe is really spunky and made out of tough stuff, so I don’t think she’s really too worried.

JG: Many of your songs have important messages. For example, “About the Beat and Why I Hate It” addresses safety, tackles a difficult situation (manager Enrique von Kugelshreiber’s roller skating accident) and turns it into a catchy, relevant message for the kids of today. On “Buflo,”you ask a poignant question: Where did all the buffalo go? You also manage to weave in an important spelling lesson. I’ve heard the band described as “Crossing Guards for Modern, Relevant Issues.” Talk to me about how Bob and the Dangerous Brothers feel regarding their role as public servants, educators, and activists.

MD: Well, let’s be clear about one thing. We are musicians first and activists second. I mean, Bob got us somewhat involved in the International Anti-Saloon League in the early days of the band, but beyond that, the Dangerous Brothers were sort of pushed into activism by the imprisonment of Bob. I think we all would have been happy to just keep writing songs about our friends, animals, dinosaurs, and food. Sometimes our friends are animals or food. But that’s another topic all together. We just felt that in light of our lead singer being a political prisoner, we really needed to comment on that. It really helped us see that we were part of a big world, whether we wanted to be or not. That said, though, I really think people make us out to be more political than we actually are. “Buflo” is, in fact, a really great example of that. That song, like the other songs on The Buffalo EP was inspired by the loss of our own pet buffalo. Each member of the band wrote a song to express their feelings about our Buffalo’s disappearance. Rocko, our second drummer, wrote “Buflo” which is a bit more abstract than the other songs on the record, leading some to think it was a comment on the plight of buffalos as a species, but it’s actually about our own personal loss.

JG: How is Enrique doing these days, anyway?

MD: Enrique has recovered from his accident. It’s a good thing, too. He recovered just in time for his annual trip to Europe, where he met Zoe.

JG: Can you give me an insider update on Bob’s legal status? Will he be able to join you on tour soon?

MD: Well, we’re cautiously optimistic at this point. We’ve been going through the ups and downs of the State of New Mexico v. Bob case for almost twelve years now, so I think we’re all pretty hesitant to make any grand proclamations at this point. That said, you’ve probably already heard that the circuit court has ordered that Bob be granted a new trial. This is great news, because we really don’t think he got a fair shake the first time around. Bob’s trial will begin in late March if everything goes according to schedule. Undoubtedly, it will be a media circus, and as these things often go, it will probably be a long and difficult period of waiting to see what’s going to happen. We’re all hopeful, but we don’t want to get our hopes up too much, in case Bob is not acquitted. Right now, we’re just scrambling to raise money for his legal team and trying to stay positive.

JG: Have you been pressured at all by the Leaf Bank, or encountered resistance from leaf fascists?

MD: The Leaf Bank, I think, would prefer to pretend we don’t exist because we’ve created so much bad publicity for them over the years. Their spokesman was asked by Barbara Walters at one point about the State of New Mexico v. Bob case, and he was just really evasive about it and said something about how the Leaf Bank had full faith in the court system to do the right thing. Whatever that’s supposed to mean. Leaf fascists have been a problem in the past. In London, some skinheads attacked us after a show. They were all wearing green suspenders and boot laces – green being the color of leaves. Fortunately, Vivian (our first drummer) was still in the band at that time, and he’s scrappy. He took on five of those guys on his own. It was amazing and actually kind of funny, to see the bunch of them running away from Vivian, who’s not a big guy by any stretch. Other than that, we get the occasional angry letter from someone who disagrees with our position on the Leaf Bank, but most of them don’t really seem to understand the issues at all, so we don’t really take it to heart.

JG: I’ve heard your songwriting described as a secretive, unique process, incomprehensible by the mere mortal. Can you give me a picture of what goes on?

MD: Well, our songwriting process tends to be very spontaneous. Sometimes, one of us will come to practice with something already more or less finished, but more often what will happen is that one of us, usually me or Neil, will come up with a riff on the spot at practice, and we’ll play around with it and quickly come up with some more parts. Then we get a bunch of… mineral water or root beer, and we’ll go upstairs and sit around and start tossing around ideas for lyrics until the song is finished. This is usually where Bob really comes into the process, via satellite of course. It doesn’t usually take too long to write the lyrics because we all have a lot of ideas, and in this band, the best idea is always the one that goes, whoever says it. So once the ideas really start flying, we tend to write a song pretty quickly, sometimes literally in minutes. Often, we’ll record the song that same night, and sometimes, we’ll write and record several songs in an evening. Jake, Neil, and I all live in a house together, and Rick and Zoe both live nearby, so we’re able to work late into the night and often do. That’s part of how we’ve been able to release as many albums as we have.

JG: You describe your new album, I Can’t Remember Everything I’ve Smelled, as “easily [your] best release.” Tell us about this album and how it came to be.

MD: What’s really great about the new album is that it’s is really collaborative. There’s a great group feeling to the record, which I think is partially due to how good we felt about the band dynamic at the time, and also because so many people perform on that record. In addition to me, Neil, Rick and Dakota, we had additional vocals and percussion on a lot of the songs that a bunch of our friends provided. We also had met Zoe by the end of the process of making this record and had begun working with her on a trial basis, since we knew Dakota was leaving. Zoe plays tambourine on a couple of the songs and does some vocals as well on the song “Promising Plans.” Our friend Josh Nollette, who directs our music videos, also appears on that song as a guest singer. Our new roadie Jake sings one song “Applesauce,” that he helped the band write. DJ DSauced, our producer, does a freestyle rap on “About the Beat and Why I Hate It.” Finally, on a slightly sadder note, one song on the record is an older track that we recorded with Rocko before he died. All together, there’s like fifteen different people performing on that album. All of that adds a lot of energy and makes the record really special.

JG: Since you are world-traveled and infinitely famous, tell me about different places you’ve played. What is your ideal venue? I.e., are you more of a philharmonic hall band, or …

MD: Well, we’ve mostly played small- to medium-sized clubs at this point. People hear “European tour” and assume we’re playing stadiums or something like that. But mostly, that hasn’t been the case. I think we all like playing smaller venues because you can really get the audience involved. Small venues are great, really… except when people throw things.

Jake and Mike Dangerous

JG: You recently got a new roadie, Jake Dangerous. What kind of crew does it take to keep the band in top form?

MD: Well, Jake has his hands full. Aside from keeping all our equipment in good repair and getting it where it needs to be, he’s responsible for maintaining our satellite equipment, which is what allows us to work with Bob even though he’s in prison. Jake is responsible for all of that because he really is the extent of our road crew, other than of course Enrique, who deals more with the business aspect of things and says he’s allergic to carrying heavy things.

JG: Tell me the most terrible thing that’s happened to you on tour.

MD: Our worst tour experience was during our 2004 European tour when we played at this club in Paris that Enrique’s cousin owns called Le Hoh Hoh Hoh (no connection to our song by that same title, which was written before we had ever heard of that dive). The audience there really didn’t understand our vision at all. They kept shouting at us and spitting at us like, “American tourists! I spit on you! Ptui! Ptui!” One of them hit Vivian with a bottle. We only made like 20 francs at that show and had to sleep on the club’s floor afterwards, which was filthy and covered with beer. That was awful.

JG: How ‘bout the best thing that’s happened to you on tour?

MD: We played at a place called the Cowboy Club in Houston, Texas in 2003, before Bob was imprisoned. That show was wild! It was full of all these cowboys who had never seen anything like us before, and they just loved it. They were whooping and dancing around, and Bob went over the edge of the stage and crowd surfed on the fingertips of all those cowboys. And you should have seen him ride the mechanical bull!

JG: Are there any television shows or commercials – past, present, or future – that you’d want a BATDB song in?

MD: I’d love to see a Bob and the Dangerous Brothers song in either Perfect Strangers or Dinsosaurs, which were my favorite programs of the late ‘80s/early 90s. Of course, both of these shows were off the air by the time we got together. We were actually contacted about re-recording “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Me Now” for a film version of Perfect Strangers, starring Bronson Pinchot and Mark Linn-Baker, but sadly, the film was never made, and we haven’t been able to get the rights to release our version of the song. If they ever make a Breakin’ 3 or Thrashin’ 2, I think we’d be happy to contribute a song to the soundtrack for either of those films.

JG: Who would best play Bob in a made-for-TV movie?

MD: Hmmm. Maybe Jean-Claude Van Damme?

JG: Describe for me the Dangerous Parents and what it was that caused the brothers to strike out. Are there any delicate family dynamics? Sibling rivalries?

MD: Well, we aren’t actually brothers so not really. That’s just the name of the band. We actually all met through Bob, so if there was a “Dangerous Father,” I guess it would be him. As far as rivalries go, Rick and I have sometimes had a rocky road, but I think that’s just because we’re both really strong personalities with a lot of creativity. We’re bound to sometimes have different ideas about the band’s direction.

JG: Is there a Dangerous Therapist who soothes the band through all the familial comings and goings, or how do you guys handle that?

MD: It’s not a bad idea, but no, not at this point. If we had something like that, we might have avoided our short-term breakup in 2005. We all have really distinct personalities that don’t always end up meshing well, and the added strain of Bob being in prison and all the activism around that can make being in this band difficult sometimes. So difficult that we’ve almost called it quits for good several times and once actually did but changed our minds. I think Enrique sort of plays the counselor role to the best of his ability, but sometimes it does seem like we could use a little extra help.

JG: Which Brother would make the best role model?

MD: Neil, without a doubt. Neil is deep, spiritual, a very fine musician, and one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.

JG: What do you predict as your next hit single?

MD: We’re working on a song right now that we’ll actually release under the name Friends of Bob rather than Bob and the Dangerous Brothers. It’s going to be called “We Are the Worm.” This is going to be a special fundraising single for Bob’s legal defense fund, and in addition to all the current Dangerous Brothers, we’re hoping to include some of the past members of the band, as well as a number of our good friends, such as the Strawberry Boy, DJ DSauced, Enrique von Kugelschreiber, and numerous members of the many fine bands we have played shows with over the years, such as Jimes, Japanda, Fire in My Bag, and the Resets. We’re going to start recording the basic tracks for that in the next couple of weeks.

JG: What is the future of the Dangerous Brothers if John McCain is elected president? Do you think you will be targeted for being Dangerous, and brothers?

MD: Our main concern with the presidential election really is which candidate is most likely to pardon Bob. We’ve contacted a number of the campaigns at this point, and everyone has been polite to us, but at this point, the only candidate who has been somewhat affirmative has been Ron Paul. We spoke with him personally on the matter, and he seemed open to the possibility. He said he’d seriously consider it.

JG: Who wants to come see you?

MD: We get a really diverse crowd at our shows. I already mentioned the huge following we have in the country scene, but we get a lot of artist types, a few punk rockers, indie rockers, some party-type dudes… really just about all kinds of people. The only crowd that has really not warmed to us is the metal scene. We’ve played at a couple of metal shows, and it just really didn’t go well. Which is funny because on the side, I actually play drums for a blackened suicidal funeral drone-metal band called Fire in My Bag that has gotten a really positive response in the metal scene, but for some reason, Bob and the Dangerous Brothers don’t really have much support there.

JG: What will people see when they come watch you perform in Portland?

MD: Hopefully, a great show. We haven’t played outside of Seattle for a while now, so we’re excited about playing in Portland. I think that extra enthusiasm will translate into an even more exciting show than usual for the audience as well.

JG: Coming from New Mexico, were you prepared for the weather in the Pacific Northwest? “Summertime Lunch Fun” is a bit risky to play in Seattle during the wrong season, don’t you think?

MD: Enrique had the hardest time with the transition since he’s allergic to water. The rest of us didn’t have too much trouble with it really. “Summertime Lunch Fun” was actually written in Seattle, during the summer, and that song is actually one of our most popular at shows, regardless of the season.

JG: Fill in the blank: The Dangerous Brothers are the pied pipers of _______.

MD: Pensive purple ponies.

JG: What are you listening to right now?

MD: The Bishop and the Warlord: Set Yourself on Fire

JG: Who do you want to be your friend?

MD: That’s an unexpected question. Ummm…. There’s this really great band that’s one guy and three robots called Captured by Robots. I want them to be my friends.

JG: What can we expect from Bob and the Dangerous Brothers next? It seems that anything is possible with y’all. Y’all mind if I call y’all, y’all?

MD: I think “all y’all” is actually the correct term. Unless you just mean me. But to answer your main question, we have a lot of big plans for the future, including more music videos, another album (already in progress), and possibly even another film. We’ve been in talks with the director of our music videos for a while now about doing another film – this time a dramatic film rather than a documentary. We’ll all be playing ourselves, but it will be a scripted movie based on real events rather than a documentary, sort of in the vein of Help! or Rock ‘n Roll High School. I don’t have any idea as to when this will come out, or even for sure if it will, but I know that Josh has shown us some script drafts that we’ve been pretty happy with, and if everything comes together, we’ll hopefully be shooting for that this summer. Other than that, we’re hoping to play lots more shows in the near future and keep working to free Bob!

All images courtesy of the band. Free Bob!!! -j.g.

Still Uninsured in America

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:40:00 GMT

Anyone who knows me knows that health insurance is my soapbox. More accurately, the difficulty of getting health insurance and lack of equal access to health care is my soapbox. SO MUCH TIME of the years I worked in homeless services was spent trying to secure access to health care for the men, women, and transpeople I worked with, so much difficulty and frustration was experienced, and so much hope was given up. I truly believe (though this is another rant) that if the United States had accessible, equal health care available to everyone, much of social services as we know it would be rendered obsolete. Think about it: much of homelessness can be attributed to illness, be it mental, addiction, or physical; many homeless individuals I met had been financially ruined by medical bills and lacked any resources; individuals who are able to look after their health will not strain other already belabored systems that have to play catch-up - schools, community programs, emergency rooms - places that were never intended to be crisis services, to solve problems outside the scope of their mission because those they serve have so many unmet needs.

Needing health insurance myself while in-between steady employment (not for lack of trying, however… my “resumes” folder is stuffed with nearly a hundred different documents for various jobs I’ve applied for) and because I have athsma, which has landed me in the hospital before, so I know it is life-threatening, I applied to the Oregon Health Plan. It seemed I met all their requirements; income, chronic, untreated illness, etc, etc. I sent the letter in late December and waited. I recieved a reply a couple of weeks back: denied. No reason was given, and, for me, this letter was more heartbreaking than a Dear John. I had pinned my dwindling hopes on surviving until I got insurance, hoping I wouldn’t run out of my inhaler… I cried that night.

A couple of days ago I realized I was not alone. I was watching the news when a segment came on, announcing that 3,000 people had just been picked in a lottery and accepted to the Oregon Health Plan. Read about the details here. Ya, great… but… they also said that the lottery list contains 90,000 names (out of the 600,000 estimated uninsured in Oregon). The perky reporter said they planned to hold another lottery next month when another lucky 3,000 winners will be allowed to enroll and finally able to go see a doctor.

May we all stay alive until then.

Over and out.

CALLING ALL GRAPHIC DESIGN GEEKS

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:03:37 GMT

OK.

Because I am shamelessley in love with 826 Seattle, I am gonna turn your eye towards The Great 826 Seattle T-Shirt Design Contest.

If you have the skillz, go for it, yo… there is nowhere worthier. And cooler. To think, your work will be forever memorialized in the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Store, where you can meet all your space travel supply needs, from astronaut underwear to near-death ray guns (I personally own a jar of Certainty). And it will be worn worldwide to represent the love. By love, I mean the most premium creative writing and tutoring center known to Seattle and possibly to earth, available to any kid entirely free of charge. One might even describe the place as Rad, but I won’t, ‘cause that was, like, so over in the 80’s.

Remixing London's Counter-Terrorism Ad Campaign

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 03:46:32 GMT

Ya, so thanks to this article at Boing Boing, I stumbled upon a bunch of remixed posters mocking the absurdity of London’s new Counter-Terrorism Advertising Campaign… priceless.

Bless you, graphic design geeks, bless you.

NADER ANNOUNCES 2008 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 22:28:59 GMT

Meh.

welcome to politik.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 08:14:52 GMT

More coming soon.

AESOP'S FABLES TEACH CHILDREN THE ART OF VOTER SUPPRESSION

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 22:31:22 GMT

BY ANDREW GOLDEN

The little zebra was coming back to his ward of the savanna after doing some important errands, when an odd scene caught his eye.

His local polling place was packed. The lines were very long, and overwhelmingly composed of tired, confused-looking antelopes.

At that moment, Mr. Giraffe whistled for the zebra to come over.

“Hey, Zebra,” hissed Mr. Giraffe. “We need your help here! We’re overwhelmed.”

“Are you getting out the vote?” asked the zebra innocently.

“Are you kidding? No, we’ve got to win this thing, Zebra. B.A.M.N. That’s right, an acronym. ‘By Any Means Necessary.’ For the good of this savanna. Listen, put on one of these T-shirts.”

“Why?” said the zebra, as he was handed a T-shirt with the phrase “Anti-Fraud Enforcement” written across the chest. He noticed that Mr. Giraffe and several menacing-looking hyenas were wearing them, too.

“Check out these antelopes, little Zebra,” said the giraffe under his breath. “All looking for a free handout. And that music they listen to. Well, we’re not gonna let them, or their NAAAP thugs, steal this from us. Here’s what I want you to do. See that old antelope over there? Tell her she’s at the wrong polling place. Then, if she acts confused, tell her she needs to show you six forms of ID.”

“But what about free elections?”

“That’s cute,” said Mr. Giraffe. He turned quickly around to see a couple of young, idealistic-looking antelopes getting in line. “Hey, guys, you know if you’ve got any outstanding parking tickets we’re going to have to arrest you if you check in to vote. It’s all right there in the fine print. And if you have any parking misdemeanors on your record? You’re going away for a long, long time.”

The antelopes scattered away.

“This is illegal!” protested the zebra.

“You’re illegal, Zebra. You’re illegal. Shut the fuck up. I mean, do you want ‘Hanoi’ Hippo to win this thing? If he gets in, the vampire bats win.”

“I feel bad about this …,” whined the zebra.

“You do what we tell you, or we’ll take the tax exemptions away from your synagogue! And another thing: If you see any born-again rhinos come to this precinct, or any fat lions wearing “Who Farted?” T-shirts, send them to the front of the line. And give them 11 ballots. I can’t wait to read wild African jackass Bill Kristol’s column tomorrow!”

“Well,” shrugged the young zebra. “At least I’ll go to my grave knowing that no cheetah couples ever gained hospital-visitation rights or filed joint tax returns on my watch! Phew!”

Originally published in Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency and reprinted with kind permission from the author.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF KERNER-SCOTT HOUSE

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 01:19:56 GMT

Kerner-Scott House is a program of Seattle’s Downtown Emergency Service Center (DESC). KSH is the site of a DESC shelter for mentally-ill women and contains 40 units of housing. Twenty-five units provide “Safe Haven” housing for homeless mentally ill people who are not currently recieving services, and the fifteen units on the top floor are occupied by chemically dependent formerly homeless adults in recovery. The units themselves serve as tools to help engage clients into recieving services.

Angeline’s Center for Homeless Women, a program of the Seattle-King County YWCA, is a safe haven for as many as 250 women a day. The homeless women who come to Angeline’s can enjoy meals in the dining room, leave their belongings in large lockers, care for their personal hygiene in showers and bathrooms, and clean their clothes in laundry rooms. On-site mental health and substance abuse counseling are also available.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF KERNER-SCOTT HOUSE

by Jack Golightly

The sun slowly creeps over the parking lot and leaks onto the patio. Sleepy shelter women get up, some with complaint, some without. Lights are turned on. Smells of bacon and eggs waft around the building while the night shift RCs [Residential Counselors] make coffee. Yesterday there was only cold cereal for breakfast. Women procrastinate getting on the van for the ride back downtown to Angeline’s. Day shift arrives and things get jovial. The TV comes on; a resident plants flowers outside; plans are made behind the scenes to strategize and move in an unsuspecting outreach client. Music is played. Jokes are made. Cooking tests are performed. Toilets are plugged. Residents are congratulated on coming to staff before the flood takes over the front office. Toilets are unplugged. Floors are cleaned. Front desk staff say hey to everyone. The room is bright. The sun warms people up till the swing shift rolls in and things get different-busy. The community room is transformed into a dinner area. Walker, Texas Ranger is turned off in lieu of the X-Files. Residents bring strange things through the door to decorate their apartments. Beer gets dumped out. Someone unsuccessfully sneaks up the elevator. The fire alarm goes off. Someone was drying their clothes in the oven again. Someone gets a lesson about using the dryer. Dinner is served. The shelter is opened again. Residents file around getting meds and joking with the RCs. The van is driven downtown to pick up tonight’s shelter guests. The van’s light is out. A work order regarding the van’s light is filed, and hey, since we’re at it, the van is also out of windshield washer fluid. On the way back from the Women’s [Shelter] Referral Center with 12 or so ladies the radio is on. Someone sings. Someone opens the window. Someone says something bizarre and the driver smiles quietly. The women roll out the door. The women enter the shelter and find their beds. Linens fly around in organized confusion. There’s leftover juice in the community room, hey, and Soul Train comes on at midnight. A few residents hang in the office listening to music with the RCs. A would-be illegal entrant is un-snuck out of the building. Lights go off in the shelter. The RCs are sorry that people snore next to you but try to ignore it. Night owls are out talking, relaxing in the office and the smoking room. Smokes are given out due to the good mood. Scrabble is played at the corner table. Night shift rolls in. They monitor the peace, talk to the insomniacs, get ready to make breakfast and watch the place. It is secure. A mini-counseling session breaks out in the office with the relapsed clean and sober resident. Community abounds. The sun slowly creeps over the parking lot. Repeat.

THE $74 POEM

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 23:31:21 GMT

In the course of rifling through old notebooks I came across this poem written ten years ago while driving to work at REI in Roseville, Minnesota, apparently with my focus on word selection instead of, um, looking for stop signs. I warn you, this is early work, and I reprint it with the twinge of anyone who re-reads their perhaps overly earnest collegiate scribblings. It made me smile nonetheless.

$74 Poem

by Jack Golightly

11.15.98

The trees are sleepily dropping their leaves

while the houses rest

and the cars dream in the driveways

I am watching the sun yawn

as I, the nocturne, harmonize with

its tired little sunbeams that

slouch into the cold gray morning

the people fight them

by turning off the alarm and

postponing life, happy to

be unconsious at 7:55 AM on a

cold Saturday morning

-except me,

and the man whose cold

dreariness matches the day as

he hands me a written reminder

from the Roseville Police

to not compose poetry while driving

(thus making this the most expensive

poem I have ever written)

PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR MY IMAGINARY LAND

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:57:54 GMT

by J. Golightly

- Weathermen in general are not to be trusted.

- The Chosen shall wear glitter.

- Fate will be decided by Tarot, but Tarot can be redone by way of Good Explaination.

- Hope is supreme. Anyone without hope will be required to explain why and promptly secured an internship.

HOME IS SOMEWHERE TO CLICK

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 19:49:07 GMT

We Want Pie!

First Place School Book Project, December 2006

by Jack Golightly

826 Seattle is a nonprofit writing center that helps students, ages six to 18, develop their creative and expository writing skills. We are dedicated to providing students with access to writing workshops, publishing projects, and one-on-one help with homework and English language learning- all free of charge. http://www.826Seattle.org/

First Place School is a social service agency and school that works to educate and nurture children and families that struggle with the risk or reality of homelessness. They offer housing, culturally relevant education and support services enabling families to achieve permanent stability. http://www.firstplaceschool.org/

Home means somewhere to click, someone to live in it, something to wear… -RobriaJanet

We realize very quickly the first week that we will have our hands full. The brave tutors exhibit grace and style while maneuvering around the kids, talking about making a book. We are here to help you write a book, we say. We are going to write a book about Home.

Imagine: You are in 2nd or 3rd grade. You have been in school all day, and today is the first day of an after-school program running 6 weeks. Your teacher has said something about writing a book. You have been sitting down for much of the past 8 hours or so, give or take the bus ride and you are again sitting in your group, feeling quite squiggly even after the chaotic Simon Says incident. Book, you say to the strange tutor from this place called 826 Seattle. Write down this: My name is Mister Shama-lama-ding-dong! The group giggles and shrieks, wondering how the tutor will react. A nanosecond of silence descends as the tutor dutifully writes this down.

Imagine: Ten minutes have passed, and I am somewhat anxiously walking around to see how things are going. We have not yet been able to establish a significant amount of order, but have successfully banished travel into the Table Cave of Refuge From Tutors. I see Mister Shama-lama-ding-dong’s group writing, and ideas bouncing around. I see a tutor sitting with a girl who didn’t want to participate, and they play hangman. Next week she will go back to her group and write several beautiful pages, and play hangman with another shy girl.

We are now at the end of this project, and next Wednesday will be our book reading. Each week has seen new enthusiasm and creativity on the part of both tutors and students. Pages and pages of writing have been produced, pored over, checked for spelling, and edited. Journals – donated by our wonderful friends at PaperBlanks – are being kept! We have done it, by George, the book has been written, and some serious talent has emerged. Home Is Somewhere To Click is a beautiful, funny, insightful work of genius, written by some of the most beautiful, funny, and insightful people I have had the pleasure to work with. I am proud of this little group, and the little book that has come from it.