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Straight Up | Jan Herman

Arts, Media & Culture News with 'tude

AN AL QAEDA PRIMER

July 8, 2005 by Jan Herman

Terrorism: Questons & Answers. In the wake of the claim of responsibility, still not authenticated, it’s worth reading if only as a reminder of some essentials, i.e.: “What is al-Qaeda?” (The words are Arabic for “the base”), “What are al-Qaeda’s origins?” (the Services Office, a clearinghouse for the international Muslim brigade opposed to the 1979 […]

SAUVE QUI PEUT

July 7, 2005 by Jan Herman

Web connection down. Staff of thousands helpless.

E-Z G-WHIZ G-8 STUFF

July 6, 2005 by Jan Herman

thousands of demonstrators demanded an end to the Iraq war, debt relief for Africa, and action on global warming. So debt relief for Africa, these are the key questions: • What are the current plans? • What exactly does Blair’s plan call for? • How would the financing mechanism (known as the Millenium Challenge Account)? […]

WHAT IS ROVER BOY HIDING?

July 6, 2005 by Jan Herman

If Karl Rove did not out Valerie Plame as an undercover CIA agent, one of Cooper’s confidential sources, what is he still hiding? That he’s an arrogant S.O.B.,

GARRISON KEILLOR: ‘VIVA FERLINGHETTI’

July 5, 2005 by Jan Herman

The Prairie Home Companion’s man from Lake Wobegone met the They sat and talked in a cafe in San Francisco’s North Beach, and Keillor wrote: “Here is an 83-year-old artist whose eyes are bright and who, while furious at the Administration, rides his bicycle through the city he loves and enjoys its courtesies and graces […]

LIVE 8 STREAMS LIVE IN GLOBAL WEBCAST

July 2, 2005 by Jan Herman

I’ve been watching the global feed of Live 8, which is being streamed online in an AOL webcast. At the moment the global feed is showing Dido onstage in London, where the scene looks too dull to watch. But you can also switch to Rome, where the camera crew is really flying — not a […]

LIVE 8 MEETS G-8 MEETS JEFFREY SACHS

July 1, 2005 by Jan Herman

As world leaders gather for the international summit in Scotland next week, our war prez is suddenly getting too much good p.r. from friendly headlines here in The New York Times, as well as a Not to mention the worldwide attention tied to the celebrity-studded Bob Geldof, left, and taking place this weekend — in […]

R.I.P.: CHET HELMS IS DEAD (FOR REAL THIS TIME)

July 1, 2005 by Jan Herman

Chet Helms

Anyone who remembers San Francisco’s hippie “summer of love” may appreciate this died last week. It includes Paul Krassner’s story about a news article that claimed Helms had died when he was still very much alive. “So Chet decided to produce his own combination wake and resurrection,” Krassner writes. He hired a hearse and a […]

SAMMY’S WHITE DREAMS

July 1, 2005 by Jan Herman

changed his mind about Wil Haygood’s flat-out rave. The prose may not have the mandarin elegance Terry prefers, but it’s plenty beautiful.

NO CHEESEBURGER FOR HER

June 30, 2005 by Jan Herman

Remember Listen to the call or Edna Buchanan would have loved it. It’s a reminder of her

PILFERING HANDS

June 30, 2005 by Jan Herman

My staff of thousands just couldn’t keep its pilfering hands off this. Matt Haber posted it last week at Low Culture: The photo comes via related reference clever beyond words.

FLATTERY IN A FEW WORDS

June 30, 2005 by Jan Herman

Our versifier laureate penned “effuse words” about Straight Up’s Leon Freilich But don’t take him for a pushover. In re: devoted to Billy Graham.

HE MUST BE DREAMING

June 29, 2005 by Jan Herman

told the nation. He was talking about his war in Iraq, of course. If you don’t believe him, perhaps this will convince you: “We are helping Iraqis build a free nation that is an ally in the war on terror. We are advancing freedom in the broader Middle East. We are removing a source of […]

ROTHKOPF: WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW

June 28, 2005 by Jan Herman

Your messages must have video of the David Rothkopf interview. Go there and click “Watch.” It runs for an hour. The first 15 minutes is background that will familiarize you with the players of the past. As Rothkopf gets closer to the present his observations cut closer to the bone. For those who have followed […]

DIG THE NEW DESIGN

June 28, 2005 by Jan Herman

It’s easier to read, easier to use, and prettier too. When ArtsJournal editor-publisher Doug McLennan is finished, Straight Up archive, not to worry. This is a soft launch, and my staff of thousands will be fixing them soon.

PRELUDE TO DISASTER

June 27, 2005 by Jan Herman

If you missed James Bamford’s interview of David J. Rothkopf, author of the new book “Running the World,” which ran twice Sunday on C-SPAN, beseech the network (email: online@c-span.org) to post the video in its online archive pronto, before Georgie Boy’s speech on Tuesday night. Rothkopf’s cool, penetrating assessment of the Cheney-Rummy tag team and […]

SPROUTING PODCAST WINGS, SPOOFING NPR

June 27, 2005 by Jan Herman

Have a listen to Low Culture’s premiere podcast, a comprehensive glimpse of the arts scene called NO JACKET REQUIRED. The show, satirizing NPR’s pretensions, is hosted by Guy Boombast and features an interview with a one-named film-remaker, a report by Patrick Mulcetone about the Detroit arts revival with an on-the-scene interview of curator Vanessa Ovaloid […]

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Jan Herman

When not listening to Bach or Cuban jazz pianist Chucho Valdes, or dancing to salsa, I like to play jazz piano -- but only in the privacy of my own mind.
Another strange fact... Read More…

About

My Books

Several books of poems have been published in recent years by Moloko Print, Statdlichter Presse, Phantom Outlaw Editions, and Cold Turkey … [Read More...]

Straight Up

The agenda is just what it says: news of arts, media & culture delivered with attitude. Or as Rock Hudson once said in a movie: "Man is the only … [Read More...]

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