The MOuTH @ Mark Twain House

One of my favorite arts / culture events in the region is the more or less bi-monthly spoken word / story event entitled "The MOuTH". A clear homage / dig at public radio's "The Moth" (which reportedly dissed Hartford's overture in terms of setting up a local Moth event), and very appropriately held at the Mark Twain House (Mr. Clemens loved a good story), I've been to most of "The MOuTH" evenings, and have even graced the stage (back in December 2013).

Hosted by the talented, and much loved Chion Wolf, with the imprimateur and able assistance of Twin House Director of Communications Jacques Lamarre, it represents the best of Hartford's creative class.

Last night was no exception, a nearly sell-out crowd, with wonderful stories (funny, dark, wistful, tentative) around the theme of "I Quit", a featured guest (Joey DeFrancesco, famous for his Joey Quits video and resultant website / social movement working for service worker rights), and a surprise performance by the Hartford Hot Several, featuring Ms. Wolf gleefully pounding on a fluorescent pink bucket along with a score of musicians of various levels of talent and costumery.

I will, of course, take a bow for prescience, having spotted Ms. Wolf on the media horizon way back in 2007-2008) - by dint of her Flickr page and photo junkets to the Plainville Balloon Fest, Bradley Airport (Airbus A380 Visit), and Hillary Clinton's campaign stop in town as well as her continuity work at WNPR (back before I realized it was all pre-recorded, I thought she might be living at the station on weekends). And I could swear, in a fit of semi-drunken over-sharing at Real Art Ways in the dark ages (between Colin's departure from WTIC and his arrival at WNPR), that I insisted he get Chion on board if he got a gig at WNPR, but I might be mistaken there.

In any case, Colin was present last night in spirit; the dude next to me was looking around hopefully and musing out loud to his seatmate that "Colin might be here", and one of the speakers dropped his name talking about her apartment, in a building here Colin used to reside. And although she gives mad props and huge gratitude to Colin for plucking her into the limelight, Chion stand firmly on her own two feet these days in terms of talent, celebrity, and passion.

Chion announced the dates, and themes, of "The MOuTH" for 2015, which I failed to record and can not seem to find online. But you can keep in touch via Facebook, as well as on the Mark Twain House events page. So happy this series will be an ongoing event.

NPR Pet Peeve

It's a minor thing, and perhaps only irksome to the NPR addict, but it makes me cranky when a particular topic, individual, author make the rounds on NPR (and often bleed over to The Daily Show and The Colbert Report). It gets kind of repetitive.

Today's example: Bob Mankoff, on Fresh Air on Monday to shill his new book How About Never? Is Never Good For You? Three days later, he's popping up on The Colin McEnroe Show (along with many others) for a more free-form discussion about getting cartoons published (or not) in the New Yorker.

As least there's a bit of introspection or self-awareness, as TCMS page notes "Bob Mankoff, the cartoon editor of The New Yorker, has been all over the media this week...." - and I am sure the publicists of these authors and celebs make a point of hitting all the usual outlets. But I can be pretty sure that when I hear about a person, book, or topic on Fresh Air, I'll likely hear about it again via On The Media, Studio 360, On Being, RadioLab, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, or one of the local WNPR shows (The Colin McEnroe Show or Where We Live).

Grammar Police

Word Usage Division. This morning on NPR, someone was describing the NYC Mayoral campaign between Dinkins and Guiliani, and commented that "In the past, winning the democratic primary in NYC was paramount to winning the election". I think it was someone involved with the Dinkins campaign, way back when.

I think he meant "tantamount"

If You Do This, I WIll Own You Forever

The voice Paul Watson heard in his head as he took the Pultizer Prize winning photograph of a US Army ranger's body being dragged through the streets of Mogadishu.
Terry Gross interviews him today on Fresh Air.

Back at the time, the incident created a visceral rage in me - that we humans could treat each other so cruelly. I wrote a mostly forgettable song about the incident called "Three Times Round the City" - comparing the incident to Achilles dragging the body of Hector around the city of Troy.

From the interview, it sounds as if by witnessing this, and taking the photograph, Paul Watson has indeed been owned forever. Another article, in the Ottawa Citizen, called The Haunting of Paul Watson, is also informative.

Powerful radio. A powerful story of a man's struggle to reclaim his soul.