On Tue, Sep 22, 2009 at 2:09 PM, Barrett Brown <
barriticus@gmail.com> wrote:
> Notes from Bushwick
>
> One would probably not expect much drama to arise from a site which concerns
> itself largely with restaurants, art exhibitions, and community gardens.
> Nonetheless, BushwickBK has the most drama-prone readership of any outlet
> with which I have ever been associated. There is no way to discern what this
> means for Bushwick itself; our audience is obviously self-selecting, and our
> commenters even more so, and matters are confused further by non-residents
> who post as well. But to the extent that a regional outlet's commenters
> reflects the nature of the region, a good number of our neighbors clearly
> need to calm the fuck down.
>
> A few months ago, I wrote a piece to the effect that Life Cafe charged too
> much and was aesthetically irritating to boot; this prompted a 72-comment
> fight concerning Life's desirability as a local staple and my abilities as a
> writer. Likewise, it prompted the owner to reduce prices on some items. This
> was probably the only thing I've ever written that has resulted in some
> actual positive effect on the world. And for the most part, the comments
> were understandable.
>
> Later, though, Hrag Vartanian, one of this site's more thoughtful critics,
> provided a fine overview of the most recent Bushwick Biennel. But he
> neglected to mention a certain installation, this being a mobile trailer
> filled with plants and park landscaping, and he consequently drew the wrath
> of the artist herself. The piece, noted creator Kim Holleman, was so
> "cutting-edge" and local as to merit a mention. "It was also built in
> bushwick over the course of one year, ON THE STREET by a bushwick artist who
> is TEN YEARS strong in bushwick proper," noted the deranged harpy. As
> Holleman notes on her website, "Trailer Park is a site of paradox. It is
> nonfunctional, yet completely functional in its repurpose... By going
> inside, you will be able to go outside. A mobile metaphor and transcendent
> experience." Oh, absolutely! Likewise, Vartanian's stated desire to see
> street art in a gallery was clearly that of "the typical white guy who wants
> graff[iti] to somehow be 'counted' inside a world where it doesn't belong,"
> at least according to a white female who presumably did a stint with the
> Latin Kings before moving on to conceptual art.
>
> Then there was, of course, the bike affair, whereby contributor Diego
> Cupolo's account of his beating at the hands of some would-be thief prompted
> more than 450 comments, most of which were insane. These fell into several
> categories: racists who held this up as proof that the local blacks are
> animals and that liberal whites will all soon be torn to shred in an ironic
> uprising of violent natives; non-racists who thought otherwise; anti-cop
> sentiment; pro-cop sentiment; fascist comments by anonymous NYPD officers;
> apologies from other anonymous NYPD officers for the fascist sentiments of
> their colleagues; debate over who perpetrated 9/11; challenges to fight;
> attacks on The New York Times; unhinged advice to Diego to the effect that
> he ought to launch a punitive strike against the pair of neighbors who
> failed to render aid (from me); and comments to the effect that muggings are
> bad.
>
> Most recently, a generally positive review of The Hibachi Tiki Hut, also by
> Diego, prompted a somewhat more critical comment by Bushwickitywack to the
> effect that the place was still rough around the edges; co-owner Lorien
> Flinn responded with a comment of her own to the effect that several of the
> problems would be addressed soon and further suggested that bushwickitywack
> might be too poor to appreciate the menu's better offerings and too fat to
> have been comfortable in the resident booths. She later apologized.
>
> The point of all of this is that I demand more comments. Also, lol, clip
> show.
>
>
> Notes from the Outside World
>
> * It amazed me that there were actually people within the fold of the
> Democratic Party who looked at John Edwards and said, "That's the guy. Let's
> make him president." Yet the populist douchebag was always hovering around
> 12 percent during the primary, which just goes to show how easy it is to
> fool southerners. One of Edward's supporters whom he happened to be fucking
> as well seems fairly representative of the rest; it is now reported that he
> told the ugly woman with whom he had the affair that, just as soon as his
> cancer-stricken wife died, the two would be wed in a rooftop ceremony
> presided over in part by The Dave Matthews Band. What a stupid bitch.
>
> * Watch this whole thing.
>
>
>