The Agenda

By Tyler Long

“Been surfin’ yet?” I hear it all the time. The warm winds blow and the sun cooks the cement. It’s mid-July and all attention is focused on the beach. But as normal as that question may seem, to a surfer it’s as absurd as onion mouthwash. The thing is: there is rarely surf in New England during the summer months. Sure we get a few bumps here and there, but until the bittersweet hurricanes of late September—basically the last throes of beach time for everyone else—the song pretty much remains the same: Welcome to Lake Narragansett.

The Story of Malachi Ritscher

by Kristen Chauvin

Just three years ago, Malachi Ritscher was a well-known member of Chicago’s avant-garde jazz scene. He made live recordings of bands at local clubs like The Empty Bottle, at little or no cost. He was also a passionate participant in Chicago’s anti-war and free speech movement and had been arrested several times for protesting peacefully. On November 3, 2006 he doused himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire beside the Kennedy Expressway next to a sculpture called “Flame of the Millennium”. People in cars going into and out of the Windy City saw this. They read the handmade sign he had staked into the ground near him, protest style: “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” His corpse was so badly charred that coroners could not even identify its gender. It took several days and a dental record to put a name to the body.

Nearly four weeks after I sent 10 questions about HCR 362 to Rep. James Langevin, I still have no answer. However Eileen Sadasiv has sent me a copy of a letter she got from Langevin on Iran and she OK'd my sending it further—see below.

Rod Driver, inveterate thorn in the buttocks of the corpus politicus status quo, sent some questions to U.S. Representative Jim Langevin by email, by fax and by certified snail mail on July 3. As of this writing, he hasn’t “yet received even the ‘I-appreciate-hearing-from-you’ form letter.”

The letter below was published in the Warwick Beacon on July 10, the Westerly Sun on July 17, the online edition of the Providence Journal on July 24, and possibly elsewhere.

Our representatives need to answer questions about Iran

Under orders from AIPAC (the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee), Patrick Kennedy and James Langevin co-sponsored HCR 362—a mysterious and dangerous resolution calling for a blockade of Iran.

Interview with IndieArts/ri Manager Tim O’Keefe

Who is IndieArts/ri?
IndieArts/ri is a splinter group of the Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island made up of a variety of artists, musicians, DJs and event producers who contribute to Rhode Island art and music. The day to day of IndieArts/ri, which will evolve, is Ted James and myself posting member’s events and in some cases free DJ mixes online at www.indieartsri.com.

The fiscal 2009 budget has now been approved by the General Assembly, and everyone expects the Governor to sign it. Here are a dozen things worth knowing about.

The author continues his tradition of bizarre meditations on film

By Evan Villari

[Note: This article first appeared in The Agenda #16]

Cheat Sheet: An Eastern European family hires Evan to transfer some film to video. The film, from an orphanage in Russia, is of a little girl this family is thinking of adopting. When the people at the orphanage strip the little girl down, Evan becomes uncomfortable with it, and begins to wonder if he might be involved in something illegal. This gives him the chance to reflect on some of his favorite Eastern European filmmakers.

And so patiently I waited. Happiness for a possibly sterile family was depending on my abilities. Railway tracks were quite literally crossed to get here. It was the end of the month and I wasn't proud of what I was about to do. A craigslist post had brought me here. He said she was from Russia. I of course knew this could have meant just about any satellite nation (formeror otherwise) in the Eastern Bloc. Although I must confess when the shoves get pushed around, my ultra-west, red-painting ignorance had a way of calling the whole of it Russia too. My thoughts wandered to a work by Jan Svankmajer.

The Web is an amazing space. Point, click and shoot; search for anything. And thank goodness, because otherwise, how would we get our Providence Daily Dose? Locally based, this Internet locale is a gem among the often out-of-date and hard-to-navigate deluge on the web.

All right, in Web-time the Dose isn't exactly new—it's been around almost since the start of The Agenda's most recent vacation.

With so many bands, groups, troupes, and DJs at IndieArts Fest 2008, The Agenda saw an opportunity to ask the entertainers some questions about the City of Providence.

1. Is there a lack of diversity in music venues in Providence?
   The ‘Mericans: No - you just have to go to places you don't usually go to
   Nick de Paris: Needs more electronic but getting there.
   Ty Jesso: There is plenty of musical diversity in Providence if you like DJs, but where has all the live music gone to? There are too few live venues, too few bands, and the live music audiences that you used to see out and about would rather sit, drink and listen to DJs in their fave local bars. Not a complaint, I guess.
   Swiss Chemistry Club: Safari Lounge; the old Green Room (before it started trying to look all up-scale-y); Fort Thunder; One Up; I liked the Liquid Lounge until it started looking like it was trying to be an upscale Hooters.

The Agenda, Issue 22 (Summer, 2008) is (soon to be) available in a location near you (assuming Providence, Rhode Island is near you). Eventually, you'll be able to read all the articles listed below right here on Agendanation.net, but in the meantime, you'll just have to search Rhode Island's bars, clubs, coffeehouses, and other assorted hives of scum and villainy for your very own (free!) print copy.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal may have just ruined his shot (however remote) at the vice presidency. While McCain could use a younger counterpart who appeals to the Christian Right, the electorate at large may not embrace someone who veers so far towards the shoulder on the concert of faith and public policy.

Jindal's vocal support of Intelligent Design is pitiable, but potentially toxic to McCain's bid for national approval. Especially when he frames his enthusiasm this way:

Don Mollis would like to remind youse that if you voted in one party's presidential primary (presumably the one that still counted by the time Rho Dylanders got our turn) and would like to vote in another party's primary in September (presumably the party that doesn't count in Rho Dyland), you need to do that thing with the stuff by June 11.

By Ted Rao

[This article first appeared in The Agenda #13, December 2005]

In the first column I listed my ten favorite Providence bands ever. Apparently, this was one of the more popular aspects of the column, since people started giving me their own lists as well. Again, gimme some shit; I’ll stir it. Here are some for you, and please e-mail me your own personal top ten, as well as all questions at iamprov@gmail.com. Babe’s on the Sunnyside, R.I.P.

Mat Brinkman:

1. (tie) Glory Hole / Pussy Galore (Ted: I don’t think Pussy Galore can be counted as local even if Jon Spencer did go to Brown)
2. La Machine
3. Dropdead
4. Em Dath Rir
5. Pleasurehorse
6. Mx Rx Px
7. Von Ryan’s Express
8. Six Finger Satellite
9. White Mice
10. The Body

by Saruman the White, Chief Scientific Policy Advisor to President Bush

[This article first appeared in The Agenda #14, January 2006]

Honestly, you people with your ridiculous “science.” Bah! When I bring agony and ruin upon your villages with the power of the One Ring, will the pathetic explanations of those blasphemous witch doctors you call “scientists” ease the pain of your destruction? I ask you, will their “logical conclusions” based on “data” and “experiments” drown out your screams? Only so foolhardy a race as men could build a society based on “scientific methods” and “empirical evidence.” Such nonsense! Istari magic and the visions of my palantir—those are the foundations of a functioning society.

By Ted Rao

[This article first appeared in The Agenda #12, November 2005]

Cranston Mayor Steve Laffey is a complete idiot. I don’t care that he’s got an MBA from Harvard; so does our President, and there’s a guy that my cat could beat at Scrabble. He will not, repeat, will not be able to beat Senator Lincoln Chafee in next year’s primary, short of Chafee being caught in bed with a dead hooker. Even then, I doubt it. Besides, even if he did, Sheldon Whitehouse would demolish him in the general election. So screw Laffey. Wait, why do I care? Laffey’s the mayor of Cranston. This column is about Providence, America’s greatest city. Onward.

Could you please tell me a little bit about that happy man that is often found outside the side entrance to city hall holding a small tape player/radio that plays old Buddy Cianci speeches and greets people passing by with the line "Buddy Cianci number one! Go Red Sox!" Where has he gone and what is he up to? I miss that old fella. —Jed Rocka