As I said, I’ve been busy. I’m feeling better in that I’m over my cold, and I’m a bit more on top of my work. Still overcommitted (spending both weekend days conducting a training, which is cool but a lot of work and a lot of time when I don’t have as much time as I’d like, plus teaching and whatnot). Last weekend was chock full of socializing. Saw a local band Saturday that I like very much called International Espionage! and bought their record. Saw an old friend’s hip hop performance the next night. Tuesday saw the everloving Weakerthans, who I like very, very much, after which I looked and found these videos by them:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aW1d_xZNgO4
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0rvKD2PDeik
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TEhPXDpo2KM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=A927zcSSw2s&mode=related&search=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iTWW0Jk9s-Y&mode=related&search=
http://youtube.com/watch?v=140_w3syO_4&mode=related&search=
The Tuesday show was fun but the food at the Triple Rock is too much for me. Like as in “too much of a good thing” and as in “I can’t handle it.” I was defeated by their vegetarian po’ boy sandwich with cheesey fried potatoes.
I also found a bunch of live performances by Jawbreaker (*swoon*) on youtube including two live versions of their song “Bivouac” (*swoon* again) and their old song “Equalized.”
And I found a video by a band from Chicago who are fantastic, the Lawrence Arms: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qslj96inMTY
I found a video of some other great Chicago bands performing live at the Triple Rock but I’m not mentioning them because at least one shows my big old head bobbing onscreen occasionally - apparently I was dancing to the side and in front of the camera guy. Who knew?
And I also looked up some stuff on Youtube, because now I have a fast internet connection sometimes. Man is that ever a great way to waste time I don’t have to spare. Other than music, I watched many Tales of Mere Existence. The ones about talking to his mom, procrastination, getting ready, and a typical saturday were all quite funny and a little sad and kind of close to home. The one called “I’m not going to think about her” is very sad.
The advance of capitalist production develops a working-class, which by education, tradition, habit, looks upon the conditions of that mode of production as self-evident laws of Nature. The organisation of the capitalist process of production, once fully developed, breaks down all resistance. The constant generation of a relative surplus-population keeps the law of supply and demand of labour, and therefore keeps wages, in a rut that corresponds with the wants of capital. The dull compulsion of economic relations completes the subjection of the labourer to the capitalist. Direct force, outside economic conditions, is of course still used, but only exceptionally. In the ordinary run of things, the labourer can be left to the “natural laws of production,” i.e., to his dependence on capital, a dependence springing from, and guaranteed in perpetuity by, the conditions of production themselves.
Capital v1, ch28.
Ended August with General Assembly where someone who is CLEARLY in the employ of the employing class gave me a terrible cold, came home to a struck U, started teaching, been out picketing, cooked some lovely yams, finally nearly over - but only nearly over - the terrible cold, doing a bit of reading of course and am joining a Capital v1 reading group which I’m very excited about both for the book and the people. More posts as I’m able, never fear.
And holy crap do I ever have the best wife there is. She just now as I was typing gave me a present of a hand-knitted finger puppet of a monkey holding a banana or maybe a corn on the cob, she bought it at Popcorn Festival when she was visiting family out of town last weekend and just remembered she’d bought it for me. Sometimes things are good, like finger puppets and turning away trucks while picketing docks and mashed yams. Sometimes things suck, like bosses and being sick and lack of adequate responses - from those who should know/be better - to fucked up picket line problems. Up with the good and down with the sucks! I gotta get me a banner and write that on it, or maybe tattoo it.
Details on the strike at uworkers.org and at workday minnesota. I’m off to bed, maybe a quick drink first.
