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 June 17, 1998 In this issue: |
 Sellout In
Bloom Where
There's Fire Borrowed
Knowledge Triggerman
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Believe
it or don't: the Passenger does not profit from these excursions.
I have not received any offers of graft in exchange for a Passenger's
Pick. (As yet.) Sure, the good people of Department Lemur pay me handsomely,
but all that dough is earmarked toward getting my mother out from
behind the Iron Curtain, toward my mounting tabs at Idlewild
and the Art Bar, and,
of course, toward the
operation. Don't pity me. Just enjoy this week's pop culture
report, keep recommending cool sites I can visit, and if you still
feel the need to reward me for my hard work, well, who am I to stop
you? Hint. Hint. |
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HAPPY
BLOOMSDAY
Eighty-four years ago yesterday - June
16, 1904 - Leopold Bloom walked across Dublin.
Why? Because James Joyce wanted him to get to the other side. Joyce's
"Ulysses", conceived as a barstool retelling of Homer's "Odyssey",
assumed its own life free of its mythological parentage - an epic
of Dublin powerful enough to make Odysseus' trek look like a beer
run. "I want to give a picture of Dublin so complete," said Joyce,
"that if the city one day suddenly disappeared from the earth it
could be reconstructed out of my book." In this wonderfully entertaining
special package, the Irish
Times takes a sentimental - yet unsparing - look at the
famed author, his most celebrated work and the holiday he unwittingly
created, Bloomsday.
Don't fail to check out the "Citizens"
section for some caustic commentary from the denizens of Joyce's
Dublin. Yes yes. |
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DEATH-DEALING
ACCESSORIES
Subtitled "The Art of Smoking in Cinema," Hollywood
Glamour is a sheer delight: a fetish site that disregards
the politics and pedantry associated with its subject matter and
simply emphasizes how cool your favorite actresses look when they
smoke in their film. I mean, jeez, just one look at Famke
Janssen smoking that cigar in "Goldeneye" is enough to make
me want to put on a dress and light up, and there's more: everyone
from Cameron
Diaz to Eva
Marie Saint is here, enjoying the pause that refreshes.
And to think they wasted all that money on that idiotic Joe Camel
campaign. |
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MYSTERY
DATE
The Museum of Jurassic Technology
is one of those sweet mysteries of life you keep hearing about.
Is it historical or purely visual? Animal, vegetable or mineral?
Don't ask; nobody's telling. Just read up on the Megolaponera
Foetens (the "Stink Ant of the Cameroon of West Central
Africa") and Alexander Fleming's renown "fungal
broth" and wonder why you never read about this stuff at
those dimly-lit schools you attended - those not illuminated by
the MJT's torch of knowledge. What do I mean by that? I'm not sure;
I'm just quoting somebody else. |
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WHO'S
GOT THE BUTTON?
Money Mark, that's who. Not to be confused with that white-rapper-turned-fair-actor, Money Mark - nee Mark Ramos Nishita - is the Passenger's favorite musician of the moment. As a sideman, he's one bad mammajamma, for sure - the keyboardist who practically made the sound of the Beastie Boys from "Check Your Head" on forward, and gave flavor to recent releases by Beck and Jon Spencer - but with the release of "Push The Button," his solo work takes point. Drawing from influences as varied as Bernie Worell, Elvis Costello and Herbie Hancock, the Money Mark sound is rich, funky beyond compare and tailor-made for summer listening. This unofficial site deserve to become the official - it boasts a decent biography (webmaster Miikka Lattu apologizes for what he doesn't know), young Mark's account of his years as a ball boy for the Los Angeles Lakers and the all-important audio samples. Just one listen will explain why Money Mark is the most powerful force in the universe. A mailing list? Yes, the rumors are true - sign up below, and I'll make a pass at your mailbox every week. Disgusting, isn't it? That's the web for you, tiger! See you next week!
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