January 2009 Archives

Every time I see Justin Bond perform, my world gets a little bigger.  No - THE world gets a little bigger, and I suddenly realize it's mine.   



I think I'm going to ride buses across the country this summer.

Love
Dan

My Fellow Citizens,

I've just been added to the phenomenal bill of tonight's Tingle Tangle Club!  I was grouchy about the Inauguration, but after Aretha, I'm feeling celebratory again.  I'm pasting the press release below.  Do come!

Love
Dan

TINGEL TANGEL CLUB

in celebration of the opening of artist Ofri Cnaani's
new exhibit at (Le) Poisson Rouge

Wednesday, January 21
7:00 pm (doors)  / 8:00 pm (performance begin) 
Dance 'til 2:00 am!

(Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker Street
Tickets $15 (Save $7 when you advance purchase with code DAX)
www.lepoissonrouge.com

 
The evening begins as a lounge party with the impeccable musical stylings of DJ MondoLucien (Windows on the World) and builds to a crescendo as a late night dance party presided over by the legendary DJ Johnny Dynell (Jackie 60, Boy Bar, Vandam). The evening is punctuated by an astonishingly broad spectrum of performers... everyone from "Angel of the Subway" Rosateresa CastroVargas to The Box regular Narcissister and the legendary Flotilla DeBarge. Revelers will also be treated to the sturm und drang of Novice Theory (recently named Ars Nova's 2009 Composer in Residence), cabaret performers Kim Smith and Micaela Leon, soulful diva Amy Douglas (Squeezebox, Koko Dozo), French neo-disco/cabaret performer Naommon and Portland-based singer/songwriter Holcombe Waller (on the heels of his "Into the Dark Unknown" at The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival). On the occasion of Obama's first day in office Earl Dax and Jo Lampert perform a downtown inaugural duet, and a very special Carngie Hall-worthy performer makes a special guest appearance! It's a contemporary cabaret flowering that reaffirms the nightclub as a point of intersection for people from different walks life and artists from a variety of backgrounds and disciplines. Guests who dress in theme (think Leigh Bowery meets Marlene Dietrich) will receive a complimentary drink from the bar.

About Tingel Tangel Club:

Tingel Tangel Club debuted in October 2007 at Glasslands, a DIY music venue and warehouse space in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, and served as a workshop/salon environment for Dax's popular "Weimar New York" shows. In March 2008, the event leapfrogged to San Francisco (in conjunction with The Jackie Factory) where it continues as a monthly at Cafe du Nord every last Wednesday of the month. In addition to ongoing presentations at Glasslands, Tingel Tangel Club was presented in New York at Deitch Studios in June 2008 in conjunction with an exhibition by Assume Vivid Astro Focus. The roster of performers to grace Tingel Tangel Club's various stages includes: Mike Albo, Penny Arcade, Joey Arias, Justin Bond, Connie Champagne, Adam Dugas, Leigh "Elvis Herselvis" Crow, Bridget Everett, Rebecca Joy Fletcher, Taylor Mac, Ana Matronic, Kenny Mellman, Moby, Julie Atlas Muz, Brandon Olson, Molly Pope, Kate Rigg, Lady Rizo, Basil Twist and Chi Chi Valenti.

I just went to Change.gov and posted this letter to Barack Obama.  I wrote it mostly from the Israeli perspective, but I guess such a perspective is necessary to be intelligible in the American political system, where you have to prove that you're "pro-Israel" (whatever that means) in order to be heard in the first place.  That said, it's also important to remind people on the Left that an Israeli perspective is not inherently invalid or irrelevant just because the Israeli government is committing atrocities.  All in all, no argument will ever be effective unless it relentlessly acknowledges the simultaneous validity and illegitimacy of both sides.  As soon as you ignore one of them, you open yourself up to the fury of the ignored, and the conversation more or less stops right there.

Dear Mr. Obama,

We agree that Israel has the right to protect itself.  But we both know that its invasion of Gaza will do no such thing. 

After all, while the Hamas rocket attacks onto Israeli soil are horrible and must stop, they constitute no substantial threat to the existence of Israel.  The Israeli response, however, is catastrophic to the people of Gaza.  It will further embitter them, destroy their already-decimated infrastructure, and make life in Gaza all the more hopeless for its population.

If Israel takes everything from the Palestinian people, then the Palestinian people will have nothing to lose.  And when you have nothing to lose, it's easy to find yourself doing horrible things.

And so the only way Israel can protect itself is by giving the Palestinian people something to lose!  By giving them a life!  By giving them a functioning nation in which they can prosper and grow and learn.

Such an endeavor is obviously difficult with a Hamas government in charge.  (Blame that on your predecessor for foolishly pressing for Palestinian elections.)  But it cannot be impossible.  I refuse to believe it is impossible, when any other option just makes the situation worse and worse.

Please, as soon as you become President, appoint a special envoy to Israel/Palestine, and call for a summit of regional leaders.  Pressure neighboring Arab allies to help rebuild the Palestinian infrastructure, with assurances that Israel won't have to worry about smuggled weapons.  And most importantly, give the Hamas government incentives to stop its rocket attacks on Israel.  Without these attacks, the more hawkish elements within Israel will have no excuse for violence.  Their military campaign will lose all legitimacy, and we can return to the task of building a functional Palestinian society, and, ultimately, a functional Palestinian state - one in which violence against Israel will be unpopular, pointless and nonexistent.

Peace
Dan