Read my reviews of Cornerstone 2001at www.exitzine.com
posted by J.M. Branum at 6:02 PM | link

Fontlover.com is a really nifty blogger-powered site.
posted by J.M. Branum at 5:50 PM | link

Here's another zine that is new to the scene: Struck Mute
posted by J.M. Branum at 4:03 PM | link

Been listening to Robert Earl Keen quite a bit lately. I sure do like his songs. I'm getting homesick for Texas listening to them, and I haven't left yet.
posted by J.M. Branum at 4:01 PM | link

I have been playing around with terraserver.microsoft.com today and have found some cool aerial photographs of some locations of interest to me...

• My grandpa McCullough's farm in rural Caddo County, Oklahoma
  
• Downtown Minco, OK (where my grandpa Branum and later my parents ran a variety store for over 40 years
  
• The Braum's Dairy Farms between Minco and Tuttle, OK
  
• Downtown Newcastle, OK
  
• The Oaks Addition in Newcastle, OK (where I grew up)
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 3:29 PM | link

From MSNBC:

• Fire crews protest at trade center site: They fear remains of the dead will be relegated to trash bins
  
• U.S. advisers said helping near Kabul - This sounds so similiar to how we got involved in Vietnam

posted by J.M. Branum at 2:45 PM | link

The NY Times:

• Flags, Mom, and Apple Pie - fascinating review of the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the Gugenheim
  
• Art Review: Some Shaker gifts that are anything but simple

posted by J.M. Branum at 12:22 PM | link

JMBzine is proud to endorse the fine products of Real Ale Brewing Company of Blanco, TX.
posted by J.M. Branum at 10:49 PM | link

From The NY Times:

• U.S. Says 3 detainees may be tied to hihackings - OK, so why are there 1000 being detained, and why won't the Department of Justice tell us who those 1000 are? --- I'll tell you why. . . fascist Attorney General John Ashcroft doesn't believe in civil liberties, at least not for imigrants and guests of our country.
  
• Bush sets Nov. 30 deadline for economic stimulus plan - Hey, I have an idea. If Bush wants to really stimulate the economy, he ought to legalize and tax marijuana growth, sales, and possession. I know it would do wonders for Oklahoma's economy.
  
• Digital Model Trains Help Engineers - a fascinating story about the use of modern digital controls by model railroad hobbyists.
  

posted by J.M. Branum at 5:18 PM | link

Jenny Tommey has an interesting tour diary. [Link found at www.blogger.com]
posted by J.M. Branum at 5:03 PM | link

Found the following transcript of Falwell & Robertson's innane remarks at www.jasonwhitlow.com. While I am a Christian, I have had my concerns about Robertson ever since he sold The Family Channel to Fox. (I mean come on, FOX running the family channel? Sheesh, Temptation Island doesn't seem like family fare to me.) To me he and his followers are misusing the teachings of Christ to justify their capitalistic exploitation of the poor and the oppressed around the world.

:

Partial transcript from The 700 Club
Thursday, 13 September 2001


Jerry Falwell: And I agree totally with you that the Lord has protected us so wonderfully these 225 years. And since 1812, this is the first time that we've been attacked on our soil and by far the worst results. And I fear, as Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, said yesterday, that this is only the beginning. And with biological warfare available to these monsters - the Husseins, the Bin Ladens, the Arafats - what we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if, in fact - if, in fact - God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.


Pat Robertson: Jerry, that's my feeling. I think we've just seen the antechamber to terror. We haven't even begun to see what they can do to the major population.


Jerry Falwell: The ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this.


Pat Robertson: Well, yes.


Jerry Falwell: And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way - all of them who have tried to secularize America - I point the finger in their face and say "you helped this happen."


Pat Robertson: Well, I totally concur, and the problem is we have adopted that agenda at the highest levels of our government. And so we're responsible as a free society for what the top people do. And, the top people, of course, is the court system.


Jerry Falwell: Pat, did you notice yesterday the ACLU, and all the Christ-haters, People For the American Way, NOW, etc. were totally disregarded by the Democrats and the Republicans in both houses of Congress as they went out on the steps and called out on to God in prayer and sang "God Bless America" and said "let the ACLU be hanged"? In other words, when the nation is on its knees, the only normal and natural and spiritual thing to do is what we ought to be doing all the time - calling upon God.


Pat Robertson: Amen.
posted by J.M. Branum at 4:55 PM | link

I just got an email about a new zine on the streets, O My Soul. It touts itself as being a rock n roll theology magazine.
posted by J.M. Branum at 3:33 PM | link

Take a look at Tim Burger's Art Gallery.

From MSNBC:

• Time to think about torture - an op-ed piece orginally in Newsweek by Jonathan Alter. It is extremely disturbing and downright immoral to begin to justify torture of any kind, for any reason. This is a prime example of the evil that is justified by moral relativism. (when the ends are allowed to justify the means) I'm sure fascists like US Attorney General John Ashcroft would love what he said.

posted by J.M. Branum at 3:31 PM | link

Back in San Marcos again... time with the family was good, and the funeral was very bitter-sweet. It was so sad to lose my grandpa but at the same time it was so encouraging to hear all of the stories about him and the life he led. I would consider my life to be a success, if when I die that my life was half as meaningful as his.

The drive back was beautiful. I went straight south from the farm to Apache, then to the H.E. Bailey Turnpike (I-44) near Lawton, then south on it until Wichita Falls, TX, and then south on US 281 to Blanco, TX, before cutting east to San Marcos. I don't think I will ever take the I-35 to San Marcos again.
posted by J.M. Branum at 3:26 PM | link

Crazy enough, I'm posting from an internet terminal in a Flying J Truck Stop just south of Waco, TX in route to Oklahoma. Kinda silly, but I had to try this out for novelty sake. only 20 cents per minute.

This afternoon I read about an interesting project in the NY Times, Here is his website.
posted by J.M. Branum at 7:45 PM | link

Well I'm leaving San Marcos yet again for Oklahoma. My grandpa's funeral is tomorrow, so I'll be in OK until Wednesday night.

Also, for any Austinites look for me downtown on 6th Street on Halloween. I'll be working that night in my ussual job as a pedi-cab driver. If you mention this website to me, the ride is free. (unless it's real long or uphill, then you better tip me good ;-)
posted by J.M. Branum at 1:26 PM | link

From MSNBC:

• An interesting opinion piece on why women should have to register for the draft - I don't think I agree with this, because I don't think anyone should be drafted. But, the author does make an interesting point concerning gender equality. Equal rights come with equal responsibilities.
  

  However, I would also say that life isn't 100% equal. Biology gives women the greater responsibility for bring life into the world, at least for the first nine months after conception. It might not be fair, but women get stuck with the harder role.
  

  I really don't know. I'm for equal rights and am opposed to drafting anyone, male or female.

posted by J.M. Branum at 1:24 PM | link

Curtis Publishing has a gallery of the 25 favorite Norman Rockwell covers of the Saturday Evening Post. I know many folks may think Rockwell was too sentimental or sappy, but I love his work. His technique is without compare and his vision of the world was amazing.

Also, people forget that Rockwell in his later years painted several anti-war paintings during the Vietnam era.

From NY Times:

• The Rising Career of a Young Director. No, Really Young. - a fascinating story on 12 year old documentary film director Chaille Stovall .
  

  Here are a few quote that I thought were especially good...
  

  
  Chaille's wry commentary about the election process is interspersed with the interviews, which can be both tough and comic. Meeting Florida Governor Jeb Bush, he asks, "Are you jealous of your brother?" Christine Todd Whitman, then governor of New Jersey, is asked why there aren't more women in the top levels of government. Other candidates are asked to explain the differences between Republicans and Democrats. . .
  

  But Chaille was not satisfied with the opinions of candidates and television journalists. "Kids are out of the political loop," he said, and he wanted to bring them in. During the Democratic convention in Los Angeles, Chaille and his crew attended an MTV "Rock the Vote" event at the House of Blues. He met Wilmer Valderrama, a star of "That 70's Show," a Fox sitcom popular with teenagers, who was exhorting young people to become more politically active. Chaille asked him point-blank, "Do you know who your local congressman is?" The actor did not. Within minutes, Democratic press aides evicted Chaille and his crew.
  

  AT the Republican convention, Chaille ran into a young boy sporting pink hair and an earring. "Do you know the difference between a Democrat and a Republican?" Chaille asked. The boy's retort, "I don't care," seemed to reflect the views of many young people.
  

  "Most voters don't know who their congressmen and senators are, don't care and aren't familiar with the issues," Chaille said.
  

  No less experienced an interviewer than Larry King, himself one of Chaille's subjects, praised the young filmmaker's approach. "I loved his whole attitude, his aggressiveness," Mr. King said. "He came right up to me and said, `I'm a young kid, but I want to be like you, I want to do interviews.' "
  

  Mr. King added: "When I was growing up in Brooklyn, I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. Chaille reminded me of my own early childhood when I practiced in front of a mirror broadcasting Dodger games. The kid is very professional and handles himself well. I don't know if he'll become a broadcaster, but whatever he chooses, he'll succeed. He's got half the battle licked: he goes to the hunt. The odds are, eventually, he'll catch the fox and win big time."

posted by J.M. Branum at 1:41 AM | link

The AP reports that Gunmen kill 16 at a church in Pakistan

Also, The Guardian has an interesting article that discusses the situation in Pakistan and the danger of the country falling apart.
posted by J.M. Branum at 1:12 AM | link

From MSNBC:

• Sunday strikes kill at 13 civilians - Sheesh, we bombed the Red Cross yesterday, and now it's residential neighborhoods?! It looks like I was wrong about Bush's "restrained" war.

posted by J.M. Branum at 1:40 PM | link