From Pitchfork:
“After a relatively quiet 2004, the world-conquering duo Outkast will once again be ubiquitous in 2005, with both an HBO film and a pair of albums on the way. The duo’s HBO film– which co-stars Ving Rhames, Paula Jai Parker, and Terrence Howard– is titled My Life in Idlewild, and is set in the Prohibition-era South, where speakeasy performer Big Boi and his piano-playing pal Andre 3000 are forced to protect their illegal club from gangsters. Co-written and directed by Bryan Barber– who also crafted the “Hey Ya!” and “Roses” videos– the film cost $15 million.”
Click here to continue onto Pitchfork

FROM NY TIMES
Strain Is Seen in Giuliani Ties With President
By ELISABETH BUMILLER and ERIC LIPTON
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 – Former Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani had a Christmas dinner at the White House on Sunday night, and he attended with an important goal in mind: to apologize to his host for pushing Bernard B. Kerik as homeland security secretary and then watching as Mr. Kerik’s nomination collapsed in legal problems and embarrassed the president of the United States.
That embarrassment has put a new strain on a mutually beneficial relationship that has always been more complicated than mere friendship.
“I feel very bad,” Mr. Giuliani said in a telephone interview on Sunday afternoon, adding that he felt somewhat responsible for the nomination of Mr. Kerik, who withdrew his name on Friday because he had failed to pay taxes for a nanny who was in the country illegally.
“Even though there was never a conversation about it, I realize that one of the reasons they did it was because of my confidence in Bernie over the years,” he said. “And I feel like maybe I should have involved myself more in it.”

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Bar & Restaurant
388 Grand Street @ Havemeyer
Brooklyn, New York
718.302.5514
WEBSITE
We checked out this newish Williamsburg bar recently and were pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had.
From City Rag:
“Tainted Lady Lounge is off to a howling start! the newest project from NY bar legend Deb Parker (NoTell Motel, Babyland, Beauty Bar, Barmacy) opened at Grand and Havemeyer … Deb’s artistry is in bringing together unusual, amazing collections; surrounding them with sexy and comfortable design, lighting and music; and topping it off by filling the bar with cool people (staff and patrons.) the result is a bar that’s funky, dark, intimate, detailed and crazy fun, with a fantastic collection of naked lady paintings.”
Click here for more

Dinner and art in a cool setting
Friday December 10 (8 & 10pm)
at Monkey Town (222 Leonard St, Williamsburg, 718.384.1369)
From Flavorpill:
“Monkey Town, an immersive environment in which guests are surrounded by four screens, is the perfect venue in which to get lost in Sagan’s Unseen Forces. This audiovisual project begins with a mesmerizing portrayal (incorporating flashlights) of the big bang theory, set to an otherworldly score that combines synths and glitchy trip-hop, followed by a trio of black-and-white shorts that slyly put late, great cosmic thinkers in compromising fictional situations. With a name derived from astronomy wonder Carl Sagan, the multimedia collective — comprised of Blevin Blectum, J Lesser, Jon Leidecker, and Ryan Junell — does its namesake proud. Also playing tonight are a collection of music videos from the Dead Texan, a collaboration between Adam Wiltzie (Stars of the Lid) and video artist Christina Vantzos.”
Tonight’s Menu:
Shaved Fennel & Pomegranate Salad ($6)
w/ mint & habanero vinaigrette
Baccala Squash Chowder ($8)
Thyme Pesto Polenta ($10)
w/ smoked tofu & herbs
Braised Beef Short Ribs ($14)
w/ spiced oatmeal cake & Chinese long beans
Click here for more

From President Bush to whoever is in charge of Iraq these days
To Whom It May Concern:
I bet this is you, Rummy, but I don’t want to say it outright, for the sake of what is called “Plausible Deniability.”
All right. We’ve got this election in Iraq coming on January 30. The problem, as I see it, is that most of the country is exploding. Exploding countries don’t have the best elections. I remember when I was running against Senator Atheist Tax-a-Lot Flip-Flopper (I’m talking about John Kerry, here. You might recall how that election turned out. I won. With a mandate.), I recall thinking, Well, I hope the country doesn’t explode, because that would be bad.

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The one event worth going to Hoboken for:
Yo La Tengo’s Annual Hanukkah Shows at Maxwell’s
Pick up your tickets while they last. These shows are always among the best of the year.
Tues. 12/7
Yo La Tengo/Laura Cantrell
8:30 p.m. – $20
Wed. 12/8
Yo La Tengo/special guests
8:30 p.m. – $20
Thurs. 12/9
Yo La Tengo/The Shams
8:30 p.m. – $20
Fri. 12/10
Yo La Tengo/The A Bones
9 p.m. – Sold Out
Sat. 12/11
Yo La Tengo/Eleventh Dream Day
9:30 p.m. – Sold Out
Sun. 12/12
Yo La Tengo/The Coctails
8:30 p.m. – Sold Out
Mon. 12/13
Yo La Tengo/special guests
8:30 p.m. – $20
Tues. 12/14
Yo La Tengo/Calvin Johnson
8:30 p.m. – $20

By ROBERT BURNS
CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait (AP) – Disgrunted U.S. soldiers complained to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday about the lack of armor for their vehicles and long deployments, drawing a blunt retort from the Pentagon chief.
“You go to war with the Army you have,” he said in a rare public airing of rank-and-file concerns among the troops.

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The First Amendment Project: Fox vs. Franken
Directed by Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob
Premieres December 7th, 9:00pm on Sundance
Directed by Chris Hegedus and Nick Doob. FOX vs. Franken looks at the story behind Fox Television’s legal efforts to halt publication of Al Franken’s book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Beginning with Franken’s comic account of his inspiration in writing the book, the film mixes humor with its lucid account of the case’s First Amendment underpinnings.
(Thanks to the peeps at Gawker for the reminder)

The 47th Annual Grammy Nominations are out and it’s all about Kanye West. He snagged 10 nominations, including Album of the Year, Best New Artist, Song of the Year, and five in various Rap categories.
More germane to this site, the Best Rock Performance Duo or Group With Vocals (love those category names!) field includes Elvis Costello, Franz Ferdinand, Green Day, the Killers (ugh!), and U2. Green Day, Velvet Revolver, Modest Mouse, the Killers and U2 picked up noms in the Best Rock Song cat. I’ll take either U2 or Franz Ferdinand.
You gotta hand it to the Grammy people, they sure are up on modern music. That explains why they waited until after the “electronica is the next rock” fad died to add the Best Electronic/Dance album category thingy. ILM favorites Basement Jaxx picked up a nom here, along with Crystal Method, Paul Oakenfold, the Prodigy and Paul Van Dyk. I’m behind Basement Jaxx, but the Prodigy will probably win, on name recognition alone.
Other artists picking up multiple nominations were Alicia Keys (8), Usher (8), Ray Charles (7), and Green Day (6). Sentimentally I’d like to see Ray Charles pick up a few, but I’m guessing that it will be an Usher evening.
The Awards are given out on Feb. 13, 2005 in Los Angeles and on CBS.
-JPEG

photo by Michael Zelner
That’s right…. Santacon will be happening again this year.
Saturday Dec. 11th
Time and place to be annouced here
2004 is the 10th Anniversary of Santacon!
Each December for the last 10 years Cacophonous Santas have been taking to streets in major metropolitan areas and generating a bit of naughty Noël mayhem as part of the annual Santacon events. It all started back in 1994 when several dozen Cheap Suit Santas paid a visit to downtown San Francisco for a night of Kringle Kaos. Things have now reached Critical Xmas and these infamous Santacons are now held in over a dozen cities each year.

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