This Dude Doesn't Abide

Hanson dudes arrested after refusing to leave Somerville bar

Okay, so I just moved back to Bah-ston, and am currently residing on the South Shore, freelancing for a couple of local dailies, and covering this town, where some dudes, apparently, just don't abide....

Police arrested a pair of rowdy, beer-swigging men after they were kicked out of Good Time Emporium in Somerville and refused to leave Friday night, June
27.

It all started when Michael Vaughan, 24, of Hanson, allegedly took his Bud Light beer with him when he went to smoke a cigarette on the outdoor patio of the bar at 11:05 p.m.

When bar staff told him alcohol was not allowed outside, the apparently intoxicated Vaughan said, “Dude, get real. I’ll do what I want,” according to police reports.

When Officer James Slattery and Sgt. John Vozella, who were working paid details at Good Time Emporium, warned Vaughan he would be arrested if he didn’t leave, Vaughan replied, “Dude, are you for real?"

Apparently, the cop was.

On the way to the police station, police said, Vaughan continued to make irrational statements, saying, “You don’t know what I am going to do to you” and “I’m from Pembroke, Massachusetts.”

Sounds like that's one dude who has been smoking too much of the real Dude's shit.

Why Slate.com is the best storytelling venue there is....

“Teopisca Boys,” 1st Runner-Up, National Geographic Traveler Travel Writing Contest

I don't enter a lot of writing contests, mostly because many charge a fee to enter and since I am truly a down-on-my-luck writer, I can't afford to. But I entered this one, both because there was no fee and it was sponsored by a legitimate organization - National Geographic Traveler magazine. I was pleased to be named First Runner-Up, even though it comes with no financial award.

You can find my essay on the contest Web site at:

http://www.travelwritercontest.com/essays2.html

I have also posted it here, along with the photo I took of Rico.

“Teopisca Boys”

First Runner-Up: Christine Steele
Goucher College

A boy with a leather messenger bag slung over his shoulders rode into town on a too-big, black bicycle. He eyed me as he climbed off and leaned it up against an iron fence. I was standing in the zócalo of a village in southern Mexico. Rico strode over full of eleven-year-old curiosity and asked where I was from.

An outline of Che is spray painted on the leg of his jeans. I ask about him. Revolucioniario, he says. Héroe. Do I know him? Yes, I nod.

Rico politely tries to sell me a bag of tortillas and when I decline, seems just as content to ask me questions. How many brothers and sisters do I have? Do I have a husband? Niños? My Spanish is enough to carry me, so we chat as his friends look on. Before I know it I am surrounded by a circle of boys. Each has a bag of something to sell. Rico has tortillas, a dozen to bag, made fresh that morning by his mother. The others have cookies, candies, sweets, all homemade. I start asking their names, how old they are, why they are not in school, where is their mama and papa, where am I, what is the name of this village? Rico takes my notebook and pen and writes in neat letters: Ciudad Teopisca chiapas. Ricardo, 11, Jovani, 12, Daniel, 11, and Jorge, 6, tell me they go to school from 2:00 to 6:30 p.m. Mornings they sell food in the square to help their familias. Rico let me take his picture standing stoic but proud, holding his bag of tortillas. A solemn, dark-eyed boy, who has had to work too hard and grow up too fast. The same for all the Teopisca boys. I wonder what Che would say.

Harlan County......

It's a lovely snowy Saturday afternoon in Denver and last night I watched the documentary "Harlan County, U.S.A.," about the 1973 coal miners strike in Kentucky. Today as I'm lazing around my cozy apartment watching the snow fall outside my window I decide to search youtube for more on the strike...and it's like the reverse of "Six Degrees of Separation." I find this video below, which I thought was kind of cool, which led me to the video below it. On the video below, the guy wrote that he wrote the song about his ex-wife. I found it to be unexpectedly beautiful and it made me cry on this snowy day.

Beauty comes in so many forms......

Books and Independent (read: Punk Rock) Culture....

Look who was making an appearance at the The New York Center for Independent Publishing's Book Fair:

2:00pm-2:50pm
Ian MacKaye on Independent Culture: Q&A with an Introduction by Ian Svenonius

A Q&A with Ian MacKaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi, The Evens and co-founder of Dischord Records). Bring your questions regarding the parallels between the worlds of independent music and book publishing, sustainable models for truly independent companies, and anything else that’s on your mind.

3:00pm-3:50pm
Keep Your Eyes Open: Ian Svenonius Interviews Photographer Glen E. Friedman, with Slide Show Presentation

Glen E. Friedman, considered one of the most important photographers of his generation, became well known for working with such rebellious artists as Black Flag, Ice-T, Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat, Misfits, Bad Brains, Beastie Boys, Run-D.M.C., KRS-1, and Public Enemy. Many of his photographs are recognized as the subjects’ definitive portraits. His most recent book, centered around the band Fugazi, is titled Keep Your Eyes Open (2007). Ian Svenonius has been the singer and spokesman for various music groups, including Nation of Ulysses, The Make-Up, and currently Weird War. Svenonius is also the author of The Psychic Soviet.

Billy the Kid Documentary....not what you think....