MATT ROTHSTEIN (Westchester, New York)
EDIT: Now contains pictures!
As a first-timer to BOTO, this concertgoer/concert appraiser is a bit unsure of himself, especially in regards to the new writing style he is attempting, what with its rigid adherence to the third person, which you, the reader, must surely have noticed has already given him trouble.
But anydangways, the Siren Music Festival took place at Coney Island deep in the sunny, sandy bowels of Brooklyn with the stated purpose of being an all-day event of free music (of the indie variety, shall we say?) and considerably-less-than-free food and beverage, sponsored by Village Voice. The cast, from top billing down, went as follows: Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Broken Social Scene, Islands, The Helio Sequence, Ra Ra Riot, Beach House, Times New Viking, Jaguar Love, The Dodos, Annuals, Parts & Labor, Film School, Dragons of Zynth, and These Are Powers.
DEVON GRANDY (Honolulu, Hawaii)
It’s been a while since Break Out The Oreos featured its normally-commonplace Ivy League coverage. It’s summer, so, in our minds, stories about the insanity of Ivy League students are attributed to their own deficiencies of character rather than their respective universities. It is important to note, however, that while the students frequently engage in unproductive and irresponsible behavior during the time off, our professors usually do not (or at least we assume so until an intrepid reporter reveals their predictable ethical and sexual deviations).
We came across Dr. Dickson D. Despommier, who, in addition to possessing the Quadruple Crown for consistency of initials, also may lay claim to having the least-streamlined job title in history by nature of being the “Professor of Public Health in Environmental Health Sciences (and Microbiology)” at Columbia. Due to our deep respect for Dr. Despommier, BOTO will refrain from making the inevitable jokes about his speculative breast sizes (hint: count the D’s) or the fact that the parenthetical in his title deserves to be ended with an exclamation mark.
Dr. Despommier’s design for development, after the jump: Read More
NICOLE CATÁ (New York, New York)
Since Devon has already graced you, the readership, with a photo entry about the Yankees, Nicole won’t follow suit with such a one about the Mets (who have won ten consecutive games and earned ten consecutive Snoopy dances from a particularly enthused fan as her team tied the Phillies for first place in the National League East). Instead, she will build on an important BOTO theme: free events in the Big Apple. There is no better time than the summer to soak up the city like a (fiscal) sponge, so, for this entry, Nicole will leave the news reporting to the other half of BOTO and assume the role of travel writer. But first, we present you with a blast from the past in the form of some field evidence of the Peregrine Falcon That Wasn’t. Behold, Exhibit A. Quick poll: Baby Falcon, or Teenage Robin? Discuss. In any case, while Nicole has given up hopes of a career in ornithology, she is proud to call this bird her mascot. By the way, if you’d like to see more animals of the cute and feathered variety in New York, you needn’t travel all the way to Westchester to do so: the Bronx Zoo offers free admission on Wednesday afternoons and is, for Nicole’s money, the best of the many popular destinations in the borough.
An otherwise baseball-free entry about architecture and outdoor concerts awaits after the jump:
DEVON GRANDY (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Dear readership, there are times when snarkiness and humor simply don’t come to the Break Out The Oreos writing staff; these times are not frequent, as we would not be very good at our jobs if they were. This however, is one of those moments, and we would like to explain why.
We’re growing tired of losing people. First there was broadcasting great Tim Russert, who collapsed at the NBC studios while recording voiceovers. Then groundbreaking comedian George Carlin passed away due to heart failure. Mr. Carlin, in his comedic prime, once had this to say about famous deaths:
I dread the deaths of certain super-celebrities. Not because I care about them, but because of all the shit I have to endure on television when one of them dies. All those tributes and retrospectives. And the bigger the personality, the worse it is.
We’re not fans of overly-sappy tributes or retrospectives (see Ronald Reagan), but we’d simply like to pay our due to the seemingly many men of character who have died over the past month.
Yesterday was particularly rough. Former broadcaster and White House press secretary Tony Snow succumbed to colon cancer. Though we here at BOTO weren’t fans of either Mr. Snow’s politics or his service to the Bush administration, Mr. Snow demonstrated a candid and professional demeanor every time he appeared, whether formally for radio and television or informally on the talk shows.
And then there was Bobby Murcer. Devon is still having trouble coming to terms with Bobby’s death, brought on by a one-and-a-half-year battle with brain cancer. Bobby was a lifelong and extremely popular Yankee, and though his time as a player took place more than a decade before Devon was born, Bobby was particularly well-known to this half of the writing staff due to his long, 25-year career as a Yankees television broadcaster. Bobby didn’t work many games this season due to his illness, but even in those last months of his life, Bobby exhibited both an uncommon professionalism and a great, undying love for the Yankees. He’ll be missed.
We’ll have something funny for you (we promise) in the next couple of days, probably written by Nicole. Take care.
DEVON GRANDY (Honolulu, Hawaii)
Break Out The Oreos has noticed a particularly abundant quantity of both douchebaggery on the interwebs of late. A quick rundown follows.
![rove_arrested[1]](http://breakouttheoreos.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/rove-arrested11.jpg)
Karl Rove, an already notable and well-established douchebag due to his role as the architect of (still) President Bush’s election campaigns, made headlines yesterday as he gave due process, accountability, transparency in government, the Constitution, the American public, and Congress all the finger (presumably metaphorically). Rove, subpoenaed by a House subcommittee over his role in allegations of inappropriate political pressure within the Justice Department, not only opted not to testify, but declined to even show up at Capitol Hill, which, of course, is a grand-jury offense. Both Rove and the White House cited “executive privilege” in the matter and claimed that communications occurring within the administration, even in its relationship to the Judiciary, are confidential. Of course, the concept of “executive privilege” has a long and uncomfortable history in our country, and frequently functions as a nebulous euphemism for Presidential track-covering. And besides, even without considering his disfranchisement of the American voter and his engineering of smear campaigns against both John McCain and John Kerry (and Barack Obama?), Rove stood up a perfectly good name card and glass of water. Now how’s that for rude?
More douchebaggery to heat you up, and then some easy laughs to cool you down, all after the jump.
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