This week the UMass Alumni Association gave away free ice cream on campus. Needless to say it was very popular.
At Amherst's Food for Thought Bookstore today they had a meeting of Zinesters.
Zines are underground publications that arose in the late '80s early 90's around the then new word processing technology that allowed for cheap "desktop publishing." It opened a whole new world of publishing possibilities that were previously too expensive using the traditional printing press. This was before there was widespread internet access and it was exciting because suddenly everyone could print anything they wanted to in their own home!
Once the internet exploded in the late 1990's, most zines migrated online. But in its brief heyday, our Valley was a pioneering area for the zine scene with lots of music zines coming out of the Northampton punk music culture. There was also a subversive little political zine called The Baystate Objectivist, edited by yours truly, which probably had the largest single audience of any of the Valley zines.
But the rise of websites and then blogs mostly killed the zines, or so it seemed, yet as this afternoon's zine revival in Amherst showed, the zine scene is still very much alive among the most devoted publishers. Here's one of them, Katie Omberg.
But the biggest event of the day was the annual Extravaganja rally on the Amherst Common for the legalization of marijuana, a patriotic event calling for freedom for all astronauts of inner space.
The usual suspects were there, such as UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition adviser Terry Franklin.
Counterculture comedian Norman Bie, who once counted among his fans Jerry Garcia, was there in full regalia.
It's Earth Day and the weather is sucky. Northampton City Hall looks dreary with the windows all boarded up while undergoing renovations.
The Yellow Sofa coffeehouse may have closed, but their traditions live on. Ironic how the iconic sofa is shown being carried past The Roost, the popular establishment that some have blamed for driving The Yellow Sofa out of business.
Posters are all over town for these hipster humpday parties.
A No H8 display in the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College.
A pig runs out to greet me as I pass Simple Gifts Farm in Amherst.
420 poster at UMass.
The rain forced the UMass Earth Day concert under a tent.
It's a beautiful Saturday in downtown Northampton.
Cute kid on a sidewalk poster.
I tried to photograph my neighbor's ducks but they kept running away.
The ducks at UMass have grown so accustomed to the thousands of students walking everywhere that they have lost all fear of humans.
A noble cause on the Campus Center concourse.
I'm not sure what this was about.
Masked mimes in the Campus Center courtyard.
The Easter Bunny making some early rounds greeting the fans in downtown Amherst.
The Alchemystics have been floating around the Valley stoner scene for years, but I don't recall them ever making a music video before. Now they have and amazingly it's one of the best local music videos ever made.
Speaking of fools, I can't believe how people in Northampton just blithely step into the street expecting the cars to stop.
The amazing thing is that the cars actually do stop. In Springfield you would have a low life expectancy if you tried to cross the street like that.
How cool is this? An entire poem by Amherst College professor Robert Frost scrawled on the guardrail of the footbridge across the Connecticut River.
Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. But if it had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate To say that for destruction ice Is also great And would suffice.
I'm glad I live in a place where poetic masterpieces appear as graffiti.
This poster is outdated.
Seems like a lot of people are searching for this these days.
So let's go peace-out at the Haymarket....
....and go up to the counter where I'll order a coffee and you can get a banana shake.
Then let's go downstairs where it's quieter and more private.
See that square enclosure, that's a former coal shute. In the olden times the coal man would use it to pour the coal into the cellar for your furnace.
Now it is decorated with religious icons.
See the light shining through the top? This is what it looks like from the sidewalk outside.
In Amherst today the UMass football team was raising money for autistic kids.
The 1975 film The Reincarnation of Peter Proud, a so-so thriller based on a so-so book, is none the less an eternal local favorite due to the fact that large sections of it were filmed in the Pioneer Valley, especially downtown Springfield. Northampton videomaster Dann Vazquez has spliced together all of the Springfield scenes for your viewing pleasure, which capture the city's downtown during a time of heavy construction and alleged "revitalization." Sadly, most of the new buildings they put up were way inferior to the ones they tore down.
Some say this opening was the final nail in the coffin of downtown Springfield.
During the recent New Hampshire presidential primary Amherst activist Terry Franklin was up to some creative mischief with his Freedom Bus Caravan. Here is an exclusive report on his exploits:
Our year-long goal was to establish a presence in the middle of the media frenzy of the NH presidential campaign. We did it. We certainly dogged the candidates relentlessly, and put the issue of legalization on the agenda in a way it hadn't been before.
In any campaign, many issues are involved, so we can't claim total credit, but I like to think that we did our part in preempting the most extreme social-conservative candidates, Gingrich and Santorum, from taking off early in the race -- they came in 4th & 5th of the five running.
For several days in the week before the primary election, a college convention in Concord brought many SSDP activists to the state. They were fantastic -- and especially instrumental in getting into candidate forums with persistent questions on Prohibition. Willie Nelson's Teapot Party was also active, as were many local Libertarians. The candidates couldn't go anywhere and have any doubt that this was one of the issues of the year.
In one of my favorite moments, I had left my "End the Drug War" sign stuck in the ground in front of a house, as I ran off to do some filming. It was standing by itself, away from the tumult of political activity down the street. Probably looked like something a local citizen had put up. As Mitt Romney left the debate, and drove away, I was able to see his head turn to look at the message on that isolated sign. While we did our part to get the dialog going, I can't help feeling disappointed we couldn't do better with the opportunity.
Donors were very few. Overall, fundraising was dismal (this isn't true just for FBC, but for the entire Movement nationwide). A bare bones operation was all we could manage, and many good plans were dropped.
Our numbers were small. We never had more than two dozen at any demonstration. I don't know what the problem was. Our potential base has always been huge. Perhaps we just couldn't get across to people what an opportunity this was, having the nation's media stumbling all over each other looking for a story. (Actually it was the world's media -- I was interviewed at one point on legalization by the Tokyo Broadcasting System.) While there were some inspiring videos in the alternative media, and the mainstream media covered us extensively... I believe if we had been able to turn out hundreds, rather than dozens, most of that footage wouldn't have ended up on the cutting room floor.
There are no doubt many explanations for our small size. Many opponents of Prohibition have gravitated to Ron Paul -- and thus were holding his campaign signs rather than legalization signs. The "Occupy" Movement diverted people in other directions. And, even there, *it* had been going on for so many months by the time of the primary, that the numbers had dwindled greatly -- no "Occupy" event had more than 100. People just wouldn't turn out. They stayed home on the couch. It's really too bad -- the weather was abnormally warm for a northern winter, and those of us who did participate had a wonderful experience of solidarity.
After 75 years, Prohibition continues to be a black mark on our society. (Check YouTube for New Hampshire's "Nurse Patricia." She headed to prison last month.) Finally, there have been unprecedented serious discussions of ending it. Dr. Paul's being in the debates has been extremely valuable. But in addition, many liberal commentators are coming out of the closet. Still, the struggle has barely begun. I know there were some FBC-inspired protests during the South Carolina and Florida primaries. But in many states, the Republican candidates -- and Mr. Obama -- are not yet facing enough public outcry. Let's get moving. I know I will be doing my best to stir up activism for the road ahead to victory.
Meanwhile the Irish aliens have landed in Northampton.
