Where is the Love?

I've heard about a place called Love in Manhattan for a while. The venue hosts the Dub Wars. Although I had a good time (I have a good time anywhere), I will not be going back. I had a million complaints about the place.

My overal review of this joint is that it tries to pass itself off as being part of the underground scene, yet in reality it is just another over-priced, over-rated place in the village. There is no sign, and there was a line of about 30 people waiting to get in at 12:30 or so. The doorguy came up to each person and said that the club had nearly reached capacity, and there was not a good chance many people on the line would get in. My friends and I prodded him a bit, and he said they did not want a long line to draw attention from the cops. Some people left, and we were in the door within 5 minutes.

In general, most of the staff I encountered were nice.

The cover was 15$. Beers were 8$, and shots and mixed drinks 10-12$. Water was 6$. The bathroom had a nice attendant and a short line, if any. The coat check had a ridiculously long line.

I wanted to buy this girl a drink, and she wanted water. At the moment, they were out of 6$ bottles of water, so this guy, who was like security, wanted to charge me 2$ for tap water. THAT IS NOT LOVE.

There was a nice, chill area to hang in, which I did for much of the time, since the place was ridiculously packed. AS usual, much of what was supposed to be dubstep was not (This is a seriously annoying fact at the moment here in New York. Bay Area people would flip out at what is played here at events that are advertised as dubstep).

There is only one dj playing at a time, and you can hear them throughout the place. Which is cool when the dj is good. When the dj is not so good.... not so much.

The speakers were excellent (and are apparently one of 7 in the country or something, as told to me by the owner or manager of Love. I complained to him a few times. I was in a complaining mood).

At one point, we were not allowed to go outside to smoke cigarettes.

I heard there was an arrest. I was also told there were undercover cops. I believe both.

Finally, it cleared out, and the regular DJs of dubwar played dubstep.

So, basically, if the dubstep/electronic/club/party scene is new to you, you would really enjoy Love, since you don't know any better. But, from the beginning, I felt exploited. I also felt like the establishment is exploiting a culture and music that I and other people hold dear to our hearts. I know what dubstep and techno parties elsewhere in the country and world are about, and Love does not care to be a part of that community. It is all about the dollars. It is obvious that Love wants both the benefits of being an underground loft party place, but it also wants the profits of a public, legally-ran club. Which is fine for some, but I got other places where I can spend too much money for a better time.

2 Days In a Row

For the past two days, before sunset, there has been this tangerine glow that comes through the window. It paints stripes of light wherever it hits, and reminds me of late spring. I can practically feel the itch and coarseness of thick, freshly cut grass underneath me.

I heard you should never wish time away, so I won't.

Burning Bodies in the Street- Not The Worst Idea for Some... Guatemalan Mob Mentality VS. Reigning Salvadoran Gangs

I have written about this already, but it disappeared when my computer's harddrive crashed. I will try to keep all the details from over a month ago straight.

2 violent mob incidents that resulted in death at Lake Atitlan occurred within a week or two of eachother. This was just before Christmas. First, there was apparently a small group of people (from the highlands, probably- definitely not from around town) who were trying to extort money from the chicken bus drivers. (Chicken buses are the main form of transportation in Guatemala. They are old converted school buses decorated in crazy psychedelic colors, are affordable, reliable, and you can take them anywhere you need to get to)

The extorters wanted to show that they meant business, so they held a bus driver at gunpoint while he was driving from Solola down to Panajachel. This is a very popular 10 minute route for both tourists and locals. The gunman was arrested, and put in jail in Solola. Townspeople were outraged- this guy represented a threat to the whole communitys wellbeing. Guatemalans have dealt with enough corruption (especially during their 30+ years of war and puppet governments). Chicken bus transportation is a system that works well, and extortion would only serve to ruin that. A mob went to the police station, and demanded that the guy be released. The police (who are quite official, have alot of jurisdiction, and make trips all across the lake to "check" on towns in their department) would not release the guy. So, the mob firebombed the police station, which resulted in the guy getting out. They took the guy, beat him, and burned his body.

The 2nd incident is eerily similar. It took place in Panajachel, the town next to Solola. Panajachel, aka "Pana" sits right on Lake Atitlan, and is bustling tourist town. 2 ladies and a guy, not affiliated with the bus extortionists, tried to extort money from a market lady. Once again, bad idea. The market is the main focus of communities throughout Central and South America, especially in a tourist town like Pana. If these strong-arming thieves were going to prey upon one market vendor, what would keep them from doing it to someone else? So, to keep the system functioning and safe, a mob from Pana demanded that the Pana police release the extortionists.

The 2 women were moved to a different jail (one was pregnant; they were probably moved to Guatemala City) but the guy was released. They tied him up, beat him to death, and burned his body in the street. Specifically, the busiest intersection in town. My friend is a teacher at a school there and said that it was riot-like, and that the body layed in the street throughout the entire day (mostly covered with a cloth) until the guy's family came and got it).

Now, I am from a small town in New York, and this sort of justice and vigilantism is incredibly foreign to me. Probably to most people from the United States. I can't say if I like it any better or not.

Just south of Guatemala is El Salvador, a small and beautiful country that has a serious problem with organized crime. Specifically, crime run by gangs. This springs from the US deporting members of the Los Angeles-based gang MS-13 back to Latin America. MS-13 now has connections both in the US and Central America, and 50,000 members in the US, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. They are ultra-powerful, and they use their power to run drugs, extort businesses, buses, and more, and reak havoc on their community. They kill bus drivers that do not accommodate their demands. They largely contribute the the alarming murder rate, which per capita is 10 times the amount of the United States', and 5 times that of Mexico's. (according to Reuters and LA Times)

So, just to widen our worldview... on one hand, you have certain regions of Guatemala with a mob justice that entails violent murder and burning of those suspected of trying to fuck up a functioning system for their own financial gain. And on the other hand, in El Salvador (and maybe other parts of Guatemala), widespread extortion is completely the norm, and the threat of violence prevents much change.

Valentine's Day in CRAZYTOWN

"He that falls in love with himself will have no rivals."
-Benjamin Franklin

Many of you might already know that..........


In CRAZYTOWN hearts are never broken, and chocolate (like all candy and soda) has life's essential vitamins and minerals. (And, as also stated in the Constitution, there is no need for prostitution because all residents' sexual desires are fulfilled....*with the exception of beastiality, pederasty, and necrophilia)


But did you know this .............

For every dollar spent on Valentine's Day merchandise outside of CRAZYTOWN, residents of CRAZYTOWN will donate $2 USD to the Human Fund's Center for Social Ineptitude.


In CRAZYTOWN, love is not all you need. In CRAZYTOWN, we know not the feeling of need, since we always get what we want.

And more importantly, as seen in Myk tumelo's cosm photo, you do not need love, you are love. This truth applies to those both inside and outside of CRAZYTOWN.


In CRAZYTOWN mythology, we believe cupid is a trans-gendered self-hating robot who fills his arrows with the tears of orphaned Chinese babies. (girls' tears only, of course)


In CRAZYTOWN, love is not blind. It sees perfectly fine, is really picky, and will settle for nothing less than what it deserves- the creme of the crop. Luckily, all residents of CRAZYTOWN surpass bestness.

In CRAZYTOWN, love does not conquer all. Fun does.

"Love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen."
Well, in CRAZYTOWN, love is like Seinfeld, Simpsons, or The Office- enjoyable, with many
episodes that we never tire of.

"Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all."
-St. Augustine
Ehhh- better to have loved and never lost. In CRAZYTOWN, we don't lose things.

Best Regards,
The Benevolent Dictator

A Mob of Locals Tries To Overrun Restaurants&Bars

Well, the craziness continues in San Pedro! I heard from my friends who are there that there was a large group of locals who went around to all the bars and restaurants at 10 or 11pm, demanding that they close. Apparently, customers were still eating dinner. The Mayor, with a small minority of support (the town has something like 13,000 people), is going to try to pass a law that makes bars and restaurants close by 11pm. Many of the locals make their money off of tourism- whether they own businesses, sell OJ or veggies to the restaurants, make jewelry and clothing- so most of the locals realize this is extreme. But as we know from the past, majority does not always rule. Especially like in this case, when the minority believes that Christian Evangelism will solve the problems of their socio-economic infrastructure.

Now, cleaning up drugs from town to curb rising crack addictions is reasonable. But going from business to business, vigilante-style (vigilante is Guatemala’s favorite style, by the way), harassing proprietors and customers…. this can only lead to trouble. There have been COUNTLESS hotels, tiendas, and restaurants built buy locals, and if these businesses do not make money off of tourism, many people will become impoverished. Not to mention, this vigiliantism is impeading on people's rights (the right of Guatemalan citizens and permanent residents to conduct business within the guidelines of a capitalist system). Hopefully this ebb will begin to flow back to a sane equilibrium.

**I HAVE INCLUDED SOME PICTURES FROM MY FRIEND's FACEBOOK. HE IS A RESTAURANT/BAR OWNER IN TOWN for perhaps a decade.



(Regarding top picture, as written by bar/restaurant owner Mike. This is outside of his bar/restaurant: " These guys were milling around after already closed. I opened the door to get look. They yelled at me to close and turn of lights, etc... The bastards already closed us!! Threw out 100 paying customers. They told me to "go home gringo!" After the next picture they stormed my door, beat the hell out of it, threw a rock at the window where I was and then emptied an entire canister of pepper spray!!")