Brendan I. Koerner's Blog, page 147

Convict Love Tokens

In response to yesterday’s post on trench art, one of Microkhan’s treasured Aussie readers turned us on to convict love tokens. These engraved coins were made by English convicts as they awaited deportation to Australia, during the island continent’s 19th-century turn as a massive penal colony. The token to the right was produced by an English baker who received a seven-year sentence for robber; the cryptic (yet oddly hopeful) inscription, painstakingly engraved with a pin-like object, reads: “W

The Umpteenth Angel of Death

One of the best magazine stories I’ve ever read is James B. Stewart’s “Professional Courtesy,” which first appeared in The New Yorker nearly a dozen years ago. The piece recounts the sordid tale of Michael Swango, a health-care worker whose favorite pastime was injecting elderly patients with lethal drug cocktails. Stewart tracked Swango’s whole career, starting with his early days as a paramedic who fed his comrades poison-laced KFC, and ending with a murderous stint in Zimbabwe. (The article w

Art Amidst the Mustard Gas

Should any of y’all find yourselves near Doylestown, Penn., in the coming weeks, carve out a few hours to check out “From Swords to Ploughshares” at the James A. Michener Art Museum. The exhibit features 300 pieces of “trench art”—that is, baubles produced by 20th-century soldiers as they awaited their ghastly fates. Most of the gems come from World War I, and are cobbled out of empty shells, mustard-gas canisters, and whatever else the poor blokes could get their hands on. There’s something str

Siberian of the Year

Just six days remain in the annual “Siberian of the Year” campaign, so y’all need to get on it and vote. This year’s roster of candidates tilts heavily toward athletes, particularly Olympic champions and disturbingly bronzed bodybuilders. But the Frozen East also produces its share of artists, most notably the late Egor Letov (who would be honored posthumously). Microkhan was tempted to give Letov the nod, but we couldn’t resist casting our ballot for actor Eduard Ondar; we’re a bona fide sucker

Islam, Music, and Splitting Hairs

Of all the Taliban’s attempts to drag Pakistan’s Swat Valley back into an imaginary Medieval Golden Age, the one Microkhan finds most baffling is the prohibition on music. In the West, it’s difficult to imagine religious observance (or secular life) without the accompaniment of music, that most universal of languages. But in the Swat Valley, the Taliban is reportedly going house-to-house, breaking folks’ flutes so they don’t dare play a note. (Some years ago, I remember reading the moving tale o

Abraham, Ham

Last week, Microkhan sang the praises of Surviving the Game, particularly the strong supporting work done by Gary Busey. We stand by that opinion, but we must confess there’s a reason that Ernest R. Dickerson’s 1994 action flick isn’t part of the mainstream cinematic canon. And that reason is the video above, in which the normally solid F. Murray Abraham chews up the scenery like a hungry pitbull gnawing on a T-bone. You half expect him to follow up by shouting, “Mendoza!”

Though we shouldn’t be

Phantoms of Industry

Some of my favorite 19th-century paintings are those depicting mythological creatures (primarily fauns and satyrs) dancing amidst Roman ruins, presumably after downing several skins of plummy wine. So it follows that I’m also a big fan of artists like Harald Finster, whose focus is on the ghostly remnants of industry. His must-be-seen latest work has focused on abandoned collieries and steel plants throughout northern Europe; the picture atop this post is of a cooling tower at a desolate Dortmun

Police Appreciation Day

They sure start ‘em young in Muscle Shoals.

The full gallery is here. Is it just me, or do the University of Northern Alabama students look less enthused than advertised?

The Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema

With the 26-year-old Sri Lankan civil war continuing to wind down—or, at the very least, enter a decidedly less conventional phase—the Colombo government faces a big challenge: How do they bring the Jaffna Peninsula back into the national fold? The region has been dominated by the Tamil Tigers for years now, and the insurgents managed to set up a veritable independent country. (The Tigers were even organized enough to create their own traffic regulations.)

The key, of course, is the ensure the re

“Playin’ Herself in Her Girlfriend’s Mink”

Microkhan’s off to the (ugh) dentist, so that’s a wrap for today. But to make up for the bummer nature of the suicide post, we’ll leave you with a sonic treat: “Sally Got a One-Track Mind” by Diamond D & The Psychotic Neurotics, an underrated gem from hip-hop’s Golden Age. Okay, granted, the lyrics aren’t exactly uplifiting—Diamond D was a master of the sordid cautionary tale, and I’ve always wondered how Sally dealt with aging. But the beat will stick in your head, in a good way.