Listen as Bill Maher says the truest shit you’ve ever heard about Obama…

“There is a good 40% of this country who wouldn’t vote for you if you personally saved them from drowning. So get rid of that baggage of caring about the people who will not vote for you anyway and be a strong liberal Democratic president. You owe it to us.”

The whole thing is worth watching, but he starts to really get cooking at about 3:20 in.
 

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

 
Imagine that...
 

 
(via reddit)

 
If only…
 
Via Looters vs Photoshop
 

 
Roseanne goes off on a bit of an epic, Alex Jones-esque rant decrying the New World Order. Hard to tell what this is for or from. It was recently posted on YouTube. (I don’t know who the guy is after her)

I love Roseanne. I met her once in New York when she presented me with an award at the Tribeca Film Festival. She told me about how she’d recently purchased a bunch of Lenny Bruce memorabilia from the estate of his attorney (I also collect Lenny Bruce memorabilia). At least one photograph of me, Roseanne and Gary Coleman exists from that event, although I have never seen it. I also hooked her up with a bike messenger pot delivery service.

Something tells me she might’ve toked up before she taped this…
 

 
Rising out of the ashes of Sixties folk band City Preachers, German-based band Frumpy formed in 1969 and over the course of their brief career released two albums of rock tinged with blues, jazz and psychedelic elements. They were for awhile Germany’s most popular rock band, selling out concerts and winning numerous awards. They eventually disbanded in 1972.

While Frumpy’s music is appealingly Uriah Heapish (yes I like Heep), it is their 22 year old lead singer, Inga Rumpf, that I find totally mesmerizing - a unique presence that evokes Nico, Janis Joplin and Robert Plant.

Having started singing in her teens with City Preachers, Inga went from Frumpy to greater success with prog-rockers Atlantis and ultimately to a solid solo career. She’s still gigging.

Here’s Frumpy performing in 1971, followed by a 1973 clip of Atlantis, in which Inga’s Janis Joplinesque bluesy side is in full blossom.
 

 
Atlantis video after the jump…

 
Before anyone gets carried away getting all biblical on the asses of the UK looters, it’s best to remember that the people in positions of power have been getting away with much worse crimes for years now. This brilliant open letter to the parents of the UK’s Prime Minister by the writer Nathaniel Tappley makes that abundantly clear with facts, figures and more than a pinch of humor. And yes, before anyone mentions, he does know that Mr Cameron’s father died last year, his point being that he is reflecting assumptions about parenting that Cameron regularly makes.

“Are they really surprised that this country’s culture is swamped in greed, in the acquisition of material things, in a lust for consumer goods of the most base kind? Really?

...

Our politicians are for sale and they do not care who knows it.

Oh yes, and then there’s the expenses thing. Widescale abuse of the very systems they designed, almost all of them grasping what they could while they remained MPs, to build their nest egg for the future at the public’s expense. They even now whine on Twitter about having their expenses claims for getting back to Parliament while much of the country is on fire subject to any examination. True public servants.

The last few days have revealed some truths, and some heartening truths. The fact that the #riotcleanup crews had organised themselves before David Cameron even made time for a public statement is heartening. The fact that local communities came together to keep their neighbourhoods safe when the police failed is heartening. The fact that there were peace vigils being organised (even as the police tried to dissuade people) is heartening.

There is hope for this country. But we must stop looking upwards for it. The politicians are the ones leading the charge into the gutter.”

Read the whole letter here - it’s worth it.

Photos by Krista Simmons
 
As eagle-eyed readers may have noticed, we are currently running banner ads for The Gap and there is a little widget in the bottom left-hand side of the screen. This post is what you call advertorial, a mix of advertising and editorial, that hopefully will serve the dual purpose of being a “word from our sponsor” and equally be something of value for Dangerous Minds readers.

Los Angeles is the denim design capital of America. Even after most American clothing companies outsourced their manufacturing overseas, a robust denim infrastructure for receiving, sorting and finishing denim garments still existed in the “Fashion District” of Downtown Los Angeles.

Eventually these tasks, too, were outsourced, but the denim finishing infrastructure (wash facilities, garment assemblies, embroiderers, etc) remained behind. Beginning in the late 90s, small boutique jeans companies began to take advantage of what the district offered, producing small runs of high-quality “premium” jeans—you know, the kind that cost $300—and creating the luxury denim trend.
 

 
The Gap is currently re-branding itself in an interesting new way: They’ve recently opened a denim design studio in Downtown Los Angeles, not only to take advantage of the denim industry’s support structure as it exists here, but also so they can recruit from the ranks of the finest, most forward-thinking jeans designers in the world. The goal is to “democratize” high-end denim and make it affordable for everyone.
 

 
Los Angeles is a “strange attractor,” drawing in some of the most creative, intelligent and innovative people from all over the planet. It’s THE city where nearly everyone you meet has a connection to the creative arts. I’m a big civic booster of my adopted hometown. I love LA and absolutely consider myself a “Los Angeleano.”

I am especially fond of Downtown. It’s the part of the city where LA’s creative momentum can be most viscerally experienced. Forward-thinking street fashion, art galleries, restaurants and gourmet coffee. Iconic modern architecture like Frank Gehry’s Disney Concert Hall. The gigantic, megawatt Staples Center. The nightclubs and bars. The trendy, chic hotels. The film festivals. Underground comedy clubs. Downtown has it all within walking distance and there’s still a sense of slight menace and danger—like pre-Giuliani New York—giving DTLA some extra points to my mind. You really feel like something is happening all around when you’re in Downtown Los Angeles. I love that feeling, like I’m right in the thick of it. It makes perfect sense to me that The Gap has opened up a denim design studio here to soak up some of this world-class creativity as they seek to renew their brand.
 

 
There is a lot to appreciate about DTLA. These these are a few of my favorite things:
 

 
Usually the first place I take visiting out-of-towners is Little Tokyo. The architecture in the area, the things for sale in the shops and especially the people… all of it seems so much like a little piece of Tokyo was broken off and dropped into a spot on the eastside of LA. I’ve been to Japan and I think Downtown’s Little Tokyo district really deserves its name. The streets are slightly narrower, there is a fair amount of cobblestone and the it feels a bit more cramped than other parts of town.  It really does feel like you’re in Tokyo. The details speak of the area’s authentic Toyko-style experience: Sweet shaved-ice desserts can be found everywhere, the best toy stores in town are in the vicinity and practically everyone smokes…

The vendors at the Little Toyko Square mall sell real Japanese stuff to Japanese people living in Los Angeles who want the same food and products they have at home. Even though the Kinokuniya bookstore—my main reason for going there in the past—is no longer in the mall, I still love it. A visit to the big grocery store there is an event in itself.

Inside the mall you will find an insanely advanced video arcade, a bowling alley, clothing boutiques, karaoke bars, noodle houses (like the delicious Hana-Ichimonme where lunch is around $6) and those stores that sell herbal remedies, foot massagers and questionable Japanese electronic “health” devices.
 
More of the Dangerous Minds guide to Downtown Los Angeles after the jump…
 

 
The Mothers Of Invention’s “Trouble Every Day” provides the perfect soundtrack for a riot. Zappa’s lyrics couldn’t be more prescient.

Seen the smoke and fire
And the market burnin’ down
Watched while everybody
On his street would take a turn
To stomp and smash and bash and crash
And slash and bust and burn

And I’m watchin’ and I’m waitin’
Hopin’ for the best
Even think I’ll go to prayin’
Every time I hear ‘em sayin’
That there’s no way to delay
That trouble comin’ every day
No way to delay
That trouble comin’ every day

You know we got to sit around at home
And watch this thing begin
But I bet there won’t be many live
To see it really end
‘Cause the fire in the street
Ain’t like the fire in the heart
And in the eyes of all these people
Don’t you know that this could start
On any street in any town”

“Trouble Every Day” from the album Freak Out!
 

 
Logo by Pure Evil.

(via The World’s Best Ever)

 
If you’ve ever wanted to look like Hercule Poirot while smoking your weed—now is your chance! Etsy seller Hedcraft makes these fantastic hand-blown mustache pipes for $39.95 each.
 

 
(via reddit)