[Kill The Critic] The Independent Entertainment Blog [Film-Theatre-Comedy]

WHOOPSY!: The Best Magazine in These End Times


(www.whoopsymagazine.com, myspace.com/whoopsy)

Have you read Whoopsy! today? You really should - and I'm not just writing that because I'm an occasional contributor. February's issue even has something for comic book geeks, "Happy End of The World" by one of my favorite artists, Riki Dozan, co-written by someone I really want to meet - J. Angus. I missed the issue party at Room 710 because the Nervous Exits vs. Attack Formation held me prisoner with some mind-blowing sounds. I wanted to thank them for letting me share a story about a young band I happen to like, and of course making me *lmao* and think. The features and interviews are all stellar, and the columns are sharp, from Pisspot talkin' shit about the bloated Hollywood, Inc., to "Yesterday's Swill: Chronicle vs. The Band". There's something new going on too: Al Im's Hip-Hoppin' section took a gamble on Christian Rap with "Bigg Moose" and wins big, much props to "On Point" by smizNO. I'd also like to thank Chad Holt for "reviewing" one of my favorite local alt. rock bands - to my unexpected pleasure - and bringing back "Offsides". Beky Hayes' great interview with fillmmaker Chris Metzler reminds me that Austin is still a great place to watch independent cinema. I could go on for hours mentioning what I really enjoyed reading in this month's issue, but instead I've written another windbag essay, this time about why Whoopsy! is the best alternative entertainment rag in Austin.

The best entertainment writing rests on the pages of a magazine that pulls no punches when it comes to the only thing that may save some of us from the misery of soul-less corporate and government controlled media - arts and entertainment. I enjoy reading Whoopsy! as much as hanging out in cyberspace because it reminds me that I'm a free human being - although my outlook is pessimistic about this freedom lasting much longer thanks to the Patriot Act and fascism showing it's ugly face in the form of an intolerant conservative executive branch and legislative majority. The moral majority that is neither moral or a majority. But I digress. This is about the a magazine in Austin, TX that dares to tell the truth, to shed light on everything that is good and bad about art in all its forms - from the beauty to the perverse excesses. Who needs The Austin Chronicle if you need to be reminded that artists and entertainers are some of the most enlightened or doomed people on this doomed planet. Just look around this dark city and enter a live music club on any day of the week without relying on someone telling you what's hot or not. Duh. I read the Chronicle almost every week, and I'm a dork when it comes to music. Meaning I like noise, and if it has a good beat and a groove to it, I may love it. And who needs the billion dollar internet porn industry when you can read "Offsides w/Chad Holt"? Maybe that's a bit if a stretch for some perverts; but the point is, you have an alternative to digested and regurgitated information about what's going on in the city that was the only city in Texas that didn't overwhelmingly vote for our nation's first mentally challenged President. I love Texas, but there are too many idiots breeding idiots blindly devoted to Bush and the yellow journalism in most newspapers who would never report Bush's "alleged" commands to bomb foreign news agencies that were telling the whole truth and nothing but...

Whoopsy! is not a newspaper in the traditional sense, but it cleverly shares news and information about how screwed up our policies, elected officials and the bureacrats are, without all the muckraking. This is what I apppreciate most about the magazine. The opinions expressed in Whoopsy! are necessarily the opinions of the Publisher. Of course, his opinion isn't the only one expressed. Nothing is really sacred with Whoopsy! - not even what the writers like themselves. As much as I love contributing to Whoopsy!, writing about the musicians I like, even I enjoy poking and prodding them with questions, and even making fun of them, because no one really embraces the artist who is too serious. People with no sense of humor scare me more than Bush bombing free press like Al-Jazeera. And even Bush has a sense of humor. It just happens to suck, in my humble opinion.

I also appreciate the fact that Whoopsy! knows mankind - excuse me, humankind (because women are just as capable as men of commiting heinous acts as we have seen demonstrated by the U.S. government and terrorists) - is setting itself up for destruction. People are becoming so lazy, relying on the major media outlets to tell the truth, when we all know it's not going to happen. It's time to question conventional wisdom, and what a new favorite blogger of mine calls "neocons, which includes those ex-druggie fundamentalist whack jobs who shouldn't and wouldn't affiliate themselves with a revival of "Jesus Christ Superstar".

I will now randomly misquote one of my favorite maxims: "You can judge a society by how it treats its lowest citizens." Which of course means the poor. Our country treats the poor like a black man treats a woman with no ass - like they don't exist. And about black people, or African-American. Personally, I prefer being called a person, or if you're comparing me to a white chick, a black chick. I'd like to thank Whoopsy! for having the gumption to throw a party at a club called The Velvet Spade during Black History Month. The flier is awesome, a throwback to Soul Train. So get on board and read this issue!

Whoopsy! is available at many locations throughout Austin, TX. There are probably more copies at Room 710 than anywhere else. Pick a few copies and share them with friends, or someone you'd like to offend.

~ diy-danna

Addendum/Shameless Plug: I had to show my four-year-old punk rock loving niece ("The Extortionist") the story/interview with Cry Blood Apache (p.27), and she thinks they look cool. I just noticed Kaspar Glass, the one in the middle, looks a little like Salvador Dali in the pic they selected. That is cool. My story is the only weak link about this issue, but I'm not a real music journalist, so who really cares? It was just fun talking with and writing about a band I like.