Or, I still read 'The Stranger' and I was pleased to read:
August 2, 2010
Mr. Hamm
Or Reading an interview with Jon Hamm in Kansas
While in a Arby's in Kansas (Podunk Kansas) I stumbled upon a Parade Magazine with Jon Hamm on the cover. Let me establish the surroundings:
Needless to say, I was incredibly excited to find something that didn't have an accent/wasn't wearing Carhartts and had all their teeth. Ok, so the latter was a great exaggeration, but I hope it conveys my excitement.
Upon reading this article, I discovered that Jon Hamm is incredibly hilarious, easy going and, he had an english degree. S.E.X.
So, if you live under a rock (or in Kansas or Wyoming) you might not know who Don Draper is and/ or believe Mad Men is a clinical diagnosis.
I was just lucky enough to find newspapers lying around an Arby's in the middle of nowhere and discover that the man behind the Don... well, is just that: A man who stumbled into acting, found his passion, set some goals and obtained them. .
Goddamn.
Also:
The highlight of the 2,000 miles trek thus far has been a live trout display in St. Regis, MT. The low point- either the miles of nothing in Wyoming or the incredible amount of Jesus billboards. Some read, "Jesus is Real", "Adoption not Abortion" and "Jesus, I trust in you"
Yes. America, you are a strange and I don't understand how there is any cohesion in politics whatsoever.
July 28, 2010
Please, Allow Me To Introduce Myself
or How I'm Stealing an Idea From Amelie
I know this is going to seem strange, but I am going to introduce you to two stolen cats. I am leaving on a trip halfway across the country. 2,300 miles through the midwest is a long fucking drive full of flat lands, bible lovers, wheat, big skies and hot, humid temperatures. No mountains, all red states, all big skies. To liven the trip:
Chong Wang
Chong Wang's narrative is far less exciting than Rampoozle (see below) Chong Wang is a ceramic cat that is supposed to bring you good luck. I have no idea where C.W. came from. I also did not name him. However the story of C.W. is as follows:
My friends in Bellingham live in a cluttered, cute, and slightly kitchy house. For my last several weeks, I just semi-lived in this cute, cluttered home. One day, after much wine and records, and sun, I saw this mysterious ceramic cat perched above the sink. I eyed this ceramic cat for weeks. I tried to devise a way to sneak it out of the clutter. Then on the Fourth of July ( see: Ms. Pepe Lopez) before crawling into bed, I was so bold to sneak this cat into my purse.
Since then C.W. has been to many places:
C.W. in Clayton, Washington
population 134.
C.W. on a Drinking Binge
Somewhere along the freeway bridge in Spokane, WA
C.W. on some classy dame's stomach, getting fresh
Somewhere in Northern Idaho, by a lake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rampoozle
Rampoozle was found one dark, mysterious night on S. Freya Avenue in Spokane, Wa via 2005.
One night, one of my best friends (and travel partner-in-crime) was driving late at night with her boyfriend at the time. While driving, she slammed on her breaks when she saw the outline of a black cat in the roadway. Realizing that the cat did not move, at all, she went out to investigate.
Hoodlums had propped up this cat against a brick and placed it in the middle of the road. Outraged at the angst-ridden youth of Spokane idea of entertainment, she took the cardboard cat and named it Rampoozle.
She then took this cat down with her to WSU for her freshman year of college. It saw many-a-nights of wheatfield debauchery and WoW (that's right, World of Warcraft) playing. From there, it moved with her to EWU where we were roommates.
Here is where the story thickens. We put Rampoozle on our dorm door as decoration. We both had boyfriends at the time, and had a secret code, "Uncle Ralph is eating Chicken Pot Pie" when we didn't want to be disturbed. You know, when we were getting...frisky. This code was obvious. One day, we came back from class to find a blue erect penis tacked onto Rampoozle. To this day, we have no idea who put the blue genitals on the cat, but we can only know what they were meant to signify. We then moved the cat inside our dorm room.
Proof of Rampoozle circa 2006 with the blue penis:
photo courtesy of my friend Jeremiah
EWU- Streeter Hall
July 26, 2010
Breathless (À bout de souffle)
or Why Crisp B&W Cinematography and French
Philosophical Plots Make Me Fall In Love With Film
Breathless (1960)
French New Wave
French New Wave
Directed byJean-Luc Godard
This movie is incredibly well done.
Godard always has crisp cinematography, so watching it alone for the aesthetics is mind blowing, but there are also a lot of thematic elements at play here.
*The main romantic interest is an American, so you can see the portrayal of American woman by W. Europeans (American Woman are independent, easy in bed, simple minded)
*Themes of lawlessness, and the French Anarchist Revolutionary mindset
*Tragedy. I can't explain this one too much without giving this away...but this movie is a tragedy.
The plot line weaves philosophy, action, a bit of romance and political discourse/lawlessness with the aesthetics of classic, crisp and artistic Godard.
Formal Review
Plus, add in Jean Paul Belmondo and you have one saucy French Film:
July 23, 2010
Youthful Vigor
Satchel Paige's"Rules for Staying Young"
2. "If your stomach disputes you, lie down and pacify it with cool thoughts."
3. "Keep the juices flowing by jangling around gently as you move."
4. "Go very light on the vices, such as carrying on in society—the social ramble ain't restful."
5. "Avoid running at all times."
6. "And don't look back—something might be gaining on you."
Don't know who this is? See: http://www.satchelpaige.com/
Local Flavor
or While Reading 'The Inlander' I Stumbled Across This Artist from Spokane.
So. Ok. Obvious influence by Beck, a very low-grade, Beck, but its something that I can appreciate. The record was released in a very small independent label in Idaho, in an area that isn't really reputable for being supportive of local artists. This isn't Seattle. This isn't the West side of the state. Spokane is the "cultural epicenter", the largest city between Seattle and St. Louis. This is a small town of 300,000 people, mostly proletariat just trying to make a living, pay taxes, enjoy life and raise a family. And, this is something I can really appreciate. These are, in fact, my roots.
I really do enjoy how the aura- of this city is captured here. The video was shot at a *very* familiar park on the S. Hill, the flat tonality and imperfections of his voice set the mood for the city as a whole and well, the lyrics, "On my days, drifting through the haze/so pick me up/send me on my way/play it down.../cause all those knives you're tossing/will catch you in the back/ so make your mind" seem simple, yet oddly effective in their approach. This song, contextualized with the area, fits very, very, very well.
I guess what I am saying is, I can't critique this song. It's not mind-blowing, but it's remarkable that a local artist was published & reviewed in the Inlander. At the end of the day it makes me really happy to know that creative people can produce here.
Plus, homeage to the garbage goat.
I'm still working on the blog about educational reform and temporal band-aids...but it's gonna be a while folks. Sorry, it's a complex subject and I don't know if I am really qualified to be informed. Education in the U.S. is a fucking mess and I don't think I can put together a cohesive blog post.
However, I'll try.
However, I'll try.
July 21, 2010
Digital Literacy and Why I Disklike the Kindle
or what is really going on with the Kindle?
vs.
Yesterday I was reading the NY Times and I found this:
E-books have officially outsold hardback books on Amazon.com. We all knew this day was coming, but I am still disappointed.
So, there are several things to be noted here and they all have to do with the idea of artistic creation in a capitalistic paradigm and the current shift to digital literacy.
In lou of digital literacy being incredibly postmodern, (or maybe even the end of postmodern) this post will be all over the place.
----
1) Paperback vs. Hardback
*Paperbacks have the soft cover, hard backs, well, they have the hard binding. They are typically more expensive due to the cost of production and binding. It makes sense E-books out sold hard back books. When they outsell paperback books, it will be the demise of modern literature and it will represent a the end of an era and the beginning of a completely new way of interacting with text on a mass social level. I don't believe we, as a society are there yet. Libraries still have books, bookstores still exist and people still buy non e- books.
2) E-books are cheaper but proven less cognitively effective for memorization than 'real' books, in theory. It is proven, tangibly touching, highlighting, underlining, writing in, etc. books is a more effective means of memorization by both psychologists and linguists. It is the way our cognition works with the interaction of linear text. Most people learn by interacting with something real, not a binary code on an electronic screen transformed in html/xml format. This is why most college bookstores still have actual textbooks and not e-textbooks. (or so I'd like to believe!)
3)Reading from a screen for longer than an hour at a time outputs frequencies that are harmful to your eyes.
Regardless
3)Reading, whether it be on a fucking e-book or a paperback IS GOOD. So, if you wanna read a Kindle, go ahead. But, there is more here than actually meets the eye.
Elaboration on point 1- In a society economically based off production and consumption, the cheaper the better. It's a simple cost/benefit analysis. However, a writer is an artist. So in accordance with this, value must be placed on the work of art. Artists have meager paychecks in relation to how society values their art economically. This is why there was a huge movement with artists in Great Britain via pre-modernism with Socialism. In a political sense, Capitalism is not an economically conducive structure for those who create art. Problem starts here.
These are all post-industrial Neo-Marxists and Socialists, but represent the wide array of ideas about artistic production and value in a Capitalistic Industrial Society. Is the problem the Kindle, or is the problem the production of books?
Walter Benjamin:
William Morris
or
Oscar Wilde
Socialist League
So, there is something larger to be noted here. The Kindle proves that art cannot escape the structure of the sociopolitical atmosphere. What does this mean? Artists are not valued economically in a Capitalistic setting. This is part of the problem.
Sidenote: Oprah and Barnes and Noble have a large say in the NY Times Best Sellers List. In fact, there is a direct correlation with the marketing Oprah does in partnership with Barnes and Noble. So in an economic lens, books are simply another outlet for consumption. You will consume them by purchasing them. Publishing houses will find ways to make books have high profit margins and desirable to the general reading public.
However, I often times think, people forgot that mass written literacy has only been around since 1500 with Martin Luther and the invention of the Printing Press. Until that point, words were mostly oral to the masses, they were sounds and not a visual object. They had no permanence; in orality, they were only linguistic sounds, nothing more! In fact, most people in Western society couldn't read. Then, the printing press was invented, text became a permanent object fixed in space in time. Text became linear. However, currently, we are in a shift that allows text to be uni linear (or hypertext). In fact, the words I type right now are uni linear, strictly in the way I interact with the letters that form the words, that, in turn, form the sentences.
Case in Point:
So, contextualized, words are going to change, whether you or I like it or not. I dislike the Kindle, personally because I prefer artistic creation being tangibly real rather than a binary code embedded in an electronic box, in a strictly formalist perspective. On a sociopolitical level, I think the Kindle is merely a symbol for a larger problem with the value of artists and their creations in an economical lens.
However, I will weep with my piles of books as Kindles eventually outsell paperbacks. It's only a matter of time. But, let's all take a step back and critically analyze why this is occurring.
-Social Shift to digital literacy
-Cost/Consumption/Production of an artistic object in a Capitalistic Paradigm
However all is not lost! Something incredibly fascinating is going on with hypertext and books, when it is done in a creative manner.
Two wonderful works of art that SHOULD be read on an electronic screen:
and
My Conclusion:
All is not lost, just in the use of linear text in a uni-linear outlet. Hypertextual novels have a lot to offer in their theory, in the postmodern, formalist, fragmented whole, Barthes "Death of an Author" kind of way. Kindles should be used for hypertext novels like "House of Leaves", as a Kindle can do things a bound book cannot. Linear texts on a Kindle? A big fucking, "No thanks!"
Until creative authors really hone this new medium and hypertext becomes interactive, stick to a book you can put on a shelf. It's better for your memory, better for your eyes and in my opinion, better for the writers/artists who created the book.
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