cold emphasis

OCCUPY WALL STREET LIVE STREAM

2011-10-05T21:08:00.000-04:00

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

Kurt and Courtney

2011-04-05T20:34:00.004-04:00

Kurt Cobain died seventeen years ago today.

I highly recommend Nick Broomfield's documentary film on the subject of his death, titled "Kurt and Courtney". I won't go into details of the film, except to say that I think it is a brilliant film in so many ways. I have to say that I agree with Broomfield's conclusion of the events: there was definitely something fishy in the circumstances surrounding his death, but everybody who has anything of substance to say on the matter is completely and totally unreliable (sometimes hilariously unreliable, and other times depressingly so). Throughout it all, the presence of the unflappable Broomfield really gives the film a deadpan comic edge amid some ultimately depressing subject matter.

Also, Gus van Sant's 2005 film, Last Days, while certainly not any kind of biopic, is nevertheless great, and makes you think of Kurt Cobain.

More Kurosawa

2011-04-05T13:50:00.003-04:00

Fortunately, I have begun to utilize Netflix instant streaming for something more substantial than watching reruns of the Office or bad mid-90s sci-fi (Johnny Mnemonic excluded, of course - review to come). Basically, Netflix feeds me all of the Kurosawa I can digest at the moment, and the latest was "Ikiru", a really nice piece about an elderly bureaucrat (the always-awesome Takashi Shimura) who discovers, after having wasted 25 years of his life in the department of public affairs, that he has stomach cancer and 6 months to live. He swings wildly from depression to benders to taking a young co-worker on dates and all the while his co-workers speculate as to what has gotten into him (he doesn't tell anyone he has cancer - not his co-workers, not his son).

The film makes a really nice turn when Watanabe dies and the last hour of the film alternates between his wake and flashbacks via his co-workers' memories of the last 5 months of his life, when he endeavored tirelessly to have a small playground built on the site of a cesspool in the middle of the city. As in 'High and Low', the question of values and morals looms large, and like in that film, it is difficult to ascertain just how ironic or subversive Kurosawa is trying to be with his story. Watanabe is seen ultimately as rebelling against the bureaucracy, but he does not cast off the shackles and rage against the machine, so to speak; instead, he submits himself fully to the bureaucracy, debasing himself to the various officials, politicians, even 'peons' as one wake-attendee notes - all in the service of creating this little park before he dies. It is an open question as to whether this is to be seen as truly heroic, or as ironically heroic. Is it absurdity that heroism is to consist of successfully navigating bureaucracies? Or is Kurosawa really identifying modern virtue in this manner? This may simply be a cultural divide between Japanses and American culture, but I feel that this kind of sentiment pervades most of Kurosawa's films, even those set in feudal times. A sense of absurdity certainly pervades the wake by its end, once the attendees are noticeably drunk: the younger workers vow to take on the bureaucracy and make it more efficient, doing so with the fervor of revolutionaries and urging one another, "don't forget this feeling!"

Strahov Library Panorama

2011-03-30T15:19:00.004-04:00

Apparently Jeffrey Martin at 360cities has created the largest indoor photograph, which is a QTVR/pano taken from the center of the Philosophical Hall in the Strahov Monastery Library in Prague. While its boring to get caught up in a pissing contest over gigapixels and gigabytes (though sadly typical in the photo world), what is more interesting is the library itself, which recently underwent a massive renovation:

“After a thorough preparation, the library was dismantled, first the parquets, which were documented piece by piece. Photographs and old book covers were found under the floor, which had been put there to prevent the floor from creaking. After that the wooden bookshelves were worked upon, most of them were renovated right on the spot,” said Mr. Šidlovský. Then the scaffolding was put up for the restorers, Karine Artouni and Alena Krahulíková, who removed all the unnecessary repaintings and past interventions from the magnificent fresco Spiritual Development of Humanity.

The same type of work was carried out with the wood, the old layers of varnish had to be removed and a new one had to be put on following the classical recipes. The wood also had to be strengthened, as parts of it were eaten by woodworms. Only a few ornaments were added,” said Mr. Šidlovský.

Technically, Martin's image it is almost 3,000 photographs stitched together, not one, however. At first, the number of images seemed unreasonable, but this is the result of such meticulousness:

Martin’s panorama lets you examine the spines of the works in the Philosophical Hall’s 42,000 volumes, part of the monastery’s stunning collection of just about every important book available in central Europe at the end of the 18th century — more or less the sum total of human knowledge at the time.

Its pretty amazing that you can zoom in a read what's on the spines here, especially since, for the most part, the public is not granted access to this room.

As an aside though, I couldn't resist including the part about "the sum total of human knowledge at the time". Its tricky business when you start equating books with human knowledge.

Double feature: Seven Samurai and High and Low

2011-03-30T14:27:00.004-04:00

I have seen both of these films before, but had forgotten how good they were. They both, of course, feature Toshiro Mifune, but he plays nearly opposite character types. His samurai is recognizable from his turns in 'Yojimbo' and 'Sanjuro' though somewhat drunker/more reckless; but his wealthy shoe executive is more a study of cold rage transforming into ultimate bewilderment coupled with modern alienation. I had forgotten how his character basically disappears throughout much of the third act (except for the brief moment when the detectives come to his house and see him mowing his lawn and sweating through his dress shirt) until the final scene in which he visits the kidnapper/murderer in prison.

Both films are interesting studies on class, dignity, and (even in Seven Samurai, surprisingly) the shifting ground of morality in the modern age. Both films ultimately turn on questions of what should be valued in a culture, and how that value is redeemed. In Seven Samurai, the 'old man' chides Manzo for worrying about protecting his daughter's honor from the samurai, saying "your head is on the chopping block, and all you care about are the whiskers on your face". The end, too, reveals the ambiguity of values like honor and sacrifice, when Shimada, turning from the singing peasants planting their rice fields, looks upon the graves of the fallen samurai and says, "So. Again we are defeated. Victory belongs to the peasants, not to us."

They are both on Netflix instant. I didn't plan on watching them both together, but after Seven Samurai, I couldn't resist more Kurosawa and more Mifune.

Finally, an excuse for my terribly slow typing rate

2011-03-30T14:21:00.002-04:00

Apparently there is a whole 'nother kind of keyboard layout out there. Unfortunately, I just got a new computer and got it with the usual QWERTY layout. I can't say I've ever seen the Dvorak layout in action, but according to wikipedia (though more accurately in this case, probably pro-Dvorak wiki-propaganda) it is more efficient and causes less hand strain and awkward keystroke combinations.

The Cloud

2011-03-30T13:26:00.002-04:00

Finally, a big company has gotten their act together and created a cloud service for music and videos. The concern, I suppose, is over licensing and copyright issues, but Amazon doesn't seem to be concerned about this:

"Cloud Player is an application that lets customers manage and play their own music. It's like any number of existing media management applications. We do not need a license to make Cloud Player available."

A number of commenters have pointed out that several companies (mp3.com) tried this several years ago and were stopped in the courts. Amazon's strategy seems to be, "we're Amazon. We sell a lot of your shit, and this cloud will help us sell even more, so you'd better get on board before you miss out on your profits."

Ecstatic Music Festival

2011-02-07T21:06:00.004-05:00

My good friend, Steve Taylor, has been producing some short documentary videos for the Ecstatic Music Festival that is currently in full swing at Merkin Hall in New York.

Ecstatic Music Festival: Sarah Kirkland Snider, Shara Worden & yMusic from Kaufman Center on Vimeo.

Ecstatic Music Festival - Roomful of Teeth and tUnE-yArDs from Kaufman Center on Vimeo.

Ecstatic Music Festival: Dan Deacon & So Percussion from Kaufman Center on Vimeo.

Ecstatic Music Festival TRAILER from steve taylor on Vimeo.

Sesame Street and Philip Glass

2011-01-12T16:36:00.001-05:00

The New Political Correctness?

2010-04-30T13:04:00.003-04:00

I've always thought that people complaining about 'political correctness' over the past 20 years or so was pretty lame, and mostly just reflected the fact that they wanted to continue to tell jokes about women, minorities, gay people, and handicapped people with impunity.

So now I see that we're starting to come full circle: in the right-wing version of 'P.C.', one is not allowed to reflect upon history or culture, except to point out that "we're all just individuals". I know that this idea has a long history, of course, but seeing the following just made it click in my brain:

Adding insult to injury, the Arizona legislature passed a bill yesterday outlawing ethnic studies programs:

HB 2281 would make it illegal for a school district to have any courses or classes that promote the overthrow of the U.S. government, are designed primarily for students of a particular ethnic group or advocate ethnic solidarity “instead of the treatment of pupils as individuals.”

It also would ban classes that “promote resentment toward a race or class of people.”

The measure is directed at the Tuscon Unified School District’s popular Mexican-American studies department, which school officials say provides only “historical information” — not “ethnic chauvanism” as the state school superintendent has alleged. One state lawmaker tried to show how ridiculous the legislation is by proposing that schools be barred from teaching about 9/11 because it would result in hatred toward Arab-Americans; the measure failed.

Happy Anniversary Youtube

2010-04-30T12:41:00.002-04:00

Apparently, there was no youtube five years ago. Is this really true? Could we watch video online before youtube? Its hard to imagine.

Here is the first youtube video ever; its no Lumiere, but it has a similar spirit to what the Lumiere Brothers were up to over 100 years ago:

140 characters is just right sometimes

2010-04-30T12:35:00.002-04:00

"Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty," - Bill Maher.

Culture as Information made Visual by Line Graphs

2010-04-19T12:32:00.003-04:00

That may be the title of my next thesis. I have been pondering the intersections of history, perception, information, visual culture, and the recent explosions in the availability of not only contemporary data/information, but also historical imagery (a post about the recently-expanded/revamped Library of Congress Digital Collections shall be forthcoming; honestly, I was perusing their archives yesterday, and I am astounded by how much it had grown since the last time I looked at it, which was only a few weeks ago. Nice work, gubmint!).

That said, there are some really interesting possibilities for the study of contemporary history (I know, kind of an odd phrase) being opened up by tools like Google Insights. I suppose there are serious concerns about bias inherent in using such methods to make assumptions about cultural trends (your results are defined by those who use Google, for starters) but it still some nice fodder for provoking thought.

David McCandless over at informationisbeautiful.net was doing some investigations on this front, showing the possibility to make evident at least a sliver of the zeitgeist that would otherwise pass mostly unnoticed just below the surface of social discourse:

Every April and November the issue flares up. Why?

April 20th is the anniversary of the Columbine Massacre. Though dimishing, the echoes of that event still reverberate through the group mind.

Not sure about the November peak? Maybe because Christmas video games are announced?

The Relative Trustworthiness of Beards

2010-04-19T11:52:00.004-04:00

Your guide to creeps. As one unable to grow a beard, I tend not to trust anyone with facial hair. But that's just because I am jealous of them. If I could, I would grow the "unkempt beard" (aka "homeless beard"), putting me somewhere between "unsavory" and "threatening" on the beardometer. And that would be the impression I wanted to convey. The more I think about it, the harder it is to project "unsavory" without facial hair. My brother tends to rock the "Colonel Sanders", thus rendering him neutral. My favorite though is the pencil-thin chinstrap. Gross.
designed by Matt McInerney (aka pixelspread.com), via informationisbeautiful.

If the CME don't get you, the volcanoes will

2010-04-15T11:30:00.003-04:00

Photo via The Reykjavik Grapevine

People in the far northern reaches of the earth, look out! Not only must you brace for a big solar storm, but now you have have plumes of hot volcanic ash to worry about. From the NY Times:

The ash is coming from an eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, located near a glacier of the same name (which, for those not fluent in Icelandic, is pronounced, AYA-feeyapla-yurkul) in southern Iceland, which began erupting last month for the first time in nearly 200 years.

The European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites has some great satellite imagery of the cloud of ash drifting east and disrupting air travel in northern Europe:

Coronal Mass Ejection!

2010-04-14T22:30:00.003-04:00

So yesterday the sun did this:
From SpaceWeather:

The eruption hurled a bright coronal mass ejection (CME, movie) into space. The expanding cloud could deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field around April 15th. NOAA forecasters estimate a 35% chance of polar geomagnetic activity when the CME arrives.

Forecast: Rain

2010-04-14T15:53:00.003-04:00

He's a little awkward at first, trying to be polite and uttering platitudes about the tournament ("terrific excitement") and missing easy shots; but once he starts talking a little smack, then he takes over and starts draining deep threes: "Thwap!"

He has an unorthodox technique to say the least, but his release is nice. I think that youtube commenter rotensnatchmuffdiver put it best:

obama gots a nice ass jump shot

Star Wars Uncut

2010-04-14T15:43:00.003-04:00

Who would've thought that there was all kinds of stuff about Star Wars on the internet? There are even whole websites devoted entirely to Star Wars stuff!

Anyway, the Star Wars Uncut project is nearing completion. Here is a piece of the finished product: the scene in which Obi Wan is killed, Luke, Han, etc., escape from the Death Star, and then Luke and Han shoot some tie fighters! Awesome:

Star Wars Uncut "The Escape" from Casey Pugh on Vimeo.

They say the entire movie will be shown at the CPH:PIX Festival April 19 in Copenhagen, and its true.

Will Admiral Ackbar lead the Rebels?

2010-04-14T15:29:00.003-04:00

Since Colonel Reb was "discontinued from official participation in athletic events by the school" in 2003, Ole Miss has been mascot-less. An internet campaign sprouted in an attempt to draft Admiral Ackbar (highest ranking officer in the Rebel Alliance) as a candidate for the Colonel's replacement. Apparently, it was all a big joke, sorta:

However the students that began the campaign insist that Admiral Ackbar is not their ideal choice for the school's mascot. Instead they intend the character as "the face of a push to start a fresh mascot search at Ole Miss." However, the student-led committee that will start the process of choosing a new mascot has not yet formed.

I cant imagine why anyone would think that was a very funny joke. On a related note, I suspect that race may have played a factor in the Colonel's retirement: apparently, his character may have been based on a black man.

Infrastructure! In 1930s Tokyo!

2010-04-14T15:00:00.004-04:00

From the Visualizing Cultures Department at MIT:

The VC mission is to use new technology and hitherto largely inaccessible visual materials to reconstruct the past as people of the time visualized the world (or imagined it to be).

Among other amazing imagery, the site has 100 woodblock prints by Koizumi Kishio depicting Tokyo's transition to modernity:

“100 Views of Great Tokyo in the Shōwa Era,” a series of woodblock prints produced between 1928 and 1940 by Koizumi Kishio, explore the rebirth of Tokyo in the years following the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923. Koizumi’s prints depict the transformation of an important Asian city as it embraced modernity, maintained traditions, and became the site of ultimately disastrous political policies. In addition, Koizumi was a member of a new, modern printmaking movement in Japan known as sōsaku-hanga or “creative printmaking.”

...and you think I'm in control...

2010-03-09T22:23:00.002-05:00

I'm hoping this track (and sweet video, to boot) would get me back on track.

[thanks Jimmy Guterman via boing boing]

Chatroulette!

2010-02-14T22:16:00.004-05:00

Damn! So I had about three days to enjoy chatroulette before the new york times caught on. Still though, I recommend trying it out. And apparently the guy who created it is a 17 year-old high school kid from Moscow. There you have it. Thanks, DM!

"man, this turkey found out where I'm playin' tennis, you got any wack?"

2010-02-07T14:23:00.003-05:00

The tennis court scene pretty much sums up the story of my life:

You always heard those stories in high school about kids getting joints with angel dust on them and subsequently freaking out/thinking they were dying, but this makes it look so much better.

"to be continued"

2010-02-03T13:53:00.002-05:00

My roommate finally finished watching 'The Wire' last night, so now I am putting up this nice compilation of the 100 best lines from that show.

Also, the 100 greatest OTHER lines from the show:

Supreme court transparency via twitter

2010-02-01T12:41:00.002-05:00

A fascinating glimpse into the world of constitutional legal scholarship in particular, and critical thinking in general.

He's no Calvin Murphy, but pretty good for a President

2010-02-01T12:29:00.003-05:00

This is great; Barack Obama doing a little color-commentary/analysis during the Georgetown/Duke game over the weekend. I like his line to Clark Kellogg after being complimented on his efforts: "i'm coming for your job; you've either got 3 years or 7 years left...." Also, his answer about having a 'stronger left' is amusing.

Chess and then Advanced Chess

2010-02-01T09:35:00.004-05:00

Garry Kasparov reviews the book, Chess Metaphors: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Mind, by Diego Rasskin-Gutman, about the complexities of chess and the history of designing and building computers with the aim of defeating humans. He spends less time on the book than he does reminiscing about the various matches he, himself, has played both alongside and against computers. However, I could read Kasparov writing about that kind of stuff for a long time, I think. After reminding us that there are 10 to the power of 120 possible chess matches (more than the number of atoms in the universe) and revealing that, in the end, raw computing power was able to triumph over humans, he moves into some interesting territory:

With the supremacy of the chess machines now apparent and the contest of "Man vs. Machine" a thing of the past, perhaps it is time to return to the goals that made computer chess so attractive to many of the finest minds of the twentieth century. Playing better chess was a problem they wanted to solve, yes, and it has been solved. But there were other goals as well: to develop a program that played chess by thinking like a human, perhaps even by learning the game as a human does. Surely this would be a far more fruitful avenue of investigation than creating, as we are doing, ever-faster algorithms to run on ever-faster hardware.

Howard Zinn, too

2010-01-29T16:32:00.004-05:00

Its amazing what they don't tell you in high school history class.

To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places--and there are so many--where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don't have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory,"

- Howard Zinn, "The Optimism of Uncertainty," The Nation, 2004.

really it could mean lots of things, or nothing at all even

2010-01-29T16:20:00.002-05:00

The Onion has the obituary:

In this big dramatic production that didn't do anyone any good (and was pretty embarrassing, really, if you think about it), thousands upon thousands of phonies across the country mourned the death of author J.D. Salinger, who was 91 years old for crying out loud.

And the New York Times has a somewhat longer one:

“Salinger had remarked that he was in this world but not of it,” the statement said. “His body is gone but the family hopes that he is still with those he loves, whether they are religious or historical figures, personal friends or fictional characters.”

God is a Moog

2009-12-12T16:33:00.003-05:00

This an album of recordings made by Gershon Kingsley in the late 60s and early 70s, being reissued by Reboot Stereophonic, a label that puts out vintage Jewish music.

God is a Moog:

For those few suffering music fans who don't immediately think of Kraftwerk-esque electronica when they hear melodic Jewish liturgy, treatment is now available by mail-order. God Is a Moog is a double album featuring recordings from 1968 to 1974, in which pioneering musician, and Moog keyboard innovator, Gershon Kingsley attempted to fuse the machine and the divine. Using his creativity, the Moog, and a few choice Proverbs, Kingsley recorded everything from meditations on identity and freedom, to a rock opera for the Sabbath (written to include a gospel choir). Be warned, the album is as infectious as it is intelligent, which is to say, it just might blow your mind. In addition, you, who have previously been described as "endearingly awkward and strangely moving," might be interested to know that the very same words were used by Time Out New York to describe God Is a Moog. Though, Time Out also called it an example of "radical Jewish culture decades before John Zorn coined the term," and that bit doesn't sound like you at all. Find out more about Robert Moog, the visionary who invented the Moog Synthesizer.

Have a listen here.

Happy Hannukah/Holidays!

2009-12-12T16:28:00.002-05:00

A little holiday mix from the Idelsohn Society for Musical Preservation, a non-profit dedicated to the musicology of great old Jewish music.

From the Idelsohn Society:

In honor of the holiday season, we are proud to offer this little mix of music culled from our various albums, archives and projects. There's plenty of choice old-school tracks mixed in with new school Idelsohn exclusives like the re-mix of the Yemenite Trio by Soulico's DJ Sabbo. Songs from Lionel Hampton and Marlena Shaw are just a taste of what's to come on our next release forthcoming in 2010, Black Sabbath, an homage to the musical history of Blacks and Jews. Of course, there's also a couple of classic Christmas anthems courtesy of that other tradition's most beloved holiday crooners, Barbra and Neil.

Track list:
"The Problem"- Ray Brenner & Barry E. Blitzer
"White Christmas"-Barbra Streisand
"Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel"- Ella Jenkins
"Hava Nagila"- Lionel Hampton
"Mizrachi on the Drums (Sabbo Remix)"/"Seeing Israel"- The Yemenite Trio Vs. George Jessel
"Kale Kale"- Avram Grobard
"Holiday Mambo"- Machito & His Afro-Cubans
"They're Serving the Fish"- Benny Bell & The Brownsville Klezmers
"Blue"/"Santa Claus"- King Midas Sound vs. Ray Brenner & Barry E. Blitzer
"Where Can I Go?"- Marlena Shaw
"The Jewish Experience (MIS Remix)"/ "In The Beginning"- Gershon Kingsley vs. Charlton Heston
"Songs My Mother Loved"- Milton Berle
"That Old Black Magic"- Johnny Mathis
"Loco"- Don Tosti
"Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"- Neil Diamond
"Hanukkah Dance"-Woody Guthrie

Detroit: City of the Future, cont'd again

2009-12-09T12:28:00.002-05:00

Our old friend, Bruce Katz, has an interesting article written with Jennifer Bradley in the New Republic about my favorite city that I've never been to: Detroit. It imagines (naturally) the future Detroit, and gives some broad examples of what can be done to keep the city moving forward; interestingly, it compares it to other cities that have suffered over the last 30 years form the decline of the auto industry- Turin, Italy; Akron, and Toldeo, Ohio- that have rebuilt themselves and their employment base to some extent. It also mentions Bilbao, Spain, which revitalized itself in ways that are go beyond the building of the Guggenheim Museum there. The economy os only one part of the problem with a city like Detroit (and, I suspect, many other cities still reeling from industrial decline):

Even if Detroit were to rebuild its economy, it would still face a fundamental obstacle to recovery. It is just too big for itself, with a landscape that even locals compare to postwar Dresden. Nearly one-third of the land in the city is empty or unused, and some 80,000 city homes are vacant. European cities faced a similar challenge. After decades of population and job loss, they were saddled with an excess of housing and too much unproductive, polluted, or vacant land. This derelict land was as much an economic problem as a physical one, depressing property values and repelling new investments. So these cities reconfigured themselves into denser communities, recycling polluted industrial lands, laying down new rail and transit infrastructure, and investing in projects that created demand not only for particular parcels, but also for the wider urban area.

Sunless/A List of Things that Quicken the Heart

2009-12-04T15:34:00.003-05:00

Alright, so its been an embarrassingly long time since anything has been posted. I apologize profusely to my readership (ha!). A witty excuse would be apropos here... but alas, I have none.

Instead, we will discuss the film, 'Sans Soleil' by Chris Marker. I watched this last night in the documentary history course that I am taking, and I have to admit I was even more baffled by it than when I watched it the first time. Not that I understood it any better the first time; i think that I was just simply overwhelmed/enthralled the first time, and was unable to consider it from any sort of distance. I think that Werner Herzog summed up my own feelings of the film perfectly when he presented it a couple of years ago at the Film Forum. Prior to the screening (after telling a pretty hilarious story about curating at the Vienna Film Festival and hosting a disastrous screening of 'le Maitre Fous' after which he claims to be embarrassed to ever show is face in the city again) he said of 'Sans Soleil', something like: "I don't remember anything in particular about this film, but I remember feeling at the time I saw it that it was very profound and moving. So I don't really think that I can say anything about it. Let's just watch it." After the film ended, he said something like: "I don't think that it would be proper to attempt to speak about a film like that directly after watching it; there is simply too much going on to say anything intelligent at this time." I couldn't agree more. Its something that simply must be experienced for its strangeness, its beauty, and the spiraling sense of space and time that it evokes. I learned last night [SPOILER ALERT!] that Marker not only directed and edited it, but he also 'plays' the letter-writer, the composer, and the visual-effects specialist who creates 'the zone'. All of this reminds me strangely of trying to read a Thomas Pynchon book: it is clear that Marker's mastery of the visual realm and of the montage is as thorough as Pynchon's mastery of the written word and the metaphor, and you are constantly amazed by the shifting terrains that he pulls you through; however, there is, like in a Pynchon reading, the nagging sense that maybe the director is pulling a fast one on you - that you are mistaking high-falutin' gibberish for deep truths. I don't really think this is the case, but this feeling just speaks to the complexity of the film and its challenging themes and ideas.

Here's the opening 'scene':

Scruffy Old Man Apprehended in Long Branch, New Jersey's Latin Quarter

2009-08-14T19:48:00.003-04:00

Apparently, he was acting suspiciously.
I'm not surprised, considering that the man in question was Bob Dylan; I don't have to stretch my imagination very far to picture him behaving in a peculiar way:

Pet Sounds a Capella

2009-08-14T19:40:00.002-04:00

For the true Beach Boys purists out there.
I don't understand how this was accomplished (I assume this guy managed to somehow snag the master tracks of the studio recordings), but its pretty amazing (and very relaxing to listen to):

Manhattan Street Photos

2009-08-12T10:17:00.002-04:00

More Street photos from Stephen Taylor - some of his early work:

Street Photos - 10/07/07 - Manhattan - Stephen Taylor from steve taylor on Vimeo.

The End of Parallel Parking As We Know It

2009-08-11T22:20:00.002-04:00

Via Boing Boing:

Richard sez, "This ingenious hacker from Egypt put a fifth wheel, mounted perpendicular to the other four, on the back of his beater car. The wheel can be raised or lowered, depending on if he is parking or driving. The purpose is so that he can get in and out of the very tightest parking spaces. Probably better than having two brawny men lift the car into place!"

Another Newtown Creek Video

2009-08-10T18:07:00.000-04:00

Another short doc about Newtown Creek:

Life During Wartime

2009-08-10T17:43:00.002-04:00

My boy, Erik Holmes, is embedded in Afghanistan right now, collecting some interesting stories and an interesting perspective on military life over there right now:

You get plenty of helicopter rides being in the AOR, but yesterday was different: We got to ride along for a live-fire exercise on an Afghan National Army Air Corps Mi-35 attack helicopter. It’s an old Soviet design that you may recognize from Cold War movies. The particular helo we rode on was refurbished and given to the Afghans by the Czech Republic.

The Afghan pilot was very experienced, but was going to fire his machine gun in the air for the first time in nearly 20 years. Like many Afghan military pilots, he quit flying once the air force was nearly destroyed during the country’s civil war, and only now has an opportunity to get back into the cockpit. The average age of the Afghan pilots is about 45, some 15 years older than in the U.S. Air Force. That’s because of the years off they all had to take when there was no real Afghan military.

The pilot didn’t seem to have any rust. From Kabul, he flew low and fast to the aerial gunnery range at Bagram, then took a couple passes and fired his 12.7 mm machine gun. The gun fires so fast it sounds like a loud belch rather than individual shots – much like an A-10 cannon, in fact.
...................
I am sitting in the MWR center — short for moral, welfare and recreation — at FOB Blessing, checking email on a public computer. When I first came in, I overheard a soldier next to me talking to his wife back home. The first thing I heard him say was, “So do you want to get divorced or what?” I got uglier from there.

It’s just another reminder of the toll these frequent year-long deployments take on soldiers’ marriages and families. There are phones and computers to help them keep in touch, but it’s not enough to save a lot of these young marriages.

Stay safe, Holmes!

Scientology to the Rescue!

2009-08-10T15:34:00.004-04:00

What will save the online newspaper business? Advertising! And I think we all know who's got the cash these days. [Not to mention Love, Hate, and Doorways]

[from the NY Times website]

Birther Theme Song

2009-08-10T13:06:00.005-04:00

I'll let Lisamei62 (and her popup bubbles) speak for herself:

I just recently figured out how to create my own music backing tracks using my laptop and some music programming software and am starting to dust off some songs I've written over the years...Stay tuned for some new songs in the near future!

|* * * * * * * * * *|--------------|Put
|* * * * * * * * * *|--------------|This
|* * * * * * * * * *|--------------|On
|* * * * * * * * * *|--------------|Your
|* * * * * * * * * *|--------------|Profile
|----------------------------- --------|If
|----------------------------- --------|Your
|----------------------------- --------|A
|----------------------------- --------|Proud
|----------------------------- --------|American

[She also has a song called, 'Tribute To Alaska Governor Sarah Palin', which is basically a slideshow of Sarah Palin set to Lisa singing the song, 'Thank God You're a Woman'. Awesome.]

Toxic: Brooklyn

2009-08-10T11:41:00.004-04:00

Stephen Taylor is working on a documentary film about Newtown Creek/The Greenpoint Oil Spill/Toxic Plumes in Brooklyn right now. While it is still in the pre-production stages, we can begin to learn a little bit about the area (and its environmental complications) here, care of Vice Broadcasting (www.vbs.tv). This is fairly straightforward, and there are more parts to it than just this one (though I can't seem to locate it on their own site - only on the youtube). VBS actually has quite a few interesting environmental videos up on their site.

Archive of Images from the Late 19th Century Jesup Expedition to the Northern Pacific

2009-08-09T15:46:00.009-04:00

From the American Museum of Natural History, Photographs from the Jesup North Pacific Expedition (1897-1902):

The Jesup North Pacific Expedition led by Franz Boas, the first landmark research project of the Division of Anthropology, turned out to be one of the most scientifically important anthropological investigations ever mounted. Conceived and directed by Franz Boas, the expedition was financed by Museum president Morris K. Jesup. The Expedition was concerned with the extent and nature of contact between the tribes of the Northwest Coast and Siberia with an eye to solving the problem of the origin of the first populations to inhabit the New World.
Under the auspices of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, described as the "foremost expedition in the history of American anthropology" (Freed and Freed 1988: 7), Berthold Laufer, Waldemar Jochelson, and Waldemar Bogoras conducted ethnographic research and made collections in the Siberia, Manchuria, and on Sakhalin Island. Laufer worked among the Nivkhi (Gilyak), Evenk, and Ainu on Sakhalin Island and the Nanai (Golde) of the Amur River. Bogoras studied the Chukchi and Yupik (Siberian Eskimo), and Jochelson the Koryak, Yukaghir, and Sakha (Yakut).
[Above is a photograph of Russian exiles in Siberia; Below is an original map created by Franz Boas depicting the areas covered by the Jesup expedition.]

Archive of Early 20th Century Photos from the Congo

2009-08-09T15:26:00.006-04:00

From the American Museum of Natural History, Photographs from Lang-Chapin Congo Expedition (1909-1915):

Between 1909 and 1915 Mammalogist Herbert Lang (1879-1957) with assistant James P. Chapin (1889-1964) led the Congo Expedition. The two scientists collected and documented zoological, botanical, and anthropological collections and produced painted and photographic images of the natural and human environment.

The anthropological aims of the expedition initially focused on three matters:
- finding out about the Pygmies, at the time still regarded as one of Africa's greatest curiosities;
- gathering information about the physical types of various peoples;
- collecting ethnographic materials illustrative of all aspects of culture.

For Lang, ethnographic objects were clues to deciphering the culture code. A description of a knife would lead to a discussion of how fields were cleared, the division of labor, or the ceremonial uses of knives. A photograph of a chief or a ritual specialist would lead to an interview with the person and a brief description of that person's life history.

To see the entire collection, just leave the search option blank and click 'search'. [via Boing Boing, via Clayton Cubitt]

Oh, No! They Have Tasers!!!!!

2009-08-09T14:43:00.002-04:00

This is kind of creepy: robot-taser-attack drones. The only comfort is that while the guy looks big and 'dangerous', he doesn't move at all and so is therefore pretty easy for the robot to hit. I'd like to see another one in which he tries to do some kind of flying-kick-attack on the robot and then see how the robot makes out. Still, a disturbing situation to imagine:

Le Taser iRobot PackBot Explorer
Uploaded by npesblog. - News videos hot off the press.

Oh Yes, We Have Lasers!!!!!!

2009-08-08T13:56:00.002-04:00

I can't believe I haven't posted this yet. I never had the laser background, myself (and I don't remember even having the option at my school) though I am sure that some of my dorky outfits/haircuts could compete with those on this page.

And, as always, Toothpaste for Dinner has tapped into the zeitgeist:

Lessons in Sturdy Construction Practices

2009-08-08T13:51:00.001-04:00

This seems to not be possible:

Manhattan Street Photos

2009-07-31T16:03:00.001-04:00

Here is a nice slideshow from my old friend, Stephen Taylor, of photos taken the other day while walking through lower Manhattan:

Street Photos - 072709 - Manhattan - Stephen Taylor from steve taylor on Vimeo.

'Lets Just Sprinkle Some Crack on Him and Get Outta Here'

2009-07-31T15:58:00.004-04:00

I have sorta been following the Gates/Police thing in the news lately. I think Chappelle illustrates the situation nicely here (even though this tape looks pretty old, I guess things don't change too much):

Detroit: City of the Feral Houses

2009-07-30T19:01:00.002-04:00

Wow, detroit just keeps the hits coming. here are some photos by James D. Griffioen documenting what calls 'feral houses' -- houses that have been abandoned by humans and which nature is slowly engulfing. For those who read 'The World Without Us', this is the real thing in action. [via Boing Boing]

Pork Chop Sandwiches, cont'd

2009-07-30T16:51:00.001-04:00

Ah, but of what must we know in order to succeed in battle?

Pork Chop Sandwiches

2009-07-30T16:44:00.003-04:00

Yeah, Let's Do This [or, Yet Another Reason to Move to Utah and Get a Government Job}

2009-07-29T11:12:00.002-04:00

I've always sorta felt this way (and it helps if you work for yourself/freelance, of course): as long as you get the work done, why does it matter when it gets done? If you're supposed to work 40 hours a week, why does it need to take 5 days to accomplish it? I mean, how lazy is that, really? I could just as easily waste 10 hours a day for four days as I could 8 hours a day for 5 days. Then I could have three days to actually live my proper life. It may even get the economy going again (if you give people three days with nothing else to do, they won't be able to resist going shopping and buying needless crap).

So this comes out of Utah, via Scientific American. 4-day work weeks (but still 40 hours long). Apparently it even saves money and energy while also letting people live their lives:

Local governments in particular have had their eyes on Utah over the last year; the state redefined the workday for more than 17,000 of its employees last August. For those workplaces, there's no longer a need to turn on the lights, elevators or computers on Fridays—nor do janitors need to clean vacant buildings. Electric bills have dropped even further during the summer, thanks to less air-conditioning: Friday's midday hours have been replaced by cooler mornings and evenings on Monday through Thursday. As of May, the state had saved $1.8 million.

Perhaps as important, workers seem all too ready to replace "TGIF" with "TGIT". "People just love it," says Lori Wadsworth, a professor of public management at Brigham Young University in Provo. She helped survey those on the new Working 4 Utah schedule this May and found 82 percent would prefer to stick with it.

The environment seems to like it, too. "If employees are on the road 20 percent less, and office buildings are only powered four days a week," Langmaid says, "the energy savings and congestion savings would be enormous." Plus, the hour shift for the Monday through Thursday workers means fewer commuters during the traditional rush hours, speeding travel for all. It also means less time spent idling in traffic and therefore less spewing of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. The 9-to-5 crowd also gets the benefit of extended hours at the DMV and other state agencies that adopt the four-day schedule.

Some Words from Some Sponsors

2009-07-28T16:57:00.005-04:00

Duke University has a project that collects vintage TV commercials and posts them online, called AdViews:

AdViews is a digital archive of thousands of vintage television commercials dating from the 1950s to the 1980s. These commercials were created or collected by the ad agency Benton & Bowles or its successor, D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B). Founded in 1929, Benton & Bowles was a New York advertising agency that merged with D'Arcy Masius McManus in 1985 to form DMB&B. Major clients included are Procter & Gamble, Kraft, Schick, Vicks, and Post, among others. Commercials will be added in phased batches over several months in 2009. The commercials are a part of the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles Archives found at the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History in Duke University's Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library.

This archive also does something I've never seen before. You watch all of the videos through iTunes, and you can download them all for free, too. Pretty slick.

Oh, and note this:

The television commercials in the AdViews collection have been made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Content from this collection may not be used for any commercial purpose without prior permission.

A Brief History of the Past 80 Years of the American Economy

2009-07-28T16:40:00.002-04:00

The Economist has the informative little video about the US Economy since World War II, focusing on savings vs. consumption, and government deficits, and national exports. No wonder we're in the midst of an economic crisis, massive government deficits, and a thoroughly wrecked credit system. Did nobody think that the 80s were a bad idea?

Since the Economist doesn't seem to do embedding, here's the link.

Detroit: City of Just

2009-07-28T12:04:00.003-04:00

So it seems that Jorge Just was recently in Detroit. We turn to him for some insight on the city of the future [for the uninitiated, read the twitter posts backwards to put them in chronological order]:

And You Thought Tina Fey Was Good

2009-07-28T11:56:00.004-04:00

She may look and sound like, Sarah Palin, but I think William Shatner has some special insight into the deep meaning hidden in that woman's mysterious words. A friend of mine recently reminded me that it is important in life for there to be things that we don't fully understand....

We're Gonna Need a Bigger Blog

2009-07-24T15:33:00.003-04:00

This HD is killing me. Again, the video is too wide for this blog. This is what I pictured in my mind before I went to the supposedly awesome Boston aquarium years and years ago. This is NOT what the Boston Aquarium is like:
The video is here.

U Can't Touch Vader

2009-07-24T15:31:00.001-04:00

What I really want to know is what happened AFTER this little number? Was this part of an extended performance? A guided tour? A battle re-enactment?

Total Eclipse of the Sun

2009-07-24T15:27:00.004-04:00

There was a total eclipse of the sun a couple of days ago, visible only in asia, and fortunately, their camera technology has advanced beyond my iPhone. Since the video is too huge and awesome for my narrow little blog, you'll have to follow the link.

And what about our comptroller?

2009-07-24T13:37:00.003-04:00

The latest news is that the Naked cowboy is running for mayor of New York.

"No one knows how to do more with less than yours truly, and that's the kind of thinking I plan on sharing with my fellow New Yorkers when you elect me," said Robert Burck, announcing his bid to run against Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

I'm sure that Michael Bloomberg is actually very happy that the Naked Cowboy's candidacy may cut into Reverend Billy's support base; nobody knows what William Thompson thinks about this development, though he will only find it even harder to get in a word edgewise, running against a billionaire, a street preacher, and a cowboy in his underpants.

Turns out, the Cowboy has some political roots.

Some Words from Woody Guthrie

2009-07-23T15:40:00.003-04:00

So I've been away a little while (I'll post a photo of the kidney stone soon). Here is a letter from Woody Guthrie to the Library of Congress. Note the return address in the upper right:

Written for Men by Men

2009-06-08T11:24:00.003-04:00

First of all: Google Books? Who knew? (probably most of you- assuming there are any of you).

I will be making Warren G. Harding's Waffles this weekend.

Detroit: City of the Future, Gilden-Style

2009-06-03T14:15:00.002-04:00

Bruce Gilden, one of the great street photographers, portraitists, and New York-attitudes I have ever come across, has a recent essay on Detroit on the Magnum In Motion website:

As part of his work on the effects of foreclosures in America, Bruce Gilden recently traveled to Detroit, Michigan. What he found was a desolate landscape where the subprime mortgage crisis is the latest blow hitting the "troubled city" already on its way to collapse and insurrection.

Well There Goes That Theory

2009-05-19T13:02:00.002-04:00

So every time I walk past road construction in Brooklyn or Manhattan or Queens, I have generally been attributing it to The Stimulus. Apparently I'm wrong, though I think its more likely that the non-transparent accounting methods of New York, Kings, Queens, Bronx and Richmond counties are to blame for the fact that $0 of stimulus has gone to the five boroughs of New York.

An interactive map of The Stimulus:

All Commercials should be Local Commercials

2009-05-16T15:08:00.004-04:00

Everyone has their favorite local commercials from when they were growing up and watching too much TV. (Gallery Furniture, for all of y'all growing up in Houston) These guys make me wish that I was growing up right now in High Point, NC.

Royal Mail Fail

2009-05-16T14:50:00.004-04:00

We got this awhile back from a friend who was traveling in Morrocco, and I was just re-amused by it the other day.

Hint to Royal Mail: the delay is not what bothered me when I finally received this.

I would say something like "I pity the fool.." but that's a little too obvious

2009-05-12T23:22:00.004-04:00

I don't think I ever had any Mr. T toys growing up, but I think I had a hot wheels A-Team van.

And I gave the 'Pocket Mr. T' to my roommate for Hannukah last year.

But let's not forget one of Mr. T's important contributions the bolstering of adolescent self-esteem (and the post-disco music scene- "reach out!")

Be Somebody, or Be Somebody's Fool:

A collection of "pitiful" Mr. T toys.

The Premature Arrival of the Future (Future Shock!)

2009-05-11T19:20:00.004-04:00

Holy Crap! There's a Future Shock Movie! And its on YouTube! I can't handle it!

It also has a really freaky opening sequence and synthesizer-score clearly meant to demonstrate to 1972 audiences how disorienting modern film and musical styles could be to those who had previously only seen films made in the ancient, pre-1971 past.

In all seriousness, Future Shock is an important idea, as proven by the fact that Orson Welles himself is the host and narrator of this film (I see Future Shock-ism as the next decade's Scientology).

You can see the rest over at Smashing Telly.

Jose Canseco told you so (but I guess nobody wants to hear that)

2009-05-11T19:15:00.003-04:00

Let's just get all of the sporting news out of the way. Manny Ramirez failed a drug test last week, and Jose Canseco called a press conference. And only one guy showed up:

"Don't you know you're hittin' Ron Artest?"

2009-05-10T21:42:00.002-04:00

I've been away for a while, and I'll blame the Rockets. I have to say that I love this team, and they seem to get tougher and tougher as they lose their stars to injuries. I was a little surprised that they pasted the Lakers the way they did this afternoon; I still don't have the unwavering confidence in them that I had in those old Olajuwon-led teams of the '90s, but I am starting to develop it (to everyone out there who knows me- especially Judd- I'll leave my Olajuwon-is-the-greatest/Clutch-City comments aside for now).

And Ron Artest could be my favorite (though for a second during game 2 I thought that he had become completely unhinged and was threatening to cut Kobe Bryant's throat) not as a player, but as an all-around personality. I see why the free Darko guys like him so much.

He's probably in my top-5 favorite Rockets of all time, mostly because of this interview and his haircut.

Part 2 of the interview (and apparently this story is true):

Cassini and Saturn

2009-04-20T18:45:00.005-04:00

[Cassini peers through the fine, smoke-sized ice particles of Saturn's F ring toward the cratered face of Mimas]

NASA's Cassini spacecraft is now a nearly a year into its extended mission, called Cassini Equinox. The craft has been taking and sending some of the most amazing space photographs I have ever seen.

The Boston Globe has a nice collection (as always) of large photos from the mission:

[Saturn's high north is a seething cauldron of activity filled with roiling cloud bands and swirling vortices. A corner of the north polar hexagon is seen at upper left.]

Miss Missy-Bait

2009-04-17T17:17:00.001-04:00

From Boing Boing this afternoon:

I picked this tip up from Stan Fischler's books. So the original City Hall station has been closed since the 1940s. There are some good pictures online that will give you an idea of what an amazing piece of architecture this station was. We're talking chandeliers, beautiful arched ceilings, intricate tile work...the whole nine yards.
Most of the time, this is closed to the public. But there is supposedly a way you can sneak a peek. Following Fischler's instructions, you take the Lexington Ave. #6 local southbound to the end of the line and (if the conductor will let you) stay on the train as it does a loop past the old City Hall station to turn itself around. During the loop, you can see the City Hall station out the train windows.
I should note that I never managed to successfully pull this off. I was in New York in the summer of 2002, and (unsurprisingly) convincing subway workers to let you have a little leeway wasn't so easy at the time. But there seem to be people who've done it recently, so you should try it. And, if it works, let me know. I would love to be jealous of you.

"Salad go Nice with Riunite on Ice"

2009-04-17T13:31:00.002-04:00

For some reason, last night, the '80s product, Riunite, popped into my head without warning. Apparently, its 'America's all-time favorite wine':

Those Were The Days

2009-04-17T12:32:00.002-04:00

I think this picture may be the best argument ever for the revival of drive-ins.

Colbert and Gay Marriage

2009-04-17T11:58:00.002-04:00

So of all the parodies of the NOM "Gathering Storm" ads, I think Colbert takes the top prize (though the original ad itself came in a close second):

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

White Civil Rights

2009-04-16T18:21:00.003-04:00

This reminds me of how a co-worker and I used to joke about the 'white civil rights' movement. Its still a funny concept, though I am curious about the people who believe in the these sorts of things. Maybe everybody just likes to play the victim sometimes.

Anyway, now that its all over, I'm going to have to create a collection of the best signs/posters, etc. from yesterday's Tea Parties.

Bacon for MacGyver

2009-04-15T14:04:00.003-04:00

I'm still trying to sort the implications of this out in my head. So you can apparently take bacon (proscuitto, actually, though I am sure tests are being done as we speak on assorted pork products) and a tube hooked up to an oxygen tank and create what is called a 'thermal lance'. A thermal lance is what is used to cut scrap metal (and traditionally uses iron and magnesuim instead of pork). It also works with a cucumber and slim jims, apparently. This guy is my hero (via Boing Boing):

Chairman MaoBama

2009-04-15T13:44:00.004-04:00

Since he's already been compared to the last century's other great mass murderers [Stalin, Hitler], why not just go all the way and throw some clever graphic design in while you're at it (on that last part, I'll have to say that the Tea Party movement, up to this point, has been pretty aesthetically unpleasing).

Also, Newt Gingrich himself will be spouting nonsense at this evening's New York City Tea Party. Should be fun to wtch his head expand in person (insert teabagging joke here.)

This is What Government Does because of You.

2009-04-15T13:40:00.003-04:00

So, you either paid your taxes today, or filed for an extension (like me). But where is all of that cold hard cash gonna go? The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has a nice chart for the rest of us who prefer circles and pie pieces to reading numbers:

There is Teabagging and Then there is eTeabagging

2009-04-15T11:46:00.003-04:00

The GOP just made my life so much easier; they appear to be poised to ride internet technology to landslide electoral victories for the forseeable future. I'm just glad that I can finally teabag someone without having to leave my desk:

McCoys 10, Hatfields 1

2009-04-14T23:03:00.003-04:00

And note the possible explanation as to the origins of the Halfield-McCoy feud (from AP via Microkhan):

Bo McCoy, right, one of the organizers of the Hatfield-McCoy Reunion, accepts a trophy on behalf of the McCoy team after defeating the Hatfields 10-1 in a softball game on June 10, 2000, in Pikeville, Ky. Man on left is unidentified. The most infamous feud in American folklore, the long-running battle between the Hatfields and McCoys, may be partly explained by a rare, disease inherited by the McCoy clan that can lead to hair-trigger rage and violent outbursts.

[McCoys]

[Hatfields]

Not Today, Motherfucker!

2009-04-14T15:20:00.002-04:00

Isn't there a short film category for the Academy Awards? I hope somebody lost their job for not nominating this masterwork. A genre-bending mix of action, sci-fi, comedy, thriller, and drama:

Damn, and I thought my Business Card was Kinda Nifty

2009-04-14T15:01:00.003-04:00

'Looks Like Crap? It is Crap'.
Who is this guy? He's golden:

And Now for Something Really Special

2009-04-13T22:10:00.003-04:00

Just watch it:

Susan Boyle sings 'I Dreamed a Dream' from
Les Miserables on Britain's Got Talent.

Because I Should Have Done This Days Ago (and Made Your Day)

2009-04-13T19:58:00.004-04:00

This guy kind of puts John Tesh (though you'll always have a special place in our hearts, John) and that other guy to shame. Really he puts all humans to shame. I know this thing is old news, but you really ought ot be checking his site's News section so that you can be up-to-date on all of the New news:

SHINE ON ME director Robert Short, CDO and the film production team begin preproduction planning for the next installment in the Third Kingdom music video trilogy. Lots of adventure ahead!! Please check back on this site for some advance test-shots from the new production.

Rare Pete Incaviglia Rookie Card!

2009-04-13T18:41:00.004-04:00

These are hilarious. By Pat Riot. (via Boing Boing) Pete Incaviglia here:

Minutes Before Six - A Death Row Blog

2009-04-13T16:15:00.004-04:00

Thomas Bartlett Whitaker is currently on Death Row in Livingston, TX. In 2003, he orchestrated a plot in which his former roommate shot and killed Whitaker's mother and younger brother, while wounding both Whitaker's father and Whitaker himself. Intended to look like a botched burglary, the perpetrators were eventually caught, tried and convicted for their crimes. Whitaker's father, Kent, while lying in the hospital -- unaware of his own son's involvement in the crime -- trying to decide on what path was right for him- vengeance or forgiveness- vowed to forgive the killer, one of whom turned out to be his own son, and prayed that one day his family and the killer would sing praises together in heaven. The father is a rare human, indeed, able to see deep into himself and his son and find forgiveness for such a horrible crime. Whitaker has a blog that he writes in his cell, and which his father types up for him:

I think it is fair to say that a certain sizable portion of the people who come to this site start with the view that I am to be believed about as far as I can be thrown. I acknowledge this, and accept it. I recognize that the reasons for this are entirely my own fault. That said, just because someone was once dishonest doesn't mean that they will always be so; such a conclusion is neither logical nor healthy. I spoke a little about this subject in a past entry, and I called the process "uncrying wolf", an obvious reference to the story we tell our children about what happens to liars. I lamented that there was very little succor for the boy (or man) once he gets painted with the "liar's brush". Turns out, the best way for the boy to once again earn his way back into the realms of the believable is to have someone of irrefutable character standing with him in the fields, guarding the sheep. Call it "honesty by association", if you will. Most inmates never find individuals of such high moral quality, as they are pretty rare these days. I guess DNA is about the truest friend (or greatest enemy) an inmate can have. I am fortunate in that I have something even better: my father.

It is all chilling and sad and disturbing and I can't get this story out of my head. Its rare that you see such darkness and light intertwined in real life. Read the blog and see how it makes you feel.

Four weeks til pickled Green Almonds!

2009-04-13T15:20:00.003-04:00

[Photo by Aglaia Kremezi]

A few days ago, I came across this recipe for Pickled Green Almonds as I was searching for a passover-cookie recipe (these were great and easy to make, too; plus, its fun for the whole family, since someone gets to put a single almond on top of each cookie. Though Miss Missy helped on this front, I was thinking that it would be fun for my nephew). I have always wanted to pickle something, because I love pickles and olives, and I'm always fascinated by the realm of non-cooking cooking (I know this is different, but its related, I think). Also, I am always interested in foods that exist in forms other than the ones we're accustomed to. So I read it over and was interested, but didn't really expect to come across any Green Almonds any time soon. However, when I went the next day to Sahadi's to pick up Almonds and Orange Blossom Water (another strange, fun, and amazing-smelling ingredient (and cheap, too!)) what did I find but Green Almonds, sitting in a basket with all of the other nuts and berries (strangely, they were self-serve, and everything else, the workers there will get for you (if you live in New York and haven't been to Sahadi's, its worth the trip- especially if you live six blocks away like I do; if you don't live in New York, I'm Sorry). A woman next to me asked what they were, and then said that where she is from (Greece) they are everywhere, but taste horrible. I wonder if this is one of those cases of someone not making the connection between foods in one form and another, like not realizing that prunes and plums are the same thing. Well, I wouldn't say they are disgusting necessarily, though I would not go out of my way to eat them raw (they taste like a raw green bean, but with a little bit of almost-lemony tanginess) and so therefore I pickled the whole lot. Or at least, I am in the process of pickling them. In four weeks, we'll see how they really taste.

Glenn Beck Admits That he is Nuts (well, he doesn't exactly admit it, but he does demonstrate it)

2009-04-10T17:49:00.004-04:00

A little more Glenn Beck for you. This guy only gets better, and is making Stephen Colbert's job harder and harder. Does he want Obama to personally shoot him in the head, or just personally douse him in gasoline and set him on fire?

A Little Bourbon in your Port?

2009-04-10T17:26:00.003-04:00

Apparently not a good idea, but still seems like an interesting experiment and worth trying for oneself (because bourbon is an aquired taste to some degree, and not all palates think alike).

In the United States, Woodford Reserve and Buffalo Trace have experimented with bourbon finished in wine barrels, a la many scotch expressions, to mixed success. (Woodford failed miserably; Buffalo Trace produced a fantastic bourbon finished in cabernet franc barrels). But this was something different and completely unheard of: the unlikely and, to an American palate, unwise blending of two dissimilar beverages. I had to try it.

I also didn't know that congress declared bourbon to be "America's native spirit"and "a distinctive product of the United States". Here are the rules for bourbon:

Federal regulations now stipulate that bourbon must meet these requirements:
Bourbon must be made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn.^[1]
Bourbon must be distilled to no more than 160 (U.S.) proof (80% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon must be 100% natural (nothing other than water added to the mixture).
Bourbon must be aged in new, charred oak barrels.^[1]
Bourbon may not be introduced to the barrel at higher than 125 proof (62.5% alcohol by volume).
Bourbon which meets the above requirements and has been aged for a minimum of two years, may (but is not required to) be called Straight Bourbon.^[2]
Bourbon aged for a period less than four years must be labeled with the duration of its aging.
If an age is stated on the label, it must be the age of the youngest whiskey in the bottle.

'Milk Teeth' and Fallout

2009-04-10T15:41:00.002-04:00

Over 300,000 baby teeth were collected in the St. Louis area during the 1950s and 60s in order to study the link between above-ground atomic testing and human exposure to radioactivity. Researchers are now trying to track down some of those tooth donors in order to study correlations between fallout and subsequent health problems. From The Economist (yet another cute English phrase that I learned from The Economist: 'Milk Teeth'):

The radioactive isotope Strontium-90, one of the by-products of the bombs, spread into the atmosphere, fell onto the land, was ingested by dairy cows and passed into the milk supply. Strontium-90, like calcium, was concentrated in children’s teeth in detectable amounts.

....

The rediscovery of the 85,000 samples, about a quarter of the total collected, has spurred a new effort to study the link between early childhood exposure and health problems in later life. There is already some evidence that 1950s children in St Louis grew into adults with a higher-than-average rate of cancer. Now researchers at the Radiation and Public Health Project, based in Brooklyn, are attempting to find more than 6,000 of the teeth donors to track their health problems or, in some cases, their premature deaths.

The RPHP has begun their work:

In a pilot project RPHP has found it is possible to identify a significant sample of teeth donors, finding current addresses for 80% of the male donors and death records for donors who died after 1971. Nearly half of the sampled surviving donors have expressed a willingness to complete a health history questionnaire.

Big and Orange and Full

2009-04-10T15:27:00.006-04:00

Did anyone see the moon last night (who am I asking this to, anyway?)?
The internet is failing me, because I can't seem to find a picture of last night's moonrise in New York, despite its spectacular-ness.
Unfortunately, the limitations of my iPhone camera were reached when I tried to take a picture of it:

As you can see, there is nothing that looks big, orange or full in this picture. I think the moon is one of the four white spots in the center, though I'm not sure which.... I guess I'll just have to remember it with my brain...

Snap

2009-04-10T10:59:00.002-04:00

I think the running lesson here is that you just shouldn't debate Christopher Hitchens. The Family Research Council ought to get somebody who knows anything about either Christian history in America, the difference between pilgrims and the Constitutional Congress, or at least debate technique. Hitchens just looks bored with the whole thing:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Department of Homemade Instruments [I want that]

2009-04-09T12:39:00.003-04:00

Miss Missy and I were talking yesterday about people we know that play weird instruments. This is not so much weird as it is awesome. I love the idea of making musical instruments, be they cigar-box guitars or Steinway Pianos: there is something beautiful about the patience and precision involved, and also about the foresight and vision needed to realize that various bits and pieces of metal and wood will eventually be put together into a whole that makes music. You can make your own Cigar Box Guitar by following these instructions. Shane Speal is the King of the Cigar Box Guitar:

[Thanks, Boing Boing]

Remember the Ten Commandments (and watch it again!)

2009-04-09T11:32:00.005-04:00

While the film has its low moments (and is so long that it hurts- especially when you watch it on TV with commercial breaks), it also stars Chuck Heston and Yul Brynner (and Vincent Price) and was directed by Cecil B. DeMille (and was his last film as a director). I'll be catching scenes of it this weekend at my roommate's multi-media seder (his favorite scene is when Moses goes up to the mountain with gray hair and beard and comes back with white; I wonder if Tolkien ripped this idea off of Moses (and God, naturally) or if de Mille stole it from Tolkien/Gandalf- nerds, I'm looking to you for clarity, here) which also will include an LP he found of Heston reading biblical passages and doing the various voices with backup-gospel-singers.

Anyway, here's the trailer to get you excited: The Greatest Event in Motion Picture History:

Happy Passover

2009-04-08T21:40:00.003-04:00

Passover is here again and I will leave it to those who know the rituals best:

Miss Modal goes a-Dining

2009-04-08T21:24:00.007-04:00

After a week of hard work, I went diner-hopping in the Catskills with Miss Missy. She will be posting some reviews/reminiscences in the coming days. Until then, this is why you're fat (alright, its not that bad; these were diners, which try to attract customers, not make them want to throw up):

Fascinating + Disgusting = Martin Parr (his photos, not him)

2009-04-04T15:34:00.000-04:00

From the rumors and whisperings that I have heard around Magnum Photographers and other Magnum agency folk, I know that Martin Parr is, for some- especially those of the more old-school-war-photojournalist set- a somewhat controversial figure. This is in part because of Magnum's roots in war photography, and also in part because of Parr's immense success and influence (though I always thought that if Elliot Erwitt was acceptable alongside the likes of Capa and Phillip Jones-Griffiths, then why not Parr; maybe his gravitational pull is moving Magnum unconsciously away from its war roots, but I find his photographic insights into the world to be no less revelatory than Jones-Griffiths work).

I think that it took me a little bit of time to really get into what Parr has been tryng to do with is work (my first exposure to Magnum as an entity was the 'degrees' book, and Parr's work really stuck out of that collection both for its subject matter and formal properties) but he is now one of my favorite photographers and a huge influence on my own work (though I am careful not to try and copy him- Parr is Parr and its futile to try to do what he does best). I find his best work to be that which is both fascinating and disgusting: like a social and cultural train wreck that you can't look away from. In some ways I think his work and Bruce Gilden's street-surprise portraits are two sides of the same coin.

Here is a short little piece from TateShots about Parr:

Do you run out of Kleenex, Paper Towels and Toilet Paper at the Same Time? You know its true!

2009-04-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

So a commenter on one of Ta-Nehisi Coates' postings about Glenn Beck (posted as a joke comparing Beck to Mos Def asking whether white people should be embarrassed about Beck like he jokingly suggested that black people were expected to be embarrassed of Mos Def. Just to throw in my 2 cents on the Mos Def thing, I was only slightly uncomfortable because I like Mos Def's work and assumed he was a pretty smart guy. While he sounds naive at best and conspiracy-addled at worst, I think that in there is a grain of a good point, which is that there never was a lot of media air time devoted to what folks like al-Qaeda and the Taliban actually say about themselves and the rest of the world. Hitchens says to go and watch bin Laden's videos or listen to his tapes, but that kind of shit was never broadcast on TV or radio, which I think should have been Mos Def's point. Why not? The words of these fools ought to be broadcast so that there is no confusion about where they stand and so that reasonable people can reject and oppose their ways. Marketplace of ideas or something like that. Mostly I think the problem for Mos Def was that he had the misfortune of coming onto the show on a night when Christopher Hitchens was not visibly drunk. Don't get me wrong: he's a smart guy and very interesting to listen to and read, but I have definitely seen him drunk on Bill Maher's show before.) linked to this great clip from True Stories (more David Byrne for ya. I wish he made more movies). Glenn Beck's conspiracy theories, unfortunately, are not nearly as baroque as even this guy's, but he's still young, and has time to grow....