Fun at the bookstore
I was hanging out at a book store (had 4 hours to kill, girlfriend induced) and started noticing a lot of similarities and relationships between the book covers, so with a little (just a little) manual intervention, captured some moments I’d like to share.
Most of Murakami’s book covers feature some 50s-type Japanese lady, especially her eyes. I’m sure the art directors at Vintage are aware of this — just not so sure if it’s some default passive motif or if there’s a broader concept to this. True, women are an evocative concept in his books, but I don’t think so much to warrant almost every cover.
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July 20th, 2009 / 2:14 pm
July 20th, 2009 / 2:14 pm
The Eraser[head]
Thom Yorke, Radiohead at The Garage, London (c. 1992)
Teresa Banks, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)
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July 18th, 2009 / 3:43 am
July 18th, 2009 / 3:43 am
Haut or Not: Ryan Call’s office
[Contributor Ryan Call teaches first year composition at University of Houston. He also teaches an introduction to fiction (the reading of/writing about, not the writing of) course as well.]
Great, Ezra Pound has something to say about reading. Lay off the Latin Ezra and we’ll be just fine. And check out the 800-ish page “compact edition” of The Literary Experience. What exactly is a literary experience? Putting suntan lotion on pale Sylvia Plath? Removing lice from Tolstoy’s beard? Or just getting rejected by Paris Review? I need answers. Then there’s Ze “bro”ski, senior faculty at U. of Houston, who wants us to “think through theory,” which is like a kid going downhill on a bike with no brakes frantically writing out “3.1415926535…” And what the hell is Rhetorical Grammar? Would, its; — look some-thing like these? [hyperlink ryancall_asszit.jpeg] I bet Professor Call enjoys teaching Teaching One-to-one one-to-one to all those Sophomore girls one semester past that “not so fresh[man]” feeling. It must be a good pedagogical life.
Rating: Not
I like Movies in Frames a lot
I’ve been really enjoying the hyper-abridged versions of films at Movies in Frames and find it very instructive, in terms of singling out visual vocabularies and narrative arcs. The featured movies are fairly popular, and I love comparing my memory or notion of the movie with images which have been edited/collated by others. (Some find themes or repetitions, while others seem to exploit differences.) Each chosen frame seems to mark an important or iconic point of the story, which when juxtaposed so severely next to each other, evokes an alternative story. I think the inherent quality of the cinematography is also implicated, as these are all still frames. It’s just nice to take a movie and slow it down, reduce it to its core. I like it a lot.
Haut or Not: Your Tattoo
One light hug from this “arm of wrath” and suddenly your vision of the future looks rather grim. Imagine this guy on a date: “Hey babe, let me get some more pasta for you, and yah, people are phony and socialist or something, and like the world is gonna end.” The Fountainhead and 1984 were both written as arguments against Socialism, though their meanings have been diluted to vague political restlessness in contemporary culture. I just typed “contemporary culture,” someone shoot me. My prob with books like this (‘cept Catcher – and what the hell is Perks?) is that their didactic agenda overshadows their artistic one. As for Choke and its author Chuck, dunno, that hyped up Red Bull-ish man/boy fascination with violent transgression just doesn’t do it for me.
Rating: Not
Jimmy Chen—
Art Garfunkel wants you to know how many books he’s read since 1968, the month and year which he read each book, and the number of pages each book was.
オオカミとブタ [Wolf and Pig]
The Petabyte
I’m not suggesting that you don’t know what a Petabyte is, only that I came across ‘their’ flyer and felt like posting it. Okay just click for more. READ MORE >
Celebrity Doppelgangers
Film still from Warhol's "Blow Job" (1963)
Still from "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here" (2009)
Some people have [-] feelings towards Spencer Pratt, a reality TV celebrity choad-like character who made his debut in The Hills (a reality TV show about the social and emotional meanderings of rich kids in LA) as Heidi Montag’s then boyfriend, now husband. Most recently, he and Heidi quit I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here after an illness suffered by Heidi, caused by at first what the couple claimed to be “getting tortured,” then later attributed to Christian purging, “evil coming out of [her].” The two are devout born-again Christians.
DeVeren Bookwalter, the “anonymous” man receiving fellatio in Andy Warhol’s 35 minute film Blow Job, probably had [+] feelings towards his off-screen partner. This seems to be an +18 crowd, so bear with me when I say that compared to making love to the back of someone’s knee, the mouth is a holy place. When the Warholian 15 minutes of fame turns into 35 minutes of head, it’s time to bring out the stop watch.
Why am I posting about Spencer Pratt? Why do I know so much about this choad? Maybe Warhol’s films had a point — to look for the moments between the spectacle. Yes, yes, but it’s just so boring; I’d rather see someone cry, not come.
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July 6th, 2009 / 4:48 pm
July 6th, 2009 / 4:48 pm