The Alfinian Way: Nuclear War and the Thoughts of an Alien
With mounting international debate about Iran’s nuclear weapons capability and potential military action against them, I am reminded of an episode of the TV show Alf. Aired on October 13, 1986, “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” the series’ fourth episode, follows the furry, wisecracking alien as he tries to convince the President of the United States to abandon the country’s nuclear weapons program in order to save planet Earth from complete annihilation.
In the opening scene, Alf sits in the living room of the suburban house where he lives, talking to a radio show host on the phone. “I’ve got the solution to this nuclear bomb thing,” Alf says. “Get rid of ’em! They’re dangerous.” The studio audience laughs, but the message is clear: Alf’s right. Nuclear weapons are potentially self-destructive. The episode’s other lesson is equally apparent: the issue isn’t that simple.
Intro to the Avant-Garde: A Secondary Materials Primer
Or, a recommended reading list for those who wonder where to begin.
As with any field of study, entry points abound.
With that in mind, my objective here is not to be comprehensive but rather to suggest a limited set of key texts that should help readers familiarize themselves broadly with the critical conversation surrounding the historical Avant-Garde. In the interest of symmetry, I offer ten books and ten articles, with a few supplements along the way.
One of the inherent problems of studying the Avant-Garde is its interdisciplinary nature, which could make it seem overwhelming given the vastness of its reach: far beyond typical artistic areas. Cecilia Novero’s recent book Antidiets of the Avant-Garde: From Futurist Cooking to Eat Art
Oh, one last thing…keep in mind, what follows is a list of secondary materials: writing about the Avant-Garde. In the not-too-distant-future, I intend to produce a companion list of primary materials: writing from the Avant-Garde.
Since it’s likely I left out your favorite book on this subject, additions to the list are welcome in the comment minefield.
a typical tuesday
http://youtu.be/kBX4vYiuAIE
Finding Rothko
On February 25, 1970, Mark Rothko was found dead in his studio covered in blood with a razor next to him. Forty-two years later, his death would be used somewhat manipulatively to garner attention from likely readers. Last weekend, the author would have been reminded of our painter upon seeing noncommittal blotches of paint applied with a roller around his neighborhood. He would have taken pictures, perhaps even instagrammed them, but didn’t want to be one of those assholes taking pictures of urban oddities for artistic purposes, so he retraced his footsteps in Google streetview later on that week, at work, to find said moments — though he would admit that this notion was not entirely his, pointing to a short documentary The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal (2002), which proposed similar relationships between the subtleties of abstract painting and the residual inadvertent inconsistencies in tone and hue caused by aggregate layers of similar-ish paint in the covering of graffiti. And it would not be hard to begin talking about class, how some marks are cordoned off in museums, whereas others are left to perish or prosper in public entropy. (Some socioeconomically disenfranchised kids asserted power in the true democracy of space: on the side of a building, for all to see their name, or the gang to which they belonged. Or, they are simply punks from good families, and the immigrant worker most likely tasked with a paint roller and approximate bucket is the silenced subordinate.) It’s funny how we place both the Cross and painting on the wall, embarrassed — at least I am — at the loud hammer upon the nail from which they hang. I majored in Art, and minored in not being realistic. Rothko’s manhood was left impotent by an aneurism, his other manhood — what we’ll call “legacy” — left inside his eponymous chapel by a Texan millionaire giving philanthropy a go. The Rothko Chapel is non-denominational, as no one wants to argue with the dead. Rothko was involved in its design, wanting it windowless, save an unblinking skylight above. Perhaps those dark purple paintings, the slow bruise over a career that lacked the egoism of his peers, retained of any form save the canvas’ dimensions themselves, were to be windows elsewhere.
Customer Reviews on Writing
This is an awesome pen.
We carry one of these pens on our belts every day, everywhere.
Best thing about this pen is, it’s 100% legal to carry anywhere.
OK, you’re going through airport security – the clip has a giant “Smith & Wesson” on it, and the end cap has “military police” and the S&W logo. Kiss it goodbye.
I always like to keep a pen in my car, and have always felt better having something that can be used for self-defense in my car as well, especially when I find myself playing shows with my band in questionable areas. Writes well.
If you aren’t prepared to take it out and `insert’ it in the right spot with ½ to ¾ seconds, don’t even bother to take it out.
It has the glass breaker tip, which really is strong enough to break glass (I tried it).
Absolutely superb writing utensil.
Thank god their guns are not quitters like these pens, otherwise imagine how many would die, shooting 2 or 3 times and then nothing, and having to ask the other guy to wait a little bit, so you could shake the gun to keep on shooting?
WILL put a nasty dent in an assailant’s noggin and WILL collect a chunk of DNA, in the process.
Too heavy, as a pen … makes my heaviest shirt-pockets sag badly…
i must admit they are pretty cool.
The cap is on tight, but it wobbles. This means you have a weapon that is moving and turning in your hands at the point of impact. This is unacceptable.
I’ve read that some buyers had problems with the pen “quitting” after only a little bit of writing, but it was my choice not believing.
Whenever I take out this pen in meetings, all the other guys give it a double take and the resulting tactical pen demonstration disrupts the meeting.
I was thrilled to finally get this little number in my hands. I had delusions of a 50 caliber spike I could take anywhere with me. Ah Huh! NOT going to happen.
Finally a pen that won’t do you wrong.
14 tattled rocks of bean-nut putters
1.
The end result, depending on where you stand in the ongoing debate about appropriation and erasure, is either inspired or provocative-to-the-point-of-insulting to the original (which, in this instance, is one of the most revered photography books of the 20th century).
14. Grab your Orlistat and breast tape, folks. xTx wants you to join the Super Model summer! Submit, Beotch.
5. Talk about overdue for serious consideration. Anyone checked out the new Brautigan biography? Is this finally a real one?
7. John Lennon’s most famous book is up for sale.
Lithographs of Lennon and Yoko, on Honeymoon, done and signed by Lennon, as you can see below:
11. Yo, yo, any of you Midwest motherfuckers (or just visiting for the flatness and the mayonnaise?). Check this out. Need to find freedom in poetic restraint? Join Kathleen Rooney at the Midwest Writers Workshop.
12. At page 355 I just gave myself permission to stop reading Homicide by David Simon. Why do I keep buying books with a ton of positive Amazon reviews? Because I’m an idiot. What? Because I am an idiot. What? Oh, never mind.
13. You into food and poetry? Poetry about food? Go right ahead and submit:
13. Flashback Tom Bissell: Grand Theft Auto and cocaine. Sort of makes one want to play. Play.
4. Another link in “leaving Facebook” trend. I’ve thought of it many times myself. Who here hasn’t?
Kevin Na on Writing
It was a little fishy because there was a water bottle next to my ball. That was a little fishy there. But whatever.
I don’t know where I’m going, I swear to God.
His shadow was in the way.
I can’t blame my whole year on one week. It was a pretty rotten year all around.
Just bear with me.
Snoop Dogg is my neighbor.
And I’m not being nice to myself, trust me. I’m ripping myself. As ugly as it is and painful as it is, believe me, it’s really tough for me, and I’m trying.
It was a pretty big tree, and I asked for any volunteers to climb up the tree, but nobody spoke up.
There’s this timing, and if I miss that timing, then I have to start over.
As crazy as it sounds, I really don’t know.
The rest you saw. I don’t really want to go through it again.
It hit me in the inner thigh.
I’m going to try to take out the whole waggle, no waggle.
Honestly, it’s going to be a battle.
Columbia University Press Sale Recommendations
Save 50% on ALL titles during our special Spring sale!
Click through for 16 recommendations you might want to consider…
a few rad things
THIS Friday, celebrate the release of Her Royal Majesty: Issue 12 with parties/readings in 6 international cities: Paris, London, Berlin, New York, Toronto, & Montreal… party info here, magazine ordering info here.
THIS Mary Ruefle erasure can be read online in its entirety and it is incredible.
THIS poem by Wallace Stevens is rad, confusing:
Lions in Sweden
No more phrases, Swenson: I was once
A hunter of those sovereigns of the soul
And savings banks, Fides, the sculptor’s prize,
All eyes and size, and galled Justitia,
Trained to poise the tables of the law,
Patientia forever soothing wounds
And mighty Fortitudo, frantic bass.
But these shall not adorn my souvenirs,
These lions, these majestic images.
If the fault is with the soul, the sovereigns
Of the soul must likewise be at fault, and first.
If the fault is with the souvenirs, yet these
Are the soul itself. And the whole of the soul, Swenson,
As every man in Sweden will concede,
Still hankers after lions, or, to shift,
Still hankers after sovereign images.
If the fault is with the lions, send them back
To Monsieur Dufy’s Hamburg whence they came.
The vegetation still abounds with forms.
Thank you. I hope everyone is good.