Dubbel Logic

Moving...

2006-10-05T10:25:00.000-04:00

I've made the move to Wordpress...

I'll keep this open for random junk, but for the time being, most of my work can be found at http://montageman.wordpress.com. So readers, change your bookmarks...

August 7 - State Theater again...

2006-07-03T07:47:00.000-04:00

August 4th State Theater, baby!

2006-06-16T12:20:00.000-04:00

In-class Writing # 1

2006-05-23T12:09:00.000-04:00

Fredrich Nietzsche states:

"...ever since there have been human beings there have also been human herds (family groups, communities, tribes, nations, states, churches) and always very many who obey compared to the very small number who command - considering, that is to say, that hitherto nothing has been practised and cultivated among men better or longer than obedience, it is fair to suppose that as a rule a need for it is by now innate as a kind of formal conscience which commands: Thou shalt unconditionally do this, unconditionally do that, in short 'Thou shalt'. This need seeks to be satisfied and to fill out its forms with a content: in doing so it grasps about wildly, according to the degree of its strength, impatience and tension, with little discrimination, as a crude appetite, and accepts whatever any commander - parent, teacher, law, class, prejudice, public opinion - shouts in its ears." --- Genealogy of Morals (1887)

We have read a series of articles and essays about identity. What is Nietzsche saying about identity in this quote? How is his claim similar or different from the authors we've read so far? In our digital age, are the notions of leaders and followers complicated? If so, how? If not, why not?

How to tame a wild immigrant

2006-05-15T23:14:00.000-04:00

In watching the President's speech (transcript and video here) tonight, I was struck by his blatant disregard for difference. This is not a new realization by any means, but when the leader of the free world is calling for mass assimilation in order to remain in this country - something has gone awry. Brian comments on this petition and asks the question, "What if such a ridiculous proposal became law, would that mean anybody not speaking in English would be arrested?" Mr. Bush tonight said the following,

"Americans are bound together by our shared
ideals, an appreciation of our history, respect for the flag we fly, and an
ability to speak and write the English language. English is also the key to
unlocking the opportunity of America. English allows newcomers to go from
picking crops to opening a grocery, from cleaning offices to running offices,
from a life of low-paying jobs to a diploma, a career, and a home of their own.
When immigrants assimilate and advance in our society, they realize their
dreams, they renew our spirit, and they add to the unity of
America"

English, then, is a fundamental part of being American. Nevermind that English is not our language, but Mr. Bush claims in the same speech, "we must honor the great American tradition of the melting pot." Ok, fine, then why must these people assimilate? If we are a melting pot, does that then mean that any culture interested in surviving here must speak English as well as his/her native language? Will classes be provided for people to learn English?

In a locker room recently, I was changing inbetween 2 men. One an older caucasian, the other an older black man - both were store owners. The caucasian fellow asked his friend if the "Aye-rabs" minded that he opened a store in their neighborhood. He responded, "I don't give a shit. They can go back to 'I-rack,' they can't speak English either." Aside from the fact that I look fairly Middle-eastern, I was shocked at the level of intolerance and hatred in this guy's voice. So rather than looking at bilingualism as a positive (like everywhere else in the world), it's a negative here. "If you want to be American, speak American," (Anzaldua, 54).

Anzaldua takes pride in her langauge, "If a person has a low estimation of my native tongue, she also has a low estimation of me," (58). English is a "neutral" language. No need to lose your culture, just have English on the side. Arguments might arise that Japan has Japanese, Spain has Spainish and so forth, but as the president said tonight, we are a melting pot - "Bring me your huddled masses."

Another "key" plan tonight:

A key part of that system should be a new identification card for every legal foreign worker. This card should use biometric technology, such as digital fingerprints, to make it tamper-proof. A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law, and leave employers with no excuse for violating it.

What would a "tamper-proof" card entail? Would it be an identification card or another way to racially profile "terrorists"? He did mention those danged terrorists tonight - those folks won't EVER be granted citizenship because they won't have access to the tamper-proof cards! Yeah, those new driver's licenses have totally negated high school kids getting fake IDs. Once the word "tamper-proof" has been said, it gives immediate reason to tamper.

Stephen and George

2006-05-07T19:48:00.000-04:00

speaktruthiness
Originally uploaded by stricklin_family.

mmm...Breakfast

2006-04-22T11:38:00.000-04:00

MySpace: An Aesthetic

2006-04-22T10:27:00.000-04:00

There has been some talk recently about the aesthetic of Myspace, a social networking site with the tagline "A Place for Friends." Thinking back to the early days of my internet surfing, I recall being consistently annoyed by large, flashy fonts, annoying music on a loop, and large images that hog bandwith so that your computer can't help but move at a snail's pace. As HTML evolved and developers became more saavy with code, these annoying sites subsided into a more subdued, less in your face layout. But, Myspace has brought the days of poor web design back.

As mine states, this is quite possibly the most annoying part about Myspace. Let's face it: this site is not being used to utmost potential. In fact, MySpace is an exercise in narcissism - a place where the self is magnified to the tenth degree. However, narcissism is not necessarily a bad thing. What social networking sites do offer is an unprecedented chance for us to appropriate yet another tool into the writing classroom.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the issue of aesthetics, writing, and MySpace. I can't help but think that MySpace could be an excellent device for the writing classroom. For example, my MySpace page (and any other MySpace page) has potential to hold, at the least: 12 pictures, some video (not sure of the exact amount), unlimited blog space, commenting capability both on the "homepage" and the blog, and an infinite opportunity for networking both within the classroom and outside into the larger community of users.

Many high schoolers are using MySpace already and a lot of them have toyed with HTML to "pimp out" their pages. Unknowingly (or otherwise), they're becoming webdesigners at the most fundamental level. The logic of design is directly important to the logic of composition. Even the most basic page has images and text intermingling.

Teaching MySpace would concentrate less on the site itself and more on how the site can be used is a way that is conducive to the logic of digital literacy. Students would start a page at the beginning of the semester (even if students already have a page, a new one should be created). After the page is created, students become each other's "friends" and the class in now networked. Using MySpace groups, instructors could form a virtual classroom and allow discourse to continue beyond the classroom.

Of course, none of this is new per say, but MySpace is a more convenient way of combining all aspects of a digital classroom: blogs, listservs, and e-mail. The only problem with MySpace is that it lacks total open-source coding of a Wiki. However, the Wiki seems like it would be more effective in an intermediate course while MySpace is a nice way to get students' feet wet in the world of composition design.

Undertaker V. "Giants"

2006-04-07T10:33:00.000-04:00

According to this week's Smackdown spoilers, Dalip "Giant" Singh (pictured left) has made his way into the WWE to feud with the Undertaker. The Undertaker debuted in 1990 at the Survivor Series. For the past 16 years or so, he has become one of the most popular superstars to ever grace the squared circle. However, in recent years, he has been consistently put into programs with men who make it impossible (or nearly impossible) for a good, competitive storyline to develop.

In 1993, WWE brought in another "Giant," namely Giant Gonzales (pictured right), to feud with UT. The idea is that since the UT is "dead," these giants, while bigger and stronger, will eventually succumb to the "Deadman" because A) UT will continually rise up or B) UT eventually scares the shit out of these guys.

The "blow-off" match for these UT vs Giant feuds is usually a "casket match," which demands that one of the competitors be placed into a casket and the lid shut in order for the other to win. Silly as it may seem, UT has been involved in a number of these matches, some of them have ended with him in the casket and the casket being lit on fire. Obviously, this is part of the theatricality of pro wrestling - a theatricality that many people find insulting, but what it attempts to do is both pragmatically and economically reasonable. For instance, if UT loses one of these matches, it is usually the case that he is injured and needs time off and/or the character is becoming stale and he needs to be repackaged. What this means is that the fans will eventually wonder about UT's whereabouts and WWE will eventually hype his return to huge fanfare. This has also occurred with Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Triple H, and others - in terms of being brought back after an absence, not after losing a casket match.

Otherwise, losing a casket match usually spells d-o-o-m for the character involved, especially for these "giants". These men, who are normally nothing more than fodder for UT, have an inability to be anything more than a large man who mows over others until they meet UT. Usually, the initial meeting will have the giant get the better of him and this may continue for a few months, until the casket match. It is rare for a character like The Big Show (pictured right) to come along - a big man with both charisma and staying power.

The feuds become a sort of "Almost Dead David" Vs. "Really Large Goliath," as though WWE thinks that the fans actually believe that one of these giants will actually kill of the deadman. Popular internet consensus says that owner Vince McMahon "loves big men." I tend to think that Vince is trying to relive the magic of Andre the Giant, which will never happen. Andre the Giant Vs. Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3 was something special. Andre was touted as being undefeated for 15 years and Hulk Hogan was, well, Hulk Hogan.

I haven't seen Dalip in action yet, but I hope that his fate is better than that of his other giant counterparts.

It's official - Live from Ford Field on April 1, 2007...

2006-04-03T12:27:00.000-04:00

Punch-Out!

2006-03-20T20:41:00.000-05:00

My brother just told me that "Soda Popinski is the WBC titleholder." It's a stretch, but there are some similarities, no??

Or are we reading the similarities into the picture since both men are Russian (well, Popinski is supposed to be Russian)?

Vs.

New York pt. one

2006-03-19T00:11:00.000-05:00

Some random samplings from my 8 days in NYC:

Arrogant Bastard Ale (& Brooklyn Chocolate Stout & South Hampton Publick "Secret" ale) on draught at Chip Shop together with fried mac & cheese and fried Reese's PB Cups - a little slice of heart attack heaven

Why are there "gay/lesbian" bars? This was a question posed by 2 German fellows we met at Spirit Nightclub. In Germany, there is no such thing, HOWEVER, Berlin has "Naked Sundays."

David Smith exhibit at Guggenheim - metal into art kind of like Dream Theater or Slayer

4 people, 525 sq. ft. (rent $2000/month)

John Barrett salon charges between $170-300 for a haircut

More later when less tired...

Learning and Identity (Part 1)

2006-03-17T11:22:00.000-05:00

Arcanum: Learning and Identity

- All learning in semiotic domains requires identity work. It requires taking on a new identity and forming bridges from one's old identities to the new one (51). How are we forming bridges? How is the Mystory working with identity?

- Arcanum is a massive world made up of many countries and towns (52). Is the Mystory like Arcanum? If so, how? If not, why not?

- Before you start playing Arcanum (or any similar game), you construct a character (52). What is meant by character construction? And how is what we're doing similar or different?

- Point distribution: In particular genres of games (usually roleplaying and fighting/wrestling/boxing), you are given a series of points to distribute to attributes. For example, if you want your warrior to be stronger and faster, you would add points to strength to and speed. How can we use notions of point distribution in the Mystory? The idea here is that points must be earned - what is being earned in completing out project? (And no, the correct answer is not a grade).

- During game play you talk and interact with a great many other characters in the world of . What types of interactions are taking place in the Mystory? What types of "characters" are we interacting with? How are we interacting with them?

- Gee's quest begins on page 53 after a traumatic event (a crash). Ulmer reminds us that many of our memories are situated around drama, i.e. a crash or some other life altering event. What type of quest are we on? Ulmer says we're all heroes (or we can place ourselves as heroes). How is this the case?

Three Identities: Virtual, Real, and Projective
Virtual Identity -> "you as x" (54)
- virtual character acting in a virtual world; Successes and failures - who or what is to blame or who/what is responsible?

Real-world Identity -> "you as x" (55)
- All of our "identities" affect and are filtered through our characters when we play a game like Arcanum, The Sims, or when we write a Mystory. Why did you choose X over Y? How did choosing X affect your widesite negatively or positively?

Projective Identity -> "you as x" (55-6)
- Projecting one's values and desires onto the virtual character.
- What do I want to be? What type of history should I have when I am done? What (both personally and historically) turns out in a game (or in our project) could reflect our values, but only if we think reflectively and critcally about them [values].
- A good role-playing videogame forces you to think new thoughts about your values. Ah, but isn't the Mystory demanding that we do something similar?>

- Limitations (56)

- Each facet of identity can succeed or fail in different ways. Gee gives us examples on 56-7; what are some similar types of successes and/or failures that we see when working within the genre of Mystory?

- Players [mystorians] are projecting an identity onto their virtual charcter [widesite] based on both their own values and on what the game [textbook/course] has taught them about what such a character should or might be and become (58).

- What does it mean to play games or write reflectively? Are they the same thing? Why or why not? (58).

Archives: Animation Vs. Videogames

2006-03-03T10:50:00.000-05:00

I'm currently working on a presentation for my Film and Media History course that requires me to examine an (film) archive. Over the break for MLK day, we did an assignment like this, but in less detail. For that assignment I examined this site. It seems to me that the idea of an "archive" falls apart when videogames are brought into the mix.

For example, it is possible to own an original print of Citizen Kane on film. Not taking Benjamin into consideration here (i.e. what is an original film anyhow?), the same cannot be said about a videogame, at least not in the same capacity. Sure, I can own an original copy of Super Mario Bros. for Atari 2600, but so can 10,000 people. There's no sense of uniqueness, at least not for me. Also, consider that the above site offers sites of emulation that, in essence, recreate the moment of gaming almost perfectly.

The fundamental site of archiving for videogames is the internet. Even Xbox 360 games can be downloaded in their entirety, placed on a DVD, and played as if the original software is being read by the hardware. Here is where archiving games becomes more an issue of archiving the digital (i.e. the game's design code, zeroes and ones, etc.) becomes more important than obtaining the cartridge. What good is the cartridge without the hardware? A film reel can be examined frame by frame even without a projector. Videogame software is necessarily bound to its hardware and, also, to its controllers. The apparatus defines the game, meaning without the system (Atari, Playstation, Xbox, PC, etc.), there is no game.

What emulation allows is for the hardware to be mutable. You don't need an Atari as long as your CPU can function as such in its place. Further, you don't need the game cartridge because software is easily downloadable more so than emulating the functioning hardware.

So back to my archive project, I decided to work with the Canemaker collection. This is an animation collection housed at NYU. Animation, it seems to me, is a precursor to videogames. As a genre, animation is at the mercy of its creators, which is opposite to any other filmic genre that needs to employ actors & actresses. Animators not only need to create characters, but also the world in which the characters interact. Video game designers have a similar task in front of them. Both areas demand total artistic interactivity at first, but games require gamer interaction later while animated work requires viewing. So then, does the voice of the videogame designer resonate more or less than the animator? The designer imparts logic and limits. Does the animator impart the same thing? How would John Canemaker match up to Shigeru Miyamoto?

Interface Impressions (Part 2)

2006-02-28T22:32:00.000-05:00

Dialogue
- A hybrid: partly oral, partly written -> a new way of communication; elements of the literate/electrate hybrid?
- Dialectic -> logical argumentation that typically addresses conflicting ideas or positions; an attempt to resolve contradictions
- What is the electrate inventory?

Q & A
- What is Plato's fear?
- How does the face to face encounter manifest itself in writing?
- Reading is interrogation. How?

F2F (Face to Face)
- Interface metaphor
- Levinas
- Close-up
- Self and the other
- How has our understanding of the person changed? What are some new experiences of identity?

Death/Truth/Dressing Tables
- Mouth/ear and brain interaction
- Face-to-face is an illusion, why?
- Castration (forms of loss) is an emblem of interpellation
- "Elvis the Pelvis"

Detachability (The Gram)
- Key to the rhetoric of impersonation along with remotivation, why?
- Fan culture -> fetishism
- More Elvis...

Table Turning
- Conversing through impersonation
- Communication with the dead via the internet

Fortune
- The imitation game
- Enigma of identity
- "Find the Phallus"

(Fa)Xanadu

2006-02-27T11:03:00.000-05:00

I totally forgot about this game. On page 98 in Internet Invention, Ulmer outlines 4 exotic locales that share the name Xanadu (he doesn't count Citizen Kane, which would be 5) and I now offer #6.

Xanadu is much more than a physical place. It's sacred. For Ulmer, Xanadu is an example of chora. Furthermore, it is a quest - we are trying to end up at Xanadu, or an exotic moment of recognition. This moment need not occur in a place. The sacred nature of a place allows invention to occur through its existence. The name "Xanadu" means much more than the roller skating movie or Charles Foster Kane's home, in fact, it is a testament to the mysterious nature of Xanadu as a concept that allows it to exist as both a home and roller rink.

I have not played FaXanadu, but would be interested to see how it furthers the exotic nature of the place.

Interface Impressions (Part 1)

2006-02-26T22:08:00.000-05:00

Beyond Identification
- Entertainment narrative template -> hero's quest -> achievement of individual identity

Movie Memories: Why do particular moments stand out for the examples given? How are these fictional, cinematic moments different from our personal memories? Do they have to be?

The Method
- Determining POV (129)
- Bodies convey meaning both in film and in memory (130)

Examples: Elvis Presley; The Rock; Madonna; Who else? Why does impersonation happen? What does it mean for us?

Impersonation as possession (132): Pictures must be actively read. And memories?

Interface Tables (139)
- Define table first.
- Interface metaphor -> the "remake"
- Move away from the hermeneutic to what can be made of a table or whatever (140).

Chapter 4: Cosmogram

2006-02-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

Composite diegesis
- "the exotic": Ulmer, through Coleridge, refers to his hometown of Gainesville, FL as one of 4 sites composing the diegesis of "Xanadu" (98). What is exotic about the spaces we've lived in?
- On page 99, what is Ulmer doing when he jumps from Gainesville to karst to Bosnia-Herzegovina to Freud? Are detours important for completion of the Mystory, why or why not?
- Look for the "uncanny" moments.

Chora
- A place of meditation; Metaphors used in order to bring order out of chaos
- Theoretical invention: Greek -> Topos vs. Chora

Topos: fixed point of argumentation
Chora (choragraphy): space used as metaphor for places of invention. Adds identification with a specific location.
- Back to Stimmung

The Personal Sacred
- The revival of the choral space in electracy concerns a personal or private experience of the sacred rather than an official or collective version, i.e. what the 2nd assignment is asking us to do.
- Why "duck-rabbit"?
- "Seeing-as"?

Cosmogram

VERSUS

- Methodology: tune 3 or more discourses from the popcycle into a composite scene by finding a thread of whatever sort at whatever level of detail that runs through and crosses the boundaries of these different dimensions of experience.

- Repeating signifiers -> conceptually unrelated catergories -> Haiku logic

Memory Palace

- Widesite's foundation is a selective map of one's home places, occupied at significant locations by striking images drawn from the works of entertainment and history, used asssociately to recall the information related to the disciplinary problem on which one is working.

- Access to/of information

Domestic Altars

- Mystory is the practice that manages the resources generated by the search engines of the internet.

- Aesthetics of the altar -> accumulative nonlinear interconnectedness of hypermedia on the web.

Remake

- Mapping a chora

String theory

- Following a thread Versus following an argument or story

Cyberpidgin

- Why Elvis? Who else?

- Exchange across levels of the mystory and among composers online

- Pidgin happens.

Writing: Virtual Graffiti

2006-02-17T22:46:00.000-05:00

Reading this review today made me think about what we consider "writing" and why. The reviewer states that in this new game, the gamer takes on the role of a "writer," which is immediately qualified as writing not as composition or journalism, but rather graffiti. I haven't played the game, but plan to soon (I tried to purchase it today, but was denied since I did not "preorder" it), but I have played Jet Set Radio (Sega, 2000).

Both games require the gamer to become urban artists and leave his/her symbol throughout the city. I cannot speak for Ecko's game, but Jet Set allows the gamer to create his own symbols that are then sprayed on to the walls throughout the city. In essence, the created symbol thus stands for the gamer in the diegesis of the game. Greg Ulmer talks about emblems in relation to a person's widesite, "Everything that is said about the emblem is there as a relay for your own composition/design. You should always ask: What is that for me?" (246). As the quadrants of the popcycle are worked through (entertainment, personal, community, and discipline/career), images repeat and form patterns. It is through these patterns that invention occurs. Emblems should grow out of this invention as a version of the "wide image." If each of us has a wide image, then it should follow that each of us has an emblem.

One of these things is not like the other....

2006-02-04T01:02:00.000-05:00

BBC News News Front Page World Edition

Hopes dim for Egypt ferry missing - 27 minutes ago
Manila stadium stampede kills 79 - 19 minutes ago
US to expel Venezuela diplomat - 3 hours ago
Armstrong and Crow to split - 47 minutes ago
Stranded Alaska oil ship rescued - 6 hours ago

Of the above five stories (taken from My Yahoo! page), which one seems the most out place and why oh why is the BBC reporting it?

1020 Entertainment assignment

2006-01-31T23:06:00.000-05:00

On page 127 of Internet Invention, Greg Ulmer gives guidelines for a project centered around the entertainment quadrant of the popcycle:

Students should choose an element of entertainment (i.e. film, literature, television, video game, music, etc.) that for some reason has stuck with them since childhood (K-12 years). The first purpose, and the purpose of the paper subsequently, is to record the part of the story that is remembered. What is important here are the details within the narrative being examined, especially those that sparked the initial memory. Remember, memory is the site of the sting, in Barthes's sense (43). The concern is finding the obtuse meaning of the story - a personal association with some detail in the narrative.

What is being asked of you:
1) Pick a realm of entertainment and focus on a particular item within that realm that is special to you.
2) Jot down some initial thoughts and try to reexamine your choice.
3) What "stings" you about it? Remember, this is a personal connection, not public consensus.
4) Focus an essay on the personal association(s).

For additional help, please see pages 127-37 in Internet Invention.

Last Night

2006-01-22T08:49:00.000-05:00

Some nights become special because of simple things.

Last night I experienced two exceptional beers:

1) Three Philosophers
2) Rogue Old Crustecean Barley Wine

I am a huge fan of barley wine. There is something so special about the BW style - the initial sweetness followed by the intense hoppy bitterness. It's an amazing experience. I like this variety better than Avery's Hog Heaven. Hog Heaven is not as bitter, thus it is too sweet for my liking. I'll have to try more Rogue varieties.

3 Philosophers is a quadrupel mixed with kriek (cherry lambic). As you would imagine, this is complex. The taste begins as raisin-y/flowery and becomes tart because of the lambic. The cherry flavor is quite nice once the beer sits for a little bit.

When the cork pops...

2006-01-19T22:42:00.000-05:00

I've had my fair share of beer. IPAs, lambics, stouts, macro lagers, etc. Never has a bottle of beer nearly killed me. In my effort to try every variety of beer known to man, I bought a bottle of gueuze (pictured right) from Merchant's tonight. This particular variety is actually 70% gueuze and 30% mead, or wine made with honey. The idea in mixing the two varieties is to counteract the intense sourness of the gueuze with the honey of the mead. It's a nice drink. Sour at first, sweet undertones later. But...

This bottle should come with a warning label. Just before I opened this bottle, I uncorked a bottle of Kriek for the wife - no problems. There was a cage keeping my bottle's cork in place. I began to remove the cage and...BOOM! The cork explodes off the bottle - shatters my light cover and scares the hell out of me. It was the most frightening bottle opening experience of my life. My 1st couple sips were obviously swayed by this incident since I did not enjoy the brew until about 1/3 of the way through.

So if you're able to find this brew (which I do recommend), be careful or you'll lose an eye.

Stuffed Green Peppers

2006-01-19T19:36:00.000-05:00

The wife made stuffed green peppers tonight. In a faux pas, which turned out better than expected, she didn't add water to the pan, thus the peppers were roasted but still crisp when she removed them from the oven. The stuffing of ground sirloin, rice, and tomatoes was quite nice. The peppers were served with mixed vegetables and cheddar cheese and sour cream mashed potatoes. Another one of those "comfort meals."

Dinner was accompanied by Reisdorf Kölsch, which complemented the meal well. Reminiscent of a wheat beer, but lighter and more subtle.

Dessert

2006-01-16T20:24:00.000-05:00

As alluded to a few moments ago, sopapillas. They taste good. Very sweet (as would be expected), but I used lots of cinnamon in an attempt to offset the honey. I did not have any queso blanco, so this is a cheeseless version.

Served with Founders Breakfast Stout, which is easily one of my favorite beers at this time.

Chicken Tacos

2006-01-16T19:33:00.000-05:00

We tried something new for dinner tonight: Chicken tacos with homemade tortillas. Using Robert Rodriguez's tortilla recipe off the new Sin City special edition DVD, we added grilled chicken, cilantro, grilled yellow and orange peppers, grilled onions, lettuce, salsa, organic sour cream, jalapeno hot sauce, and shredded cheese. The final product (shown left w/ red beans and rice) is wonderful. The tortillas are far better than anything you can buy in the store - well worth the prep time (which isn't that much anyhow).

The meal was accompanied by Victory HopDevil.

With the leftover tortillas, I'm going to attempt to make sopapillas.

Swiss Steak

2006-01-15T21:00:00.000-05:00

Heather made a delicious meal tonight in our slow cooker. "Comfort food" is what she calls it and I'd have to agree that there is something so inviting about meat & gravy covering potatoes. Of course, the meal is made all the more inviting with the addition of King's Pontiac Porter - a very nice, relatively light dark beer with notes of coffee and a bit of caramel.

In addition to the steak, the potatoes were mashed with organic sour cream giving them an additional richness and the green beans are in a sauce of thyme & olive oil. An excellent meal.

She also baked an incredible banana bread that also has coconut and chocolate chips - absolutely sinful.

"I'll spit on you"

2006-01-09T21:51:00.000-05:00

During the first quarter of the Redskins/Buccaneers playoff game, Sean Taylor spit in the face of Michael Pittman. In doing his best Carlito impersonation, Taylor was ejected from the game and fined $17,000 by the Redskins. As I watch Monday Night Raw tonight, I wonder about the significance of saliva as sign of disrespect, actually the ultimate sign of disrespect. Carlito says, "I spit in the face of people who don't want to be cool."

Of course, the immasculation/hypermasculine binary is present throughout professional wrestling. Edge and Lita are set to perform a "Live Sex Show" on Raw tonight in celebration of his world title victory. Is there a more masculine way to assert authority than by displaying your sexual prowess to the world? Further, Lita cut a promo about how much of a man Edge is when compared to John Cena because Edge can "last longer than 2 minutes," a direct insult related to last night's short championship match that Edge won.

In terms of the "Live Sex Show," WWE was able to go much further than I expected them to. However, there was still a denial of pleasure, both the audience's and Edge & Lita's, when Ric Flair interfered. Ric verbally castrates Edge by calling him "Dead in the bed Fred," a silly name, but in a show filled with males questioning their masculinity, it fits. Edge destorys Flair and regains his masculinity momentarily. Cena comes out and is able to redeem himself from earlier by forcing Edge out of the ring and giving Lita the "FU". Pro wrestling is the only sport where violence against women and spitting in faces is not against any type of social code, in fact, it is encouraged.

New Supper

2006-01-03T23:12:00.000-05:00

Tried something new tonight for dinner:

1 lb of lean ground sirloin (8% fat)
1 cage free, organic egg
some minced garlic
romano cheese
ancho chili powder
fresh ground pepper & salt

Mixed it up and viola! a burger.

Stoneground wheat bread from Breadsmith - sliced thick & grilled.

Slice of monterey jack and slice of sharp cheddar.

Sauteed onions and mushrooms on top - serve it openfaced.

Turned out quite good, probably would be better on the grill. We'll see come Spring.

Eccentric Ale 2004

2006-01-02T22:21:00.000-05:00

Props to my man R.J. at Holiday Market for the hook-up. Much obliged.

If possible, get your hands on this brew. Maple sweetness at first with a mild bitter aftertaste - this is wonderfully complex and exciting.

Bell's should sell this stuff, but as of right now, it is not for sale. Trade for it - now.

Sweet Hereafter

2006-01-01T23:38:00.000-05:00

Some initial thoughts about Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter:

I am always struck at the similarities between any "deposition" film and Rashomon. The unstable nature of truth or, in this case, the necessity to build an agreed upon truth is a difficult proposition. Any narrative or eye witness account can be misconstrued or hyperbolized in order to fit a particular frame.

Egoyan's films deal with sex in a matter of fact fashion. It's rare for incest to be so easily justified. Coincidentally, relationships are broken or in the process of breaking. Emotional and physical connectedness is nil.

My Homonym

2005-12-30T12:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks, Joe for commenting on a previous post of mine.

Maybe we can collaborate on an article and become Joe Hakim squared - Optimus Prime styley.

Surgery, The Know-It-All, and Chomsky

2005-12-27T09:06:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm still alive - all of the "OMG! ru ded?" e-mails from my millions of blog readers need to stop - OK, actually, I haven't received one of the aforementioned e-mails, but would like to think someone out there is on the edge of his or her desk chair waiting for the next installment.

I underwent surgery last Wednesday for a hernia, which is when part of the large intenstine protrudes into the scrotum (in my case). Hernias can also happen elsewhere in the body - a good fact to have known prior to asking my aunt if she had a scrotum after she told me she underwent a similar operation last year.

I, of course, had my wonderful wife take pictures of me pre & post surgery. I was actually upset that she couldn't get a picture of me intubated, but alas, the hospital staff would not allow her to see me in such a state. I always have a desire that events need to be documented. I haven't been good about it until recently (well, until I started borrowing my buddy's camera), but I want to start carrying my camera everywhere, as a sort of constant documentary of the "Life of Joe". Sounds exciting, I know.

Surgery is such a strange experience, if you can even call it that. We arrive at the hospital around 6:30 AM and are directed to the "Surgery Lounge," as if anyone preparing for surgery can "lounge." We wait patiently as a woman proceeds to shout directives to us over a loudspeaker - most of which are incoherent. Roll call starts. Williams, Jones, Smith, and so on. We were in the third grouping. We get up and are handed a paper with our chamber number. Flashback to 2nd grade - single file line behind "the leader," or the loudspeaker operator. It's such a somber walk, as though we were all taking our final trip to the electric chair.

There was quite a cast of characters working this morning. From the nurses to the chaplain to the woman who shaved my body - all were hellbent on making this surgery either fun and/or comfortable. Neither was possible, although I wasn't feeling nervous. The dude next to me, however, was worried about dying because he was having some sort of reconstructive surgery done on his knee. He was insistent that he see his 3 kids again - that made me sad. I don't know how his surgery went, hopefully well.

My surgery did go well. Aside from some problems with the hospital personnel that made Heather crazy and the surgery running about 2 hours longer than expected, I survived and am here to write about it.

That day made me feel like less of a human and more like an affliction. "What are you here for?" is the main question you hear. Wait a second, you're about to operate on me - you're going to see more of me than anyone else has ever seen and all you care about is my hernia? Shouldn't a nice dinner with the operating staff preceed surgery? At least then they could get to know me a little bit and I would be more comfortable with them toying around with my insides. Ah, but this is the key to surgery - emotional distance in order to be surgically close. Surgical steel does not care about my love for film and beer, no - it cares about getting this hernia repaired. As physically invasive as surgery is, it is devoid of emotion, a lesson that can be learned from the wonderful film Dead Ringers (Cronenberg 1988).

I had an apparatus attached to my body called a "pain ball." This device releases a predetermined amount of pain medication directly into the incision. Basically, it's like lugging around a 2nd scrotum, except it doesn't house testicles.

In between Vicodin induced hazes, Christmas happened.

I received a whole bunch of cool stuff, but 2 things that have taken up a bunch of my time the past couple days are The Know-It-All and Introducing Chomsky. Both books are thoroughly entertaining (well, as entertaining as reading the encyclopedia from a to z and high level linguistics can be) and have been an excellent diversion.

Jacobs talks about an idea in the 'C' chapter of his book, which he calls the "internal ding." This is the notion that when we read something a bell goes off in our head alerting us that this new material is somehow connected to something we've done and/or read before. This is not a new idea, I'm sure, but if we examine it in relation to web-based interfaces - "internal dings" occur on 2 levels, internally and through linking. If we are reading an article on football and we see a link for a site about sewing (or whatever), a linking has occurred between football and sewing. No matter how superficial this may seem - there is a type of internet geography, a "mapping" if you will, that dominates our surfing. It is through this linking that we attempt to gain control over what appears to be an infinite and chaotic system.

A Favor

2005-12-16T00:46:00.000-05:00

I don't normally use this blog as a device for shilling - wait, who am I kidding? Aren't I shilling myself in each post? Ah, whatever. I digress.

My brother is maintaining a blog at FoxSports.com --> hit him up here. There is a contest currently going in which he could be in the running for $5k and an opportunity to write 20 articles for FoxSports.com. What he needs is for all of us to comment on his work in order to generate interest.

So go ahead, click the link my army of fans and help a brother (my brother) out.

Crossing Boundaries

2005-12-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

I have never been one to take no for an answer. Whether it is entertainment, travelling, school, work, whatever - I like to see what kind of limits are present. I grew up in the Saint Clair Shores/Grosse Pointe Woods area, which is fairly close to Detroit. Detroit was an "other" to me. From what my parents told me, it was a dangerous place that I shouldn't go to alone under any circumstances. My immediate response to this logic was "but thousands of other people go there every night and survive - why shouldn't I be able to go?"

Looking back, where did I want to go, really? Out of suburbia for one toward a different place and the closest different place was Detroit. The logic of my being thus far has become a videogame of sorts. Journeys to different "levels," meeting new "characters," attaining the necessary "tools" to reach the next level, etc. In fact, nearly everything I currently do on a regular basis has progressed through a series of levels. Thus, each progression involves learning and with knowledge comes the ability to enter the level.

According to Tong & Tan, in order to enjoy a new narrative world, or "game world," the gamer must develop a strong sense of awareness with the environment (106-7). Early on, like any game, getting from level to level is easy - as simple as going from point A to point B. However, like any good game, as levels become more difficult, the tools needed to progress are much harder to attain. Awareness of these new environments takes time and effort to learn. For the sake of this paper, I will concern myself with the following "levels": grade school, high school, college, and beyond. At this moment, I think relating the levels of my life to my time in school will be helpful since most of the important moments in my life are in some way related to educational institutions.

Artistic Process

2005-12-14T19:44:00.000-05:00

Eliot speaking in regard to artists states the following, "For it is not 'greatness,' the intensity of the emotions, the components, but the intensity of the artistic process, the pressure, so to speak, under which the fusion takes place, that counts," (14). Eliot's notion of fusion refers to his earlier analogy of the poet's mind as a catalyst - the more perfect the artist, the more separate in him will be the man who suffers and the mind which creates; the more perfect will the mind digest and transmute the passions which are its material (13). The artist must simultaneously involved with and separate from society. Experiences are not immediate according to Benjamin. They are instead “days of recollection,” (333). Correspondences, as Baudelaire calls them, are only possible within the realm of ritual according to Benjamin. Correspondences are the data of recollection-not historical data, but data of prehistory (333-4).

As I read through this material and attempt to comes to terms with it - I must praise Arcadia for making such tasty beer. I just had the Amber Ale and will probably hit up the Porter for dessert. Very good stuff and a bargain at Costco - 24 bottles for $24, can't beat that with a stick. Also, I have my Rio Karma playing through my surround sound system. There is something so wonderful about hearing Black Sabbath one moment Biggie the next and Serge Gainsbourg closely thereafter. Ah, the joys of an MP3 player...

Even more specific than "days of recollection" would be the moments of recognition that Woolf engages in. For example:

A single leaf detached itself from the plane tree at the end of the street, and in that pause and suspension fell. Somehow it was like a signal falling, a signal pointing to a force in things which one had overlooked. [...] Now it was bringing from one side of the street to the other diagonally a girl in patent leather boots, and then a young man in a maroon overcoat; it was also bringing a taxi-cab; and it brought all three together at a point directly beneath my window; where the taxi stopped; and the girl and the young man stopped; and they got into the taxi; and then the cab glided off as if it were swept on by the current elsewhere, (95).

This passage embodies, for Woolf, the notion of the androgynous mind. While not explicitly mentioned, the allusion is evident. Woolf is using a literary moment, more specifically a metaphor, to comment upon the woman's lack of a space within the world of literature.

Woolf's moment of recognition is similar to the following poem by Baudelaire:

The street about me roared with a deafening sound. Tall, slender, in heavy mourning, majestic grief, A woman passed, with a glittering hand Raising, swinging the hem and flounces of her skirt;

Agile and graceful, her leg was like a statue's. Tense as in a delirium, I drank From her eyes, pale sky where tempests germinate, The sweetness that enthralls and the pleasure that kills.
A lightning flash... then night! Fleeting beauty By whose glance I was suddenly reborn, Will I see you no more before eternity?

Elsewhere, far, far from here! too late! never perhaps!For I know not where you fled, you know not where I go,O you whom I would have loved, O you who knew it! (http://fleursdumal.org/poem/224)

Baudelaire, according to Benjamin, is dealing with the ever-changing experience of modernity. Benjamin explains,

There is a close connection in Baudelaire between the figure of shock and contact with the urban masses. The masses do not stand for classes or any sort of collective; rather, they are nothing but the amorphous crowd of passers-by, the people in the street. This crowd, whose existence Baudelaire is always aware of, does not serve as the model for any of his works; but it is imprinted on his creativity as a hidden figure (321).

No where is this more apparent than in the poem referenced above. The connection Baudelaire yearns for is precisely that which it lost in modernity. Eliot refers poetic moments of combinaton, more specifically the combination of positive and negative emotions. At one moment Baudelaire is smitten but almost immediately he realizes that all he has experienced is fleeting. Eliot argues that the poet's job is not finding new emotions, but using ordinary ones in order to work them up into poetry. Hence, the function of art is to make the reader aware of these moments of recognition in a way that is both traditional and individually interesting.

Benjamin, Woolf

2005-12-13T23:54:00.000-05:00

In "On the Concept of History", Benjamin is arguing against historical materialism towards a concept that questions the past in the hopes of coming to an understanding about its events. Benjamin states, "The past carries with it a secret index by which it is referred to redemption. Doesn't a breath of the air that pervaded earlier days caress us as well?" (390). He goes on to comment on the secret agreement between the past and the present that works to endow each generation with a weak messianic power (390).

In A Room of One's Own, Virginia Woolf is calling for women to write. "So as long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say," (105). The fundmental problem alluded to throughout A Room of One's Own is the dearth history in regard to women's literature. If more women write, a tradition of women's literature would form thus allowing for the criticism that Eliot mentions. However, Woolf reminds us that literature should transcend sex, "If one is a man, still the woman part of his brain must have effect; and a woman also must have intercourse with the man in her," (97). Great works of literature cannot be classified according to a male/female binary because elements of both will be present throughout. Thus, women should write as much as possible not for woman-kind persay, but rather for "intellectual freedom," (106).

More Eliot

2005-12-13T11:49:00.000-05:00

I just had the pleasure of eating part of a black pepper salami log together with some cheddar cheese and crackers. Thanks to my friend Heather (she's on the far right) for hooking me up with the salami - it was excellent. Very spicy, good quality stuff. Coupled with an Arcadia IPA, it was a lunch of champions. The Arcadia IPA is quite nice - hoppy and complex with a mild bitter aftertaste, delightful. Not sure if it complemented the salami and cheese well, but I'm not an expert at beer/food combos (yet).

On to business, authors cannot escape judgement and, for the most part, judgement is based on standards of the past. However, judgement not in the sense of better or worse than rather it is a matter of measuring one by the other. If the author conforms too closely to his predecessors, then he will have failed to produce something new and, therefore, will not have produced a work of art (Eliot 5). If the past is inextricably tied up in the present, how then can an author respect tradition without falling into the trap of conformity? Eliot suggests the process of depersonalization, which refers to the artist's continual self-sacrafice, or a continual extinction of personality (9).

Eliot

2005-12-12T11:16:00.000-05:00

Literature is by nature archaeological not by standards of tradition rather by standards of criticism. Criticism is as inevitable as breathing, and we should be none the worse for articulating what goes through our minds when we read a book (Eliot 2). Much of criticism formulates comparisons to the author or poet’s predecessors. Whether we figure out the similarities in the author’s work with his contemporaries or we concentrate on the differences, an examination of tradition is necessary. Yet, it is this form of blindly following the generation before us or adhering to its successes that should be discouraged, Eliot argues (3).

Eliot continues tradition is a matter of wider significance. It cannot be inheirited, rather it must be obtained through great labour (3). In the historical sense, literature is temporal, but timeless and it is the sense of timelessness as well as temporality that makes the writer traditional while at the same time makes the writer conscious of his place in time (3). For no poet or artist has complete meaning on his own, Eliot argues, he must be set in comparison and contrast among the dead (4). There is an order formed among works of literature within a particular tradition, which is modified by the intorduction of the new work of art among them. The existing order is complete before the new work of art arrives, meaning that the new work, no matter how slightly, alters relations and values of other works to the whole (4).

Woolf, Benjamin, and Eliot

2005-12-09T23:58:00.000-05:00

A Room of One's Own
"On the Concept of History" and Paralipomena
"Tradition and the Individual Talent"

Each of the 3 works mentioned above have some stake in the historical placement of literature and of history in general. "There is no document of culture which is not at the same time a document of barbarism," (392) Benjamin states. Woolf makes the claim that women writers have few documents of culture to refer to so history must be created in the present. The poet for Eliot is inextricably caught up in history, but also seperated from it. Eliot argues, "We shall often find that not only the best, but most individual parts of his (the poet's) work may be those in which the dead poets, his ancestors, assert their immortality most vigorously," (2).

"The past can only be seized as an image that flashes up at the moment of its recognizability, and is never seen again," (Benjamin, 390). Woolf spends a lot of time concentrating on the present moment in Room. She is concerned with moments that become poetic and poetry arises from the ordinary (lunches, looking out a window). It is not the activities that provide the poetry, rather there are moments of breakage that occur when Woolf is looking out the window or eating lunch. Woolf's mind is that of an artist or poet. The poet's mind is a receptacle for capturing and storing up numberless feelings, phrases, images, which remain there until all particles which can unite to form a new compound are present together (Eliot, 13). For Woolf, looking out the window and seeing the falling leaf signaled "to a force in things which one had overlooked," (95).

Blogs and Hindsight

2005-12-08T16:38:00.000-05:00

MSNBC weighs in today with a commentary on blogs (specifically Myspace) and their authority regarding the lives of teenagers. The story (found here) claims that the blogs of the 2 people involved in this murder might be used as a method of analysis - "a cry for help" may be present they claim. In terms of psychological profiling, I wonder if during the initial intake if mental health professionals should request information regarding blogs. Is this type of probing ethical? Can a therapist ask to see your journal? Are blogs definitely a space of truth or are kids using them as a place to joke around? Freud does remind us that there is always some truth in joking, right?

I have a Myspace account, but I am not well-versed on the workings of the site yet. It has been a good place for me to connect with people I haven't heard from in a long time. Now, for me there is a feeling of nostalgia connected to Myspace (and Facebook as well) but for many grade/high school kids, these sites are spaces of socializing and identity. The shaping of identity is complex and totall arbitrary. Kara, the girl in the story, was 14 but her profile said she was 17. How often does this occur? Does it matter? From a legal standpoint, how much legality does a Myspace profile have? If 2 people meet through one of these websites and each claim to be of consenting age, who is at fault? Should people who on-line date always ask for ID? "Yeah, we can go out, but I'm going to have to see some ID first."

Online dating slogan: "If you look under 35, we must ID!"

High school and beyond

2005-12-06T22:47:00.000-05:00

As we along in life from experience to experience, what is considered exploration changes. Social situations also change from festivals and skating parties to keggers and parties at some dude's house whose parents are gone. I'm speaking of my experience in high school. Similar to our nights walking around SCS, Shaun and I were now more mobile since we both had access to cars. Somehow we'd always end up somewhere obscenely out of the way and the areas always seemed unfamiliar - no matter how many times we went back to "19 and Garfield". We would go to so & so's house who lives at 18 and Hayes only to find out the party had moved from there to 23 and Gratiot. Lots of purposeful driving that ended up being purposeless.

Most nights we would just end up sitting at some dude's house - no adventure, no interaction. I always felt like we were on the outside looking in. Not that this was a bad thing since it pointed to something more attractive in the future.

Saint Clair Shores

2005-12-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

I've lived in and around the Saint Clair Shores area for all of my life. Moving outside of the area between Harper and Jefferson and 8 and 9 mile is not possible since Emily's, my family's deli, is located on Mack Avenue right in the center of the area I just outlined. Living in such a prototypical suburban landscape, the city becomes mythologized, especially when a 14 year old kid wants to see his first concert.

Around this same time, my buddy Shaun and I would frequently walk around the streets of the Grosse Pointe/Saint Clair Shores with no real motivation. Well, I think motivation is the wrong word to use because we had to motivated somewhat because of the distances we traversed, so maybe the better word is purpose. Sure, it may have seemed purposeless back then, but upon further reflection the walks were something special, moments of exploration and discovery.

We had an assumed permission that we could just go out on these adventures for hours at a time. We would leave the house on a sort of undisclosed mission and come back at some point during the night. Whether it was going to the video store (which I would soon start working at), hanging out on the steps of our old grade school, or visiting random friend's houses, we never knew where we would end up. However, one thing was always evident - we could only go so far. Since we were on our legs, distance was something we had to be attentive. We could not wander off for miles unknowingly and lose our way back. Sure, Saint Clair Shores is safe, but being lost anywhere isn't much fun.

These walks would become particularly lengthy (in terms of time not distance) around the time of Saint Joan's parish festival. We would leave the house around 11:30 AM and return well after midnight in some cases. As a kid, the festival was the social event of the year. Everyone would be there - you could meet the girl you were after in a social setting much different than that of a classroom or a rolling skating rink (yes, we had skating parties).

Oh Yeah

2005-12-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

This looks incredible. The ultimate present. If I had a couple grand to blow right now, I'd so be buying this lovely machine.

Ironically, this is exactly the type of collection I would want to work with. Most interesting to me is the inclusion of a multiple number of sports game. The arcade sports game intrigues me, especially baseball. Also, I notice that there's 2 dodgeball games there as well. I wonder if that is a function of Dodgeball's popularity?

Why is there such a proliferation of these classic games being released? Items such as this. Atari has been busy re-releasing these compilations for the past few X-mases. Are kids playing these games? How can a 12 year old find a game like Pitfall! exciting when he's used to Grand Theft Auto? Are these games marketed toward the older, less adventurous gamer who yearns for the days of 8-bit? The Nintendo Revolution is going to be "way backward compatible" and play all games from all previous Nintendo systems. This is an excellent idea in terms of archiving and it terms of visual progression. Mario (pictured right) has been a key character for each of Nintendo's systems.

2005-06 College Football Bowl Games

2005-12-04T18:26:00.000-05:00

Here are my preliminary picks - You heard it here first, y'all (my picks are in red).

New Orleans: Southern Miss (6-5) vs. Arkansas State (6-5) Southern Miss
GMAC: UTEP (8-3) vs. Toledo (8-3) Toledo
Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas: BYU (6-5) vs. California (7-4) California
San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl: Colorado State (6-5) vs. Navy (7-4) CSU
Fort Worth: Kansas (6-5) vs. Houston (6-5) Kansas
Sheraton Hawaii: Nevada (8-3) vs. UCF (8-4) Nevada
Motor City: Memphis (6-5) vs. Akron (7-5) Memphis
Champs Sports: Clemson (7-4) vs. Colorado (7-5) Colorado
Insight: Arizona State (6-5) vs. Rutgers (7-4) ASU
MPC Computers: Boise State (9-3) vs. Boston College (8-3) Boise State
MasterCard Alamo: Michigan (7-4) vs. Nebraska (7-4) Michigan
Emerald Bowl: Georgia Tech (7-4) vs. Utah (6-5) GT
Pacific Life Holiday: Oregon (10-1) vs. Oklahoma (7-4) Oklahoma
Gaylord Hotels Music City: Minnesota (7-4) vs. Virginia (6-5) Minnesota
Vitalis Sun: Northwestern (7-4) vs. UCLA (9-2) UCLA
Independence: South Carolina (7-4) vs. Missouri (6-5) Missouri
Chick-fil-A Peach: Miami (9-2) vs. LSU (10-2) LSU
Meineke Car Care: South Florida (6-5) vs. NC State (6-5) NC State
AutoZone Liberty: Tulsa (8-4) vs. Fresno State (8-4) Fresno State
EV1.net Houston: TCU (10-1) vs. Iowa State (7-4) TCU
AT&T Cotton: Texas Tech (9-2) vs. Alabama (9-2) Texas Tech
Outback: Iowa (7-4) vs. Florida (8-3) Florida
Toyota Gator: Louisville (9-2) vs. Virginia Tech (10-2) Va Tech
Capital One: Wisconsin (9-3) vs. Auburn (9-2) Auburn
Tostitos Fiesta: Notre Dame (9-2) vs. Ohio State (9-2) Notre Dame
Nokia Sugar: West Virginia (10-1) vs. Georgia (10-2) Georgia
FedEx Orange: Penn State (10-1) vs. Florida State (8-4) Penn State
The Rose Bowl Game Presented by Citi: USC (12-0) vs. Texas (12-0) USC

Looks like some really good football. Interesting match-ups all over the place - Ohio State/Notre Dame will be excellent, but of course, USC/Texas showcases a couple powerhouses for the undisputed national championship. Undisputed is a term I use lightly since I think the BCS (bowl championship series) is a totally archaic and unfair way to crown a national champion. NCAA Division 1 football needs a playoff system. But alas, there are advertising deals set through the 2008 season, I believe, so were stuck with the BCS until then because, as we all know, it's all about the money.

Bell's

2005-12-03T00:37:00.000-05:00

Tonight at the liquor store at the corner of Wayne and Bayview in Westland - Bell's Sparkling Ale. 12.99/6 pack. Bell's try at an American Triple. Very classy - light, fruity, and crisp. Highly recommended.

Still on the search for 2, 4, 6, & 8 - will hit Merchant's this weekend and Holiday market if needed.

1993 Doggystyl-E

2005-12-02T23:53:00.000-05:00

At my mother-in-law's tonight, we were going through her old album collection. Beatles, Stones, Seger, Frampton, Rod, & others were all old friends that reminded her of a particular moment in her youth. She also spoke about albums that she used to trade with friends and were never returned. Although, she didn't speak of any specific titles, I feel as though there is something special about those albums (or 8 tracks or cassettes or CDs) that we don't have anymore.

I still remember Christmas 1993 - I was given my first CD player. Along with that CD player, I was given 3 CDs: Led Zeppelin 2, Nirvana's In Utero, and Red Hot Chili Peppers' What Hits?!. I don't recall if I specifically asked for these albums or not, but I was totally enamored with the idea that I could finally listen to my music without being told that it had to be changed. The strange thing about these albums is that I have no memory of them outside of them being my first physical CDs - the next week I bought Metallica's Black Album, which I listened to constantly because all of my friends were into the Mighty Met at that time.

However, I do have memories of receiving Snoop Doggy Dogg's first album Doggystyle. Interestingly, it was my mother who bought the album for me - she really liked "What's My Name?". My memory is surreal. My mom gets home from the mall and brings the album into my room. She gives it to me and asks to listen to it with me. I already owned a copy of Dr. Dre's The Chronic, so I knew full well that the song on the radio was going to be totally different than the one on the CD. By the way, David Banner's single Play is so interesting particularly because of the difference between the radio edit and album track - worth downloading if you have the resources. Anyhow, so here I am 13 years old or whatever listening to Snoop with my mother. Weird that she never really said anything about it after her initial listen. Whether she was insulted or not - I'll never know, but this was one of the albums that opened the proverbial floodgates for me.

As an aside, I do not own any of the albums anymore in their original state. Somehow, I've either lost, given away, or sold each of the above, highly influential albums. Coincidentally, as influential as these albums are to me now, there was a moment in my life when they were part of a past "close-mindedness" that I had to get away from. At one point in my life, I listened to no rap and/or hip-hop; at another, no "metal" - and by metal I mean Metallica, which now is not even close to what I consider metal. Finally, probably at some point in high school I learned that my tastes were exactly that mine.

Speaking of my youth...

2005-12-01T17:07:00.000-05:00

I'm going from 13th birthdays to being 6 years old. WWE has decided to bring back SNME. Now, I'm not saying that I'll be home on Saturday evenings specifically to watch this, but this will be the first instance that wrestling will be exhibited in high def. High def adds so much to sports telecasts, so I imagine that wrestling will be no different.

Yeah, OK

2005-12-01T15:46:00.000-05:00

As a 13 year old kid, what was your birthday like? I mean 13 is a big deal - your first year as a teenager, you're almost in high school, and girls (or boys) seem to have lost their cooties. How many people did you celebrate it with? 50? Ah, but did you celebrate it with Mr. 50?????

Ah, to be able to have a $10 million dollar 13th birthday with close friends like Tom Petty and Kenny G. Aren't there more important things to do with $10 million? I mean kids are important, but I reckon that if the party only cost $1 million, that's still about $998,000 more than most kids' 13th (hell, $2,000 might even be a lot).

High School Wrestling

2005-11-29T23:16:00.000-05:00

I'm not very familiar with wrestling outside of WWE and puroresu, so I'm pretty excited my brother Chris is on the first De La Salle wrestling team. He's going to be a Varsity wrestler because there's no other person at DLS in his weight class. As a sophomore, I think he might have gained more from being able to remain on JV, however, the flip side is that he'll get much needed experience and that can only improve his skills.

High school sports are needlessly competitive if you ask me, but I am very interested in watching my brother take on this wrestling thing. I think I am most looking forward to it because I always wanted to wrestle but never had the opportunity.

Appointment

2005-11-28T09:21:00.000-05:00

Well, for the first time in about 7 years, I will be going to see a doctor today. Rather than getting better, I feel as though my health is getting worse and after nearly 4 days - that's not good. Appointment is at 11 AM. Not looking forward to it.

Weekend so far...

2005-11-26T21:41:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend has been rough so far. Thursday - I had the pleasure of being outside from 7:30 AM until 1 PM at the Lions' game (parking cars). From there it was on to dinner #1 - food and company was good, but I couldn't get warm even after sitting next to the fire for 30 minutes. Dinner #2 - also good, but instead of being cold now I was sweating. Not good. Sore throat, fever, sinus infection.

Friday - Heather's grandmother's 2nd husband (i.e. grandpa) passed away on Tuesday so we had to make the trek to Gladwin on Friday for the viewing. Luckily, I slept nearly the entire way there. Bought some Sudafed and Airborne and hoped for the best. The viewing went from 2-8 and there was dinner afterwards. All you can eat walleye and fries for $8 - not bad, not good. Beck's Premium Light - garbage. Waitress told me it was going to be Beck's Dark, which has a bit more flavor. Whatever, bad beer is bad beer.

Today - Funeral service @ 11. Mercy meal @ noon. Drive home @ 2-6. National Coney Island for dinner. 100.7 fever right now. Sinuses are beating my ass. I hate being sick.

Survivor Series at the Joe tomorrow. Hopefully, I will be better.

News.

2005-11-24T22:13:00.000-05:00

It amazes me what goes for news. The first story: "It's Official: Nick and Jessica split" I am intrigued by celebrity culture. My aunt tonight actually was telling me that Nick and Jessica love each other, but the media forced them to divorce. Hm, did Nick cheat on Jessica with the media? Well, actually...

The camera, or more specifically, the paparazzi are a part of why these people cannot function as normal humans. Magazine headlines are: "Nick cheats on Jessica with a man!" or "Jessica is losing patience with Nick and his escapades!" Shouldn't they read, "We were lied into an unjust war - what are YOU going to do about it?" Yeah, I know - far be it for anything on the magazine shelves to be more than a opiate. All of this is recycled - same drama, different (but remarkably the same) people - Adorno was right. The masses can be kept at bay as long as the culture industry continues to process tabloids (or any other mass cultural paraphenalia).

Or am I just jealous that I don't have a gang of photographers waiting outside my door every morning to get a sexy snap of me in my boxers? Oh, to be famous...

Lamb and Potato Tagine

2005-11-22T18:47:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some pictures of the final product. The dish came out quite well - similar to a curry dish or a lamb stew. Very hearty and went well with basmati rice.

The dish has lamb, potatoes, cilantro, chick peas, onion, garlic, "tagine spices," salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil. Total time for prep and cooking is about 3 hours.

The finished product is shown here with tortillas (I wish I could make naan) and Bells Two-Hearted Ale.

I definitely like using the tagine - it may actually turn out to be one of the better gifts we received.

Tagine

2005-11-22T13:17:00.000-05:00

Ah, the joys of a wedding shower. Receiving things that one really has no use for such as a Tagine. Tonight, I will use this device for the first time - just for shits and giggles.

Lamb and potato tagine (pictured below sans potatoes and uncooked). The recipe calls for plenty of cilantro and chick peas along with this luscious lamb, which required me to travel to series of butchers since no one seems to carry leg of lamb regularly - it must be special ordered. Maybe since I eat lamb twice a week, it seems odd that butchers don't carry it more readily. Whatever - I found it and I'm excited. I love to cook new things. And if the spices tell me anything, this is going to be one tasty dish. I never toasted spices before today. I don't know when to toast them and when not to, but it made the house smell great.

More to follow...

Guerrero Tribute

2005-11-15T11:47:00.000-05:00

Part 1 of the 2 part "Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show" was shown last night on Monday Night Raw. Always an emotional evening after one of "the boys" passes, the decision is usually made to push all of the angles (storylines) to the side and just compete the way Eddie would have wanted to compete. What occurs then is an evening of great wrestling between guys who don't normally get to wrestle each other due to the brand split between Raw and Smackdown. Also, the egos are left at the door (for the most part).

For the most part meaning that the "main event" last night ended with a disqualification. Essentially, the guys writing the show felt that neither Randy Orton's or John Cena's characters could survive a clean loss. At a memorial show like this, the fans want to forget about stroylines and just watch the guys compete. John Cena should have beat Randy Orton clean not because he's better, but because there is no need to further an angle (which this probably will become) at the expense of a fallen superstar.

Eddie Guerrero

2005-11-13T21:57:00.000-05:00

One of the most charismatic, talented, and humorous wrestlers in the past 20 years has passed away. Eddie Guerrero has been involved in so many "classic" matches and part of many memorable feuds - it is an incredible shame that yet another one of the greats has left us so early. Some type of substance abuse is probably going to be the cause. One of the problems many of the WWE workers have is the intense schedule they're on, sometimes up to 300 days per year. Some of the guys have no choice (or at least it feels like no choice) but to turn to painkillers or other substances. Professional wrestling loses way too many of its guys WAY too early. An examination needs to take place so incidents such as these can be eliminated completely.

Food Poisoning

2005-11-13T17:10:00.000-05:00

I've basically put myself through hell the past couple days. I ate a medium-rare burger (the way I usually order my burgers) and have felt sick since the end of that night until this moment. I had a 101 degree fever last night. I went to bed around 10, but woke up at least 8 times during the night for various discomforting reasons.

Never, ever in my life have I had any sort of food related illness, so this is quite shocking. I've been told before not to eat my burgers in this fashion. Actually, I can't blame the burger, can I? It seems like an easy scapegoat. I also had some warm ice cream from Coldstone later in the evening - hm, warm ice cream, something not kosher about that. So of course, I'll still order my next burger medium rare to properly test out my hypothesis.

On the upside, I did try a tasty new beer - maudite. So even though I've been paying for that evening for a couple days now, it was worth it because of the beer.

Film and Violent Responses

2005-11-11T09:46:00.000-05:00

This story is on the Free Press website this morning.

After seeing Get Rich or Die Tryin', there's an altercation and 1 man gets shot and killed. In response, the theater pulls 50 Cent's movie.

Why is there always a need to punish other citizens because of the assinine behavior of others? It's unfortunate that someone was shot, but what is the likelihood of someone else getting shot after seeing this film. No offense to 50, but I can't imagine this film being that powerful, especially not enough to get people to kill each other. In other words, I seriously doubt the shooting can be attributed to the film, in fact, it even says in the story that authorities weren't clear if the movie had anything to do with it. So why pull it?

Think about it - what if these guys had gone to see Chicken Little? Would the theater pull it?

A History of Violence

2005-11-09T10:00:00.000-05:00

A History of Violence is one of Cronenberg's best films.

There is more creepiness in Cronenberg's nuclear family than there is in Naked Lunch. Of course, it is a different type of creepiness.

There is an always prevelant obsession with deformity in his films. Usually, it is a quite obvious outer deformity - the plug & play slots from eXistenZ for example. Or an inner deformity that is found through examination - Claire's trifurcation issue in Dead Ringers.

Yet, deformity is not as explicit in HOV. Sure, there's Fogarty's (Ed Harris) eye, but that was caused by Joey's violence. The violence that Tom/Joey (Viggo Mortensen) can move in and out of is a type of deformity - a psychological one rather than physical. Much in the same way as Spider, both men are inextricably connected to history. Neither can escape its grasp. Spider is constantly haunted by images if his past - Tom/Joey is haunted as well, but in a much more controllable sense. Where Spider does not have a switch to take him from stable to unstable - Tom has Joey, which he appears to be able to switch when provoked.

Shaviro states, "All this is to say that the split or doubling in A History of Violence is ontological, rather than existential or psychological. The split between Tom and Joey, and between the two sex scenes, of course corresponds to the two worlds of the film, both of which are themselves cinematic — and thereby social — fantasies: the wholesome, Capraesque or Spielbergesque small town (Ronald Reagan’s America, or George W. Bush’s red states) on the one hand, and the big-city-at-nighttime on the other." But the distinction in the two worlds appeared more amorphous to me because there are moments when Joey is obviously at home and although Tom tries to make peace with the "big city" ultimately Joey needs to take control.

Shaviro continues, "A History of Violence is like a Moebius strip. At any given point, it seems to have two sides; but the two sides are really the same side, each is continuous with the other, and slides imperceptibly into the other." What we have then is a film of surface and not of substance. Everything is as it seems but is not as it seems - we cannot separate the Capra/Spielberg side from the noir/revenge nocturnal side (Shaviro).

This is most evident at the end of the film where Tom comes home - no words are spoken, his daughter sets his plate, and his son passes the meatloaf. Cronenberg does not give any explanation - we know what Tom has done, but does that matter? "The hollowness of the final scene is oppressive in its rightness," (shaviro). There is not a big family hug - there is no indication that Tom will ever become Tom again, but that is precisely the point. The genre move expected from a "Hollywood" film would be a redemptive one, but Cronenberg has cleverly subverted any sort of genre classification with this film. "A History Of Violence is that rare thing: a brilliant, canny hybrid of mainstream film and art film," (girish). And, boy, it is one incredible ride.

Real Deal

2005-11-07T23:58:00.000-05:00

The Colts will beat New England in Foxboro tonight and handily they're up 40-21 right now. This is pretty amazing considering the Colts are 0-9 in their last 9 trips to Foxboro. They're the team to beat. 8-0. If they end up playing in the Super Bowl, I may have to find tickets...

Pats fall to 4-4, which has to be extremely disappointing for a team who is usually the odds on favorite year after year no matter what. But defense wins championships and New England's defense is decimated. They'll be a threat, but no February trip to Detroit for them this year.

If the Colts remain undefeated, the NFL will have quite a commodity on their hands, especially with the highly likable Manning and Harrison. '72 Dolphins anyone?

Clever remediation of the Mastercard commercial - "Beating the Patriots in Foxboro, Priceless."

Jarhead - Initial thoughts

2005-11-06T01:39:00.000-05:00

Going against what was previously thought and discussed as an interesting move, Mendes did not use current music in the film - all of the songs were of that time period and further back. "Jesus Walks" did not play until the final credits.

Most apparent to me was the constant denial of pleasure for the troops and, by proxy, us. The lack of authority to kill (or to even shoot you gun for that matter) disables any type of release a soldier may have in terms of his physical and emotional anguish.

The film is structured like a video game, but without any sort of pleasurable payoff. A game where it is impossible to complete your mission because the objective is always changing. At one point, Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx) sends Swoff (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Troy (Peter Sarsgaard) on a mission to kill 2 Iraqi officers. In war video games, these are the moments that the player is desiring - a type of stealth mission in which all previously earned skills are to be used. However, there mission is subverted when a higher ranking official, which would equate to a higher rated player in a video game, declares their sniper skills are not needed anymore. A complete denial of pleasure occurs at this moment, a moment that both Troy and Swoff had been dreaming about. They wanted to get that elusive "kill".

The mental torture of these men was so strenuous that it must still have an effect on the soldiers in Iraq currently. In fact, some of the men who were Privates and Staff Sergeants might be in higher positions now and thus have taken the torture further leading to Abu Gharib.

There are explicit allusions to Apocalypse Now throughout the film. Why?

A war film without any battles.

"I want to..."

2005-11-03T17:04:00.000-05:00

This appears to be an incredibly helpful site for finding specific sites to do specific things. How's that for a totally non-specific description! Anyhow, if you want to "share photos with others" there is a specific place on the chart for that desire and you're given 3-5 sites in some case.

I've placed the site in my del.icio.us links for your linking pleasure.

del.icio.us

2005-11-03T13:53:00.000-05:00

I've become obsessed with del.icio.us. I'll find myself at websites that are moderately interesting at best, but may become more interesting later so I post them to my account. I find this particularly useful for the webdesign sites because I know very little about webdesign but am infinitely curious about it. Once I learn how to use particular devices properly, I can then appropriate them into my classes, which is my ultimate goal.

I did find a syllabus (and class blog) from a course taught at Purdue that uses videogames as the central text of the course. Rather than assigning a particular game, any game can be used - I like the idea that games from any console can be used because it will allow for a historical viewpoint as well as a rhetorical one. The merging of The Legend of Zelda and Grand Theft Auto seems unlikely, but could occur in this class. What connections can be made between these games?

"Gizoogle"

2005-11-01T03:19:00.000-05:00

Speaking of repurposing, I don't know what to think about this.

Minimum Wage

2005-11-01T02:28:00.000-05:00

Stuff like this defies any sort of logic. I don't understand why there is such apprehension when it comes to raising our minimum wage. How can a single mother be expected to work for $5.15/hour when welfare pays her more to stay home? Even $6.25/hour is low, but at least that might get more people up and working.

Ah, repurposing of the Fitzgerald interview on the Colbert Report - excellent! Another political moment that is completely illogical, so much controversary but no blame is placed except with "Scooter". The sinisterness of the administration is incredible and flaunted constantly. I'm not exactly clear on whether or not this investigation is over, but if both Cheney and Rove get off blame free, what does that say about our judicial system not to mention our adherence to the protection of our CIA agents.

Fake Punts

2005-10-29T21:12:00.000-04:00

It's rare to see a fake punt attempted, but when it is called - doesn't it seem so obvious? Georgia looked totally flat-footed a couple plays ago when Florida ran the aforementioned play. Georgia's undefeated streak is in jeopardy but if the Gators don't get going offensively again, they'll be in rough place. Toughing it out for the rest of the game against the Bulldogs, doesn't seem likely...

Chris Leak was just sacked so Georgia gets another shot at scoring. 14:25 left, 14-10.

2005-06 NBA Fantasy Basketball

2005-10-28T04:29:00.000-04:00

I just finished my first fantasy draft of the season and I came out with a fairly solid squad.

Here's the team:

Point Guards: Chauncey Billups, Luke Ridnour, and Salim Stoudamire
Shooting Guards: Paul Pierce, Darius Miles, and Josh Howard
Centers: Jamaal Magloire, Chris Kaman, and Kwame Brown
Small Forwards: Mike Dunleavy
Power Forwards: Pau Gasol, Andrei Kirilenko, Al Jefferson

If anything, they're all reasonably young and offer a range of statistical prowess, which is what you're going for in these leagues. I usually try to make sure I don't have any teammates since it takes away from playing time, but I ended up with 2 Celtics, so that's OK. If I can get big years out of Kaman and Miles along with regular production from Chauncey, Pierce, Kirilenko, and Gasol, the team should pretty much dominate. Salim is a rookie and I'm rolling the dice on him - after the 1st couple of weeks of the season, he may get dropped in favor of a better player. Regardless, I have to be happy with this team.

Contacting acquaintances

2005-10-27T14:58:00.000-04:00

I am completely intrigued by Myspace.com, Facebook.com, & Friendster.com. The ability to search for past classmates, friends, enemies, etc. at the touch of a button is both bizarre and wonderful. I wasn't close to many people in high school, but I still find myself searching for people in the hopes of finding out what so & so is doing at this particular moment. Does it really matter to me? Hell no, but just having the ability to contact distant acquaintances is like a lame superpower, but a superpower nonetheless.

Surprise, Surprise

2005-10-27T13:45:00.000-04:00

Well, this deserves a sigh of relief. Good for Ms. Miers that she finally realizes that she will not cut it as a justice. How someone who's done little to no legislating can be nominated for such a prestigious position is still beyond me. But a simple examination of the current administration and its practices shows why this should not be surprising.

Henry Rollins

2005-10-27T13:02:00.000-04:00

Self-realization through flagellation.

An idea present throughout Henry Rollins's entire talk last night was Nietzsche's notion of that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger. A "vacation," for Rollins, is a week excursion on the Trans-Siberian Express. While most people would find this absolutely punishing, he takes this experience and learns from it.

As a young adult, Rollins witnessed his best friend's murder. For some reason and I don't know if he has ever come to terms with this, Rollins's life was spared. This appears to be the key moment in his life in terms of his writing and it appears to have seeped into his spoken word. "For the past 25 years, I've averaged 106 shows a year," Rollins said regarding the tour's name: 25 Years of Bullshit. Home is a miserable place for him. Home is where he endured a mediocre childhood filled with disappointment, until he met Joe (his best friend). Home is where Joe was murdered. So why stay home when all of the bad is present? Why not travel and attempt to forget about any notion of 'home'?

Travelling implies a pleasureful experience but Rollins, though he doesn't explicitly admit it, doesn't deserve to have outright pleasureful experiences in his time off. Pleasure is found through suffering. Suffering brings about scar tissue (an idea ever present in his writing), which in turns makes one stronger.

Thus Rollins is constantly placing himself in a position where it is necessary for him to make the best out of the worst. If what he says is true, he does a pretty decent job of it.

Althusser

2005-10-26T19:57:00.000-04:00

In Lenin and Philosophy and other essays, Louis Althusser makes the following statement about the entirety of Christian ideology:

It says: I address myself to you, a human individual called Peter (every individual is called by his name, in the passive sense, it is never he who provides his own name), in order to tell you that God exists and that you are answerable to Him. It adds: God addresses himself to you through my voice (Scripture having collected the Word of God, Tradition having transmitted it, Papal infallibility fixing it for ever on 'nice' points). It says: this is who you are: you are Peter! This is your origin, you were created by God for all eternity, although you were born in the 192nd year of Our Lord! This is your place in the world! This is what you must do! By these means, if you observe the 'law of love' you will be saved, you, Peter, and will become part of the Glorious Body of Christ! Etc... (120).

This blows my mind. In the space of a paragraph, Althusser sums up all of Christian ideology. But I think this is his point about ideology, it is not really there until we articulate it and once articulated it becomes eternal. Althusser says the formal structure of ideology is always the same. Ideology, then, is dangerous - it becomes a device that can be used to control both the masses and individuals through its ability to appear to be calling to both groups at once.

"Try-angle"

2005-10-25T23:28:00.000-04:00

A quote from Victor Vitanza's Foundations of Rhetoric and Composition course syllabus:

"Life is a try-angle, a threesome, and we human beings would control the threesomeness of it all and yet some more. This evening we will examine un/just how we control Logos (language, discourse, etc.) to have a field or discipline and un/just how we exclude (by[e] way of too much of Logos) in the name of knowing, doing, and making (Aristotle). Nes, We will be concerned with human beings, as well as all so-called organic and inorganic stuffs, and their relationships with Logos."

Try-angle, a threesome - 3 parts of the mystory...

Absolut Halloween Party

2005-10-25T17:19:00.000-04:00

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For those interested.

Gold Diggers - Then & Now

2005-10-25T16:29:00.000-04:00

I was just travelling through the blogosphere and I came across this, which made me think about this (I'm referring to Kanye's "Gold Digger" video), which, in turn, got me thinking about pin-up girls then and pin-up girls now. There is no better comparison than the video - the woman look fake, plastic almost, but the pin-ups from the past look more real (if that even makes sense) and full of life.

Assignment Idea

2005-10-24T17:55:00.000-04:00

This is only a start - more later...

myStory is the foundation and Internet Invention is the text. At the beginning of the semester, students should open a blog account and gain access to the course Wiki. 3 small assignments leading to the bigger assignment. Small assignments would be writing about family, career, and entertaintment (as outlined by Ulmer) in conjunction with reading Internet Invention. As students post blog entries about these 3 things, they will also be contributing to the Wiki, which will be broken up in terms of wiki/family, wiki/career, and wiki/entertainment. The Wiki will then provide a sort of meeting place for students to gain different ideas of what these 3 things are to others in their class.

Deleted Scenes

2005-10-23T22:26:00.000-04:00

Are there deleted scenes that don't make it to the final cut of a DVD? What are the deleted scenes that remain deleted called? Isn't there a further editing that needs to occur from cutting room to DVD? In fact, there are introductions to the deleted scenes, so these are carefully chosen scenes that somehow supplement the movie. There must be a job out there where all that's done is choosing which deleted scenes make it to the final cut of the DVD.

Touch the Sky Tour 2005

2005-10-23T00:02:00.000-04:00

First of all, I went into tonight's show thinking Common was one of the opening acts, only to learn afterwards that he had to drop off the tour due more important work. This was highly disappointing to me since I was most interested in seeing him perform tracks off his new album.

The show began at 8:07 with Fantasia - winner of last year's American Idol. The performance was nothing spectacular. Her voice reminded me of Macy Gray, but in a bad way. Very rough and underproduced, her stage presence lacks any sort of agency. Her back-up singers were overpowering at times and her band was totally cookie-cutter. Oddly enough, she was quite popular with the crowd - I guess this is a function of clever marketing. American Idol is a popular television show, so any artist who wins will have a huge following from the get-go. I recall hearing people talk about the show at my previous employer's in terms of white versus black pairings. To the point of, "Fantasia should win since she's representing the black community and she's a single mom." Ah, but that's another post. So after she wrecked Purple Rain and Dream On, we get Kanye.

Kanye West is touring promoting his new album, Late Registration (outside review). What is most incredible about Mr. West is his completely braggadocious demeanor with his incredible ability to back it up quite well. Sure, he may not be the most enlightened rapper or even have the best delivery on the planet, but he can put on a helluva show. Extravagantly grandiose at times, the show lasted about 90 minutes with plenty of theatrics. The most interesting aspect of the show for me had to be the orchestral section. 3 Violinists, 2 cello players, and a harpist - of course, Kanye reminded us that this was the first time ever that strings were included in a show of this magnitude, but that is neither here nor there. What matters is the level of depth that the orchestra lends to the music. His albums come off as over-produced and bloated, but there is promise. Also, Kanye believes he is rap's savior, but this is far from the truth. His lyrics are far too short sighted and too concerned with money. There is a short skit during the show that leads into "Spaceship," which is a sort of critique on the workplace and consumerism. My main problem with these types of messages at a show of this magnitude is to even attend the show, $75 had to be spent. The type of person who gets to go to a Kanye West show is precisely the person who will be consuming at a place like the Gap. Irregardless if his message is twisted, Kanye can perform, which goes a long way. Ah, but performance isn't everything, is it?

Explication

2005-10-19T21:33:00.000-04:00

I'm working on writing an explication for my Intro to Grad Studies course and was unclear how to go about doing it. I found step-by-step instructions, which I've posted on my del.icio.us account (http://del.icio.us/montage_man). Not only is this helpful now, it will be helpful in the future when I assign explications (if I decide to). I've never been formally assigned an explication until this semester although I recall doing one previously under a different pretext. Could explications be useful in a 1020 setting or are they assignments for a more advanced course? Is blogging or communicating via listserv a type of explication? Obviously neither the blog or the listserv are as formal, but couldn't they be?

Mothership Connection

2005-10-19T11:42:00.000-04:00

Parliament Funkadelic interests me. I know very little about them, but their music is so intriguing. It is as they're from another planet and the only way to join them is through their music. Incidently and quite obviously, mothership is the name given to the vehicle of choice for alien invaders. "Swing down to the Cherry Stop and let me ride" - get me out of here and bring me with you to this new place.

How was Parliament received when they arrived? It seems to me that they're teaching in a way. Innovators always appear as teachers to me. I mean if nothing is similar prior to you, aren't you then developing a new style, which can then be taught to others? (Was anything similar?) Not to mention that Parliament is eternally present in Rap & Hip-Hop.

George Clinton is a teacher.

It takes someone willing to do something different for people to learn something new. We can perpetuate the same shit over and over again or we can move beyond the box or attempt to totally reinvent said box. If Parliament can do it, can't we?

Shameless Plug

2005-10-18T18:15:00.000-04:00

I don't drink a lot of soda, but man, this stuff is tasty!

You can view the company website here.

Colts

2005-10-17T23:45:00.000-04:00

The Colts are easily one of the most complete teams ever. Down 17-0 after a quarter, now up 31-20 on their to their first 6-0 start. Manning, Edge, and his receivers are incredibly potent and the defense is phenomenal. I was able to go to the Lions' game for a bit yesterday and was struck at how awful both the Lions and Panthers are in terms of basic play execution. However, watching this game team I see two teams one of whom is competetive and the other is the Colts. I would make a conscious effort to go to every game if I lived in Indy. 86 touchdowns - Manning and Harrison. Wow. They'll easily break 100 maybe 150.

Wouldn't it be nice if Detroit had an exciting football team? Ah well, we can dream, right?

Internet Invention

2005-10-16T18:02:00.000-04:00

I just posted Greg Ulmer's website to my del.icio.us account. It's quite informative in regard to his distinct style of pedagogy.

It can be found at http://del.icio.us/montage_man/pedagogy.

Adorno Vs. Benjamin

2005-10-13T16:57:00.000-04:00

Reading Adorno is tough work. He seems like such a dick (great critical comment, eh?). But seriously, when looking at his work comparitively to Benjamin's, Adorno is blown out of the water. It may be because I'm a staunch supporter of all things pop culture, but Adorno is against EVERYTHING. He says, "Serious art has been withheld from those for whom the hardship and oppression of life make a mockery of seriousness, who must be glad if they can use time not spent on the production line just to keep going," (135). Basically, if you're working your ass off during the day at Ford, don't try to understand "serious art," which Adorno never really defines anyhow, because it is not there for your kind. Mass culture, for Adorno, is evil but ultimately inescapable. It becomes a constant reproduction of the same thing (134). The new is just appropriated until it is no longer new and becomes part of the system - hmm, shades of alternative pedagogy here?? No thought is needed since all reactions are mapped out for us - "As soon as the film begins, it is quite clear how it will end, and who will be rewarded, punished, and forgotten," (125). Mindless consumers consuming intellectual rubbish.

Benjamin is much eaiser to handle. Sure, he believes that mass culture will run the risk of turning itself mindless, but he also sees a future in cinema that Adorno refuses. Benjamin's discussion of the aura gives us an excellent historical foundation for art's place in society. Benjamin argues that film and photography have brought about a decay of the aura, thus implicating that either film is missing something or, and more importantly, the aura is no longer important. The aura is an elitist idea, something Adorno might espouse, but for Benjamin the aura is something that brings about notions of ritualistic art. "For the first time in world history, technological reproducibility emancipates the work of art from its parasitic subservience to ritual," (256). Without ritual and a historical timestamp, the aura is no longer.

Work of Art in the Age of its Technological Reproduction Precis

2005-10-12T15:49:00.000-04:00

In principle, the work of art has always been reproducible (Benjamin 252). Benjamin argues prior to technological reproduction, artwork was unique and could not be reproduced technologically (252). Technological reproduction takes the artwork’s unique existence away – the here and now (historical uniqueness) is lacking in even the most perfect reproduction (253). Benjamin states, “by replicating the work many times over, it substitutes a mass existence for a unique existence,” (254). Technological reproduction allows the viewer to meet the original halfway in doing so the authority of the object, or what is encompassed by the concept of aura is eliminated (254).
Technological reproduction strips away the aura of an object and therefore functions to displace its embeddedness in the context of tradition, which usually finds expression in a cult (256). Benjamin states, “the unique value of the “authentic” work of art has its basis in ritual, the source of its original use value,” (256). He then comes to a crucial insight: technological reproducibility emancipates the work of art from its parasitic subservience to ritual (256), which for Benjamin, leads to a revolutionizing moment in the social function of art: instead of being founded on ritual, art is now based on politics (257).
Exhibition of the work of art replaces the artwork’s cult value. Rather than being an instrument of magic first, the work of art, through the absolute emphasis on exhibition value, becomes a construct (257). Photography and film are the most serviceable vehicles for this new understanding (257). Benjamin argues, however, early film theorists, such as Abel Gance, had a desire to annex film to “art,” which would attribute elements of cult to film (259).
The presence (aura) of the actor is no longer as or filmic experience is presented through the camera with two consequences (259). The actor’s performance does not need to be respected as an integral whole (due to the magic of editing [263]) and the actor is now unable to adjust to the audience as a stage actor would. This allows the audience to take the position of critic without experiencing any personal contact with the actor – empathy with the film actor becomes empathy with the camera according to Benjamin (259-60). He continues, the actor is placed in a position where he must operate with his whole living person, while foregoing its aura - for the aura is bound to his presence in the here and now (260). Rather than performing for an audience, the actor must perform for the camera. Consequently, the aura is then dispelled (260). However, the screen actor knows that in the end he is confronting the public, in effect, his image becomes a commodity.
According to Benjamin, film responds to the shriveling of the aura by artificially building up the personality outside the studio. The cult of the movie star, fostered by the money of the film industry, preserves the magic of the personality (261). Inherent in this formulation and in the technology of film is that everyone who watches a performance does so as a quasi-expert (262), which brings a sense of immediate and intimate pleasure with an attitude of expert appraisal (264). Further, film attempts to stimulate the involvement of the masses through illusionary displays and ambiguous speculations i.e. the newsreel offering everyone a chance to rise from passer-by to movie extra (262-3).
Benjamin comments that in the newborn art of today quantity has been transformed to quality: the greatly increased mass of participants has produced a different kind of participation – the distracted masses absorb the work of art into themselves, which is the way buildings are perceived (267-8). Film, by virtue of its shock effects, is predisposed to this type of reception. Benjamin continues, it makes cult value recede into the background because it encourages an evaluative attitude in the audience, an attitude that requires no attention. The audience is an examiner, but a distracted one (269).

Hot Sauce and Liquor

2005-10-12T02:15:00.000-04:00

I can't stand trinkets. So I wasn't about to bring home some piece of garbage little ceramic thing from Jamaica just because it would remind me of my honeymoon. What did I buy, you ask? 5 bottles of hot sauce, 1 jar of Jerk seasoning and 3 bottles of liquor. One sauce is made from Scotch bonnets, which are supposedly one of the hottest peppers in the world. The most kickass part of all of this - the total cost was like $60 (well, $80 when you include my campy tiki glasses, but you need to serve rum punch in something cool, right?!). The coconut rum - to die for, so tasty. Appleton Estate Rum - very smooth.

I never quite understood why people need more than pictures for memories. I've always been quite content bringing home foodstuffs and alcohol. Why? Because national identity for me is based around 2 things: food and film (not being reductionist or anything). I am completely enamored with all things edible and watchable. Ah, the perfect "Jamaica away from Jamaica moment" would be: eating some Jerk chicken with scotch bonnet sauce while watching The Harder They Come. Jamaican food and Jamaican film mingling together.

Wow, if only it was that easy to encompass an entire nation in a piece of chicken and a 2 hour film. Regardless, Jerk chicken rules!

But all of this begs the question - can national identity be properly conveyed through food and film? When watching a film, are you not doing violence to all other elements of the nation that are not being focused on in the film? Food wise, is there such a thing as an authentic Mexican meal? I mean authenticity is in the eyes of chef, right? Do I necessarily have to be Mexican to make proper tacos el carbon? Or am I not making tacos al carbon but rather some type of imitation that cannot properly live up to the original (if such an idea even exists)? So I'm reading Benjamin now, so my line of thought goes to the next logical step - cuisine is considered an artform, so does food have an aura?

Roethlisberger

2005-10-11T08:18:00.000-04:00

Did anyone see the blow to the knee last night? Sounds like he'll be out for a while...

Just when I take first place, my QB gets injured and I fall to 5th...oh well, Favre is my back-up so I might not be totally screwed.

Wedding photos

2005-10-11T07:56:00.000-04:00

For those of you that care - here's a few Wedding photos. Yes, it's true, I'm now married - sorry, ladies. I'll post some more later. We have a pretty large wedding party, eh?

Frankfurt School

2005-10-11T07:54:00.000-04:00

Ellen from my Intro to Grad Theory course posted a link to a Frankfurt school primer on our (unofficial) listserv. I skimmed it briefly and it looks like a great introduction to a realm of theory that is quite confusing at times. Anything to make life a little easier, right?

The link can be found here.

Critique and enjoyment

2005-10-10T02:10:00.000-04:00

In briefly reading over my Tutoring Practicum's thoughts on the idea of critique and its effects on enjoyment, my honeymoon comes to mind. I just returned from Jamaica about an hour ago and I couldn't help but think that my time there would've been all the more enjoyable if I didn't have such a "critical mindset". Consider this - on the 90 minutes drive from Sangster International airport in Montego Bay to Westmoreland, there are literally no homes which would pass for anything more than a shack in the good ol' US of A. Total squalor - quite depressing. Not the same sort of depressing as Detroit either - urban decay is somewhat beautiful to me. The Jamaican countryside, while beautiful in terms of vegetation, is incredibly hard to stomach in terms of living conditions.

So then we enter our resort - Sandals Whitehouse, which of course, is absolutely gorgeous. We check in, go to our room where we are greeted by our butler. This was set up by our travel agent and I was quite uneasy about it at the time, but didn't want to seem ungrateful since she "upgraded" us as a gift. Well, if I didn't know any better (and I imagine many of the vacationers don't) I would say that Sandals is pushing a type of neo-slavery. The guests are roughly 90% white - the employees are nearly 90% black. What this equates to is pretty obvious - white master, black slave. This coupled with the constant performance put on by the employees - it's like some type of minstrelsy.

The worst part of all of this is that I truly enjoyed myself, but shit, it was my honeymoon. We avoided our butlers for the most part (yes, there were two - 1 day and 1 night) , so I wasn't constantly thinking about slavery. But even if the structure of resort lends itself so well to this type of criticism (which I'm not even sure if this is fair to Sandals), isn't everyone working there happy to be working? I mean maybe/maybe not, right? Do the employees feel like slaves or do they genuinely enjoy what they do? Does it even matter? Most people travel to a resort like this once on their honeymoon and never return, so what do the employees care?

Once we begin to critique for living, it becomes incredibly difficult to do anything strictly for enjoyment. Hell, I used to drink Bud Light before I became a critical beer drinker - now, I can hardly touch domestic stuff and won't even scoff at the $15 bottle of Abbey Tripel since it is SO damn tasty. So criticism leads to wonderful things, like Abbey Tripel, but it also causes me t look critically at everything I do, especially things I do for enjoyment - but is that so bad???

Gilette Fusion

2005-09-29T11:22:00.000-04:00

http://www.gillettenews.com/men/index_fusion.htm

Is there really a need for a FIVE blade razor? Of course, I love my Mach 3 Power, so I will of course buy this and try it out, but seriously - I get a damn close shave with 3 blades, so I'm guessing 5 blades may go below the first 2 or 3 layers of skin. I can't help but think about the SNL skit with the 99 blade razor - where does the madness stop? Could there be a 6, 10, 25, 30 blade? I mean, it's all about marketing, right? You got a close shave with the Mach 3, but think of how much closer it'll be with the Fusion!! As much as I hate the gimmick, I'm a sucker for a close/comfortable shave...

Video Games

2005-09-29T10:47:00.000-04:00

I have a strong desire to teach video games, so I've been attempting to get some ideas of how other educators are using games in their classrooms. I placed a link to Brock Dubbels' syllabus on my del.icio.us site. I briefly skimmed the syllabus and was delightfully surprised - his course is very similar to something I'd like to do. More later...

We Love Katamari!

2005-09-23T22:01:00.000-04:00

My fiance is playing We Love Katamari as I read my pedagogy books - I'm jealous, of course. Most striking about Katamari is its addictive nature. The way in which the sequel is in direct dialogue with its predecessor is totally fascinating. As if to say, the popularity of the first game was a total fluke, so out of the kindness of our hearts we've created this sequel for all of you obsessive fans to pine over. Believe me, it's not arrogant in anyway - the game is quite simply one of the most playful and enjoyable games I've ever had the pleasure of playing. All that needs to be done is rolling up anything and everything in your way - it's both maddening and exciting. Oh, if you are prone to motion sickness - this game will make you queasy, but it's worth it...

Bartholomae

2005-09-23T21:43:00.000-04:00

Immediately evident from "Inventing the University" is the thought that kids entering college should have some sense of the audience they are addressing, which thinking back is something I really had no idea about my audience. Should the question (I'm referencing the creativity question here) speak directly towards issues of audience or is the point of the entrance exam to weed out the kids who have no sense of audience in lieu of kids who do?

Pedagogy

2005-09-19T13:49:00.000-04:00

Pedagogy is a topic that whether we know it or not, we've encountered it. Each time we are taught, a different pedagogical style is being implemented - no two teachers will be the same. In A Guide to Composition Pedagogies, 12 different techniques are examined and historicized. Pedagogy is obviously a subject that cannot be understood completely within the confines of one book or one million books for that matter, but this text offers a look into styles that have been utilized and have worked for particular people. Rather than employing one particular pedagogical style, reading a text like this sheds light on multiple ideas which can then be espoused or set aside. This type of primer offers tools that can be used often or not at all.

As a student who is now attempting to make the transition into teaching (outside of my "comfort zone" no less), I find a text like this simultaneously helpful and overwhelming. Helpful because of all of the wisdom and strategies being passed down and overwhelming because there is this thought in the back of my head that I'll be standing in front of a class practicing "process pedagogy" but something will come up that requires me to shift suddenly and I freeze. Of course, this is not the intention of the text. As I said earlier, tools are being provided and there is law stating that only one type of pedagogy can be utilized at any one time. It's just figuring out when to use each style...that seems to be the key.