Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I have been knee deep in some site updates that should be appearing in the near future. My site might be in and out over the next few days since I am still gaining a rudimentary understanding of MySQL, CGI, PHP, etc., etc. So, be patient with me.
And while you wait--Read the new George Saunders' short story in the New Yorker.
Well, you knew Ann Coulter was a venomous right-wing wack-job with a perpetual well-spring of hate ready to dump on anyone in earshot, but did you know she was also a plagiarist?
This from Raw Story:
Coulter : "A photo of a newborn infant with its mouth open titled to suggest the infant was available for oral sex."
The Flummery Digest: "The title of a photo of a newborn infant with its mouth open suggested that the infant was available for oral sex."
Coulter: "A photo of a woman breastfeeding an infant, titled ' Jesus Sucks.'"
The Flummery Digest: "… photograph of a woman breastfeeding an infant was titled 'Jesus Sucks.'"
Coulter: "A show titled 'DEGENERATE WITH A CAPITAL D' featuring a display of the remains of the artist's own aborted baby."
The Flummery Digest: "'Degenerate with a Capital D'...included 'Alchemy Cabinet' by Shawn Eichman, featuring the remains of the artist's own aborted baby."
Coulter: "Performance of giant bloody tampons, satanic bunnies, three-foot feces and vibrators."
The Flummery Digest: "[T]he performance art of Johanna Went...relies upon props such as giant body tampons, satanic bunnies, three-foot turds, and dildos."
I guess it must get hard constantly spouting nonsensical diatribes while trying to maintain some originality at the same time.
Oh, as you can also see from the above photograph Ms. Coulter might have an even bigger surprise.
(via Bookninja)
You've got to see this Mark Fiore cartoon on Rovegate.
It is easy to lose perspective as to why this Rove investigation is so important. Oftentimes partisans tend to look at controversies as an aid to hold the other guy down so that their ideology gets positive treatment by default.
However, it is important to remind the American people to keep Rovegate in perspective. Rove's behavior is made all the worse by the fact that the outing of a CIA agent's identity was used to discredit a report that hurt the administration's case for war.
With the Bushies it was always, War or Bust.
I was immediately mesmerized by the work of Murat Kaboulov. His images are always elegant even when the paint has been put on thick with seemingly chaotic brushstrokes. I have only chosen three of his works to place on the site. However, I highly recommend making your way over to his website and checking out more of his work.
This from Murat's artist statement:
"When I am looking at a painting, I realize that it attracts me much more than a beautiful landscape outside. Why? Perhaps viewing a piece of art is similar to a dialogue with its creator, who must have felt and experienced a lot before he picked up a brush and dipped it in paint. Of course, nobody can compete with nature, which works miracles of beauty. Even art fails if it tries to surpass it, but as an artist, I am bound to keep attempting the impossible, for it is the supreme temptation of creativity. The images that I reflect in my art often come to me with the ephemeral streaks of sunset and with the tremulous shadows of night, but even more often they are born of the long and crowded days that line up, striving to linger in my memory. Nothing fascinates and inspires me more than human nature. Storms and calm of the human soul are the preeminent subjects of my art."
I noticed that when I right-clicked on his images a window popped up stating, "Please don't steal my pictures." Well, I hope Murat doesn't think I have stolen his pictures.
This from the AP:
"Police are on the lookout for the naked tickler. Investigators said they believe one man could be responsible for a series of bizarre break-ins in which a naked man enters victims' rooms while they are sleeping and tries to tickle their feet."The naked tickler struck again in New Smyrna Beach over the weekend."
This is one of those stories that is almost too crazy to believe.
(via HuffPo)
The paintings of Lorin Hesse certainly harken back to a different time. For some, these images might represent a pleasant and comforting nostalgia, and for others they might seem degrading. Whatever these images make you feel, they seem to force questions, inciting an internal dialogue about your culture's past, especially in regards to modern history's idea of womanhood.
This from Lorin Hesse's site:
"Effectively, it is the media that has nurtured recent generations. Believing this, I seek out that which feels nostalgic and that which evidences the evolution of the communication of women's sexual personification. The dinosaurs of truth fascinate me: written and oral epistemologies of female beauty and sexuality. This series reflects, in part, that seeking."
It looks like the BBC Beethoven series was a major success. This from HuffPo:
"Forget Coldplay and James Blunt. Forget even Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, which, in the version performed at Live8 by Sir Paul McCartney and U2, has become the fastest online-selling song ever. Beethoven has routed the lot of them."Final figures from the BBC show that the complete Beethoven symphonies on its website were downloaded 1.4m times, with individual works downloaded between 89,000 and 220,000 times. The works were each available for a week, in two tranches, in June."
I know I downloaded all nine symphonies and have been giving all of them a listen.
This from Undercover:
"The Rolling Stones will deliver a musical attack on George W. Bush with their new album."One track 'Neo-Con' is reported to question the political ambitions of Bush's war ethics.
"Some fans are already questioning if the politically correct Stones will go through with releasing the song on the album. The lyrics don't flatter in any way National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice."
Who says a Rolling Stones attracts no moss?
(via HuffPo)
Kidman as Arbus:
"Nicole Kidman is playing Diane Arbus in Fur, which director Steven Shainberg calls his "fairy tale for adults," a fictional take on three months in the provocative photographer's life. The Bewitched star's "subtlety and mysteriousness" (not, this time, her nose) channel Arbus, says Shainberg, who directed Secretary. Arbus was most famous for her photos of sideshow freaks.
It was one thing when she played Virginia Woolf with little make-up and a prosthetic nose, but it is another thing to try to play Arbus straight-up. It is a ballsy move on Kidman's part, but one that I, for one, can't see being very successful. I hope she proves me wrong.
Let's hope that the Supreme Court announcement doesn't take the heat off Karl Rove's legal problems. Because they just keep stacking up.
This from Murray Waas over at The American Prospect:
" White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove did not disclose that he had ever discussed CIA officer Valerie Plame with Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper during Rove’s first interview with the FBI, according to legal sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter."The omission by Rove created doubt for federal investigators, almost from the inception of their criminal probe into who leaked Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak, as to whether Rove was withholding crucial information from them, and perhaps even misleading or lying to them, the sources said."
Reaction from this story from Josh Marshall:
"If Murray Waas's sources are right, Karl Rove is in a ton of trouble, even if he did nothing more than we know already. According to his sources, Rove didn't 'fess up about the conversation with Matt Cooper when he was first interviewed by the FBI in 2003."
(via pontificator at kos)
After Bush's nomination of a far right justice last night I just wanted to welcome everyone to Karl Rove's America. His strategy: Divide then Conquer. The culture wars are hot and getting hotter. Mission Accomplished, Karl. Thanks for all your hard work. You are destroying our country thread by thread.
Big Supreme Court pick tonight. The first name floated today was that of virtual unknown, Edith Clement. Well, ABC nixes that speculation.
Also, another popular mention today was Edith Jones. Many think that Bush would want to replace one woman with another woman. I personally think that Bush's pick will have more strategy attached. This White House is constantly thinking strategy. For example, why not take the unprecedented step of asking for a prime time slot to name a Supreme Court Nominee. This way, they get all day buzz and analysis from the talking heads. Then they dominate all major media outlets tomorrow with reaction to the pick.
I personally have my money on Gonzales, still. I know that the radical right has done everything they can to prevent Gonzo's selection. However, Bush sees that his approval ratings are at historic lows, and the White House is in desperate need of friendly press. Bush and co. know full well that the press will be no friendlier then if Bush makes a "unifying" pick. It just shows you how crazy the other candidates must be if Gonzalez is considered "unifying."
Keep your eyes out for minority pick Larry Thompson. Bush is famous for picking radical minorities and using their race as a shield for their atrocious records.
All that being said, my dark horse pick is Theodore Olsen. Afterall, they can always defend his record by saying: "His wife died in 9/11. How dare you question his record?"
I don't think I have ever had this many Republican faces in one entry. It feels kind of icky.
Update: The Note also thinks it might be Gonzalez. (via Kos)
Update II: AP reports:
"President Bush chose federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday as his first nominee for the Supreme Court, selecting a rock solid conservative whose nomination could trigger a tumultuous battle over the direction of the nation's highest court, senior administration officials said."
The paintings of William Coronado portray city-dwellers absent from their routines, white space or black space embodies these individuals. The cities become haunted in the presence of this absense, something surreal takes place in the other characters that exist in these cities. You get the sense that no one knows where they are going. In one case, the city-dwellers actually follow the absence.
This from re-title:
"The colors in the paintings are vibrant and whimsical with the sole purpose of luring the viewer into a world that at first glance is decadent like candy with saturating colors while, simultaneously, being a visual metaphor for the bright hues, which are intrinsic to digital environments. The paintings tell a visual story about a world that seems rather remote but at closer inspection is psychological, apathetic and haunting, a place where logos, brands, and structure seem to be absent. Some of the forms in the paintings are blurred, distorted, displaced and contradictory from what reason dictates. The compositions are trickery to the eye because they give the impression of what some considered realism but are rather metaphorical ideas on the mental condition of humankind."
My, my. How things do change when the heat is on. This from Kos:
September 29, 2003:McClellan: "If anyone in this administration was involved in it [the improper disclosure of an undercover CIA operative's identity], they would no longer be in this administration."
September 30, 2003:
Bush: "If somebody did leak classified information, I'd like to know it, and we'll take the appropriate action."
Earlier Today:
Bush: "If someone committed a crime, they will no longer work in my administration."
Bush will never fire Rove. He knows that he couldn't have been elected to the local School Board, let alone become the most powerful man in the world, without Rove's disciplined rhetoric and fiendishly networked talking points.
Need evidence of Rove's hold on Bush. This is from Ron Suskind's book "The Price of Loyalty." The source was former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill.
He says everyone expected Mr. Bush to rubber stamp the plan under discussion: a big new tax cut. But, according to Suskind, the president was perhaps having second thoughts about cutting taxes again, and was uncharacteristically engaged."He asks, 'Haven't we already given money to rich people? This second tax cut's gonna do it again,'" says Suskind.
"He says, 'Didn't we already, why are we doing it again?' Now, his advisers, they say, 'Well Mr. President, the upper class, they're the entrepreneurs. That's the standard response.' And the president kind of goes, 'OK.' That's their response. And then, he comes back to it again. 'Well, shouldn't we be giving money to the middle, won't people be able to say, 'You did it once, and then you did it twice, and what was it good for?'"
But according to the transcript, White House political advisor Karl Rove jumped in.
"Karl Rove is saying to the president, a kind of mantra. 'Stick to principle. Stick to principle.' He says it over and over again," says Suskind. "Don't waver."
Sure, Bush has a folksy charm, but his confidence has mostly been garnered through carefully orchestrated victories and the power gained from those victories. Before he was elected governor he was still just a recovering drunken frat boy who liked to watch baseball games, a corporate patsy with his father's powerful name.
One thing you know about Bush is that he is extremely loyal. You know that deep down inside he knows that Rove created him, molded his 'ol drunken country smirk into the presidential smirk. But that is not the only reason he won't let Rove go. He, like all others that have crossed Rove, is terrified of what Rove would do to him in the press.
Can you say seven figure book deal?
This from the Guardian:
"The architect Will Alsop is helping a group of prisoners to design their own jail."Alsop will run a series of workshops with the staff and long-term prisoners at HMP Gartree, Leicestershire, this autumn. Participants will be encouraged to visualise a "creative prison" that emphasises rehabilitation rather than punishment and security.
"'It could be the butt of lots of jokes, of course - a lot of open doors," Alsop says. "But there's a very serious issue behind it. What would be the benefits of creating something that they could respond to in a creative way?'"
The new prison is supposed to aid the prisoners in their rehabilitation by giving their lives a sense of value through creative expression. I think this is a brilliant idea. I am looking forward to seeing the results, both for the building and for the prisoners. Hopefully, both projects will be a success.
(via Cool Huntings)
Dylan Jones has just written his personal memoir, "iPod, Therefore I Am," a journey into his obsession with music since the advent of Apple's iPod. For anyone who has an iPod you know what he is talking about. My personal obsession with the ultimate playlist has often kept me up at night. Pathetic.
This from the book cover:
"Dylan Jones' book is about the iPod, its astonishing effect on the music industry, its invention and marketing. It's also about how a little plastic and chrome digital music player no bigger than a mobile phone has irrevocably altered our relationship with music. This book features the design and creation of the iPod and the rejuvenation of Apple. It is also a history of Dylan Jones' personal journey through music, and his own obsessions with the Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Burt Bacharach, punk, hip-hop, Van Morrison and U2. He selects the best 100 jazz records ever made and shows how to make your own definitive 175-song Beatles album. There are comprehensive lists and essays about what you could put on your own iPod. No longer will you have to bend to the whims of a record company's unalterable choices."
Right now, it is only available in the UK.
ArtMoCo is a really valuable site for any art lover. I am always being turned onto something amazing like the work of Ricki Mountain.
Mountain is an Abstract Expressionist out of Northern California. She works in many different mediums. I hope to post more from her work in the future. Today, I am posting several of her paintings. It was difficult to choose just three. In the future I hope to post some of her mixed media and collage work.
This from Ricki Mountain's artist statement:
"Painting is for me the process of discovering what I want to see. I have always been attracted to the unknown rather than the known. For this reason abstraction is a natural and intuitive choice."I am constantly mixing and matching to find a balance between tension and harmony, spontaneity and control, empty space and active space, depth and surface.
"A painting is complete when it no longer demands anything from me."
History is a strange thing. The present is frustrating in its slowness to see the wrongs of the world paid for with justice. History has shown us that justice takes time, but in a civilized world, it usually makes itself known eventually.
I believe that the scales of justice may be tipping right now in Washington. I think the administration's lies have finally caught up with them. Rove's leaking the name of a covert CIA agent might have been the card that brings down the house of cards that made up the war in Iraq. After all, it was Joesph Wilson's op-ed disputing the administration's claim that Iraq had acquired enriched uranium from Niger that started this whole thing. It's the WMD's, Stupid!
The foundation of this investigation rests in the administration's faulty case for war in Iraq. The Bushies were going to war and if you tried to stop them, well, they were going to discredit you by any means necessary.
This from Frank Rich in The NY Times:
"Let me reiterate: This case is not about Joseph Wilson. He is, in Alfred Hitchcock's parlance, a MacGuffin, which, to quote the Oxford English Dictionary, is "a particular event, object, factor, etc., initially presented as being of great significance to the story, but often having little actual importance for the plot as it develops." Mr. Wilson, his mission to Niger to check out Saddam's supposed attempts to secure uranium that might be used in nuclear weapons and even his wife's outing have as much to do with the real story here as Janet Leigh's theft of office cash has to do with the mayhem that ensues at the Bates Motel in "Psycho.""This case is about Iraq, not Niger. The real victims are the American people, not the Wilsons. The real culprit - the big enchilada, to borrow a 1973 John Ehrlichman phrase from the Nixon tapes - is not Mr. Rove but the gang that sent American sons and daughters to war on trumped-up grounds and in so doing diverted finite resources, human and otherwise, from fighting the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. That's why the stakes are so high: this scandal is about the unmasking of an ill-conceived war, not the unmasking of a C.I.A. operative who posed for Vanity Fair.
"So put aside Mr. Wilson's February 2002 trip to Africa. The plot that matters starts a month later, in March, and its omniscient author is Dick Cheney. It was Mr. Cheney (on CNN) who planted the idea that Saddam was 'actively pursuing nuclear weapons at this time.' The vice president went on to repeat this charge in May on "Meet the Press," in three speeches in August and on "Meet the Press" yet again in September. Along the way the frightening word "uranium" was thrown into the mix."
Now, Rich also thinks that, well, I am too exicted to say it, I'll let him tell you
"Seasoned audiences of presidential scandal know that there's only one certainty ahead: the timing of a Karl Rove resignation. As always in this genre, the knight takes the fall at exactly that moment when it's essential to protect the king.
Could it be?
The paintings of french graffiti artist, Miss Van are currently on exhibit at the Iguapop Gallery in Barcelona. The characters that Miss Van has created certainly have a signature style. The paintings' characters resemble voluptuous adolescents that are either innocent, depraved, or both depending on whose looking.
If you are an avid viewer of The Daily Show (if you're not, you should be), then you will have noticed the new set that was unvelied this past week. Well, some are theorizing that the new set is also indicative of Stewart's taking the show in a more focussed, possibly harder hitting, direction.
This from Fish Bowl NY:
""The Daily Show" continues to be a must-watch. Why? Because Jon Stewart has the clean-up advantage, where he can take the day's Zeitgeist and distill it into the message he wants to send. And make no mistake, he wants to send a message. Somewhere along the way it looks like Stewart got inspired - the exchange with Bernard Goldberg best shows that, where he stayed stubbornly on point (that Goldberg went after the wrong people, and lets the the people with real power (cough certain members of the Right cough) get of scot free). The fact that Stewart aired the full exchange with Goldberg, pre-empting a pretaped sure-to-get-laughs segment centered on the words "vaginal cream," says something about what he wants to do with his platform. He has the audience, he's prepared to use it. Perhaps that's what the new set means; no couch for you, don't get too comfortable, I'm asking the questions here."
For my money, The Daily Show is the only news show out there worth watching. It is ironic that if you want actual news then you have to go to a program that claims to be "fake news".
I have been anticipating the release of Tim Burton's "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" for almost a year now. I have always had a great affinty for the Willy Wonka (1971) version, and have always wondered how it might translate if it were updated. However, I think it is unfair to compare the two movies too much. Also, it is just as unfair to compare Gene Wilder's brilliant performance as Wonka to what I hear is an uncharacteristically subpar performance from Depp.
Here are some blurbs from the reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes:
"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is not a total triumph. But it's successful enough to linger in your memory, for the most part pleasantly."
-- Philip Wuntch, DALLAS MORNING NEWS4/4 "An exhilarating and fanciful movie that never drowns in money or technology."
-- Michael Wilmington, CHICAGO TRIBUNE2/5 "Burton's gifts ensure you won't be able to take your eyes off the screen, but that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be happy with what you're seeing."
-- Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES3/4 "A treat for twisted children of all ages."
-- Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a spectacle to be enjoyed, but only as such."
-- Desson Thomson, WASHINGTON POST
It looks like overall people are enjoying the movie. I can't wait to see it myself.
Also, The New Yorker has a really good article about Roald Dahl, the british writer who wrote "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".
Update: Roger Ebert just posted his review online(3/4 stars):
"Now this is strange. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" succeeds in spite of Johnny Depp's performance, which should have been the high point of the movie. Depp, an actor of considerable gifts, has never been afraid to take a chance, but this time he takes the wrong one. His Willy Wonka is an enigma in an otherwise mostly delightful movie from Tim Burton, where the visual invention is a wonderment."
Tomorrow Amazon is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a free online concert featuring Bob Dylan and Norah Jones.
Bill Maher is going to host the concert. I am sure there will be alot of shilling. Afterall, Maher's new book, "New Rules: Polite Musings of a Timid Observer" was just released.
The concert will be broadcast live on the web at 8 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific.
This from Cenk Uygur over at HuffPo:
"The party went from being dominated by practical moderates, like the first Bush, to ideological and fundamentalist zealots, like the second Bush. In the interim, President Clinton gave us balanced budgets, welfare reform and a war in Kosovo so brilliantly conducted we did not lose a single soldier and completely achieved our objective."In the face of the evidence that Bill Clinton had accomplished everything I had wanted out of government and that the second Bush was headed in a disastrous direction in foreign and fiscal policy, I could have stayed the course and kept arguing for my party. But I decided to do the rational thing, to do the patriotic thing instead - change course."
I wish all Americans were as pliable as Cenk. We should all be able to switch parties in the face of evidence that our traditional party is no longer up to the job. Of course, politics has become too much like a team sport, and it is hard to imagine a Red Sox fan switching to a Yankee cap.
Take a look at the whole article.
I always find out about really interesting artists right after they have exhibited. As is the case with Bill Kane. He just completed an exhibit, Suprematist Nudes, at Modernism in San Francisco.
Kane's work offers us many new ways to look at the female nude. Now, we find ourselves looking at the form through a retro-Suprematist lens. This would, I think, really irritate the father of Russian Suprematist painting, Kasimir Malevich, who believed in form over figure. Malevich once said:
"Honor to the Futurists who forbade the painting of female hams, the painting of portraits and guitars in the moonlight. They made a huge step forward: they abandoned meat and glorified the machine."
Regardless of what Malevich might think of Kanes' "female hams", I find that the results are almost always pleasing.
But Kane explains it so much better than I do:
"Currently I am working on a series of images of Nudes montaged with images of Russian Suprematist painting from 1912 to 1923. The Suprematists wanted to divorce their art from the physical world and explore relationships of a higher, "Supreme" reality. I thought it interesting to combine works from opposite polarities; physical nudes with these hard-edged geometric explorations to see what relationships would result. The "tattooing" of the Suprematist works on some of the Nudes makes them almost archetypal presences of an idealized form: no longer merely physical entities. In other images the Nude softens the hard-edged Suprematists forms making them more physical and worldly. These new relationships, I hope, give a heightened sense of the "beingness" underlying both."
Pictured above is the cover to Willie Nelson's new reggae album, "Countryman". Of course, that is only if you are not in Wal-Mart. Pictured below is the special Wal-Mart album cover.
Who says Wal-Mart doesn't change the way people do business?
I'm sorry but I can not understand the backwards mindset that assumes that an artist's rendering of a marijuiana leaf will encouarge children to smoke pot.
Update: They are also selling the Wal-Mart cover on Amazon as the "Alternate Clean Cover".
It had been awhile since I nicked something from ArtMoCo. So, when I saw Kirsten Johnson's series of sock puppet paintings I knew they needed to be lifted to my site. These paintings are done in oil on chalkboards with the titles written in chalk. The images show the sock puppets in varying actions and behaviors, and allow you to see a side of sock puppets you rarely get to see at puppet shows.
This from ArtMoco:
"Touchy-feely is a series of oils on chalkboard by Toronto artist Kirsten Johnson who conceived of the idea of using sock puppets as subjects during convalescence after being hit by a car. Johnson sought comfort in the notion of a sock puppet show that never took place, and eventually created portraits of them."
Sign this petition and let your voice be heard in a chorus of other voices, all telling Rove to slither his way out of our government.
According to CBS, Bush has also promised to fire anyone involved in the leak:
"On June 10, 2004, Mr. Bush said he stood by his pledge to fire anyone found to have leaked the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Democrats said Monday they hope the president will make good on that pledge."
Of course, Bush's firng Rove is predicated on the fact that Bush actually keeps his word, meaning he tells the truth. So, I guess it's a long shot.
I have garnered more attention and traffic from my posts about Miroslav Tichy then I have from anyhting else on this blog by far. For whatever reason, people really enjoy Tichy's photographs. I think there is something about their nostalgic, dreamy quality that remind us of a generic past, or they strike a chord from our past with each picture's suggestion of some fogged over memory.
This from Modern Painters on Tichy:
"Are you, like me, one of those dreamers who rummage about in secondhand shops for a forgotten Van Gogh? And do you perhaps believe that there might still be some undiscovered old master out there? If so, you shouldn’t miss Miroslav Tichy's exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich. It’s the result of one of those art fairytales that should no longer be possible in our globalized artworld. You might reply that you’ve never heard of Tichy. An emerging artist, but not a rising star? What, he’s eighty years old and his first solo show goes straight into the main space in the Kunsthaus Zurich? He lives out in the sticks, somewhere near Brno in southern Moravia, a place he hasn’t left for 50 years? His cameras are made from trash, the lenses cut with a knife from Plexiglas, and he’s taken thousands of wonderful shots? Fifty years, 100 photographs every day and he’s never shown them to anyone, all just for himself? Sorry, he can’t be real. Someone's having you on!"
Tichy's work is still on exhibit at Arndt and Partner in Berlin through August 8.
I would like to thank Joerg Colberg over at Conscientious for the mention and the traffic. Thanks.
You can check out my two previous Tichy posts here and here.
Goodbye Claude Simon. We hardly knew ye. Meaning, hardly any of us was ever able to finish one of your books.
Claude Simon was one of the new novelists, which means he was pretty difficult to read, especially if you expect a book with a linear path. I got as far as reading a couple of Alain Robbe-Grillet's books before I realized I rather enjoyed knowing what was going on in the books I read. I did pick up one of his novels but I was never able to finish it. My friend, Claudius, did knock out at least one Simon and I think he enjoyed it.
This from The Telegraph:
"Claude Simon, the French novelist who has died aged 91, was one of the foremost exponents of le nouveau roman, the "new novel" style of the 1950s and 1960s which rejected the literary conventions of plot, narration and character development.
"Although his books - which contained little punctuation, jumbled chronology and meandering description - did not command a wide readership, Simon was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1985, after the publication of Les Georgiques (The Georgics), about three men's experience of war."
It looks like the media may be finally taking Rove's leak seriously. This is an excerpt from yesterday's White House press briefing:
QUESTION: Scott, this is ridiculous. The notion that you're going to stand before us, after having commented with that level of detail, and tell people watching this that somehow you've decided not to talk.
You've got a public record out there. Do you stand by your remarks from that podium or not?MCCLELLAN: I'm well aware, like you, of what was previously said. And I will be glad to talk about it at the appropriate time. The appropriate time is when the investigation…
QUESTION: (inaudible) when it's appropriate and when it's inappropriate?
MCCLELLAN: If you'll let me finish.
QUESTION: No, you're not finishing. You're not saying anything.
You stood at that podium and said that Karl Rove was not involved. And now we find out that he spoke about Joseph Wilson's wife. So don't you owe the American public a fuller explanation. Was he involved or was he not? Because contrary to what you told the American people, he did indeed talk about his wife, didn't he?MCCLELLAN: There will be a time to talk about this, but now is not the time to talk about it.
QUESTION: Do you think people will accept that, what you're saying today?
MCCLELLAN: Again, I've responded to the question.
QUESTION: You're in a bad spot here, Scott…
(LAUGHTER)
… because after the investigation began — after the criminal investigation was under way — you said, October 10th, 2003, I spoke with those individuals, Rove, Abrams and Libby. As I pointed out, those individuals assured me they were not involved in this, from that podium. That's after the criminal investigation began.Now that Rove has essentially been caught red-handed peddling this information, all of a sudden you have respect for the sanctity of the criminal investigation.
MCCLELLAN: No, that's not a correct characterization. And I think you are well aware of that.
We know each other very well. And it was after that period that the investigators had requested that we not get into commenting on an ongoing criminal investigation.
If you want to watch video of the briefing, you can check it out over at Crooks and Liars.
The AP had this to say about the briefing:
"For two years, the White House has insisted that presidential adviser Karl Rove had nothing to do with the leak of a CIA officer's identity. And President Bush said the leaker would be fired."But Bush's spokesman wouldn't repeat any of those assertions Monday in the face of Rove's own lawyer saying his client spoke with at least one reporter about Valerie Plame's role at the CIA before she was identified in a newspaper column."
It looks like we may start hearing a drum beat for Rove to take a hike, and the country will be all the better for it.
My first blog post ever was about this story on October 1, 2003. I always believed that this story would cause some serious havoc in the White House. That is why it has always been so frustrating that this investigation has taken so long.
I am really taken with the work of Alejandro Seeber. I have been searching his name online, but have mostly just come up with more images of his work. Certainly, the images are about as much as one needs to know about an artist, and Seeber's images are no exception. Notice the boldness of his colors, the courage to create a dual space within the frame of a piece.
To be honest Seeber is one of those artists whose work I can't quite explain. I am not sure what it is about his work specifically that I like. It just presents a pleasant aesthetic that I find myself coming back to again and again.
Check out more of his work at The Slingshot Project.
I just recently read Nick Hornby's new novel, "A Long Way Down." I had read several of Hornby's previous novels("High Fidelity" and "About a Boy"), and enjoyed both of them. I wouldn't say that they were great books, but they held their own weight.
This is exactly how I felt about "A Long Way Down" through Part One of the novel, but then it kind of took a spin into the absurd. Now, don't get me wrong I am all for the absurd when it is done well, but Hornby falls short in this novel.
This from Hornby's website about the novel:
" On New Year's Eve, four strangers make their way to the rooftop of a London apartment building called Toppers' House. Their goal, however, is not celebration but obliteration. For various reasons, each one has decided that the time has come to put an end to his or her life. As they inadvertently meet and begin to share their stories, they find themselves citizens of a sort of independent state, where street-level laws no longer apply. And gradually, very gradually, they help one another to discover reasons to live, at least for the time being."
I thought the characters were well drawn, but one character in particular, Jess, was just downright unlikeable. As far as I was concerned she had no redeeming qualities even when she was trying to do something good. I really feel that if Hornby had drawn her down a little then the novel could have been a better fit for me.
Overall, though, I would say that fans of Hornby's work should read it. It is not a bad book. I wish Hornby would have further explored a question that he posed only at the very end, which was: Would it make a difference to the world if you died?
However, when it is all said and done, I have to admit that I was relieved to be done with the book.
Brandi Carlile's self-titled album comes out this Tuesday. If you have been lucky enough to hear her Acoustic EP then you are anticipating the new relaease as much as I am. She has a strong, rich voice that goes as achingly high as Jeff Buckley just at the right moments. You can got to her website and listen to her song, "Throw it All Away."
Thanks to Cool Hunting for the heads-up:
"Brandi possesses a particular quality that many young artists today don't have -- and that is solid songwriting. She's a storyteller with a twang in her gruff, soulful voice that can also hit a high falsetto at the crack of a whip, much in the way Roy Orbison did."
I have always really enjoyed The New Yorker. However, their movie critics, David Denby and Anthony Lane, represent everything that's wrong with critique. It is obvious that these guys are too miserable to actually enjoy movies. I think it should be a prerequisite for a film critic to actually like films.
Anyway, they tore apart, Me and You and Everyone We Know. Other than those pompous asses, mostly people seem to be enjoying the hell out of the movie. If I lived anywhere near a theater that played decent movies, well, I think I would be enjoying it, too.
Here is a blurb from Ebert about the movie:
" Miranda July's "Me and You and Everyone We Know" is a film that with quiet confidence creates a fragile magic. It's a comedy about falling in love when, for you, love requires someone who speaks your rare emotional language. Yours is a language of whimsy and daring, of playful mind games and bold challenges. Hardly anybody speaks that language, the movie suggests -- only me, and you, and everyone we know, because otherwise we wouldn't bother knowing them."
I've been wondering what I might say about the bombings in London on Thursday. I have felt that it was best to remove myself from the fray of the echo chamber. I have grown so tired of the word terror, that it has lost its meaning. It is possible that events happened so quickly as to by-pass terror, heading instead straight into tragedy, but the days and weeks that follow the event are what really terrifies. Ian McEwan, I think, says what needs to be said in the Guardian:
"We have been savagely woken from a pleasant dream. The city will not recover Wednesday's confidence and joy in a very long time. Who will want to travel on the tube, once it has been cleared? How will we sit at our ease in a restaurant, cinema or theatre? And we will face again that deal we must constantly make and remake with the state - how much power must we grant Leviathan, how much freedom will we be asked to trade for our security?"
You should check out this really good flash animation piece, that acts as a video for Radiohead's "Creep".
I have always loved the work of Henri Matisse. One of the signatures of his work has always been his colorful backgrounds, and the exuberant choice of designs in his painting. As we can see from a new exhibit at The Met, this is largely because Matisse carefully sought out textiles with unique and colorful designs to use in his paintings.
Here's more from The Met's site:
"This is the first exhibition to explore Henri Matisse's (1869–1954) lifelong fascination with textiles and its profound impact on his art. "Matisse: The Fabric of Dreams—His Art and His Textiles" features forty-five painted works and thirty-one drawings and prints displayed alongside examples from Matisse's personal collection of fabrics, costumes, and carpets. The exhibition marks the first public showing of Matisse's textile collection—referred to by the artist as his "working library"—which has been packed away in family trunks since Matisse's death in 1954."
The exhibit will be shown until September 25.
Ingmar Bergman, at 78, is releasing his first movie in 20 years on July 8th. The movie is Saraband, and is really highly regarded by critics. Certainly, one has to worry if the director's history alone garners favorable reviews. Bergman is, no doubt, deserving of such praise as a truly legendary director. So, for that reason alone I know I am excited to see his new film, assuming it comes to my neck of the woods, which is doubtful.
This from Time on Bergman and his new film:
"The old lion has roared back to life with one last sublime work. Saraband, the first film Bergman has directed for theatrical release in 20 years (he announced his retirement after Fanny), is a chamber piece: four characters, 10 dialogues. Yet Bergman, who turns 87 this month, gives the story such vigor and rigor, so much emotional bile and spilled blood, that it would shame a much younger director. Here is no mild afterthought to which a critic nods indulgently. This is a testament of love and anguish from the man who used to be called the greatest living filmmaker. Well, dammit, he was. And, as Saraband proves, he still is."
The trailer I saw was done in all still images, but it was amazingly effective.
I have to admit that I have always been a sucker for superhero movies. It is one of my many guily pleasures. I was never a huge comic book fan, but the movis based on comic books, well, I usually get pretty excited to check them out. There are a few exceptions: Spawn, Hellboy, and now The Fantastic Four. From the beginning I have been suspect of The Fantastc Four. The proposed story never really seemed that interesting to me, and the trailers just seemed like the same 'ol schtic.
Well, maybe my insticts about the movie were right. At least, Roger Ebert thinks so:
"Are these people complete idiots? The entire nature of their existence has radically changed, and they're about as excited as if they got a makeover on "Oprah." The exception is Ben Grimm, as the Thing, who gets depressed when he looks in the mirror. Unlike the others, who look normal, except when actually exhibiting superpowers, he looks like -- well, he looks like the Hulk, just as the Human Torch looks like the Flash, and the Invisible Woman has some of the same powers as Storm in "X-Men."---- "And the really good superhero movies, like "Superman," "SpiderMan 2" and "Batman Begins," leave "Fantastic Four" so far behind that the movie should almost be ashamed to show itself in the same theaters."
The greatest line from his review:
"The Thing looks like Don Rickles crossed with Mt. Rushmore."
I don't think I'll be rushing out to catch this one.
I noticed through the course of the day on the 4th that there seemed to be a shift in the Christian rhetoric that I had grown accustomed to hearing lately, and it was surprisingly refreshing.
This from Chuck Gutenson:
"As one of my colleagues says, a conservative theological agenda aligns best with a progressive political agenda (in contradiction to this administration and its apologists!), and many of us are sick at the perversion of the Christian faith being foisted upon our country and this world by this group. British theologian and Bishop of Durham, NT Wright, characterized the religious expression of the Bush administration and its religious apologists as "a very strange distortion of Christianity."
This from Gene Stone:
"The media has turned the word Christian into something abominable to gays; a faith that’s predicated on hatred. Read the papers, watch tv, and you’d think that Christianity was a monolithic block of homophobes whose idea of a good time is signing petitions to keep gays in chains for life.
"Okay--that’s true for some. But what about the other Christians? The ones who abide by Christian values, and are loving, tolerant, and peaceful? These are the people who raised many of us, people whom we love dearly, and who love--and accept--us, in turn.
"You don’t see that story in the media, however. The media has come to worship the idea that there is one and only one Christianity, and it is represented by the folks who picket gay funerals and hold up signs that say “God Hates Fags.” These are the people who sell magazines, who make for good ratings."
Also, I stumbled onto this story about a group called the Chistian Alliance for Progress:
"America's moderate and progressive evangelists, outgunned for years by the mighty "religious right," are demanding their own share of the political action."Their mantra, in a building campaign against conservative Christians, a key constituency of resident George W. Bush, is: 'ince when was God pro-war, and pro-rich?'"
It finally sounds like progressive Christians have decided that it is time to stop allowing the loud-mouths to represent their faith. Let us hope it is not too late. The hate-filled fundamentalists have been spewing nonsense for so long it might be hard for anyone to understand that Christianity isn't excluseively for those that believe in moral absolutes.
Please go visit the Christian Alliance for Progress. They certainly could use your help, and lord knows that this country could use more progressive Christians.
I decided that, in celebration of the Fourth of July, I would post what I think are the five most enduring American art works of the twentieth century. I judged these pieces both from a historical context as well as their general public accessibilty. Here are my top five in chronological order.
That's the list. Happy 4th of July.
I recently watched famed graphic artist, Milton Glaser on PBS's Now, and he was discussing a book he just co-edited, "The Design of Dissent". If you get a chance to read the transcript from the interview it would be well worth your time.
There was also an exhibit(sorry, it wrapped on the 2nd), that accompanied the book at The School of Visual Arts in NYC.
This from RockPub as an intro to the book:
"Dissent is an essential part of keeping democratic societies healthy, and our ability as citizens to voice our opinion is not only our privilege but our responsibility. Without this dialogue, the backbone of what we have fought so desperately for could easily crumble."Over the past several decades, we have seen the number of democratic societies around the globe increase, and during the past ten years, there has been a heightened awareness of the increasing conflicts and problems that both directly and indirectly affect our everyday lives. With the Middle East's never ending conflict, the war on terrorism, and the numerous financial and environmental crises, people's sense of safety, power, and representation has diminished in part because they feel they have no voice."
This is something that we should all remember this Independence Day. The framers of the Constitution would not be pleased at the passivity of our modern media, or the public's apathy towards that passivity. We should remember that dissent is democracy, no matter what our "leaders" say.
Buy a copy of The Design of Dissent here.
Karl Rove was indeed the man (I use that word loosely. I'd much rather refer to him as a snake), that outed Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. This is truly going to provide some Fourth of July fireworks in Washington.
This from Editor and Publisher:
"Tonight, on the syndicated McLaughlin Group political talk show, Lawrence O'Donnell, senior MSNBC political analyst, claimed to know that name--and it is, according to him, top White House mastermind Karl Rove.Here is the transcript of O'Donnell's remarks:
"What we're going to go to now in the next stage, when Matt Cooper's e-mails, within Time Magazine, are handed over to the grand jury--the ultimate revelation, probably within the week of who his source is.
"I know I'm going to get pulled into the grand jury for saying this but the source of...for Matt Cooper was Karl Rove, and that will be revealed in this document dump that Time magazine's going to do with the grand jury."
There you have it. I am getting so tired of having to tell Republicans I told you so, but, well, here it is..... I told you so.
UPDATE: Also, this from O'Donnell on The Huffington Post:
"Since I revealed the big scoop, I have had it reconfirmed by yet another highly authoritative source. Too many people know this. It should break wide open this week. I know Newsweek is working on an 'It's Rove!' story and will probably break it tomorrow."
Leonard Nimoy(AKA Spock), is displaying a new series of photographs entitled, "Maximum Beauty" at the Bonni Benrubi Gallery in NYC.
This from an interview Nimoy did with The New Yorker:
The idea for "Maximum Beauty," Nimoy explained, came when he was showing some work at a photography seminar. "I had been working on female figures for a number of years, and a lady approached me and said, 'Your work seems to deal with mostly a particular body type,'" he said. "She was about three hundred pounds--a very large lady, a very lovely lady, and she came to our studio and we photographed her."
Time magazine is tackling street art in a piece, Graffitti: Is it Art or Vandalism?
The magazine commissioned the work of several New York graffitti artists to help them create the billboard(posted above).
This from Wooster Collective about the billboard:
While some may look at this billboard as another example of mainstream brands co-opting graffiti, we see it as something quite different. It's provacative. It stands out from the crowd. And most importantly, it has something to say. The tag line:Post-Modernism?
Neo-Expressionism?
Just Vandalism?These questions are exactly what we've been debating on the Wooster site. While some may not agree with us, we've always said that these issues are not black and white, and that at the end of the day, its all about how well the campaign is executed. We think that Time, CopeII - and Fallon (the ad agency behind it) have executed the campaign brilliantly.
I have also tried to answer similar questions regarding the value of graffitti/street art.
These are significant, and telling numbers from Zogby:
"President Bush’s televised address to the nation produced no noticeable bounce in his approval numbers, with his job approval rating slipping a point from a week ago, to 43%, in the latest Zogby International poll. And, in a sign of continuing polarization, more than two-in-five voters (42%) say they would favor impeachment proceedings if it is found the President misled the nation about his reasons for going to war with Iraq."
The first significant number is Bush's falling approval ratings, even after this week's nationally televised speech.
The second number is an extremely high number regarding impeachment. I am not suggesting that I actually believe Bush will be impeached. There is after all a Republican congress. However, I have no doubt that the man misled.
Slowly but surely legal gay marriages are happening. First Canada legalized gay marriage. Now, Spain has as well:
"Parliament legalized gay marriage Thursday, defying conservatives and clergy who opposed making traditionally Roman Catholic Spain the third country in the world to officially recognize same-sex unions. Gay rights activists cheered lawmakers and blew them kisses."The measure passed the 350-seat Congress of Deputies by a vote of 187-147 with four abstentions. The bill, part of the ruling Socialists' aggressive agenda for social reform, also lets gay couples adopt children and inherit each others' property."
Listen, I have said before that this is our generation's civil rights issue. You can either be a dinosaur and oppose gay marriage, at your future descendants' inevitable shame. Or you can accept the inevitable and embrace gay marriage.