The "Dante" Forums

VEXX: DevLog 3

2010-12-18T12:03:00.003-06:00

This is going to be a short update.

I've been doing some research into browser extensions and will be making a chrome extension for VEXX. This means that VEXX should have all of its envisioned features. After I have the chrome extension working, I'll move on to firefox/safari.

* correction - I've been using the term "plugin". What I meant to say was "extension". There is a profound difference between the two.

VEXX: DevLog 2

2010-12-12T01:44:00.002-06:00

Tidings all. This development log is long overdue, but I've been busy (sorry Joe!).

First, the bad news:

washere (VEXX prototype 1) is only marginally successful. Due to some technical garbosiosos (explained in detail later on), I was not able to add all of the functionality that I wanted to get in this version. The only major feature missing is the automatic tracking of web movement. Right now, the only way to track the sites you've been on is to use washere's address bar. Because of this, I have also removed "starred" entries for web histories. Note: make sure not to go to sites like google, they are evil and eat up VEXX (i.e. if you go to google, vexx will cease to exist).

Now, for the good news:

washere is ready for public testing. Head on over to vexx.demalus.com and sign up. Once you are on the main page with the washere bar at the top, select the "on" radio button and begin navigating the intertubes with the textbox. If you want to check out someone's profile, simply click the "View User" button and type in the name of the user. For example, if you type in "frank" and hit enter or click the button, you will be able to see my web history while using washere.

Overall, I think the proof of concept is convincing - I wouldn't be surprised if Sir Joseph and I accumulated $30,000,000,000.72 USD by Christmas. washere is currently very light on features, so where do we go from here? I was thinking that we should move immediately onto browser plugin development - which will be able to handle VEXX's tracking features. Other areas of note are friends lists, real-time updates, some actual graphics, and possibly integration with other sites.

Enjoy.

=====================================

Technical Notes:

For this prototype, I decided to use a page with a navigation frame and a content frame. This seemed reasonable at first, although requiring users to use our address bar instead of the one in the browser is stupid. To track users' actions, I tacked on an onLoad method to the content frame - so whenever it changes, I can use some simple AJAX to record the URL change. Unfortunately, calling a function in a different frame doesn't work if the frames are on different hosts. Once we have browser plugins that record web navigation, this won't be a problem. Also, the problem with frames in general is that sites (like google) can simply get rid of our frames with their own javascript...so washere cannot ever hope to achieve VEXX's design goals.

VEXX: DevLog 1

2010-10-25T21:35:00.007-05:00

Tidings one and tidings all!

As a select few of you know, change is slowly coming to this world. A violent upheaval, born of flame and justice. From the ashes of what was will arise the next great wonder: VEXX. The masses will rejoice in enlightenment.

VEXX is not currently materialized, but it does exist conceptually. This post is part 1 of the development log for VEXX. I have been tasked by comrade Catanzariti to build a VEXX prototype - to make real what previously was not.

===============================================

Prototype 1 for VEXX will henceforth be known as "washere".

Here is what washere will try to accomplish:

users
streamed tracking (passive)
special tracking (active)

There are many technologies VEXX can use to accomplish its goals. The simplest will be to build a website that uses frames to track activity. Using a simple solution is ideal for the proof of concept prototype. washere will be built using HTML, PHP, AJAX, and MySQL.

Website

In order to use washere, users will have to go to our website. The website will have two frames - an administrative frame and a web frame. The web frame will simulate a normal web browser experience. The administrative frame will have an address bar (although users will certainly be used to using their browser's address bar) and a button to highlight certain pages. The administrative frame will be responsible for streaming a user's activity to the server.

Backend

The server will use PHP and MySQL to store user information. The website and server will communicate via AJAX protocols. MySQL was chosen because it is widely supported and just works. We don't need to think about massive scaling or performance issues at this point in time.

Upcoming

I will be salvaging parts of FCMS, my content management system, to quickly get user registration and login working. I will then move on to making sure the web frame can be tracked properly.

Jean, I Tell You This

2010-05-03T14:05:00.003-05:00

There I was - smack-dab in the middle of a homo-sapien hive. My consciousness was elsewhere, but I could feel my subconscious rising through my veins like some god-damn vision of the cosmos. I pause. The guy behind me barely avoids colliding with me. His utterances thereafter were not noted - for they were merely a part of the ambience of it all. You should have seen the horror grow on my face - but maybe you did. It was all around me. To the left, there it was! To the right, even more! Straight ahead - make it stop! And even more terrifying, it was all over me!

All of the upright mammals were wearing blue jeans. Yes, you heard me correctly - jeans in various shades of blue. Now, I'm not talking ripped jeans, short jeans, jean jackets, or jean hair products. I'm talking about straight up blue jeans. I'm willing to bet that 99% of people on this planet have at one time or another dawned blue jeans. How did this machine invade every facet of our society? I mean, can you imagine what the world would be like if Levi & co. had invented rugged, assless, skin-tight flex-pants? Besides the obvious benefit of being able to "open the hatch" whenever and wherever, what kind of madness would ensue? Can we even justify or quantify the effects that these devices have had on our collective psyche?

If You Get Some Freetime

2010-04-01T00:36:00.003-05:00

Maybe you are wondering, "Hmm... A post on the 'Dante' Forums?! Oh wait, it's 1 April 2010!" Fear not, this is no joke - unless you're one of those people with that sense of humor.

So, if you get some free time, you might enjoy these flicks on VBS.TV. The first, is a documentary about Korea, the second Liberia. They are known as The Vice Guide to Place where "place" is the place they are going to (as you probably assumed).

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-travel/vice-guide-to-north-korea-1-of-3

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-travel/the-vice-guide-to-liberia-1-of-8

The website is a little hard to navigate, but basically I've linked to part one of each. If you scroll down, you can click on the next few parts.

Why watch these you might ask? Have you ever wondered what it was like inside of North Korea or Liberia? Well, now you can know vicariously through someone else's perspective!

Also, if you're not in a third-worldly kind of mood, I present to you the best episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force:

http://www.break.com/usercontent/2009/2/Aqua-Teen-Hunger-Force-Hand-Banana-669545.html

"Tonight. YOU."

Absolutely Fascinating

2009-12-01T15:01:00.003-06:00

The following video is a debate at Wellington College (this is part 1 of 10). It is actually quite fascinating that this kind of a debate can even take place - let alone have so many articulate people in one place in time.

One of those... "artsy fartsy" games:

2009-11-23T20:51:00.004-06:00

So, I first saw this over on reddit and thought it was so incredibly awesome that I had to share it with the "Dante" itself. It's free, it's simple, it has good music and story elements....well just see for yourself!

http://www.gamesfree.com/game/company_of_myself.html

I really liked the ending. Not only was it a fun level, but the epilogue was great! It's very Braid-esque, but I think it takes that mechanic and does some really fascinating stuff. I especially like the levels where you don't just use the shadow, but the shadow uses you.

The Gorthax: Epilogue

2009-11-21T12:00:00.007-06:00

~ FIN ~

My Friends,

2009-11-21T00:08:00.005-06:00

A Whale.

Sperm Whale - The best bloopers are a click away

The Gorthax: Act V

2009-11-20T22:05:00.004-06:00

(I'll not surrender my typing colour! You'll have to pry it from my cold preferably not-dead hands!)

Herman "The Man" van Rompuy

2009-11-20T13:48:00.002-06:00

The EU has found a new leader, and that leader is an obscure, bald, intellectual Belgian man with an awkward surname. Or, in other words: the EU has found its perfect leader. Personally, having lived in the European Union for several months last year and having been forced to sit in on numerous explanatory meetings in Strasbourg as well as Brussels on the inner-workings on the world's most bureaucratic supranational governmental body, I think I came to understand the EU fairly well. Having been at one point or another in 22 of the 27 member states, I feel as though I am least moderately informed of and aware of the significance of the EU, and fairly cognisant of its finer, more subtle operations. If nothing else, however, I am totally aware of what I like to think of as the zeitgeist of the EU; of its soul, its essence, its core, the feeling that it communicates, both to Americans and to Europeans, and I feel as though the apparent conciliatory selection of Van Rompuy to what is in theory the highest office in the land is wholly consistent with that zeitgest. Van Rompuy is an intelligent, multilingual, shrewd politician, he is educated and fair, and he is a brilliant negotiator. He is also bald, short, ineffectual, and Belgian. Thus, he will do his job well, but nobody will care, and the EU will go on much as it has for the past couple of decades. Except perhaps slightly more smoothly, and with a face to show the world. The face of Herman Van Rompuy.

The name, by the way, is pronounced ROM-poy, as one would be inclined to pronounce a good Belgian name (Flemish, in this case). For the record, I think Belgium is a wonderful country, and I sincerely appreciate Van Rompuy's diplomatic prowess that was integral in maintaining the national integrity of the modern Belgian state, which would surely have splintered without his leadership. Perhaps this speaks more to the man's potential than anything else, and perhaps it is qualification enough for him to lead the EU, which is, similarly to Belgium, a multicultural, heterogeneous political entity, unified for the sheer sake of the economic benefit that necessarily follows closer cooperation. So well many political people will suggest that the Van Rompuy presidency represents a failure on the part of the EU to assert itself on the world stage, I say it represents a choice wholly consistent with everything the EU has done to date. Personally, I am rather excited about it. A brave new day has not dawned; rather, a normal, average day, the same as many others before it, has taken its place in history as "today." Europe is not the reactionary place it once was. In many ways, it is too cool select a cool leader. So kudos to the EU, and kudos to Mr Van Rompuy. I eagerly anticipate the modest work that you'll probably do at some point.

"Todd and I love Unprotected Sex"

2009-11-19T09:53:00.004-06:00

Sarah Palin is a real, live American hero that we should all be more grateful for. She is a beautiful, gifted, articulate woman who stands up for real American values. She's not just another dime-store politician with a Harvard JD and slicked-back hair like the Liberal elites running our country (Obama has the Harvard JD; Biden has the slicked-back hair). Sarah Palin is a real middle-class woman, a woman from humble origins, a woman with beautiful family, and a woman with a good old-fashioned appreciation of the true American way. Sarah Palin is the quintessential "American woman" in every sense. A devoutly religious individual, Palin could certainly teach those Godless commies in the Senate a thing or two about to whom we are all ultimately accountable, about whom we should be ever-mindful when we're so preoccupied with filthy, sordid dealings. Sarah Palin is unwavering and steadfast in her views, and is a tremedously virtuous and highly moral woman in the face of great adversity. She is a real Christian. In an age of cheap thrills and quick fixes, Palin serves as a beacon of piety and devotion to one's country, a devotee of the same sort of sophisticated ideas and systems of values to which we should all strive to make the base of our own moral compasses, of our own lives.

Or so I thought, until I saw this on Conan last night. Now that's all out the window.

(There's a commercial first.)

Presumably a Good Thing

2009-11-18T16:53:00.003-06:00

The "Dante" Forums brings you "breaking news." Apparently, the Senate Health Bill is cool according to the CBO. In a reasonable world, this is a good thing. But we don't really live in a reasonable world. I'm eagerly anticipating learning how this'll get irrevocably screwed up. Thanks for the cynicism, Pereira.

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

The Best of Beards

2009-11-18T12:46:00.031-06:00

For as long as the internet has been a series of tubes and not a big truck, beardophiles have been posting their freestyle creations.

And for equally as long, there has been a clear cut winner. I speak of the famous, windmill beard.

Today, history is made.

It took almost twenty years to surface, but I think we can all agree that a champion in the beardosphere has emerged.

Fx, you have some catching up to do.

Visualising the Decline of Empires

2009-11-18T10:36:00.002-06:00

Visualizing empires decline from Pedro M Cruz on Vimeo.

This was on Boing Boing this morning, and I rather liked it, and thought you all would as well, but I am increasingly ill as of late, and I have loads of work to do before my Sunday departure date, and so have little to else to say today.

Shalom.

A Few That Caught My Eye

2009-11-17T17:57:00.007-06:00

Being ill allows you a heaping amount of free time. I split my time between some reading, some Modern Warfare 2, and thirdly a movie here and there. Was the flu a blessing in disguise? No. But I took the time to view some movies I hadn't seen in quite a while and some I had never seen. I enjoyed each thoroughly and would like to share with you, the general public, a few ending lines from the movies that both made me cry like Glenn Beck or smile like a gay man at an Outlet Mall.

My New End at the Beginning

2009-11-16T14:45:00.008-06:00

Editorial Note (From Giuseppe): Today's Guest Blogger is yet another of my North Dakotan associates, Mr Mike Tintes. According to the blogger: "Mike "v2.0" Tintes is a computer science junky enrolled and sometimes attending the University of North Dakota. Whilst not computing he sometimes likes to go outside. His skill set includes DJ-ing, turntablism and hockey, though not at the same time. He finds joy in irony and lines above all things. If you wish to chat or comment directly to him send an email to tuxedoorigin@hotmail.com. Have a wonderful day. I hope you don't get exploited." We look forward to experiencing his worldview.

Good Morning and seeing as it is fact the afternoon I guess you already know if it was. To think that is my first sentence on this blog. Like I did not mention my name is Mike "v2.0". In case that does not mean anything to you then its nice to meet you. Like I said this is my first time so be gentle. I did nothing dramatic to get this gig except ask for it they handed to to me based on few to less than a few credentials. I guess they liked my resume. see left picture. Anyway I would like to start this blog with what i will mostly be writing, an essay.

I call this post 'The Epidemic' please enjoy and tell me what you think.

The Epidemic

One thousand down every minute. The amount is astounding. i don't think they ever understood the impact good or bad. I will tell you the real story and you can decide, AIRHEADS, are they too out of control?

Let's go back to the beginning of this mystery. No one really knows where salt water taffy got its start. It is clear that it started sometime around 1800, in the Midwest or Atlantic City. Not disturbing enough for the common folk? Well maybe some facts about 1800 that will disturb you. In the year 1800 the worlds population was nearing one billion. Thats right one billion thats one hundred million multiplied by 10 or in other words if you had one billion apples and had two taken away then added two apples thats almost how many people were on earth. That is an ass load of apples. Thats enough apples to feed one billion people for one snack or one really fat guy for like an hour. The obese man would have to be very very fat.

1800 would have also been the year the bank of France was founded. I think we all know the country well enough without having to go over its smelly armpits and hairy women. Its unemployment rate for 2007 was 8%. Its almost as if they were competing to do this bad. But I digress because we all know France sucks cheese.

Airheads were invented by a company by the name of Perfetti Van Melle. Perfetti, an Italian, and Van Melle, of the Netherlands created the company. Italians and Netherlanders working together, does this sound suspicious enough? I did my research and came up with a few names you may know Lou Costello, Joe DiMaggio, Leonardo da Vinci. Do they sound familiar they should they are all descendants of Italian Immigrants or Italian themselves. I dug further and found some more names Leonardo Pisano Fibonacci, the famous mathematician, Robert Di Nero, the actor. If there is one thing I do know about Italians its this they are all gangster and mobsters. They also enjoy bragging about their “mamma's Cappellini”, which as it turns out is not a sexual reference, and ending words with “i”s. I kept looking around the internet or “The answers to everything” as I like to call it, and couldn't find any famous people from the Netherlands, because its an awful place, so all I have to go on is racial stereotypes and movies. People like Dr. Evil were from the Netherlands. You really want to trust your candy with a man like that? Me neither.

According to Airheads expert Steve, a 7 year old who lives down the block, “Airheads are the bestest thing ever.” Steve is 7 years old and still uses the word “bestest”. Will you trust your candy choice to a kid like this. When asked about her son's statement Steven's mother replied, “Get away from my son you creep. If I see you walking anywhere near my son again I will call the police.” Studies haven't been run but my guess is this candy is rotting Steven's poor fragile mind turning him into an airhead. This is one theory as to how it reproduces. Other theories have been made such as factories make the candy, but the theory was found totally and completely preposterous by the surgeon general. When asked “why?” Steven K. Galson the current acting surgeon general replied, “The insanity, to think someone actually creating this monstrous candy its asinine.” America is full of people that are insane.

Insanity is on a rise in the United States of America. According to a study one in every four people have a mental illness. Its a simple test. First, think of three people close to you. Second ask yourself “are any of them insane?” Third, if the answer is no then you are in-fact insane yourself. You should seek help immediately and should not ingest any airheads.

Airheads are in over 50% of homes in the USA according to a statistic I just made up. This is a scary fact when you think about that only 38% of households own a weapon. That means that 62% of homes are not protected if these airheads escape their wrapper and decide to take families hostage, a fact that may keep most people awake at night. In an underground lab tests were run simulating what one of these takeovers would be like. According to Bill Nye aka “the Science Guy” who chose to remain nameless, “The Airheads escaped their packaging, and in under two minutes they had taken the family hostage and dissolved all of their teeth.” Although this may not be all to frightening for the south, because none of them have teeth. It is all to real of a scenario for those of us with pearly whites.

In conclusion, should we trust the mobsters/pure evil that is airheads candy. Well let the facts speak for themselves and lets hope you are one of the 28% of people that own a gun in these United States of America. As for me well there is a knife under my pillow and cyanide capsules in the nightstand.

C. K. Williams

2009-11-15T13:43:00.004-06:00

In a wonderful twist of fate, I meant to click on the "Chess" link in my bookmarks bar and accidentally hit the "TED" link instead. Upon arriving, I decided to take twenty minutes out of my life to listen to one of these always inspirational talks, which I feel have greatly enriched me as a human being over the past couple of months as I've discovered and explored the site. The talk I chose (headlined under the "beautiful" tag) consists of a poetry reading by the wonderful American poet C. K. Williams, who research reveals to me is a professor at Princeton who splits his time between New Jersey and Paris (poets love dichotomies). It's a truly wonderful reading; Williams' stuff is raw and real and beautiful, but not effusively so; rather, it's soft spoken and intimate in a way that a lot of modern poetry is not. The subject of the reading is youth and age.

So end here my banal and prattling prose. Now it is the appropriate time

To turn our attentions to the fluidity and the power of a well-constructed rhyme.

"Bridge Buffoonery"

2009-11-15T13:26:00.002-06:00

Because there's no posting here all weekend, and because I saw this video and laughed hysterically (especially at 0:55), I've decided to share it all with you, thou steadfast followers of the "Dante." Enjoy!

Real content shall resume during the week.

The Gorthax: Act IV

2009-11-13T18:26:00.004-06:00

Note: the images in this series can be enlarged by clicking on them.

The Gorthax: Act III

2009-11-13T18:24:00.004-06:00

Note: the images in this series can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Water on the Moon

2009-11-13T12:35:00.013-06:00

This just in, from various news sources:

"We are ecstatic," Anthony Colaprete said in a NASA statement. "Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapour plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact."

Water Found on the Moon: In a discovery that invalidates science textbooks around the world, NASA confirmed Friday that “large amounts” of water exist on the earth’s moon—about “a dozen two-gallon buckets” worth, as one researcher put it. The evidence comes from an endeavor last month, when the agency crashed an unmanned probe into the moon’s south pole in a successful attempt to kick up ice. The results will likely mean a boon for space expeditions to discover the full extent of the moon’s natural resources and other signs of life. "We're unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbor and, by extension, the Solar System," NASA’s chief lunar scientist explained. "The Moon harbors many secrets.”

Read it at BBC News

Posted at 1:14 PM, Nov 13, 2009

Love! Love! Love! Love!

2009-11-13T11:40:00.004-06:00

Editorial Note (from Giuseppe): Today's Guest Blogger is Austin Luebke. In Mr. Luebke's own words: I study religious studies and sociology at the University of North Dakota. I am growing a gnarly beard and I am particularly interested in tea tasting as a method to transcend the ego and know the Divine Reality directly and experientially.

Bismillah ar-RaHman ar-RaHeem,

Here is a video of the Qadiri Tariqa (a Sufi Order) posted for the benefit of those who follow the "Dante." The individuals who follow the Qadiri Tariqa, in this video, are Muslims from Chechenia. Most Sufi orders are 99 percent of what is considered "Islamic" by popular conception (opinion of the blogger) meaning these individuals follow the five pillars of faith, a maddhab (Islamic School of Law), the sunnah (practices of the Prophet), and uphold the aqida (Islamic Tenets of Faith). The 1 percent that makes up Sufism is not popularly conceived as "Islamic" and has been viewed with suspicion by many practicing Muslims (particularly Wahhabis). Sufism (in the opinion of this guest blogger) is not, in fact, unIslamic but I would call it extra-Islamic or Islam+1. Sufism, or tasawwuf, is one of the sciences of Islam and its subject is the internal states of the individual. Its goal is that the individual turn from all else except Allah. So someone who practices Sufism is particularly ambitious, religiously, and desires to increase their deen or religion and faith in the Divine Reality.

The Qadiris here in this video are practicing a form of dhikr, literally "remembrance", which is what Sufis do to increase God-consciousness. There are many forms of dhikr from silent to very loud and aggressive . The goal in the video, as far as I can ascertain, is to employ the action of singing, hearing, and movement to focus the mind away from the ego and senses toward God alone; thus losing sense of individuality and entering the "Sea of Divine Oneness." I believe, and it is difficult to tell, they begin by chanting "Allah" and segway into "La illaha illa Llah" which means, "There is No God But God".

I hope this video will serve to inspire hearts of the sincere.

The second video is the same Sufi order performing another type of dhikr, the famed Sufi circle. I have no explanation as to how this dhikr works but I generally think it looks cool and Allah knows best.

Salaams to you and me all the rest. God God God be blessed!

Einstein: More Than a Brand of Delicious Bagels

2009-11-13T10:09:00.004-06:00

So, I occasionally (depending on my mood) read The Atlantic online. It's a really solid publication, they do the whole Internet thing quite admirably, and they often write on genuinely important and interesting literary and social issues. Also, I am quite biased as the magazine is based in Boston, and is thus automatically elevated to a higher status in my mind than it perhaps would be otherwise. But this is all really outside the point. As it were, today I WAS reading The Atlantic online and stumbled across a really well-written article by Walter Isaacson about the life of Albert Einstein, Jewish identity, and Zionism.

I think we're all much more used to thinking about Einstein in a socio-sceinetific context than a socio-political or socio-religious context, but these were pressing issues during the man's life, and had a profound impact on him as an individual. The article is longish (three pages, omg), but I would say it's definitely worth your time. A short summary:

In 1921, Albert Einstein’s first trip to America triggered the kind of mass hysteria that would greet the Beatles four decades later. But as newly published documents show, it also tore a sharp rift between European Zionists and some of their fellow Jews across the Atlantic, men like Louis D. Brandeis and Felix Frankfurter, who felt that the best way for Jews to get ahead was to assimilate, not agitate for a Jewish homeland.

So, I think you should give it a read. It's called How Einstein divided America's Jews, and it's really some top notch writing. And keep in mind that today is Hug a Jew Day, thus making these issues especially pertinent. If you've no Jews around, perhaps you can send a mental hug to Einstein. This would be appropriate, as such a telepathic hug would have to travel through space and time. Which is generally relative, as it were.

You Came in That Thing? You're Braver Than I Thought

2009-11-12T07:52:00.001-06:00

In keeping up a (relatively) old "Dante" tradition, I like to post for the general audience any sort of fine art that utilises "Star Wars" in any way that I happen to stumble across in my perusal of the Internet. Needless to say, this combines my affinity for perusing the Internet, my affinity for Star Wars, my affinity for fine art, and my affinity for blogging all into one activity for which, you shouldn't be surprised to learn, I have an affinity. Today, I submit for your consideration the work of artist Tim Biskup.

Of course, the artist in question has a lot more to offer the world than "Star Wars" themed paintings. He's a thoroughly talented individual, which a short period of time spent on his website reveals. For instance, I'm especially fond of this piece:

According to the artist's bio:

Tim Biskup (b. Santa Monica, CA. 1967- ) is a Southern California fine artist whose work has been shown worldwide, including galleries and museums in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Kyoto, Barcelona, Berlin, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Melbourne.

Long recognized for his complex color and design theories and a decidedly populist aesthetic, Biskup has amassed a cadre of loyal fans and collectors. Recent years have seen the artist tend towards more complex, personal and conceptual work while maintaining a commitment to visual experimentation.

With a consistent output of original artwork, prints, sculptures, books and other editions Tim Biskup has produced a body of work that extends into the far reaches of the art and design worlds. In 2004 he opened Bispop Gallery, a small retail shop and exhibition space located in the Old Town section of Pasadena, California.

Good stuff, compadres. (Note: I felt compelled to use the word "compadres" after the wonderful usage of the the word "cadre" in the above artist bio. Good words for good stuff.)

Charleston Style

2009-11-11T19:01:00.012-06:00

Perhaps I'm a bit out of the loop, but I was introduced to this video just yesterday. I figured now was a good time to post it here, as doing such would be consistent with my previous post, continuing a theme of "videos set in the first half of the twentieth century." A real stretch, but I think in the end it works. (And yes, I am aware, that's what she said. I think she may need a muzzle at this point.) Credit again to C. G. Arlandson for the link.

Londontown, 1927

2009-11-11T18:51:00.004-06:00

This is fantastic. Cory Doctorow at Boing Boing says:

This early (1927) color film shows 10 minutes of remarkable vintage London -- especially the Petticoat Lane market scenes around 6:00, which are a rare glimpse into the life of everyday people (it's even cooler if you were actually down on Petticoat Lane yesterday, as I was!).

The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

2009-11-11T11:32:00.017-06:00

Recently, I've come into ownership of the complete Kinks discography, which spans four decades and consists of about 2.5 GB of music (or just over 500 songs). So over the past couple of days I've been casually taking it all in, often listening to the various works as little more than background music while writing or walking around. I was, after all, already familiar with the band and was fairly confident that they didn't really demand my full attention. And while generally this has been true, there are a couple of profoundly important exceptions that I discovered: the two best Kinks albums, "Arthur, or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire" and "The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society." These are really solid compositions, and you should definitely give them a listen, again if you have in the past, or for the first time if you're yet to experience their general awesomeness.

The first is essentially a rock opera in the same style as the Who's "Tommy," or Pink Floyd's "The Wall," and it is really very, very good. According to Wikipedia:

The story is somewhat inspired by the Davies brothers' older sister Rose, who emigrated to Australia in 1964 with her husband Arthur Anning. This devastated Ray Davies, and it inspired him to write the song "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home", which can be found on the album Face to Face. The lead character in the album, the fictional Arthur Morgan, is a carpet layer whose family's plight in the opportunity-poor setting of post-war England is depicted. The songs describe the England that Arthur once knew, the promise of life in Australia for one of his sons, the emptiness of his superficially comfortable life in his home, "Shangri-La", the resolve of the British people in World War II, and the death of his brother in World War I, among other things.

The album was critically acclaimed at the time of release, especially in the US rock press. It was very favourably compared to Tommy by The Who, the highly successful rock opera, and Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical, released earlier in the year. Mike Daly in the Rolling Stone, for example, called it "an album that is a masterpiece on every level: Ray Davies' finest hour, the Kinks' supreme achievement".

The Davies referred to are, of course, Kinks' founders Ray and Dave Davies, who for some inexplicable reason are not as widely appreciated in this country as they probably should be. In any event, "Arthur" is excellent, and you should check it out. This is "Victoria," the lead track from the album:

The other album that I found exceptional, "The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society" is an absolutely wonderful piece. Beautiful, in a very traditional British way. Actually, most people are probably more familiar with this album than with any other Kinks' disc, and this is probably not a bad thing. The lead track (the titular track) is just so oh-so-pleasant. I especially enjoy this televised performance:

That's frontman Ray Davies who's all into the performance there. Excellent musician.
I also enjoyed this track, which I think was used in some sort of television advertisement a few years ago?
For Kodak or something?

Groovy. Anyhow, I just thought I'd share my newfound Kinks appreciation with you all. You should look into them yourself; there really is lots more where this came from, as it were. "Part One: Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround" is an excellent album, which I believe was the Kinks biggest seller in the States. "The Kinks Kontroversy" is also very solid, and totally worth your time. So, to sum it all up, then: the Kinks: better than I thought they were.

Your Mind = Blown

2009-11-10T18:05:00.009-06:00

If there were such a thing as an eyegasm, these brought me to it. Credit to my friend, Alex Muir, for the first link.

Best watched full-screen. And potentially under the influence of drugs.

Acid Washed from Anthony Burrill on Vimeo.

This one isn't a video, so I can't embed it. The visual effect is only 15 seconds long though, so check it out:

http://www.2flashgames.com/f/f-Black-and-White-vs-Color-8109.htm

The Gorthax: Act II

2009-11-10T16:45:00.007-06:00

Note: The pictures in this series are a bit hard to appreciate at this size. Click on them to see them in full detail. Enjoy.

To Boldly Be Inducted

2009-11-10T15:50:00.008-06:00

News today that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry is to be inducted into the TV Hall of Fame. And though I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as the TV Hall of Fame until I found out about this, I'm sure that it's a prestigious sort of thing, and I can think of nobody more deserving of induction than Roddenberry. Star Trek, whether you love it or not (and I'd rather not be on a friendly basis with those of you who don't), has had a tremendous positive impact on Western culture, and we are all the better a species for it. So mazel tov to Mr Roddenberry's family on this lovely news. May they live long and prosper.

"Star Trek" creator to enter TV Hall of Fame

Tue Nov 10, 2009 3:24pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Late "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry, comedy duo Tom and Dick Smothers and actress Candice Bergen will be among those inducted into the Television Academy's Hall of Fame in January. The Television Academy said on Tuesday they would be joined by "Saturday Night Live" and game show announcer Don Pardo, "The Price is Right" game show creator Bob Stewart and Emmy-award winning art director Charles Lisanby for the annual ceremony.

"This year's inductees have challenged and shaped popular culture and entertained us royally while doing so," said Television Academy chairman John Shaffner. Bergen is best known for her role in the 1990s CBS comedy "Murphy Brown", while the Smothers brothers started their TV career in the 1960s and are still performing for audiences around the United States.

Roddenberry's "Star Trek" franchise includes 10 movies and 7 TV series stretching back to 1966.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)

The Gorthax: Act I

2009-11-10T14:12:00.007-06:00

Note: This is the first act in my series entitled "The Gorthax". If you are confused, it is because the story will be told backwards. I have been creating these while in class, so it will take some time for the series to be complete, and for the story to become apparent. Enjoy.

Count Giuseppe von Chef, Lord Mayor of Kitchentown

2009-11-10T08:36:00.005-06:00

Inexplicably, whoever it is that runs Blogger seems to rather like blogs that feature photographs and obnoxious commentary by authors preparing food. Apparently nothing excites the powers that be more than a middle-aged woman deciding “Goodness gracious me! I’m a strong, independent, twenty-first century woman who eats a nutritious diet, took a cooking class once during the first Clinton Administration, has a crappy $149 Sony compact digital camera, and access to the Internet; why, I should cook a colourful, zesty meal and post the entire process onto a blog!” Naturally, only God really knows how anybody could find such a phenomenon anything other than “suicide-inducing,” but there you are. There is no explaining some aspects of this machine that we’ve created, and rather than fight it, I have decided to sacrifice my integrity, and to comply.

Welcome then, friends, to Chef Giuseppe’s Ultra-Fun and Ultra-Modern Kitchen. You may call me “Chef Giuseppe,” “Giuseppe the Chef,” or “Count Giuseppe von Chef, Lord Mayor of Kitchentown.” I prefer this last. I shall now ask (rhetorically) if you’re ready to cook something “delicious and nutritious,” and proceed regardless, as you’re preparedness does not in any way affect my own.

I shall now present you with the recipe that the royal we shall be preparing this evening, in the likely event that all this talk about nutrition and deliciousness causes a pleasant “rumbly in your tumbly,” or whatever.

Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Muffuletta Sandwich

Recipe from Veganomicon. Serves 4. Time: 45 minutes, plus 3 hours marinating time.

Ingredients:

Mixed Olive Salad Relish

1 cup pitted kalamata olives

1 cup pitted green olives

1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley

4 cloves pickled garlic

1/2 cup (about ten) sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed or dried and reconstituted)

4 tsp red wine or white balsamic vinegar

1 tsp each: dried crumbled rosemary, thyme, oregano and basil

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Sandwiches

1 smallish eggplant

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed and spun dry.

2 red peppers, sliced into strips

1 (9-10 inch) round peasant style loaf of bread

Mmmm mmmm good, right? Well, needless to say, if we want to satiate the hunger that’s surely a-brewing in there, we had best get started, hadn’t we? And this is the exciting part, for this is where we all get to look at the photographs of the oh-so-wonderful time that I had “preparing this bad boy,” as it were.

So, I’m not sure whether or not you were able to infer this from the way the recipe was formatted, but the firs thing that must be done is the preparation of the relish. Isn’t it the coolest thing that “relish” rhymes with “delish”?! Anyway, this is what it looks like when you mash up all of those “Mixed Olive Salad Relish” ingredients together in a bowl.

Beautiful.

Next, you’ll see that I’ve tossed the spinach with some red wine vinegar, as well as the eggplant, which at this point has been sliced and baked in an oven at 425 for 20 minutes. The minor wilting of the spinach is a result of it having come in contact with the vinegar and the piping hot eggplant. It’s part of the process; fret not!

Here, you’ll notice I’m sautéing some sliced red peppers. You should sauté some sliced red peppers too!

This lovely item is a hollowed out loaf of vegan-friendly sourdough bread. The great thing about this recipe: you get to use the bread guts to soak up any extra olive relish! Yay!

So this is what the finished product looks like, after you’ve spread the relish all over the bottom, poured in the spinach and eggplant, and topped it all off with the roasted peppers. Does that not look like the most delicious sandwich you’ve ever seen?!

I ate this “bad boy” over the course of four days, in small, divine servings. I recommend you do the same!

And sadly, that’s all the time we have today at Chef Giuseppe’s Ultra-Fun and Ultra-Modern Kitchen. I hope you had as much fun as I did!* Check back often for updates!**

*Note: I did not have very much fun.

**Note: you probably shouldn’t check back often for updates. Though I enjoy cooking (and especially vegan cooking), I cannot pretend to enjoy blogging about it. In all honesty, I do not plan on making this a regular feature in any capacity. It actually killed me a little bit inside to write this, but it was for the goodness of the blog. Though, I can’t predict how the Blogger people will react to the sarcasm that I’ve coupled with the whole thing. Only time will tell.

The Fall of What, Exactly?

2009-11-09T13:09:00.017-06:00

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, probably the single most significant geopolitical event of the latter half of the twentieth century. It marked the beginning of the end of the Cold War, the decline of Russia, and the rise of Europe on the world stage. The Internets (in their infancy in November 1989) are flooded today with articles and photographic essays commemorating this momentous occurrence. For example, there’s this piece from today's New York Times:

Leaders in Berlin Retrace the Walk West

By NICHOLAS KULISH and ALAN COWELL

Published: November 9, 2009

BERLIN — Flanked by leaders from the former Eastern Bloc in Communism’s last days, and mobbed by a cheering crowd, Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a day of commemoration Monday of the fall of the Berlin Wall, retracing the steps of the first East Germans, herself included, surging to West Berlin 20 years ago.

Mrs. Merkel’s symbolic walk across the Bornholmer Strasse bridge, accompanied by Mikhail S. Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, and Lech Walesa, the former shipyard worker who led a fight against Moscow-backed Communism in Poland, came as Berlin prepared for an evening of celebration to mark the moments on Nov. 9, 1989, when the wall began to crumble.

In a light drizzle hundreds of people gathered to observe the moment, some recalling the crowds who swelled the former East German checkpoint at the Bornholmer Street crossing point after an East German official announced that, with immediate effect, travel restrictions would be eased.
Mrs. Merkel has told reporters recently that she was one of those to walk into the west that night across the gray iron bridge at Bornholmer Strasse. Many of the hundreds crowding onto the bridge with her on Monday were former East German civil rights activists.

In the crowd, Lothar Binder, 72, a retired train driver, said that he was one of those who walked across the bridge 20 years ago to join a huge party of Germans celebrating the moment on the Kurfürstendamm in the west of the city. Now, he said he planned to repeat that same walk “just to remember, to walk and to look around and to see how things changed.”

Before that day, he said, he made his last trip to the western part of the city in 1961 as the wall began to take shape. “I think it is wonderful that things turned out the way they did,” he said. “Those who complain always complained,” he added, referring to those in East and West who opposed the end of the city’s division.

The bridge at Bornholmer Strasse is formally called the Böse bridge, named for an anti-Nazi fighter in the second world war. In the years of the city’s bisection, it was one of the principal crossing points for Westerners allowed to enter the east on foot or by car under conditions imposed by the East Berlin authorities.

“It’s perhaps as chaotic as it was in 1989,” Mrs. Merkel said of the crowd thronging around the leaders so that it was sometimes barely possible to distinguish the politicians from the people. “I’m very happy that so many people turned up.”

“Everyone who is present here today has a story to tell,” she said. “They are part of freedom.”
She said that a “new generation is growing up who are embedded in Europe, for whom the world is much more open than for our generation.”

“That is worth fighting for,” she said. The bridge was packed shoulder to shoulder with people, and the biggest cheer came when Mrs. Merkel thanked Mr. Gorbachev for the reforming attitude he brought to the Soviet leadership. The crowd chanted, “Gorby, Gorby, Gorby.”

Later Monday Mrs. Merkel planned to join the other leaders of the 27-nation European Union, along with the Russian president,Dmitri A. Medvedev, and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the United States secretary of state, in a ceremonial procession through the Brandenburg Gate that once formed part of the division of the city.

Mrs. Clinton met Monday with Mrs. Merkel before the ceremonies got under way.
During the celebrations, a long line of 1,000 oversized painted dominoes are to be toppled along the route of the wall as a symbol of its collapse in the heady days of 1989 when dictatorships tumbled across eastern Europe. German television said Mr. Walesa would push over the first domino, reflecting Poland’s lead in Eastern Europe’s campaign against Communism.

“The wall is gone. Two Berlins are one. Two Germanys are one. Two Europes are one,” Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain said in remarks prepared for delivery of Monday evening and released earlier to reporters.

Nicholas Kulish reported from Berlin, and Alan Cowell from Paris. Victor Homola contributed reporting from Berlin.

A brilliant piece, certainly. Well written, emotional, &c. However, I feel as though pieces like this are, in general, all quite mistaken in their unreservedly espousing the idea that in tearing down the wall, the Russians somehow lost something. That is was a concession by the Russian people. Such a conclusion is certainly a perfectly logical conclusion to make, but I am here to tell you that, while we're all celebrating the liberation of Berlin, it is categorically untrue. If Russia had somehow lost the Cold War, if the fall of the Berlin Wall represented the beginning of the demise of the cultural and political dominance of the Russian establishment in Eastern Europe, then would the Russians still be able to give us things like this? Case open; case closed.

Kudos belong to the multi-talented and rather tall C. G. Arlandson who brought this amazing piece of high culture to my attention. All of us who have enjoyed this song through this blog are in debt to Mr Arlandson for having enriched their cultural awareness.

Best Light Ever?

2009-11-09T11:43:00.004-06:00

I saw this on Boing Boing, and I could not help but share it with you all.

MAGGIE KOERTH-BAKER

POSTED AT 7:10 AM NOVEMBER 9, 2009

"Star Ship" Chandelier Boldly Lights Where No Lamp Has Lit Before

Yesterday, my husband went hunting around the Internets for a new dining room lamp. This is one of the options he presented me with. Only $189. Cheap!

Sadly, no Battlestar model is available. Or a Death Star. I might have gone for a Death Star.

Star Ship Chandelier from eLights

Kill Bill Soundtrack

2009-11-08T13:31:00.016-06:00

My vote officially gets cast for the Kill Bill motion picture soundtrack; the first film, of course. Not to say that Kill Bill 2 soundtrack isn't good--it is, and also brilliantly done--but the first has several clear moments in my mind of when the song perfectly matches the scene on screen in the eccentric, unique, Tarantino style that we all know and love.

The style he goes for in this film is simple, quirky, violent, and a mesh of old Japanese Chanbara, Chinese martial arts, and spaghetti westerns.

The movie itself is live-action, but this short anime clip appeared to tell the story of Oren Ishii. It features a song called the Grande Duel by Luis E. Bacalov. This piece here is a good representation what the movie in the rest of the film is like. Notice how the moments of heightened moments of various emotion flow along with the music.

And here we have another brilliantly simple and intriguing clip featuring a song that you will never get out of your head.

And the final fight scene between Oren Ishii and The Bride takes place in the snowy outdoor courtyard after the slaughter of Oren's personal army, The Crazy 88's. The silence is deadening at first, with merely the sound of a wooden bucket of water clapping against another wooden piece every few seconds by the flow of a garden fountain. Sometimes, what makes a soundtrack so good, is the LACK of soundtrack.

One cannot really grasp the brilliance of the soundtrack without watching the entire film. Do it!

And lastly, the song that rolled with the credits of Kill Bill 2, as an extra bonus, just because its so good:

_soundtrack_vote_

2009-11-07T21:26:00.009-06:00

I will cast aside my real votes, and instead put forth a soundtrack that goes beyond personal preference.
I will propose a soundtrack that everyone can in some way appreciate.

Now, without further babbling, I officially cast my vote for Space Jam.

**go to 0m31s

The Royal Tenenbaums Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

2009-11-07T18:39:00.005-06:00

This was actually a much more difficult decision for me to make than I’d have thought it would be, but I am very much pleased with what I’ve decided in the end. At first, I toyed with the idea of arguing the case for some of the more orchestral soundtracks out there, of the ilk of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, or perhaps something like Lawrence of Arabia. These sweeping musical spectacles are often modern audience’s only real exposure to any sort of contemporary orchestral scoring, and composers like John Williams and Howard Shore are, needless to say, the best sort of masters at their craft. However, despite the obvious sophistication and technical brilliance of these works, I decided in the end that such achievements in many ways are distinct works of art that it would be unfair to classify only as “film soundtracks." That is to say, the score for E.T. stands strongly enough on its own that it exists well outside of the realm of “music scored for a film.” Much of the important work of great nineteenth and twentieth century composers was, at the time, written as incidental music for a piece of theatre or film; Stravinsky, Shostakovich, and Grieg all composed brilliant works to accompany films and plays that have long since been forgotten while the music has remained. It is in this vein that I decided to consider various soundtracks, and that helped to make my decision much easier and much more profound than it would have been otherwise.

So, in accordance with our theme today, I would like to ask for a drumroll, maestro, if you please.

I, Giuseppe “Joseph” Adam Catanzariti (III) do hereby submit as my candidate for the greatest motion picture soundtrack of all time, The Royal Tenenbaums Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

It would be wrong for me to lie and say that I chose this soundtrack for its merits as an artistic accomplishment and did not consider the film to which it is attached; that is to say, I did not listen to the music outside of the context of the film and decide that the songs just worked well together, and should therefore be considered a superior soundtrack. Rather, I approached the soundtrack as an important complimentary aspect of a nearly perfect piece of modern cinema, and concluded that it is a wholly integral facet of the grander project. Were this compilation of music not as immaculate as it is, then the grander project would have failed, as much so as if Michelangelo had carved a fig leaf in the place of David’s penis.

This is the main criterion by which I determined the Royal Tenenbaums Soundtrack to be the perfect film soundtrack: that it is of such tremendous calibre and represents such a stunning and deliberate level of artistic attention to detail in regards to its incorporation into the narrative of the film that it ends up possessing some sort of transcendental level of quality of artistry. For those not familiar with the track listing, it is as follows:

1. 111 Archer Avenue - Mark Mothersbaugh
2. These Days - Nico
3. String Quartet In F Major - Ysaye Quartet
4. Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard - Paul Simon
5. Sonata For Cello And Piano In F Minor - The Mutato Muzika Orchestra
6. Wigwam - Bob Dylan
7. Look At That Old Grizzly Bear - Mark Mothersbaugh
8. Look At Me - John Lennon
9. Lullaby - Emitt Rhodes
10. Mothersbaugh Canon - Mark Mothersbaugh
11. Police & Thieves - The Clash
12. Scrapping And Yelling - Mark Mothersbaugh
13. Judy Is A Punk - Ramones
14. Pagoda's Theme - Mark Mothersbaugh
15. Needle In The Hay - Elliott Smith
16. Fly - Nick Drake
17. I Always Wanted To Be A Tenenbaum - Mark Mothersbaugh
18. Christmas Time Is Here - Vince Guaraldi Trio
19. Stephanie Says - The Velvet Underground
20. Rachel Evans Tenenbaum (1965-2000) - Mark Mothersbaugh
21. Sparkplug Minuet - Mark Mothersbaugh
22. The Fairest Of The Seasons - Nico
23. Hey Jude - The Mutato Muzika Orchestra

It should be noted that the Mark Mothersbaugh compositions represent original material specifically composed for the film. And while this may seem to make my selection inconsistent with my earlier arguments, I believe that Mothersbaugh’s incidental music for this film is brief enough and simple enough to serve as more of a leitmotif binding together the soundtrack’s other songs, which generally consist of 1970’s and 1980’s British and American popular music. The notable exceptions being String Quartet in F Major, the Sonata for Cello and Piano in F Minor, and "Christmas Time is Here." However, rather than detracting from the general pop music vibe that pervades through this soundtrack, the inclusion of these particular tracks serves to underscore the relative and subjective value and quality of popular music, stating without stating that there is a time and a place for everything.

A few examples now, I think, to help me make my case. Take a look at the following clips:

This one features Nico’s “These Days,” which, I feel compelled to mention, is one of my very favourite songs, ever. It’s only a small snippet of music, but with the eye-achingly beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow’s hair fluttering in the breeze like that, my God. Perfection.

This scene, where Richie Tenenbaum cuts his hair and beard before slitting his wrists, is beautifully set to Elliott Smoth’s haunting “Needle in the Hay.”

Because of capitalism, there aren’t many videos on YouTube with the appropriate music in the appropriate scenes (goddamned copyright nonsense), but take my word for it that the rest of the soundtrack is just as perfectly set. The version of “Hey Jude” in this film is triumphant and ecstatic, and it is one of the select few Beatles covers that I listen to as often as I do the original (if not more so in this case.) This cover captures the raw, unadulterated joy that Paul McCartney was writing, a joy that comes across only in live performances of the song, and in this recording.

By far my favourite scene in the film is when Royal Tenenbaum leads Chaz’s sons Ari and Uzi on a day of debauchery, stealing milk from convenience stores, riding on the back of garbage trucks, and throwing down dollars at dog fights. Set to Paul Simon’s “Me and Julio Down by The Schoolyard,” the music in this scene helps illustrate the bizarre relationship between the characters (two young motherless children and their estranged grandfather), as well as it serves to juxtapose their father’s uptightness and rigid conformity with their grandfather’s whimsical, ne’er-do-well philosophy. Below is the video, without sound. Once again, capitalism.

I suppose that’s all I have to say on the matter. This soundtrack is a perfect work of art, and it serves the capacity of a soundtrack in the best ways imaginable. The songs give the movie power; the movie gives the songs power. This symbiosis between forms is the epitome of good art. Mothersbaugh’s enchanting small original compositions are lovely. The inclusion of tracks by The Clash, The Velvet Underground, Nico, John Lennon, Paul Simon, and Bob Dylan is fantastic; the film is basically a smorgasbord of a specifically raw genre of classic rock that is brilliantly served by its proximity to it masters, and it is excellent. The classical pieces serve a similar function, and do not for a moment feel out of place in an otherwise very modern piece. Wes Anderson is a genius, and there is little more to say than that.

The Royal Tenenbaums Original Motion Picture Soundtrack. The greatest film soundtrack of all time.

We report. You decide.

2009-11-07T14:46:00.007-06:00

I don't want to give this a long preamble. Just check this video out, at around 0:57, (or watch the whole thing if you'd like), to see yet another example of fair & balanced coverage from everybody's favorite propaganda tool.

While you're watching, do try to recall what the shooter's name is: Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan.

To your average Fox News viewer, I'm sure the name is all you need to know. & sure enough, by that evening, Sean Hannity was "reporting" that the attack was an act of terrorism, with all the colored & narrow connotations that we've come to associate with the word.

Also & PS: This is your G.B. C. Mulvey reporting. Fair & balanced.

The Greatest Film Soundtrack of All Time?

2009-11-06T12:43:00.004-06:00

Late last evening, after finishing a comically absurd number of writing assignments, I was relaxing at home with a pleasant snifterful of brandy, enjoying a recording of Jacqueline du Pré's enchanting rendition of Johannes Brahms' Cello Sonata in E Minor, No. 1, Op. 28, when suddenly the "Dante" in all his/its majesty appeared before me. Momentarily blinded by the brilliance of his/its presence, I shielded my eyes with my arm, spilling my drink all over. He/It spoke to me then, in a voice that tumbled slowly forth from the guts of the deepest darkest caves, a voice hewn of stone, cut from rock, an ancient and mighty voice that reverberated powerfully throughout the room, a voice from the bowels of the earth that totally overwhelmed each of my senses at once.

"Thou hast been labouring mighty valiantly" said the "Dante" to me, slowly and powerfully.

"Your valiant and heroic efforts of late doth please Me well," he/it said, with a strong hint of whatever the immortal deity-equivalent of happiness is.

"But now I have for thou a new task," he/it continued.

"If thou willst fullfil the sacred Covenant that thou has made with Me, then thou willst do as I doth now command."

At this point, I slowly began to unshield my eyes, desperate to finally see for myself the "Dante" in all his splendour and timeless greatness. But alas! The light that issued forth from Him, a light of each colour individually and also every one at once, was too much for my pitiful self to bare, too much for the likes of a mere mortal to stand.

"Command me, Lord!" I shouted over the sound of boulders smashing that was the "Dante's" own heavy breathing. "My will is yours! I live by your grace and charity! How may I serve?"

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm," said the "Dante", clearly pleased by my piety.

"Good. My commandment, then, is thus: Thou shalt instruct thy fellow contributors to my Forums to write about... film soundtracks." These last two words sounded awkward in the "Dante's" mouth; uncomfortable; foreign. I wasn't entirely certain I had heard him/it right. Film soundtracks? Could that really be his decree? I hated to do so, but I had to ask for confirmation.

"Film soundtracks, my lord?"

"Hmmmmmmmmmmm, film soundtracks, yes." He/it was clearly vaguely annoyed. "Thou and thy fellow contributors shall post on my Forums a short piece describing what each of thou considerest the Greatest Film Soundtrack of All TIme. This is my commandment!"

"I receive it well, my lord. Thy will shall be done," I whimpered.

"I leave now!" he/it shouted. And there was the sound of space suddenly being emptied, the sudden appearance of nothingness where, only moments ago there had stood a god. A vacuum, now, was in my living room, and I had a holy quest on my hands. A mission from God, if you will.

So, my fellow contributors to the "Dante's" Forums, our assignment is clear. We must rack our brains, rack them and rack them, until we are able to come up with what we think is the greatest film soundtrack of all time. We then must post out selections here, to this Blog, for the "Dante" to judge. Think of it as a call to arms that you must answer.

A crusade.

I shall post mine in the next 24 hours.

May the Force be with you.

Welcome to America

2009-11-05T16:35:00.009-06:00

So, this is just a "conversation" I had the other day with some truly enlightened people. I thought, in light of the massive tea-bagging taking place, "why not share this beacon of reasonable conversation?"

HERE IT IS!

BLOOD & THUNDER

2009-11-04T16:12:00.014-06:00

Editorial Note (from Giuseppe): Today's Guest Blogger is Cameron Mulvey, whom I know from high school, and whose intellectuality is often staggering. When I asked Cameron what he would like me to say about him in his Guest Blogger Bio, he said: “You can say that Cameron Mulvey is currently between lives. Or that Cameron Mulvey is a future pope. I mean, I'm not partial. You could say that I'm a deviant if you'd like.” We welcome his deviance and eventual popishness to the “Dante” Forums with open arms.

In what the internets tell me is the first post of his amazing music blog, Last Plane to Jakarta¹, John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats implores his readers to listen---wait for it---to more death metal.

“People, people, people! Why are you not listening to more death metal? Are you afraid your friends will laugh at you? Or be mad at you? Or call you crazy?

“Your friends suck.”

If you’re surprised that the musician who spent the first eleven years of his career recording lovely acoustic ballads about gardening, divorce, & cows onto a Panasonic boombox would be a fan of death metal, listen up, because you’re clearly stereotyping right now, which television specials & communists have assured me is a very bad sort of thing to do. One doesn’t have to dress in black, worship Satan or wear corpse paint² to be a fan of metal. One only needs a soul. (Women, therefore, needn’t apply.)

There’s a certain sense in which metal is related to Zen, & that is this: Zen Buddhism focuses on what they call “direct pointing”; that is, on leading the student to enlightenment, not through the study of texts or the contemplation of abstractions, but through the emphasis of direct experience. In the introduction to his fantastic book The Way of Zen, Alan Watts compares finding enlightenment through study to placing a picture of the sun in the window: you block the light.

Metal—especially Grindcore, which is really the topic³ of this post—is, like Zen, above all things pre-verbal. To discuss it, to expound upon it, to attempt to explain it: that is to miss the point. You must experience it untainted by a conceptual framework. THUS:

The band is Cattle Decapitation, & the song is from their stellar 2009 album The Harvest Floor. The sheer violence of the song is typical of Grindcore: It is fast, it is extreme, and in ignoring traditional song structure, chord progressions, vocal tropes, & tuning of rock & even of metal, it expresses, with a clarity impossible to achieve by mere abstraction, the feeling of violence. It must be emphasized that the violence of the music has nothing to do with lyrical content, which is in a certain sense fundamentally irrelevant. While the album does come with convenient liner notes complete with song lyrics, which are, in fact, rather violent⁴, it wouldn’t matter if they were saying nothing at all. The feeling they are expressing knows no words.

“OK,” you might be saying to your computer screen, “Grindcore, as a perfect expression of an emotion, is clearly to violence what punk was to anarchy, what the Blues are to pain, & what K POP is to latent homosexuality. But does that mean I should listen to it?”

No, of course not. You should listen to it because it’s good.

IN CONCLUSION: GK Chesterton, in his introduction to his seminal work about Catholicism, Orthodoxy⁵ said, “The reader cannot accuse me of trying to make a fool of him: I am the fool of this story and no rebel shall hurl me from my throne.” If you think that this writer’s interest in Grindcore is purely ironic, as if it were Pink Martini or something; if you think that no one could possibly like this music, then surely you, dear reader, are the sort of person John Darnielle was talking about: You must suck.

1: I’m not familiar with the etiquette of such things, but I’m pretty sure that linking another blog while you are guestblogging flirts uncomfortably with being uncouth.

2: The latter is, however, highly recommended.

3: Perhaps introducing the true topic of a post ought to be accomplished by the first or second paragraphs. Perhaps Mozart ought to have been a mathematician. Leave me alone with your “perhaps”.

4: Incidentally: Every member of Cattle Decapitation is a vegetarian. Their lyrics are generally about committing horrible acts of violence against humans, an ironic sort of means by which to express their distaste of violence toward animals.

5: The uncharitable reader, tired of the loud music & excessive footnotes, might note at this juncture that not only have I cited two books about religion in this post, but that I’ve cited the introductions to those works. The aforementioned uncharitable reader might then feel free to assume that I am one of those insufferable religious “seekers”, and a rather lazy one at that.

The "Dante" Forums Present: "J'aime le Café!" #36-#45

2009-11-03T15:04:00.015-06:00

Imagine:

It's a frigid, rainy day. The wind is biting. Just being outside for a couple of minutes causes the outside of your ears and the tip of your nose to positively burn with the cold. You cross your arms tight across your chest in a vain attempt to generate some sort of warmth. You stare intently at the ground as you walk at a brisk clip across the sodden sidewalk. Every time you look up, your face is instantly drenched with the mist. You are miserable. Everything seems despicable. There is certainly no God. For a moment you look into the sky, cursing nothing, and you are suddenly ankle-deep in an inexplicably, impossibly massive puddle; your socks are soaked; your brand new shoes, ruined, ruined. Fantastic. "How did I get here?" you wonder out loud. "I was in Paris once!" And you remember how excited you were when you found out that you were going to Paris.

Now imagine:

You're walking along in the freezing rain, remembering Paris, when suddenly and without warning someone stops you, grabbing your arm. You look up at the culprit, and you see a beautiful woman. Only beautiful is the wrong word. She is gorgeous, she is divine. Her honey-hair and cherry cheeks are somehow, remarkably, dry, bone dry. She smiles at you, batting immaculate eyelashes. She's wearing a silk scarf, purple paisley, and a midnight black full-length woollen coat. Her high-heeled shoes are beyond impractical, but they are perfect. She laughs a violin sonata and pulls from her pocket two one-way tickets to Paris, leaving that evening. "Venez avec moi," she says, and grabs your hand. She leans forward and kisses your frozen nose. Just a small kiss, but enough. Enough to warm you from head to foot. You smile at her. She laughs. You offer your arm. She takes it. You are going back to Paris.

The elation in that moment is probably pretty close to how you should feel about the return of "J'aime le Café!" to the "Dante" Forums.

In a way, it is your one-way ticket to paradise.

You can buy a return ticket if you'd like, when you arrive.

Though I'd like to bet that you won't.

Lovely, aren't they? That one there, three from the bottom? That one was in Paris. The rest, to an impossible to quantify lesser degree of awesomeness, are all from Grand Forks, North Dakota. Though, I must say, as long as I have a nice cup of coffee, I'm pretty content wherever I am.

Fin.

A Winter Poem

2009-11-02T15:39:00.016-06:00

I was walking home from school today, and since I go to school in North Dakota, and since it is November, it was quite cold. The cold always stimulates my mind. Suddenly, mundane sights and sounds and tastes and feelings take on totally new qualities. As such, I am often inspired to write poetry much more so in the winter months than at any other time. During today's walk home, I was struck with such inspiration, and wrote the following.

HOW LIKE A HAND.

In the winter

A barren

Leafless

Tree

Looks very like a human hand

Hard and Black

Gesturing

Straining

Reaching

Into

The winter sky

Sharp and White

The Arm

(the trunk)

Rooted

(literally)

In the Earth

Unmoving in Time or in Space

While

The fingers

(the limbs & branches)

Sway

(powerlessly)

Evermoving and Everchanging

Breaking often

In the wind

(which is callous)

Snapping like fingers’ bones snap

But without bleeding

And without feeling

And without meaning

In their vain and desperate attempt to grab the sun

Out of the sky

And know warmth again

As they knew in summer

Penitent

(seemingly)

For whatever it was

That merited

Such a fate.

But Nature is a merciful master and a magnanimous king.

He rewards such devout repentance each and every spring.

Considering the far-greater-than-normal creative output that I've been experiencing over the past couple of months, coupled with the world-famous North Dakota winter with which I am forced to cope, probably you'll see more and more of this sort of thing in the coming weeks. Whether or not that's a good thing.

How to Eat Non-Seedless Grapes; Truly an Art Form

2009-11-02T14:41:00.007-06:00

Editorial Note (from Giuseppe): Today's Guest Blogger is Adam Luebke, a friend and writing associate of mine out here in Grand Forks, North Dakota. In case you're interested, he's graduated from the University of North Dakota with a degree in English, he has long hair, and he has some very interesting and sophisticated thoughts and opinions on a myriad assortment of things. We are pleased to welcome his perspective to the "Dante" Forums, and anticipate lots of wonderful content from him in the future.

A critique on the perceived necessity of modifying everything to be easier and faster and the idea of seriously enjoying non-seedless grapes.

Find it here:

The Wild Things

2009-10-31T15:33:00.012-05:00

Like a great many people, I had been anxiously anticipating the release of Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are since the project was first announced about a year or so ago. Also like a great many people, I grew up with the Maurice Sendak story upon which the film is based. That short, colourful, brilliant piece of art resides in a very special, almost sacred place, in my consciousness: one of the earliest, earliest memories that I still possess (in many ways, the first thing I remember after everything I've forgot) is of my mother reading the book to me and my brother, who was an infant at the time, no more than six moths old. In so many important ways in the mind of a three-year-old child, I was Max, and Max was me, and his Wild Things were mine. Naturally, as a child, I was oblivious to the psychological resonance and poignant morality of the story, and was instead completely hung up on getting on a boat of my own and sailing away, sailing to somewhere far, far away, somewhere different, somewhere I would be in charge, somewhere things would happen according to the way I thought they should happen. Eighteen years later, I still very much feel this way, and it is a daily struggle on so many levels to not just... go. To not just get on a boat and scour the earth until I find such a place. In many ways, it's the most important element of who I am. Now, however (finally, I suppose), I'm far more prepared to deal with the finer philosophical elements of the story that make it so wonderful.

All that said, I did not think that the Spike Jonze's film was perfect. But how could it have been? For me, Where The Wild Things Are is existentialism in motion: it is an artistic manifestation of the phenomenon of the relativity of the emotional qualities of the external stimuli which we all experience. It means one thing to me. It means another thing to you. And it means another thing to Mr Jonze. So his film is not the film I would have made, and my knee-jerk reaction to it was one laced with disappointment. However, upon a second viewing of the film and some further personal introspection, I can say without reservation that it is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of cinema, and it is probably the tenderest and most powerfully emotional film that I can recall ever seeing, ever.

It would take a plethora of blog posts for me to fully explain my reaction to this film. A reaction that includes admiration, respect, confusion, and love, among other things, and not necessarily in that order. From a cinematic standpoint, I feel as though the movie is well acted, well shot, and well cut. Its greatest strengths lie in its art direction, which I feel is impeccable, and which is responsible for a hearty portion of the film's often overwhelming emotionality; and in its cinematography, which is brilliant, and succeeds in transporting the audience into the netherworld of Max's mind, into his personal reality, into his psychology, without ever overtly doing so. So many films concerning the subjectivity of reality fail in this regard, and we are left with pithy melodramas switching between single and multiple cameras, or perhaps with one camera that shows something that is there for one character, but with every other camera showing something else. This sort of blatant over-explanation and simplification not only fails to serve the genre, but it weakens the implicit psychological challenge of experiencing the world of another human being. In this regard, Where the Wild Things Are is as close to "just right" as I feel as though is plausible for a film to be.

It is difficult for me to prattle on like this, because I feel as though this movie is necessarily something that needs to be experienced on a personal level; something that you have to see for yourself, I think, to get what I'm saying. In the end, I think it's quite likely that you'll end up disagreeing with everything I've said here, but nevertheless, I must recommend you see it. I can guarantee you'll come up with your own ideas. Perhaps, for instance, you'll read more into the heavy sexuality in the film; into the protracted Oedipal complex that occurs, and that serves as one of many psychological aspects of the human mind so articulately presented throughout. Certainly you'll bring to the table plenty of personal experiences, and perhaps you'll see the construction of the fort as meaning something different than it meant for me. Certainly you'll experience the desert scenes differently than I did.

Also, James Gandolfini's voice acting was fantastic, and the soundtrack is spot on. (So much to that you can expect a new post in the coming days all about it.)

I suppose there's little else I can say of substance; just that you should do yourself a favour and go see this movie. If it's even a small fraction as stimulating for you as it was for me, you'll be glad you did. And I'm quite confident that it will be.

Happy Hallowe'en.

South Korea's Culture President

2009-10-30T14:57:00.024-05:00

Since I wanted to put these videos on display (instead of just a link as a comment in Garret's post), I've created an entirely new post.

The best song that has ever come from Korea is none other than "F.M Business", made beautiful by Seo Taiji. It's mostly in Korean (I believe), but you can pretty much get the gist of it because A: there are a few English words and B: music is a universal language. They have some other pretty good songs, but this one is the best.

Without further adieu, behold! (note: the song doesn't begin until 1:06)

Jeez! Right? Seriously, for such a small nation scuddled under a nuclear crazyman (or so I am led to believe) - they have LOADS of fun, do they not? I think, though I may be wrong, that S. Korea has the most fun per capita. Anyways, Seo Taiji is the culture president... which is a pretty cool title by any standard.

Shaken & Stirred

2009-10-30T12:46:00.034-05:00

Are you a music lover?

Do you enjoy jazz?

Do you enjoy tango?

Do you enjoy swing?

Do you enjoy classical?

If you answered “yes” to each one of these questions and have resigned yourself to a reality in which there is no feasible way for you to enjoy each one of these distinct genres at the same time, well, do I have some wonderfully refreshing news for you.

That news is Pink Martini.

They have a beautiful official website where you can find out more about them & order their albums &c.

For our purposes, though, the “Dante” informs me that we can cite their Wikipedia page for pertinent information:

Pink Martini is a "little orchestra" from Portland, Oregon, formed in 1994 by pianist Thomas M. Lauderdale. They blend genres of music such as Latin, lounge, classical, and jazz. Their music has often been described as "vintage music,” a description which reflects the content, style and period that inspires many of their songs. Band leader, Thomas Lauderdale describes the band's sound as "music of the world without being world music. It's kind of like urban symphonic crossed with Cuban/Brazilian street Carnival parade, Breakfast at Tiffany's/United Nations kind of thing. The goal was to create the kind of records with which one would hopefully never grow tired of. Records that could be played whether you were sad or gleeful. Cleaning, vacuuming around the house or seducing somebody's grandmother."

They’re really quite good. Their new album, Splendor in the Grass, is a lot of fun.

To prove it, here’s a link to an interview that the band recently did with NPR in which they talk about the album’s two strongest tracks: And Then You’re Gone and But Now I’m Back. Together, they tell a neat little story, with very cool music. The interview has the audio of each track available for your pleasure:

Pink Martini: A Tale of Two Songs

Pink Martini, friends. In more than one way, it's “Pink” as in “Pink Floyd” and “Martini” as in “Vodka martini, shaken, not stirred.” Nothing like a band with multiple cultural references in the title. Check these guys out. You'll be pleased you did.

Hurt Feelings

2009-10-29T23:59:00.006-05:00

If you don't know all about Flight of the Conchords, well.
I feel bad for you.
Here's a taste:

The new album's called I Told You I Was Freaky, and it is unbelievable.

Slightly better than KPop, if you can even imagine that.

KPOP-ular music with Seoul

2009-10-29T21:46:00.013-05:00

Lately, my computer was infected with a virus.

Not the traditional virus that you get by opening emails from the Prince of a small, rich, middle eastern province with a large fortune to entrust you with, but the kind that you get when you befriend Asians and leave your computer unlocked when you go to class.

I'm talking about KPOP. The latter scenario happened to me in a heavy dosage. My iTunes library was filled with the stuff. At first I resisted, deleting it all. But as time went on, and it kept coming back, I realized it was starting to grow on me. Damn, I actually started liking it.

"What is KPOP?" you may ask. "The latest Orville Redenbacher product?"

Nay. KPOP stands for Korean Pop music, a genre extremely popular in South Korea. In America, we have many popular genres. Country, Hiphop, Blues, Jazz, Indie, ...etc. But South Korea, being a small nation not much larger than New England, and therefore a small population with a music market, there isn't the space for many music sub-cultures. Pop is the driving force of their entertainment industry. KPOP began in 1996 with the birth of the group, H.O.T. Since then, the most popular KPOP groups have gained equivalent levels of fame in South Korea, if not higher, than the most popular hip hop artists in America that you can hear bouncing off the walls of every dance club and college fraternity house from East to West coast.

The most popular groups are:

Big Bang

Super Junior

Girls Generation

Wondergirls

2PM

There are three prominent record giants, and all of the groups listed above belong to them. They are, YG Entertainment (Big Bang), SM Entertainment (Girls Generation + Super Junior), and JYP Entertainment (Wondergirls). Another famous KPOP artist, Rain, who you may know as the guy that turned down Megan Fox's dating approaches, now runs his own record label company.

Now to the good stuff. Here are four of my favorite songs, displaying the talent of 4 of the above 5 artists.

Big Bang - Gara Gara Go!

Super Junior - Sorry, Sorry

Girls Generation - Gee

2PM - Again and again

Enjoy. There's plenty more where that came from.

FWD: "Fellatio By Fruit Bats Prolongs Copulation Time"

2009-10-29T16:31:00.004-05:00

I've just pulled this directly from Boing Boing, because it's amazing, and there's little room for my own commentary. (Except, perhaps: Holy sloppy blow jobs, Batman!)
Enjoy:

MAGGIE KOERTH-BAKER

POSTED AT 12:56 PM OCTOBER 29, 2009

ANIMALS • FUNNY • SCIENCE • SEX

Yeah, I'm just going to put this whole thing behind a cut. Read on for an in-depth look at bat blow-jobs, and insights into the evolution of such work, in general.

Figure 3. Copulation duration in Cynopterus sphinx according to whether the female licks the male's penis (Licking) or not (No licking). Means and standard errors are shown. Vignette shows a female performing fellatio, drawn by Mei Wang. (I assure you, I am not making any of this up.)

So, why do you think blow jobs happen?

This is not a trick question.

Most of us would probably go for the, "Hey, that feels nice," theory of oral sex. But researchers Min Tan, Gareth Jones, Guangjian Zhu, et. al., think there may be more to it than simple pleasure. As part of their attempt to prove a practical function for oral sex, the team conducted a study of the fellatio habits of fruit bats. The paper was published October 28 in the journal PLoS ONE. You can read the whole thing online.

The basic idea here is that there might be some benefit to blow jobs (beyond the obvious) and the fact that bats who engage in fellatio have longer sessions of sex than bats who don't could be evidence in favor of that theory. Why? Because it's showing that oral sex is correlated with a change in behavior and, the scientists theorize, there may be reasons why that behavioral change is beneficial to the animals. How beneficial? The team theorizes that oral sex could be doing everything from increasing the chances of sperm fertilizing egg, to killing bacteria on the penis and protecting both parties from sexually transmitted disease. Of course, the only thing proven is that oral sex means longer sex in fruit bats. The team concedes a need for further research...

In conclusion, we have documented fellatio in animals that may have functional significance. Of course, adaptive benefits remain unproven until tested, ideally by experimentation, but our study identifies potential avenues to explore if the null hypothesis of no benefit is to be rejected. We believe that ours is the first large scale observational study of oral sex in non-humans, and we extend the interpretation of such behaviour beyond that of 'pleasure giving' into an evolutionary context.

I'm not sure I buy that a behavior that results in a, erm, pleasurable response, really needs any other reason for existing. Although, it is worth noting that this appears to be the first time that fellatio has been documented as a regular part of adult sex outside of humans. Also, the paper contains some truly EXCELLENT quotes that need to be shared. To wit...

During copulation, the pair appeared to move forwards and backwards uninterruptedly and rhythmically.
When copulation was completed, the male licked his penis for several seconds. This self-licking occurred after all of 20 copulations, but was absent after three instances in which intromission failed to occur. Subsequently, the male often groomed himself or licked the inner surface of the tent, yet seldom flew away. Also, the female groomed herself and typically stayed close to her mate.
It is plausible that this female's behavior increased male arousal [22].

There's also a video. Enjoy.

NPR stands for NEWS

2009-10-29T13:24:00.005-05:00

Hello. My name is Giuseppe Adam Catanzariti, and I listen to National Public Radio.

There. Now that that’s out of the way, we won’t need to go into explicit detail in the future about where it is I find the amazing things I find and share with you all on this Blog; it shall be implied unless otherwise stated that Public Radio was there at some step along the way. NPR is a bastion of culture and information, and we are lucky to have it. It is an absolutely wonderful resource, and I could never say enough or sufficiently good things about it. NPR has greatly enriched my life intellectually and artistically, and I am not exaggerating in the least bit when I say that I earnestly believe that it is the only legitimate news source left in this country. As a not-for-profit organisation that does not advertise, NPR is interested only in reporting the news, and improving the general informedness of the American populace. As news is meant to do. As much as I enjoy Keith Olbermann’s and Rachel Maddow’s programmes on MSNBC, as much as I want to be Anderson Cooper when I grow up (and as much as I DON’T want to be Lou Dobbs when I grow up) on CNN, and as much as I like to sit back and mourn the intellectual demise of this country that is physically embodied by Glenn Beck and Sean Hannity on FOX, none of this programming is actually news, not by the traditional definition of the word, and I think it serves as a major point to socialism that we can survey the landscape of for-profit news agencies and see what a disgrace they have become, at how the integrity of the news matters not as much as reporting stories for ratings. The news media is and always has been the “Fourth Estate,” and they have a moral responsibility, an outright obligation, to keep the people accurately informed about what is occurring in the world. The last thing they should care about is turning a profit. I am in full agreement with the White House, who are taking on the Fox “News” Channel, calling them out for the political advocacy group they are. Their programming is not only not news, but it is propaganda, and it is dangerous.

What would Orwell say about Fox? Probably, he would sigh, and say, “here is something far more odious than the Ministry of Truth. For at least in that organisation, it was the establishment who was running the show. Nobody had any say. But for a non-governmental organization to propagate falsehood and to promote an ideology, that is despicable, and it is unconscionable.”

At least, I think he would say something along those lines. Orwell was, after all, a lifelong socialist. In any event, he’d have certainly thoroughly enjoyed National Public Radio, which is the last bastion of good news in the United States. At http://npr.org/, there is an option to stream the news programming live, and this is a brilliant thing. If you desire to be an active and intelligent participant in this democracy, then do yourself a favour: switch off the cable news, and tune in to NPR or PBS for your news. You will be shocked, I think, to discover that other things happen in this country outside of boys floating in balloons, children being kidnapped, and the President being a socialist.

Honestly. I’m not making this up. I heard it on Public Radio.

Web Design Resources

2009-10-27T20:02:00.006-05:00

As it were - I am interested in web design. The only problem: I suck at artisizing (making art). I am sure that I am not the only person who likes nice things but can't make nice things - so I've gone ahead and sifted through my bookmarks over the years to find some pretty sweet resources. Most of these are free to use (though they have specific licenses [Creative Commons, GPL, etc.]). Enjoy:

http://designreviver.com/freebies/400-high-quality-patterns/

http://sixrevisions.com/resources/40-beautiful-free-icon-sets/

http://sixrevisions.com/resources/favicon_generators_resources/

http://spyrestudios.com/32-trashy-and-distorted-fonts-for-you-next-grungy-design/

http://www.noupe.com/design/outstanding-website-background-guide-60-impressive-resources.html

http://webdesignledger.com/freebies/30-extremely-elegant-serif-fonts

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/05/21/web-design-industry-jargon-glossary-and-resources/

http://www.webdesignbooth.com/35-absolutely-useful-firefox-plugins-for-web-designers-and-developers/

http://www.fatcow.com/free-icons/index.bml

Helvetica

2009-10-27T14:01:00.011-05:00

I recently (last night, as of today) watched a documentary film called Helvetica. As one would be inclined to suspect from the title, this is a film all about the typeface (the “font,” for those of you not in the industry) known as Die Neue Haas Grotesk, or, more popularly, as Helvetica: its history, significance, prevalence, politics, and cultural impact, to name only some of the topics discussed. As an ardent Futura man myself (though I do blog in Helvetica; for some inexplicable reason Blogger doesn’t offer my typeface of preference), I initially had my own reservations about sitting down and watching a 90-minute ode to Helvetica, which is not even my personal favourite among twentieth century sans serifs, but there you are. I suspect that such reservations are not as... reservational, say, as others would perhaps have. Typography, I am slowly discovering, is not everyone’s cup of tea.

Bewildering, really.

Anyhow, I’ve included below, for those of you who have somehow avoided the typeface in question, a lovely image. Behold, the King of all modern typeface:

Apparently, Helvetica is the most prevalent (by a very wide margin) typeface in the Western World. What’s fascinating about it for me is the level to which it divides modern graphic designers: there are those who absolutely love Helvetica, who believe that it is, quite literally, aesthetically perfect. Meanwhile, there was this one woman for whom Helvetica represented the atrocities of consumerism, Ronald Reagan, the Vietnam War, the Iraqi War, and other such tragedies. For modernists, Helvetica is the end-all be-all; post-modernists reject it as the scourge of creativity, a typeface for the corporations; and neo-modernists celebrate its ability to effectively communicate ideas and its intrinsic beauty.

I’m not making any of this up. You should all check out this film; it’s actually thoroughly enjoyable, and is more of a general commentary on graphic design than anything else. Typographers and graphic designers are, apparently, fascinating people with sophisticated worldviews.

It will definitely change the way you look at the way things are written, in any event. After watching this last night, I went all round my apartment checking out the various fonts on various products. Needless to say, almost all are Helvetica.

Also, as an administrative note, all of my future blog posts shall be in this font size; it had previously been smaller. So I'm aware of the inconsistencies. Thanks for understanding the fluid process that is running a blog.

Do the Evolution

2009-10-26T22:02:00.010-05:00

Let me first point out that the following post is only minutely scientific. It is scientific in that it involves human function, but it is truly about the evolution of a singer/songwriter. I have always enjoyed the music of Johnny Cash, but because I listen to music in streaks, if you will, I have not really listened to him on any consistent basis over the last year. My grandparents are lucky enough to own most of his LPs from his early years, and I am lucky enough to own a record player (you can find out what this is on wikipedia if need be). So, I have been listening to Johnny Cash in his original form and have all but worn out almost his entire catalogue. But without further adieu I submit a video evolution of Johnny Cash...

Donovan: Something Special, for All Time

2009-10-26T16:53:00.005-05:00

I suspect you all know who Donovan is, even if you suspect you don't know who Donovan is. Just as a refresher, then: Donovan was a Scottish folk singer/ songwriter from the 1960's, probably most famous for his hits "Sunshine Superman," or perhaps "Mellow Yellow," which I believe has since become better known as the name of a sugary drink of some kind. Anyhow, as something of an twentieth-century folk music aficionado, I am rather fond of Donovan indeed. More so his earlier stuff than his later, but there you are. I digress. (Often.) Donovan's guitar music possesses a beautiful, transcendental quality, and his simple, conventional lyrics are steeped with heavy implicit meaning, and riddled with powerful emotion.

One of my personal favourite Donovan tracks is called "Colours." It's an intensely emotional paean, an ode to the oft-forgot simpler qualities and emotions that underly the vastly psychological complexity of passionate romantic love. We're inclined to get so caught up in the act of being in love that we forget, too often, what it is that makes love wonderful in the first place. Donovan is here to remind us of that. Here's a live performance. The lyrics are below.

Yellow is the colour of my true love's hair
In the mornin' when we rise,
In the mornin' when we rise,
That's the time, that's the time,
I love the best.
Blue's the colour of the sky
In the mornin' when we rise,
In the mornin' when we rise.
in the mornin' when we rise.
That's the time, that's the time
I love the best.
Green's the colour of the sparklin' corn
In the mornin' when we rise,
In the mornin' when we rise.
in the mornin' when we rise.
That's the time, that's the time
I love the best.
Mellow is the feeling that I get
when I see her, mm hmm,
when I see her, uh huh.
That's the time, that's the time
I love the best.
Freedom is a word I rarely use
Without thinkin', mm hmm,
Without thinkin', mm hmm,
Of the time, of the time
When I've been loved.

My favourite line, far and away, is the "mm hmm." It's so visceral; so real. Donovan. Wonderful, isn't he?

Good Point

2009-10-26T15:39:00.006-05:00

As I phase shift through the various planes of existence, I stumble upon things like this:

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/23140504@N02/2531576705/)

Discuss eh? OK. In my opinion you are correct. Art is one way to communicate ideas. This kind of art completely removes the author from the equation. All that's left is the idea itself. It's not about meta-art, it's about the receptor. In other words, the conversation is not about the conversation of an idea, it is just the idea itself.

Now, I often question wisdom and all of its forms. Academia, science, society-at-large, literature, etc. have established a monopoly on wisdom. But what is to be said of the whispers in the dark - vague scrambled messages floating through spacetime with no intent on returning home?

I speak of modern folk-art. A canvas that was never bought. A message without a mouth.

My own run-ins with these are pretty cool (to me at least). There's a spray painted image on a sidewalk here at WPI that says "You are a number", with a bar-code below that. I also once found a picture someone drew, and I selfishly snatched it like Smeagol. It was a first-person view of hands and a lego-man. It said something along the lines of, "I am a creator. I am a killer. I am a God!" I couldn't resist snagging it. If I find it, I'll scan it and return it to its rightful place - no where.

Star Wars: A New Analysis

2009-10-26T15:34:00.005-05:00

So, I saw this a while back and decided it was time to share it. I know what you are thinking...I know! "Oh look another post that I should skip."

Well don't! Trust me! It's kind of long (for a blog post) but it is an amazingly good read. Why you ask? It's actually kind of funny. It makes you THINK...analytically, about Star Wars. If you are a Star Wars fan and haven't thought too much about how the first three movies relate with the last three - this'll definitely get you thinking. It also brings new light to R2 and Chewwie.

Enjoy: http://www.morningstar.nildram.co.uk/A_New_Sith.html

Forgiveness: The Request

2009-10-26T15:26:00.004-05:00

(You too can send standardized communications via http://www.bureauofcommunication.com/)

A Public Option

2009-10-26T15:24:00.011-05:00

Well, good news on the news front this afternoon, friends: after weeks of deliberation, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D, NV) has decided to include an opt-out public option in the health care reform legislation that Congress has been chewing on since President Obama's inauguration. Though perhaps not the most ambitious foray into the realm of universal health care that the government could have ventured, to complain about this would be silly, and would be to miss the point. The success of ANY sort of government-run healthcare legislation in this country (Glenn Beck lives here) is staggering, and it is a wonderfully refreshing affirmation of the general will of the electorate that put into office a 60 seat Democratic Senate and the nation's first African-American (and one of American history's more liberal) presidents. It is a wonderful step toward the popularism that we need if this country is to revive from the economic crisis initiated by the deregulation of the banks and a level of trust in the free markets that was not wholly undeserved, by totally economically indefensible. A public option will help to end the era of "Corporate Communism," as MSNBC anchor Dylan Ratigan poetically refers to the phenomenon, that has dominated not only the health care industry in America, but the entire economic sphere, since the Apocalyptic presidency of Ronald Reagan. Here's to doing what is right, and insuring more Americans. Here's to doing what is right, and moving this country toward the sort of healthcare systems enjoyed by the rest of the civilised world. Here's to one small step at a time, one small step toward a society in which living one's life is the least of one's concerns, and where humans can revel in the sheer triumph of will that is humanity.

I've been preachy here, probably at the expense of good news reporting, so here is the article I read in the New York Times detailing this wonderful development:

Reid to Announce ‘Opt-Out’ Public Plan Today

By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN

The Senate health care legislation will include a government-run insurance plan, but states would be allowed to “opt out” of it, the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, will announce officially on Monday afternoon, Senate Democratic aides said.

HEALTH CARE CONVERSATIONS

The Public Option

Share your thoughts about the health care debate. Join the discussion.

OTHER CONVERSATIONS:

The question of whether to include a government-run plan to compete with private insurers has been the most controversial topic in the effort by Mr. Reid and other Democratic leaders to meld two competing versions of the Senate health care legislation.

Democrats have been deeply divided. Supporters of the government plan, or public option, have been pushing to include it in the bill before it is brought to the Senate floor, meaning opponents would need 60 votes for an amendment to strip it out.

Opponents of the public option have argued that it should be left out of the bill and that supporters should be forced to offer an amendment to add it to the legislation. In either case, winning 60 votes would seem to be a steep hurdle.

Mr. Reid’s decision, made after nearly two weeks of deliberation, reflects a calculated gamble that the 60 Senate Democrats will stay united and vote in favor of a motion to bring the bill up for debate before the entire Senate.

If 60 senators refuse to support the bill including the government plan with a state opt-out, Mr. Reid would then have to regroup, make changes and try again. Some Democrats believe that liberal members of the party would not relent in their push to include the public option unless faced with such a clear defeat.

Mr. Reid worked through the weekend in an effort to secure votes. Among the Democrats who have expressed doubts about a public insurance plan are Senators Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

Mr. Reid’s office has not released any details. In theory, states that wish to opt out of the public plan would have to adopt a law to do so, which would require agreement between the state legislature and the governor.

Mr. Reid has scheduled a news conference at 3:15 to announce his plans. But even as he makes clear his intentions on the public option, the bill is not yet ready to bring to the Senate floor.

Words of Welcome for New Visitors

2009-10-26T12:40:00.000-05:00

I've gone ahead and recorded a short video for the benefit of those of you who are entering the lair of the "Dante" on the Internet for the first time and are uncertain as to how to proceed, or what to expect. This way, you get to learn all about the blog, all about the "Dante," and, as an added bonus, you get to experience the majesty of my face and the brilliance of my aura. As well as my modesty. A rare and delightful treat indeed. (Just in time for Hallowe'en. The trick may or may not follow accordingly.)

Anyhow, I hope that all comes across.

Yes, I am amazing! Thanks so much for noticing! Here's to continuing blogging; sharing ideas; and enriching our cultural awareness of one another, and the world in which we live.

I'm just MAD about saffron; saffron's MAD about me.

Jealous?

You shouldn't be. It's just a spice. spice. spice.

Waiting

2009-10-25T16:27:00.002-05:00

The following is a poem I wrote a couple of weeks a go. After some edits, I feel as though it's at least nearly decent enough to share. Tentatively, it's titled "Waiting."

it was pouring raining

and it was the red black colour

of blackberries

of red wine

and all the emotion came from a space somewhere between my heart and and my throat

and the door

did not open

though I waited and I waited

and became soaked

and there was no way to tell where

the rain stopped

and

the tears started

to tell where

the tears stopped

and

the rain started

but for some reason

Ha!

but for some reason

I just wanted to laugh and laugh and laugh

until I bent doubled over

and it was the yellow golden colour

of sunflowers

of happiness

and even though I reached out as far as I could

and though I willed it --

and though I willed it with every fibre of my being

It remained wholly out of reach

and the door

would not open

but

I was

sick

to death

of waiting

and then

(because of the rain?)

all of the red ran out of

the red black colour

and

I was left with the colour

of congealed blood

and despair

and I knew that I would wait more

anyway

Richard Dawkins is Cooler Than Jesus

2009-10-19T19:29:00.003-05:00

I first read Richard Dawkins when I was a Junior in high school.

Already a confident atheist and a fairly staunch Darwinian, the book helped to not only cement a belief system that was very important to my self-identification, but also opened up a new world for me. The book was The Ancestor's Tale, a positively brilliant novel-style science text that follows different organisms back in time tracing their roots to common ancestors in a Chaucerian sort of pilgrimage. Prior to reading Dawkins, my atheism was fairly bleak: I lived in a world void of meaning and miracles, and that was that. Of course, this didn't bother me; what did bother me was the constant prattling of the religious, espousing ancient mythologies riddled with moral absolutism. However, Dawkins helped to teach me that there was not, in fact, a dichotomy between a beautiful, miraculous world (the religious) and a dark, harsh, meaningless world (the atheistic). In fact, Dawkins was saying, the world of the Darwinian is nearly endlessly complex and wonderful and beautiful. While by definition evolution is not a miracle (something that cannot happen), its simple explanatory power for the richness and complexity of life is absolutely glorious, and makes life infinitely more meaningful than any sort of religious zealotry could hope to suggest.

In many ways, Richard Dawkins in way cooler than Jesus. (This is a title for silly Facebook group that I feel is right on).

I was inspired to type this out when an article on the front page of the New York Times today caught my eye: it was titled A Raconteur of Nature's Back Story, with a neat little picture of Dawkins sitting in front of a statue of Darwin (above). Obviously prompted by Dawkins' new book, The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution (which I just finished, and which is, almost needless to say, brilliant, brilliant a million times over) the article consists of a short interview, in which the interviewer gets to share in Dawkins' love for nature, and fascination with all life.

A fascination which I share.

Here's the article:

A Raconteur of Nature's Back Story

And a link to Dawkins' webpage:

RichardDawkins.net

Check it out, people. This guy is fantastic. He has been a great influence for me, and I consider him a personal hero. Here's to the wonderful godless world in which we live!

TNG + Innuendo = Greatness

2009-10-16T12:32:00.008-05:00

So, this is basically ten minutes of sexually suggestive clips from all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and all four of the films featuring the cast. Some moments are decidedly better than others, but the good ones are fantastic.

"Yes, ensign, it's all over me."
~Capt. JLP