tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31988796035183963602024-03-13T14:29:33.040-07:00Someday a Philosopher Queen"What sort of knowledge is there which would draw the soul from becoming to being?" Plato. The Republic.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-30885516857137265182011-06-16T10:00:00.001-07:002011-06-16T10:11:17.234-07:00Father's DayMe and my dad have always been very close. Growing up, we spent nearly every Saturday together shopping near USC, going to museums or the library, and when money was tight we'd feed squirrels at the State House. <br /><br />I've learned a lot about art, music, and literature from him. And though I don't make the following of these things the habit I'd like to, I have a strong belief in their value. <br /><br />I've always thought his approach to raising a girl was particularly interesting. He never called me princess or anything like that. Never got bent out of shape about boy stuff. But it seems he consciously exposed me to Tori Amos, Bjork, Courtney Love, a myriad of women who had interesting things to say about their experiences as women. Strong women who possessed themselves in ways that aren't evident more accessible media. They certainly possessed themselves in a way a princess never could. Maybe this isn't very PC of me, but it was my dad who informed my identity as a feminist like no one else.Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-86268894727183297132011-02-24T09:55:00.001-08:002011-02-24T10:23:14.410-08:00I heart Jimmy FallonI've only recently taken up watching Jimmy Fallon. I was too embittered about Conan nonsense to enjoy it for a long time, but I'm officially giving Jimmy that space my heart once reserved for the red mop top. Jimmy makes a fantastic Late Night host because he isn't using any of the old hats that most late show hosts spout, its not centered on the monologue, he isn't even hard into sketch comedy. He is just a super good natured fellow who is always laughing with people and never at them. He doesn't do that awful Jay Walking crap where we are supposed to laugh at people who don't know who George Washington is. He always gets his guests to do silly things with him, but it never has a degrading edge to it when Trump plays charades, or when Springsteen dresses as a younger self, or when Paul McCartney substitutes the words in "Yesterday" to "Scrambled Eggs". And I think hes always interested in his guests. <div><br /></div><div>I'll leave you with this awesome hip-hop duo Odd Couple, a totally crazy performance that Jimmy is super excited about.</div><div><br /><br /><iframe title="YouTube video player" width="320" height="185" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/XlGWRPnp0ok" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-59665309040704584392011-02-10T21:18:00.000-08:002011-02-10T21:40:23.766-08:00Mozart: A Life<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/product/400/000/000/000/000/222/620/400000000000000222620_s4.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 338px; height: 500px;" src="http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/product/400/000/000/000/000/222/620/400000000000000222620_s4.png" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">I would never say that I have any real knowledge of classical music, but there are a few composers who have slid into my awareness and settled into my appreciation.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Ravel, Debussy, Handel, Stravinsky, Beethoven, and, of course Mozart.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His music is compelling on so many levels.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His musical pairings are so versatile, and he brings out so many different things in his instruments.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And in spite of the complexity, the music can make your spirit soar, reaching right into your core.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Requiem reminds me of Dostevsky's reaction to a Hans Holbein painting, "A man could even lose his faith from that."</p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">When you marry the sensations<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>his music elicits with his life--maybe more so his death--its mind-bendingly tragic.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The combination of his genius, youth, and tragedy make him one of the most mythological figures of the Western Canon.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Peter Gay's brief biography of Mozart gives him greater depth while acknowledging the legends the preceed him.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Legend vaguely alludes to Mozart as someone who is haunted and is consequentially given to fits of silliness and frivolity.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Gay proves that what most haunted Mozart was his father-- the most influential figure for the young prodigy.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Serving also as his son's manager, critic, and booking agent, he was awestruck by Mozart's talent, but also embittered that his own talent paled in comparison.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In an effort to make a musical contribution, he puts rigorous demands on Mozart, insisting he devote more time to his craft, to the point of monasticism (even though he was unfathomably prolific).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When Mozart established his independence financially and familially, he carried a heavy burden of guilt the rest of his life, wanting only to please the man he felt so indebted to.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Gay attests that Mozart's fatal flaw was his inability to tighten his belt.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His concept of "necessary" included a lot of billiards and frequent entertainment, lavish furniture as well as a house staff.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His debtors were largely people from his Masonic Temple, but as they mounted, his self-loathing increased.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He suffered the disappointment of his wife, his father, and his Masonic brothers, got in more debt to pay other debts, and was forced to take assignments he deemed unworthy of his attention.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Gay does a great driving home these core points: paternal influence, debt, and Mozart's crude sense of humor.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But he makes many connections with what was happening in Mozart's life and how it connects to the material.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Gay tracks Mozart's interest in the Schubert's concertos<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and his efforts to make his own concerto.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He also tracks the history of the Opera, and Mozart's contributions.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But I'm most interested in what kind of mind is revealed in the source material?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>How does it represent his music and his ability to make the most callous critics swoon?</p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">One of the few insights his letters give into the workings of Mozart's mind is that he enjoyed composing in building where people practiced.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>While in Milan he writes to his sister, "above is a violinist, below us another one, next to us a singing teacher giving lessons, in the room across from ours there is an oboist.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That is rather amusing to compose by! Gives one lots of ideas." Its hard to imagine being able to hold so many sounds in your head.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But the fact that it could not only be tolerated, but used as inspiration, is really profound.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Making the ethereal nature of his music all the more alluring.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Ultimately, I'm impressed that Gay can discuss Mozart comprehensively, the man, his music, and the people in his life in only 175 pages.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p></p>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-53567901901239518672011-01-24T07:42:00.000-08:002011-01-24T10:39:55.926-08:00Best Burgers Around<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=23c30fffe9&view=att&th=12db941c460a0d39&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 600px;" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/?ui=2&ik=23c30fffe9&view=att&th=12db941c460a0d39&attid=0.1&disp=inline&zw" border="0" alt="" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div>Veggie Burgers, silly!</div><div><br /></div><div>These are made with beets, bulgar, and almonds. I always get a strange look when I talk about how much I love these things, but everyone who tries it loves it. Its on some sesame seed bread and with some Today I switched things up a little bit and added some beer. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-42370149530118265252011-01-22T05:50:00.000-08:002011-01-22T06:00:39.069-08:00Hazardous for Women<p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Did anyone check Caitlyn Flanagan's knowledge of female sexuality before asking her to write a report on Karen Owen and her now infamous Duke Fucklist?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> Apparently not, because just about every feminist publication rails against her. </span>It is very clear from reading her article "<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/01/the-hazards-of-duke/8328/">The Hazards of Duke</a>" published in <i>The Atlantic</i>,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>that though she may claim a feminist approach, she is steeped in patriarchal expectations (like all of us) and has never bothered to evaluate the biases she has toward her gender.</p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Karen Owen is portrayed as a sad, lonely girl who was having sex with random men because she needed affection.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Subject 1 is described by Owens herself very briefly, only mentioning that she was rather inexperienced and that she was flattered that he liked her body.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Flanagan insists that because it is implied that she lost her virginity to this fellow, she is wounded by his disinterest in pursuing a relationship.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So what if the rest of this world puts this premium on virginity?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Lots of people who don't have any<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>interest in "saving themselves" find themselves at an age where everyone else is gaining sexual experiences, they hear good things about it, and decide to get the show on the road.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Her standard was someone who was attractive and appreciated the same in her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>If that’s not what one would expect of a Duke lady, who gives a shit.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That doesn't mean they have some sort of condition.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Over and over again Flanagan projects these expectations on Owens.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She calls her naïve for sending a personal email to three people and being surprised that it later went viral.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Doesn't everyone send personal emails?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She calls her sad because she could only share that information with three people.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Can you name more than three people that you explicitly discuss your sex life with?<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She laments that, "<span style="color:black">the first true daughter of sex-positive feminism would have an erotic proclivity for serving every kind of male need, no matter how mundane or humiliating, that she would so eagerly turn herself from sex mate to soccer mom, depending on what was wanted from her."<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She says this because Owens put up with banal conversations and activities.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Dealing with dullards is a part of life, and if you believe in Darwin a little bit, you agree that putting up with bullshit is required to have sex.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That doesn't make her any less of a woman, its not like she is dealing with men who are beating her or humiliating her, she's just picking at her nails when she's bored to tears watching someone play video games.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>When they don't meet her expectations for proper treatment, she stops having sex with them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She doesn't absorb their behavior as something malignant in herself, by fixing<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>her hair, losing weight, or going to the tanning salon so that they might like her more.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span>Flanagan shames her sexual appetites.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She paints these wide strokes, thinking that a woman who likes rough sex clearly has a deep seated desire to be abused and a woman who takes pride in their exhibitionistic practices doesn't have real pride in herself.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="color:black"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="color:black"><br /></span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="color:black">The most irritating part, is that nearly every word about Owen wreaks of pure meanness.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She makes Owens sound unpopular, spineless, and slutty.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For all her efforts to shed feminist light on the topic; she lacks one of the most famous feminine qualities:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>gentleness.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Flanagan is a violent offender of shaming women about their sexuality.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is very little discussion of women's reactions to the story.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The most notable one is some prude on Fox News who repeated the adage, "men do not respect women who do this."<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is a lot of talk about what the daddies might think, about what Tucker Max would think, about what the athletes she sleeps with might think, but no one who understands the college sexual culture as it pertains to women is quoted.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Her conclusion is that, "there is a very old story about women, desire, expectation, dashed hope, and (to use the old, apt, word) ruin."<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Indeed, this is a very old story, not the new story framed by feminine power.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She implicitly shames her openness about sex by refusing to acknowledge that lots of women have sex with people they don't have deep emotional connections with and they are respected, contributing members of society.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="color:black"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><span style="color:black"> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">My own conclusion on The Fuck List is this: it’s sad.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It’s not profoundly sad.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Her wounds from the experiences themselves (not withstanding the very public outlash) will not leave any significant scars.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She'll get back on her feet and be better for it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It’s sad that women who desire to be in control of their own sexual lives have absolutely no one to learn this from.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Shame abounds. There is fear from men that the arena that they have claimed dominance in will be shared with the other gender.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There is fear from women that men won't respect them.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>They'll be called sluts, hos, cunts, whores, their illigetimate children will be called bastards, and when they get the courage to stand up to the asshole who called her those things, she'll be a bitch.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>This fear is so profound that there can be no accountability for your own sexual behavior because the potential shame is so great.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So the college culture has built itself on liquor, so that the women will be comfortable doing what they are ashamed of.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Of course, college women know that’s not as delightful as it sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>[By the way, I think colleges have failed to promote change in this culture, but that’s another post].<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It’s scary to be so out of control, to not know where you have woken up, to lose those precious earrings from South Africa (as Karen did), to do the things that were wanted, but not named.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Its scary when something serious happens and no one knows what the terms of it were.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It leaves a lot of women experiencing rape without the actual event of rape because they had very little control of their behavior or environment during sex.</p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> </p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">So, in light of all this shame, this loss of self-control, this frightening discovery of something powerful, I think she had to do something that would make her experiences quantifiable.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>To attach numbers, statistics, graphs, and bullets because even if it took her forty-two slides, it was easier to manage.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>At the end of the day the only thing she had to fall back on was a hyper-masculine rationalization of her experiences, rather than feminine guidance to help her navigate the chaos.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>There aren't sufficient resources to help college women experience their sexuality as their own.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For heaven's sake, the only person she saw who verbalized their experiences with real ownership was Tucker<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Max.</p><p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"><br /></p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt">Ultimately, The Hazards of Duke is a much better case study on the masculine approach to sex, rather than the feminine because Flanagan doesn't even know there is an alternative.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She doesn't know that a woman who has sex without being in the throws of love can be equally symptomatic of a happy woman than as a sad one.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-87135388064347512252011-01-17T01:07:00.000-08:002011-01-17T19:43:06.641-08:00My Attempt to Review Kanye's New Album Without Using the Words "Dark", "Beautiful", "Twisted", or "Fantasy"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cuindependent.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Kanye_West_My_Beautiful_Dark_Twisted_Fantasy_album_cover.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://cuindependent.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Kanye_West_My_Beautiful_Dark_Twisted_Fantasy_album_cover.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">I have something of a Kanye obsession right now.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Before this, he was distant in my periphery.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The only awareness I had of him was some sort of faux pas at the VMAs.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Apparently this guy has a Muhammad Ali complex-- that swell-headedness that some how transcends the individuals self-perception and becomes a kind of truth.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He has been steeped in hip-hop long enough to break free from the typical subject matter and take us deep<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>in to this dirty, complex, mysterious, and lovely world.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Dare I call it, a <span style="font-style: italic">Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy</span>? </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">He successfully incorporates the layered production value typical in hip hop with all of its samplings, synthesizers, featured artists,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>and drum machines while framing it with the spectrum of modern music. No visual speaks more strongly of this marriage than Yeezy's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X81PAlsbXhY">SNL performance</a> of "Runaway"<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>in which he played a drum machine with the same flair that Yo-Yo Ma strikes the pizzicato on the cello.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The use of this non-traditional instrument in such a traditional way is compelling enough, but the fact that the performance was punctuated with Kanye's own troupe of Russian ballerinas is a whole new level for crossover hip-hop.</p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">The tension of the song is heightened by the eerie, Tori-Amos-y piano and the truly contemplative, yet hilarious, lyrics [ I<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>sent this bitch a picture of my dick. / I don't know what it is with females, / but I'm not to good at that shit.].<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In spite of his reputation, Kanye consistently drops lines with a wry smile and the universally felt melancholia of one's episodic predictability and subsequent demise ["See I can have me a good girl / and still be addicted to the hood rats."].</p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Not to say that the whole album is terribly enlightened lyrically.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>"Power" references Kanye's own sphere of influence ["No one man should have all that power"] which is, surprisingly (to Kanye) mostly limited to music and celebrity. However, this song does tend to bring out the fascist in me with the strong African influence percussion and the guitar riffs reminiscent of The Edge.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Its hard not to make a ritualized obeisance and hail King Yeezy.</p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">I do believe that Kanye's influence in music will have a more lasting impact than anyone realizes because he might be the first artist to master the variety of media in the digital era.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Its not so hard to forgive conceit that is accompanied by genius (e.g. Stanley Kubrick, Phil Spector) and the consequent madness of one who constantly pursues perfection.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The effort he put into the music is self-evident, but the strength of his live performances, the film accompaniment<i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X81PAlsbXhY">Runaway</a></i>,<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>the media stunts, and<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>his Twitter make him a force to be reckoned with.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">There's no doubt about it, the man is a maverick, sacrificing his pride to reveal the warped hauntings that fuel his art.</p>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-43829727105800219622011-01-16T22:52:00.000-08:002011-01-16T22:54:08.206-08:00Things That are Making Me Happy on the Cheap.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Bitstream Charter', serif; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-style: italic; line-height: 24px; "><p style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://somedayaphilosophyqueen.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/photo-1.jpg" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 102, 204); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-5" title="photo (1)" src="http://somedayaphilosophyqueen.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/photo-1.jpg?w=300&h=225" alt="" width="300" height="225" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; max-width: 100%; width: auto; height: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; " /></a></p><p style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><em style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">My sister got me this food processor! It is definitely the best one I have ever used. This means veggie burgers galore. Today I made nut burgers with almonds. Tomorrow, beet burgers. Hooray for my belly!</em></p><p style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><em style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><img class="alignnone" title="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2551/3710632987_ffe855199e.jpg?v=0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2551/3710632987_ffe855199e.jpg?v=0" alt="" width="500" height="394" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; " /></em></p><p style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">I still have my student I.D. and<em style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "> it is Oscar season </em>and <em style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Charlotte still has a theater that at least looks like an art house theater, even if it isn’t one. Oh yeah.</em></span></p><p style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><em style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><img class="alignnone" title="http://www.healthychoice.co.nz/th_diet_coke.jpg" src="http://www.healthychoice.co.nz/th_diet_coke.jpg" alt="" width="106" height="160" style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; " /></em></span></p><p style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 24px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><em style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Yesterday Harris Teeter had 12-pk cans of Diet Coke for $1.88. If nothing else, I am rich in that.</em></span></p><div><span style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><em style="background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><br /></em></span></div></span>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-73692888010050098412011-01-12T21:48:00.000-08:002011-01-13T11:16:58.195-08:00Black Swan<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ptx_1S-z7Gk/TS6T_db879I/AAAAAAAAAAo/9khP7jOELqI/s1600/Black-Swan-Natalie-Portman-2-9-10-kc.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ptx_1S-z7Gk/TS6T_db879I/AAAAAAAAAAo/9khP7jOELqI/s320/Black-Swan-Natalie-Portman-2-9-10-kc.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5561545308292050898" /></a><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">I'm always a sucker for the general aesthetic of a movie. I have a soft spot for costume pieces and a lovely setting.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>So, I consistently love movies about dance, particularly ballet.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>From Center Stage to Save the Last Dance, I refuse to remove<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>them from my list of "thumbs up" movies.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But Black Swan, sadly, has failed me.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Aronofsky consistently fails me by aiming for the most visceral reaction from his audience without supplying a backbone.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It never enough structure for all of this sex and violence.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Now, I'm no prude I like a bloody gangster movie or a rockin' sex scene just as much as the next person.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Probably more than the next person.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But if a movie is going to vacillate between the two so much that I get a blister, I'm gonna have to ask that it be worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And its not.</p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">For starters the drive behind the entire movie is this new and improved version of Swan Lake that will give this company a reputation for groundbreaking work and make the prima ballerina a star.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But there is absolutely no evidence in the dialogue or the choreography that this is anything particularly special.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I don't know much about ballet at all, but I know what a great ballerina is capable of, and Natalie Portman isn't a great ballerina.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The only person who seems to have any confidence in the greatness of the piece is the narcissistic Mephistilean character, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), and the schizophrenic Nina (Natalie Portman).<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But we never understand how it is going to change the face of ballet forever like we are led to believe.</p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Then we are led to believe that the pressure of the performance's debut has compelled Nina to commit a terrible crime against another dancer who has tried to befriend her.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>For those of you who haven't seen it, I won't ruin it.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But I never picked up on any reason--delusional<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>or<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>defendable--for her to have the kind of jealousy required to commit such an act.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>After following him around that twist for sevenish minutes, he insists that instead, a different violent act was committed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Though the reality is a bit more believable, it just doesn't make any sense when juxtaposed with the initial<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>act.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Aronofsky has a fetish with the tortured.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His subject matter has included a washed-up wrestler, a crazed mathematician, a drug addict, and now a ballerina.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>One would thing that he had found his niche in ballet--an art that <span style="font-style:italic">requires</span> eating disorders, self mutilation, and fatigue.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Aronofsky pushes past the existing burden of ballet and pummels its already abused ass beyond recognition.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But the amazing thing about ballet is that the prerequisite suffering is transformed into a thing of beauty.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Aronofsky leaves us raw, with nothing spiritual, beautiful, or even moral to show for it.</p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">No review of Black Swan is complete without some reference to its predecessor, The Red Shoes by Michael Powell and Robert Pressburger.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It is my favorite film of all time and seeing the trailer for Black Swan made me very excited for that very reason.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Any ballet movie has to borrow from the Red Shoes, but a ballet thriller with a Mephistilean element has to make every homage permissable.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Shorting his own epic ballet scene<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>by exactly a minute, allowed for The Red Shoes to hold on to its record for the longest ballet scene in a movie. But there was one place The Red Shoes made it where Black Swan failed.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The lead of The Red Shoes was<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>played by an absolutely phenomenal ballerina--not an actress.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Luckily for them, Moira Shearer turned out to be a stunning actress, and perhaps that is because she didn't have to work hard at all to <span style="font-weight:bold">be</span> a ballerina.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I don't have many thoughts at all regarding Natalie Portman.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Shes beautiful, she has enough of a sado-masochistic streak to work with Aronofsky.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>I get the feeling she has passed up a lot of high paying roles that are nothing more than RomCom drivel, which is a little admirable.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But I didn't think it was a stand out performance on any level outside of her weight loss.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>[Sidnote:<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The most profound body transformation in a film was Robert DeNiro for Raging Bull and that did not receive nearly the same attention because 1) bodies are not as culturally important for men as they are for women and 2) because the audience has little awareness that they are watching Robert DeNiro because he is a truly great actor.]<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"> </p> <p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt"><br /></p><p style="margin:0in;font-family:Calibri;font-size:11.0pt">Aronofsky and Portman clearly had high hopes for Black Swan.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He takes big risks with the feverish point-of-view and has many scenes with very real staying power.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He reveals unsettling things about the minds of his characters and the culture of ballet in general.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But ultimately I think his grasp exceeded his reach. </p>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-27294524303915005772010-09-12T13:53:00.000-07:002010-09-12T16:38:08.555-07:00SaltMy favorite actresses are Laura Linney and Frances McDormand. They are always unflinchingly courageous, exploring diverse roles and demonstrating a wide range. But I swear, Angelina Jolie is perhaps the only woman with the raw athleticism and fierce features to transform a mediocre action movie into a red-hot thriller. <div><br /></div><div>Jolie navigates elevator shafts and subway systems, survives devastating car crashes, and kills tons of men along the way. She camouflages herself in a variety of situations and uses creative weapons. My favorite scene is Jolie in action as she tries to either save or assassinate the Russian president at a funeral. The pipe organ collapses and makes a tremendous sound just before she places a bomb in the floor where the man is standing. As a feminist, I just can't deny the tinge of glee I get from seeing strong, smart women do great big things.<br /><div><br /></div><div>Salt is not a mediocre thriller. It does a lot of interesting things that I haven't seen in the genre for a long time. In an age of more and more pointed racism towards Arabic people, many movies are joining forces in an effort to make the film more topical and relevant. By using the Cold War, the filmmakers are able to take more licenses without being disrespectful or making crass gestures towards 9/11. And yet, it uses the residual sentiments and conspiracy theories to move the story forward.</div><div><br /></div><div>Salt is a distinctly American movie and watching it made me realize some strange things about the American condition. Not a single thing about all this seemed remarkably implausible for me. America has a such a strong distaste for government, that we are always prepared to believe the most outlandish explanation rather than the easiest. The idea that Russia might still be out to get us isn't so difficult to believe. Its as if cynicism has made a complete 360, taking us right back where we started from, blindly believing incredulous falsehoods. </div></div><div><br /></div><div>I digress. Regardless, the incredible acrobatics, chase scenes, and closeness with the world's most mysterious country make this an incredible escapist film that is relevant, without the finger wagging.</div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-9874625223112346452010-08-26T16:13:00.000-07:002010-08-30T07:43:13.220-07:00Happy Women's Suffrage Day!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://designhistorylab.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/3-anti-suffrage-poster-19132.gif"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 360px; height: 222px;" src="http://designhistorylab.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/3-anti-suffrage-poster-19132.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Its a man's world unless women vote.<div><br /><div><br /></div><div>I despise Disney. I also despise their depiction of this suffragette. But every time I vote, I sing this<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvk1NZDFvZU"> song</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>And then, when I hear the word suffragette, I think of this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i1mLF3uMWw">prank</a>. I think it originally aired on The Man Show. Shame, shame, shame.</div></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-16499569506335988152010-08-24T11:25:00.001-07:002010-08-26T14:58:42.409-07:00Extended Adolescence<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ptx_1S-z7Gk/THQk7xBMPiI/AAAAAAAAAAU/l766hBOtnlA/s1600/labyrinth"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ptx_1S-z7Gk/THQk7xBMPiI/AAAAAAAAAAU/l766hBOtnlA/s320/labyrinth" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509068853370175010" /></a><br />This week The New York Times published a titanic <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/magazine/22Adulthood-t.html?pagewanted=all">article</a> about the a new category in developmental psychology entitled "emerging adulthood." They go on to characterize this population as people who return to live with parents, go through jobs quickly, are not in committed relationships, and are generally unstable. The writer, Robin Henig, concludes that though there is no desire to coddle this group of people, they clearly need some additional help.<div><br /></div><div>Of course, I feel particularly compelled to comment on this trend because it describes me relatively well. I've dodged the bullet of living with my parents, but I'm not in a relationship, I've gone through several jobs, and I have a bachelors degree. What strikes me as so odd about this article is that there is no mention of the great things we were doing as teenagers. People had a lot of hope in our generation. Just a few years ago we were breaking records for community service and being characterized as overachievers academically and athletically. We were ready to be a force in our world. </div><div><br /></div><div>And now we are being characterized as a group that has been looking for itself so long that its been lost. It seems so unfair. Not to mention, it sounds like a little projection from the Boomers.</div><div><br /></div><div>Clearly something else is going on here. For myself, I can say that I'm educated and looked long and hard for a position that was well-aligned with my career goals. Instead I work harder than I ever have in my life and make pennies above minimum wage. I'm not terribly bitter about it anymore. I really like my job and I'm getting used to the fact that the effort me and my family put into my education just didn't have an obvious, immediate impact on my value in the work place. So many of the people I graduated with are in similar places doing landscaping, working retail, waiting tables. These are labor intensive jobs. Hard work that doesn't facilitate constant floundering or flakiness, even if it is at worst transitional work.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've never understood economics, but it seems that is the only missing piece of the puzzle. My generation isn't diseased with extended adolescence. We've worked hard while we've been on this planet. We were the first people to grow up with a concept of sustainability and consumerism. Instead, we are suffering the consequences of a misguided, grown-up, "me generation." </div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-54862483714883862812010-08-23T17:12:00.000-07:002011-01-22T06:10:04.856-08:00Marilynne Robinson's Home<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ptx_1S-z7Gk/THMPGVFHWpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/5sQQKeK4088/s1600/home-marilynne-robinson.jpeg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ptx_1S-z7Gk/THMPGVFHWpI/AAAAAAAAAAM/5sQQKeK4088/s320/home-marilynne-robinson.jpeg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508763370616478354" /></a>I was hoping to like Marilynne Robinson's book <i>Home</i> as much as I liked <i>Gilead</i>. <i>Gilead </i>is unforgivingly sentimental and not at all cynical. Every sentence is perfectly crafted. Not a single word is dispensasbile. This beauty and purposefulness is particularly graceful as it is the memoir of dying Rev. John Ames for his young son. <div><br /><div><i>Home</i> follows the story of Ames' friend Rev. Robert Boughton; Ames' namesake, Jack Boughton; and his sister Glory Boughton.</div><div>Jack has returned home after twenty years. His youth was fraught with petty theft, alcohol, and miscellaneous mischief and he has no doubt followed that road to its natural extension.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ames seems to brim with goodness, thoughtfulness, grace. The goal is of his missive would certainly communicate these sentiments. Jack is equally sympathetic, its the peripheral characters I have a harder time understanding. He is perpetually trying to spare people from his life, rarely passing up an opportunity to be kind, and is ultimately crushed by the guilt of his past and compelled to drink. But no one, not even his sister Glory who has set her goal on knowing and loving her brother, helps him forgive himself. Forgiveness is such an important theme that it seems unnatural to have such an omission. Poor Jack is so busy getting forgiveness from everyone else, seeing himself from everyone else's eyes, that he is incapable of expecting anything but the worst from himself and therefore living in perdition.</div><div><br /></div><div>What most naturally appeals to me about Robinson is her ability to seamlessly interject important pieces of philosophy and theology into her text. I was compelled to look up the proper definition of "perdition." Home poses a Calvinistic question regarding the existence of predestination. Jack has never been successful at much of anything. His idea of of himself combines fate and personal accountability, creating a life of hopeful, lofty expectations and, consequentially, failure. Jack constantly questions whether it was his fate to live among the dregs of society. Unfortunately, Jack's guilt is so blinding that he undoubtedly believes it is fate, only Glory will discover the truth of Jack's life and its ultimate goodness. Like so much of life, additional feedback is required to take better stock of our lives. Hopefully,by the grace of Christ, the goodness of the event will find him metaphysically, karmically.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>There is a goodness that radiates from these books. A sense of love and peace that leaps from the page. In <i>Gilead</i> much of that was because of the century of family history and back story. It is much easier to achieve sympathy when the whole story is conveyed. Who knows why this grace was granted to a character who has lived a more or less "good" life rather than a "bad" one. </div></div></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-30504983730678821472010-08-16T10:17:00.000-07:002010-08-23T18:43:28.697-07:00One Month Vegan Strong!I have some relatively strange reasons for choosing veganism. I've always wanted to be a vegetarian and have dabbled in it here and there. Veganism always sounded entirely too extreme. Factory farming aside, its not like it hurts a cow to get milked or a chicken to give an egg. <div><br /></div><div>My life has been pretty crazy lately and all of a sudden I'm faced with more options than I've ever had. I've gotten rid of most possessions and got out of a relationship. Intentionally or otherwise I've lost so many things. Suddenly I could do anything I've ever wanted. A friend gave me some existentialist advice. "Freedom enslaves you because there are too many choices and you are solely responsible for them." I had to start with just one choice. Something I would have to deal with every day that would limit my options. </div><div><br /></div><div>The result is something I'm very proud of. Even when I am most hard on myself, I know I am doing something that is good for the world and for myself. This month I've probably spent less than $80 on food. I've lost a good bit of weight. This definitely wasn't the goal, but I do feel better. I have more energy to deal with this $h!t storm. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm hoping that over the next thirty days I'll have some more substantial reasons. Perhaps this process will make me more conscientious about every aspect of my life, my connection to the world, and everything in it. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-83514993682431866012010-07-27T16:40:00.000-07:002010-07-27T18:03:47.003-07:00The Bechtler v. A Camera LensToday I went to Charlotte's newest museum, <a href="http://www.bechtler.org">The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.</a> The building itself is an architectural marvel, though many of the specific names within are only meaningful to those with sea legs in the art world. My own background is planted in medieval, renaissance, and artisan or craft work. But a closer look at art of the past two hundred years has changed the way I understand the artistic process and the value of coming face to face with art in a proper context.<div><div><div><br />The democratization of art has bled over into gross overexposure. I doubt that Leonardo ever intended Mona Lisa to be viewed under a microscope by every individual with a fifth grade education. Its grotesque, pornographic. Even the most trained eye loses any aesthetic sensibility. Its just a cracked mess with an impossible climate in the background.<br /></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div>Modern art uses so many new elements that a person looking at the work on the computer and the viewer in a museum truly see radical different paintings. The painting that most struck me at the Bechtler was Nicolas de Stael's <i>Landscape</i>. You can "see" it by clicking on the link above and clicking on the "Collections" tab. De Stael forces the viewer to reckon with the editorial decisions an artist makes. For two dimensional art, De Stael utilizes layers in a way I'm not sure I've seen before in a painting. In some places canvas is visible, while in others there are half inch globs, resulting in a cartographic effect. For me, this result requires all the self restraint of waiting for an elevator beside a fire alarm. I'm dying to touch it. To peel back the layers and see what was originally there. He gives us peaks. Tiny lines of blue and violet were spared in the editing . It looks awkward among the sea of drab and yellow, maybe even suspenseful. </div><div><br /></div><div>The modernists saw the direction of increased viewership and participation and upped the ante. They had to make something that required aesthetics, skill, and something incapable of reproduction by the camera. </div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3198879603518396360.post-22488996273485347662010-07-25T19:08:00.001-07:002010-07-25T19:38:03.775-07:00My BlogI've been wanting to start a blog for a long time. The main thing that has held be back was thinking of a name. I'm spread too thin to narrow a whole blog down to one topic. I love art, humanity, Christ, work, nonviolence, and philosophy. In short, I'm serious. Not the smartest nor the most ambitious, but I'm always thinking about what it means to live the good life. <div><br /></div><div>That means reviews, ruminations, recipes, and rants. With a little less alliteration.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Katiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09241673152562558481noreply@blogger.com0