Save Free Speech, Support Steve Earle!
Steve Earle is currently being vilified for his new album Jerusalem (not even released yet) by various folks, mainly of the knee-jerk right-wing variety. He's written a song called John Walker's Blues which some claim is anti-American and compares John Walker Lindh (remember the "American Taliban"?) with Jesus. No, it doesn't. It attempts to get into the mind of Lindh and show us what this misguided kid might have been thinking when he was wandering around the desert in Afghanistan like John the the Baptist, getting hairier but not getting any wiser. So yes, this is yet another case of folks mistaking the voice of the narrator in a work of art for the voice of the writer. Anyway, some of these folks are suggesting we boycott stores selling the CD, radio stations playing it, etc--your usual anti free-speech, let's repeal the Bill of Rights stuff. Though so far, I haven't heard of anyone trying to ban the CD itself. Yet.
The Nation recently covered the right's attack on Earle as has Salon. The New York Times published an interview with Earle in which he explains the song as well as his thoughts on the John Ashcroft and Dick Cheney. He also clearly explains his thoughts about Lindh and the Taliban on his web site: "I don't condone what he did. Still, he's a 20 year-old kid. My son Justin is almost exactly Walker's age. Would I be upset if he suddenly turned up fighting for the Islamic Jihad? Sure, absolutely. Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban, is the enemy of real thought, and religion too."
If you haven't heard Earle's music, he's a tough, gravelly-voiced "country" singer who's music isn't likely to be played on your local country station any time soon. He had a hit back in the '80s with Copperhead Road, then spent a stint in jail for heroin possession. After recovered from his addiction, Earle entered an incredibly creative and productive period of his life: he's released 7 albums in the past 8 years, written a book of short stories, a play, and he's even appearing in the TV show, The Wire. He's a damn fine and thoughtful musician.
Support free speech and go buy his new album, Jerusalem.
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
Christopher Hitchens, a fine lefty writer, wrote a review of Martin Amis's new book Koba the Dread for this month's Atlantic Monthly. I had a problem with his review, so I wrote a letter:
On Hitchen’s review of the Martin Amis’s Koba the Dread: I know far less about the events involved than Hitchens or Amis, and Hitchens writes far more authoritatively about the era than I ever could (and I enjoy reading his writing); however, he also (somehow) misses the point.
Amis is absolutely correct: figuratively speaking, nobody does know about the horrors perpetrated under Stalin, not compared to Hitler's atrocities. In the language of argumentative hyperbole, simply read “nobody” as most of us, the overwhelming majority of us even. This hyperbole is understood; there’s no intention on the part of Amis to deceive by exaggeration here, as Hitchens would normally understand were his eyes not clouded by his personal engagement in the proceedings.
"Nobody" does know of Yezhov and Dzerdzhinsky, nor of Vorkuta and Solovetski. The fact that there exists an apparently rich body of literature on the subjects, largely ignored by the rest of us certainly says something about our culture, our narrow attention spans, and perhaps most pointedly, the selective interests of the media, Hollywood and publishers (those informing everybody, feeding and shaping our limited interests). When the average person thinks of atrocity his mind jumps to Hitler. Stalin’s not even a close second. It's just Hitler. Why that is the case is a problem ripe for investigation. But Hitchens passes on this opportunity entirely.
Instead, he focuses on those statements Amis makes which affected him most personally. The fact that the whole piece seems to center on this anti-nobody argument undermines Mr. Hitchens credibility since it soon dawns on the reader that the piece serves simply as an opportunity for the writer to lick his wounds, an opportunity to ask to be understood. He does nothing to dispel the visceral and obvious truth of Amis’s thesis.
On Hitchen’s review of the Martin Amis’s Koba the Dread: I know far less about the events involved than Hitchens or Amis, and Hitchens writes far more authoritatively about the era than I ever could (and I enjoy reading his writing); however, he also (somehow) misses the point.
Amis is absolutely correct: figuratively speaking, nobody does know about the horrors perpetrated under Stalin, not compared to Hitler's atrocities. In the language of argumentative hyperbole, simply read “nobody” as most of us, the overwhelming majority of us even. This hyperbole is understood; there’s no intention on the part of Amis to deceive by exaggeration here, as Hitchens would normally understand were his eyes not clouded by his personal engagement in the proceedings.
"Nobody" does know of Yezhov and Dzerdzhinsky, nor of Vorkuta and Solovetski. The fact that there exists an apparently rich body of literature on the subjects, largely ignored by the rest of us certainly says something about our culture, our narrow attention spans, and perhaps most pointedly, the selective interests of the media, Hollywood and publishers (those informing everybody, feeding and shaping our limited interests). When the average person thinks of atrocity his mind jumps to Hitler. Stalin’s not even a close second. It's just Hitler. Why that is the case is a problem ripe for investigation. But Hitchens passes on this opportunity entirely.
Instead, he focuses on those statements Amis makes which affected him most personally. The fact that the whole piece seems to center on this anti-nobody argument undermines Mr. Hitchens credibility since it soon dawns on the reader that the piece serves simply as an opportunity for the writer to lick his wounds, an opportunity to ask to be understood. He does nothing to dispel the visceral and obvious truth of Amis’s thesis.
Thursday, February 28, 2002
Added to Massive Attack's MemoryandDreamStorage just before midnight tonight:
Sitting on a seaside cliff in Pusan, Korea, watching the waves crash on the rocks below and the little Korean ajimahs serving seafood from the big orange plastics tubs they squatted beside.
1996
This section of Massive's site allows you publish your own memories and dreams, which are then randomly displayed to site visitors. Memories are also searchable by subject (really a simple word search) and by year. Pretty cool idea, especially for vain folks like meself.
Sitting on a seaside cliff in Pusan, Korea, watching the waves crash on the rocks below and the little Korean ajimahs serving seafood from the big orange plastics tubs they squatted beside.
1996
This section of Massive's site allows you publish your own memories and dreams, which are then randomly displayed to site visitors. Memories are also searchable by subject (really a simple word search) and by year. Pretty cool idea, especially for vain folks like meself.
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
"You're perhaps the most accomplished confidence man since Charles Ponzi," Republican Senator Peter G. Fitzgerald told Kenneth L. Lay, former chairman of Enron yesterday. "I'd say you were a carnival barker, except that wouldn't be fair to carnival barkers. A carnie will at least tell you up front that he's running a shell game."
From The New York Times.
Ouch.
From The New York Times.
Ouch.
Thursday, January 17, 2002
My short story "Daddy Buys a Buick" has been reprinted on Open Sewer. Thanks guys.
If you're like me--a human being--you probably despise pop-up ads. That's why this site rocks. It provides links to help you opt out of certain pop-ups, including the ubiquitous, annoying X-10 ad. Unfortunately, that one has to be renewed. You can even permanently opt out of that $@&%ing comet cursor some apparently LSD-addled folk use on their sites.
If you're like me--a human being--you probably despise pop-up ads. That's why this site rocks. It provides links to help you opt out of certain pop-ups, including the ubiquitous, annoying X-10 ad. Unfortunately, that one has to be renewed. You can even permanently opt out of that $@&%ing comet cursor some apparently LSD-addled folk use on their sites.
Sunday, January 13, 2002
The Number One Propaganda Tract Masquerading as Literature of the Past Century
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
It’ll take a while, maybe another hundred years, but eventually (I hope) this book will fall right out of every top 10, top 100 list of books, as more and more folks understand it as an economic tract instead of a novel. (Consider maxims like “Money is the barometer of a society's virtue.”) Certainly, economic tracts deserve a place in the literary canon, alongside works like Marx's Das Kapital or Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, but I don't believe Atlas Shrugged deserves to nestle with Lolita and Crime and Punishment (which manages to be philosophical without being a tract). Not just because Atlas Shrugged is a work of propaganda, but also because as fiction, it's not a work of creative significance. It's a step above the psychobabble of L. Ron Hubbard to be sure, but those two authors have more in common (in motivation if not in philosophy) with each other than they do with Nabakov or Dostoevsky.
Libertarians love Rand because she consistently represents their worldview. In fact, many folks with varying philosophical backgrounds admire her; surely, however, they haven't considered the full implications of what she’s saying. Rand's most popular maxim was spoken in Atlas Shrugged and detailed in her collection of essay, “The Virtues of Selfishness": “I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another human being, or ask another human being to live for mine.” I guess this mantra approximates "Do unto others as best suits yourself," which essentially means letting folks fend for themselves. I wonder in this post dotbomb era, in this age of Enronism, whether Rand might change her tune about the respective merits of capitalism and selfishness. What I see makes me ill. The rich getting richer off the backs of the poor even as they, the rich, know their enterprise is going down the drain. Unchallenged, capitalism uses people up. Beats the shit out of them, frankly. I'm no commie but I do believe that the idea that capitalism is a neatly and simply a superior operating principle, elegant in it's efficiency--that idea is born of naïveté, and perhaps, greed.
By all accounts even Rand didn’t live by her popular maxim. Even she was more human than that. These sentiments are glib and simplistic; they might appear sensible at first blush, but raise chilling repercussions when you consider their ramifications. It sends a chill down my spine when so many describe it as the book (second only to the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club) that most changed their life. Her philosophy of Objectivism may be pro-individual (and I consider myself a strong individualist and even share many sentiments with libertarians) but I believe it’s anti-human. Principles of individualism have to be balanced with principles of community. (Capitalism has to be balanced with elements of socialism, if you like, not to conclude that these systems are always so easily divided.) We need a balance. That sounds simplistic and glib too, doesn’t it?
It’ll take a while, maybe another hundred years, but eventually (I hope) this book will fall right out of every top 10, top 100 list of books, as more and more folks understand it as an economic tract instead of a novel. (Consider maxims like “Money is the barometer of a society's virtue.”) Certainly, economic tracts deserve a place in the literary canon, alongside works like Marx's Das Kapital or Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, but I don't believe Atlas Shrugged deserves to nestle with Lolita and Crime and Punishment (which manages to be philosophical without being a tract). Not just because Atlas Shrugged is a work of propaganda, but also because as fiction, it's not a work of creative significance. It's a step above the psychobabble of L. Ron Hubbard to be sure, but those two authors have more in common (in motivation if not in philosophy) with each other than they do with Nabakov or Dostoevsky.
Libertarians love Rand because she consistently represents their worldview. In fact, many folks with varying philosophical backgrounds admire her; surely, however, they haven't considered the full implications of what she’s saying. Rand's most popular maxim was spoken in Atlas Shrugged and detailed in her collection of essay, “The Virtues of Selfishness": “I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another human being, or ask another human being to live for mine.” I guess this mantra approximates "Do unto others as best suits yourself," which essentially means letting folks fend for themselves. I wonder in this post dotbomb era, in this age of Enronism, whether Rand might change her tune about the respective merits of capitalism and selfishness. What I see makes me ill. The rich getting richer off the backs of the poor even as they, the rich, know their enterprise is going down the drain. Unchallenged, capitalism uses people up. Beats the shit out of them, frankly. I'm no commie but I do believe that the idea that capitalism is a neatly and simply a superior operating principle, elegant in it's efficiency--that idea is born of naïveté, and perhaps, greed.
By all accounts even Rand didn’t live by her popular maxim. Even she was more human than that. These sentiments are glib and simplistic; they might appear sensible at first blush, but raise chilling repercussions when you consider their ramifications. It sends a chill down my spine when so many describe it as the book (second only to the Bible, according to a joint survey conducted by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club) that most changed their life. Her philosophy of Objectivism may be pro-individual (and I consider myself a strong individualist and even share many sentiments with libertarians) but I believe it’s anti-human. Principles of individualism have to be balanced with principles of community. (Capitalism has to be balanced with elements of socialism, if you like, not to conclude that these systems are always so easily divided.) We need a balance. That sounds simplistic and glib too, doesn’t it?
To a certain extent, End of Year/Top 10 lists are a bloody waste of time: they're often simultaneously amusing and useless. They are useful if you happen to share the taste of the dude writing the list. Here then are a few useless, hopefully amusing lists:
Top 10 Albums of 2001
·Arab Strap – The Red Thread – Malcom Middleton's gruff, beautiful slow-core dirges. Ideal late-night listening for melancholics. "Love Detective" excites with it's driving piano and sordid lyrics. Longer songs like "The Long Sea" and "Screaming in the Trees," and "Turbulence," are almost terrifying in their dark, placid beauty. Belle and Sebastian with hair on their chests. Spare stuff. Nothing remotely twee or sentimental here.
·R.E.M. – Reveal – Are the boys from Athens turning into the Beach Boys? You decide. Whatever their songs are still lovely, though alarmingly simple.
·Avalanches – Since I Left You – Aussie boys pull a collective DJ Shadow, dazzling millions. The album's still unnoticed here compared to it's popularity in their homeland.
·Spiritualized – Let It Come Down – Moody, symphonic rockin’ gospel. The Stones collide with the Beatles and Jesus in Jason Pierce’s cranium to great effect. I can’t stop listening to the 10-plus minute opus, “Won’t Get to Heaven.” A favorite of my favorites.
·Nitin Sawhney – Prophecy – Had I the chance to buy it for a reasonable price in the United States, I suspect this would’ve been another favorite. Until I can find it, I'm enjoying a couple of mp3s. True world music. An artist people feel safe describing as "brilliant" with some regularity.
·Tricky – Blowback – not a masterpiece to be sure, but I listened to this a lot. Oddly inspired accompaniment from the Chili Peppers and Cyndi Lauper.
·Air – 10,000 Hz Legend – Bizarre, campy fun. Under-appreciated effort, no doubt, because it wasn’t a carbon copy of the French duo’s previous efforts. Still laugh when I hear the “I think you should quit smoking” response to the goofy 10cc-ish, “How does it make you feel?”
·Gorillaz – Gorillaz – OK, so I don’t own this one, but I’ve heard a few tracks. It’s made a lot of end-of-year lists, and I’m a fan of those involved. Kooky, original sounds.
·New Order – Get Ready – Don’t got this one yet either, but glad to see the boys back and loving what I’ve heard. OK some of the lyrics are weak, but New Order’s always been a little lyrically challenged. They’re masters at forging crystalline-perfect pop sounds, though.
·Shuggie Otis – Inspiration Information – Best re-release. First released in 1974 when Otis was 22.
[Coldplay's album Parachutes was also a favorite this year, though technically it was released in 2000 and just didn't get noticed much over here until 2001. That piano entry into "Trouble" grabs me every time. And the video is georgeous.]
Top 10 Movies of 2001
·Mulholland Drive – Disorienting. Thoughtful. Erotic. Also funny and intermittently satirical. Like Memento, this you’ll benefit from repeated viewings.
·In the Mood for Love – I haven’t seen this, but I’m a huge Wong Kar Wai fan and judging by the reviews, I’m going to love it. Great Aussie cinematographer continues his work with Wong, too.
·Amores Perros – Hurtling up from the southern hemisphere, a grittier Magnolia with bloody dog fights. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s unflinching portrayal of the lives that intersect at a car accident (the most viciously realistic car accident I’ve ever scene-the sound alone will cause you to shudder).
·Memento – Overrated? Maybe. But this notoriously twisted movie kept me on the edge of my seat. Of course there are holes, but it’s a lot closer to watertight than some folks who apparently weren’t watching closely could tell. Besides, I’m a sucker for film noir, as this list should reveal.
·Sexy Beast – Tough Brit-noir. Watching Ghandi (Ben Kingsley) curse like a roomful of sailors is one of the most entertaining (not to mention, frightening) things I saw all year. Great soundtrack by U.N.K.L.E., too.
·No Man's Land – Set in Bosnia - three men are caught in a ditch in the middle of No Man's Land, a battle field in the Bosnian war. Two of the men are Bosnians, one, a Serb. One of the Bosnians bickers and fights with the Serb while the other tries to lie still: he's lying on a landmine which while blow them all to kingdom come if he changes his position. The movie manages to satirize this sad war and many of it's attendant features: the role of the United Nations, for example, and the media. Dark, funny and informative.
·Amelie – Dangerously close to saccharine, but with enough restraint to avoid preciousness (most of the time). I admired Amelie for its humanity and its effusive inventiveness. Makes most other films look drab and devoid of creativity.
·The Man Who Wasn’t There – The Cohen brothers transform Billy Bob Thornton into Bogart in this beautiful black and white film noir. Some critics complained of Thornton’s cold, close demeanor. Duh, it’s called the Man Who Wasn’t There.
·The Pledge – Criminally overlooked. Reasonably nuanced performance from Nicholson. Lotsa folks will HATE the ending and I applaud Penn for leaving it that way. Folks who say the ending doesn’t make sense must’ve slept through the movie. Folks who got it, but didn’t like probably prefer Pollyanna endings or more rock ‘n’ roll sledgehammer ones like the one in Seven. Whereas Seven’s ending was for shock value, The Pledge’s is replete with philosophical (existential) meaning.
·The Tailor of Panama – John Boorman's lean, stylish and subtle thriller. Pierce Brosnan plays a bad guy spy way better than a good one. Geoffrey Rush is dignified and touching. The emphasis is definitely on character development over action, which is why I enjoyed it while others may ask, "That was a spy movie?"
[I’d likely have included more foreign and independent movies had they been shown here in Charlotte – if they were, they disappeared long before I had the chance to see them]
Biggest Disappointment of 2001
·Planet of the Apes – No competition. Largely plotless, poor characterization, deus ex machina ending. How the hell did horses get on the planet? Oh, the make-up was superb.
Top 10 Albums of 2001
·Arab Strap – The Red Thread – Malcom Middleton's gruff, beautiful slow-core dirges. Ideal late-night listening for melancholics. "Love Detective" excites with it's driving piano and sordid lyrics. Longer songs like "The Long Sea" and "Screaming in the Trees," and "Turbulence," are almost terrifying in their dark, placid beauty. Belle and Sebastian with hair on their chests. Spare stuff. Nothing remotely twee or sentimental here.
·R.E.M. – Reveal – Are the boys from Athens turning into the Beach Boys? You decide. Whatever their songs are still lovely, though alarmingly simple.
·Avalanches – Since I Left You – Aussie boys pull a collective DJ Shadow, dazzling millions. The album's still unnoticed here compared to it's popularity in their homeland.
·Spiritualized – Let It Come Down – Moody, symphonic rockin’ gospel. The Stones collide with the Beatles and Jesus in Jason Pierce’s cranium to great effect. I can’t stop listening to the 10-plus minute opus, “Won’t Get to Heaven.” A favorite of my favorites.
·Nitin Sawhney – Prophecy – Had I the chance to buy it for a reasonable price in the United States, I suspect this would’ve been another favorite. Until I can find it, I'm enjoying a couple of mp3s. True world music. An artist people feel safe describing as "brilliant" with some regularity.
·Tricky – Blowback – not a masterpiece to be sure, but I listened to this a lot. Oddly inspired accompaniment from the Chili Peppers and Cyndi Lauper.
·Air – 10,000 Hz Legend – Bizarre, campy fun. Under-appreciated effort, no doubt, because it wasn’t a carbon copy of the French duo’s previous efforts. Still laugh when I hear the “I think you should quit smoking” response to the goofy 10cc-ish, “How does it make you feel?”
·Gorillaz – Gorillaz – OK, so I don’t own this one, but I’ve heard a few tracks. It’s made a lot of end-of-year lists, and I’m a fan of those involved. Kooky, original sounds.
·New Order – Get Ready – Don’t got this one yet either, but glad to see the boys back and loving what I’ve heard. OK some of the lyrics are weak, but New Order’s always been a little lyrically challenged. They’re masters at forging crystalline-perfect pop sounds, though.
·Shuggie Otis – Inspiration Information – Best re-release. First released in 1974 when Otis was 22.
[Coldplay's album Parachutes was also a favorite this year, though technically it was released in 2000 and just didn't get noticed much over here until 2001. That piano entry into "Trouble" grabs me every time. And the video is georgeous.]
Top 10 Movies of 2001
·Mulholland Drive – Disorienting. Thoughtful. Erotic. Also funny and intermittently satirical. Like Memento, this you’ll benefit from repeated viewings.
·In the Mood for Love – I haven’t seen this, but I’m a huge Wong Kar Wai fan and judging by the reviews, I’m going to love it. Great Aussie cinematographer continues his work with Wong, too.
·Amores Perros – Hurtling up from the southern hemisphere, a grittier Magnolia with bloody dog fights. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s unflinching portrayal of the lives that intersect at a car accident (the most viciously realistic car accident I’ve ever scene-the sound alone will cause you to shudder).
·Memento – Overrated? Maybe. But this notoriously twisted movie kept me on the edge of my seat. Of course there are holes, but it’s a lot closer to watertight than some folks who apparently weren’t watching closely could tell. Besides, I’m a sucker for film noir, as this list should reveal.
·Sexy Beast – Tough Brit-noir. Watching Ghandi (Ben Kingsley) curse like a roomful of sailors is one of the most entertaining (not to mention, frightening) things I saw all year. Great soundtrack by U.N.K.L.E., too.
·No Man's Land – Set in Bosnia - three men are caught in a ditch in the middle of No Man's Land, a battle field in the Bosnian war. Two of the men are Bosnians, one, a Serb. One of the Bosnians bickers and fights with the Serb while the other tries to lie still: he's lying on a landmine which while blow them all to kingdom come if he changes his position. The movie manages to satirize this sad war and many of it's attendant features: the role of the United Nations, for example, and the media. Dark, funny and informative.
·Amelie – Dangerously close to saccharine, but with enough restraint to avoid preciousness (most of the time). I admired Amelie for its humanity and its effusive inventiveness. Makes most other films look drab and devoid of creativity.
·The Man Who Wasn’t There – The Cohen brothers transform Billy Bob Thornton into Bogart in this beautiful black and white film noir. Some critics complained of Thornton’s cold, close demeanor. Duh, it’s called the Man Who Wasn’t There.
·The Pledge – Criminally overlooked. Reasonably nuanced performance from Nicholson. Lotsa folks will HATE the ending and I applaud Penn for leaving it that way. Folks who say the ending doesn’t make sense must’ve slept through the movie. Folks who got it, but didn’t like probably prefer Pollyanna endings or more rock ‘n’ roll sledgehammer ones like the one in Seven. Whereas Seven’s ending was for shock value, The Pledge’s is replete with philosophical (existential) meaning.
·The Tailor of Panama – John Boorman's lean, stylish and subtle thriller. Pierce Brosnan plays a bad guy spy way better than a good one. Geoffrey Rush is dignified and touching. The emphasis is definitely on character development over action, which is why I enjoyed it while others may ask, "That was a spy movie?"
[I’d likely have included more foreign and independent movies had they been shown here in Charlotte – if they were, they disappeared long before I had the chance to see them]
Biggest Disappointment of 2001
·Planet of the Apes – No competition. Largely plotless, poor characterization, deus ex machina ending. How the hell did horses get on the planet? Oh, the make-up was superb.
Saturday, January 12, 2002
2001 was the worst year in the history of Generation X. Maybe that ain't saying much, since we're supposed to be The Pampered Generation. (Of course they say that, but my generation actually seems to be teeming with anxiety-ridden type As, always pushing themselves further onward to the next goal [yes, goals as fixes], never satisfied with their current state, never happy with themselves.)
2002 finds me continuing to freelance and living in south Charlotte. I've just started a rather large project with First Union/Wachovia: I'm helping design their intranet. Which means this blog ain't gonna be updated too often--as promised on day one.
May the best of 2001 be your worst of 2002. (And that wouldn't be hard, eh?)
Ya'll be careful out there.
2002 finds me continuing to freelance and living in south Charlotte. I've just started a rather large project with First Union/Wachovia: I'm helping design their intranet. Which means this blog ain't gonna be updated too often--as promised on day one.
May the best of 2001 be your worst of 2002. (And that wouldn't be hard, eh?)
Ya'll be careful out there.
Friday, December 14, 2001
Advice to the Literary Mafia
Pack your heat in the back. It fits into the small of your back and doesn't show as easily as under the pit or down front (Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you happy to see me?).
Easy on the gelato: you gotta fit behind your desk to write there.
Don't EVER ask about what happened to Uncle Louie. There was a disagreement about the objective correlative. That's all you need to know.
IBM, no. Olivetti, yes.
Sanka, no. Espresso, duh.
When dining out, get a seat in the back, and always, always sit with your back to the wall.
Anyone caught reading Nicholas Sparks is outta the family. Period.
Similarly, the last person who gave the Don a Tom Clancy book for Christmas woke up with a horse's head in his bed. Nuff said.
When reading Pound, always go with a red.
Finally, avoid the Gambinos. They'll only try to strong-arm you into "admitting" that Italo Calvino was the twentieth century's greatest writer.
Ciao.
Ciao.
Friday, December 07, 2001
On December 6th, 2001, Attorney General John Ashcroft uttered the following inanity:
"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics only aid terrorists."
I responded to the New York Times article with the following letter:
Dear Editor:
Attorney General Ashcroft accuses his critics of scaring “peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty,” adding that their “tactics only aid terrorists."
So, it’s the old “If ain’t for us, you’re against us” sophistry again. Patriotism, we’re intended to believe, doesn’t allow scrutiny of government action in times of war.
As Mr. Ashcroft well knows: a free society encourages dissent. Vulgar generalizations like his not only oversimplify the concept of patriotism, they’re also no more than ad hominem attacks—hardly the tactic of anyone truly interested in winning adherents to his cause. Let’s hear some response to criticism, Sir, not pathetic attempts to shame your critics into submission.
It's this breezy anti-intellectualism at the highest levels of our government that frightens me.
Robert S.
Charlotte, NC
Would love to see that published, but I suspect the Times was flooded with similar angry letters.
"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics only aid terrorists."
I responded to the New York Times article with the following letter:
Dear Editor:
Attorney General Ashcroft accuses his critics of scaring “peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty,” adding that their “tactics only aid terrorists."
So, it’s the old “If ain’t for us, you’re against us” sophistry again. Patriotism, we’re intended to believe, doesn’t allow scrutiny of government action in times of war.
As Mr. Ashcroft well knows: a free society encourages dissent. Vulgar generalizations like his not only oversimplify the concept of patriotism, they’re also no more than ad hominem attacks—hardly the tactic of anyone truly interested in winning adherents to his cause. Let’s hear some response to criticism, Sir, not pathetic attempts to shame your critics into submission.
It's this breezy anti-intellectualism at the highest levels of our government that frightens me.
Robert S.
Charlotte, NC
Would love to see that published, but I suspect the Times was flooded with similar angry letters.
Monday, December 03, 2001
I confess, I'm an Edward Hopper fan. Guess he suits my moody post-existentialist worldview. Someone once told me my writing read like an Edward Hopper painting and I decided to be flattered. Weird, huh? I knew what they meant. I only hope I can truly emulate the compliment and become the Edward Hopper of letters one day.
New York Movie, 1939
New York Movie, 1939
Saturday, November 17, 2001
Benetton caused quite stink (again) earlier this year when they used genuine death row inmates in an advertising campaign. They said they wanted to put a human face on these inmates, hoping, no doubt to provoke people to rethink the death penalty. Well, four Missouri families whose relatives were killed by the inmates were outraged by the campaign. Benetton eventually apologized and donated $US50,000 to the Missouri Crime Victims' Compensation Fund. Part of me has always admired Benetton for their guerilla tactics (especially their colorful, subversive billboards), though I understand they pressed their luck a little here.
Anyway, I'm reminded of this because I stumbled across a site, Prisoners of Age, which features an usual exhibit: photographs by Rod Levine of aged and infirm inmates at perhaps the world's most famous prison. Some of these post-retirement age men are still in jail for crimes like drug trafficking. Others, well, maybe they needn't start hunting for an apartment just yet.
Anyway, I'm reminded of this because I stumbled across a site, Prisoners of Age, which features an usual exhibit: photographs by Rod Levine of aged and infirm inmates at perhaps the world's most famous prison. Some of these post-retirement age men are still in jail for crimes like drug trafficking. Others, well, maybe they needn't start hunting for an apartment just yet.
If I'm not careful, this could become another hackneyed, stultifying diary of an unemployed dotcomer. A victim of the dotbomb revolution. I'll try to avoid that.
I used to work for iXL (which may mean something to those in the Web world, but little to anyone else). iXL merged with Scient recently. Our office closed back in early July and I still haven't found work. Until a couple of weeks ago many of my friends were outta work, too. A few have since gotten jobs. I have friends who've been laid off three times in the last year or so. I feel lucky: I just fell prey to a single office closing.
On another subject, this picture really gripped me. It's an Afghani woman the day after the Northern Alliance took over Kabul. You can see the fear in her face. I imagine she fears the possible consequences of her being photographed with her face uncovered. What a sad and beautiful thing.
To bed then.
stribs
I used to work for iXL (which may mean something to those in the Web world, but little to anyone else). iXL merged with Scient recently. Our office closed back in early July and I still haven't found work. Until a couple of weeks ago many of my friends were outta work, too. A few have since gotten jobs. I have friends who've been laid off three times in the last year or so. I feel lucky: I just fell prey to a single office closing.
On another subject, this picture really gripped me. It's an Afghani woman the day after the Northern Alliance took over Kabul. You can see the fear in her face. I imagine she fears the possible consequences of her being photographed with her face uncovered. What a sad and beautiful thing.
To bed then.
stribs
Thursday, November 15, 2001
Well, today I join the rest of the blathering bloggers. Know now that my blog will consist of infrequent dispatches. I will make no resolutions to post every day or even "regularly." I shall remain resolutely irregular. I guess I can make one resolution: I will not become a compulsive blogger. I have enough compulsive habits as it is, and I can't afford to be managing another. I mean, I 've got this multi-tasking thing down pretty well, but why throw something else into the mix. Know wot I mean?
Here's a quote from one of me favorite writers to get things rolling:
Check out the Martin Amis Web, Professor James Diedrick's comprehensive site devoted to Amis.
Enough already.
stribs
larrikin
Here's a quote from one of me favorite writers to get things rolling:
But we mustn't go too far back, must we, we mustn't go too far back in anybody's life. Particularly when they're poor. Because if we do, if we go too far back--and this would be a journey made in a terrible bus, with terrible smells and terrible noises, with terrible waits and terrible jolts, a journey made in terrible weather for terrible reasons and for terrible purposes, in terrible cold or terrible heat, with terrible stops for terrible snacks, down terrible roads to a terrible room--then nobody is to blame for anything and nothing matters, and everything is allowed.
Martin Amis, London Fields
Check out the Martin Amis Web, Professor James Diedrick's comprehensive site devoted to Amis.
Enough already.
stribs
larrikin
Sunday, August 06, 2000
About Me
I was born and raised in Perth, Western Australia and now live in New York City. In between, I've found lived at various times in Charlotte, NC, Greenville, SC (where I attended the self-proclaimed "World's Most Unusual University") and Pusan, Korea. I've traveled on every continent, except Antarctica. Pretty much incapable of wearing a single hat, I'm an information architect and a content strategist, currently employed with Avenue A | Razorfish. I have degrees in journalism and English and I write music reviews (which get published) and fiction (which usually doesn't).
My writing has been featured in numerous publications, including Skyscraper, Make magazine, Pixelsurgeon, Open Sewer, Zmag.org, Creative Loafing, The Charleston Post-Courier, The Korea Herald, and Isosceles, a small poetry journal, as well as the Razorfish publications Slant and Headlight. You'll find a selection of my writing in the right rail of this blog.
Feel free to comment. To agree or disagree. We get nowhere without dialogue.
Best wishes,
Robert
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