Chazzbot II

ainwonderland: think4yourself: generic1: It’s time to give...

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:25:05 -0600

think4yourself:

generic1:

It’s time to give the Obama administration some credit.

We were on track for another Depression.

As of now, we’re not.

“Enjoy the world as it is, Margaret. They’ll change...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:56:03 -0600

“Enjoy the world as it is, Margaret. They’ll change it and never give you a reason.”

"You can use academic and critical tools to critique comics, such as close readings, theory, and..."

Sat, 17 Oct 2009 12:06:13 -0600

“You can use academic and critical tools to critique comics, such as close readings, theory, and thorough research. I think, though, that there’s a lot of what I dub “bad academia” going on: people who don’t bother to learn the material and technological history behind how comics were produced (fortunately, there are now excellent sources such as Men of Tomorrow and The Ten Cent Plague for that), so they don’t put comics in the proper context—theory for theory’s sake, divorced from the actual comic; bad comparisons based on lack of breadth of knowledge (Johnny Ryan is like Chris Ware, because they’re both alternative); people who feel guilty or ashamed for liking comics, and so use their academic credentials and training to justify it, or people who have a pet area of study and use comics to justify it (Blackest Night is like Paradise Lost); etc.”

- Kristi Valenti, in an interview posted by the Columbia Spectator (for which I can’t find an operable link!).

Ed Ruscha, “Fall All Leaves All Fall” (2009)....

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:16:53 -0600

Ed Ruscha, “Fall All Leaves All Fall” (2009). Courtesy Ed Ruscha and Gagosian Gallery, via NY Times.

"Don’t ever argue with me [about health]. I’ll go a hundred million or a billion on health or..."

Sun, 20 Sep 2009 15:53:25 -0600

“Don’t ever argue with me [about health]. I’ll go a hundred million or a billion on health or education. I don’t argue about that any more than I argue about Lady Bird [Mrs. Johnson] buying flour. You got to have to have flour and coffee in your house. Education and health. I’ll spend the goddamn money. I may cut back some tanks. But not on health.”

- President Lyndon Johnson, in conversation with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, as quoted in The Heart of Power: Health and Politics in the Oval Office by David Blumenthal and James A. Morone. (Review here.)

"For what is there that makes friendships more readily or holds onto them longer than a charming and..."

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:13:41 -0600

“For what is there that makes friendships more readily or holds onto them longer than a charming and merry disposition? And you will hardly find anyone agreeable and popular who has no fund of quips and pleasantries and clever little jokes.”

- John Milton, Prolusion VI: That Sportive Exercises Are Occasionally Not Adverse to Philosophic Studies, 1674.

"Now at the outset of the next 50 years of space exploration, I contemplate the extraordinary imagery..."

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:30:01 -0600

“

Now at the outset of the next 50 years of space exploration, I contemplate the extraordinary imagery beaming down from the Hubble Space Telescope: distant nebulas and galaxies (and the confirmation of the existence of an organic compound in the atmosphere of a planet in a near-by star system), Cassini’s exploration of Saturn’s moons Titan and Enceladus for water, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s discovery of water deposited clay in a dry lake bed, and Messenger’s first flyby of Mercury since Mariner 10.

As a result, I am drawn to the visual possibilities that will originate from both robotic spacecraft and human spaceflight. So it is reasonable for me to postulate what still photographic images may be reasonable candidates for “iconic” during the next 50 year cycle, among them:

• first discernable image of a water planet—with evidence of oceans, clouds, continents—in another solar system

• first image of alien life forms either alive or in fossil form

• first image capturing the earliest light of the universe just after the “Big Bang”

• Jupiter and some of its moons as seen from the surface of Europa

• first panoramic image from the surface of Europa illuminated by the reflected light of Jupiter, not the Sun

•Saturn and its rings as (possibly) seen from the surface of Titan

”

- from “Examining the Iconic and Rediscovering the Photography of Space Exploration in Context to the History of Photography” by Michael Soluri (PDF file). Also available in the NASA publication Remembering the Space Age, Steven J. Dick, ed.

"I don’t believe in fetishizing formats. Vinyl, cassette, MP3, CD. Same thing with books: the scent..."

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 20:38:36 -0600

“

I don’t believe in fetishizing formats. Vinyl, cassette, MP3, CD. Same thing with books: the scent and texture of certain kinds of paper can almost make me faint with happiness, but the important thing is the text. How it gets to you is much less important.

That said, records make me happy. Their vulnerability makes me so, their limitation. Forty minutes, twenty per side, their chipping, their popping, the way their sleeves wear and erode and start to show the shapes, the scuffed corona of the record inside. I dig frailty. It’s not nostalgia that makes me respond to vinyl, it’s mortality and specificity. I put a record on the turntable, I listen harder, I commit a little bit more than I do to digital formats. The question isn’t whether in collecting records, the music thus “belongs to me.” It’s the opposite: with a record, I belong that little bit more to it.

”

- from Matthew Specktor’s novel, That Summertime Sound

The crew of Apollo 11 (via craignelson.us)

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:22:29 -0600

The crew of Apollo 11 (via craignelson.us)

"Since 1972, no human has traveled beyond low-Earth orbit, a situation that makes one imagine what..."

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 17:19:52 -0600

“

Since 1972, no human has traveled beyond low-Earth orbit, a situation that makes one imagine what things might be like if, after Lindbergh’s flight, the species had contentedly gone back to making do with boats and trains…

[There have been s]pectacular unmanned probes on the order of Galileo and Cassini, yes; but where manned spaceflight is concerned, NASA currently continues on the same irresolute and unimaginative road it has traveled since Richard Nixon’s last years in the White House. The Eagle, Armstrong and Aldrin’s delicate landing craft, returned the two astronauts to Apollo 11’s command module on July 21, 1969. The springy little machine, having done its job, was then cut loose. It fell back into lunar orbit and eventually to the moon’s surface. To this day, no one knows exactly where it is.

”

- Thomas Mallon, writing on Craig Nelson’s book, Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon, for the NY Times Book Review.

"But no matter how much I love the others, it is Michael who is the group’s aesthetic focus...."

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:41:53 -0600

“But no matter how much I love the others, it is Michael who is the group’s aesthetic focus. His stylized show-biz posing (the bends and turns arm out-stretched and sweeping the air in front of him; little self-hugs with his head thrown back) is becoming a little disturbing, at moments even grotesque for a boy who’s still a very skinny sixteen. But when he isn’t being Engelbert Huperdinck, he’s supreme and so controlled it’s almost frightening. In his hotel room, when he tells you he’s in eleventh grade, it might seem strange but it’s believable; seeing him on stage, dancing and striding confidently out to the edge (where a girl in a leopard-print cost springs up and gives him a note), you just know he had to be lying. I want to be Michael Jackson when I grow up.”

- Vince Aletti, writing for The Village Voice, 17 Feb. 1975.

I Just Want to Shoot Heroin & Watch TV While Banging a Crack Whore

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:37:47 -0600

Greetings Traveler: Because this motel is a service organization designed to serve people, and not solely a money making institution, our concern for you does not cease with our duties to provide you with lodging. It is our sincere prayer that the Lord will grant you peace and rest while under our roof. Even though we may not get to know you, we hope that you will be as comfortable and happy as if you were in your own house. May this room and motel be your “second” home. May those you love be near you in thoughts and dreams. May the business that brought you here prosper. May every call you make and every message you receive add to your joy. When you leave, may the Lord protect you so that your journey is safe. We are all “travelers” from the time of birth to the time of eternal rest; from this realm of life, to the everlasting realm. May these days on earth be pleasant for you, profitable for society, helpful for those you meet, and joyous to those who know and love you best. We are ever thankful that the Lord has allowed us the opportunity to serve you. Do not hesitate to let us know if we can be of further assistance to you, or if you have any comments concerning your stay with us. May God Bless You Abunduntly Your Hosts at Days Inn (Flier included with local info @ St. Joseph, MO location)

wowdemoblog: This song is called “Making Love,” and it’s...

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 21:42:24 -0600

wowdemoblog:

This song is called “Making Love,” and it’s basically a guide about how to tell your kids, who are too young to understand, why they hear mommy and daddy’s bed creaking at night, or why they hear them making funny sounds.

I’m not a prude, but… EW. ew, ew, ew.

"Americans consider themselves polite, but they stick their hands in their pockets, drink from the..."

Fri, 08 May 2009 09:49:40 -0600

“Americans consider themselves polite, but they stick their hands in their pockets, drink from the bottle, speak in raised voices. Someone ought to train them how to behave in museums. Not only do they converse as if they were in their own houses, they do so in order to give educational lectures. With all their terrible goodwill, they wish to learn and to make all things serve this purpose. It is an American vice to believe that a work of art must teach something. In the same way, they were persuaded to drink red wine because they were told that wine was good for them, without consideration of pleasure. Their passion for learning is naive and honorable.”

- Charles Dantzig, from “Liste des Americains,” in his Encyclopedie capricieuse du tout et du rien.

“King and Queen” by ~Orca76.

Fri, 08 May 2009 09:33:40 -0600

“King and Queen” by ~Orca76.

Highgate Cemetery

Fri, 08 May 2009 09:29:49 -0600

“The dead oaks in Windsor Great Park were no less than gods sycoraxed in a moment of anguish. Might they not be released and made green again at some greater god’s touch? One hot afternoon, they walked through Highgate Cemetery thinking it would make for the coolest walk, but that canopied necropolis of sentimental ornaments was forbiddingly pestilent and brought no relief. Ned complained. Better to be hot at home; at least there he could work. She was looking for the faithful mastiff at the foot of the pugilist’s grave when the midget father appeared. Out of nowhere, an old-apple face on a little body, followed by a midget boy with hair like a cap pulled low. The encounter so bothered Ned that he swore off touring graveyards with his wife.”

—Christine Schutt, from her story “Hair of the Dog” in the current edition of Noon.

March 25, 2009

Wed, 06 May 2009 09:19:28 -0600

March 25, 2009

My real name is Dick Whitman!

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:59:59 -0600

My real name is Dick Whitman!

JAMES T. KIRK IS A FUCKING BADASS!

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 17:12:00 -0600

JAMES T. KIRK IS A FUCKING BADASS!

"Anyone with a strong soul or a fat wallet turns his ringer off for good and cultivates private..."

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:47:26 -0600

“Anyone with a strong soul or a fat wallet turns his ringer off for good and cultivates private gardens that keep the hectic Web far away. The man of leisure, [Bruce] Sterling suggested [at the South by Southwest tech conference in Austin], savors solitude, or intimacy with friends, presumably surrounded by books and film and paintings and wine and vinyl — original things that stay where they are and cannot be copied and corrupted and shot around the globe with a few clicks of a keyboard.”

- Virginia Heffernan, “Let Them Eat Tweets,” from this week’s issue of The New York Times Magazine.