Displaying news from 1 July 2004 to 1 August 2004.

polyticks - Posted on 2004-07-29 15:06:00

so ever since watching the documentary, The Weather Underground, most of my reading has revolved around the question of violent vs. non-violence resistance/revolution/reformation. in the process, i've come across some great books that i would highly recommend to anyone interested in the politics of war and revoution:

-Society Must Be Defended, by Michel Foucault. these are newly translated lectures given at the College de France.

-Pacifism As Pathology: Reflections on the Role of Armed Struggle in North America, by Ward Churchill. a fantastic and facinating look at the myths of pacifism and the questioning of the necessity of violent intervention in revolutionary movements. a quick and thought-provoking read.

-On Revolution, by Hannah Arendt. not through with this one yet, but it promises to be amazing... she has amazing insight into revolution and history.


i'll be doing some hilarious studio recording this saturday, i'll let you know how all that turns out! also, we're so close to moving! august 15th is the day when it all gets moved down to the city... whew...

i spida bad movie - Posted on 2004-07-13 16:28:00

yesterday i read a really interesting article by frank rich in the new york times comparing the possible affects movies can have on elections, in particular, citing the recent fahrenheit 9/11 and spiderman 2. most striking to me is the comparison of the amount fahrenheit 9/11 has made in it's opening weekends compared to the passion:

"...with a take of $61 million by the end of its second weekend, 'Fahrenheit 9/11' will have to sweat to bring in even a third of the $370 million piled up domestically by the red-state polemic to which its sectarian appeal is most frequently compared, 'The Passion of the Christ.' If voting at a multiplex box-office constitutes any kind of straw poll, then Mr. Bush has already won re-election. By a landslide."

confident, after reading mr. rich's editorial [which seemed to contain a positive review of the newly spun spidey movie], it was off to the movie theater with jen and me! we settled into our seats with high expectations [and who wouldn't after reading stuff like "It's hard not to fall in love with 'Spider-Man 2.'", "It's not only better than any other movie based on a comic book...but it's also superior to all the other so-called franchise movies" etc. from frank rich?]

needless to say, i thought the movie was very, very weak. it did contain many of the themes that rich mentions in his article like how spiderman tries [albeit unsuccessfully] to woo his love interest with poetry, and that the fact that a "justice provider" like spiderman doles it out only when necessary and without recklessness [with reckness? hm.] and others that point to a decidedly non-Bush ethic. however, those themes don't make a poorly written script good, nor actors who struggle to make the poor lines fed to them come out better more successful... maybe it's just that i find all of tobey maguire's roles to be whiny young boys [young peter parker is said to be "mild-mannered", not a "whiny, cry-at-everything, melodramatic, confused, pubescent teen...] perhaps i am equally ill at ease with kirsten dunst's roles in the past. most recently i saw her in a film called mona lisa smile [which, by the way, i liked quite a bit] wherein she played a spoiled, misguided brat; intelligent in terms of text regurgitation, but didn't know how to think for herself... anyways, she learns, through the guidance of julia roberts' character about freedom of thought in all areas of life. this role suited dunst's ability to play the brat, but i just didn't see her as spiderman's love interest. [one could argue, "perhaps neither did she!": one of the most strikingly unexpected themes of the film, for me anyway, was that of mary jane watson|kirsten dunst's lack of devotion to her supposed loved one [who does not seem to fit the usual terrible boyfriend|fiance outfit so often used functionally in movies to give the "good guy" [in this case peter parker] a formidable obstacle to cross and a real reason to win her love...]

i'm not one to pan something purely on it's dripping sentimentality or it's comic [pun intended] dramatic writing [hell, i listen to soft rock constantly...] but this movie was too much. not enough balls to make it stand: tobey maguire cries and quivers in what seems like 3 out of 4 scenes. i mean, even lionel richie has balls. i wish the makers of spiderman 3 good luck, as they've shamelessly set themselves up with another sequel.


in it's opening five days, spiderman 2 brought in $152 million.


in his essay Reflections on the Death of the Reader [found in his 1967 collection, A Bill of Rights, A Bill of Wrongs, A Bill of Goods], wright morris writes [ha! right, wright, write...]:

"the book-hungry buyer who does not read supports that superstructure we call the best-seller, a coinage that continues to testify to the clinical accuracy of the amercan language. best-sellers we know they are: best read they are not."

pouring forth of july - Posted on 2004-07-06 10:09:00

ah patriotism...
nationalism.
sentiments for the sentimental perhaps?
this fourth of july, jen and i went over to her aunt and uncle's for a delicious and fun b.b.q. which included not only great food and drink, but also a dozen or so kids running at full speed, and diving face first onto a slide which is no more than a wet piece of plastic laid across a lawn. ouch. as if that weren't enough, there was another game at the party that maybe shouldn't have been turned into a children's game: horseshoes. horseshoes!! a game that not only involves throwing metal objects, but spikes! SPIKES! sure, the metal became plastic in the changeover, but jeez, those things are still sharp and, just like the good old days, there's nothing more exciting for a child than chasing after another chilld with a spike in hand [plastic or otherwise].

following the party, jen and i flew over to a rochester red wings baseball game. [what better place to be on the fourth than the home of a 'truly unique american pastime"...] we sang loud as the silent majority stood awkwardly for the canadian national anthem [rochester was playing ottawa], and removed caps and stood awkwardly while the majority sang the american national anthem. play ball!

didn't it rain, brother...

jen and i exited the field right as the seventh inning stretch began, soaking wet. we went home and watched a documentary dvd i had recently purchased called The Weather Underground, a really excellent film that is really appropriate [i feel] considering today's tense political climate. as we watched, fireworks thundered.

a little darwin never hurt anybody [but a big darwin will eat a little one...] - Posted on 2004-07-02 12:10:00

a lovely sentiment, quoted by paul d. miller aka dj spooky that subliminal kid in the liner notes to his 'excerpts and allegories' of the sub rosa catalogue:

"as man advances in civilization, and small tribes are united into larger communities, the simplest reason would tell each individual that he ought to extend his social insticts and sympathies to all the members of the same nation, though personally unknown to him. this point once being reached, there is only an artificial barrier to prevent his sympathies extending to the men of all races and nations..."

-charles darwin

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