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Almost Full

Maybe just a little bit
May be just enough

I’m usually reveling in possibilities that don’t last
But today I was firmly stuck in the past

Knowing and not knowing both yield the same emotion:
A shuddering ambivalence that oscillates between
Wanting to die
And wanting to kill

It’s like rain you can hear falling
But can’t feel on your skin
A thirst you drink to death
But can’t get your fill

You drink like you’re driving
And you drive like you’re drunk
Another steering-wheel sing-along
With the body in the trunk

Maybe just a little bit
May be just enough

Brake-light hesitation
and gunpoint inspiration

Maybe just a little bit
May be just enough

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A Million Little Realities

So, the latest Oprah Book Club phenom has come under fire as a fraud. The Smoking Gun has called out many factual discrepancies in James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces. Now, I haven’t read the book or the accusations — nor do I plan to — so, if you’re looking for commentary on that, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The whole to do has gotten me thinking about language and reality, so I’m just using the controversy as an occasion to talk about words. Continue reading “A Million Little Realities”

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My Mother Was a Computer by N. Katherine Hayles and Shaping Things by Bruce Sterling

There’s been a lot of chatter, books written, and hand-waving about the merging of humans and machines ever since the computer reared its digital head. From artificial intelligence and humanoid robots to microchip implants and uploading consciousness, the melding of biology and technology has been prophesized far and wide.

Humans are indeed merging with machines, but don’t believe the hype: It’s not happening in the way those old science fiction books would have you think. Continue reading “My Mother Was a Computer by N. Katherine Hayles and Shaping Things by Bruce Sterling”

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Bomb the System Directed by Adam Bhala Lough

With its focus on graffiti and a lackluster storyline, Bomb the System (Palm Pictures) can be described fairly accurately as an update of the 80s graffiti classic Wild Style, which also rode a thin plot through the streets and walls of New York City. Its real value is in the visuals. From the nighttime shots of The City to the many pieces themselves, Bomb the System is a beautiful film. In spite of the story itself, BTS also manages to capture a sense of the energy involved in outlaw street art, a sense of the camaraderie of the crews that do it, and a sense of why they do it. Continue reading “Bomb the System Directed by Adam Bhala Lough”

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Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: Key Themes and Thinkers

Alan D. Schrift has hereby done a great service to anyone interested in French thinkers and their thought. Twentieth-Century French Philosophy (Blackwell) chronicles the lineage, the history, and the context of all of the major thinkers and thought of France in the last hundred years. This includes a succinct chronology, brief biographies, and a lengthy historical narrative — the latter of which might seem anathema to most French thinkers, but helps glue everything together here. And when we’re talking about Derrida, Deleuze, Foucault, Barthes, Blanchot, Sartre, Bataille, Bourdieu, Althusser, de Beauviour, Levinas, and Kristeva, among many others, we need as much cohesion as we can find. Continue reading “Twentieth-Century French Philosophy: Key Themes and Thinkers”

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Lori Damiano: Getting Nowhere Faster

Lori DamianoLori Damiano has been skateboarding and making stuff for so long that I can’t even remember when or where I was first introduced to her work. Somewhere among her involvement in the zine Villa Villa Cola, her animation (she did the menus for the Spike Jones DVD, for one example), and skateboarding like a madwoman, she recently earned a master’s degree in experimental animation from The California Institute of the Arts and helped VVC get the Getting Nowhere Faster DVD out. Continue reading “Lori Damiano: Getting Nowhere Faster”

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Robert A. Moog: In Memorium by Hans Fjellestad

Robert MoogAs I’m sure you all know by now, Bob Moog passed away this past Sunday afternoon at the age of 71. This morning I returned home from Asheville, North Carolina, where I was honored to attend the funeral services for Dr. Robert Moog on Tuesday, and a public memorial the following day. Speeches and memories were shared by Bob’s son, daughters, and wife, Ileana… as well as Wendy Carlos, Herb Deutsch, Steven Martin, David Borden, Tom Rhea, John Eaton, Wayne Kirby, Keiichi Goto, David Van Koevering, Joel Chadabe, David Mash, Mike Adams, and many others. Letters and emails poured in from all over the planet. It seems like Dr. Moog’s passing was felt in every corner of the world this week. Continue reading “Robert A. Moog: In Memorium by Hans Fjellestad”