Philosophy Dictates

Philosophy dictates that we must continue down the same path, always the same, down, wanting more, knowledge perhaps, consuming, further ensconced in our depravity. This dictum is written in our genetic core. So they say. IMAG1988When you think about it, you might realize that you aren’t supposed to think for yourself.

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When you think about it, you might want to remember what you have done.
IMAG3654When you think about it, you could remember who you are. And not be so trite.
IMG_3401What if I want to stay as I am. no further down, maybe even returning, clearer, more of what I was? When I think about it, I could do that.

Grief: Not News.

Conjecture on missing Malaysian Flight 370 might make for a good story, even if the cable channels bleed it dry.Grief: Not NewsThat said, relentlessly filming grieving relatives is not news. Nor will it ever be.

If these ambulance-chasers really want to get to the bottom of this kind of misery, all they have to do is read Agamemnon, indeed any Greek tragedy. Grief: Not NewsFailing that, they could kill each other – or go missing – and their relatives could be interviewed instead.Grief: Not News.The problem being that no one in their families would care, knowing the disingenuous and self-serving nature of these jabbering shits.

Exotic Shock in Cormac McCarthy’s “The Counselor”

Cormac McCarthy and Ridley Scott’s joint project The Counselor shocks to sell. cameroncarBrutal imagery and non-stop sex banter aside, a main selling angle is in the exotic cats. cheetah2Offered as colorful metaphors, the cheetahs – to say nothing of the film – quickly become blunt and unwieldy. Screenshot (1068)Meant to convey, as Cameron Diaz’s puerile character explains, examples of killing “a quarry with elegance”, they are realized only as gimmickry, much like Diaz’s cheetah tattoo. camerondiaz“It is our faintness of heart that has driven us to the edge of ruin. And the slaughter to come is probably beyond our imagining.” Hopefully not words for a sequel.

Shock to Sell

Lars von Trier’s cinematic mission to shock audiences continues with the release of Nymphomaniac.

Shock to Sell

Lars von Trier’s “Nymphomaniac”

Using scandalous images to sell isn’t a unique plan.

Shock to Sell

Henry Miller’s early work

Shock to Sell

Fat White Family perform at Pianos in New York

But instead of shocking, this tack becomes more a source of amusement, the kind of thing that sells t-shirts. Shock to SellWhich seems to be all they’re trying to do.

No. Please try again.

I applied months ago; their reply looked like spam, another petition.

We regret to inform you that the selection committee has decided not to extend you an offer. Your application was given every possible consideration by the faculty, but you must understand that there are a number of qualified applicants.IMAG4318Please understand that your writing and qualifications simply do not measure up to our most fine institution. However we do encourage you to apply again next year.

Top Ten Concerts

Yes, I admit this is both anal and childish, but I like to remember the places where my thoughts worked best – even if I didn’t remember much of it at show’s end.

10. Ravi Shankar, Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto (1983) Beautiful hall, incredible music. Top Ten Concerts

9. Emmylou Harris, The Boot Saloon, Toronto (1992) A honky-tonk night.Top Ten Concerts8. Tragically Hip, Cleveland Flats, Cleveland (1995) Canada’s greats, straight & full-on.Top Ten Concerts7. Guided by Voices, Fillmore West, San Francisco (2002) The club is open.Top Ten Concerts 6. Jane’s Addiction, Key Arena, Seattle (1995) Farrell and Navarro in summer dresses. Top Ten Concerts 5. Low, The Aquarium, Fargo (2012) Three full sets.Top Ten Concerts 4. My Bloody Valentine, Roseland Ballroom, New York (2008) Ears are still ringing. Top Ten Concerts

3. Noel Hill & Tony MacMahon, Mother Red Cap’s, Dublin (1994) The pure drop in a tavern.

. .Top Ten Concerts

2. Sufjan Stevens, Bowery Ballroom, New York (2013) The end of the world – December 21, 2112 – with a few hundred others. Top Ten Concerts 1. Grateful Dead, Oklahoma City Zoo, Oklahoma (1985) Full moon, at a zoo.Top Ten Concerts (walstib)

Reading Camus

They beat it out of you, and by they I mean we. 20140227_230937It’s us, just us, with our wisdom and cruelty, our dreams of being whole and true, yeah, lying about that. We’re good at that, pretending to be on the subway, losing the call, sitting on our friend’s lap and saying we are laughing when that isn’t inside at all.20140119_165443It’s our demise, our degrading bodies, our trip into the nothing, not loving, not dreaming, not slimming down our skirts as we sit, but just standing there, thinking we might be something and then remembering we’re not.20140214_074153