Byrne/Eno

Crooks and Liars, one of my daily stops on the blogroll, features a Late Night Music club, with regular contributions from Howie Klein (super influential founder of 415 records, music producer, DJ, music chronicler,and blog host of Down with Tyranny!). He posted a cut from Brian Eno and David Byrne's 1981 collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. This album was absolutely ground-breaking in its use of sampling, in the pre-digital era, especially in its use of sounds produced with objects and voices found on the radio. Like many others, I played it over and over: it was hypnotic, rhythmic, like tuning in to the radio late at night and hearing several stations at once. It's right up there with Eno's Another Green World as one of my favorite musical events of all time.

In 2006, Byrne and Eno released a new version of the record, with added tracks. The also have put up a site where the entire album and assoicated videos, interviews and press are all available through a Creative Commons license for download, remixing, and sharing. What generosity!

flarf flarf flarf spimes

Do not read or listen if you are easily offended. No, really, I mean it.


intentionally bad poetry + ludicrous obscenity + the Internets= flarf

The Double-Tongued Dictionary has an entry on flarf.


Gary Sullivan (no, not that Gary Sullivan)tells us about flarf in Jacket Magazine.

Listen to the MPR podcast about flarf

Charles Bernstein, poet and scholar, teaches about flarf.

BoingBoing posts about flarf.

Science fiction writer and for real prescient dude Bruce Sterling discovers flarf.

He is the guy who thought up SPIMES.

On alienation and faculty life

In his blog "Reality Check"John Lombardi, one of the academic bloggers who writes regularly for Inside Higher Ed, has an extremely smart piece called Deconstructing Faculty Work on the major changes that have occurred in academic life and the ways the institutions are measuring our "productivity." He shows how the life of the tenured professor has been reconceived around the metrics of the faculty activity report, and how this has changed relationship between tenured faculty and non-tenured, or contingent, faculty. I think he is absolutely right about how this change is redefining our entire enterprise, affecting the way we teach, the way we conduct research, and how the institution is forcing us to comply. What he doesn't mention is the toll this taking on the mental and physical health of people who have made a lifetime commitment to the academic life under an older model, one which we internalized in order to achieve success in a highly competitive and insecure world.
Yesterday I had an argument with colleagues about how the College was dictating the content and standards of our first year language courses, how the fear of bad student evaluations has warped the way our non-tenured track faculty teach, and the impact this has had on the quality of the preparation of our students.
If the College wants us to dumb down our language courses so the non-majors who are only taking the language to satisfy their language requirements don't get mad, if our third-year students are being taught by instructors who are afraid to hold them to higher standards because they'll get dinged on evaluations, and if our faculty are so unaware of this dynamic that they think they can redesign the curriculum AS IF our students were of the same quality as our aspirational peers (those institutions where we got our degrees) then the experience of teaching our under-prepared students is going to be extremely frustrating.
I highly recommend reading it to understand the disconnect between what most of us were trained to expect and what our jobs really are. We will either take this change into account as we plan our curriculum and think about our work, or we will be buffeted by these winds.

For the institutions, however, the deconstruction of faculty work offered a great incentive to reduce their commitment to an inflexible work force of tenured faculty and increase their investment in short-term, highly efficient faculty dedicated to specific purposes for specific periods of time and whose productivity and performance could be reliably maintained. The argument about whether it’s better to have part-time or full-time contingent faculty is surely important, but it may obscure the remarkable transformation of much academic commitment from an investment in a person who produces many products over a lifetime to the investment in specific products that ensure the competitive position of the employing institution.

Muffin is a star!

Muffin is our guinea pig in Zaragoza. She (we think she is a she) is much plumper than she was before she spent several months being cared for by Daniel, a friend from school. Apparently, she was very well fed, because now she says "mweep mweep mweep!" every time someone opens the fridge. If you look closely, you can see her little guinea pig toes.

Two laughs a day, guaranteed

I can has cheezburger? and Cute Overload

Saludos zaragozanos

They don't have Thanksgiving in Spain, but we got a message from there just the same. Alas, the store was out of brussel sprouts! But it was full of happy people, humming and anticipating their wonderful meals. So I've made a side dish of chard, mushrooms, with raisins and pine nuts instead, along with my mother's fresh cranberry sauce. If my daughter doesn't stop sneaking tastes of the cranberries, there won't be enough to take to the potluck!

Here is the voice I remember when I'm in the kitchen, because my mother and I always watched Julia Child.

Brussel sprouts

The dish I've been asked to bring to the Thanksgiving potluck is Brussel Sprouts, one of my favorites, and one we always prepared in my family.
I can't decide if I want to use this recipe by Deborah Madison, as recommended on The Splendid Table, which does not have chestnuts, or this one, from Domino magazine, in which the brussel sprouts are roasted instead of boiled. Either way, I'll be off to the market to buy enough to serve twenty people (that's a lot of sprouts!). When I was a kid, it was my job to cut the X in the chestnuts and then peel them after they were roasted. It can be a tedious job, which is why I'm not sure if I'll do it, but oh, do I love them!

Do you have a dish that must appear on your Thanksgiving table? corn pudding is another one we always used to make.

La grande bouffe

My dear friend and sister in epicurean delight treated me to the meal of a lifetime for my 50th birthday (which I will be celebrating until the end of the month). Thank you, thank you!

La Belle Vie, Chef's tasting menu

(little gougere to start, and a sweet fresh scallop for an amuse-guele)

Blue Prawn Ravioli with
Fennel, Tomato and Pernod (just one raviolo, but the prawn was fresh and perfect)

Sautéed Branzino with White Asparagus,
Jerusalem Artichokes and Trout Roe

Pan-Roasted Poussin with Polenta Fondue
Buttercup Squash and Wild Mushrooms

Three Preparations of Rabbit with
Porcini Mushrooms and Balsamic Vinegar

Grilled Lamb Ribeye with Truffled
Turnip Greens and Garnet Yams

Seckel Pear Tart with
Barkham Blue Ice Cream
and Caramelized Onion

Concord Grape Granita
with Goat’s Milk Blancmange

Olive Oil Cake with Heirloom
Apples and Apple Sherbet

Teeny tiny portions, each perfectly prepared.

Otra vez Frida

Judy Arginteau has a great piece in MinnPost about the Frida Kahlo show at the Walker and the Georgia O'Keeffe show at the MIA. I've seen the O'Keeffe show twice now, and I went to the opening night party for the Frida show. I even got to see her art, in spite of the crush of people.

Here are some more fragments of film with Frida and Diego:

A clip from the 1983 film Frida: naturaleza viva, which I still haven't seen:

and one of many photo-homenajes, this one with music by Lila Downs:

Kucinich has no fear

Strip away all the faux controversy over whether CNN planted the stupid "diamonds or pearls" question to make Hillary look good or because they are just as sexist as the rest of the world: who really made sense in the Democratic candidates debate in Las Vegas? Congressman Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. He's moving up in the polls of Democratic voters, although the party bosses would love to exclude him from the debates.
Is it because he grew up working class and often homeless as the oldest of seven children? Is it because he knows what it is like to take a principled stand in spite of the political cost, as he did when he was mayer of Cleveland and stood up to the banks (who later were found guilty of criminal conspiracy)? Is it because he's short, has big ears, and is a vegan, and doesn't care that people have been making fun of him throughout his political career? He voted against the war, against the Patriot Act, and if you look at his record, he votes consistently with his values. He introduced the resolution to impeach Cheney. If only the other candidates had his guts. Check it out:

Professor Zero and The Unapologetic Mexican beat me to the post!

Jacques Brel, "Les bonbons"

Professor Zero posted a courtship song in French, and it reminded me of one of my favorites songs by Jacques Brel, "Les bonbons." I have heard this song dozens of times on one of my favorite old records, but now, with the magic of YouTube, I can see how Jacques Brel inhabited his characters physically when he performed. There are several versions, and each one is unique: some are more pathetic, some more restrained. This one has English subtitles, so you can appreciate the pathetic character of the suiter who courts someone who takes advantage of him to meet her real boyfriend.
Apparently all of the existing footage of Brel's performances and interviews has also been collected on a DVD for the delight of Brel fanatics.
I like this version of "Les bonbons"

Paroles et musique : Jacques Brel
(c) 1964 Éditions Pouchenel, Bruxelles

1 J'vous ai apporté des bonbons
Parc' que les fleurs c'est périssable
Puis les bonbons c'est tell'ment bon
Bien qu'les fleurs soient plus présentables
Surtout quand elles sont en boutons
J'vous ai apporté des bonbons.

2 J'espèr' qu'on pourra se prom'ner
Qu' Madam' votr' mère ne dira rien
On ira voir passer les trains
À huit heur's je vous ramèn'rai
Quel beau dimanch' pour la saison
J'vous ai apporté des bonbons.

3 Si vous saviez c'que je suis fier
De vous voir pendue à mon bras
Les gens me regard'nt de travers
Y'en a mêm' qui rient derrièr' moi
Le monde est plein de polissons
J'vous ai apporté des bonbons.

4 Oh ! Oui ! Germaine est moins bien qu'vous
Oh ! Oui ! Germaine elle est moins belle
C'est vrai qu'Germaine a des ch'veux roux
C'est vrai qu'Germaine elle est cruelle
Ça vous avez mille fois raisons
J'vous ai apporté des bonbons.

5 Et nous voilà sur la grand' place
Sur le kiosqu' on joue Mozart
Mais dites-moi qu' c'est par hasard
Qu'il y'a là votre ami Léon
Si vous voulez qu'je cède la place
J'avais apporté des bonbons.

Mais bonjour Mad'moisell' Germaine
J'vous ai apporté des bonbons
Parc' que les fleurs c'est périssable
Puis les bonbons c'est tell'ment bon
Bien qu'les fleurs soient plus présentables

The word of the day is

sarcomere.

"¿Por qué no te callas?"

So, all over Spain and Latin America, in the press and on the Internets, people are saying "¿Por qué no te callas?" (although Google keeps asking me if I mean "porque no te callas?" but really, I don't!). When I showed the clip to my daughter, she laughed in recognition: the king's gesture, his tone, and the expression are just SO SPANISH! There are now dozens, maybe hundreds of versions of the same few clips posted in YouTube with comments that range from the virulently anti-monarchical to the grotesquely racist versions of Chavez-is-the devil, with a lot of very impassioned arguments in between. And of course there are now lots of parodies, remixes, ringtones, and arguing about whether King Juan Carlos (or Juancar) should be praised for telling Hugo Chavez to shut up, whether or not he was rude, or who is the most fascist, Aznar or the King who was chosen by Franco, ad infinitum.
Every so often, someone actually says something sensible, but this is one of those viral moments when an image of an event becomes the pretext for other kinds of speech acts that really are more about venting spleen than reasoned political discourse. And, of course, they are occasions for relajo of the kind that circulated after Zidane's infamous head butt incident in the World Cup final against Italy.

Fall Sunday

A dear friend met us for lunch in the Birchwood Cafe, one of my favorite Minneapolis places. The coffee is excellent, the food is "good real food" and the folks who work there are both laid-back and efficient, a great combination. I had the French toast made with brioche, and topped with a sauce made with pears andwalnuts cooked with butter and sugar until they had become a kind of caramel delight. No maple syrup necessary, and the brioche is the perfect texture to sponge up the egg/milk without getting soggy. The dollop of whipped cream was real. It was like the most delicious bread pudding, but as light as air. We also shared the scrambled eggs with potatoes, toast and fruit. When we finished, we were satisfied but not overstuffed.

Today is the perfect fall day--warm enough to walk around without a jacket but cool enough to allow you to enjoy a sweater and a scarf. The leaves are only half off the trees, so you can still admire the colors and crunch them underfoot, in keeping with the late onset of winter in the last few years.

On the way home we stopped at the Produce Exchange. The free salsa class was just winding up as we stocked up on pears, clementines, pomegranates, oranges, and bananas.
In the car, my girl and I talked about the high school choices. We will got to two open house events next week, and she'll make a decision. I have my preference, but both are good places, well recommended by friends whoses kids have gone there, so we're lucky.

We'll each do our homework, then take a walk. Who knows when the weather will turn?

Dennis Kucinich introduces the resolution to impeach Cheney

Listen to the man. He speaks the truth in the halls of power.

There was a lot of complicated voting with the result being that the resolution was not tabled but referred back to committee. This means it is not dead, but will be up to John Conyers to move on it or let it languish.

"Pulsación No. 1"

Damian Rosenthal and Celine Ruiz dance. Filmed in Paris and Buenos Aires. Music by Astor Piazzolla

Relief!

This morning the orthopedist gave me an injection of cortisone in my right shoulder joint to alleviate the inflammation of the bursa. It relieved the pain almost immediately, although I still have limited range of motion. She has also authorized physical therapy twice a week. It will probably take several months to recover, but right now, I am so grateful that the pain that was taking over my waking and sleeping hours is gone.
So here is a Thank You song, from Sly and the Family Stone, my hometown faves.

Impeachment before the House! HRes 333

The press consistently treats Dennis Kucinich as a fool, talking about UFOs, how his ears stick out, mocking his height and appearance. But Kucinich represents the political aspirations of many Americans, and he is about to do what democratic Congressional leadership has been too cowardly (or too bought off) to do: introduce a House Resolution for Impeachment of Dick Cheney. The charges are serious: Cheney lied to manipulate this nation nto war, and continues to do the same in an attempt to provoke a war with Iran. There is overwhelming evidence that he has betrayed his oath to uphold the law and the Constitution. The bill is H Res 333, and because it is a priviliged resolution, it must be considered within two days. Even if Pelosi and co. try to table it, the issue of impeachment will be on aired for the first time. Professor Zero points us to After Downing Street for a detailed listing of the actual charges, and a list of more that could be brought. More impeachment news, including a consideration of arguments for and against impeachment, can be found at Impeach for Peach, one of many, mnay grassroots organizations that has been working tirelessly to make our representatives take action on our behalf.

I am proud that my congressional representative Keith Ellison is a co-signer of the Kucinich H Res 333, along with a group of principled House Representatives. You can call you representative to urge that our leaders be held accountable to the law.
And Wolf Blitzer is a tool.

Street market in Amsterdam

I have a lot of pictures from the last several months that I haven't labeled or organized. Here are a few from my summer trip to Amsterdam--the street market had a combination of food, clothes, and oddities. I had never seen cabbages this pointy before, and I was highly tempted to get that blue wig in the middle.

50! Fifty!

Happy birthday to me! This year I am 50 years old, like Sputnik,West Side Story, and the European Union.
A birthday wish come true: I will travel to Ireland for the first time in January.

EPIC 2015: future possible?

I went to the Twin Cities Media Alliance public forum today at the Minneapolis Central Library (what a wonderful building!). Matt  showed us a film, EPIC 2015, that he made with Robin Sloan about what could happen to the media. He had a lot of extremely smart things to say on the first panel.

Keith Ellison in action!

My congressional representative is Keith Ellison. Here is a clip of his questioning of the US Attorney in the Jena 6 Congressional hearings.

More thoughts on newmedia

I had the pleasure of attending a talk by journalist Jeremy Iggers yesterday. He has written about food, and has a PhD in philosophy. His columns about ethics and his active role in founding the Media Alliance give him a great perspective on the changes occuring in the Twin Cities media scene. The topic was, generally speaking, the future of newspapers. He pointed to the importance of newspapers is shaping an informed citizenry, and discussed the changes taking place now as the result of two forces: the culmination of decades of corporate consolidation in the dismantling of the news corps of many major newspapers in the chase after market demographics and profits, and the challenges posed by emerging digital technologies. As younger people turn to alternative sources for information and news, the corporate papers attempt to win their readership by dumbing down their news sections, but their strategies are neither successful with a younger generation, which can get better infotainment online, nor conducive to retaining their older readers who are disgusted with the abandonment of local and international political coverage.
Hence the anxiety about the future of the newspaper, and of serious journalism in general. On the other hand, both professionals and a growing number of "citizen journalists" are trying out new models of news gathering (blogs that aggregate and comment on news, for example), news production (operations like Alternet and the much-heralded MinnPost which will debut next week), news delivery (multi-media magazines, various kinds of interactivity, etc. After listening to his talk and to the questions and comments from the crowds, I came away with three thoughts: there will be some merit in finding new business models that attempt to make online/print versions of public television and pubic radio (like MPR or NPR) with greater editorial freedom and the ability to follow subjects in depth without the slavery to ad sales, although we have seen an ongoing corporatization of both of those enterprises as well); the more interesting experiment to me is the site that acts as a portal to the web presences of a variety of small specialized papers (Twin Cities Daily Planet with its 40+ community papers serving smaller interest groups or neighborhoods) because, while it aggregates and prioritizes, it is more of a portal for reader than a hierarchical virtual newsroom; we still haven't explored the full potential of blogs as a venue for public intellectuals to engage with the public, although we are seeing many experiments.

One area of profound unease over these changes has to do with the issue of expertise: whose standards will distinguish "real journalism" from amateur ranting? how to judge accuracy? how to build relations of trust between readers and writers in the absence of the culture of the craft or guild?

Another source of unease seems to be the illusion that at some time in the past, because there were fewer TV channels, there was more of a shared group experience, in which we all saw ourselves reflected as a community (I'm paraphrasing what Iggers said, using my own take informed by Benedict Anderson's ideas about nationalism and "imagined community" but this is not what he or the audience articulated explicitly). I think that this idea of a shared community was an effect, not something that really existed for a majority, and that what we are witnessing is rather the crisis of the intellectual class, whose expertise, whether in academia or in journalism, is being displaced in favor of other forms of judgment. This is why I like the title of Cristobal Cobo's book "Planeta Web 2.0: inteligencia colectiva of medias fast food?" The new media can be both forms of collective intelligence, populated by specialists and intellectuals as well as others, and can also be incredibly banal, sleazy, silly, fun forms of infotainment. And sometimes they can be both. What excites me about some fo these new media endeavors is that new voices are gaining audiences, audiences are becoming collaborators, and the mainstream media, which has demonstrably failed in its duties to provide civic engagement as well as a vehicle for ad sales, is having to respond.

A tiny bit of wisdom, after all these years.

I had my wisdom teeth taken out when I was about 22-23. I only had the two in my lower jaw, so I was lucky that it wasn't more painful. In the past month or so, I've had terrible toothache and jaw pain on my left side. It felt as if a tooth was cutting through the gum on the inner part of my jaw, below the place where the wisdom tooth would have been. Was it possible to have another wisdom tooth? Why could I feel this hard bony or toothy protrusion, cutting through the gum when I touched it with my fingernail? My dentist said it was possible that a tooth fragment from the original wisdom tooth removal had worked its way to the surface over the past few decades. I am about to go to an appointment to see if there is anything else wrong, but yesterday, it hurt so much that I clawed at the little bony bump, and it came out!!! It was exactly like a grain of sand. Tooth? bone? whatever. It still hurts, but not as much.

So, here I am at almost 50, and this little bit of the past has worked its way to the surface and broken free. I'd like to think of this as a sign. Of something or other.