Last night, we watched the movie The Fall, (available for instant view on Netflix) by director Tarsem Singh. Tarsem (as he calls himself) has created many ads and music videos ("Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. is his) as well as two spectacular films, The Cell and The Fall.
Adam Howarth, who has also worked on many commercials and films, played a major role in realizing Tarsem's vision by making things blow up, creating building models, and making many of the spectacular costumes, working with reknowned costume designer Eiko Ishioka, including this amazing horned headdress. Howarth's photos on Flickr are all wonderful, and the set from the shoot is breathtakingly beautiful, giving us a glimpse behind the scenes of a movie that was made entirely on location in some of the most spectacular landscapes and structures in the world. Here is his Flickr Set, published under the name of his company Siam Eye. In these photos, you can see some of the amazing details of costumes, building models, and many of the stunt doubles, actors, local people and sights during the filming.
I wanted to know where all the scenes were filmed, and found this wonderful site where someone who shared my desire has compiled a detailed list with still photos. Thanks, to blogger ally for helping us travel vicariously!
For another vision by Tarsem that incorporates many of the elements he expanded in the film, here is a video he did for the French duo Deep Forest (Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet), who mixed a vocal from the Solomon Islands with their own production. The original video, shown on MTV in 1994, can be viewed on his website's reel, but this remake adds much more to the "around the world" dream. In both this video and the film, a young girl's dream vision guides us through the imagining and creation of a voyage around the world.
All movie stills used in this post are available for download at the movie website.
via zunguzungu, I came across this absolutely fascinating talk on UCTV (the University of California's ten-year old educational television channel--and a rich resource!) by novelist Daniel Alarcón on book piracy in Perú. As he describes it, it is one manifestation of the much larger phenomenon of piracy of all kinds of media and documents. What is significant is that he is describing a thriving business in print piracy, not electronic piracy. Without an understanding of this vigorous economic black market in printed books, those making international laws about internet sharing, copyright, file-sharing, and piracy are only seeing a very small part of the problem of how artists can survive as artists. He raises many important points about who is buying, who is selling, who is profiting, and why this should be especially problematic in Perú.
"Daniel Alarcón is the Associate Editor of Etiqueta Negra, an award-winning monthly magazine published in his native Lima, Peru, and a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Latin America Studies at UC Berkeley. In 2007, the journal Granta named Alarcón one of the Best Young American Novelists. Series: Story Hour in the Library [5/2010] [Humanities] [Show ID: 18506]"
We spent the holiday up north in Crookston with family. The day after Christmas, the sun came out. We walked across the way to have a little something at Dave and Ida's place. Although it wasn't super cold, about 5 degrees above zero, the moisture-filled air had covered the trees with hoar-frost. It looked as if the trees were in bloom.
Last Sunday, the sun was out, the wind had died down, and we went out on a hike around the Northfield farm. Two people had snowmobile suits on, two others had on snowshoes, and we struck out on a trail that had been broken by winter campers the day before. We reached the spot in the woods where a giant tree had fallen. We tried out the sled, but the snow was too fluffy to get very far, so we left it behind. These snowshoes, on the other hand, made the walk easier. I had never used snowshoes before! I think I need to find a place in Minneapolis where I can try them out.
There were lots of signs of life: tracks in the snow, and this fungus on trees:
Dear family and friends, the seasons change; our children grow; but our love for you remains constant. May the coming year bring you health, peace, and joy! momo/Joanna
In honor of the lunar eclipse on the solstice, here is a poem about the moon by Federic García Lorca, "Romance de la luna, luna."
Camarón de la Isla sings, with Tomatito on the guitar:
La luna vino a la fragua con su polisón de nardos. El niño la mira mira. El niño la está mirando. En el aire conmovido mueve la luna sus brazos y enseña, lúbrica y pura, sus senos de duro estaño. Huye luna, luna, luna. Si vinieran los gitanos, harían con tu corazón collares y anillos blancos. Niño, déjame que baile. Cuando vengan los gitanos, te encontrarán sobre el yunque con los ojillos cerrados.
Huye luna, luna, luna, que ya siento sus caballos. Níno, déjame, no pises mi blancor almidonado.
El jinete se acercaba tocando el tambor del llano Dentro de la fragua el niño, tiene los ojos cerrados.
Por el olivar venían, bronce y sueño, los gitanos. Las cabezas levantadas y los ojos entornados.
¡Cómo canta la zumaya, ay cómo canta en el árbol! Por el cielo va la luna con un niño de la mano.
Dentro de la fragua lloran, dando gritos, los gitanos. El aire la vela, vela. El aire la está velando.
Also, at the top is a downloadable template, so you ladies and gentlemen can run wild with it should you see fit.
Note: I do not endorse the words of Privilege Denying Dude in any way. A long time ago in a land far away, I was that dude. Sometimes arguing with said Dudes can be a terribly frustrating experience, and the only thing a sane person is left with is the ability to throw their hands in the air and laugh. Since I’m a cis-gendered, white, heterosexual male, I don’t really think I’m very qualified to jump into the “feminist conversation” proper, so instead, I offer my support for the cause, and my smug face for a good laugh.
Last night I had the very great pleasure of attending a performance by The Rose Ensemble, and extremely talented and accomplished choral group that specializes in authentic performances of rare choral music from around the world. What a delight! They were performing Spanish villancicos, songs associated with Christmas, from the Early Modern (Renaissance) period. A few were in Latin, but most were in Castilian. My friend Barbara had done many of the translations for the program. Each of the singers is impressive as a soloist, and together they brought impeccable balance, warmth, and attention to accuracy in the pronunciation of the language to their performance. The group has won the right to represent the United States in the World Symposium on Choral Music next year in Argentina.If you have a chance to see them perform, don't miss it!
Yesterday I faced one of the tougher situations I've ever had to deal with as a teacher. I won't go into the details because I don't talk about my students on this blog, but let's just say that I think I handled it OK, but it left me feeling profoundly sad for all involved and really disappointed in myself for not having seen the warning signs more clearly. I did the best I could yesterday, but I'm spending some time in the next few weeks trying to figure out what I could have done differently or better, even though I recognize that when people behave badly, sometimes there is nothing I can do to prevent it.
To cheer myself up as I head into my grading marathon, I'm sharing with you these amazing parrot videos. The bird is Lolita, and her friend peachy525 has clearly taught her well, starting with the simplest of songs, and building up to more complicated ones. ("you forgot "gently down the stream!") Lolita even freestyles at the end, clearly a happy and well-loved bird.
Then.. there is this: Lolita's rendition of the alternative metal band Drowning Pool's "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor"-- a song that gets used for a lot of youtube remixes. The vocal is by Dave Williams, the band's first singer, who died of heart disease after the first album was released. Lolita's version is going viral even as we speak. my favorite part? the way "nothing's wrong with me" seems to change to "nothing cockatoo" LOL!
Does anyone remember being thrilled in that scene in Minority Report where Tom Cruise manipulates streams of data with hand gestures? This is even better because it's real. One of a series of cool data visualizations I'll be exploring over the winter break. The story being told here is also fascinating. How many other ways could this data be broken down and displayed? .
Sometimes we have to laugh so we don't cry. This is one of those times. Most of the horrible things that have been confirmed by the wikileaks cable publications have either been suspected or already reported by expert analysts: the torture, the perversions of justice, the abuse of power in pursuit of maintaining US/international capital's hegemony. But a salutory effect of the publication is the confirmation of these stories. Now it is up to the traditional press to stop being complicit in the cover-up, as they have been for decades, of stories they have suppressed or ignored.
I'm so glad that Blas and Loren arrived home from Spain safely on Friday night before the blizzard arrived. There were safe at home the next day while it snowed and blew and busted the roof of the Metrodome. Many epic tales of digging out cars and shoveling were told the next day, as we woke up to a blue sky and frigid temperatures.
Snowpocalypse? Snomaggedon? SnOMG? This year's fun label/Twitter hashtag was #blizzardpeople, and lots of jokes were made about how our local weather celebrity, Paul Douglas, was vindicated in his projections of snowfall, after people mocked him for making us all worry about icy death (with reason) during our Thanksgiving travel.
But someone named galina put together this mashup of video footage with a great song about Minnesota blizzards.
Brother Ali made a blizzard rap last year. The New Standards do a version of "Snow Days" (originally recorded by Trip Shakespeare, bassist John Munson's group).
At the age of 14! singing "Precious Lord." The voice is a gift.
Think (Freedom) high quality sound:
Just a few years ago, in 2005, with her own health problems, she sang Amazing Grace for the funeral of Luther Vandros. Her voice is a shadow of what it was, but her spirit is indomitable.
Richard Wayne Penniman was born today in 1932. A gospel singer since he was a child, he began performing professionally at 16. His sound made the transition between "jump blues" (like this classic 1953 "Little Richard's Boogie" with Johnnie Otis's band) and what would later become rock and roll. I like this early song because it is about food.
His first commercial success was"Tutti Frutti" but only after the lyrics had been cleaned up for radio. He would have 16 hits between 1955-57, including 7 number one songs. Musically, he has been one of the most influential artists, the originator and the idol of a host of musicians. White artists such as Elvis, Bill Haley, Pat Boone covered his songs in the fifties, but unlike so many other black musicians of the time, he himself achieved tremendous success with his own music early on, if not the recognition and awards he deserved. Before Jerry Lee Lewis, there was Little Richard doing "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"
His charismatic performances had formerly segregated white and black fans dancing together, inspiring a racist backlash, but not enough to keep people away. But throughout his life, he would experience conflict between his wildly hedonistic side and his religious beliefs; while on an international tour, after a series of deaths among his family and friends, he renounced secular music for gospel, and returned to study for the ministry. A few years later in 1962, when invited to tour England where his records were still hits, he began to perform some of his secular songs again, to frenzied fan reactions. Here he is performing "Rip it Up" on an English TV show with a great local backing band honking a baritone sax.
The Stones were on his tour, and were in awe of his effect on the crowds. For a while, the young Jimi Hendrix played with his band. Here is Little Richard performing with his disciple Tom Jones on Jones' TV special.
He was successful again, and recorded some great soul influenced songs, like "Freedom Blues" but his drinking, drugging and partying led to a crisis moment when he was threatened with a gun by a friend over a drug debt. He retreated again from rock into religion, and for a while said that he could not reconcile the two. Thankfully, he became able to enjoy a balance in his life that has allowed him to continue performing, and to enjoy the awards and recognition he deserves to this day. He has performed and recorded, contributing to movie and TV soundtracks, guest-starring a himself in a number of shows, and raising money a great deal of money for charities with his children's recordings. He also continues to be a minister. In 1994, he participated in this tribute to the great gospel singer Marion Williams, along with Billy Preston and the divine Aretha Franklin:
And I will also love this classic, the theme song to The Magic School Bus ("rock the river of lava1"):
Two quite brilliant people talk at length, with humor and intellectual rigor, about how they understand politics, media, comedy, and their own roles. They don't always agree, but they are not afraid to disagree and talk it out. Yes, it is possible.
I bow down before the "historyteachers" YouTube channel! Their original lyrics give history lessons, set to popular songs, and combine their love of dress-up with clips from films to make learning fun. There are 47 as of now, and they are history teaching gold. Some are tongue-in-cheek like this lesson on prehistoric anthropology to Britney Spear's "Toxic."
Others are oddly gripping like this lesson on the Vikings set to "Personal Jesus"("And when we expire we set our boats on fire")
I like how they the Canturbury Tales to the tune of "California Dreaming," and included a recitation in Middle English!
The Lady Gaga "Revolution in France" vid has received the most views, I think ('Bread bread bread, off with her head!") but I really like this one about the Odyssey.
The list of the things for which I am thankful is too long to post, and in some cases, too intimate for this blog, so I will sum it up: I am thankful for every day.
I am so thankful that I share an extended family with such good people, who have enriched my life immeasurably. And I am thankful for videochat technologies, like Skype! Remember when we watched Star Trek and the crew would communicate with various friends and enemies on a huge screen? Science fiction was so cool! and now it is here, but not on the starship--in our living rooms and kitchens.
Although they guys are in Spain, we continued the tradition of Thanksgiving in Bemidji with Linda and Jim, and as many of the family as could make it in spite of the icy roads. We were able to talk to folks in Spain by videochat, and to one branch of the family who wisely decided not to drive after the storm. On twitter, I observed lots of other people comment on how Skype was becoming a Thanksgiving ritual, connecting people who could not travel to be together. I especially enjoy the sight of someone walking around with a laptop, so that the folks on the other end can see the weather, or the food, or how they have rearranged the room!
It's that time of year again, when viewing the crows becomes a part of my day. This afternoon, I was driving in south Minneapolis at about 4 when I drove under the crows' flight stream north. They wing in from the south, heading toward their night roosts in the cemetery on Cedar and Lake, to the trees of Loring Park, probably to other sites by the river. Thousands of them gather, but they fly overhead one by one, in a non-ending stream. My friend said they were creepy, but I love them. Who would clean up the dead squirrels in the road, if not for the crows? Here's a glimpse of what it looks their daily return to the roost looks like:
And here's a great video of them descending on Loring Park as the sun goes down:
Birdchick (Sharon Stiteler) has posted about this enormous roost in Loring Park and even organized a viewing "Birds and Beers" party at one of the bars on the park last winter. This is something I want to do this year! Once, I walked through the park after dusk and the trees were filled with their rustling murmer.
I recently came across this amazing post by artist and blogger Coco Mault, in which she shares a recording she made very early one morning of the crows that roost near her home, before they flew away for the day. I have listened to it several times now. It's so complex and beautiful.
Jay Gabler of Twin Cities Daily Planet interviewed Craig Minowa of Cloud Cult before their show. They played two nights at First Ave, and we went to the second, all-ages, show on Thursday. These great photos give an idea of how much fun it was for the band and the audience alike. Most of the people in the audience were singing along to every song, even the new ones off their Cloud Chaser CD, like this one, "You'll Be Bright."
Some of my favorite moments from the show? During the first song, the two painters spun their canvases as they laid down the background colors. The keyboards player also played the French Horn, and the bass player played the trombone. The cello and violin add such richness to their sound.
The band can either sound like their albums or change up the arrangements. Either way, their live performances are a joyful communion with their fans.
This is the first song of theirs that I fell in love with on the radio. Now I have a good dozen that I love.
When Reagan was president, we used to engage in futile debates about whether he was stupid or evil. It didn't matter as the effects were the same, but this SNL skit was recently posted in connection with Bush's book tour. Stupid? evil? Here, Phil Hartmann portrays a Reagan who is in total control.
I'm working on a presentation about collaborative learning. It's leading me to think hard about when my teaching works and and when it doesn't. What are the things I can control, and what are the ones I can't. I can try to create an atmosphere or a vehicle or a structure, but student motivation is complex. What seems like an invitation to experiment and play for one student is perceived as a lack of structure by another.
By emphasizing multiple ways to engage in low-stakes writing activities, in which the evaluation is not based on such factors as grammar or correctness, but rather on effort and communication, I'm continuing with a philosophy of second language teaching called "the communicative approach." It involves active learning, a more student-centered approach, and support for making mistakes. But the fact is that most of my own language learning (and teaching) background ALSO emphasized repetition, drill exercises, and the internalization of correctness as essential building blocks for good (better) communication. Sometimes the tension I experience between these two tendencies makes me tired. But then I read this passage by Timothy Mason in this post on teaching grammar:
"Grammar is surrounded by similar anxieties. Grammar is, indeed, the fruit of such anxieties. Rules of grammar are rules of comportment and the grammar teacher is a dancing master. Like so many other aspects of language, good grammar is good posture.You cannot teach it without attending to social nicety. Which is to say that any such attempt needs to be fully sociologically informed."
So, some of my anxiety about correctness in communication comes from my awareness that I want students to be able to move between informal and formal registers, to have more control over how they are perceived by a variety of audiences. I want them to be able to code-switch, between slang and formal, written discourse. That's a lot for students to absorb, and takes a lifetime to learn. So maybe I need to lighten up.
Sometimes I find myself turning into a "tongue-clucking grammarian."
A mashup created by YouTube user saintblackangle using MC Frontalot's song "Tongue-Clucking Grammarian." Mc Frontalot is an exponent of nerdcore hip hop.
Last year, I was highly amused by the MN Zoo's videos of their three grizzly bears ripping apart pumpkins and a camp site. So plushy! so deadly! This year, they are at it again.
Other recent attractions: lynx kittens! look at their giant paws!
A new dolphin calf has made its debut; they often don't survive, so this one was kept secluded for the first three months.
This one is making the rounds of the higher ed blogs and even sites like mefi. I should note that none of this is new. When I started grad school in Comp Lit in 1980, there were no jobs. I don't see that the situation has actually changed that much, just shifted.
So you want to get a PhD in the Humanities?
But don't despair! the "practical" professions have their own versions. So you want to be a lawyer?
Today I had a cranky day. You know those cranky days? I woke up in a foul mood, and although I tried not to inflict it on anyone it stayed with me all day. In fact, my day was quite lovely! I was the moderator for a panel at a conference organized by some colleagues, and I really enjoyed the entire experience. Later, I met with some students, and attended a planning meeting for an event I know I will enjoy. The weather was great today. At work, I wasn't cranky any more. But when I got home I the crank returned: I couldn't find my cell phone, I spilled a drink all over everything, I just wanted to throw a temper tantrum. I managed to channel some of my negative energy into cleaning out my closets, and my daughter and I filled four bags with stuff to donate. Tomorrow, Savers! Now, I'm calm, but baffled. From whence the crank? Hormones? static cling? who the hell knows. But I found this video via someone else's cranky post, so I thought it would be appropriate to share.
My girl turns 16 in just a few days! Not enough candles on the cake, I know, but it is still our yummy chocolate cake.
I will not freak out about how fast she got to this milestone by freaking out about the fact that is is already mid-way through October. The weeks are flying by, but with this late fall spell of warm weather it doesn't feel as if we are almost to Halloween.
To Do list for fall: DONE: Furnace inspection, close storm windows, back up all computers, break out the decorative gourds! take down compost, rake pine needles in back yard and put in the compost bin, bag up and take down the months of recycling back-logged on the back porch for next pick-up day, get rid of extra chairs in the living room to make room for the new comfy purple armchair!
PENDING: Repair leak in porch roof, get rid of water stain in living room ceiling.
IN PROGRESS: purge summer wardrobes and take a load to Savers, rotate in winter clothes, find out if winter boots and coats still fit growing kid. Decide if keeping all those shoes with high heels that I never wear anymore is really worth it.
Take the A/C out of the window and find the storm window that goes there, not like last year....
This weeks episodes featured duets and some challenging turns to some of the story lines. Here are their inspirations:
Rachel and Kurt performed a perfecto homage to this famous Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland duet:
Santana and Mercedes did a great job with this song, but here's the incomparable Tina Turner in a soulful live version of "River Deep, Mountain High" (not the Phil Spector version we heard on the radio)
Hello, I am Joanna and I have Major Depressive Disorder. I live a happy healthy life with a mental illness that has, in the past, been a lot tougher to manage. At one time I did not believe I would survive. But I got help. I will never forget, and I will always be grateful to the people who helped me believe that "it gets better" because in the worst moments of depression it is precisely the overwhelming feeling that it will never get better that leads to crippling despair.
The topic of suicide is a tough one because there are so many fears and stigmas, so many judgments attached to it. I know from my own experience with chronic depression that suicidal ideation can be a symptom of an underlying physiological disorder as much as it is a response to situational pain. In my case, treating the physiological disorder with medications along with intense work to face and understand my responses to situations has helped keep me safe, and has made this disease one I have survived.
He states: "Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain." This is not an easy message to understand on its face, so if you want to know more, check out the book. In my case, I was fortunate to get the help I needed in decreasing the pain and increasing the coping resources.
Sometimes, the resources for coping with pain include hearing messages of hope and acceptance. They may not be enough to overcome the pain for all, but they may be a start for overcoming the pain for many. Watching the "It Gets Better" project unfold, I reflect on my own struggles and I'm grateful that people are bringing these messages out into the light.
A platform that allows people to create dialogue can be a powerful thing. Dan Savage and his partner Terry posted their "It Gets Better" video on YouTube, and kicked off something that has become bigger than their one message. They started a YouTube channel and when the responses reached the limit (650), they encouraged people to start their own YouTube Channels or to post to their facebook page. Now there is a stand-alone website. And the messages to the facebook page and the YouTube show no signs of letting up. From ordinary folks and famous folks, a wide variety of people are speaking out and putting faces and stories to their expressions of love and support. Never underestimate the power of stories or peer support.
This is not to say that this project is enough, and to be fair to Dan Savage, he never claimed it was. He understands perfectly well that much more needs to be done than "send a message." Some of the thoughtful (and less thoughtful) posts people have put up in response (a few here at The Atlantic) point out that we also need to listen, to acknowledge that racism may mean that gay teens don't find support in some parts of the gay community, or that we should be thinking about ACTION for change. Yes, indeed! But these simple messages are still important. Hearing these messages may be a first step for someone, one that enables them to take the next step, to reach out and connect, to get help. I know that I needed this message before I could do anything else to heal.
So, what to do? The Make It Better Project takes up the challenge. Check it out! Yes, you can take action now! Be inspired by Lucinda Naylor's DVD to ART project, or the Return the DVD project.
Any teenager with any questions about sex or gender (and not just fears or experiences of bullying)can go to Scarlateen.com for excellent, accurate, non-judgmental resources. Heather Corinna and Dan Savage talk about the need for kids to be safe, and how it is not always possible to be out and safe at a very young age or in certain circumstances, which is one reason why this message to teens is so important: you may not be able to control everything in your life now, but you can choose to accept yourself now, and choose life now.
From young people who work to help their peers:
From folks in San Francisco:
From members of the SF Gay Men's Chorus, very thoughtful and detailed messages about how and why it gets better! and a song.
And from sweetkellygirl who has the courage to call herself a "recovering homophobe" and who says It Gets Better for homophobes as well (and that includes all of us at some point).
Although this cat looks a LOT like my cat Leo, it's not Leo, it's a cat in Spain whose name is Loren. I only know him from his story and these pictures. Behind the apartment in Zaragoza is a school whose grounds shelter a number of feral cats. Staff and neighbors feed them so they survive, although they are very scruffy, and not all of them make it. It's distressing, but at least they get some attention. Apparently, some people have taken to dumping or abandoning cats there because they know there will be a minimum of care for them. One day, Loren was looking out the window, and saw a young man with a backpack approach the fence, take out a cat, hug it, and then leave. He was clearly unhappy to be doing it, but he had left his cat there to fend for itself. This made us very sad! Loren told our neighbor Marta, a lovely and tender-hearted soul who rescues animals, what he'd seen and she and others who keep an eye on the animals there saw that this cat was not adapting to its new life. It was a house cat that was not going to make it because it couldn't compete with the feral cats for food. It became skinny, matted and was clearly struggling to survive. Our neighbor managed to get the cat to come with her (it seemed happy to be rescued) and put an announcement up. A family adopted it, had a vet look at it, and shaved off its matted fur. They named him Loren after the person who helped start the rescue, but although he's a kitty that loves people, he didn't get along with their other animals, and they had to put him up for adoption again. Luckily, now that his hair had grown back, you can see how these pictures helped find him a new home.
We're happy the story turned out well, but we wish there were some way we could let his original owner know that he is OK. I wonder if his new family has given him a new name?
One of my summer projects is to learn how to use a wiki as a resource for teaching. As is evident from my first link, I use wikipedia all the time to start searches, often in both English and Spanish, although I usually don't start from the portal page; I get to it by googling a word. But by fooling around on the portals, I can have a different experience, more like browsing in a bookstore. I'm sure there are much better analogies, and that is something I will check out with colleagues who are working on just these topics: what is the relationship between something like an Encyclopedia and wikipedia?
One feature of Wikipedia I want to explore is the Wikimedia Commons, where I can find media files that are made available for free and without copyright issues.
There are many stories about how Wikipedia came to be. I like the image associated with this one. Hah! I did not know this: "Wiki isn't an acronym. It comes from the Hawaiian word for "quick," and derives from the name of the first wiki, "The Wiki Wiki Web."
Note to self:Cool tools to explore: PMWiki and the Google Suite GoogleSites which is, according to Jude, "spiritually a wiki."
The great dancers we have been seeing perform with Janelle Monae on "Tightrope" are Ladia Yates, Charles Riley, and Marico Flake (Dr Rico). They are based in the Memphis jookin scene. Ladia Yates is AMAZING! watch her!
Dr Rico is ASTOUNDING!
Charles Riley (Lil Buck) soloing to "Tightrope." BEAST! Here is Ladia teaching us the moves.
Thanks to insomnia, I caught this tweet by Roger Ebert to a set of Japanese hip hop videos. That led me to a video by a duo that calls itself HIFANA. "Wamono" can translated as "traditional Japanese things" so the visuals here play on a variety of images and practices that would be seen a Japanese and non-Western. They blend them with their hip-hop virtual personae and contemporary Japanese visual vocabulary, in a little story of a fishing trip that turns into something else:
When my big girl was little, we would watch Sesame Street together. I had never watched it before, so I was almost (almost) as captivated as she was. There are so few places that give us messages of hope and pride, it seems. But in the past week, I have been thinking every day about Lucinda Naylor's calm, brave, love-filled message to us all. Today, Fresca is accompanying Lucinda Naylor this morning at the Basilica in a manifestation of the power of love over hate. As Lucinda says in this letter to the Star Tribune* her art project of turning the Catholic Bishop's (funded by the Knights of Columbus and an anonymous donor) DVD messages of hate into a work of art that manifests the spirit of love does not come from hate, but from love. She the solidarity and support of many people of faith as well as those of us whose families are targeted by the the Bishop and all the others who try to tell us we are bad or wrong or unworthy.
So, Bishop, listen up!
We need to help our children survive the messages of hate. Too many are succumbing to despair and ending their lives because of hateful acts against them. This morning, my daughter and I watched this video that Dan and Terry made to kick off their "It Gets Better" project, in response to all the stories of young people taking their own lives, many of them because of the relentless bullying to which they were subjected by their peers. Art can make a difference. Let's spread these messages of strength, love and solidarity, even as we mourn the stunted spirits of those consumed by hatred. UPDATED TO ADD: here's a handy round-up of some of the more famous folks who've contributed to the "It Gets Better" project, not because their stories are more important, but simply because their fame helps attract attention to the project itself, and is especially likely to appeal to teens who are looking for role models.
*Because it is so beautiful, I'm including Lucinda's letter to the paper:
CATHOLIC CHURCH
Lucinda Naylor on her DVD to ART project
The Star Tribune's Sept. 28 article about my DVD to ART project, "Job on the line over DVD protest," missed the point. I aim to create a hope- and spirit-filled artwork that expresses inclusion out of the archbishop's disheartening, divisive DVDs. The project is not an anger-fueled protest. Instead, it is energized by all the wonderful, loving Catholic people who know the sky won't fall if Minnesota legalizes civil marriage for same-sex couples. It will be a positive expression of this spirit of love and transformation.
This is a personal project. I never capitalized on my title of artist-in-residence at the Basilica to promote this project. I accept my suspension from that role as the unfortunate by-product of taking art down off the wall and into the hubbub of the community.
Many Catholic congregations support this project. DVD to ART has accepted the support of Protestant churches to host collection boxes because their congregations have the freedom to support the project without backlash from the archdiocese. Obviously, Catholic churches do not.
DVD for ART is partnering with ReturnTheDVD.org, which has pledged a financial donation to St. Stephen's Human Services, an outreach program for the homeless, for each DVD that is sent to them.
ReturnTheDVD's website states: "We are a group of Catholics who are concerned about the priorities of the leaders in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis." Their action, distributing 400,000 DVDs on the single subject of same-sex marriage shortly before the upcoming election, reflects misguided priorities and strays from the essential teachings of Christ.
The money and effort expended would be put to better use by focusing on Catholicism's "preferential option for the poor" and the commandment to love thy neighbor.
Professor Zero has tagged me for a meme, Wow!
Here are the guidelines:
+Post a picture or make/take/create your own that captures what YOU are most passionate for students to learn about.
+Give your picture a short title.
+Title your blog post “Meme: Passion Quilt.”
+Link back to this blog entry.
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CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE on your relationships to others.
Uh oh! In Feb 2009, TV as we know it will die, and if we don't jump on the digital television train, we will not be able to watch our reality shows! Withdrawal will be ugly.
I don't know if we had a TV when we were very little kids in Texas, before I was 5. I do remember watching Romper Room at least once, and I have a memory of Mr. Greenjeans, so there must have been a TV around, but my mother was very big on DIY toys and going out to play.
When we moved to Japan we had a TV, but of course most of what we watched was in Japanese. The only TV in English was the Danny Kaye show, and then the "Moonriver" guy. The rest was samurai movies, incredible animated cartoons (I still remember the theme song from Obake no Q), and Japanese variety shows. This didn't stop us from watching, but we had to invent our own dialogues for the movies.
Once back in the US, in 1968, the three of us kids gorged ourselves on color TV in English, fairly indiscriminately. If it was on, we watched it.
When I moved away to go to college, there was a TV in the dorm lounge, and in various apartments I shared, but watching TV was not something I did much of. For the years of graduate school, my parade of roommates brought TVs into the house, but nothing fancy. Sometimes there was no TV. I spent more time watching movies at the cheap arthouse cinemas than watching TV, although we did go through a heavy McNeil-Lehrer period, and I did get hooked on a Venezuelan telenovela. I remember this Black Flag song "TV Party" from those years.
When I moved to Minnesota, I got my first credit card and bought my first TV. It still works and we still watch it. No cable, no DVR, no satellite, just regular broadcast TV with crappy reception. No remote, so we change channels or volume with the little buttons. We do have a VCR and a DVD player hooked up to it, but now the laptop is my preferred way of watching DVDs (did I say we have no remote? can't watch the special features without one) because the quality of the image is so much better.
So this summer I think I will take old faithful to the electronics recycling center. The question I have now is, what now? I think I could live without TV again, but I'd like a better monitor for watching DVDs, etc.
One solution is to bet an HDTV to use as a monitor and hook it up to a Mac mini, thereby having a TV-computer set up that allows one to browse, show photos, etc as well as watch TV. Or I could buy and iMac and get Apple TV. I want to leave room for future developments in receiving and broadcasting multimedia content.
The geeks who game and have been doing all this stuff for years with their tinkering and hacking have all kinds of scorn for either solution, but I am that Mac customer who wants to take it out of the box, plug it in, and use it. I don't want to have to spend hours and hours doing research, buy features I'll never use, or pay twice as much as I need to.
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