Friday, March 23, 2007

What do we do about the horror before us now?

So I'm watching the 1954 original cut of Godzilla, the non-Raymond Burr cut, Japanese with English subtitles and it gets to the part where they're trying to talk the scientist who invented the Oxygen Destroyer into letting them use his invention as a weapon against Godzilla. And the scientist gives an impassioned speech about how they can't do such a thing, because the Oxygen Destroyer would become another horrible superweapon in the hands of the world's politicians. And the leading man takes it all in, and seems pretty moved, and then says to the scientist: "But what do we do about the horror before us now? Do we just let it happen?"

And this is how I feel about liberal modernity these days. We know its failings and its horrors. We know about alienation and exploitation and imperialism and all the rest. But in the face of the rise of the terror of the anti-modern extremist right, a threat only liberal modernity seems prepared to face...

What do we do about the horror before us now?

The Next Thing Stumbleupon Brought Me

The photography out there on the intarwebz is pretty amazing. Check this out.

The First Thing Stumbleupon brought me

Somekinda halo type thing.

I think its kinda neat.

I'd include it in the post but that seems to break blogger. Y'all will just have to click the link.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

30 Second Review of The Getaway

I like Peckinpah for his style and his composition. Not so much for his story lines or characterization. The, um, spousal abuse in his movies is, shall we say, problematic. Seriously, every movie of his I've seen features a "wife gets smacked around 'cause she needed it" scene. Not cool.

Also a "wife fucks bad guy right in front of husband and loves it because women is whores and can't be trusted" scene. Eeeeesh.

On a more positive, but nevertheless sorta weird, note the young Sally Struthers was kinda hot....

That's a Good Mash Up

Hard Day's Night...

OF THE LIVING DEAD!

Baudrillard's laughter...

I was going to post something the day Baudrillard died, but then I forgot. Every so often though, you see something like this and you just know 'ol Jean is laughing back at you somewhere for every time you laughed at one of his far out theories.

I guess I should explain what that is, exactly. Its a clip from an upcoming showtime series to be based on the NPR program "This American Life". It tells the story of how toy TV cameras caught on as a fad at an elementary school, finally culminating in students standing by as one of their fellows is beaten up, dutifully "documenting" the fight with their fake TV cameras. Playing the part of the "disinterested journalist" even though all they had were props.

So the representation becomes the performance becomes the reality becomes the representation.
World without end
Amen.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Did the childrens really need to learn this?

In this segment, cookie monster teaches the children of the world an important lesson: museum exhibits are not for eating. I shit you not.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

HEEEEERRREE FISHY FISHY FISHY

I still do this if I end up fishing.