10.31.04
Posted in muzak at 3:50 pm by shawnz
I’m really digging the new single and video from the Dresden Dolls, the self-described punk-rock cabaret duo.
The new song (and video), Coin-Operated Boy is a pretty hilarious concept, and both the lyrics and song-writing are incredibly clever. My favorite part is the self-referential bridge (you’ll have to listen to it to understand).
The dolls are playing at the El Rey on Wilshire on November 19th. Anyone wanna go? Tix are $16.
I also noticed that they’re playing at Mississippi Nights, if you live in St. Louis. The ’supporting acts’ are pretty cool, too. The Ditty-Bops are a female duo that play rocking folksy/yet modern music. Good stuff.
Permalink
10.26.04
Posted in games that people play at 11:13 pm by shawnz
Thats right, I said it: fuck you sox.
Yes, I’m disappointed the Cards are down 3-0. I’m also annoyed by the attempt of the sports media to add this silly narrative about the curse and whatnot, and then the role of the fans in this game. Its up to the athletes, not how passionate a Cardinals fan I am (except for me buying a ticket to the game, which pays their salary).
Even worse is this bullshit about how crazy and wild the fans are in Boston, and how ’supportive’ the St. Louis fans are. For example, Jim Caple of ESPN writes “When Red Sox fans don’t like an opposing player, they chant, “You suck!” On the few occasions when an opponent irritates St. Louis fans, they chant, “You’re not very nice!”
Now, it may be true that Cards fans insist on curtain calls when, really, who cares? But c’mon - plenty of those drunkies down at Busch stadium yell profanities at the players, and boo players all the time, contrary to Caples’ assertion.
I’ve gotten into several nasty encounters with sports fans in St. Louis, including Cardinals games. When I used to have purple hair, a group of frat boys started yelling, “Come over here, Aqbar” at me, in a Scorpion-from-Mortal-Kombat kind of way… among other encounters.
Disclaim: Huge generalizations to follow.
I guess people from the Midwest are nicer - at least compared to what I’ve seen of people on the East Coast. But really, I was surprised to find that people in LA were way nicer than I expected. People in my apartment complex were instantly approachable and friendly; living in apartments in St. Louis for the past 5 years, I had quite a few neighbors who wouldn’t even make eye contact with me.
Whats the moral? I don’t know. But I hope the Cardinals don’t get swept. And wouldn’t that be a world series if the Cards do to the Sox what the Sox did to the Yanks. woot.
Permalink
Posted in games that people play at 7:26 pm by shawnz
Next Cardinals home game, I want Tina and Ike to perform the National Anthem.
Then they could do “Rolling Down the River.” With back-up singers.
Who’s with me?
Permalink
10.22.04
Posted in movies at 2:15 pm by shawnz
Warning: SPOILERS!
I was first exposed to Ayn Rand in high school at debate tournaments. The Objectivists, followers of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, always had a table at these events, with a few people passionately arguing with them for hours. And the Objectivists were always incredibly ideological and, to a first glance, pretty cultish. That was enough to keep me away from her writings until college, though I still can’t block off a year’s worth of time to read Atlas Shrugged - man that book is huge!
This movie, produced by ShowTime, is a wonderful story about a brief period of Ayn Rand’s life with Nathaniel Branden, her first “intellectual heir” and also, her lover. During their affair, Ayn is married to Frank O’Connor, a simple painter and gardener who is financially dependent on Ayn. Meanwhile, Nathaniel is married to Barbara Branden, the author of the book this movie is based on.
Ultimately, this movie is about objectivism and love, and while much of the story focuses on Barbara’s struggles with her anxiety and her husband’s fidelity, the overwhelming personality of Ayn Rand dominates all the characters. While Ayn insists that she values the individual hero above all else - those daring to have the courage to fight for his or her own self interest - she is quite adept at intimidating all of those around her and disabling them from being ‘heros’ themselves.
Ayn Rand and the objectivists believe that altriusm is a myth and that self-interest is the guiding principle that produces the wonderful successes of civilization. She prizes the ‘industrialists,’ scientists, architects and others that are enslaved by Socialist or Communist societies. When these creative minds are unleashed, she argues, all of civilization will progress.
The crux of this movie is the conflict between this ideal — that the individual and self-interest are paramount — is in conflict with one’s native emotions. Ayn has an affair with Nathan that is purely sexual, and she uses their sex to finish off her opus, Atlas Shrugged. And while she once tells Nathan that she will all no other person to hurt her, but not making herself vulnerable, she ultimately falls in love with Nathan and is thrown into a blind fury when she discovers he has had an affair with a dopey student of his.
One of the most interesting parts of the story is when Ayn and Nathan decide to confront their spouses before they have sex. They ask for Frank and Barbara’s consent. At first, both say no, but after having a cup of coffee down the street, Frank professes that he has no means to take care of himself without Ayn, and Barbara drearily watches a homeless man drink a cup of coffee next to them. They both agree to allow Ayn and Nathan to have weekly overnight sessions. It is pretty shocking to see, but apparently was true.
Showtime made “The Passion of Ayn Rand” (the *first* ‘Passion’ movie, apparently) in 1999 without too much fanfare at the time. I highly recommend this movie, to get the briefest glimpse of objectivism, but really to see how ardent philophers of personal morality struggle in their own interpersonal relationships.
Permalink
10.19.04
Posted in shawn update at 12:51 am by shawnz
So the experience of death is turned into that of the exchange of functionaries, and anything in the natural relationship to death that is not wholly absorbed into the social one is turned over to hygiene. In being seen as no more than the exit of a living creature from the social combine, death has been domesticated… by free online poker
Permalink
10.13.04
Posted in shawn update at 12:28 am by shawnz
I forgot to note, I’ll be out of town this week, so probably no updates. I’m in beautiful Valencia, CA doing some training for my company.
Permalink
10.06.04
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:42 pm by shawnz
I went to the Avacado Festival in Carpenteria, CA (just outside of Santa Barbara) last weekend. I ate a lot of guac, tried a fried twinkie, bought some avacados, and came home with an avacado magnet and an avacado poster. Quite a pillaging..
Permalink
10.04.04
Posted in shawn update at 1:09 pm by shawnz
Growing up in St. Louis, and thanks to my father, I was a huge Cardinals fan. Then adolesence came, and in a flurry of testosterone, fingernail polish, and necklaces made out of chains from Home Depot, I came to despise the game. I pretty much ruled all sports out of my life, until I formed a kickball league in college, and was named Director of Jock Jams at KWUR, my college radio station. This was deemed to be a promotion from Director of Experimental Music. I carried around a boombox with classics like “Pump up the Jam” and “I’ve Got the Power” for a few months, and my interest in sports was again piqued. I started watching some football with the boys on Sundays, and then, by my 5th year of college, I started watching baseball again during the postseason. It came full circle, and I’m not really sure why. The Cardinals weren’t even in the playoffs, and I had to “watch” most of the games on-line, which basically meant using ESPN’s on-line game-tracker. You found out who was on base, and what the count was on each batter, and the rest you just had to imagine. “Pierre flys out to Lofton in center field” turned into “Pierre swings and hits one deep, deep, and to the track and… snagged! by Lofton just a few feet from the wall. What a play!”
And then, this April, when the Cardinals started a new season, I watched every game for a good 6 weeks. Everyone said the Cards were a 3rd place team, but somehow, some way, I knew otherwise. Why else would I choose this season to watch? And sho’nuff, the team one 105 games, the 2nd most in their history, and the most in the major leagues in 2004.
Of course, I spent most of my summer in LA, away from the team I just fell in love with again. And now, LA is playing the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs. It is all so.. unsettling. So confusing. Is it coincidence? Or fate? Oh mysteries of the universe.
Anyway. It’ll be fun to watch. Go Cards. Rolen for MVP.
Permalink