Reeling and Writhing

2010-09-06T17:07:00.000-07:00

Making the move to tumblr.

just right this way... :)

high together

2010-09-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

don't wanna forget deez linkz.

Housemeister

2010-09-05T18:12:00.000-07:00

Wish I could find the album..

2010-09-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

First heard deez fellas via their remix of Chromeo's "Night by Night," which coincidentally samples a similar effect from this song. lobes it.

Amsterdam Osdorp

2010-09-02T19:53:00.000-07:00

Amsterdam Osdorp from The QBF on Vimeo.

reposted from Prolly is not Probably.

yeah, yeah, yeah WOO!

2010-07-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

CANNOT wait for the new album.

Physics makes us all its bitches

2010-06-12T08:57:00.001-07:00

Well hello stranger. Haven't seen you in a grip! In the midst of moving back to Columbus, lil' bloggo took a backseat, as did shaving my legs, and administrating my life effectively. So what the fuck! ANYWAY, things I'm high on right now: Tokyo Police Club, Scioto audoban park, cocaine, hipstamatic. Care for a taste?

In reverse order, just to piss me off.

35mm canon or some shit like that.

hipstamatic-it's a new app!

cocaine:
(kidding)

Scioto Audoban park climbing wall:

Tokyo Police Club: Just released their most recent album Champ on June 8th. Because we are all greedy, conniving pirates, everyone's prolly already heard it. There is not one song that I can't bump to. Especially: "Bambi," "Wait Up," and "End of a Spark." Wanna taste? Too bad, lala doesn't exist anymore. I'm bummed too.

Clock Opera

2010-04-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Nicky for this fresh jelly. Compared to other remixes I've heard, this one takes the cake. Absolutely stunning.

Do You Speak American?

2010-04-07T21:42:00.000-07:00

In his article “Media, Unlimited,” Gitlin asserts that people adopt American culture because it “is a way of being in the world, the experience of a flow of ready feelings and sensations bobbing up, disposable, dissolving, segueing to the next and the next after that—all in all, [that] kinetic feel” (Gitlin 443). After reading this I began to wonder what makes America so fundamentally different from other countries that worldwide, everyone wants to be American, and not English, Chinese, or Brazilian? Gitlin’s answer to this question is that the entertainment industry in America has been aimed at entertaining the common man, and has been widely tested by a diverse domestic population that makes it especially appealing and powerful abroad. But I don’t feel that Gitlin’s explanation is substantial enough. And I can’t help but feel there is something missing.

Why is American culture so pervasive? Brazil, for example, and many Spanish-speaking countries have extremely diverse populations. Brazil gained independence from Portugal much later than the United States, thus cultural influences from Europe are quite apparent, not to mention influence from African countries of Mozambique and Angola that contribute to the culture of the south of Brazil. I would even venture to say that Brazil is more demographically diverse (ethnically and racially) than the United States. So what makes us different?

My feeling about American culture’s permeability revolves around a concept we’ve read and talked about in class: Whiteness. I do not think American culture is attractive because it is so “diverse”, as Gitlin claims, but rather because it is so white. Historically as a country, we have perpetuated that idea that whiteness is the superior color, that whites are the most successful. And for the most part, this rings true in the United States. This idea is accepted in countries like Jamaica as well (as we read about in Outliers)—that the whiter you are, the higher social standing you have.

We even see the entertainment industry dominated by whites. Gitlin claims that many actors are from foreign countries, which is true certainly, but he doesn’t account for many of the directors and producers (Martin Scorcese, Woody Allen) that are white men. Even director Wolfgang Petersen, whom Gitlin references as a successful German director, is of course, white. Sure the actor demographic may be diverse, but the people behind the productions do not appear to be.

So why not England? So why not Australia? These countries have a primarily white demographic as well, so why aren’t children in China saying “Gidday Mate”? I am not suggesting that whiteness is the only contributing factor to American culture dominance, but that it should be considered a contributing factor. Consider the following: America was built under a free market system promoting success and the American dream in which anyone could do anything they dreamed possible. America was first populated by white Anglo-Saxons. White Anglo-Saxons have been successful under the American system. Therefore white people are associated with success. This seems like an utterly elementary theory, but this is essentially how the human mind works. We are conditioned to learn associations between two originally unrelated things (whiteness and successfulness) and the association sticks in our minds as long as we continue to see it played out, which we have.

I think that Gitlin raises a good point with the Americanization of countries around the world being imminent, but I do not think the reasons he offers for this globalization are the only explanations. I think that race definitely plays into it, even though no one from China would admit that they are eating McDonald's because white people eat there. I am simply suggesting that America has perpetuated white superiority both covertly and overtly for so long, that it retains some force in shaping how people perceive American culture as dominant, subconsciously.

Some people may consider Vicky Cristina Barcelona a foreign film. What makes it foreign though? The Latino actress? The location (Spain)? The title? This film was directed by American screenwriter Woody Allen.

392-Rearing

2010-03-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

In his/her article “”Is Raising Your Child to be Gender Neutral Possible?” Associated Content contributor WS writes a brief analysis on two texts examining the possibility of raising gender-neutral children. The first is “An Unconventional Family,” in which Sandra Lipstiz Bem highlights two steps needed to successfully raise a gender-neutral child:

1) The first step is to inform the child about biological differences in gender without teaching them stereotypes associated with them

2) The second step is to teach the child to be skeptical of any cultural messages or stereotypes they are exposed to in the media or in everyday life
The idea is to “provide the child with a critical lens that would predispose them to ‘read’ the culture’s conventional messages in an unconventional way” (WS). I like this method because rather than shielding the child from media—limiting what they can watch and read, whom they can talk to—you provide them with the tools they need to view the world with their own critical eye.

In the second article examined, “Family Structures and Gender Personality: Chodorow, Familism, and Pyschoanalytic Sociology Revisited” Denise Segura and Jennifer Pierce assert that rearing children to be gender-neutral is nearly impossible. Some cultures promote community child-rearing and place emphasis on communitarian rather than individualistic goals. In this case, it seems that employing a “critical lens” while examining cultural messages would be, well, detrimental to the culture. A society such as this requires a certain amount of solidarity and conformity among its members to function appropriately, which leaves little room for the individuality that Bem feels is so important.

The author of this article poses some interesting questions at the end in response to what Bem, Segura, and Price have said. Author WS asserts that we should worry not about raising gender-neutral children, but rather try to raise children with gender-appreciate values. He/she writes “we know that there are distinct differences between men and women; there are some things that women are better at than men and vice versa” (WS). But this claim comes from someone who has (likely) been socialized in a gender-biased society, like most of us are. Are there really distinct differences in the capabilities of men and women? I don’t think so. I think that these “differences” can be overcome by a little psychological overhaul.

There are certainly biological and hormonal differences that make women good with fine motor skills and men good with heavy lifting, but that does not mean that these differences cannot be overcome. It’s an age-old argument, but a good one I believe—we all have certain natural advantages regardless of gender that put us on an uneven playing field, not to mention circumstances that we share with many other people, both men and women. This is not to say that men are incapable of dancing ballet and women of carpentry; just that traditionally we have lent ourselves to these roles. Once we detach ourselves from these traditional obligations, there should be no reason that we cannot do anything.

If we were to raise our children to “appreciate gender differences,” we would, I believe, would be emphasizing the differences and giving people an excuse to blame gender for their shortcomings. I think the better practice is Bem’s, at least for our society, in which children are taught to be skeptical of cultural messages. Using this method we create a society of individuals taught to question and think for themselves, rather than a society that just accepts the stereotypes.

Associated Content-Article

Neon Single

2010-03-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

Got Neon Indian's new single on the brain. Alan Polomo, 21, originally created Neon Indian as an alter-ego type catch-all for everything that didn't fit his original music persona VEGA. Check, check, check, check it out.

SLEEP PARALYSIST

Inner Animals, yo

2010-03-09T13:59:00.001-08:00

Dis is mah friend's band. CD release coming at you from Skully's March 26th, yo.

What does this mean?

2010-03-09T13:14:00.000-08:00

Does this video even have a plot? Probably not. Leave it up to yeasayer to set their video in a futuristic casino and spontaneously develop the skillz to play kryptonite as a musical instrument.

O.N.E. video

Alice

2010-03-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

Just caught Alice in Wonderland this past weekend. Johnny Depp had a spectacular performance, Alice was somewhat of a disappointment. However, this video containing spliced clips of the original film, leaves nothing to be desired.

392-American on the Verge of Collapse?

2010-03-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

The first chapter of Outliers uses an example from American society to introduce the idea of thinking in terms of community. Roseto, a small Italian community in Pennsylvania, has puzzled physicians for decades—Rosetans seems to live significantly longer, healthier lives than neighboring communities. Many speculated that Rosetans follow a healthier diet due to their Italian roots, or have genetics that are naturally more resistant to disease. After close research, however, physicians found little deviation in their habits and genetic makeup than those in surrounding communities. Physician Stewart Wolf suggested that perhaps it is neither nature nor choice that could account for their health, but rather the atmosphere and community that they exist in. The structure in Roseto is egalitarian, grounded in social ties and family. Wolf asserts that perhaps it is not free will that affects our health, but rather our place in the larger society.

Last summer I was required to read Jared Diamond’s book Collapse, which studied the causes of societal collapse throughout human history in a variety of specific examples. Diamond adopts a socio-enviro-anthropological perspective to explain why, exactly, societies so quickly fall apart. And after reading the first chapter of Outliers, I was reminded so much of Diamond’s five point framework. Ironically, after reading about how Roseto manages to produce such healthy individuals and function so effectively, I questioned how it is that certain societies function so ineffectively at times. We must sometimes look to the “bugs” in a system to figure out how it functions normally

Diamond’s five-point framework of collapse outlines five primary factors that exist when a society is on the verge of tragedy. They include 1) environmental degradation due to abuse of resources, 2) climate change, 3) relationships with friendly neighboring societies, 4) negative relationships with hostile societies leading to conflict, and 5) political, economic, social, cultural features within the society that essentially contribute to all the above factors. Diamond places great influences on the fifth factor. Though he concedes that certain societies, for environmental reasons, are more fragile than others, cultural factors and values often dictate how problems will be solved within the society.

I am totally under-qualified to claim that American Society is on the verge of collapse, and I would certainly oversimplify the matter if I tried. However I do think that America fits eerily into Diamond’s framework. He asserts that major reasons as to why the Greenland Norse collapsed were their strong commitment to religion, and unwillingness to learn from their neighbors and adapt to changing conditions. Although the Norse were a far more religious folk than we are, Americans tend to hold fast to other values such as individual success. This value jeopardizes the solidarity within our society and compromises our relationships with other nations. The Norse were unwilling to adjust to the cold winter conditions, and did not learn the techniques of kayaking and seal-hunting (perhaps out of spite) that the Inuits practiced. Like the Norse, Americans usually set trends rather than follow them. Although we can see that socialized medicine is successful in Europe, we resist it because individual success is of the utmost importance. For the Norse, their pride was a detriment.

Another factor that contributed to the Norse collapse was social cohesion. The Norse were extremely close-knit, but so are the Rosetans. What’s the difference? The Norse collapse can be attributed to the fact that they were cohesive, but not self-sufficient. They relied heavily on Europeans in Norway for resources instead of developing other methods of acquiring them. The Rosetans, on the other hand, relied on neighbors, relatives, and close friends for their resources. Like the Norse, we are not independent of other nations. As a post-industrialized nation, we rely on other countries for gasoline, meat, etc. To succeed, we either need to become independent, cohesive unit, or coexist with other nations completely. Right now we are somewhat in limbo.

Now that we have identified a framework for determining how previously successful societies fail, we should be able to prevent our downfall. Wrong. Diamond suggests that even if societies perceive the problems, there is no guarantee that they’ll attempt to solve them, or if they do, choose a route that effectively solves the problem. In American society, I feel that we have perceived the problem, but there is still a good amount of resistance to solving it. Because we are a democratic society, policies take a long time to become established, and diffuse through society…Sometimes, I fear, too long to solve the problem before it spins out of control. At this point, I think we need to work on our flexibility and tolerance to new ideas. We need to be open to new innovations in energy, agriculture, transportation and continue to be plastic in a world where values are in constant flux. We need to, most importantly, put our pride aside and realize that our society is an interdependent unit of the larger world, or else we may experience a fate not unlike the Norse.

Bluish

2010-02-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

Bluish from Shannon Schnittker on Vimeo.

fabo'd this earlier today. It's certainly good enough to enjoy a double post. They look like they're having a blast. This also happens to be my favorite song of the day.

Post-Macworld Depression 392

2010-02-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

Apple inc. has long been revered for it’s success, which is no surprise considering Apple currently commands over 6% of the US market, putting it far ahead of Dell, and just steps behind Intel. When Steve Jobs took over as CEO of the company in 1997, he turned the company completely around. Though Apple’s successes have a polarizing effect in everyday conversation. In an article “How Apple Got Everything Right by Doing Everything Wrong,” Leander Kahney scrutinizes Apple’s business tactics and employee treatment practices, which effectively render it a bureaucracy.

Bureaucracy is a term we defined just this week in 392, as a formal organizational system used to manage and regulate a large group for a special purpose—in this case—making a profit. The characteristics of a bureaucracy include 1) a division of labor, 2) an hierarchy of authority, 3) written rules and regulations, 4) impersonality, and 5) employment based on technical qualifications.

The article begins curiously, reporting on Apple’s projection of an egalitarian image to outsiders: the parking lot of Apple inc. headquarters in Cupertino, California is set up without reserved spots for higher-ups and executives. Instead, employees who arrive late to work are punished with a bad parking spot. To anyone outside the company, this seems like a fair set-up, and a dream that all cubicle employees fantasize about. However, Kahney reports a dark side—Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple since 1997, has been witnessed abusing handicapped spots when in a hurry. His employees have been known, however creatively, to bust his chops for this, leaving notes under his wipers that read “Park Different” and converting the handicap symbol to a Mercedes logo, matching his hood ornament. All in good humor, right?

Kahney believes not. Her description of Apple inc. as a business model screams bureaucracy. Let’s break this down:

1) Division of labor: Apple certainly boasts a division of labor. Jobs’ employees are specialized in different areas. The hardware and software developers are even housed in two completely different wings (so as not to share information with one another and to avoid understanding the ‘big picture’ of the project). There are few, if any employees that can do anyone else’s job.

2) Hierarchy of authority: Jobs is (obviously) at the top of the food chain. Although Apple generally keeps the dynamics of its headquarters under wraps, we can assume supervisors and managers of each department are under Jobs, developers and researchers, then those that physically build the products. Jobs is certainly the be-all end-all. He has been rumored to be “a notorious micromanager. No product escapes Cupertino without meeting Jobs' exacting standards, which are said to cover such esoteric details as the number of screws on the bottom of a laptop and the curve of a monitor's corners” (Kahney).

3) Written Rules and Regulations: With a company so large and prosperous, it is necessary to keep all employees on the same page. Whether or not this be with memos like in Office Space, there is no doubt that Apple has a way of controlling employees’ every move. Secrecy is key: “At times, Apple's secrecy approaches paranoia. Talking to outsiders is forbidden; employees are warned against telling their families what they are working on” (Kahney).

4) Impersonality: In any large-group setting there is an element of impersonality. Although Apple generally treats its employees well and rewards them with plentiful benefits, there is not much job security. With Jobs, “Even the most favored employee could find themselves on the receiving end of a tirade” (Kahney). It doesn’t matter who you are or what good you’ve done, one lapse in judgment could cost you your job.

5) Employment based on technical qualifications: There is no question really as to whether Apple’s employees are qualified in what they do. To be hired, employees must first undergo a rigorous training process in an area based on past experience in the field. This process, too, is kept incredible private.

Sure, it seems like Willy Wonka’s famous Chocolate Factory with all of its secrecy, but Apple is just playing the game. They’ve found it beneficial to keep their company vertically integrated—unwilling to collaborate or cooperate with hardware manufacturers outside their payroll. It is certainly a bureaucracy by all traditional standards, but is this bad? Office Space regards bureaucracies as structures that strip you of individuality and creativity, etc. But creative “sparks” in Apple employees are encouraged. It is impossible to believe Jobs is responsible for all of the innovation. He knows what consumers want, but his employees are responsible for making it happen. Overall, I think this article is a bit too accusatory (and was probably written by a PC owner). Apple has produced some of the most powerful, yet simple and elegant products on the market. Because all of the software is produced by them, they know how to fix bugs. And everything works together so harmoniously. I mean, really. Have you ever tried running iTunes on a PC? Fat chance.

How Apple Got Everything Right

Here's a humorous video I found. Not really related to this, but still funny.

WHAAA?

2010-02-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

pencil printer

Pretty incredible right? A printer that recycles your small pencil stubs into compressed powder and prints onto paper using a carbon-transfer type of technique. AND, it can erase!

The Odd Couple

2010-02-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

Incredibly impressed by the fluidity of this compilation, even if it is paired with absolutely (synonyms for awesome) hair stylage. Ever since I heard the Top 40 of 2009 mashup, I had lost a little bit of hope...

want.

2010-02-04T18:22:00.000-08:00

Sharky.

An adorable idea followed by thoughtful execution. The Sharky tea infuser has an air chamber in the "fin" that keeps it floating while it steeps your rooibus. Such sport :)

Tattoo Subculture in Iraq-392

2010-02-01T13:57:00.000-08:00

In a recent reading assignment, “The New Tattoo Subculture,” Anne Velliquette and Jeff Murray explore the new social meanings of tattoos in American society. Throughout an involved participant study, the pair found that the tattoo artists’ legitimization of their career as an art form has weakened the accepted stigma about tattoos—that engaging in this subculture is an act of deviant behavior. When this article was written in the 1990s, it was estimated that 12-20 million Americans have joined the subculture. Their findings suggested that “tattoos are a form of self-expression, a way to communicate to others some aspect of the wearer’s identity,” for the same purpose that we adorn our bodies with jewelry, wear make-up, etc. (Ferguson 80).

One such recent example in which tattoos are used as a form of self-identity is in Iraq. An article written in December 2007 for Gorilla’s Guides relates the emerging tattoo subculture to the fear of impending death. (Gorilla Guides is an informal blog-turned-newswire that reports interesting analysis on the events in Iraq.) This editorial piece reports that tattoos have become “useful in identifying the deceased” when their bodies are otherwise mutilated beyond identification.

I thought that this article was an interesting extension of Velliquette and Murray’s previous analysis. They acknowledge the tattoo as a form of identity, but it seems Iraqi’s are employing this in an especially literal way. Most members of this subculture choose a symbol that only their family and close friends will recognize and associate with them, so that their identity is not revealed to strangers, for privacy reasons.
But not only does the tattoo subculture benefit the consumer, it also has opened up a market for the producer. Tattoo artist al-Rubaie claims that “I was an illegal immigrant during the former (Iraqi) regime. I settled in Beirut where I learnt the art of tattoo. I was poorly paid, but now I make heaps of money from it. Tattoos in Baghdad are many times their prices in Beirut” (Tattoo Industry).

I think the most interesting aspect of this emergent subculture is the fact that many Iraqis feel it to be an extension of Western culture—from the United States—and many are resistant to it. With the sudden influx of American soldiers at the time of our invasion, this is perhaps one element of our culture that the Iraqi culture has adopted. One interviewee reports that he got a dragon to represent masculinity. Not until this century, just years after the US invasion, has this form of self-expression really taken off in Iraq.

Tattoo subculture is constantly being redefined in American society as more acceptable, and is quickly diffusing in the Iraqi society, showing that cultural changes can happen quickly when sudden cultural upheavals occur. In the same way that America was made a “melting pot” of cultures with its colonization, so too is Iraq when the people of different cultures are distributed differently. It is hard to predict implications of this cultural change, but we have already seen both resistance to the change and economic changes with the new tattoo market emerging. Though we notice mostly opposition from the Iraqi people in regards to US involvement, perhaps we are offering more than the promise of peace—we are offering cultural artifacts such as the tattoo that will take on distinct cultural implications in Iraqi society.

Gorilla Guides (original blogger account)
Tattoo Industry Flourishes in Iraq

Architectural, Spectacular

2010-01-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

Have a looksie..

click for the 33 world's strangest buildings

iPad, do you? 392

2010-01-27T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today marked the historic introduction Apple’s newest brainchild, the iPad. This tablet device is able to use both AT&T’s 3G network as well as wireless Internet to provide books, news, television, music, celebrity gossip, et cetera to the consumer. In an article written two days ago, journalists Brad Stone and Stephanie Clifford of the New York Times reported the concerns of print media nationwide. What are their fears? That the tablet will make downloading and streaming illegal content from the Internet even easier than it already is.

Illegal downloading occurs using a variety of methods, most falling under the category of peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, Napster, for example. In a P2P relationship, there is no distinguishable client or server, just “peers” that are able to share content between multiple computers. To oversimplify, bits of information—most often music—are identified on another computer by a torrent tracker and reassembled on the receiving end of the exchange. P2P file sharing has been a particularly hot topic in the last decade, as the Recording Industry Association of America has been targeting college students (and academic institutions) for committing music piracy. But do they have anything to fear?

In an article titled “Share, Steal, or Buy: A Social Cognitive Perspective of Music Downloading,” Psychologists of Michigan State University, Robert LaRose and Kim Junghyun contend that “downloading appears to be as much a social phenomenon as an economic one.” Their research with college students confirms that downloaders are motivated by the social act of trading and sharing music with other music enthusiasts, making the topic of illegal music downloading one of adolescent cultural perspective (LaRose and Kim). If you care to read the entire quantitative study, see end for link.

The way I have interpreted it, it seems that the trend of illegal music downloading is also an issue of cultural lag, a topic that we have talked about in class. Though they may not explicitly define it this way in the article, they have found that “downloading intentions had no direct relationship to either compact disc purchases or to subscription to online pay music services.” Instead, by comparing their behavior to that of other people—especially those similar in age—researchers have found that they mimic this behavior (of downloading) largely because they believe it to be socially acceptable.

Perhaps the reason the music industry is so adamantly opposed to the idea of file-sharing (for FREE?!) is because of the cultural lag, and the discontinuity of values between generations. We have the technology now to access infinite amounts of content, but many are not ready to accept this change in the way information is being transferred—hence the efforts to put “locks” on media (encryption). And, many music industry personnel are of the generation before my own, that had no other choice but to buy records at full price. But even adolescents struggle with the ethics of illegally downloading. Should it be allowed? Does it actually harm the musician? Why are people resisting? Apple claims that it will encourage users to pay for the material they access online, but there is no way to guarantee this, making media publishers weary of the new iPad. The fact of the matter is that the way we acquire information is changing—becoming more free, and easier—and the print media industries will need to adapt rather than resist. For a long time, concert ticket and t-shirt sales have brought in incredible revenue—more so even than CD sales—and the industry should focus their efforts in marketing this type of media, that cannot be downloaded over the Internet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/26/technology/26apple.html?pagewanted=2

http://search.ebscohost.com.nuncio.cofc.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=25963255&site=ehost-live

Critical Mass and Collective Action-392

2010-01-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: To my fellow classmates and Dr. Burkett of HONS 392 who will be reading my blog over the course of the semester, this is my personal blog. I welcome you wholeheartedly to read my previous entries, but I should warn you that they can be, at times, opinionated and sometimes crude. I will title each of my entries for this class with the heading “392” in case you do not care to see my other posts. And with that, have at it! :)

Perhaps one of the most powerful political movements in bike culture today is Critical Mass. Critical Mass is an event held in urban centers worldwide, usually on the last Friday of the month, to raise awareness of the unfair (and oftentimes inhumane) treatment of cyclists, and to promote the “share the road” ideology. In a Critical Mass ride, cyclists come together to ride in high-traffic areas (where they’ll receive the most attention) often clogging motorways and preventing automotive commuters from using the roads. Critical Mass was popularized in the early 1990s in San Francisco. The first ride in New York occurred in 1993. Critical Mass is a striking example of how collective action can be used effectively to bring attention to an issue—in this case being the unequal use of motorways.

Using the sociological perspective, the Conflict theory can be imposed on the issue of Critical Mass. Conflict theory holds that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups in society. We can broaden this assumption beyond social “classes” and apply the theory to the automotive community and the bike community. The “conflict” or tension exists in the struggle over scarce resources—the high-traffic roads that cyclists and motorists alike, wish to use.

There is an obvious tension between cyclists and automobile operators. As both a licensed driver and avid cyclist, I have experienced both roles. In a car, bikers are analogous to flies that zip in and out of traffic. They make unexpected turns and occasionally shirk the rules of the road. But as a cyclist, you feel vulnerable and empowered at the same time. Many cyclists ride for fitness and environmental reasons alike, so many feel that they should have equal, if not greater rights to the road because they are fulfilling a greater social responsibility.

But more recently, there has been increased tension between police forces and the bike community—a relationship that was once peaceful. Ever since the Republican National Convention in August 2004, “the relationship between the bicyclists and the police has been ‘antagonistic’” (Barron). On this day, Critical Mass riders voiced radical opposition to the Bush administration as they rode past, and 264 riders were arrested for disorderly conduct. Since then, police forces have tried to convince courts to outlaw Critical Mass protests, but have yet been unsuccessful. They have, however, succeeded in requiring parade permits for groups of 50 or more persons. But will the legislation be successful in preventing chaos and injury? Likely not, since, as New York Times editorial staff contends, police vehicles—scooters, vans unmarked cars and helicopters—race the wrong way on roads and on sidewalks, they pose a greater danger than bicyclists themselves.

The goal of adopting a sociological perspective is to be able to look at larger social “issues” to understand and explain the behavior of individuals on a smaller scale. Because the issue is largely the difference in values between motorists and cyclists, it will be difficult to come to a compromise. Critical Mass riders employ collective action to empower riders worldwide and show motorists that they are not vulnerable (especially not in numbers) and deserve to be treated with respect both on an off roads—this means no cutting off cyclists or driving unnaturally close. In many ways, I feel that Critical Mass has succeeded. If nothing else, three solid pages of headlines pop up when I search “Critical Mass” on the New York Times web browser. When I see article titles such as, “Manhattan: Cyclists Win Case,” “After Judge’s Ruling, Fewer Are Arrested in Mass Bike Ride,” and “Civil Liberty Assails Police Over 2004 Protests,” I can’t help but throw a silent fist-pump for cyclists all over the world. It seems that they are getting the recognition they’ve been riding for.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/nyregion/04critical.html

But also classy..

2010-01-15T20:33:00.000-08:00

I don't think I'll ever see this too many times.

Speaking of...

:))

One Love

2010-01-15T20:17:00.000-08:00

There is something incredibly endearing about Phoenix when performed acoustically. Perhaps because they are considered an electronic band (they do, after all, employ electronic drums when in the studio). But that they can supplement their own material with a pure sound (don't pretend you can't hear pre-pubescent voice-cracking in Thomas Mars' vocals), and that Laurent Brancowitz is hot shit, is truly moving.

Phoenix- Lisztomania (Acoustic) from diego mardones on Vimeo.

Phoenix - 1901 - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Crysteena-Re: Neon Gold

2010-01-15T20:00:00.000-08:00

Credit to Nick McGovern for discovering these beats. Synths made him cream himself, as he informed me.

Step Off, Ray Ban

2010-01-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

A friend (Alan) showed these to me a few months back. The entire process seems far more intricate and far less taxing on the environment. But come on, this is Portland we're talking about.

http://shwoodshop.com/gallery.html

Camellia Sinensis

2010-01-15T19:39:00.000-08:00

For a couple years now I've been infatuated with tea. Oolong, which is one of the least popular and least researched branches of tea is perhaps the most mysterious. Please familiarize yourself with the model below (you won't be sorry--it's fascinating)

Health benefits? weight loss and youthful skin.

credit: http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall05/hanna/oolong.html

Sechong Oolong (oolong tea)

Sechong Oolong is a nice, slightly mellower alternative to our Wuyi Oolong. This rare and unique oolong from Fuijan Province, China, consists of a 75% oxidized, unrolled charcoal brown leaf with greenish highlights.

A sophisticated dark amber liquor reveals flavors of chrysanthemums and peonies with a spicy-peppery finish. Sechong Oolong is a simply outstanding tea for the health conscious connoisseur.

A little more about Sechong Oolong:

Sechong is a relatively unknown type here in the US and is similar to our Wu Yi rock oolong, but Sechong has a bit of a more laid-back feel and drinking experience. Sechong Oolong holds up well to a second and even third steeping. Sechong tea is noted in a very particular woodsy-spicy-fruity character which unfolds and is unique to this oolong. Sechong Oolong is a great tea for those who like a complex taste and are willing to learn new flavors.

USDA Organic

2.4 oz Tin $12.50 - 34 Servings - 37¢ per cup
4.0 oz Pouch - $16.00 - 56 Servings - 29¢ per cup

Other names: Sechung Oolong, Wu-Long.

Fuck Elitism

2009-12-16T12:30:00.000-08:00

I can be such a dumbass sometimes. I complain about the Top 40 while smoking American Spirits and perusing vintage vinyl. I cite obscure quotes from Catcher in the Rye while I blog and listen to Neon Indian. I have been known to scoff at mountain bikes, beach bikes, motorized bikes, dirt bikes, cafe racers, bikes with gears, and soon, bikes with brakes. I don't care how much your specialized cost, it is automatically not as cool as my draft because you bought it from Bike Source, while I sourced my components from thrift stores, vintage bikes, pre-owned bikes, currently-owned bikes, and once I even single-handedly crafted a crank arm from a pencil stub I found on the floor of a locally-owned coffee house. I can be such a dumbass sometimes.

I like fixed gear bicycles because they are the simplest simple machine. Aside from legs, transportation really couldn't get any more primal. And I assume other riders would agree. I don't even really give a shit about tricks. Sure they look badass, and sure I'm learning to skid and shit, but what I enjoy most is just pedaling around on the pavement and enjoying the silent agreement that exists between me and my bike: I will forever grease your chain if you promise not to throw me over the handlebars. Deal.

But just because I most enjoy this aspect of riding doesn't mean that I'm any better. Who am I to say that surfing your huge fucking 40s through the forest is and less tight than squeezing between parked cars and a hard place? If you want to sport your bans and unnaturally small dog in your panniers and Miley Cyrus in your ear-ears, so be it. Hell, I haven't even heard of most of the reviewed albums in Filter.

We are all connected in a beautiful way. We are all sharing the road, trying to get from point A to point B, and back again. So I need to quit being a fucking elitist. Because as long as we can agree on the fundamental ideal that two-wheeled modes of transportation are the shit, then I'll be content.

Ankle Injuries

2009-12-10T11:10:00.000-08:00

Chuck Close anyone?

Fujiya & Miyagi 'Ankle Injuries' from Tom Lindsay on Vimeo.

bigChalk

2009-11-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

"Liked" by over 713 people so far...it's got to be good.

Wizard Smoke from Salazar on Vimeo.

OH, such sport.

Words, not bombs.

2009-11-26T17:45:00.000-08:00

This post is adapted from a friend of mine, his blog.

On Gradual Change

The principle idea, crucial to the success of a stateless anarchy, is the trust that there is an
inherent human tendency towards good. To believe in anarchy, you must believe with all you
heart that an untainted human being is a kind, loving, caring human being, and one who is willing
to help better his or her own society. Those who reject our ideals are those who have lost their
faith in humanity; thereby they have lost that fire in the soul that is life.

I do not claim to believe that there are not evil, dishonest people in the world today. I
encounter people every day that are plagued with ignorance, plagued with selfish greed. But
these people did not come into this world so corrupted. They are products of their surroundings
and modern society; they are poisoned by parents, poisoned by their parents, who in turn were
poisoned by their parents, in a bitter, vicious cycle of turmoil and hate.

The time has come, friends, to cast this gilded ring back into the fire from which it came. Put
out of your mind, if you will, the difficulties we face in bringing down the state, however great
they are. Consider, now, the difficulty we face in moving the minds and hearts of humans
towards this pure, loving condition. Without a doubt, this current generation faces the greatest
difficulty of all in making this change. Those born into a corrupt world will not know what to
make of our attempts. They will resist, they will struggle with the ideas that we present of true
freedom and happiness, but we will stand strong against resistance, we will never abandon our
fellow men and women. When our generation, and that of our parents has passed, so too will our
torch be passed to a new generation of young people fighting for liberty. As time moves, quickly
as it always does, our movement, and it's voices, it's writings, it's calls for change, will not be lost.
With each new year, the world will see more and more a transition into life, a transition into love.
The babies born each new year will be welcomed by, and grow up in, a more and more caring,
nurturing environment. As these babes grow old, they will see more and more the fantastic
efforts being made by others for life, and they too will fight in their own ways to keep our lives
stateless and pure. They will fight, their children will fight, and their children will fight, until our
once-compromised society has become a place of equality, liberty, productivity, and peace.

Smash the state, love life, live love, be free.

Words, not bombs.

posted by John Doherty, Friday November 21, 2008.

2009-11-26T17:41:00.001-08:00

makes the world seem so small.

does it matter?

2009-11-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

I spent a good chunk of today in the airport. Per usual though, since everytime I travel outside of Charleston I am required to first bypass the Charleston International Airport. Such a title would suggest that this particular hub is competent, productive, and well, on time. Contrary to popular belief, I have had an on-time flight exactly zero out of four times. Just to put it in perspective, the percent equivalent of the fractional value 0/4, is zero. Needless to say, it's frustrating. What is also frustrating is the utter disregard, and hypocrisy, that I observed in myself at the airport today.

Sitting in uncomfortable chairs (to which the attached armrests are cemented in place so that one cannot--god forbid--lay down) gives you plenty of time to reflect. Too many times I have been on a delayed flight. Too many times have I been stuck in queue waiting to exit the plane and catch a short connector. And too many times (more times than I'd like to admit), I find myself cursing silently at these sons-of-bitches to hurry to fuck up. But the reality is that I am no more important than the slow motherfuckers that I follow. Reading this, I am sure that we can all agree. But no matter how true this is, we often refuse to believe it. Furthermore, it's often that the most obvious facts-of-life are the easiest to ignore. Guilty of sighing loudly and complaining under my breath while I wait in line at the BMV, I am. Let's face it, for our own sanity, that federal offices will always be closed on holidays and will, every other day, move slow as humanly possible.

While we were waiting to take off, the pilot came over the loud speaker to inform us that we would be waiting a few extra minutes for passengers that had just landed and would be arriving shortly. And I couldn't help but let out a grieving sigh, for I had been anxious to be home all day. Worse than this, the woman behind me shouted a verbal complaint to the pilot from a seat behind me. How could we be so selfish? It is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, flights are likely all booked for tomorrow, and these travelers just want to go home, like me. And I can't dismount my high horse long enough to comprehend this?

And as I impatiently wait to land, I notice that the seat beside me is empty. This flight was supposed to be full. And the ghost traveler whose seat this is may not find another flight until Thanksgiving day, may miss Thanksgiving dinner, the Macy's day parade, and the dog show that follows. And this is not due to the Delta's incompetence--it is due to the way we think. If every pilot would be so kind as to wait for lagging passengers, if it were normal for us to look out for one another to the degree that we look out for ourselves, the world would be (at the risk of sounding cliche) a better place.

But the stupid reality is that we do not think this way. Homo sapiens are like any other species on Earth. Just because we are intelligent, does not mean we surpass the conditions, or rules of natural selection. Though, (likely) unlike any other species, we are capable of evaluating our thoughts and actions--which is why I was able to label the woman behind me, "selfish." The fact of the matter is that she was just looking out for herself, and possibly her family, but mostly herself. So should I be so disappointed in humanity? Yes. Perhaps not solely for her selfishness, but because we are capable of judging our own behavior, and should thus be able to control our selfish instincts. I realize (unfortunately) that I cannot control this in her, but I can try to supress my own inward-thinking ways. As humans we value, well, our values. We hold selfishness as a sin (though I'm not sure it should be considered such). But because we do, we should swallow our own best interests, and start looking out for our species in its entirety.

oh, such sport.

nom nom noms

2009-11-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

BIRDY NAM NAM - THE PARACHUTE ENDING from Steve Scott on Vimeo.

KK5

2009-11-22T11:53:00.001-08:00

Evidence that Kulture Klash V kicked ass. Also, one shot from the Warriors alleycat. Hoping to ball-up soon and play.

Currently waiting on my holdfast FRS to arrive.

Also currently, learning to play recorder (beyond hot cross buns), and melting face.

Synopsis KKV:
Arrived around 10:00.
Met up with friend Phil from Savannah
Had a glass of 1554 (like Guinness, but I'd venture to say even more filling)
Observed the polo field, disappointed that no one spoke in British accents.
Favorite piece of artwork-the title escapes me. It was Acrylic on canvas-heads on sticks.

2009-11-18T18:53:00.000-08:00

First post. This is a daunting feeling. As if I have some sort of reputation to uphold, or establish. Like I have somebody to impress--a group of followers that hang on my every thought or idea. Well, I don't. I created this blog to discuss observations I make, people I meet, the stuffs and shits of my life. My biggest worldly tizzy is the humor deficit that plagues humanity. Thus my mantra is to ridicule, criticize, make light of situations that I encounter. Oh, such sport.

No self-respecting writer would plug a title so early in their work. Lucky for me, I don't fancy myself a particularly tactful writer. As the url and title partner to suggest, this blog is suspended in sticky dreams of youth and angst, that likely make broken sense to the adult psyche. I consider myself an adolescent still, capable of only irrational thoughts and impulsive decisions. I have little-to-no direction in life. I am nomadic, restless, reeling and writhing.

meh