Burgeoning Cultural Theorist Gets Ready to Learn

I'm going to France for the first time in less than a week and I hope to not only gain a better understanding of French language but the culture as well.

My blog's going to change to reflect this as I explore topics in French culture and compare American culture to that of French.

Topics I want to cover include:

• Race
• Dating
• Sarkozy
• Immigration
• The Colonial Past
• Materialism & Money
• Gender and the role of women 
• American Dream vs European Dream
• Misc. differences between French and American society

I would really like to film my adventures in Europe but I don't have enough money to buy a camera worth purchasing, nor do I believe that the school that I will be studying at has any A/V equipment. So I'm going to rely on photos and possibly transcribe interviews from a tape-recorder (oy).

Excited to see what the next 8 weeks hold for me!

A Theory of Special Ability?

As I mentioned in a previous post I've been reading about theoretical physics concepts and with that a bit about Albert Einstein.

I found interesting segments on NPR which detailed one of Einstein's most revolutionaries ideas in describing the nature of light, which has come to take a backseat to his other discoveries such as the oft mentioned e=mcª.

In detailing the nature of light, Einstein said that light can act like a particle and a wave. The commonly accepted thought of the time was that light acts as a wave, it cannot be two things at once.

The commentators of these segments attest his visionary nature to his rebellious spirit and ability to think outside the box.

As he got into his 40s his body of worked slowed down, and he didn't make as significant of discoveries as he did in his youth. A possible answer to this could be that in middle-age he had become an authority figure in the scientific community, and lost the characteristics of his youth like rebelliousness to authority.

I've been trying to "think outside the box" more in approaching school-work, projects and relationships with people in general and I think Einstein's life and work present an interesting example of what can happen by doing so!

Post-Colonial Theory and Indie Rock

I brushed off Vampire Weekend as a so-so, preppy band composed of Ivy-League kids of privilege devoid of depth. And I mean if you listen to a lot the lyrics on their debut, the constant references to designer clothes and elite travel spots can become a bit of an overload. However, I recently picked up a copy of Rolling Stone out of a pile that my sister leaves for me to read when I come back from school and I read a really interesting article about them that made me rethink all my previous assumptions.

"To some, the band members were indie-rock colonialists, plundering Third World styles for their own gain. But for Koenig, who studied the semiotics of post-colonial literature, concepts like purism and authenticity are as outdated as a land line. Everything is intertwined, he says, and "polar opposites don't exist." Start seeing the connections, and "the idea of fusion - of mixing things - seems less and less like a novelty, and more just the way the world works." (From R.S. mag, Feb 2010)

Ezra Koenig (the one in the yellow sweater):

"But around the time the band started, I became very interested in the connection between preppy American fashion and Victorian imperialism. For instance: Where does the word 'khaki' come from? It's Urdu. Where does 'seersucker' come from? Hindi-slash-Persian. Madras prints? They're from India. Blazers? They were a British naval uniform.

"Now obviously that's a very fucked up period," he continues. But there's something exciting about realizing that these clothes have come to represent WASPy Americans, the pinnacle of whiteness, actually have their roots in India or the non-Western world. They have this fascinating history flowing through them. Preppiness is this wide open thing."

I never knew about such a link between fashions and being a student of cultural theory, his words impressed me. It was also a mini-lesson that one shouldn't always take things at face value. I hope Ezra and the rest of the band members can talk more about their music and opinions like this, because it's fascinating!

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

Congratulations to Apichatpong Weerasethakul for winning the Palme d'or on Sunday for his film Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives!
From what I've read, the film is about a dying man who explores his previous incarnations with the help of his family.

I'm excited to see this film once it becomes more widely distributed. Until I took my Hindi popular cinema class last semester, I never noticed how conceptions of mortality manifest themselves in film. Throughout the semester I questioned certain narrative plots in the Hindi films I saw that didn't seem quite logical to me. Those questions initiated discussion on cyclical versus linear conceptions of the afterlife which fascinated me. I'll have to talk about the specifics in a later post, for sure.

The Divine

I've been thinking about God a lot lately. Most people go through varying phases of religious belief from full on church-going to apathy to agnosticism to atheism. I didn't think I abided by any particular religious dictates, but a few days ago I realized how much I take from my Catholic upbringing and how it informs the way I perceive the world.... and that unsettled me.

Now I have a lot of problems with religion. I don't even feel comfortable going to mass anymore because I have serious issues with Catholic doctrine on contraception, not to mention the role of women and gays in the church. Anyway, I digress. I don't like organized religion for most of the same reasons the irreligious would give.

I thought of myself an enlightened figure eons ahead of the Bible thumpers who hand out free King James' versions on campus or my peers who go to the third world to spread their beliefs Then here I was one night talking to a friend about my thoughts on spirituality and science and I realize that I'm purporting common religious principles like intelligent design which is explained by evolutionary theory, if you believe in it (which I always have).

I learn that most elite scientists (like those who win Nobel Prizes or belong to the National Academy of Sciences) if they even believe in a higher power, promote an abstract, Spinoza-type God who doesn't interfere with human affairs; one who rather designed the set of principles which govern the universe. Then I read strong arguments as to why people created spiritual beliefs (namely Marxist and scientific) and it makes perfect sense but it also means what I believe in is moot. Then I acknowledge that...

Science can't explain everything. It can't explain why there is such a thing as existence nor can it give me answers to the purpose of my life. There are even some contradictory concepts in evolutionary theory regarding human emotions and actions.

It is unsettling to think that the way I perceive the world could be moot or a lie, but even if all my beliefs hold no veracity, I'd rather believe them then the alternative. I came to realize that the purposes of religion that some say denote as primitive are not bad. Yes, religion can foster ignorance and promote archaic views of humanity, but there are many people who do horrible things on their own accord without possessing a religious base for their actions. Like the artwork at the beginning of this entry, though I might not believe that Heaven or God is like what is portrayed, it nonetheless represents the good that can come from religion, which I appreciate. As long as people keep an open mind and accept that their view might not be ultimate, I think I have hope for humanity.

Black and White

I love looking at old photos especially ones from the time when photography first was popularized. They have a really eerie quality to them that's fascinating to me. 


In early portraits its cool to look at how different the style of dress was and compare the idiosyncrasies of fashion back then to today.

The Sartorialist is doing a contest on his blog about old photographs that display fashion. Check out his blog - there are much better photographs there than I can supply on my blog. Fear of copyright infringement leads me to choose from safe avenues like Wikipedia or the Life photo archive (which consists of mainly famous, widely circulated photos) so I won't get into trouble.


I wonder when people started doing the whole "smile into the camera thing" because when you look at early portrait photography the people aren't usually looking directly at the camera, much less smiling into it, which adds to the eerie-ness factor. 


I did find some Civil War era photos that show more of an acknowledgment of the camera. Maybe it has something to do with the proximity of the subject to the camera. If you're closer to it, it makes it harder to ignore?

Then there are old photographs that you see and you feel something, a palpable sense of time and place. A photo that elicits emotion and reflection:

That image of Abe Lincoln gets to me. A towering figure in the picture (and in American history for that matter) he's also the one that seems the least defined...

Then from still photography came film- "moving pictures".  Below is the first known film recorded. The user on youtube describes it well if you wanna know more about it!

In the decades proceeding the first known film came Hollywood and the star system. The star system in turn produced iconic photographs of movie stars that adolescents admire in their bedrooms and that fashionistas drool over for their displays of style.

After the classic Hollywood period color came into photos and film and something changed with that. Color does something to images, to people that I can't really explain. The shadows in early photographs created not only an eerieness but established a sense of distance from people living then to those in the modern era because of the odd quality it gave to human figures.  There's something about color that distracts from human subjects and glosses them over... as if black and white photography shows truth more than color?

A Sunday Smile

What is it with all the songs about Sundays?

"A Sunday Smile" by Beirut
"Sunday  Morning" by not only the Velvet Underground but Maroon 5 and No Doubt

Okay so I didn't exactly make a comprehensive list, but that's more than I can say for songs about Wednesday or for that matter Friday or Saturday, the other days in the weekend. I guess the spirit of those weekend days are probably just incorporated under all "club songs."

Though Sunday was usually the time of the week to go to Church and pay respect to God, its role has deviated somewhat to a restful time to spend with lovers or family. So though not as many people are going to Church on Sundays as they did 50 years ago in America, its purpose remains rooted in tradition - time to be at peace with people you love! awww!

Songs have different meanings for people... like memories they can be tied to an event or person in someone's life. Have you ever noticed that groups of friends often share a love for a particular band even though they may have divergent tastes in music overall? The original intent/meaning of the song matters to the lyricist himself/herself. When a listener/fan gives a song meaning in their life, that's where the magic happens!
If you look at the lyrics of some of the songs I mentioned it's interesting to see how the writers juxtapose Sunday's traditional meaning in our culture with their own sentiments.
--Lou Reed is feeling restless and looking back at all the wasted years.
--Zach Condon describes his love's smile as a Sunday smile which you could take to mean a few things (I personally think of peaceful) and alludes to the sky and a white church in his song.
--Adam Levine's song is more happy and details happy times with someone he loved, though like the previous two songs it's about longing for something missed or lost.

So Sundays also foster memories for people and things lost?

Genius Award

aka MacArthur Fellowship gives $500,000 (given over 5 years) to Americans who "show exceptional merit and promise for continued and enhanced creative work."


The fellowship is funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which might be familiar to all you listen to NPR, specifically the list of its sponsors. The foundation began after billionaire banker John D. MacArthur died in 1978 and left 92% of his estate to begin it. It's one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the U.S. and is based in Chicago! The foundation (under its General Program, the same program that supports journalistic institutions like NPR) thus gives grants to arts and cultural programs within the Windy City.


For this fellowship, you don't apply. Rather, anonymous people nominate you to an anonymous selection committee who then notifies you that you won by a nice phone call. :)


Last year the award was given to a diverse group of professionals including a poet, an investigative reporter, an evolutionary biologist, an economist, a painter, a papermaker, and an ornithologist among others.


I first heard about the fellowship when I watched Synecdoche, New York, the first film Charlie Kaufman directed. The main character in the movie receives the fellowship (he's a playwright) and uses it to construct a play about his life, meticulously creating sets that mirror the places he and the people in his life go and hiring actors to live it out. The project goes on for years and you can see how the people, who are the project's focus, age as it seemingly fails to come to fruition. The film itself got mixed reviews - it's long and complicated and weird, but I enjoyed it. Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the main character Cayden, a brilliant man though he goes about his life in lacluster, fearful way that is pretty pathetic. I never warmed up to him as a character... Come to think of it, one of the few if any characters in the movie that the audience can like is Samantha Morton's character who serves as Cayden's companion. She is the light of the story, all the other people make you remember how much people suck. Despite the lack of heart-warming characters (does that say anything about Kaufman's view of humanity?) it was a really interesting, complex story let alone movie to make. Tell me what you think when you watch the film (which I hope you do)!


Watch the trailer! see if you can tell when he's using the fellowship!

I think the idea for the fellowship is amazing. I was looking up some of the fellows' previous work today and it's all inspiring and amazing work! I want to try to apply for a Fulbright Student Grant within the coming year, so it's exciting for me to see how programs similar to the Fulbright program work and give people the opportunity to do great work that may have otherwise gone undone.

Life and the Artist's Way in Southern France

I'm going to France in a few short weeks with both a novice traveler's mind and a college student's pocket! Thus I am both really excited and cautious on where to go with limited funds. I have a few must-see places that I'm planning on going to so that my restless mind and first-time traveler's spirit will be placated. Provence is a place that I've been giddy about getting to see.


Provence is located in Southern France and is known for its unique cuisine, beautiful weather, lavender fields, and influence in artist's work from Van Gogh to Cezanne.

I've been enthralled with the region probably since as a 5th grader my art teacher had us draw our own renditions of Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles. Since then I've seen a few of the many versions Van Gogh drew here at the Art Institute of Chicago, but there's something to going to this area that became the home of so many artists that draws me for whatever stupid reason.


Here are some of the paintings that have been inspired by the beauty of Provence:

L'estaque, near Marseille, by Paul Cézanne

Café at Night, Arles, by Van Gogh

Starry Night, Saint-Rémy, by Van Gogh

Mont Sainte Victoire, Aix-en-Provence, by Cézanne

And finally the one that started it all!!

Bedroom at Arles by Vincent Van Gogh

Art du jour

Jeremy Blake is one of my favorite artists (his art is at the heading of this blog). He became known for weird colorful digital art installations and later art work in music (for Beck's album Sea Change)  & film (for Punch Drunk Love) A couple or so of his pieces are displayed in the permanent collection at MOMA, attesting to his influence and impact. Almost as interesting as his art was his life, which ended in suicide at age 37. His partner, Theresa Duncan was a great artist in her own right and exhibited at the Whitney Biennial in the 90s, an impressive gig to be able to get for a novice as she was then. She's also from Lapeer, MI near where I lived in Michigan! They had this great bohemian lifestyle in both New York and LA and were together for years before both committed suicide.

A burst of insanity (for lack of better words) led her to believe that Scientologists were curtailing her career in film and soon her and Jeremy began alienating their friends because of their bizarre accusations and behavior. Theresa eventually committed suicide and Jeremy followed soon after her funeral. What a shame and tragic story. It's been reported that their story has been optioned into a movie, with Gus Van Sant as an "overseer" or something like that.

Their story is so amazing and yet terrible, I'm sure part of their art's appeal were their own stories. I read about them 2 years ago during one of the most boring and frustrating summers (due mostly to the boredom) and their story has stuck with me in a weird and pathetic way. So many people would love to have the lives they did and they weren't alone or anything- they had each other! Yet something fissured beneath the surface and now though they're nothing more than stories and memories perhaps, their art lives on.

Here is some of Jeremy Blake's art: (stills from his dvd sequences)

                                        

Artwork for Beck's Sea Change:

Watch Beck's video "Round the Bend" to see his moving art
Read the article in Vanity Fair that tells the story of their lives
and Theresa's Duncan's blog

if you're interested!

Persian Flaw

Persian carpets are known throughout the world for their craftsmanship and quality. I think of Persian carpets as somewhat synonymous to flying carpets à la "One Thousand and One Nights" so either way they possess a magical quality. When artisans weaved these carpets they make sure to leave some sort of flaw within it which is meant to attest to perfection lying solely with God.

Here's a bit more background from persianflaw.org
"The meaning of Persian Flaw comes from a long time ago when Persian tribes made carpets while migrating from one part of the Persian Empire to other regions. The Persian tribe members worked together to weave carpets that would tell their story of trials and tribulations. Just one princely Persian carpet would take years to complete with help of many tribe members to achieve a perfect Persian carpet (well almost). The Persians believed only God or a higher power was perfect in all aspects and to show this carpet makers would intentionally place flaws or mistakes in the carpet."


This random fact really intrigued me. Such a beautiful coveted object worldwide has a deliberate flaw stitched in! People focus so much attention on being perfect that in reality its our flaws that makes us who we are and unique. That's my sappy bit for the day, now some eye candy:

April Showers Bring May Flowers?

There's a famous T.S. Eliot poem, you know, called "The Wasteland" it starts off like this:

April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.

Though it's May, the poem's message is still pretty darn relevant. It's about resurrection... how Spring sort of forced the people in the poem to come to terms with the problems in their lives because of the hope for a new life that it brought them. April is cruel in its beauty. I guess there is something to the Son of God being born again in Spring. :P

I sort of feel like this happens to me every year during this time. Instead of having seasonal sadness when winter hits like a lot of people do, I have a life re-evaluation every spring and I can tell ya it ain't always pleasant to see that what I'm doing with my life in the present isn't exactly helping me to where I want to be in the future. Don't get me wrong, I'm so incredibly blessed, but sometimes I make the same mistakes over and over, without seeming to learn from them or change.

Spring comes around and I sort of go through this mini stress attack from a culmination of finals, a change in the seasons, a change in lifestyle/setting (whether that be from moving back home after staying in school and leaving a lot of people behind in the process) or getting used to a different schedule and pace to my life. And this year is no different. This sort of "Spring Cleaning" approach I'm talking to my life, has not been going so smoothly... it seems to have left me with more doubts than assurance. Though I've been getting much better about not letting the little stuff get to me, I still have a few things I need to learn to let go of.


On that note -- I'm seriously considering for the first time practicing meditation. I'll let you know how that goes.. :P

Almond Milk and Fish, yo

It's summertime which means that in addition to being bored and useless til I go to France in a few weeks, I have to take on the responsibility of finding and making healthy meals for myself since I no longer have the caf at my disposal.

My summertime quest for healthy food/meals sort of started off (of all things) with a tweet about hemp milk by Edward Norton. I had never heard of hemp milk before so I looked it up and found a site that explained different alternatives to milk which include soy, rice, hemp, oat, and almond. Soy milk is really good, so I wanted to try what else was out there. So I chose almond milk, and tried it. And boy is it hard to drink. I don't consider myself a picky eater, but after a few seconds, I was so repulsed I was ready to spit all the milk out. I'm not sure quite how to describe the taste other than it's like an almond army attacking your taste-buds. The flavor is so intense it almost feels like you'll never be able to even think about eating an individual almond again. Diluting the milk with water didn't help to quell the unpleasantness much either. After taking only a few sips I sat there looking at the fairly large container and thinking what a pity it was that it was probably going to go to waste. The fact that I was going to be throwing away something so ridiculously low fat and healthy --it's 50 calories a cup and brimming with vitamins like B12, D, & E, was pretty disappointing. However the story does not end here...

Lo and behold my perennial favorite for just about everything under the sun, The New York Times, has a section called Recipes for Health with relatively simple recipes that tah-dah are healthy for you! :) There was a recipe for a Banana Smoothie highlighted on the site that I happened to click on because the picture caught my attention. In the recipe you can substitute some of the ingredients like peanut butter for almond butter or skim milk for almond milk. Then I got excited that maybe bulbous carton of almond milk wouldn't go to waste afterall! I made the recipe, improvising a bit, here's the link to it and really liked the results! So everything worked out in the end.



Another thing...
During the last week in school I had a really good grilled salmon salad in the caf and became more interested in eating fish. The thing with fish is that despite being incredibly healthy to eat comes with all this baggage about mercury levels, extinction, and controversy about farms that grow them. Most health experts (or whoever it is that dictates to the general populace what's good for us and what isn't) urge people to eat more fish particularly because they're high in protein and low in fat. Yet, so many species are over-harvested or raised on the aforementioned fish farms that grow them in an unhealthy and cruel way, that navigating the waters of buying fish can be a bit confusing. The Environmental Defense Fund has a great tool up that can help you find which fish to buy and eat. Find it here:

I hope my Democratization of the Environment professor is proud of me that I actually am taking what I learned and applying into to my life and spreading the news to others. ;)