Synechdoche, NY (and its cousins)
September 20, 2008
The trailer is out for Charlie Kaufman’s new film, Synechdoche, NY. (If that sounds familiar, it’s a play on the real-life location Schenechtady, NY.)
After watching the trailer, I had to go remind myself just what a synechdoche is. It’s a grammatical term for a metaphorical phrase in which a part stands for a whole, such as “wheels” for a car or “all hands” for the crew of a ship.
The real treat (as if reading about nuances of the English language wasn’t scintillating enough) came at the end of the Wikipedia article, under the See Also section. Here’s what I found:
* Conceptual metaphor
* Figure of speech
* Metonymy
* Pars pro toto
* Totum pro parte
* Hendiadys
If that was the guest list of a dinner party, I would totally bring the chips.
Related: Sarah’s words on Wordie.
David Foster Wallace (1962 - 2008)
September 14, 2008
David Foster Wallace Considers the Lobster. Acrylic, ink and collage on paper, 2006.
Los Angeles Times obituary for David Foster Wallace.
David Foster Wallace at Wikipedia.
Map Showing the Growth of Wal-Mart Across America
July 11, 2008
Watching the Growth of Wal-Mart across America - click here.
I love how the map background color is Necrosis Black and the little store-spores are A Pox On Ye Green. Enticing.
I also love maps.
All Faiths Beautiful
June 24, 2008
Recently on PostSecret I saw this video promoting the current exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum:
Link to the All Faiths Beautiful Flickr set.
From a Washington Post review of the All Faiths Beautiful show:
Outsider artists are presumed to create out of some pure inner vision and not in response to any trends in the art world. Their creations tend to be idiosyncratic and sometimes inscrutable, and have a long-night-of-hallucination feel. …The creations seem driven by an instinct that lies somewhere between compulsion and belief. They express less a coherent faith than a desperate attempt to be seen and understood, even if the outreach ultimately fails. …The show is at its best when it showcases the more peculiar “faiths,” and then challenges you to connect.
One of the more challenging parts of All Faiths Beautiful is the portion of the show devoted to atheism. As to whether atheism can be considered a faith, that’s up for grabs. But one individual who has expressed a particularly poetic atheistic worldview is the late great Mr. George Carlin. In a 2004 interview with Terry Gross, Carlin explained that while he was not a religious man, he did find spiritual sustenance in the notion that everything in this universe is made up of atoms that were created in the heart of a star. If we are all made of the same material, he reasoned, then we are all one, and if that’s true, then what is there to be afraid of? I’ve included a video of Carlin explaining his views on religion below. (Caution: salty language and challenging notions.) Because all faiths ARE BEAUTIFUL in this here blog post.
Related: Sarah’s del.icio.us sites tagged religion.
How I Spent Memorial Day Weekend
June 18, 2008
Inspired by Indexed. (Auxiliary thanks to GraphJam.)
In a nutshell, I’ve upped and moved myself from Norman to Oklahoma City to be with The Guy. It’s awesome.
Oh, and by the way, the NaBloPoMo theme for June is “Home.” (Not like I’m putting 30 posts on the web this month or anything. Pshaw! Who has that kind of time?)
Related: Sarah’s del.icio.us sites tagged visualization.
Long Photographs, Long Music, and the Long Now
April 30, 2008
Bill Viola, Still from the Quintet series.
The classic short film Powers of Ten encourages us to step out of our immediate physical and temporal frame of reference. Any activity that breaks us away from our half-second-unit information-heavy attentions nowadays is a healthy one. Looking at an image, for example, is a great way to allow yourself a long moment.
In recent days there’s been some fooforaw regarding Flickr’s decision to allow users to post short videos. Much discussion has ensued on the concept of the “long photograph.”
Photographer and blogger Clayton James Cubitt has gathered a great handful of links relating to long photography. My favorites are this comment on a clip from Koyaanisquatsi and Cubitt’s own Zero Feedback pieces.
Bill Viola is another artist whose work demands that we slow down. If you are lucky enough to be in an art museum that has a Viola in their collection, do yourself a favor and stand in front of it for at least two minutes. What at first appears to be a still image will be revealed as a super-slow-motion moving picture — a long moment. (Here is Bill Viola at Wikipedia.)
Also out this week is a trailer for the documentary Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts. While watching the abovementioned clip from Koyaanisquatsi, I heard a snippet of the score and thought, “Gosh, that sounds like Philip Glass.” Sure enough, it is. You’d have thunk I went to college.
Finally, if you’re looking to step way way way out of your current temporal perception, look into the Long Now Foundation. Among other projects, they’re building a 10,000-year clock.
The Animal School - Short Video
April 13, 2008
Raising Small Souls presents The Animal School, a short video parable about how different people are good at different things. I bet this will resonate with a lot of artists out there.
At various times during my education, I fluctuated between excelling academically and coming dangerously close to flunking out all together. Looking back, I realize that the difference between my two states of achievement was whether or not I decided to be a part of the system. It has become valuable to me to understand that participating in the system (or status quo, or common agenda) is optional. The greatest power I have is the power to say yes …or no. I’m glad I learned that lesson early.
Hey, Charities: Direct Mail Stinks
April 5, 2008
Listen up, non-profit organizations, I’ll lay it out for you. Sending me address labels in the mail is a one-way ticket off my Christmas card list. They’re not recyclable and I don’t like putting them in the trash.* Your direct mail is a direct cause of my decision not to give you any more money.
I’ve already written to the Direct Marketing Association and told them to opt me out of mailings from non- and for-profit companies alike. (And, hey, charities, thanks for renting my address and many others to the DMA when I specifically asked you not to. Did they send you thirty pieces of silver?)
A 2004 article in the New York Times notes the declining response charities are getting from direct mail, especially mail containing address labels:
Five to seven years ago, the [Paralyzed Veterans of America] group received donations from 15 to 20 percent of people who got its mailings for the first time. “Those numbers are now probably 50 percent of that,” Mr. Dowis said. Older donors respond strongly to label mailings, he said, while younger people — whom charities want for future growth — “tend to be very cynical, and we tend to be much more discerning.”
Check the date again: this quote is three and a half years old. So address labels in direct mail are probably even less effective in soliciting donations now, yet they keep on a-comin’. Every week. I’ll say it again: the more mail I get, the less likely I am to give back. And I’m not alone:
“We’re hearing that more and more,” said Sandra Miniutti, a spokeswoman for Charity Navigator, an organization that monitors nonprofit groups. “It’s a commonly held belief that the more times you ask, the more times you’ll get, but people are withdrawing their support.”
It’s safe to say that I’m a member of that more-cynical younger demographic with whom charities hope to foster long-term giving. Here’s a tip for the orgs: People my age also tend to pay bills online. We have even less need for envelopes, stamps, and, you guessed it — return address labels.
Here are some things you can do to cut down on the amount of material that arrives in your mailbox:
1. Write to the Direct Marketing Association to opt-out of all unsolicited offers.
2. If you like a charity but don’t need all that mail, contact the organization and tell them that. Many charities offer you the option of receiving information just a few times a year, or by email only.
3. Charities target first-time givers, because those are the people most likely to give again. If you are considering donating for the first time, try doing it over the phone with a credit card. That way you can connect with a human on the other end and make sure they know you want to opt out of mailings.
4. Focus your giving on organizations that are visible in your community: local food banks, animal shelters, your church, Boys and Girls clubs, the YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, and so on.
5. Check up on your chosen charitable recipients at Charity Navigator. They have nifty stats like how much money an organization raises versus what they spend, how they spend it, and how much their CEO makes. Cool.
6. Speak up. I’ve contacted the charities I gave to last year, and told them that the mailings affected my decision not to give to them again. I may be just one of many, but I have a voice, and if I don’t use it, I guarantee they won’t hear me.
Speaking of money, I’ve really been enjoying Trent Hamm’s blog The Simple Dollar. (He updates every day! Wow!) The Starving Artist cliche may be a myth, but that doesn’t mean I can’t learn to be smart with my money.
*Nature Conservancy, I’m looking at you.