Tuesday, November 3, 2009

tick tock, on the clock

Halloween: Rockstars. Angels. Ninja Turtles. Royalty.

And an extra hour thanks to Daylight Savings.

texts from last night

But texting and the utilitarian mind-set are naturally corrosive toward poetry and imagination. A coat of ironic detachment is required for anyone who hopes to withstand the brutal feedback of the marketplace. In today’s world, the choice of a Prius can be a more sanctified act than the choice of an erotic partner.

- "Cellphones, Texts and Lovers" (NYTimes)

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

pseudo-intellectualism in a post-racial society

"I would rather have someone go through my medicine cabinet than my bookshelf. You can go to rehab for your Vicodin problem. You can't go to rehab for liking Dan Brown."

- Christian Lander, "Stuff White People Like" @ Duke

Monday, October 19, 2009

flat second, major third, perfect fourth

Do you really love listening to the latest Jack White project? Do you really hate the sound of Britney Spears? Or are your music-consumption habits, in fact, not merely guided but partly shaped by the cultural information that Pandora largely screens out — like what’s considered awesome (or insufferable) by your peers, or by music tastemakers, or by anybody else? Is it really possible to separate musical taste from such social factors, online or off, and make it purely about the raw stuff of the music itself?

- "The Song Decoders" (NYTimes)
I think my Pandora is trying to tell me that I was a British and/or Scandinavian dude in a past life.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

it's nothing but time and a face that you lose

Fall break: old friends, guilty pleasures, and crazy cats.
School always starts again too soon.