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Sunday, Jan. 31, 10
Wisdom From the Dead
Spent yesterday, or was it the day before? Some kind of lost weekend, drunk on the thought of... pontificating (notice this word come up in the interview down below with David Foster Wallace), whether one writer I really love had just tweeted:
Now any other day, who knows what this meant, but it came on the heels of the death of another favorite writer of mine...Salinger (getting tired of typing the periods between the J and the D and so just spent an extraordinary amount of time explaining that.) So it must have...
Anyway, oh and this is doppelgänger week on facebook right? Which means (yeah I'm hip to that) either this:
...or that I look like Gene Wilder. Or Jon Voight, someone suggested (my dad looks kinda like him). And... well, what's my point? Dunno. Honestly I am here to say that Lada Gaga has been on the scene for what? a year now and I've only seen her in one or two things. And could give a shit...can you say that on air? Head overloaded with info... too much.
So watch DFW here, and think of the good old days. Then pontificate that maybe he didn't kill himself, but went underground during the financial... do I have to bring that up again?... to reemerge as Lady Gaga. And maybe Bret didn't write that above, or maybe he meant someone totally unfamous, which would be a hoot and a half for anyone who's bothered to read any of his great satire past American Psycho. Maybe it was a video game character...? Maybe I should tweet John Mayer and ask.
Anyway, here's the Wallace below (it's in 10 parts, so go off to youtube to watch the rest). Going to bed, then spending the day offline, with family, and maybe even reading a little. Love to all, seriously. -CM
PS- And when you finish that, if you haven't yet, read Alec Niedenthal's essay on Wallace on HTML Giant (sorry not trying to snag all y'all's stuff, but your cup is overflowing this past week, and somehow I saw this video before reading this great essay.)
Thursday, Jan. 28, 10
RIP J.D. Salinger
Just heard this. J. D. Salinger died at age 91. More in a bit...
But quickly, I was hoping he'd never die, just be more like what's his name, D.B. Cooper, the old plane bandit. Mystery forever. Makes me think how much I miss privacy, still I want to know what Salinger was doing all these lost decades. Will read up and get back on it.
Franny and Zooey though, one of the best ever, hell the whole Glass family saga.
Meanwhile stare at this, one of my prized old books, one of his lesser read I guess. God I love that font. They should rename it the Salinger. Anyway, before I dribble out something dumb, let me digest this info. No prefab obit here. -CM
Friday, Jan. 22, 10
Stab Vests, Jesus Guns and Eating Human Hearts
There was a bunch of stuff I wanted to blog about tonight, lots of goings on in the world since I lost a blog earlier this week due to a glitch in our admin system. First, I wanted to write about these "stab vests" that a British company is marketing for this summer's World Cup in South Africa. The company, Protektorvest, said there's a high demand for the vest—which looks kind of like a slimmer bulletproof vest, or perhaps a more fashionable one since you can customize a logo on the front of it—apparently citing the murder figures in South Africa, which are pretty staggering on its face. Last year there were 18,148 murders in the country, with a little more than half of those coming from knife or puncture wounds. The South African government, however, is confident in their ability to keep the World Cup games secure.
The other thing I wanted to write about was brought to my attention by a fellow Berkeley graduate named Joe Rogers. He pointed out this article on ABC News about an American weapons contractor whose been putting Bible passages on the rifle sights they've shipped to the U.S. military in Iraq—clearly a violation of church and state, as well as against the U.S.'s own policy. Trijicon is a Michigan based company has claimed they've "always" put hidden Bible passages on their ACOG rifle sights, much in the same way a company like In-n-Out Burger puts Bible passages on their french fry packs and on the underside of their cups. Though military spokespeople claim they've never heard of the references until now, this is clearly not the case: military commanders have reportedly referred to the guns "the spiritually armed firearms of Jesus Christ."
Today, Trijicon said it would "voluntarily offer to" stop putting the Bible references on the rifle sights, and U.S. General David Petraeus was quoted as saying, ""I hope you can sense ... this is of serious concern to me and the other commanders in Iraq and Afghanistan because it can indeed create a perception that is absolutely contrary to what it is that we have sought to do." This is clearly a dangerous perception for the U.S. military since it gives an excellent argument that the U.S. is waging a holy war in the Middle East, which already plenty of Iraqis, Afghanis, Pakistanis, Iranians, and Evangelical Christians already believe anyway. The Muslim Public Affairs Council correctly stated the references "feed into the violent extremists' narrative that the ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are a 'crusade against Islam.'" Anyway, I'm sure guys like Pat Robertson and Evangelical leaders will find a way to blame this on Obama's Satanic Socialist rebellion.
All of this really went out the window when I saw this. I've been a fan of VICE's reporting for a while now, even though they're like the "Hipster Bible" and probably responsible for a lot of really shitty trends (well, not directly, it's more about the assholes who embrace the trends), the journalism that they do is really some of the most interesting out there. I'd read about VICE's team-up with CNN this week and I think it was a smart move by both parties. This time they're in Liberia, which is one of the most incredibly violent, corrupt, and poorest places in the world. I could go on and on about VICE's journalistic work, but really it's much better suited to just watching. I'll say this though, in the first 30 seconds of the video there's a guy holding a human heart and he's about to eat it. These VICE guys have some real balls. I'm going to look up the next episodes on VICE's site VBS.com
—mkl
Friday, Jan. 15, 10
For New Yorkers, a fundraising event for Haiti this weekend
From the Folks over at the newly reopened Vox Pop Cafe:
Vox Pop Cafe, located at 1022 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, is offering computer and phone access to all in need seeking information regarding friends and family in Haiti.
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Also on Sunday, January 17th at 4 pm Vox Pop will be holding an Emergency Preparedness Workshop.
Disasters can strike any where, any time. How prepared are you?
Come to this information workshop hosted by our local (CERT) Community Emergency Rescue Team and learn what you can do to make you and your family more prepared.
Lots of information and give aways. Donations will also be accepted for the Haitian Relief Effort.
Putting off learning this information could be a deadly mistake.
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In addition, Vox Pop Cafe is a drop off point for goods being collected by Action Now for Project Salvation for Haiti. They have arranged for a container to be sent directly to Haiti and have infrastructure in place for dissemination.
ITEMS NEEDED:
MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN:
(new or clean, used clothing)
Pants
Shirts
T-shirts
Skirts
Shorts
Shoes
Sneakers
Socks
Underwear (new only)
SCHOOL
SUPPLIES:
Pens
Pencils
Erasers
Notebooks
Crayons
Rulers
Book bags
BABIES:
Disposable diapers
Baby clothing
Blankets
LINENS/OTHER: (very important)
Washcloths
Towels
Sanitary napkins
Flashlights w/batteries
Travel-sized items:
Toothbrush/paste
Soap
Shampoo
Comb/brush
MEDICAL SUPPLIES:
Aspirin
Alcohol pads
Band-aids
All first-aid items
Latex gloves
Empty plastic pill bottles
FOOD:
Powdered milk
Canned goods
Rice
Beans
Cornmeal
Sugar
Chocolate milk - Quick/Ovaltine
A list of needed goods is also available at http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#/group.php?gid=247506256628&ref=mf
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DONATIONS FOR HAITI
-Go to american.redcross.org/greaternewyork
-Call 1-800-733-2767 (or 1-800-257-7575 in Spanish)
-Text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to Red Cross relief efforts in Haiti
Donations specifically designated for Haiti Earthquake:
While the American Red Cross asks that donors consider making a gift to the International Response Fund, we will honor donor intent and accept gifts specifically designated to the ongoing response to the earthquakes in Haiti. If you wish to designate your donation to the Haiti earthquake, please do so by mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013.
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INFORMATION ABOUT FAMILY MEMBERS IN HAITI
As a result of the earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010, thousands of persons within Haiti and abroad have lost contact with their loved ones.
The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for Americans seeking information about family members in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747. You may email inquiries to: Haiti-Earthquake@state.gov. We'll provide more details and opportunities to help as we learn more. To stay up-to-date, follow on state.gov.
The task force will work with our Embassy staff in Haiti to locate and, if needed, provide assistance. They will respond to each message as soon as possible. If you hear from the person you are concerned about, please be sure to send an email providing the new information about their location or condition.
Family Links Website
http://www.icrc.org/familylinks
The aim of the Family Links website is to accelerate the process of restoring contact between separated family members.
It is managed by the ICRC, in cooperation with the tracing services of the Haitian Red Cross Society and of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies throughout the world.
At this stage, the website offers the possibility for persons in Haiti and abroad to publish the names of relatives with whom they are striving to restore contact. It will progressively incorporate information offering responses to those queries.
INFORMATION ABOUT U.S. CITIZENS IN HAITI
In Haiti, calls regarding the welfare of U.S. citizens can be made to the Embassy’s Consular Task Force in Port-au-Prince at 509-2229-8942, 509-2229-8089, 509-2229-8322 or 509-2229-8672.
The Department of State has received a high volume of calls concerning the welfare of U.S. citizens in Haiti. To handle these requests most efficiently, the Department has established an e-mail address for people who are trying to contact their U.S. citizen friends and relatives in Haiti. Please send your inquiries to: Haiti-Earthquake@State.Gov and include the following information:
• The full name, date of birth and passport information (if known) of the persons in Haiti you are trying to contact.
• Their contact information in Haiti; telephone numbers, email address, hotel name or address (if known)
• Your name and contact information, and your relationship to the person in Haiti (parent, spouse, friend etc.)
• Any special or emergency circumstances.
Debi Ryan
Vox Pop Cafe
1022 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, NY 11218
718-940-2084
www.voxpopcafe.com