An interesting article about a design firm in Paris whose tagline is 'Give Yourself the Worst'.
It all sounds very deliberately nasty, and by their own admission - it is. Something caught me during the interview, where the designer, Jean-Emmanuel "Valnoir" Simoulin, mentioned one of his underlying strategies for catching attention. When the interviewer puts forth the idea that Valnoir uses quite a lot of humour in his work, the artist replies:
"...what used to be called "second degree" in French. Something that Americans absolutely can't grasp. It's like pretending to take yourself exaggeratingly seriously, but deep down you are laughing out loud because it's a huge joke, which makes everyone uncomfortable."
I'll have to think on it some more, but that idea is interesting in the extreme.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
The nuanced world of homework, or Homework vs No Homework
Theres a funny thing about teachers and professors - they're people too.
I don't mean to be facetious, but it often strikes me that people in authority (whether police, politicians, teachers, etc) are often dehumanised through their roles or functions, and that their audience (for want of a better word) stops seeing them as complex creatures and either reduces them to universal automaton status, or rejects them outright for their authority.
I tend to see my school-work in a professional sense, and that my professors are coworkers (albeit much more experienced senior ones) working with me toward a common goal. With that in mind I try to do my best in everything, which is conducive to my own personal happiness. Internalising your goals that way has a curious advantage in your subsequent never being able to fail, unless you're lazy or disorganised - often the same thing.
A good friend of mine, known to take almost nothing seriously, said to me once that if you can do enough good work for your professors early in the semester, that your 'good grace' cup will overfloweth for the rest. He also said that paradoxically, if you barely do anything and only occasionally show up to class (essentially show that you think the class is unimportant), the professor will try to assert the importance of their class and what they have to say - not by punishing, but by hanging on each piece of work you hand up in the hope of a redemption.
Neither of these attitudes are my style, and I think its highly dependent on the person (and could result in a fat Fail and a shrug from some teachers) though it illustrates someone who understands the fact that these are people, capable of being played like any other flesh and blood instrument. Needless to say, my friend (who, just to clarify, is not me) is also very adept with ladies. And guys now that I think of it, though in a much more unwanted way.
I don't mean to be facetious, but it often strikes me that people in authority (whether police, politicians, teachers, etc) are often dehumanised through their roles or functions, and that their audience (for want of a better word) stops seeing them as complex creatures and either reduces them to universal automaton status, or rejects them outright for their authority.
I tend to see my school-work in a professional sense, and that my professors are coworkers (albeit much more experienced senior ones) working with me toward a common goal. With that in mind I try to do my best in everything, which is conducive to my own personal happiness. Internalising your goals that way has a curious advantage in your subsequent never being able to fail, unless you're lazy or disorganised - often the same thing.
A good friend of mine, known to take almost nothing seriously, said to me once that if you can do enough good work for your professors early in the semester, that your 'good grace' cup will overfloweth for the rest. He also said that paradoxically, if you barely do anything and only occasionally show up to class (essentially show that you think the class is unimportant), the professor will try to assert the importance of their class and what they have to say - not by punishing, but by hanging on each piece of work you hand up in the hope of a redemption.
Neither of these attitudes are my style, and I think its highly dependent on the person (and could result in a fat Fail and a shrug from some teachers) though it illustrates someone who understands the fact that these are people, capable of being played like any other flesh and blood instrument. Needless to say, my friend (who, just to clarify, is not me) is also very adept with ladies. And guys now that I think of it, though in a much more unwanted way.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Lost Cinemaaa
I'm trying to find a movie I watched as a kid (c. 1988, science fiction, teenagers, robots?) where some kids are experimenting with a machine and its shoots a ball of energy out and through a row of books on a shelf. I remember one of the kid freaking out and being like "It put a hole in every single book!" but other than that I have no plot points or dialogue to go on.
Its really bloody frustrating.
Its really bloody frustrating.
More from the Cave
So here is another slice of 20 yr old bullshit.
Take note of how similar it is to 24 yr old bullshit...
********************************************************************************
I went back to work. Nobody asked why I hadn't been there so I didn't tell them. I wanted to say "I had explosive something or other" but the joke would have been lost and wasn't that good to begin with.
Sometimes being shocking is all you've got. Like when I told my supervisor that her husband wanted her to dress as a school girl and then spend the night in. She didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to follow up with, so it was uncomfortable for a bit and then I thought I should say something about a cane - just to reinforce the idea that it was a joke. I thought better of it, realising that I was just reinforcing the fact that I was an asshole.
Actually, we're friends so she was okay with it, and everyone was laughing, but I always think I'm a really smutty filthy man in my head and that my innocent comments about whatever are being misinterpreted. Such as...
"Yeah come over here and I'll grab it for you."
"Well why don't you pull it out and show me."
*motioning to another counter* "Do you want to come with me?"
Disgusting. I'm starting to get weird catholic guilt and I'm not Catholic.
************************************************************************************
You can see how much everything revolves around work and people. Now its just study and people. I have to say, I despised almost everyone I worked with at the time, and now with the benefit of hindsight I see that they were all just people trying to get by with what they had *cue rising symphonic strains*.
"Oh Captain Hindsight! Where have you been?"
"If everyone hadn't taken 5th Avenue to work, I would have arrived sooner! Now lay those silken palms upon my chest and kiss me."
"No, dude what?!"
Take note of how similar it is to 24 yr old bullshit...
********************************************************************************
I went back to work. Nobody asked why I hadn't been there so I didn't tell them. I wanted to say "I had explosive something or other" but the joke would have been lost and wasn't that good to begin with.
Sometimes being shocking is all you've got. Like when I told my supervisor that her husband wanted her to dress as a school girl and then spend the night in. She didn't know what to think, I didn't know what to follow up with, so it was uncomfortable for a bit and then I thought I should say something about a cane - just to reinforce the idea that it was a joke. I thought better of it, realising that I was just reinforcing the fact that I was an asshole.
Actually, we're friends so she was okay with it, and everyone was laughing, but I always think I'm a really smutty filthy man in my head and that my innocent comments about whatever are being misinterpreted. Such as...
"Yeah come over here and I'll grab it for you."
"Well why don't you pull it out and show me."
*motioning to another counter* "Do you want to come with me?"
Disgusting. I'm starting to get weird catholic guilt and I'm not Catholic.
************************************************************************************
You can see how much everything revolves around work and people. Now its just study and people. I have to say, I despised almost everyone I worked with at the time, and now with the benefit of hindsight I see that they were all just people trying to get by with what they had *cue rising symphonic strains*.
"Oh Captain Hindsight! Where have you been?"
"If everyone hadn't taken 5th Avenue to work, I would have arrived sooner! Now lay those silken palms upon my chest and kiss me."
"No, dude what?!"
Cee Me Lo
Holidays are borrrrring. I gotta find a way out of this that doesn't involve crazy trips to far away and expensive places. Thats seems to be my MO lately - "Get bored, fucking fly away." Not a good habit or mindset to be in. It could so easily translate to "Shit gets hard - fly far away." Perhaps thats not a totally logical conclusion to come to. Responsibility is as responsiblity does, and looking back it seems fair that I've rarely run, even when I should have.
Regardless, heres a new Cee Lo Green song about that subject - Satisfied!
Regardless, heres a new Cee Lo Green song about that subject - Satisfied!
Times Past
I just found this old old blog from when I was 20. It was mildly entertaining and a little sad how much and how little I've changed. I was reminded of it by one of my oldest friends, whom I haven't seen in forever.
"I've not written anywhere, on anything, for a while now.
[On anything? Blogs obviously. Books. Bits of envelope. Wood (smoother than smooth). Glass if you've got special pens.]
I'm not at work today. I've left them to it because I can't be bothered. I woke up and thought "Nope, I'm just not doing it." and so I didn't go. I'll tell them I found animals living in my legs, just to properly confuse them. They won't talk about legs or animals anymore. Not around me.
There’s an evil girl at work, which I’ll talk about later, so I've stayed home and downloaded music and watched DVDs. A quiet day.
I've downloaded a bit of Paul Weller. Nothing of his is as good as the Jam so far. Nothing that I've seen anyway. Shout to the Top when he was with Style Council is pretty good, but the rest is a bit MOR. What does that mean anyway? Middle of the Road? I just wanted to say MOR because thats what all the critics keep saying about singer song-writers. Middle of the Road. Right in the middle.
Stone Roses. I like them, but I don't know why. I hope its not because I've been told to like them. When did that happen?
[I was interrupted bathing and was so shocked by the intrusion that I forgot about what the interruption was and what if anything they were saying but it still went in my head and was lodged in my subconscious. Why the Stone Roses? Ian Brown isn't lacking for publicity. Was it Ian Brown? Was it someone else? He just came into bathroom while I has having a bath and just screamed about liking the Stone Roses and playing on the moon I was just a terrified frieze because I just couldn’t believe that it was Ian Brown, but more because of his audacity. Who did he think he was? He yelled something else too but I don’t remember, so I’ll no doubt like something else soon and be able to blame him for it.]
I shouldn't worry about it. Everyone likes things for different and often horrendous reasons and this is just one possibility. We're supposed to be the sum of our experiences (genetics notwithstanding) so the reason we like anything can be traced back to something. Anything to something.
At work I was working moving files around with a girl (loose definition). She is perhaps the most unnerving and frustrating person to know (in the world?). Or at least know of.
[I'm pretty sure that if you put her head on a man's body you would have something close to the Christian ideal of Satan. Like the cover to the Marilyn Manson album... Mechanical something, where he’s pure androgyny and you look and your first reaction is "Mmmmman? or... wommmmman?" because that’s how we instantly judge people.
I think the Christian ideal of Satan isn't sexy. They want you to think of him as this kind of sexy tempting bloke, but if you look in religious texts, he doesn't seem sexy, just generally more clever than everyone else. Like Daniel Johns.]
She appears to have little to no imagination, and cannot conceive of answers to questions that are irrelevant or not immediately applicable to the task at hand (filing). I asked her if she had an imagination and she said completely deadpan “Yes”.
I would have told me to fuck off and stop being an arrogant twat, because that’s what I was.
I asked her which animals she would use if she had the power to cross them into one super-animal with characteristics of both. She thought about this for ages (which was like watching someone’s face while you explain something to them that they don’t really understand, which is my face when you explain something pointless with a lot of intricate and important steps) and then said slowly “I don’t know.”
I said “a jellyfish and a horse” just to pluck some out of the air and she looked at me very seriously. I looked at her in a weird stand-offy challenging way, and then we both broke and did some more filing. I’m not sure why this is proof she’s evil but I just think it is."
So yeah. What an odd duck.
"I've not written anywhere, on anything, for a while now.
[On anything? Blogs obviously. Books. Bits of envelope. Wood (smoother than smooth). Glass if you've got special pens.]
I'm not at work today. I've left them to it because I can't be bothered. I woke up and thought "Nope, I'm just not doing it." and so I didn't go. I'll tell them I found animals living in my legs, just to properly confuse them. They won't talk about legs or animals anymore. Not around me.
There’s an evil girl at work, which I’ll talk about later, so I've stayed home and downloaded music and watched DVDs. A quiet day.
I've downloaded a bit of Paul Weller. Nothing of his is as good as the Jam so far. Nothing that I've seen anyway. Shout to the Top when he was with Style Council is pretty good, but the rest is a bit MOR. What does that mean anyway? Middle of the Road? I just wanted to say MOR because thats what all the critics keep saying about singer song-writers. Middle of the Road. Right in the middle.
Stone Roses. I like them, but I don't know why. I hope its not because I've been told to like them. When did that happen?
[I was interrupted bathing and was so shocked by the intrusion that I forgot about what the interruption was and what if anything they were saying but it still went in my head and was lodged in my subconscious. Why the Stone Roses? Ian Brown isn't lacking for publicity. Was it Ian Brown? Was it someone else? He just came into bathroom while I has having a bath and just screamed about liking the Stone Roses and playing on the moon I was just a terrified frieze because I just couldn’t believe that it was Ian Brown, but more because of his audacity. Who did he think he was? He yelled something else too but I don’t remember, so I’ll no doubt like something else soon and be able to blame him for it.]
I shouldn't worry about it. Everyone likes things for different and often horrendous reasons and this is just one possibility. We're supposed to be the sum of our experiences (genetics notwithstanding) so the reason we like anything can be traced back to something. Anything to something.
At work I was working moving files around with a girl (loose definition). She is perhaps the most unnerving and frustrating person to know (in the world?). Or at least know of.
[I'm pretty sure that if you put her head on a man's body you would have something close to the Christian ideal of Satan. Like the cover to the Marilyn Manson album... Mechanical something, where he’s pure androgyny and you look and your first reaction is "Mmmmman? or... wommmmman?" because that’s how we instantly judge people.
I think the Christian ideal of Satan isn't sexy. They want you to think of him as this kind of sexy tempting bloke, but if you look in religious texts, he doesn't seem sexy, just generally more clever than everyone else. Like Daniel Johns.]
She appears to have little to no imagination, and cannot conceive of answers to questions that are irrelevant or not immediately applicable to the task at hand (filing). I asked her if she had an imagination and she said completely deadpan “Yes”.
I would have told me to fuck off and stop being an arrogant twat, because that’s what I was.
I asked her which animals she would use if she had the power to cross them into one super-animal with characteristics of both. She thought about this for ages (which was like watching someone’s face while you explain something to them that they don’t really understand, which is my face when you explain something pointless with a lot of intricate and important steps) and then said slowly “I don’t know.”
I said “a jellyfish and a horse” just to pluck some out of the air and she looked at me very seriously. I looked at her in a weird stand-offy challenging way, and then we both broke and did some more filing. I’m not sure why this is proof she’s evil but I just think it is."
So yeah. What an odd duck.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Boardwalk Empire
Boardwalk Empire is coming soon. Its no surprise to find that I am excited about its arrival. HBO has taken the excellent book and hopefully will produce something in their usual vein. Scorcese, ofcourse, is attached to direct the first few episodes and played a large role in writing the scripts.
This photo of Michael K. Williams who most will remember as Omar from The Wire is beautiful and pretty evocative of how I hope the show will be. A favourite of mine and probably everyone else's (I hear distant cries of "Stringer Bell!") he appears to be playing one of the hitmen involved in bootlegging. Bow ties, patterned suits, and gorgeous smokey visuals.
I do declare.
This photo of Michael K. Williams who most will remember as Omar from The Wire is beautiful and pretty evocative of how I hope the show will be. A favourite of mine and probably everyone else's (I hear distant cries of "Stringer Bell!") he appears to be playing one of the hitmen involved in bootlegging. Bow ties, patterned suits, and gorgeous smokey visuals.
I do declare.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)