- The “Survivor-fication” of TV: Mr. Gordon agreed with the suggestion that reality television might have influenced the ever-shortening lives of characters on scripted television. “There is absolutely a ‘Survivor’-fication of television at some level,” he said. “All these shows, whether it’s ‘Survivor’ or ‘American Idol,’ are always about somebody leaving the show. It’s always about a symbolic death.”
- 24 and LOST both thrive on those old genre cliches: last week on 24 it was the old “don’t go down to the basement” routine, and that chick went down there and basically said, “Hello?? Any terrorists in here?” And then she gets her throat slit. Duh.
- Learn to play the Ramones’ “I Don’t Wanna Go Down To The Basement”
- Beat Happening’s YOU TURN ME ON is on repeat this week. Check out some free MP3s from K Records. Dub Narcotic tears it up: check out old faves, The Microphones and Mirah.
- FREE STARBUCKS: tomorrow 10-12.
- Kids: the human body is vulgar and disgusting, and you shouldn’t even think about it, let alone draw it.
- AND last but not least: my all-time favorite, George Saunders, has a message about his new book(s) and a new piece in GQ.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT, WAIT 15 MINUTES
- A few panels from the current comic I’m working on to send to Backwards City Review. I’ve been absolutely nuts for woodcut comics lately: check out Frans Masereel, Lynd Ward, Peter Kuper, and Eric Drooker.
- Did you know Ginsberg’s “Howl” was partially influenced by Ward’s God’s Man?
- Alan Moore on V For Vendetta.
- Harold Ramis interview at The Believer.
- The Winkler Report: looks like my alma mater is about to be hacked up and rearranged.
- Preview of the upcoming MOME, and the upcoming Kramer’s Ergot.
- Mat Brinkman’s stuff is insane.
- Frontrunning photo for our wedding announcements. Ho ho. (Taken by Sean.)
BIG, ER, BUBBA IS WATCHING YOU
(based on a real photo by Doug Mills that Meg clipped for me…)
- Lester Bangs on Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks.
- Junebug would be a great movie if you walked in late and had to leave early. Real people who talk like real people living in a real place. Now where would I be if I was a screwdriver?
- Freud’s Jokes and their Relation to the Unconcious. Done up as a sweet book by Ralph Steadman.
- DFW’s review of an old Updike novel contains a final sentence that I think could serve as a summary for about 50% of fictional characters nowadays (not to mention a few folks we all know): “…it never once occurs to him that the reason he’s so unhappy is that he’s an asshole.”
DRAWING CRUMBY COMICS AND LISTENING TO KID A
- “Actually, a lot of these poses in these panels I took from freeze-framing the Fly Girls on In Living Color.” – R. Crumb
- Meghan says KID A is the ultimate work-in-the-studio-with-headphones album. If, like me, you’ve been out of touch with your Radiohead fandom, check out their blog. Lots of cool pictures recording the new album. Also, check out Stanley Donwood’s slowly downward. His photoshop work and site design for Radiohead…big inspiration for me when I was 17.
- Ray Kurzweil on Science Friday: the singularity is near.
- Short story: Eric Puchner reading “Animals Here Below.”
- Short story: Etgar Keret, “Actually, I’ve had some phenomenal hard-ons lately.”
- Sean on “Tonight You Belong to Me,” from The Jerk.
- Virtual drum machines. Awesome.
- Great interview with Dan Savage from a while back.
- Oh, Project Runway. It was probably the safe bet to give Chloe the money, but damn, I really liked Santino. (Andre and Tim at Red Lobster, Tim Gunn singing Closer, the musical numbers…)
IT HAD BEEN A PLACE
“Maybe it hadn’t been a community, but it had been a place. Now there weren’t any places left, just separate houses with separate televisions and separate telephones and less and less dropping by.”
– Toni Morrison, Sula
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