if you don’t expect something big huge and exciting...

a new video by ace norton based on a request from t-mobile and electronic beats that he make an experimental film about sound. love the venice footage that comprises the second half.


Soundscapes - by Ace Norton from IE HAGY on Vimeo.

the vid reminds me a lot of this video for krusty by papa m (one of ASP's favorite tracks).


perhaps even more i'm reminded of the videos that accompany the books on tour:

in walks these three girls in nothing but bathing suits

very sad to lose john updike today. i'm currently half way through roger's version so i'm sure i'll be tackling it with a different approach from here on out.

give a&p a read. i came upon it through one of DFW's syllabi at pomona.

most institutions do not even have grades of A with multiple pluses after it

pomona professor kathleen fitzpatrick is offering a course on david foster wallace this semester. in addition to reading dfw's published works, including everything and more and infinite jest in its entirety, the students will be compiling an academic dfw website: "we’re going to work together to create a wiki-based collection of reference material for the study of David Foster Wallace’s writing. There are several existing online resources, including The Howling Fantods, but none (to my knowledge) that are primarily scholarly in origin." check out the course blog here. i think somehow incorporating a dfw work into one of my history syllabi is going to be a major professional goal in the future.

here is dfw reading a hilarious essay about sparklemotion-esque baton-twirling troupes at the illinois state fair:

play whatever you want

lackluster banter, but d.rossen does reveal that "in ear park" refers to westwood park on veteran near UCLA. fast-forward to 33:30 to see him kill it with loop pedals. this was the encore at the troubadour show ND attended last night.

start with the fact of space; fill it up

This is Japan! from Eric Testroete on Vimeo.

watch it in hd.

doc, it's only a scratch

over at jamsbio they listed all 185 beatles songs that were officially recorded and released in order of least to most favorite.
while i completely disagree with their relegation of "i want you (she's so heavy)" to third from last place, not to mention their dismissal of "maxwell's silver hammer" at 149, or even the fact that they place "cry, baby, cry" and "penny lane" at 143 and 141, respectively - ok i've got a lot of grievances with this list - i have to give seruoues credit to them for honoring "she's leaving home" at number 3; a bold, uncoventional move, which i happen to wholeheartedly agree with.
so here, inspired by the, in part woefully inaccurate, list at jamsbio is ASP's top ten beatles songs:

10 “Getting Better”
9 “In My Life”
8 “Something”
7 “Octopus’s Garden”
6 “She Came In Through The Bathroom Window”
5 “Blackbird”
4 “Rocky Raccoon”
3 “She’s Leaving Home”
2 "A Day In The Life"
1 “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End/Her Majesty”

what this will so clearly tell the informed reader is that i am a devotee of the later years - i could have just as well posted the track list to abbey road as my top ten - the white album, sgt. pepper's and abbey road are just about unsurpassable in my mind, though rubber soul holds a dear place in my heart. not a revolver guy.

your shoes too big to kickbox god

andrew holder. this is what friday is feeling like.

we've got a date with destiny, and it looks like she just ordered the lobster

team ND has been slacking big time on the posting front, granted.
to make up for our absence here's some dialogue from one of ASP's favorite films: mystery men.
i implore all readers to disregard dane cook's brief appearance in this trailer (and film i suppose) in addition to whole "smashmouth" factor. if you don't already love this film, please reinvestigate. it ranks high up on the list, along with heavyweights, of quintessential 90's comedies (which happen to also star ben stiller).
consider this cast: william h. macy, geoffrey rush, greg kinnear, hank azaria, paul reubens, eddie izzard, janeane garofalom ricky jay, MICHAEL BAY (as frat boy), mark mothersbaugh....
it doesn't get much better.



[Training field.]
(Raja stands, sloppily throwing forks at a target. The Sphinx
comes up behind him.)
Sphinx: Learn to hide your strikes from your opponent and you'll
more easily strike his hide.
(Raja tries again, and throws more successfully this time.)
(Cut to Shoveler sparring with Spleen. Sphinx stops them.)
Sphinx: How many weapons do you yeild?
Shoveler: Just one, Sphinx.
Sphinx: No. The fist, the knee, the elbow, the head! You must lash
out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the drums.
(Cut to Furious balancing a hammer on his head.)
Furious: Why am I doing this again?
Sphinx: When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you
will head off your foes with a balanced attack.

[Training field outside Sphinx's tent--next day.]
Sphinx: (intercepts Furious) Why do you stand aside while the
others practice?
Furious: "Practice"? That's not practicing. That's--That's group
hugging. We should be busting in on Casanova right now.
Sphinx: He who questions training only trains himself at asking
questions.
Furious: What??

[Outside tents.]
(Everyone is sitting around sewing. Sphinx is supervising.)
Spleen: Who was looking for the pinking shears?
Invisible Boy: Oh, that was me.
Sphinx: Ah, yes. Work well on your new costumes, my friends. For
when you care for what is outside, what is inside cares for you!
Furious: You know, the clock is ticking here. Are we gonna sew
dresses all day or are we gonna rescue Amazing?..I need a thimble,
does anybody--
Sphinx: Patience, my son. To summon your power for the conflict
to come, you must first have power over that which conflicts you.
Furious: Okay, am I the only one who finds these sayings just a
little bit formulaic? "If you want to push something down, you have
to pull it up." "If you want to go left, you have to go right." It's--
Sphinx: Your temper is very quick, my friend. But until you learn to
master your rage--
Furious: Your rage will become your master? That's what you were
gonna say, right? Right?
Sphinx: ...Not necessarily.

you're a leaf, fool. how you feel?

winner of the 2008 guitar center drum-off. the name "Jerome Flood II" is a big plus. the jesus/reese's t-shirt...not so much

[removed video due to automatic playback]

check out the interview with mars volta drummer thomas pridgen. possibly the biggest moron on the west coast.

If you had a super power what would it be?

I would have the most knowledge ever. I would know everything.

Everything?

I mean I wouldn't want to fly. You could probably get killed that way. I just want to be the smartest dude ever. But not like you're a nerd smart, smart like you're cool smart. Like if I touched a book and got the knowledge that way. That would be dope. I also like the power where you can see through clothes too. You know where you can see somebody's skeleton.

get on board

this may be in poor taste, but i can't help but find the usair slogan evolution pretty interesting:

USAir (original) – "Fly the USA on USAir"

USAir (late 80s) – "USAir is Your Choice"

USAir (early 90s) – "USAir Begins With You"

USAir (mid 90s) – "Fly the Flag With USAir"

US Airways (early 2000s) – "Where I Fly the Flag"

US Airways (post 9/11) – "Get On Board"

US Airways (first bankruptcy)- "Together We Fly"

US Airways (post-first bankruptcy) – "Clear Skies Ahead"

US Airways (Post Merger) – "Fly with US"

at time of writing usair stock is up 7.5%.

at war with the obvious

in interview magazine william eggleston talks with harmony korine. again the similarities between harmony and david byrne are inescapable to me. korine's questions are refreshingly simple. he's not trying to show off or hide his basic curiosities as a fan. the result is eggleston talkign very plainly about his his approach to photography. some excerpts:



HK: Your first big show was at MoMA in 1976?

WE: Yes. The immediate reviews were very hostile, but they didn't bother me-I had the attitude that I was right. The poor guys who were critics just didn't understand the works at all. I was sorry about that, but it didn't weigh on my mind a bit.



HK: Sometimes when you're driving and you look out the window, do you ever think, That would be nice to photograph?

WE: Oh, quite frequently.

HK: Do you always have a camera with you?

WE: Not always. Almost always. If not on me or in the glove compartment, then at least in my bag.

HK: Have there been times in your life when you wished you had a camera?

WE: Yes, but I don't dwell on them because they pass in an instant.

HK: Are there any particular images that you've never been able to get out of your head?

WE: Not that I can think of. I've also never had favorite pictures. Or subjects. I have this discipline of treating everything equally-I used to say "democratically."

HK: You kind of edit as you go. In some ways you work opposite of how a lot of photographers work today.

WE: Exactly. They take too many pictures.

HK: Well, it's playing the odds, right? If you take a thousand photos-

WE: It doesn't mean that one is going to be good. That's the problem.

HK: You can take a thousand photos and they could all be terrible.

WE: Generally, that's what happens-a fundamental rotting of the idea. They woke up with the wrong idea. It's just like music: If you don't have an innate love or calling for it, then no matter how much you study or how well you can play by looking at the score, it doesn't mean that you're going to make really good music.

HK: It has more to do with what's inside you.

WE: It has to do with what can and can't be taught-you can't teach composition. Where would you begin?



HK: What about digital photography?

WE: Don't know anything about it.

HK: Have you ever shot with a digital camera?

WE: As I said, I don't know anything about it. I don't know, I might love it.

HK: You're not opposed to it?

WE: There's plenty of film out there, and quadrillions of cameras that use film-I don't think it makes much sense not to use it. The thing that's going out is the manufacturing of the paper. Incidentally, all these years my wife has told me that I'm color-blind.

HK: You're color-blind?

WE: Yes.

HK: That would be amazing if you were color-blind. If you had to choose between being blind or being deaf, which one would you choose?

WE: Don't know. I don't have any experience with that, except for my color blindness.

HK: But if you were forced to make the decision.

WE: I think with being blind the one thing you would have going is that you could still feel things, see your way around so to speak. And if you had had the experience of seeing at one time in your life, then you would know what it was like and be able to function. I've said this before, I think I could really photograph blind if I had to.

HK: It would be possible to photograph blind?

WE: I quite frequently don't look through the camera, which is very close to being blind.



the observer wrote:
it would be difficult to imagine the world according to david lynch, gus van sant, juergen teller or sofia coppola without the world according to william eggleston.

lookin' like the jack of hearts

browsing the main site of mark malazarte, the man behind the remarkably consistent and aesthetically on point waxin' and milkin', i found these decks he designed. mizzles just took it to the next level in my book.

big city blinking

even if i didn't posess an amateur interest in typography helvetica would be my first favorite film of 2009 (though it was made in 2007). it is directed by gary hustwit who produced i am trying to break your heart and has been involved with countless creative and entrepreneurial ventures. an extended trailer below:



and here's a ton of works by experimental jetset a three person co featured in the film as exemplary of the new wave of designers reembracing helvetica.

breakfast for dinner crazy

there have been some more substantial additions to the novel designs flickr gallery. lots of shots from the holidays, featuring images from new/old cameras. enjoy.

that which is relevant that which is not

this sample from marc johns' blog of mildly amusing drawings reminds me of my favorite unowned tshirt which belonged to stephen malkmus circa 1991. it's hard to make out in the video below, but it reads "fuck art let's dance." i'd say it's the ASP holy grail of tshirts.

what spring is like on jupiter and mars

i've made my thoughts on virgin america being the savior of american aviation pretty widely known. charles ogilvie, who led the team that designed the interior of the new planes as well as the red in-flight entertainment system, recently spoke at the psfk conference in asia. it's a fascinating demonstration of the innovation that can come out of sheer common sense.

dark was the night

tightrope - live at lollapalooza
this unreleased yeasayer track is slated to appear on the dark is the night compilation curated by bryce and aaron dessner of the national alongside new tracks from arcade fire, beirut, sufjan, bon iver, david byrne/dirty projectors...the list goes on. feb 14th release and its all for charity.

originality is non-existent

in response to godard: i took it from waxin' and milkin' and i took it to novel designs.

illustrated guided to familiar american trees

the poem below by charlie smith reminds me of this great shot by cap. a bunch of new shots on the flickr gallery and more to come soon.


 
I don't get it about the natural world.
Like, greenery,
without people in it, is supposed to do what?
 
City sunlight, I say, how can you beat it—
the walk to the pool after work, shine
caught in the shopkeeper's visor, bursts.
 
I see myself moving around New York,
snapping my fingers, eating fries.
 
My ex-wife's out in California.
 
I wish she was over on Bank Street,
up on the second floor,
and I was on the way there
to call to her from the sidewalk.
 
There's a cypress on that block, two honey
locusts and an oak. I love those trees
like my own brothers.

what you gonna do now, birmingham?

great world of sound has been on the "to watch" list for about a year now. don't make the same mistake i did and wait. this film is genius. taking inspiration from altman, the maysles and guest, it is funny, heartfelt and innovative. director craig zobel is also repsonsible for homestar runner. so he's not sweating it either.

here we go magic

two new brooklyn bands with upcoming shows:

luke temple's new project
i cannot get this song out of my head...
Fangela


unlike grizzly bear, which appears before the actual animal, or beirut, which shows up just after the city, real estate prob has a ways to go before emerging from total google obscurity. still, sounds promising.

you make my heart sing

new image from where the wild things are. so promising.