Aaron and I discovered while eating and watching David Lynch's Blue Velvet that the Korean food item Kimchi (aged cabbage in a chili paste) is the foodstuff that most resembles a severed human ear (No, I don't know why that ear is on a key-ring):
Monday, October 23, 2006
The Kimchi-Ear Connection
Aaron and I discovered while eating and watching David Lynch's Blue Velvet that the Korean food item Kimchi (aged cabbage in a chili paste) is the foodstuff that most resembles a severed human ear (No, I don't know why that ear is on a key-ring):
The Samosa of Life
Okay.
So obviously Adam will blog about our Day-o-India (i.e., Jaan-E-Day, Curry-Day, etc.) and will most likely do a more serviceable job -- I'm sorry I haven't mastered (or attempted really) the use of video clips on these things. I guess its really his domain anyway: as he did have a part in turning the seed of an idea for a feature film that was JANE-E-MAN and turning it into the 3.5 hours extravaganza of east-meets-west unironic pastiche that has graced Bollywood, nay Hollywood, nay the world this weekend.
So I won't tell you about the blocks of Hindi that went unsubtitled, making the plot almost unfollowable. I won't tell you about the fact then when they did subtitle, they subtitled the ENGLISH and that the subtitles were perversely, and inexplicably, wrong. While it may be hard to translate karmatic themes or certain concepts of eastern theory and culture, what leads someone to subtitle the number "27" when the character clearly said, in English, "twenty-five?" I won't tell you about the Space Odyssey bookends or about the 7 dwarves (a la Snow White)
that appear during one of the dance numbers, for no narrative reason I may add (although appealing to narrative is somehow besides the point I feel). And I especially won't tell you how hard it was choosing my favorite between songs whose refrains went from the confusingly mistranslated ("the heart is ignorant of patience") to the unintentionally re-contexualizing mistranslated ("give your consent. He is great. He's a dude. Give your consent!").
I'll leave that to Adam, who by the way, is great as the idling PA in the Brooklyn Bridge Park scene. Bravo, Mr. Freelander.
Nothing makes me feel more culturally insensitive than hanging out with my "liberal" white Jewish friends.
But it was definitely the highlight of my weekend. The British girl of good first date fame turned out to be a bad second date, so that kind of depressed Sunday's overall yields. I thought she was into me too, and I thought she was interesting but I totally misread that book -- but I guess you can't always know what's inside. The samosa of life can be spicy or bland, but either way you have to dig in to know. Anyway, Josh did bring home a bag full o'apples from his day in the country, so it did salvage Sunday evening (paired with the most fortunate October broadcasting schedule: I watched Halloween, Scream, Poltergeist 1 and 3, and The Puppet Master: Toulon's Revenge -- which stars Corey Feldman, FYI -- on Sunday alone).
Before the Indian Movie, I was on the roof of 236 Bergen Street with Matt Baer, Adam, and Aaron smoking and we saw a brick with a string tied to it, leading off the roof. Aaron hauled the line in, it could have been anything. A Treasure Chest suspended above Bergen Street? A giant dream catcher? A land mine? None of the above: It was an artificial owl with the noose around its "neck" (do owls have necks?).
So obviously Adam will blog about our Day-o-India (i.e., Jaan-E-Day, Curry-Day, etc.) and will most likely do a more serviceable job -- I'm sorry I haven't mastered (or attempted really) the use of video clips on these things. I guess its really his domain anyway: as he did have a part in turning the seed of an idea for a feature film that was JANE-E-MAN and turning it into the 3.5 hours extravaganza of east-meets-west unironic pastiche that has graced Bollywood, nay Hollywood, nay the world this weekend.
So I won't tell you about the blocks of Hindi that went unsubtitled, making the plot almost unfollowable. I won't tell you about the fact then when they did subtitle, they subtitled the ENGLISH and that the subtitles were perversely, and inexplicably, wrong. While it may be hard to translate karmatic themes or certain concepts of eastern theory and culture, what leads someone to subtitle the number "27" when the character clearly said, in English, "twenty-five?" I won't tell you about the Space Odyssey bookends or about the 7 dwarves (a la Snow White)
that appear during one of the dance numbers, for no narrative reason I may add (although appealing to narrative is somehow besides the point I feel). And I especially won't tell you how hard it was choosing my favorite between songs whose refrains went from the confusingly mistranslated ("the heart is ignorant of patience") to the unintentionally re-contexualizing mistranslated ("give your consent. He is great. He's a dude. Give your consent!").
I'll leave that to Adam, who by the way, is great as the idling PA in the Brooklyn Bridge Park scene. Bravo, Mr. Freelander.
Nothing makes me feel more culturally insensitive than hanging out with my "liberal" white Jewish friends.
But it was definitely the highlight of my weekend. The British girl of good first date fame turned out to be a bad second date, so that kind of depressed Sunday's overall yields. I thought she was into me too, and I thought she was interesting but I totally misread that book -- but I guess you can't always know what's inside. The samosa of life can be spicy or bland, but either way you have to dig in to know. Anyway, Josh did bring home a bag full o'apples from his day in the country, so it did salvage Sunday evening (paired with the most fortunate October broadcasting schedule: I watched Halloween, Scream, Poltergeist 1 and 3, and The Puppet Master: Toulon's Revenge -- which stars Corey Feldman, FYI -- on Sunday alone).
Before the Indian Movie, I was on the roof of 236 Bergen Street with Matt Baer, Adam, and Aaron smoking and we saw a brick with a string tied to it, leading off the roof. Aaron hauled the line in, it could have been anything. A Treasure Chest suspended above Bergen Street? A giant dream catcher? A land mine? None of the above: It was an artificial owl with the noose around its "neck" (do owls have necks?).
I did a google search for fake owl and got this. I figure you can't go wrong with girls in bikinis, maybe it will up my readership. Anyway it was a good source of Baer-Orenstein comedy, climaxing at "HOOOOOOOOOOOO will weep for me???"
Good Saturday, then,
Matt
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Literally Diarrheaed Myself
Even more embarrassing than having a blog, I am admitting today -- here and now -- that I enjoy flash animations.
I guess the first one I had seen was the infamous YATTA!, or maybe it was peanut-butter-jelly-time, but since then I can't get enough.
Why yes I do realize that their randomness is the most base and unsubtle form of humor there is. But its so damn satisfying. Any entire art form predicated on the question 'who comes up with this shit?' and irregardless of the answer: bored stoners with significant leisure time and some sort of marginal technical prowess is A-OK by me.
Funnier still are clips that recognize how strange the Japanese are. Any of you who have been with me when I was very drunk have most likely heard my peoratory on the how Japanese culture intoxicates me -- it is almost paralyzing weird. I took a class at Tufts, the thesis of which was basically: Japan is fucked up because it was post-modern before being modern. As in, years of isolationism created a curiosity -- nay, an obsession -- with the very surface of western society. Celebrity glamour was commoditized and a sort of bubble-gum sensibility regarding cultural icons emerged. The thinest and often most ironic understanding of the West was the result, and enthusiasm for this conception became a normative focus among Japanese youth. Spaghetti westerns? We'll make a western about Spaghetti (see Tampopo for more on this...).
Liberal arts colleges -- only here can you disguise xenophobic cultural generalities behind Baudrillard.
Racism aside, they really are quite strange. When we stumbled upon these "LEARN JAPANESE!" vids on YouTube a few weeks ago, I literally diarrheaed myself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W1VY4b9IQQ
Oh, What a world.
I have a blind date tonight. More of it/her soon:
Matt
I guess the first one I had seen was the infamous YATTA!, or maybe it was peanut-butter-jelly-time, but since then I can't get enough.
Why yes I do realize that their randomness is the most base and unsubtle form of humor there is. But its so damn satisfying. Any entire art form predicated on the question 'who comes up with this shit?' and irregardless of the answer: bored stoners with significant leisure time and some sort of marginal technical prowess is A-OK by me.
Funnier still are clips that recognize how strange the Japanese are. Any of you who have been with me when I was very drunk have most likely heard my peoratory on the how Japanese culture intoxicates me -- it is almost paralyzing weird. I took a class at Tufts, the thesis of which was basically: Japan is fucked up because it was post-modern before being modern. As in, years of isolationism created a curiosity -- nay, an obsession -- with the very surface of western society. Celebrity glamour was commoditized and a sort of bubble-gum sensibility regarding cultural icons emerged. The thinest and often most ironic understanding of the West was the result, and enthusiasm for this conception became a normative focus among Japanese youth. Spaghetti westerns? We'll make a western about Spaghetti (see Tampopo for more on this...).
Liberal arts colleges -- only here can you disguise xenophobic cultural generalities behind Baudrillard.
Racism aside, they really are quite strange. When we stumbled upon these "LEARN JAPANESE!" vids on YouTube a few weeks ago, I literally diarrheaed myself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W1VY4b9IQQ
Oh, What a world.
I have a blind date tonight. More of it/her soon:
Matt
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Cooperman are you really getting married in Goddard Chapel?
Two nights ago -- while Shosh and Derya (Jana and Anick?) and Aaron watched Friday the Thirteenth Part 6: Jason Lives! (go ahead and scoff, but Jason 6 is considered the finest in the series by fans do to its elaborate deaths and humorous approach to serial homicide) -- I spent my time looking at the nutritional information for McDonalds vs. Wendys.
McDonalds: If you were to get a meal of 1 crispy chicken sand., med. Fries, med. Soda, and one ketchup packet that is 1280 calories. The same meal at Wendys' caloric total is 1090. Although this is without the ketchup packet -- Wendy's website doesn't offer us that option.
Less interesting than that is that McDonalds uses BEEF POWDER in their french fries. Its not the oil that causes that is-it-or-is-it-not-vegetarian? outrage of a few years back, rather McDonalds chooses -- in a world of Star-Anise and Cumin and all the Thyme time can muster -- to flavor its fried sticks of potato with MEAT. And still does...
Or at least meat powder--which josh and I are just assuming is meat. even if its not he wont eat it. I once tried to assuage Josh by telling him the vege schnitzel in Israel tasted just like chicken (and thereby he isn't missing anything...). Man he still is pissed at me about that...
Last time I assuaged anyone.
Anyway Jason 6 is the return of Jason -- albeit in zombie form. Good stuff. Fthe13th:7 Jason KILLS MORE LASCIVIOUS TEENS! is also on on-demand, so I'm sure we will watch it sometime soon instead of the Netflix that have been accumulating.
Okay so no blog entry would be complete without references to the blog itself. First thing: I got my first "stranger" comment. I dont know who you are stranger but I am in love with you. This isn't the first time this has happened, but I swear its different (I swear). Thanks for reading.
Two: Adam I'm sorry for giving you shit about your blog. It's not that I dont like mash-ups. It's that I hate them.
But Im glad you are back(!) and that you have given me a shoutout in your own blog. That's like the best endorsement there is! Better than the timeslot after LOST! Who the fuck watches The Nine anyway? So thanks Adam -- I feel like the Colbert Report to your Daily Show: a less-well written spin-off bourne out of the passionate affair between admiration and spite. You are a champ!
Cooperman are you really getting married in Goddard Chapel?
-Matt
McDonalds: If you were to get a meal of 1 crispy chicken sand., med. Fries, med. Soda, and one ketchup packet that is 1280 calories. The same meal at Wendys' caloric total is 1090. Although this is without the ketchup packet -- Wendy's website doesn't offer us that option.
Less interesting than that is that McDonalds uses BEEF POWDER in their french fries. Its not the oil that causes that is-it-or-is-it-not-vegetarian? outrage of a few years back, rather McDonalds chooses -- in a world of Star-Anise and Cumin and all the Thyme time can muster -- to flavor its fried sticks of potato with MEAT. And still does...
Or at least meat powder--which josh and I are just assuming is meat. even if its not he wont eat it. I once tried to assuage Josh by telling him the vege schnitzel in Israel tasted just like chicken (and thereby he isn't missing anything...). Man he still is pissed at me about that...
Last time I assuaged anyone.
Anyway Jason 6 is the return of Jason -- albeit in zombie form. Good stuff. Fthe13th:7 Jason KILLS MORE LASCIVIOUS TEENS! is also on on-demand, so I'm sure we will watch it sometime soon instead of the Netflix that have been accumulating.
Okay so no blog entry would be complete without references to the blog itself. First thing: I got my first "stranger" comment. I dont know who you are stranger but I am in love with you. This isn't the first time this has happened, but I swear its different (I swear). Thanks for reading.
Two: Adam I'm sorry for giving you shit about your blog. It's not that I dont like mash-ups. It's that I hate them.
But Im glad you are back(!) and that you have given me a shoutout in your own blog. That's like the best endorsement there is! Better than the timeslot after LOST! Who the fuck watches The Nine anyway? So thanks Adam -- I feel like the Colbert Report to your Daily Show: a less-well written spin-off bourne out of the passionate affair between admiration and spite. You are a champ!
Cooperman are you really getting married in Goddard Chapel?
-Matt
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