Weblog 92
November 11, 2007~ 1:45am
Egad, is it a new week already? Time does not march....it gallops. I was browsing along some favorite sites and found this strange bowl
Apparently there is an artist from the Netherlands who works exclusively in wood, depicting female contours lovingly lathed to a smooth, satiny finish.
"Cabinet maker Mario Philippona designed a range of stylish wooden cupboards, wardrobes and tables using the female anatomy as his inspiration." I think his work is striking. Just look at this chair, in maple and red leather....
I find it quirky and eye-catching. I've never been one for stomping my foot and complaining about females being 'objectified'. This fella OBVIOUSLY loves women. Obsesses over them, and turns his concentrated study into art. Beautiful art.
It makes my butt tired to hear other women flapping their gums about being made into 'objects' for male scrutiny and use. Hell, women do that to themselves, then blame it on men. LOL!!! As long as ladies are more concerned with what they slap on their faces and what they drape on their bones rather than what's in their conversation, and in their brains and hearts, that'll happen, sisters.
Nothing makes me more tired than a shrill feminist. I've always felt this way. Self-liberation is what it's always been about, and you don't need a dumb 'movement' to back you up in something that isn't a problem to begin with....except it's noisy and can be politically useful. People are people, and men watch women and women watch men. So what?
Back to the artwork here.....it's painstakingly crafted. It's witty, it's colorful and unique, and I do hope the fella' makes this stuff because he loves it, not because it brings him notoriety. There's nothing as fascinating as the body, when you get down to it. (And that's just the outside......the inside is a whole GALAXY of wondrous stuff. (Today, 'the Breast'. Tomorrow... the digestive system. LOL.)
November 11, 2007~ 8:15pm
The pride has been pared. One of the old lions of literature passed away yesterday, and Norman Mailer's presence on this earth will be sorely missed. What I remember fondly about Mailer is his place as a kookie personality back in the 60's-- on talk shows, mumbling in a rambling fashion- his quirkly accent, his physical tics and that unruly mop of curly, wayward hair- and his famous feuds with other personalities which were never more than an inch from a real pugalistic encounter- his blue eyes flashing, and that tight little mouth working around the strange pronunciation that marked much of his speech. I remember my father thought him an ass. He used to say of him, "God, I can't stand that guy. He reminds me of our Russ."-- 'Our Russ' was my father's half-brother who was the crackpot in the family, and often an embarrassment when he did show up at gatherings.
But I've always loved Mailer. He was a crotchety eccentric showman, but he had ENORMOUS talent, and was so awfully human in his contradictory behaviors. Here's a delightful story I came across today, taken from the height of his feud with feminists. It made me laugh out loud-
"--among the recollections of Mailer worth bringing to mind now is one that reader Bob Day sent us a while back regarding a Mailer lecture at the Unversity of Colorado dating from that era:
After an overlong and fawning introduction, Mr. Mailer waited offstage (obviously prolonging the applause), then strutted out, his shoulders pulled back, dressed all in black. At the time he was quite well known for antagonizing women's libbers, so there was quite a contingent of sign waving female protestors, and some males as well.
As he began to speak in his rapid fire and theatrical style, he was often heckled from the large audience. Most of this had to do with his supposedly misogynistic leanings. After 10 minutes or so, he decided to respond, telling the audience he would be happy to deal with the shouters directly. He then challenged them to "hiss me resoundingly," which they did with some gusto. He then derided their effort and commitment, telling them how puny was their voice, and implored them to do better. The response was much bigger the next time, with lots of profanity and vile name calling. Mailer stood there stoically receiving their rage.
When the din had mostly died down and people were waiting for his response, Mailer simply looked out over the audience and said, "Thank you, obedient bitches."
The tension had gotten just high enough, and the anticipation was certainly high enough, so that this perfect piece of theatrical verbal judo caused the room to absolutely explode with screams, hoots, laughter and sustained applause. I have never seen before or since such a wonderful performance."
See? a 'showman' through and through. Here is my favorite picture of Mailer taken during that time when he was on a scholarly panel engaged in debate with none other than Germaine Greer, shown here laughing- despite herself.
And Norman sits there- getting as big a kick out of himself as she is. I don't think he believed his own myth. Not for a minute. But he'd kick your ass if YOU tried to deny it. LOL!!! A man of excesses and turmoil. In another debating encounter with Paul Goodman, an admitted bisexual- a writer and pacifist and co-founder of Gestalt therapy, Norman railed, "And orgies? What do you know of orgies, real ones, not lib-lab college orgies to carry out the higher program of the Great Society, but real ones with murder in the air and witches on the shoulder?"
"Murder in the air and witches on the shoulder".......only Mailer could come up with a line like that. Oh my. He will be sorely missed.
November 14, 2007~ 6:45pm
Poor Brian De Palma.....I heard him interviewed today on Fresh Air. It seems the man has made the first really indicting movie about the Iraq War, called 'Redacted'.
From the looks of him, it looks like he's already feeling the blows he's gonna get from all quarters- but mostly from the right-wing conservatives and the military. It tells the harrowing story of the U.S. soldiers convicted of raping an Iraqi teenaged girl, and murdering her entire family. Horrible......unthinkable.... but I agree with DePalma that such an ongoing high-toll conflict is going to have some bestial outcomes for GI's, and in particular the ringleader of that group who had already been marked as having severe psychological problems before the incident -(which just goes to show you that the troops are stretched so thin, and so hungry is the industrial/military complex for 'fodder'- the individuals who normally would be weeded out- aren't.)
Since this is a film that is going to raise hackles everywhere, Mr. DePalma sounded nearly shrill at times, defensively so, even though the interviewer had not been baiting him at all; I think the director has been taking some full-body punches over this one. To be fair, DePalma sees the incident as a microcosm of war itself- and what it does to those better angels of our natures- but in particular, and as in the Viet Nam war- and with a very similar movie he'd made about a very similar tragedy in that conflict- it's what a war that's unsupported- and whose objective is vague at best- will do to those thrown into the teeth of it.
Oh Brian........you're going to get the ride of your life I fear. The interview today touched upon the fact that so very often, DePalma has featured violence in this films, and specifically- violence done to women. As far as I can tell he skirted answering that question altogether, and merely restated that the rape/mass murder of the Iraqi family is the distillation of what that war is capable of producing in those fighting it- boots in the sand.
Very telling were the strange biographical facts that came out in today's interview- and those facts indeed inform DePalma's films, perhaps more than he might admit.
The director was given to spy on his father's infidelities by his mother when the filmmaker was just a teen. Indeed, he followed his dad and taped phone conversations, took pictures, until he finally found the two adulterers together. (His mother and father subsequently divorced, and his father married the woman- his mother remarried a fellow to whom she remained devoted until his death- and DePalma wanted very much for the audience to see the happy ending) but oh my gosh......what a weird thing for a teenager to have engaged in!
We are, all of us, such deep waters- deep waters indeed; sometimes someone shines a light down into the well and there they find the strange, distorted frogs that swim there, and the tadpoles they grew from.
DePalma is an odd duck, but he's courageous in taking on this latest project. I don't know that I would have chosen it, but I do believe that he believes in the purity of what he has done, and the in importance of tearing away all false, sentimental shrines to patriotism that- afterall- are a huge part of why we are there to begin with: we were manipulated by our own fears and an impotent desire to lash out and Make Them Pay. How sad...what a sad movie....and what an impossibly immoral war.
November 16, 2007~ 6:40am
I'd like to wrap the hindquarters of this week in high note...
Made me laugh out loud. :)
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
Egad, is it a new week already? Time does not march....it gallops. I was browsing along some favorite sites and found this strange bowl
Apparently there is an artist from the Netherlands who works exclusively in wood, depicting female contours lovingly lathed to a smooth, satiny finish.
"Cabinet maker Mario Philippona designed a range of stylish wooden cupboards, wardrobes and tables using the female anatomy as his inspiration." I think his work is striking. Just look at this chair, in maple and red leather....
I find it quirky and eye-catching. I've never been one for stomping my foot and complaining about females being 'objectified'. This fella OBVIOUSLY loves women. Obsesses over them, and turns his concentrated study into art. Beautiful art.
It makes my butt tired to hear other women flapping their gums about being made into 'objects' for male scrutiny and use. Hell, women do that to themselves, then blame it on men. LOL!!! As long as ladies are more concerned with what they slap on their faces and what they drape on their bones rather than what's in their conversation, and in their brains and hearts, that'll happen, sisters.
Nothing makes me more tired than a shrill feminist. I've always felt this way. Self-liberation is what it's always been about, and you don't need a dumb 'movement' to back you up in something that isn't a problem to begin with....except it's noisy and can be politically useful. People are people, and men watch women and women watch men. So what?
Back to the artwork here.....it's painstakingly crafted. It's witty, it's colorful and unique, and I do hope the fella' makes this stuff because he loves it, not because it brings him notoriety. There's nothing as fascinating as the body, when you get down to it. (And that's just the outside......the inside is a whole GALAXY of wondrous stuff. (Today, 'the Breast'. Tomorrow... the digestive system. LOL.)
November 11, 2007~ 8:15pm
The pride has been pared. One of the old lions of literature passed away yesterday, and Norman Mailer's presence on this earth will be sorely missed. What I remember fondly about Mailer is his place as a kookie personality back in the 60's-- on talk shows, mumbling in a rambling fashion- his quirkly accent, his physical tics and that unruly mop of curly, wayward hair- and his famous feuds with other personalities which were never more than an inch from a real pugalistic encounter- his blue eyes flashing, and that tight little mouth working around the strange pronunciation that marked much of his speech. I remember my father thought him an ass. He used to say of him, "God, I can't stand that guy. He reminds me of our Russ."-- 'Our Russ' was my father's half-brother who was the crackpot in the family, and often an embarrassment when he did show up at gatherings.
But I've always loved Mailer. He was a crotchety eccentric showman, but he had ENORMOUS talent, and was so awfully human in his contradictory behaviors. Here's a delightful story I came across today, taken from the height of his feud with feminists. It made me laugh out loud-
"--among the recollections of Mailer worth bringing to mind now is one that reader Bob Day sent us a while back regarding a Mailer lecture at the Unversity of Colorado dating from that era:
After an overlong and fawning introduction, Mr. Mailer waited offstage (obviously prolonging the applause), then strutted out, his shoulders pulled back, dressed all in black. At the time he was quite well known for antagonizing women's libbers, so there was quite a contingent of sign waving female protestors, and some males as well.
As he began to speak in his rapid fire and theatrical style, he was often heckled from the large audience. Most of this had to do with his supposedly misogynistic leanings. After 10 minutes or so, he decided to respond, telling the audience he would be happy to deal with the shouters directly. He then challenged them to "hiss me resoundingly," which they did with some gusto. He then derided their effort and commitment, telling them how puny was their voice, and implored them to do better. The response was much bigger the next time, with lots of profanity and vile name calling. Mailer stood there stoically receiving their rage.
When the din had mostly died down and people were waiting for his response, Mailer simply looked out over the audience and said, "Thank you, obedient bitches."
The tension had gotten just high enough, and the anticipation was certainly high enough, so that this perfect piece of theatrical verbal judo caused the room to absolutely explode with screams, hoots, laughter and sustained applause. I have never seen before or since such a wonderful performance."
See? a 'showman' through and through. Here is my favorite picture of Mailer taken during that time when he was on a scholarly panel engaged in debate with none other than Germaine Greer, shown here laughing- despite herself.
And Norman sits there- getting as big a kick out of himself as she is. I don't think he believed his own myth. Not for a minute. But he'd kick your ass if YOU tried to deny it. LOL!!! A man of excesses and turmoil. In another debating encounter with Paul Goodman, an admitted bisexual- a writer and pacifist and co-founder of Gestalt therapy, Norman railed, "And orgies? What do you know of orgies, real ones, not lib-lab college orgies to carry out the higher program of the Great Society, but real ones with murder in the air and witches on the shoulder?"
"Murder in the air and witches on the shoulder".......only Mailer could come up with a line like that. Oh my. He will be sorely missed.
November 14, 2007~ 6:45pm
Poor Brian De Palma.....I heard him interviewed today on Fresh Air. It seems the man has made the first really indicting movie about the Iraq War, called 'Redacted'.
From the looks of him, it looks like he's already feeling the blows he's gonna get from all quarters- but mostly from the right-wing conservatives and the military. It tells the harrowing story of the U.S. soldiers convicted of raping an Iraqi teenaged girl, and murdering her entire family. Horrible......unthinkable.... but I agree with DePalma that such an ongoing high-toll conflict is going to have some bestial outcomes for GI's, and in particular the ringleader of that group who had already been marked as having severe psychological problems before the incident -(which just goes to show you that the troops are stretched so thin, and so hungry is the industrial/military complex for 'fodder'- the individuals who normally would be weeded out- aren't.)
Since this is a film that is going to raise hackles everywhere, Mr. DePalma sounded nearly shrill at times, defensively so, even though the interviewer had not been baiting him at all; I think the director has been taking some full-body punches over this one. To be fair, DePalma sees the incident as a microcosm of war itself- and what it does to those better angels of our natures- but in particular, and as in the Viet Nam war- and with a very similar movie he'd made about a very similar tragedy in that conflict- it's what a war that's unsupported- and whose objective is vague at best- will do to those thrown into the teeth of it.
Oh Brian........you're going to get the ride of your life I fear. The interview today touched upon the fact that so very often, DePalma has featured violence in this films, and specifically- violence done to women. As far as I can tell he skirted answering that question altogether, and merely restated that the rape/mass murder of the Iraqi family is the distillation of what that war is capable of producing in those fighting it- boots in the sand.
Very telling were the strange biographical facts that came out in today's interview- and those facts indeed inform DePalma's films, perhaps more than he might admit.
The director was given to spy on his father's infidelities by his mother when the filmmaker was just a teen. Indeed, he followed his dad and taped phone conversations, took pictures, until he finally found the two adulterers together. (His mother and father subsequently divorced, and his father married the woman- his mother remarried a fellow to whom she remained devoted until his death- and DePalma wanted very much for the audience to see the happy ending) but oh my gosh......what a weird thing for a teenager to have engaged in!
We are, all of us, such deep waters- deep waters indeed; sometimes someone shines a light down into the well and there they find the strange, distorted frogs that swim there, and the tadpoles they grew from.
DePalma is an odd duck, but he's courageous in taking on this latest project. I don't know that I would have chosen it, but I do believe that he believes in the purity of what he has done, and the in importance of tearing away all false, sentimental shrines to patriotism that- afterall- are a huge part of why we are there to begin with: we were manipulated by our own fears and an impotent desire to lash out and Make Them Pay. How sad...what a sad movie....and what an impossibly immoral war.
November 16, 2007~ 6:40am
I'd like to wrap the hindquarters of this week in high note...
Made me laugh out loud. :)
(Return To Weekly Archives)
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