In a blast from the past, I stumbled across this article on the hipster party that wasn’t.

“God, this is such a scene. I really just wanted to do something kinda intimate and chill,” said Crystal Perriman, a young waitress with a mohawk, pierced nostril, sleeveless Budweiser shirt, fannypack and Blue Blocker sunglasses.

“Seems like you can’t go anywhere anymore without a bunch of art kids showing up trying to look all cool,” she added, taking a drag of her Parliament then washing it down with a Sparks.

So funny. Thank god I’m not a hipster.

Work is going well. I have my first two consecutive days off tomorrow and Thursday. Because I’m too tired to write anything coherent, here are just some of the things I’ve been thinking about lately.

 So, I finally understand Postmodernism

This post explains why The Notorious B.I.G.’s “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” exemplifies Postmodernism in art. Not only is the video great, and the song better than anything Kanye West is putting out now (OMG I hate Kanye sometimes), the write-up at the blog really underscores what the video meant in context of the late 90s. Wins all around.

 GOG Has Landed

Another one for the nostalgia category: Good Old Games is a website that sells legal downloads of old video games. All are DRM-free, and most are $5.99. Check out MDK2, Sacrifice, and the Fallout series. Some really good games to be had here for legit and cheap.

 Gender Roles Aren’t Dead!

The 100 Skills Every Man Should Know made its rounds on the blogosphere a few weeks ago, and now there is a reply in the form of 30 Skills Every Woman Should Have Before Turning 30. No one I know was upset by the sexism of either list, and indeed while the lists are gender-specific, there are “untraditional” skills in both of them. Damn good, I say. It’s just a truth about the world that, over-all, women and men face often different problems, and thus should have different skill sets to cope with those problems, and recognizing that doesn’t mean we are or ought to be placing either gender into a narrowly-defined role.

 Digital Drugs

RjDj is a new App for the iPhone that samples environmental sounds in real-time and then plays back the sounds, remixed according to certain algorithms. It makes a lot more sense when you watch it, thus this video:

There are a bunch more videos on youtube of RjDj in action. While I first thought it kind of over-hyped rhetoric, I’ve begun to like the description of this as a “digital drug”, enhancing and changing sensual perception in real-time by changing what we perceive before it enters the body, not how our processes that input. Granted, by that thinking even sunglasses are a form of out-of-body drug, being a stimulus changer, but I think that one can see how this kind of technology allows for more controlled and specific types of stimulus manipulation. I can’t wait for technology to allow more of these kinds of controlled sensory-changing devices to come into being. Having a soundtrack to your life is finally possible, and is scary/cool.

Well, I have a week left before I start my new job. In the mean time, I’ve begun writing a bit for money, and am finishing up some web development stuff; enjoying my last week with constant computer access before I begin my long hours in the kitchen. I’m excited to begin, but I want to make the most of my free time now.

One of the things I’ve been doing lately is reading up a bit on the Crunchy Cons, since parts of their movement really appeal to me. The general idea of the movement (also called Granola Conservatism) is that eating well, living frugally, and caring for the environment are not in any way antithetical to traditionalist, God-fearing, family valuing conservatism. John Schwenkler is someone who has been taken by the philosophy in a way that I can really understand, and even though I don’t agree with him or others in the movement on all issues, including faith, from reading his articles I have come to truly appreciate the movement.

One reason I like John’s writing so much is the way he writes about food. He has a great article up on Plenty Magazine’s website that discusses the problems with the ways in which we’ve politicized food, taking for example poor arugula. What is a delicious green has been turned into something only liberals should enjoy due to an admittedly stupid gaff made by Senator Obama earlier in the campaign. The article explains all this, and goes further into the virtues of arugula (or rocket, as it’s often known). It also brings me to my second Note from the Kitchen.

The article struck a chord with me because, god damn it, I love arugula. I first discovered how wonderful a green it was while working in my last restaurant job. I worked for a good friend of mine, Mike Hiller, at the Spit-Fire Grille. We always had a good lunch crowd, so we had a lot of hot sandwiches on the menu. One thing Mike insisted on was having fresh arugula to put on every sandwich. Arugula is a strong, crisp green when fresh, and it added a great crunch and spice to the sandwiches. We would buy arugula by the bagful, several times a week, from the local farmers.

At Spit-Fire, which was essentially a small, local restaurant, we used a lot of local greens and vegetables, usually as many as we could buy from the local farmers (and yes, there are farmers in Alaska: the long summer days and rich soil make for decent growing conditions). While a previous job at a health food store working produce helped me to appreciate organic produce, working at the restaurant helped me to learn the beauty of fresh-picked produce. The local produce we got was almost always more fresh and more delicious than even the organic stuff we got shipped from Seattle. The joy of shittakes picked and sauteed on the same day was a privileged to experience. Potatoes, arugula, bok choy, broccoli; all could be had locally. This isn’t even to mention the fresh fish and seafood available.

Working with local food, buying directly from and interacting with the farmers, seeing the freshness directly influence the final meal, all helped me develop relationships with people, food, and the land, and shaped my passion for food. Without that job, and without such a wonderful chef, I would not be where I am today, excited for a job that again lets me work with food and confident in the abilities of local communities and economies to do good things for the soul. As my chef, Mike not only taught me about produce and instilled in me a passion for food, but also showed me all my knife skills, introduced me to libertarianism, and was about the best boss a guy could ask for.

The thing is am most grateful for, though, is this passion for food. It’s something that I wish I could let others experience. I try to every time I cook a meal for people: to let them see my movements, my pleasure in the process of making the food, as well as to give them the knowledge I have about the ingredients I use, and finally to make them something tasty. It’s this passion and experiences with local food that put me in, to some degree, with the Crunchy Cons. More than just a political movement, the Crunchy Cons are largely united by their passions for localism, food, and community, and their willingness to live as they preach. Many conservatives and libertarians would do well to look towards them for their goals and their passion, and to remember that just because “the liberals” do it does not make it wrong, and caring about food, Earth, and community should not be looked down upon. Indeed, it is what we should be striving to attain.

 ’Sup, America?

Wondermark is one of my favorite comics of all time. Today’s comic just goes to show why. Check out the archives, and make sure to catch the hover text.

 Dziuba is back

Official crotchety old man of the internet, Ted Dziuba, has brought back his old website, Uncov. A place for angry rants about the internet and the dumb people who try to make money off it, his site offers multiple lulz a minute, and now has the added irony of being partially user-content-driven.

 This is a picture of the surface of the sun; look at it with wonder

 In which I blog a comment

Matthew Cropp has had an article published at C11 on the secessionist movement of Vermont. As he explained to me when I met him earlier this week, it’s a young but possibly influential movement. I also have posted a comment on the thread about the Alaskan Independence Party, and Palin’s non-involvement. I can’t link to the comment, so I’ll post part of it here instead. Go ahead and find the rest at the article.

The [Alaskan Independence Party] isn’t necessarily a secessionist party, as their website helpfully lays out. Also, I’m pretty sure that the Palins’ involvement has always been pretty low-key. To call Sarah Palin “intimately involved” doesn’t sound right considering any of the sources I’ve read about it. There is a video of Mrs. Palin, as governor, addressing the AIP on their website. She doesn’t sound like a fervent supporter, more a politician politicking.

…when blogging and cooking make me rich (hahahaha), I’m going to have a library just like this one. (Edit: Oops. Fixed that link.)

Tell me you don’t see that and stare in wonder. Built by Priceline.com founder Jay Walker, the library is a sort of shrine to nerddom, done with class. The number of rare books, gadgets, and treasures found in the library is mind-blowing. While Yale’s library might try to look like a cathedral to knowledge architecturally, this library is a true tribute to human achievement. Go to the link and marvel at all it contains. I’m going to be scheming on how to become this guy’s best friend. Or butler. Whatever it takes, man; that place is nerd heaven.

Probably not the most fiscally conservative government ever.

My favorite detail? Watch what he’s sworn in on.

From Kottke comes this gem of an article about the so-called cultural decline of Paris. The gist is that the city is no longer the cultural capital it used to be, because it has not kept up with the times, and this is a Bad Thing. I call bullshit (admittedly, partially because it is my favorite city). When I was living there a year ago, I found a great young scene centered around not only le clubbing, but also a great live music scene, a healthy, to say the least, selection of museums and theatres, both modern and classic, great fashion, and fantastic food, all within a downtown that is walkable and has an amazing public transportation system.

Catherine Field’s article doesn’t seem to do to benefit the argument, perhaps because the argument itself is vapid. The thesis is, more or less, that Paris is not the cultural landmark it once was, owing partially to its being suck in the past, and partially to the mobs of tourists who come swarming in to enjoy, ironically enough, the culture of Paris. Evidence to the fact that Paris is not the juggernaut it once was comes in almost list form. The largest piece of evidence is that in modern art museums, few living French artists are shown. The article of course must contradict itself by naming Paris a leader of cinematography, film, architecture, dance, food, and more, all while leaving off some of the most influential French artists in those respective categories. Field’s way of writing this off? The most pretentious of all sentiments: France is a leader, “…if these are accepted as arts.”

And so the article tips its hand. A decline in big-name visual artists from Paris is equated with a decline in culture. Visual art is the one true art, and art is the only important measuring stick of culture. You’ll excuse me if I call that stupid. Culture includes visual arts, those lesser or non-arts Ms. Field mentions, as well as a history, a tradition, politics, and so much more. To define culture as art is not only uninteresting, it misses the point of what creates vibrancy in a place. The very thing that the article points to as being Paris’ reason for a lack of culture actually will help to create a stronger one: looking to the past for inspiration for the future. Paris, and all of France, is a place that holds on strongly to its national identity, to its (history|mythology), to its old buildings and old arts. In doing so, it might miss opportunities in some arts, but it finds opportunities in others, and creates a very pleasant atmosphere to live in. In many ways Paris did well to hold on to the past, for we do not see the eyesore that is brutalist architecture that inhabits other European (and American!) cities.

The truth is, there is fantastic art coming out of Paris. I will offer one example in depth, but many more can be seen, especially in contemporary film, architecture and theatre. Look at Vincent Moon and his Concerts à emporter series. They’re an exciting mix of contemporary indie music, a film making style that is reminiscent of new-wave cinematography, and the sights of Paris, old buildings, contemporary neighborhoods, and the rest. Two of my favorites are below; Yeasayer performing while walking through the streets and then while within the metro, and below that Andrew Bird wandering the streets of Montmatre on the day that I saw him in concert in a venue nearby. This was the same concert where the audience made Dosh, Bird’s friend, drummer, and opening act, play an encore, something I’ve never seen done for or by an opening act before. It was a wonderful night, that night, and was more than enough to convince me that Paris does have a lot of culture left in it. It might not be the kind that manifests itself solely though having big-name visual artists, but it is a wonderful culture that puts it near the top of cities in Europe, or the world. Its a culture that knows its past and tradition, that melds (as French art has done since the middle ages) all the best Europe and America have to offer, and its a culture that is inherently French. Est-ce que Paris est en détresse ? Non.

#87.1 - YEASAYER - No need to worry / Redcave
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#45.3 - Andrew Bird - Spare-Oh
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