scylla

Susan Sontag is gone. It would be inadequate of me to try to write some sort of eulogy or farewell to her, simply because I couldn't even begin to encapsulate her genius. Suffice to say, she affected me deeply when I was younger, and her strength and perceptions, balanced and *female*, always made her a role model for me. Her death is the first one in a line of academics that has truly touched me (really, Derrida was always so distant, and they are in entirely different spheres, in any case... and I was never too cognizant/celebratory of Said's work...) Oh, she will be missed. Sniff.



I think that Intepols 'Specialist' is the most frequently played song on my computer...

Man, so my video card is too lame to support The Sims 2. This is incredibly lame, since I was looking forward to playing this for a while. Uhm... I could justify it in a lot of ways, but really, I just wanted to make a bunch of little figures that resembled me and my friends and make them play with one another. Bah. BAH!

Unfortunately, my little computer probably can't even handle an upgrade... I don't even have a legitimate video card, but rather, Intel Extreme or something (XTREEM, perhaps?)... my computer doesn't actually have a tower. Bah. I was aware of the aesthetic advantages of this setup when I purchased it, but it's quite disenheartening to be unable to use all of it to the full advantage.

Does anyone have a video card with which I could cruelly experiment?

Speaking of, I also received a new external HD in the mail today... unfortunately, it's locked away in the mail room. As I have an impossible amount of freedom, I'm thinking of just staying up until 9 a.m. and then retrieving it from the mail room. Oh, the life of a rebel. Diurnal, nocturnal -- these are just cultural constructs that aim to restrict my sleeping patterns. (I'm not sure what the whole daylight/lack thereof is all about, though. Meh! Although in this sort of gloomy weather, the daylight isn't that notable, anyway.)

Burning a bunch of CDs to the computer. I received a $30 gift certificate to the iTunes music store. Any suggestions? Currently burning Cheb Mami's Meli Meli, and then I'm going to stick this Muslimgauze onto my computer. I don't know about you, but there's all sorts of fun intersections between organic and appropriated going on HERE. Ahh ha ha.

Is anyone else confused/scared/ecstatic over the cowbell in 'Diamond Dogs'? Yeah, I'll bet you've never noticed. Cowbell is surprisingly integral to a LOT of damn good music. I don't know why.

While in Los Angeles I saw an INCREDIBLE exhibit: BodyWorlds. Essentially, the scientist behind this technology uses a system of replacing all of the waters and fats in a body with plastic, creating perfectly plastinated (that is the term) bodies. Example:

This is a photograph of the inventor with one of his bodies. Notice that the body is sliced twice, lengthwise, and pulled apart to reveal the internal organs... this is a real body, perfectly preserved. Remarkable!

I'm currently reading 'Gone Primitive' by Mariana Torgovnick. It's pretty good, so far. From what I've gleaned, she's arguing that although we have been able to call our cultural elders on previous incarnations of primitivism, a lot of times it's our own revisionism of their intentions that leads to the perception, and a discussion of how we can seek to balance it now. Good stuff. But not something to write my thesis on... sigh... hrrrrrrrrrrrm. Other panicked sounds. Are you reading anything interesting?

Shit! I forgot to hold tribute to this photograph the other day!


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