Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet

Danièle Huillet passed away recently. Obituaries: [Guardian UK] [Scotsman] [New York Times]

Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet statement at the Venice Film Festival.

Andy Rector's Kino Slang bloghas an excellent series of words and images about her.

Jonathan Rosenbaum in Senses of Cinema: Intense Materialism: Too Soon, Too Late.

A look at the book Landscapes of Resistance
The German Films of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straubby Barton Byg.

articles of note

The most timely piece I've seen today concerns local political machinations is this piece by Joan Vennochi, Columnist for the Boston Globe. When politics trumps law its hard to be optimistic.

30 underappreciated books [Guardian UK]

The Greatest Film Composer of All Time? [Salon]
(too bad the Toru Takemitsu compilation referred to is out of print)

Arthur Marwick - Obituary [Guardian UK] [Scotsman] [Telegraph UK]- British Historian - His book "The Sixties" is one of the best histories of Counterculture during the 1960s to early 1970s.
For more information see:
The Sixties in Great Britain

The Second Law

Locus Solus (Map)

Emotion Washes Over Me

You can only sit and wonder about such things for so long. The world continues to shift around you. I feel all this emotion wash over me this morning. I don't know why my body reacts the way it does. Again, perhaps, its this imposition of warmth and meaning. The strong sense that there is so much to be done. My mind is still preoccupied with other thoughts, this I shouldn't focus on. Things, identites that need resolution. A quick way out? (The quick, neat, job - a Les Disques Du Crepuscule Western) Foreign makers. I keep my eye on the world, what little I know of it. I know there are other ways. I work simultaneously for benefit and loss-- unknowing the inertia consumes me. It only travels so far. There is laughter, of course and other private awakenings. I constantly seek connection and warmth to no avail. The only thing left, as the story goes, is to keep on moving. The struggle continues.

Comedy's release

The man behind this site tipped me off to this edited version of Armando Iannucci's Tate Britain lecture. Its an excellent look at the state of comedy today (on both sides of the Atlantic) and how it fills a significant gap. The key quote regarding the gap is that: "This has come about for three reasons: politicians have stopped speaking to us properly, the media has stopped examining their actions in anything like a forensic way, and broadcast culture has become so watered down, so scared of fact, that people are less inclined to turn to anything other than entertainment for information." His lecture significantly discusses the anarchic spirit of comedy and the reason its presence is so widely felt in modern society.

Armando Iannucci is a comedy writer who has worked on such shows for British Television as The Day Today and I'm Alan Partridge. You can find his CV here. He occasionally writes articles for the Guardian UK and the Daily Telegraph. Some time last year one of his Guardian UK columns tipped me off to the genius that is Sean Lock and his amazing television programme15 Storeys High.

environmental - food blogs and articles of note

A few favorites:

US Food Policy

Accidental Hedonist

Tree Hugger

from Red Tomato

good reads:

Diet for a Dead Planet by Christopher D. Cook.
and of course Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé.

Focus on Elizabeth May in NYT.

Three Voices: What Fair Trade Means to Farmers
New England Speakers Tour Oct 23-28, 2006

Monday, Oct 23 Burlington, VT

Tuesday, Oct 24 Tufts University, Medford, MA
Fair Trade Banana Banquet, Haley House, Roxbury, MA

Wednesday, Oct 25 Smith College, Amherst, MA

Thursday, Oct 26 Harvard University, Boston, MA

Friday, Oct 27 Putney, VT

”A banana farmer from Ecuador, a watermelon and vegetable farmer from Georgia, and an apple grower from New England may seem worlds apart, but they share common challenges as small farmers trying to make it in a global food system.

Join us for this rare opportunity to hear three real-life farmers from three very different farms talk about their struggles to stay on the land, their experiences in the market, and the impact of consumer support for fair trade and family farms. The program will tour New England Oct. 22-28, 2006, and is presented by Oke USA and Red Tomato, with support from Equal Exchange.

Celebrate this ‘fair trade fruit salad’ with fresh fruit tastings, fair trade chocolate fondue, tossed together with the provocative and inspiring stories of three farmers.”

Gillo Pontecorvo passed away, age 86

Director of the Battle of Algiers.

Obituaries:

CBC

Guardian UK

Recent Articles (Vinyl, Wobby, Comedy, Volvo)

Success with Vinyl[Telegraph UK]

Starbucks Gets Wobbly[in these times]

Iraqi Comedy [Seattle Times]

Volvo Estates are the Best[Ananova]

on the air in one week - watch this space - wzbc 90.3 fm

My show is postponed until next week due to the broadcast of a sporting event. However, stay tuned next week as the station will be in the midst of its fundraiser. Watch this space as well, I will post photos of the special premium items I've managed to acquire for your listening pleasure.

Cheers.

in the living room

October 9, 2006 - 5:12pm
in the living room at 86 B--

I hope to conduct this without further interruption. If I am interrupted, the problem will most likely come from me and not the other way around. Lately, my diet has not been particularly good. It certainly is not on the same page as others'. Of course that's a silly mistake to make. Its always this and never that, every one conducting themselves in a hopefully appropriate manner. The argument for and against superlatives. That's the shocking place I'm at right now. What could be better? That's exactly right, exactly it. I've started reading Jill Tweedie's book about Sexual Desire-- my understanding, at least from the introduction, is that relationships should not be predicated on a need but rather the simple result that each person be happy. This is no small task. Individuals have so much to offer and so much to be. One can only get around another 'I' so much. Psychological states and self-defense mechanisms are the trick. In themselves - it is, oh I want to say it is a confrontational technique. For me so many conditions have to be met before there is any kind of true, meaningful dialogue, and even then, people can change their minds. Sometimes it is incredibly easy and other times, the struggle just isn't worth it. I want to move forward, I want to eliminate these sad preoccupations. I need to find the direction, the proper vessel for all these ideas and concepts I have arranged here. The proper medium is out there. Perhaps this is it. I have been waiting too long, postponing or dissuading myself from any kind of creation-- acting from the assumption that investing myself in a good constructive meaningful relationship is the key. I know it is more than that, It is forever a changing cycle of discovery and wonder. I wish I weren't taken to task now for so many things. I punish myself so much for the littlest of things, another kind of worry to blot out the rest can only lead to further questions and anxiety. I attempt to sit still but I am forever curious. I hope, as I have always tried to justify, my so-called 'distractions', so-called time spent doing 'nothing' will actually add up to something. All these hours spent observing human life-- looking for ways out, something that I can square with my foolish ideals. (interruption)

She Doesn't Live Here Anymore - new Jay Jay Johanson

On the air this Friday night 7-10pm EST(1800-2200) 90.3fm WZBC - also online.

SHE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

James Tiptree, Jr.: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon by Julie Phillips

At the end of the summer, I finished reading Julie Phillips's excellent biography of Alice Sheldon's life. I remember being fascinated by some of her late work, stories collected in "Tales of the Quintana Roo", when I was younger. At the time, I didn't know that James Tiptree, Jr. was actually the pen name of Alice B. Sheldon, I only felt that in reading her stories, I connected with a very intelligent mind. Julie Phillips' biography of Alice's fascinating life is recommended to any reader who is excited by a person filled with boundless curiosity. It is certainly not strictly for Science Fiction readers-- the book doesn't get to the actually stories until its final third. Alice did not start writing as Tiptree until she was 51 years old. She was born to an author Mother and an attorney Father, who invested wisely in real estate in Chicago. Her family's wealth led them to go on Safari-- Alice's first Safari took place when she was six years old. The wonder and devastation she saw there marked her life forever. By the time she was 11, she had already traveled extensively in Africa during three different Safaris. This kind of exposure to other parts of the world transformed her experience of 'ordinary' American life. She certainly could not relate to other children her age-- Phillips describes a scene where Alice's elementary school teacher is discussing Africa and cannot get Alice to sit still because she had already been there. Experiences like this provoked her and frustrated her formative years. She was also marked throughout her life by her Mother's success in writing stories for national magazines and books. Alice later went on to join the Women's Army Corps, where she-- taking a little initiative-- ended up in military intelligence by the end of World War Two. This job later became part of a new government agency after the war--the CIA. She stuck with it for three years and then left to pursue writing. Her husband worked for the Agency for the rest of his life. All of these experiences were later drawn upon to create the persona of James Tiptree, Jr. The stories by James Tiptree, Jr. are fascinating as they have an inherent skepticism regarding the nature of human progress. Phillips constantly reminds the reader at the end of most chapters how Alice's memories contributed to the substance of her stories, and how Alice's own reality exposed her larger psychological problems. Alice witnessed first hand how the United States treated women as second class citizens after World War Two. This experience made her cynically view later feminist movements in the 1970s. Throughout her life she was a witness to human violence and cruelty, whether it was in colonial Africa or in the United States of America. All of this fed into her Science Fiction stories. Tiptree was something that started as a joke for her and then became almost an emotional release at times. She was able to correspond with so many fans, publishers and other authors under this persona, that Tiptree literally provided her with a second life. Tiptree was an elaborate game for her; his actions helped her through so many depressive moods. Unfortunately, the game only led so far, by the end of the 1970s Alice was taking numerous prescription drugs and was addicted to Dexadrine (something that started when she worked for the CIA). Her quick mind could only see one way out and she entered into a death pact with her husband. Finally in 1987, she shot her husband as he slept then herself. At that point she could not deal with growing old and losing her sensibilities in a world that grew colder. Julie Phillips new biography illuminates through a thorough study of all of Alice's stories and correspondence the life of a truly remarkable woman.

For a more detailed look at this biography, I highly recommend Carter Scholz's review of it in Bookforum.

Stories:

The Screwfly Solutionby Raccoona Sheldon

Beam Us Home by James Tiptree, Jr.

The Women Men Don't See by James Tiptree, Jr.


suggested links:

The official site of Julie Phillips regarding the book in question, author interviews, excerpts, praise etc.

The Tiptree Award

Congo Journey - John le Carré writing in the Nation

Fantastic Fiction Uk bio

Publisher of "Her Smoke Rose Up Forever" tachyon

Alice's professor at Sarah Lawrence College and life long friend Rudolf Arnheim

Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change

From the Chelsea Green publishing newsletter:

Eight Chelsea Green authors will speak and lead workshops at the Second Annual Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change conference presented by the Marion Institute on the campus of UMASS Dartmouth, October 20 to 22. Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change is an internationally acclaimed annual gathering of environmental, industry and social justice innovators who have demonstrated visionary and practical models for restoring the Earth and its inhabitants.

Participating CGP Authors
John Abrams, The Company We Keep
Dale Bell and Harry Wiland, Edens Lost & Found
Stephan Harding, Animate Earth
John Lash, Not in His Image
Lynn Margulis, Luminous Fish (Spring 2007 title)
Gunter Pauli, Upsizing and Zeri Fables
Jessica Prentice, Full Moon Feast
Matthew Sleeth, Serve God, Save the Planet
Eric Toensmeier, Edible Forest Gardens and Perennial Vegetables (Spring 2007 title)
Tim Traver, Sippewissett

Recent Articles

Fish farms kill wild salmon, study finds [CBC News] (Full Story)

Infamous French Art Thief to release memoir [CBC News] (Full Story)

Author J.G.Ballard's influence on Music [CBC News] (Full Story)

STEPHEN H. BURRINGTON, A new path for state park system [Boston Globe] (Full Story)

"off the cuff" - on hiatus this week

Chris is covering the No Commercial Potential I time slot tonight from 7-10pm EST on WZBC 90.3fm in the Boston Area. Listen in -- it should be good.

Also of note, Mike Cronin who used to do the Widow's Walk programme on WZBC (prior to my arrival) will be stopping by this Monday afternoon to contribute to The Kraft-o-Matic Bed o' Nails
its described as "A weekly program of music designed to be highly adjustable,
though not guaranteed to be comfortable."
Mondays 5-7 PM on WZBC 90.3 FM in Boston

Enjoy.

recent articles

The German Chancellor Warns Against Self-Censorship (CBC Article).

The FCC Censors PBS (New York Observer Article)

Super 8 is on the way out (Guardian UK Article)

John O’Mahony wonders about the effectiveness of dance to describe humanity’s cruel acts.

Sven Nykvist, Ingmar Bergman's Cinematographer passed away at the age of 83.

Sven Nykvist - one of the greatest cinematographers of the 20th century passed away.

Futher details can be found here:

CBC

Obituary in the Guardian UK -- accompanied by a nice slideshow of his work.

imdb list of films he worked on

Chris Fujiwara's article on the series at the Harvard Film Archive circa 2000.

Deval Patrick: a primer

A friend in Brooklyn just asked me for some information about the man who just won the Democratic Party's nomination for Governor in the State of Massachusetts.

The basic information is at his website, which has a comprehensive biography.

Deval has been a lot of places the other canidates haven't.
He was the only candidate to attend this meeting.

John Nichols reporting in the Nation weighs in here.

An article in the Boston Globe is referenced on Daily Kos.

take some time out

Ok ok. They asked for something of substance here something raw and personal. You get that every once and awhile. I suppose upon cursory examination its all there, exposed in the moonlight -- all you have to do is look. Perhaps you do. Then again, its so easy to make judgments, so easy to laugh at it all, without processing a damn thing. People have said it for ages: it is really about time, space, and memory. The three things you cannot escape, no matter how hard you try. This all ends in some cold, emotional truth-- best expressed in the transience of life. Best expressed in the wryness of her smile, one that I hope is true, that I have to believe is of some index, some touch of happiness in the moment. I read and I learn and I persevere as much as I can-- without sitting straight and producing something. Excitement? Content? A coherent passage into reality. I sit here pulling out the maps of prior memories, hopes, wishes and dreams. They are all I have left, as you'd imagine I'd say. A sick, perverse, bitter conformity to the whims of the present. You could say this at any age, if you were simplistic about it. This point, this irrational moment occurred a few months ago and haunts me still. Memories, especially ones relating to unexplainable incidents have a way of doing that -- of deteriorating all our senses by feeding them informaiton they cannot process. That is what happened to me. I am still recovering from the bruises and burns in my psyche. Funny how I have to go through this everytime, to cut through it all before I can start thinking clearly, before I can start writing.

Hej hej. Excellent Article on Labrador Records

The wonders of Swedish indie-pop in today's Guardian UK - Jude Rogers on The Stockholm Syndrome. Perhaps Sofia Coppola's new film, Marie-Antoinette, will have an effect as well, The Radio Dept has three songs on its soundtrack. I really just want to see them play live at a small venue before a tidal wave of hype takes over.

The Seducer (Forføreren) by Jan Kjærstad

The Seducer (Forføreren) by Norwegian author, Jan Kjærstad, was finally published in English translation in the United States this summer. It is the first book in a trilogy of his that was originally written in the mid-1990s. The book concerns the activities of television documentary producer, Jonas Wergeland. It positions itself as somewhere in between biography and fiction, or at least, that's the book's primary conceit as its language and methods exist wholly in the territory of fiction. However, the enormous presence of all the characters in the book lend it to the idea of biography, they are vivid and many times larger than life. In the beginning, in a chapter called "The Big Bang", the one event that starts the book's mechanism occurs, Jonas comes home after working on his television programme abroad, Jonas comes to his apartment in Oslo to find his wife dead on their living room floor. It is from this event that Jonas Wergeland's universe is blown apart. The book from here on in consists of past reflections, memories of childhood, family interactions, and sexual encounters in his life. These events are bracketed by chapters dealing with the subject's television programme "Thinking Big", a documentary series that focusses on an event in a famous Norwegian's life (such as Ole Bull, Fridtjof Nansen, Gustav Vigeland, Armauer Hansen, Per Spook and Knut Hamsun) and uses this to ruminate upon Norway's place in the world; it looks at the world through the prism of Norway. The seemingly omniscient narrator (and as yet, unknown) is quite critical of Norwegian life and has some startling insight into contempoary history. If you know very little of the History of Norway, The Seducer is certainly a fun and exciting way to educate oneself. It is a book full of active learning and responses to contempoary and past events. As Jonas drifts into his past, considering who could have been responsible for his wife's grisly end, his actions speak to the reader as the sign of a man with an active imagination, one who is able to examine history by his sheer contrary stance to it. Time and again, Jonas' life is marked by his conscious decision to be different, to shake things up by doing things contrary to the zeitgeist. It is usually during these moments that the narrator is able to make comments about the single-mindedness of Norwegian culture and its resistence to certain kinds of change. I found these moments of the book quite fascinating. This is not to say that the book is all history and politics-- it is the tale of a Seducer, after all. Jonas Weregeland is a seducer of the Norwegian public in watching and loving his programme and he is also a lover of women. That is to say he is the great lover of women, he does nothing to entice them to stay with him, he merely has to look in their direction, they sense his presence and must have him. This is the way numerous sexual events are described during his adolescence. Jonas is able to have intimate knowledge with the most wonderful and bizzare women (each with last name abbreviated), who in later years become experts in their fields and great champions of Norway. All of these events form a mosaic in the life of a man, a man who is bound up in his identity as a Norwegian and as a citizen of the world, at the same time that he sets himself apart from his homeland, he also illustrates that he can never escape it. This book is a charming and exciting read from start to finish. Jan Kjærstad is an author of enormous skill, his tale of Jonas Wergeland raises many questions, it makes me thirst for the second book in the trilogy.

Further information:

the Complete Review

Odin Trends in Contemporary Norwegian Literature

Publisher's information:

Overlook Press

H. Aschehoug & Co

Arcadia Books