Awezome:

Hooray for tilt-shift-time-lapse!!

Beached from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Metal Heart from Keith Loutit on Vimeo.

Mon Dieu! J'aime cette chanson!
Et le film est bon aussi!




Avant la Haine (Romain Duris & Joanna Preiss)
Lui :
Sais-tu ma belle que les amours
Les plus brillantes ternissent
Le sale soleil du jour le jour
Les soumet au suplice

J'ai une idée inattaquable
Pour éviter l'insupportable

Avant la haine, avant les coups
De sifflet ou de fouet
Avant la peine et le dégout
Brisons-là s'il te plait

Elle :
Mais je t'embrasse et ça passe
Tu vois bien
On s'débarrasse pas de moi comme ça

Tu croyais pouvoir t'en sortir,
En me quittant sur l'air
Du grand amour qui doit mourir
Mais vois-tu je préfère
Les tempêtes de l'inéluctable
A ta petite idée minable

Avant la haine, avant les coups
De sifflet ou de fouet
Avant la peine et le dégout
Brisons-là dis-tu

Lui :
Mais tu m'embrasses et ça passe
Je vois bien
On s'débarrasse pas de toi comme ça

Lui :
Je pourrais t'éviter le pire

Elle :
Mais le meilleur est à venir

Ensemble :
Avant la haine, avant les coups
De sifflet ou de fouet
Avant la peine et le dégout

Lui:
Brisons-là s'il te plait

Elle:
Mais je t'embrasses et ça passe
Tu vois bien

Ensemble :
Avant la haine, avant les coups
De sifflet ou de fouet
Avant la peine et le dégout

Elle:
Brisons-là dis-tu

Lui :
Mais tu m'embrasses et ça passe
Je vois bien
On s'débarrasse pas de toi comme ça

Elle:
On s'débarrasse pas de toi comme ça
(lyrics)


Before the Hate (Romain Duris & Joanna Preiss)
Him:
You know, my lovely,
That the brightest loves tarnish
The dirty sun of the day, the day
They are subjected to scrutiny?

I have an irrefutable idea
For avoiding the unbearable:

Before the hate, before the blows,
The hisses or the lashes,
Before the pain and the disgust --
Please, let's end it there.

Her:
But I kiss you and it passes.
You see,
You can't brush me off like that.

You thought to get yourself out of it
By leaving me like
Some great love that must die.
But, you see, I prefer
The tempests of the inevitable
To your stupid little idea.

Before the hate, before the blows,
The hisses or the lashes,
Before the pain and the disgust --
End it there, you say?

Him:
But you kiss me and it passes.
I know,
You can't be brushed off like that.

Him:
I could avoid for you the worst.

Her:
But the best is yet to come.

Together:
Before the hate, before the blows,
The hisses or the lashes,
Before the pain and the disgust

Him:
Please, let's end it there.

Her:
But I kiss you and it passes
You see?

Together:
Before the hate, before the blows,
The hisses or the lashes,
Before the pain and the disgust

Her:
End it there, you say?

Him:
But you kiss me and it passes.
I know,
You can't be brushed off like that.

Her:
You can't brush me off like that.
(translation)

BAhHEhehIKAHE!!

LISTES!

LISTS: likes, dislikes, ideas, themes, issues, subjects, objects, names, words, fonts, colors, flavors, scents, sounds, songs, movies, shows, books, fictional characters, heroes, villains, myths, religions, cultures, social norms, social movements, rebellions, utopias, alternate realities, alternate histories, animal hybrids, abandoned places, restaurants, food, cars, trends, toys, collections, obsessions, fears, patterns, textures, logos, symbols, art/artists, photography subjects, occupations, experiments if there were no moral/physical limits, what-ifs, it'd be nice if..., things that define... (ex: mediocrity), why taxes are good, why life is absurd, etc...

SUBJECTS: psychology, philosophy, religion, mythology, comparative literature, linguistics, history, archaeology, anthropology, sociology, criminology, education, economics, political science, comparative politics, international relations, peace/war studies, forensics, biology, zoology, genetics, neurology, nutrition, sleep studies, scent studies, sound studies, art studies, film, cinematography, photography, printmaking, metalworking, architecture, interior design, industrial design, graphic design, culinary art, food science...

OBJECTS: stickers, buttons, bouncy balls, balloons, silly putty, guitar pics, glow sticks, neon signs, inflatable pool rafts, fluorescent plastic-ware, tupperware, cutting boards, scissors, spatulas, salt & pepper shakers, fake fruit (especially grapes), plastic orange pill bottles, antique glass medicine bottles, blue glass, vases, mugs, tumblers, tiles, geodes, fool's gold, gold foil, match boxes, lighters, candles, cameos, class rings, talking watches, futons, minimalistic furniture, IKEA

COLLECTIONS: places, names, words, fortune-cookie fortunes, books, movies, movie tickets, old photographs, old cameras, rusty metal, (broken pieces of) reflectors, (broken pieces of) mirrors, mannequin parts, dolls, other toys, thimbles, teeth, googly eyes, bouncy balls, stickers, stencils, fake tattoos, wrapping paper, postcards, notebooks, rulers, pens, pencils, paper clips, paper, thumb tacks, other office supplies, old school notes, old maps, globes

ABANDONED STUFF: chernobyl, cars, junkyards, shacks, farms, graveyards, prisons, asylums, old-folks' homes, hospitals, schools, schoolbuses, playgrounds, carnivals, amusement parks, race tracks, warehouses, gas stations, transit stations, mailboxes, keys, couches, televisions, refrigerators, grocery lists, letters, notes, journals

DISLIKES: bullying, narcissism, arrogance, authority, intolerance, racism, sexism, agism, religionism, all those other bad isms, close-mindedness, unnecessary assumptions, all-encompassing statements, "universal" rules, rules in general, force, war, weapons, politics, conspicuous consumption, greed, extreme individualism (without regard for society), unfettered capitalism (without regard to society), people who try to be "cool", the nature of humanity and nature itself.......

FOODZ: thai food, chinese food, japanese food, cajun food, italian food, saaaalt, buffets, personalized meals, pasta, noodles, rice, salads, caesar dressing, italian dressing, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette, balsamic vinaigrette, croutons, cheese, salmon, celery & peanut butter, peanut-butter sandwiches, soups, bisques, creamy chowders, gumbo, curries, pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, scrambled eggs, flaky/layered biscuits, waffle house hash browns, ihop funny face pancakes, fries from gypsie's shiny diner, tortilla chips, cheeze-its!, buttery crackers, texas toast, cornbread, sweet potatoes, barbecue baked beans, baked lasagna, baked pasghetti, baked macaroni and cheese, corn pops, frosted flakes, snikerdoodles, chocolate chip cookies, semi-sweet chocolate chips, candied apples, cotton candy, italian soda, fu fu berry jones soda, grapefruit izze, lorina sparkling french berry lemonade, homemade lemonade, sweet iced tea, hot tea, chai, hot chocolate, mr. pibb, cold stone ice cream, dark chocolate, butterfingers, peanut m&ms, mr. goodbars, airheads, laffy taffy, big chewy sweet tarts, nerds, gum....

oMGteYGAHEWDDD HGIOWFJ!!!!!!!!
THeRYES SOO CUUTUETEUTEU!!!

Free video chat by Ustream

FLF 201: Cheb Khaled

khaled: site officiel
khaled: wikipedia
khaled: sound on sound
khaled: RFI musique
khaled: world music central
khaledmania
raï: wikipedia
world of raï
raï artists
raï algérien
aïcha: wikipedia
aïcha: translation 1
aïcha: translation 2
le jour viendra



Cheb Khaled, Aïcha:

Comme si je n'existais pas,
elle est passée à côté de moi
Sans un regard, reine de Saba,
j'ai dit, Aïcha, prends, tout est pour toi

Voici, les perles, les bijoux,
aussi l'or autour de ton cou
Les fruits, biens mûrs au goût de miel,
ma vie, Aicha si tu m'aimes!

J'irai où ton souffle nous mène,
dans les pays d'ivoire et d’ébène
J'effacerais tes larmes, tes peines,
rien n'est trop beau pour une si belle

Aïcha, Aïcha écoute-moi,
Aïcha, Aïcha t'en vas pas,
Aïcha, Aïcha regarde moi,
Aïcha, Aïcha réponds-moi

Je dirais le mots des poèmes,
je jouerais les musiques du ciel,
je prendrais les rayons du soleil,
pour éclairer tes yeux de reine

Oooh! Aïcha, Aïcha écoute-moi,
Aïcha, Aïcha t'en vas pas

Elle a dit: "Garde tes trésors,
moi, je vaux mieux que tout ça.
Des barreaux sont des barreaux même en or
Je veux les mêmes droits que toi
Et du respect pour chaque jour,
moi je ne veux que l'amour"

Yaaay, SNL!

Christopher Walken SNL!

pour le français!
projet culturel: l'impressionnisme
un paysage de Degas

artcyclopedia: impressionism

artcyclopedia: degas

webmuseum: impressionism

webmuseum: degas

les grands peintres:impressionnisme

les grands peintres: degas

Metropolitan Museum of Art: impressionism

Metropolitan Museum of Art: degas

buzzle: impressionism

buzzle: degas

artchive: degas

beach scene: image only

beach scene: national gallery

beach scene: "teacher's notes"

degas landscapes: book preview

"Sen. Kent Conrad chastises Bush for fiscal record:"



Worst president ever.

"Who's the Better Manager of the Economy, Republicans or Democrats?"

PS241--THIRD WORLD...

What is the third world and why is it called that?

third world network

third world traveler

countries by GDP

countries by economic freedom

countries by percentage living in poverty

countries by human development index

human development index

UN human development indices

genuine progress indicator

gross international happiness

happy planet index

non-aligned movement

non-aligned movement--BBC

non-aligned movement--wikipedia

non-aligned news network


ARTICLES

NYT: Third World & Developing Countries

Third World diplomacy.

Is democracy possible in the third world?

Third World crushes its entrepreneurs.

Africa: Why most of the country remains poor.

Harvard International Review: Failed States

Foreign Policy: Failed States Index 2008

Denis O'Brien invests where other men fear to tread.

World Bank finds more people live in steep poverty.

An even poorer World.

What's your consumption factor?

Africa & Coca-Cola: Index of happiness?

Third World debt undermines development.

example of negative side of capitalism

Anup Shah, Global Food Crisis 2008, GlobalIssues.org, Last updated: Sunday, August 10, 2008

Notes on maturity that I want to remember, edited somewhat from a previous conversation/debate...

I feel that the view of maturity as “simply conforming to society” is merely an excuse for one to not care about the results of one's actions and to cut down on guilt. In fact, I'm not sure that "conforming to society" actually has all that much to do with maturity. Conformity can be a very cruel and immature trait when one is conforming to cruel and immature standards/customs, more so when one conforms without thinking. And although there are many ways of thinking about maturity, it seems to be more or less universally recognized as a positive attribute in places that have a similar word, and people who consider it a negative thing generally, to be blunt, seem to be self-centered assholes without empathy. For example, I would imagine most fraternity-slut-jerks who think it’s cool to jack off to naked strangers on girls gone wild might think “maturity” is a trait that only pathetic dorks would possess and that they should therefore make fun of.

There are many different aspects of maturity, but at the most basic level, beyond simple physical/cognitive maturation, it simply means respect… the understanding (which comes from interacting with and learning from other human beings) that other people have feelings. It is respect for other people as people, as other human beings with individual feelings, interests, relationships, personalities… not just objects at one’s personal disposal. For example, using strangers’ naked (or partially-clothed in fetish gear) bodies (or simply their feet or legs or lips) for one’s own sexual satisfaction (i.e. porn—of any sort) violates these people’s existence as human beings; it treats them as sex objects whose outer appearance is the only thing that matters. It’s highly disrespectful, disregards these individuals' humanity (despite whether they care or not), and is therefore immature.

One commonly given example of immaturity is the behavior of children, who often are very disrespectful and egocentric simply because they don’t yet understand the concept that other people have feelings. This is because they have not yet developed operational, reversible thinking, and so are immature, though through no fault of their own. However, if adults were to never grow out of such egocentrism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egocentrism), and continue to believe in peek-a-boo, the world would be a much more miserable place than it already is… without empathy, compassion, understanding, tolerance, care… I agree that children often possess some great characteristics, such as lightheartedness, creativity and innovation, that would be good for the world, but I think these traits have nothing to do with respect or maturity. One’s ability to enjoy playing with legos, doodling, or visiting a theme park really has nothing to do with the non-developmental sense of maturity.

Everyone should have to see Why We Fight... sigh.
Why aren't these discussions focused on in the mainstream media?
It's ashame that the majority of the American public doesn't even know what's going on in their names. Our reputations are being decided by the lies and manipulation of a tiny, corrupt, unaccountable minority with a stranglehold on power. It's unjust, undemocratic, and tyrannical. Justice in this country is a joke. When the president decides he can do whatever he wants, we might as well be living in a monarchy.

wominz in ze newz

powerful women & sex scandals

the media's bias against female presidential candidates

the pentagon fails to protect US troops from sexual abuse

producing vs. consuming countries

is a much better distinction than

developed vs. developing countries

I miss Kucinich :-(

QWOTES I VANT TO REMEMBAR....

"The idea that you can merchandise candidates for high office like breakfast cereal - that you can gather votes like box tops - is... the ultimate indignity to the democratic process." --Adlai Stevenson

"Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians." --Charles Krauthammer

"Take our politicians: they're a bunch of yo-yos. The presidency is now a cross between a popularity contest and a high school debate, with an encyclopedia of cliches the first prize." --Saul Bellow

"Do you ever get the feeling that the only reason we have elections is to find out if the polls were right?" --Robert Orben

"When I was a boy I was told that anybody could become President; I'm beginning to believe it." --Clarence Darrow

"During a campaign the air is full of speeches - and vice versa." --Author Unknown

"[U.S.] Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least." --Robert Byrne

"When one may pay out over two million dollars to presidential and Congressional campaigns, the U.S. government is virtually up for sale. " --John Gardner

"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness." --John Kenneth Galbraith

"The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They're the kind of people who'd stop to help you change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn't bother to stop because they'd want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club." --Dave Barry

"One ought to recognize that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy. You cannot speak any of the necessary dialects, and when you make a stupid remark, its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself. Political language - and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists - is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time, one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase - some jackboot, Achilles' heel, hotbed, melting pot, acid test, veritable inferno or other lump of verbal refuse - into the dustbin where it belongs." --George Orwell

Two of the best movies I've seen in a long time... well, ever...

http://www.therewillbeblood.com/
http://www.nocountryforoldmen.com/

No Country For Old Men made me want to read Cormac McCarthy's book, but I was kind of disappointed by the bit that I read; I by far preferred the movie (sorry McCarthy & English-professor-parents). Javier Bardem gave one of the best creepy bad guy performances I've ever seen, if not the best. That hair cut somehow managed to be extremely sinister even though normally it would just be kind of bizarre-looking. His solemn and creepy demeanor was perfectly combined with a bit of dry humor to create an immensely fascinating character. I didn't really know anything about the plot before going in, which I think was a good thing; not knowing what was going on half the time made it more exciting and interesting. I also really loved the pacing--it was kind of slow for a "cat & mouse" thriller, which I quite prefer, as it allows more time, space, and quietness for the tension to seep in, compared to your typical lightning-fast-filled-with-sensational-violence-action movie. Plus the scenery was just spectacular... serene and peaceful but also oppressively and terrifyingly desolate. The overall effect was chilling, which is my favorite reaction to a movie.

Same for There Will Be Blood, which is, I think, now part of my top 10, definitely top 20... chilling, haunting, unnerving, bewildering, mind-boggling; it left me with this kind of “whoa… I can’t believe that just happened” feeling. The score was incredible; it could be used in a film class… even when the camera was simply staring at a couple of mountains, or leisurely watching the characters silently walk across barren land, the soundtrack forcibly pulled you (or, me, at least) into the story, completely undistracted and uninterested in anything else at that moment, but still evoking this apprehensive and uneasy feeling towards the characters and plot unfolding before your eyes. And then of course there was Daniel Day Lewis, who’s now officially my favorite actor. He was perfect!! His voice, mannerisms, expressions, attitude, anger, humor, subdued evilness… His performance was one of the best I’ve ever seen, but the other actors all gave excellent performances as well… the fact that there was really only one significant female character didn’t even bother me. The dominant themes were really interesting as well—greed, wealth, work, capitalism, religion, love, friendship, trust, respect, exploitation… and the relationships and similarities that exist between seemingly conflicting ideas. And historically, with the present oil crisis, it’s interesting to see the how the industry first began. Yay! Movies!

Robert Epstein argues in The Case Against Adolescence that "for the first time in human history, we have artificially extended childhood well past puberty. Simply stated, we are not letting our young people grow up. Through most of human history, our ancestors began to produce children shortly after puberty, just as the members of all nonhuman species do to this day. Whether we like the idea or not, our young ancestors must have been capable of providing for their offspring, defending their families from predators, cooperating with others, and in most other aspects functioning fully as adults. If they couldn't function as adults, their young could not have survived, which would have meant the swift demise of the human race. The fact that we're still here suggests that most young people are probably far more capable than we think they are. Somewhere along the line, we lost sight of--and buried--the potential of our teens."

To find out just how "infantilized" teens are today, Epstein and his colleague Diane Dumas "asked a hundred teens between thirteen and seventeen in seven locations around the United States... to complete a checklist of forty-two restrictions that adults--or at least adults who aren't incarcerated or in the military--virtually never face but that very young children face frequently.... The higher the score, the more restrictions one faces. If you're over eighteen, when was the last time you were given a 'time out' or sent to your room? When were you last forced to undergo medical treatment against your will? When did someone last confiscate your personal property or search your bedroom? When were you last spanked as a punishment for misbehaving? Not recently, I suspect. But our respondents scored surprisingly high on this scale. On average they had 'regularly or routinely' experienced more than twenty-six of these restrictions since they were thirteen, and seventy-four of the teens scored between twenty-two and forty (meaning that the distribution of scores was skewed toward the high numbers)....

"To find out how adults score on the infantilization scale, I administered it recently to twenty-five noninstitutionalized adults in the San Diego area, twenty-four United States Marines on active duty (at Camp Pendleton in Southern California), and thirty-two incarcerated felons (at a county prison in the San Diego area). One would think that military personnel--obligated to follow orders without question--and prisoners--stripped of most of their rights by the criminal justice system--would be far more encumbered than noninstitutionalized teens. But that's not what I found. Noninstitutionalized adults indeed scored near zero on the scale (2.3 out of a possible 42), but teens outscored prisoners and soldiers by a large margin (26.6 for teens vs. 14.6 for prisoners and 10.9 for soldiers). Even with these small samples, the differences in these scores were, from a statistical standpoint, highly significant. In other words, teens appear to be subjected to about twice as many restrictions as are prisoners and soldiers and to more than ten times as many restrictions as everyday adults."

Why is this bad? Well, for one reason, utilitarianism: "'Adolescent' is defined in modern society as a person in turmoil, and the toll that turmoil takes on our teens, our families, and our society is enormous. That's one reason we need to reexamine the nature and plight of adolescence, but there's another, less glamorous, but perhaps even more important reason: young people are capable of making great contributions to society, but they currently have virtually no way of being heard.... In times past, young people often accomplished great things; it's tough for them to do so in today's America."

Another reason is that this infantilization strips the rights of these individuals to which they are entitled, not only as American citizens but as sentient, rational human beings. As Albert Ellis writes in the forward to the book, "our contemporary disregard for the civil rights of young people is abysmal... their parents, teachers, and society are doing much harm and little good by over-restricting them."

honeycomb vase

"The vase was conceived by Tomás Gabzdil Libertiny, a young Slovakian product designer. Eager to explore the relationship between design and nature, he settled upon beeswax as a suitable material and chose the vase as an appropriate object to make from it. 'Beeswax comes from flowers and, in the form of a vase, it ends up containing flowers before they die,' Libertiny says. 'It’s a beautiful story.'"

--NY Times 7th Annual Year in Ideas