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Recent Entries
"Art" - Ch. 2.
"What is Art?" Chapter One
Shostakovich and The End of The World
This One's For You, Jonny
I am home(page)(ed).
bibliographies and Stegasaurii
Googe Poetry - An Ode to Matthew Conrad Good
Britney Spears, of COURSE!
Google Talk and Dada.
Girls <3 Nerds.
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May 31, 2005

"Art" - Ch. 2.

In response to previous comments, yes kate purpuse is a dangerous word. But not when you consider how everything in life is connected. That makes nothing purposeless. It is how I can say that every thing that happened in the entire course of human history changed my life. Even if I don't know about it. Purpose - very loose. And yes I read the introduction and appreciate the fact that this book comes from an old and perhaps frustrated, but nonetheless perhaps wiser, perhaps more sentimental Tolstoy. John I don't think that assuming a culture has a common set of metaphors means that there is underlying absolutes about something. I can say my soul is black and nearly all Westerners will be creeped out by that. That is what I mean by a common metaphor.

This leads me in to chapter two. Tolstoy talks about how there is no "beautiful" deed or music in the Russian language. In Russian, the word beautiful only applies to visual pleasurefulness. This separates the "good" from the "beautiful" a bit. IIIInteresting. Ok ok short chapter tolstoy closes out by quoting two people on what art is... Schasler and Veron... Schasler kinda says, "either you define art with flowery empty words or you clumsily try with awkward philosophic terms... no wait there's a mix of those too as well." Veron kinda says, "there's an absolute beauty. art is sorta a physical manifestation of it... which is why its so different cuz each work of art shows the ideal from a different angle." I am having trouble with these two quotes... why are they compared? what am I supposed to learn about the one from the other? maybe I am reading one or both wrong...

Ok Tolstoy I'm waiting for you to blow my mind. You are not doing it yet. You are like Charlie Peacock in this book "At the Crossroads." You talk a lot about the question and do not talk about the answer much. I am well aware of the questions. I am well versed in why we should ask them. I am even ready to throw off my own biases and listen to you, wizened old man that you are. Okay okay, bring it on already! perhaps tomorrow.

Posted by pedalboy at 2:59 AM | TrackBack

May 30, 2005

"What is Art?" Chapter One

So i'm reading Tolstoy's "What is Art?" now. Kate said it made her angry so it would probably make me really angry. But Tolstoy doesn't like Wilde, so I agree with him there. Aestheticism is silly. But Tolstoy doesn't like Beethoven, so he complete and utter moron. But Tolstoy doesn't like Wagner, so I think I need to listen to more Wagner.

Ok, chapter one goes into great detail to set up art as a"big endeavor" sort of thing. Thousands of people, some paid much, some paid little, all being criticised harshly when they make mistakes... Tolstoy asks, "What for? What is the sense of all this?"

"So on is quite ata a loss as to whom all these things are done for. The man of culture is heartily sick of them, while to a real working man they are utterly incomprehensible. If anyone can be pleased by these things (which is doubtful0, it can only be some young footman or depraved artisan, who has contracted the spirit of the upper classes but is not yet satiated with their amusements, and wishes to show his breeding."

There is some of me in that. It happens. There are times when I prove the opposite of myself, as well, to be fair.

Tolstoy closes out the chapter saying that all artists of a particular movement all disown artists of all other movements.... the old romanticists deny the parnassians and the decadents, the dadaists deny all who came before, the tolstoy's deny the aestheticists... its the natural lot of artistic movements. Tolstoy says this is sort of a problem, since it is evidence that we do not agree on what is meant by art, and what is valuable in art.

OK OK reactions. Chapter one is not so groundbreaking. kate asked me once what I thought about art for art's sake. i think i said it was cool sometimes, but that I prefer my art to have some driving force behind it. Really I am just overcompensating for people who are overly pragmatic. What I believe is always somwhere between what I think and what I say. I do like art with a purpose, gasp, maybe even a use. I just define these things very very loosely, and don't ever throw things out rashly.

Tolstoy sets up the opera rehearsal as a big spectacle. Then he isolates it, making it appear very very foreign to us. But art does not exist in a vacuum. ANYTHING put inside of this strict mental isolation becomes foreign, pointless, nihilistic... Meaning is all metaphor. Part of being an artist is knowing how to manipulate the collective set of metaphors that a culture (or all of humanity, preferably, but that is not always possible) is familiar with. This is probably the primary reason for me to view popular music as a valid medium for creating art. That said, it is seldom done. That gets us into the art/craft distinction and I have such a hard time remembering thoughts that i had previously organized (that's one of the reasons I have a blog) that I can't talk about that tonight. Plus I'm a little tired. Comment if you care but this is straightforward (pretty boring) stuff so far.

Posted by pedalboy at 3:07 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 24, 2005

Shostakovich and The End of The World

I am finally getting around the posting my Shostakovich paper. I would love for many of you out there to read it. I hope I made it clear and lovely and everything.

Download the thyng hyre.

Now, on to other business. The End of The World. To quote my source, "Destroying the Earth is harder than you may have been led to believe." And he's right. Oh sure there are thousands, perhaps millions of feasible ways to end all life on the planet, or to make the planet unihabitable for a very long time, but what if you are hell-bent on actually making this chunk of molten iron cease to exist?? You have a significantly more challenging project.

This site will help you on your quest to eradicate the universe from terra's offending presence. A number of more-interesting-than-they-should-be "solutions" are presented, their feasability evaluated, and the earliest possible timeframe until their completion is also given. Seriously, this is good stuff and you need to check it out. They even mention breifly the possibility of a vogon constructor fleet coming to vaporize the planet. Good reading, along with the guide on how to move the earth. A good afternoon's enjoyment.

Posted by pedalboy at 1:04 PM | TrackBack

May 23, 2005

This One's For You, Jonny

Just look at them.

You know you want to be a European Beard SUPERSTAR!!!

I saw something about this on the news about fine minutes ago. The blogging could not wait!!

Posted by pedalboy at 11:30 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

May 19, 2005

I am home(page)(ed).

Greets from home. Things are quiet here but at least I have my studio. And a new guitar.

If you don't know about Google's new homepage thingy, I am telling you. in fact, even if you do know about it, I am still telling you. Imagine that. Go there, set one up, live in information bliss.

On my homepage is New York Times, BBC, and Wired News, as well as a healthy helping of slashdot, the weather, in addition to quote and word of the day. Amazing.

Posted by pedalboy at 10:10 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

May 10, 2005

bibliographies and Stegasaurii

(22:19:10) Pedalboy007: my bibliography kicks butt
(22:19:31) Selahdedah: mine only kicks shins so far, but I have yet to add a lot of things
(22:19:48) Pedalboy007: haha
(22:20:07) Pedalboy007: your bibliography is kate netzler

Posted by pedalboy at 10:21 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

May 9, 2005

Googe Poetry - An Ode to Matthew Conrad Good

"Matthew Conrad Good Will Never "
by Google Talk and John Brittingham

matthew conrad good will never
did he encourage grumbling or moaning.
Nevertheless,
did did did did
did you see the Lightning and hear the thunder
of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded
Writhing in pain.

help us to lay waste their humble homes
with a hurricane of fire;
Help us to wring the hearts
of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief;
help us to turn them out roofless
with their little children to him in order to be saved?

we must believe in the existence of God.
and the image of the Other.
in the realm of the Senses Movies DVDs)
DVDs did did did did
did you see the LATEST version
of the popular, game Lines for Microsoft Windows

Posted by pedalboy at 12:00 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 3, 2005

Britney Spears, of COURSE!

Well as it turns out, Brittney Spears is a fan of Radiohead. Before your world is rocked too hard, look at this picture:

Oh PHEW we are saved! She's got Pablo Honey in her hand. I no longer feel the need to burn my two copies of Kid A.

In other radiohead news, the UK's Channel4 poll voted OK Computer as the #1 greatest album of all time. Consequently, days later, OK Computer jumped hundreds of spots to shoot back up to a #4 sales position on the charts. Which is funny. Maybe people needed to be reminded how good of an album it really is? Who knows.

Posted by pedalboy at 10:11 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Google Talk and Dada.

I'm reading this wonderful book "Dada and Surrealism: A Very Short Introduction" that my second favorite person in the world gave me from Oxford. Many people ask me what Dada is. Many people think they know what surrealism is from the paintings of salvador dali and the like. In an effort to clear up the confusion once and for all about these important philosophies (perhaps the most important influences on contemporary art today), I have provided the following two working definitions of my terms:

dada philosophy is that it is the year of the Eucharist the body and the body of Christ, is a film about the Runaways DVD The Runaways record, Cherry Bomb in a Cairo bazaar popular with tourists and locals. alike

surrealism is defined as a series of Unfortunate Events a Series of UNFORTUNATE Events a Series of UNFORTUNATE Events a Series of UNFORTUNATE Events a Series of UNFORTUNATE Events a Series of UNFORTUNATE Events and surrealist philosophy is defined as the amount of the credit is subtracted from. the total tax amount. due. for the month

Thank you Google Talk for the scholarly insight.

I do hope that this clears things up.

Posted by pedalboy at 12:54 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 1, 2005

Girls <3 Nerds.

Thank you, prof. Cole. Ganked from Lord knows where else:

"Why Geeks and Nerds Are Worth It."

In the wide world of dating, there are many options. Do you go for the flashy guy with the smooth smile, or the dude in the corner typing away on his laptop? The following are reasons why I think my fellow females should pay more attention to the quiet geeks and nerds, and less attention to the flashy boys.

1.) While geeks and nerds may be awkward, they’re well-meaning 9 out of 10 times. That smooth dude with the sly grin and the spider hands? Wonder what HIS intentions are... plus, I’ve never had a geek guy not call me when he said he would. Score major points THERE.

2.) They’re useful. In this tech-savvy world, it’s great to have a b/f who can make your laptop, desktop, and just about anything else that plugs into a wall behave itself.

3.) They’re more romantic than they’re given credit for. Ok true, their idea of romance might be to make up a spiffy web-page with all the reasons why they love you, with links to pics of you and sonnets and such... but hey. It lasts longer than flowers, plus you can show your friends.

4.) Due to their neglected status, there are plenty to choose from. You like ‘em tall and slender? There are plenty of geeks/nerds who are. You like ‘em smaller with more meat on their bones? Got that too.

5.) They’ve got brains. Come on now, how can intelligence be a bad thing?

6.) Most are quite good at remembering dates. Like birthdates and such, especially if they know it’ll make you happy. Due again to their neglected status, they’re more attentive than guys who “have more options”. Plus, with all that down time without a steady girlfriend, they’ll likely have mental lists of all the things they’d love to do once they GOT a girlfriend.

7.) Sex. Yep. Sex. I’m not really familiar with this myself, but I’ve friends who’ve been intimate with geek guys and it’s raves all around. They say a virgin wrote the Kama Sutra... all that time thinking about sex, imagining sex, dreaming about sex, (they are male after all) coupled with a desire to make you happy? Use your imagination.

8.) They’re relatively low-maintenance. Most can be fueled on pizza, Twinkies and Mt Dew. No complicated dinners needed here, so if you’re not the best cook, eh. Can you order a pizza?

9.) Most frequent bars as often as slugs frequent salt mines. You won’t have to worry much about your geek guy getting his “groove” on with club hotties because, frankly, he’ll be too busy rooting around under his computer wondering where that spare cable went. You won’t have to worry about him flirting with other women because, 9 out of 10 times, he’ll zip right by them in a perfect b-line towards the nearest electronics store. I’ve seen this happen.
Me: “Eww. Victoria Secret’s Models... They’re so skinny. How is that feminine? You can see her ribs!”
Geek Guy: “ooooooo...”
Me: “Hey!” *notices he is staring lustfully towards the computer store*
Geek Guy: “What?”
Me: “Never mind...”

10.) Although he may not want to go to every outing with you, you can arrange swaps, as in, you’ll go to his Gamer Con dressed as an elf princess if he’ll take you to the ballet. Plus, if he doesn’t want to go someplace with you, you won’t have to worry much about what he’s up to. You’ll probably come home to find him asleep on his keyboard in a sea of Mt. Dew cans with code blinking from the screen. It’s ok. He’s used to this. Just toss a blanket over him and turn out the light.

11.) His friends aren’t jerks. I can’t stress this enough. You’ll more likely get “Omg! A GIRL!! Can I see?!” than “Hey hot stuff back that ass up here and let me get some grub on...” They’re awkward geeks too and will, 9 times out of 10, treat you with the utmost respect and, more than likely, a note of awe. A cute girl picked one of their clan to date? It could happen to them! Hope! Drag some of your single girlfriends over, open up a pack of Mt. Dew, crack open the DnD set and get working. Nothing impresses geek guys more than a girl who can hack-n-slash (well ok maybe if she can code... a geek can dream).

12.) They’re rarely if ever possessive. They trust you, so you can be yourself around them. You like to walk around the house in a ratty t-shirt for comfort? He won’t care. He does too! They won’t get pissy if you don’t wear make-up or don’t want to bother primping your hair. If you gain a few pounds, they won’t try their best to make you feel like crap.

13.) They’re usually very well educated. Physics majors and the like. See #5. You won’t have to listen to him blathering on about his car (ok maybe a little), he’ll have loads of other interesting things to talk about. Politics, world events, how much the chicken burgers down at the local place rock, so long as you douse them in hot sauce...

14.) You’ll almost never have to hear, “Yaw dawg whazzap!!” plop out of their mouths. Unless it’s in jest. They spell properly, use correct punctuation, and are able to tell the difference between the toilet and the floor. They almost never get “wasted”, so you won’t have to worry about coming home to find him and his friends passed out on the floor amidst a pile of beer bottles. Mt. Dew cans, perhaps...

15.) And the final reason why geeks and nerds make great boyfriends: They actually give a damn about you. Not how you look (though that’s a plus), not how skinny you are, not how much make-up you primp yourself up with, but they like you for you. That kind of thing lasts longer than “DaMN baby you got a fine ass!!!” Believe me.

----------------------------

Being a self-identified nerd, I'd like to take this time to follow up on a few of these. Things. These things.

#6 I am not. End of story. This neglets the "absent-minded professor" archetype in Geek lore.

Related to #6 is #1. I have forgotten to call Kristin numerous times when i said I would. She is of course quite forgiving.

#9 has happened to me many times. I neglect to look at the API girl for admiring the sexiness of the preamps and eq's she is holding. This reminds me of a joke from AP programming senior year in high school:
Student: Hey Smith, would you rather have a girl or a hamburger?
Mr. Smith: Well, what does the hamburger look like?
And so on.

That said, #7 seems rather convincing...

Many of the reasons seem like settling for something easy. Which isn't so great after all. I would put forth that being easy to live with is not a good reason to lve with someone. Luckily there are also some darn good reasons listed for the love of Nerds. Now if only I can get kristin to dress up as an Elf Princess for me. She used to look IDENTICAL to an elf, you know. But those days are past and there's no sense reminiscing. What's gone is gone and is not coming back. ::sigh:: oh those pointy ears...

Posted by pedalboy at 3:22 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack