Tuesday, March 27, 2012

More Tenderness


I’m going to start of with this to get it out of the way, which is this: seriously, fuck Obama. As in hardcore fuck him until he bleeds rectally, screams till his voice is lost, drools and slobbers in delirious fits, blackouts, repeat as often as necessary until ‘Bama achieves - grown so accustomed to the constant, forcefully rear-end reaming - ass-fucked bliss.(1)(2)

(1) This shouldn’t be read as having anything against ass fuckers or ass fuckees. I’m only assuming Obama doesn’t partake in that intimate thrill. And if he does, say Michelle includes that strap-on marital ritual or the secret service folks provide that service secretly already, I just want the aforementioned Obama fuck to have excessive purposeful intent in order that he gets the appropriate message.

(2) Woah, sounds like I’m advocating rape. I mean, the same thing said but directed to a woman instead, that would be quite ugly. I hope it is clear that I am talking purely figuratively and politically. But, I have to also say that fucking, even anally, does not equal rape. And, despite describing Obama’s hypothetical responses through a prism of pain, consensual sex can (purposely) include violent undertones and test the extremes of physical sensations. Consensual sex is not always gentle/tender/boring. So I’m not advocating rape. I think rape is a horrible crime, whether it happens to a man or woman. I am saying, uh, if this fuck Obama thing was taken literally by anyone, Obama would have consented to it.

I can imagine someone might submit: why fuck Obama? I could tell you. So can Nasser al-Awlaki, Zafar Khan, and the 5th (and 8th) Amendment.(3) Okay, let’s flip the question around and ask instead: why have American citizens permit Obama to indefinitely detain themselves, and torture themselves, and no fly list themselves, and finally, assassinate themselves? Why fuck Obama? - assuming folks ain’t ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid,(4) um, I don’t have to tell you, no one has to tell you, you can tell yourself.


(3) Mr. Kurnaz and Mr. Boumediene can too. I know however this post goes it will meander, and whatever I’m trying to express here will get buried or glossed over by that meandering.

(4) I was going to say that it is quite sad that any evidence of a conscience from the government would elicit celebration. But I’ll not deny “ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid” sounds exactly like someone actually, finally, publicly and miraculously uttered “ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid.” I guess where one has to grasp at straws, make hay with what little is offered. I don’t know nothing about PJ Crowley or his career , but cannot oversell what kind of bona fide hero the statement by itself makes PJ Crowley. And then of course, for fuck sakes, Crowley doesn’t just become a hero, Obama makes him a martyr, as Crowley has, I assume, been pressed to resign.

Despite the demands of word count, I often am left speechless or, in this case, type-less. Let me backtrack a little. This will come across completely narcissistic sounding, even despite my acknowledgment that I have no persuasive sway on anyone, but bringing any notice to these many repugnant Obama directed atrocities (I do not want to mince words nor overdramatize, but that’s what they to me, and, more importantly, that’s what they are) is a driving impetus for why you are reading this now, ie, why I am writing now (or had written this).

I do not want to understate how much Obama sucks, but if we were to get into this, it will take forever, and there’d be no time left for the fun parts. You get the point, or if you were interested at all, you could easily or quickly get the point, so let’s get to the fun part.

Way back, about a year or so ago, I was really psyched about the then forthcoming new Terrence Malick joint, The Tree of Life. His first three movies, with The Thin Red Line high among my all time favorites, left such an strong impression with me that even a suggestion or mere hint of a possible new Malick movie makes me salivate with anticipation.(5) The heightened anticipation survived even with The New World (his last movie) being a letdown to me. And it survives Tree of Life too.


(5) The Criterion edition. I want it.

Here is the thing, Tree of Life gots lots of problems. One big gaping one is that there’s no getting around that the ending or anything to do with Sean Penn’s character is just a mess.

But with the shortcomings, a lot in Tree of Life shows the best of what Malick does or wants to do. There are plenty of great, thoughtful, and eloquent passages/scenes in Tree of Life. And that’s enough to keep Malick in that elevated perch for me. So whatever he does next, I’m eagerly looking out for it.

I was less psyched to go see A Separation. I did not really hear much about it. But around year’s end, a variety of media or internet sources banged the praise drum for this Iranian flick hard and often. So I went to see it. And, it was also problematic for me.

I had issue from the get go with Separation, something about the opening credit bugged me. And while exiting the movie house, doubts lingered and nagged. Which, by now, deepened to a clarity for what ain’t right to me with Separation. But as a thrill ride, Separation is taut with tension, twists, drama, and fascination during the viewing.

I was more keen about catching My Neighbor Tororo. One of the local movie theater had a sort of Miyazaki retrospective, offering a terrific bounty of his masterpieces. Tororo is a sort of keystone and by extension touchstone movie for director Hiyao Miyazaki. I assume; since to that point, the bulk of my exposure to Miyazaki’s movies and his artistically expressed worldview was from Princess Mononoke on. But as much loved as Mononoke or Spirited Away garners, Tororo seem to have a special place for Miyzaki’s fans. Therefore, the aforementioned keenness.

And Tororo lived up to the hype and my anticipation. Miyazaki’s worldview emphasizes elements of paganism/Shinto-ism, environmental, and pacifism (among other things) that weds well to my own interest/sympathies/inclination. Tororo is also executed with great humanity, integrity, intelligence, and humor. One thing, which isn’t a criticism per se, is that Tororo not exactly lacked but certainly did not particularly reach for a certain cinematic-ness. Tororo is a tweener, not yet to the full blown epic quality of Mononoke, and felt to me closer to traditional children fare anime. Other than that, what Miyazaki excels at, with Tororo as an exemplar, is that he shows, rather than preaches or tells. Which, as movie making goes, is what you want.

Then I was sort of mixed in regards to Margaret. Once again, Kenneth Lonergan’s second movie’s strong showing on some end-of-year critics’ lists motivated my interest. I also wanted to catch up with Lonergan’s progress since You Can Count on Me, his debut movie, which I liked.

However, in the end, Margaret fell short. Maybe for a movie about a sprawling mess of a character, the movie’s plot, structure, and texture was intended to mirror that same sprawled mess. But Margaret seems like a screenplay in search of a final draft. Margaret is ostensibly about a misguided youth trying to find meaning or attention, so you know there’s going to be drama. But the movie is so overloaded with drama, and the necessity to continually escalate that drama. Exhausting.

Some of the hype with Margaret was for that rough/uneven quality, the critics’ desire to shine some light for the sort of potential masterpiece snatched away from Lonergan by the studio or money interest, the typical myth building of “but for the studio’s interference.” Which might be true in that the editing seemed awful, and thrown together.

But Margaret is too playwright-y overwrought. I should perhaps preface my assessment a little by stating that as much as Anna Paquin’s performance was a magnificent tour de force, Margaret also dragged for me because it was too star focus/driven for my taste. To me, and I should likewise preface this by stating I don’t think I’ve ever seen any Cassavates movies, so gigantic salt pile here, Margaret is like a Cassavates movie where - I imagine - the whole point is displaying the slow downward spiral of a particular character. How much pain and humiliation can be laid on, or, for the particular actor, acted out.

I was pretty much always going to be wildly excited about any new Alexander Payne movie, and so it was for The Descendants. Payne’s first movie, Citizen Ruth, was just about the craziest and funniest joyride. None of Payne’s subsequent movies matched that unhinged quality, even though - of the ones I’ve seen - they were all pretty damn good, Descendants included.

In other words, I liked Descendants, as did most of the critical establishment. So let’s look at those who were harder to please instead.

The Austin Chronicles had this to say:

The Descendants is beautifully shot (by Phedon Papamichael) and compellingly performed, especially by its young stars, and it has moments of startling tenderness. If only it didn’t feel phony to its bones.
 San Francisco Gate added this:
These are almost reasons to dislike "The Descendants." It suggests a world in which everyone is ultimately nice, in which no emotion goes so deep that it can't be derailed by a moment of good old-fashioned zaniness, where the tears are balanced by laughter, and in which every kid is foulmouthed, every foulmouthed kid is dear, and every dear, darling foulmouthed kid has a deep, native wisdom that adults lack.

Okay, this is what I think. On some level Descendants is totally manufactured, since its ultimately is and strives to be a Hollywood concoction, with all the negative baggage associated with that: slight, placating, contrived, crowd pleasing, whatever. At the same time, Descendants is slight, placating, contrived, crowd pleasing, and so forth. None of that automatically equates to good or not good. The thing I look for is that it is well made and fun.

I’ll put it differently this way, echoing Paul’s response to Madeleine asking why he wanted to date her: parce que je vous trouve jolie, à cause de la tendresse.(6) I like Descendants - in part - because I find it pretty, because of the tenderness. Payne’s straightforward modesty and artsy artlessness are set in sharp contrast to the “realness” of Margaret, where Longeran beset the lead character, Lisa, with endless trauma before she earns whatever relief, denouement, catharsis, resolution. I don’t know what or how life really is, or which of Descendants or Margaret shows a more exacting portrait of life, but to me, sometimes, simple is real, banal is real, light is real.(7) There is no demerits charged for being well made and enjoyable. For about 2 hours of escapism, that sounds like a wonderful idea.  Or, as some do say, less can be more.


(6) From JL Godard’s Masculin Feminin. I thought it was a popular line from the movie, but was not nearly as easy as I thought to www track down. I guess those piracy hunters are doing their job. Anyway, this video bit is un-subtitled and this is only the subtitles. Independently or in conjunction, limited utility.

(7) In fairness, SF Gate had this to say about Margaret, our sentiments sorta echoing, sorta not as they ended with a thumbs up: Filmed six years ago - and tied up in litigation ever since - this Kenneth Lonergan film focuses on a teenage girl, her circle of friends and family and the aftermath of a bus accident which she witnesses and largely causes. It's a very strange case - clearly an original, with brilliant aspects, and yet, in the end, frustrating. Yet it's original enough that one has to call it some flawed, messy version of a good movie.

An ancillary bonus with Descendants is its setting in Hawaii. Never been, but looks gorgeous.

What I do look forward to more than a new Alexander Payne movie is a new Lynne Ramsay movie. As much as I like narrative and continuity based movies, I get a hardon when it comes to movies that are art or abstract leaning, which I believe is Lynne’s approach to things. Her newest We Need to Talk About Kevin is currently in release. Hopefully I find time to catch it before it leaves the movie theaters.

Since I have been using Descendants as a reference, I will stick with that flick (or certain aspects of that flick) with regards to Separation (or certain aspects of Separation). One could reasonably say, the center of both movies is some sort of family drama, or human drama if that’s how you want to define it. But at the same time, the action for both movie is driven by a mystery: in Descendants, who was the person the wife had an affair with, and, in Separation, how the miscarriage occurred. The main difference for me is that it is organic in Descendants, and quite contrived in Separation.

As best that I can remember from Descendants, we learn and discover along with the characters about the infidelity and through the hunt for the “other” man. There is no situations where the director or camera or omniscient third person point of view is privileged to more information. On the other hand, Separation fades out or otherwise withholds several and key information at various times, for no reason other than to deny viewer information symmetry. Or for no reason other than to feign suspense. The end result, for me at least, is that it undermines or undercuts the true-ness or honesty of what’s being presented. If I’m being manipulated with regards to the narrative, then I cannot help but feel that I am being manipulated elsewhere and in other ways. 


All this is a fairly common complaint I have with certain types of movies. I don’t like fake suspense. I just feel that the movie maker or director just does not have enough faith in 1) the material and 2) the audience to remain involved with the movie without the machination.(8) With Separation, yes, it would be a different movie if the key mystery points were revealed. Yet, it would not necessarily be a lesser movie, or if anything, by clarifying the focus to the human drama and characters, it c/would be a stronger movie.

(8) Then, despite my criticism of Separation, I love, from what I have seen, Michael Haneke’s movies, where there are manipulation or artificiality galore. If you watch Haneke’s movies, say Cache, and Asghar Farhadi’s Separation, the difference is obvious, so I will not belabor the point. Unless y’all want me to. A-and, if I had not mention, Farhadi is Separation’s director.

Or, don’t ruin it by filming up to the point of the plot point only to fade away from the action.

This is our decision
To live fast and die young
We've got the vision
Now let’s have some fun

Yeah, it's overwhelming
But what else can we do?
Get jobs in offices
And wake up for the morning commute?

Forget about our mothers and our friends
We're fated to pretend
(9)

(9) From MGMT’s Time to Pretend.

I had meant to write a little something something about Kate Bush and Nico, but - at least directly - I’m not. Instead, I purchase-downloaded the new album, titled Conatus, by Midwest goth cutie Zola Jesus. Zola - and her album - is, like, pretty good.(10) On one level, I wish I could make out the lyrics better, or have the lyrics handy. On other side, and more generally, as much as songs could be about the lyrics, they usually aren’t about the lyrics. Or, lyrics are usually not the thing that gives a song its initial or sustained appeal. Which is not saying lyrics cannot be great, profound, poetic, and so forth. Folks might know a line or verse or even blindfold karaoke an entire song, but usually something else (or everything else) above the lyrics makes and keeps the song attractive, interesting and or compelling. In any case, in Conatus, Zola’s vocals strive for expressiveness over traditional enunciation.

(10) For example, Vessel.

Besides, for the most part, lyrics - especially in pop tunes - are unimportant. Or innocuous. Or redundant, where the force and texture of what is meant to be conveyed in the lyrics are already or better expressed through the music or vocal styling, or something/everything else in the song. Again, it’s not to say lyrics aren’t important, er, unless I did say that. Er, I meant it is unimportant in certain respects, and important in certain other respects.

I said ooh girl
Shock me like an electric eel
Baby girl
Turn me on with your electric feel
(11)

(11) From MGMT’s Electric Feel.

Surfing the interweb yielded this: 
The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of pertinent facts far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of a closed society by imitating its arbitrary restrictions. Even today, there is little value in insuring the survival of our nation if our traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased security will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of official censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no official of my Administration, whether his rank is high or low, civilian or military, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to censor the news, to stifle dissent, to cover up our mistakes or to withhold from the press and the public the facts they deserve to know.

Which can be fairly said, sounds fucking fantastic. Then, I’m not the type to be okay with just that. So the Google presented, among other links, this version. Which is pretty good whether one was listening in or reading on. Nice smart delivery by John Kennedy, even if I was expecting perhaps more fire or at least a heavier Boston accent. Being the skeptical type, I was expecting Kennedy to let the other shoe drop, and there was the required “but” following the above quoted section. But from my untrained eye and ear, it was still net positive.

I have not read or listen to much (or likely before, any) of Kennedy’s speeches. From this, where he presents and discusses (and reinforces) government accountability, civil liberties, and civil responsibilities, one of my main takeaway is being a citizen is something. Government and its officials (and the news media) serve the citizen. And the citizen needs insure that he or she remains free and independent.

So … for Obama that kinda means as against citizens, like, no to indefinite detention, torture, no fly lists, and, uh, murder. Or no getting away with it without public scrutiny.


Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Obedience to God


how much of a question is it whether sufjan stevens is great or the greatest ever. stuff like this, i usually play conservative and err with caution with the simple opinion that he’s great. even in this hype oriented day and age, great is still pretty good, so i leave it as that. and songwriting/performing is a non competitive endeavour, after all.

on some level i cannot deny or withstand criticism for a sort of intellectual inertia by not quite properly ranking a particular someone or a art work/performance. i mean, the statement that someone or something is great already differentiates that person or work/performance as something other than good/competent/bad. it hardly seems that wide or unjust of another step to go from great to more greater.

well, i have two excuses: one is that i know nothing about music. and two, there is often a natural bias for the new, or at least inflate the most recent, and temporal distance tempers such unwieldy predilections.

which is to say i really like his new album, the age of adz. much more than i thought i would from reading initial descriptions, or from first impressions. the second track, too much, largely colored my chilly reception, the electronic noise was too odd, jarring, and alien, to the extent that i couldn’t get pass the hard and harsh “experimentation.” but i also couldn’t stop thinking about the songs, or returning to them, or - by now - getting completely seduce by ‘em.

fer sure adz is different from … well, let’s say it is different from his last group of albums, michigan, seven swans, and illinois, that comprises more or less how most listeners are acquainted with sufjan. teh internet sez that his second album, enjoy your rabbit, is more intensely rooted in electronic territories than adz. i don’t know anything about sufjan’s pre-michigan work, so i wouldn’t be quite qualified to say with adz whether sufjan opened a new bag of sound, or he’s returning and or melding his varied musical interest. there are enough of the rough, jagged edges in illinois to say many of the adz elements ain’t new.

but what do i know.

what concerns me a little is if i were to be asked why adz or sufjan stevens is great. cause aside from it and he is, and he is a genius, i’d be hard press to come up with any more persuasive answer. i don’t know nothing about music. i am not sure how much i have to reinforce this point but there it is again. second, while i probably listen to adz - this applies equally in the past to his other albums - over and over and over again, i don’t really pay much attention to the songs or album. or, i listen as a fan, eager to be impressed and astounded, rather than with a critical - as if possible - ear. basically, i only listen to things i like; and however i may analyze or criticize is through a prism of bits and pieces that amazed me, with the corresponding how and why so.

plus, i would not want to persuade or convince anyone. i do not care if say i love sufjan and you (perhaps) do not. if there’s curiosity, i am happy to feed it, or explore together. if there's not, then there’s not. know what i mean?

one thing i know is my favorite gal h (h stands for whoever h is) stated, to me, that she likes sufjan. which is cool. i am not sure how much i wonder what she thinks of the new album, whether she thinks it’s great or the greatest, and such, but i wonder some. i wonder additionally, especially as it is now too late for me, whether she caught his concert in october.

totally honest, i entertained thoughts of picking up some tickets for sufjan’s nyc show, but as i stated privately before which still holds true now, “the truth is that the venue is too far uptown … it takes a lot for me to leave downtown.” i’ma whiny bitch, i know. though the biggest truth is the tickets were too hella costly. then i saw sufjan perform on late night with jimmy fallon, which was interesting, and read what a marvelous spectacle sufjan’s concerts were, and i think it would totally have been worth the cost and commute, after all. but maybe h caught his show, and that’s what i’m wondering.

that is if she liked adz.

this is what i think, considerable e-words have been spilled for impossible soul, adz’s closing track. it is 25+ minutes long, so you know the song was designed to grab attention. how could it be anything but that? i think it can easily be broken to several songs, because there are at least 5 different and distinct movements in it. but if sufjan wants it to be one song, fine. impossible soul is gimmicky and attention seeking, and yet, still a great song. i guess i did give the song special attention due to the hype, but it easily soars above the hype. that opening movement is so soul warming/wrenching, even as impossible soul eventually diverges along a sprawling path, i imagine h would really dig that first part.
Oh, woman, tell me what you want
And I'll calm down without bleeding out
With a broken heart that you stabbed for an hour
Woman, I was freaking out because I want you to know
My beloved, you are the lover of my impossible soul

er, maybe. i dig the lyrics, but could understand how others might find an opaqueness from the lyrics alone, especially without melody or music to shape it or give it expressiveness. the instantaneous charm (and complexity) of impossible soul might not come through via some rote recitation of the lyrics. well, nonetheless, i found it incredibly tender, and like i said, i imagine she’d like it too.

a bummer is that, as far as i can tell, adz is a banjo free album.1 you can’t imagine the immediate erection i get on hearing banjo strings plucked.2 less salacious, not sure how much of this is a known fact or not, but i love bluegrass and folk music, which has everything to do with the banjo featured prominence in those genres. the banjo kicks ass in rock, and anything else, too.

1. some internet sources claim either the opening track in adz or the ending bits of the closing track has some banjo, but as far as i can tell, those internet sources, as shocking as it may seem, are wrong. to my ears, and according to competing internet sources, guitar.

2. from deliverance. yikes!

i want to say a couple of things about gulet mohamed.3 super condensed version, an american citizen teenager while traveling abroad was taken to an unidentified location by unidentified captors where he was imprisoned, interrogated, beaten, threatened with more violence/torture, and etc. far from sorting out and or otherwise helping american citizen gulet mohamed, united states government officials were either in cahoots or directing the unidentified captors and their actions. as far as i can tell, and this part is more fuzzy, mohamed is no longer imprisoned but detained in some kind of facility. again, instead of sorting out and or otherwise helping american citizen gulet mohamed, now detained without charge, united states goverment officials state that american citizen gulet mohamed is on a no-fly list, effectively prohibited from returning to his country, and express zero interest in the potential illegal detention and or mistreatment of an american citizen.

3. more & more salient details could be viewed here, among other places.

there are definitely issues and outrages more important, relevant, and thought provoking than what i am going to raise, but. 1) this is the change we were looking for in obama? 2) is at best no interest or at worst full complicit how the government is suppose to behave upon the questionable imprisonment and possible mistreatment by a foreign power of one of her citizen traveling abroad? 3) fuck obama. 4) poor kid. 5) how much should american citizens traveling abroad be scared? 6) how much should american citizens with arab sounding names traveling abroad be scared shitless? 7) fuck everyone in the obama administration who did not stand up against this. 8) right or wrong, i accept the fact that non citizens have less protection or, i think more accurately, might expect less than full constitutional/legal protection, but right or wrong, citizens should expect or, i think more accurately, receive full constitutional/legal protection. 9) i imagine folks with a chinese background - given chinese exclusion, chae chan ping, chang chan, chin bow, etc. - would find greater significance or have deep empathy for gulet mohamed’s circumstance. 10) i am fucking naive, perhaps. 11) poor family and friends of the kid. 12) poor america. 13 but not least) resistance to tyranny is obedience to god.

something on youtube that i have watched not quite infinite loop a lot but let’s say a hella alot4 - and i will repeat, it is well worth viewing all the way through and urge y’all to do so - is diane savino’s ny senate speech for marriage equality back in 2009. her speech was, as she herself is, and i hope her career continues to progress likewise, a brilliant, poignant force for virtue. i am not sure what this means exactly, or how much it really matters, but i am planning a visit to her 23rd (parts of staten island and brooklyn) district area. unless i’ve visited already, then i mean plan a re-visit.

4. enjoy.

not to say the following is more better, or that i prefer it more than diane savino’s speech, but anything to do with the trial of susan b anthony is straight up a-mazement. at least the sentencing part.5 the text from the trial record by itself is electric and inspirational, but is definitely enhanced when read, viewed, or heard. thanks to youtube and the late, great howard zinn, there are several, albeit edited, versions to help pick a favorite: a closer to historical accurate costume and set reenactment; christina kirk’s fiery rendition; lili taylor’s contemplative reading; or melissa leo’s spirited performance.

5. the trial record text.

my favorite is probably by christina kirk. or more specifically, i came across the words from anthony’s trial via a bill moyers journal episode where moyer was interviewing zinn who was doing some publicity work for the television broadcast of the people’s speak.6 the moyers journal excerpt was what turned me on, and the people’s speak version is my favorite. but still, kirk’s youtube version, more stripped down and raw, does the trick too. most likely, the revolutionary maxim should be credited to tom jefferson, with tyrants instead of tyranny. jefferson really had a way with words.

6. starts around the 13 minute mark but worth watching start to finish. the transcript.

my runner up favorite is probably lili taylor.

anyway, that the hows or whys there are some inter-relatedness with anthony and savino is if not obvious then kinda intuit is why i’m not going to belabor the point(s).

by the way, do not extend my admiration for anthony’s life and work to her campaigning in the temperance movement. i think sips from the blood of christ are not entirely wrong. even assuming that the temperance movement might be restricted to cautioning against the dangers of alcohol abuse, and not alcohol in general, that narrow, and possibly justified, focus is hardly ever and without much sincerity adhered to. i do appreciate any concerned remarks given if i have been or am about to drink too much, but it’s hard to be a borderline alcoholic without, you know, drinking.

i hope the topicality and humor in savino’s speech do not preclude its inclusion from the ranks of great or recitation/rebroadcast worthy speeches. 420,000 completed views on youtube thus far, and counting; not bad. we can learn from you, you don’t learn from us. i vote aye.

one thing the ivory coast election mess7 got me to thinking was how much does robust capitalism or industrial oligarchism enable peaceful transition of political power. partly i wonder because where businesses and business interest can survive (or really, thrive) through regime changes, they provide financial support and continued political influence for political leaders exiting the government sector. another way to put it, political leaders are reluctant to cede political power because without a vigorous and secure economic/financial fallback they would be subject to the whims of the new regime. with the emphasis that is placed on held elections, are they enough, or how meaningfully so? i wonder this without meaning to sound pro (big) business because the pernicious outgrowth from the free markets are such that even if vigorous capitalism was necessary for democracy or peaceful transfer of power, taming the harms of free market may be more important (or more necessary) than democracy. or as important. or not at all.

7. i could throw out a link, but, assuming you continue reading, i’d say whatever went down in ivory coast is typical with what seems a lot of 3rd world countries. which is partially the point.

a different thing i thought, as i peaked into apartments in various buildings on broadway one cold night, i have been in few or barely any apartments/apartment buildings. i wonder this because it was only recently - though maybe the only accurate way to put this is at a point in time, a point in time that is definitely and irrevocably beyond return or perhaps only persist in primitive or isolated pockets - everyone knew everyone and or at least has been to everyone’s home/land/business: when making a home involved the whole community making the home, when joining or leaving a place elicited curiosity, assistance, or reflection from the whole community. i understand and respect that these dazes substitute institutions have popped up, like the pub, coffee shop, worship house, corner grocery, etc., to facilitate some communal type activities, or even as the kidz do: facebook, tweet, and check-in. and i recognize the duality of the home not just as a place to welcome and congregate family, friends, neighbors, and other guests but, as well, as a place - as judge lou brandeis might describe - to be let alone, with possessions, thoughts, or plain nothing. and while i confess to heavy luddite leanings, i am also not delusional; close-knit communities have a way of fostering suspicion and fear, of suffocating moral, intellectual, and or emotional life and development, of hosting all sorts of other nastiness. yet, wandering pass buildings upon buildings, besides the fact that these buildings exist, i’d be clueless about the who and why of folks within, i’d be clueless to everything a foot past the building's front door even. aside from not thinking about it at all, or in addition to enjoying the convenience and comfort and all else that is gained in modern/city life, on occasions, there is no reason not to consider or reconsider what is lost or forgone. i am assuming it is something(s) that is precious. again, with no judgment on the exact net trade off.

while watching some movie8 or another, a character recited a poem written by pessoa.9 my memory was never what it should be so i cannot recall which one or much details from it. the poem still was remarkable enough that i wish i remembered. which led to a hunt for the precise poem, which then led to a good deal of wasted googling10 and a purchase of selected pessoa poems, titled fernando pessoa & co.11

8. the trailer. by the way, i caught miguel gomes second featured movie, our beloved month of august - i would have said recently, but as of this writing, any applicability of recently would have long been expired. a little rough at parts, as may be expected, but beloved month is certainly bold and quite good.


9. more likely, poems.

10. which considering not recalling the poem or much details from it, i was screwed from the get go.

11. & co refers to heteronyms, which i’m ignoring for purposes here.


since i have not said it explicitly, i will do so: before said movie i did not know nothing about pessoa. which is odd to be so completely unaware of such an important poet/writer, but at the same time seems perfectly normal as there are likely a gabazillion important poets/writers that i am clueless about. plus i imagine i’d, for all practical considerations, be completely baffled where i to come across things from most poets and writers i have heard or read before.

screwed and unscrewed. more googling eventually tipped off a pretty good lead. specifically, this spicy line from the poem was recited in the movie: “all the woes of the world stem from our caring about each other.” further search turned dead-end as i suspect the subtitled translation was specific to the movie. but some success anyway, as an aggressive skim through the keeper of sheep section in & co struck paydirt. 32. yesterday afternoon a man from the city. & co renders the same line as “all the world’s trouble comes from us fretting over one another,” which i think in comparison lacks some urgency. while an internet source sees, “all the evil in the world comes from us bothering with each other,” which lacks … okay, all three variations are presented,12 you can determine what is lacking, if anything, and how much so, uh, yourself. for me, i’d say movie subtitles won this translation grudge match. anywayz, assuming the movie featured a recital of two (at least) pessoa poems, that’s one down.

12. plus the original too: todo o mal do mundo vem de nos importarmos uns com os outros.

here’s two pessoa poems, both translated by rich zenith:

18. I’d rather be the dust of the road
   (from Keeper of Sheep)

I’d rather be the dust of the road
And trampled on by the feet of the poor …

I’d rather be the rivers that flow
And have washerwomen along my shore …

I’d rather be the poplars next to the river
With only sky above and the water below …

I’d rather be the miller’s donkey
And have him beat me and care for me …

Rather this than to go through life
Always looking back and feeling regret …


Since we do nothing in this confused world


Since we do nothing in this confused world
That lasts or that, lasting, is of any worth,
And even what’s useful for us we lose
              So soon, with our own lives,
Let us prefer the pleasure of the moment
To an absurd concern with the future,
Whose only certainty is the harm we suffer now
              To pay for its prosperity.
Tomorrow doesn’t exist. This moment
Alone is mine, and I am only who
Exists in this instant, which might be the last
              Of the self I pretend to be.

i would not say they are the best examples, but are examples.