Germany's Evelyn Hamann

I was sad to read on Spiegel.de today that the German renowned actress, Evelyn Hamann, died of complications due to a serious condition. She was only 65.

In the 80's, Hamann was in the mega-popular TV German series, Schwarzwaldklinik. Her comedic and dramatic range is astounding and she will, indeed, be missed.

As the author put it, "Sie kehrt nun leider nicht mehr zurück" ie., "she is unfortunately not returning again."

A definite loss for German and European art.


graph her Spiegel.de

Clothes: Frivolous or substantial, cont.

Thank you to all who contributed asnwers to the "Clothing as Text" survey. I would like to feature Liam's full answer to the following question:

Is clothing a matter of frivolity or substance? Why?


in "walden" henry david thoreau wrote, "It is an interesting question how far men would retain their relative rank if they were divested of their clothes. ... I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes."

whether we like or not, clothes are one factor in defining who we are and can make or break a first impression. therefore they are extremely substantial. i'm not saying one cannot get away with not dressing well at a job interview by being well-qualified or charming anymore than a well-dressed person may get away with not being qualified or charming, but when one has the whole package, things run a lot more smoothly. anymore than someone as is the case with undercover police officers or transvestites, one can pass as something they are not based on how one dresses. i'm sure when barbara ehrenreich compiled research for nickle and dimed by working at diners and walmart, she did not wear her powersuit nor a donna karan sweater with anne klein trousers. her goal was not only to look the part but also to fit in with her coworkers.


graph per Ben Sherman USA

Best Construct of the day: "Mutter Blamage und ihre Schinder"

The best phrase I read today comes from Daniel Haas of the German magazine, Spiegel.

When reviewing Britney Spears' upcoming album, Blackout, Haas implemented the catchy title:

"Mutter Blamage und ihre Schinder."

A clever spin on Brecht's Mutter Courage und Ihre Kinder, I thought.

Do We Read Clothes?

One of my recent audio/pop culture pieces is on the textuality of clothing and how clothing could be read.

I compiled a few questions which I asked a number of people in my email and phone address book. The contributors come from different walks of life and I found their answers most helpful. I am posting some of the answers to the first question of the survey:

Question 1: Is clothing "text"?

1) Dad: It is a text. Clothing serves as a commentary on form. And, let's face it, it's not just in architecture, where both form and content are important.

2) Mom: It is a text. The form reveals much about the content.

3) Uta: Clothes are even more prominent than language. You notice one's style before that person has a chance to open her/his mouth! It also shows one's intentions i.e. respect vs disrespect.

4) Benjamin: Clothing is an immediate communicative symbol. It is used to express style or merely express conformity. Ideally, I'd only wear Orvis clothing. If that doesn't say anything about me...?

5) Nola: Both. Attends to the sense/reason paradigm.

6) George: Absolutely darling, and it speaks volumes about you, your perception of the world and how you relate to your audience ( you know, when i don't give a 'flip' about them, I just wear flip-flops).

7) Joanna: Ahh, the question. Roland Barthes tried to make a semiotics of fashion. He was determined to prove that each style gesture "said" something that could be decoded. He gave up. Perhaps he gave up too soon.

8) Dorothy: I generally read clothing as how comfortable people are with their bodies and their needs at the moment. If they come to a meeting casually dressed, I assume they are not trying to impress with anything other than their abilities. If they come to a meeting dressed up, I assume they're trying to impress or the situation requires business dress.

9) Carrie: Yes, because clothing says a lot about who the person is. brand/designer, ironed/wrinkled, preppy/punk/emo/average/prude....

10) Paul: Clothing is text. Like when people look at me they know they're looking at a minimalist.

New 'Beatles' Book

The new "Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain, and America" by Jonathan Gould offers a poetic and informed take on the musical greats' music, life philosophies, and cultural context in which they worked and morphed their genius.




graph per amazon

Jonathan Haidt: The new synthesis in moral psychology

I just returned from a lecture given by Jonathan Haidt. I was impressed by his elegance of speech, ease of delivery, and enthusiasm for the topic.

It was refreshing to hear his presentation in which he clearly stated that we are more likely to co-exist well if we include and try to decode the 'other.' For instance, in stead of marginalizing conservative opinions and beliefs, liberals need to be cognizant of them and try to understand them.

Here's the abstract to one of his recent articles.

Haidt, J. (2007). The new synthesis in moral psychology. Science, 316, 998-1002.

Abstract: People are both selfish and morally motivated. Morality is both universal and culturally variable.

Such apparent contradictions are dissolving as research from many disciplines converges on a few shared principles, including the importance of moral intuitions, the socially functional (rather than truth-seeking) nature of moral thinking, and the coevolution of moral minds with cultural practices and institutions that create diverse moral communities. I propose a fourth principle to guide future research: Morality is about more than harm and fairness. More research is needed on the collective and religious parts of the moral domain, such as loyalty, authority, and spiritual purity.

For more information, read up on his work at:
www.jonathanhaidt.com

Joanna Straughn's definition of emotion.

Joanna Straughn is one of the most talented and linguistically sensitive individuals I know. She gets language. And she gets poetry. She doesn't just get it, she also makes it.

I employ what I call 'Straughnisms' in my speech. A good example would be the high-frequency noun phrase: 'disturbance of creation' which I first encountered in one of her poems from the collection entitled "Instincts".

I was reading her blog today, zeitgeistboheme.blogspot.com, and the following stood out as a start statement:


"I'm a poet. I've made a career out of defending emotion- the ethical perspective to which it can guide us, inspire us, and move us. A cold, clinical view of the world is my idea of hell; however, emotions can undermine our most vaunted goals and undo our efforts."

Quote of the Day

"What happened to the fish? It's frozen. That's the state of the fish."

Quotation of the Day

I am now starting a new blog subject I'm calling, 'the Daily Best.'
The Daily Best will contain be the most comment-worthy sentence I hear on any given day.

Today's gem is:

"How many languages are you bilingual in?"

If you don't like a movie, you can get your money back!

Nicholas Tabarrok, a Hollywood movie producer has come up with a notion which, I think, is pretty cool. The premise is:

If you don't like a movie, you can get your money back!

Simple as that.

As he observes:

"It occurred to me that this is a common thing... If you buy a product and you're not satisfied, you get your money back..."

I concur entirely.

Read more:

http://www.playbackmag.com/articles/daily/20071011/releases.html