Ohio State Buckeyes: Go Bucks!

It is nigh impossible not to be a Buckeye fan in Ohio. People live and breathe for the Buckeyes. And it's like nothing else I have ever seen.
HBO is about to broadcast a documentary on the biggest football rivalry of all time: Ohio State vs Michigan.

One needs to see it to believe it, for it may, indeed, remind one of the zeal of a medieval battle. And most of the people here do regard football with the utmost respect and attention.

The place where the magic takes place is that elusive heterotopia called the stadium. It's a place where like-minded, red-wearing people get to bond, discuss the game, and befriend each other. It's beautiful, really.
This happened to me today.

I met lovely people, ate nachos with artery-clogging cheese and an uber-salted pretzel, and found myself screaming: Defense, Go Bucks, Touchdown, Boooo!

Beautiful!

There is something irrevocably appealing about being in the company of over one hundred thousand red-wearing, Go-Bucks-chanting people. It's a feeling that is rendered concrete only when in such a setting.

We played Wisconsin today and, naturally, we won. Again. Thus keeping our record intact. The Bucks perform with an infallible precision and they get strategy. How can they lose, really!

So, today I write as a Buckeye fan. Excellence, after all, demands attention and respect. Whether in scholarship, the arts, soccer, or even football. Yes, and let me not forget that very novel experience of nacho-eating. What an inspiring heterotopia the stadium is!

Mac's New OS: Leopard

Meet Mac's new OS contribution called Leopard. Leopard is succeeding Tiger and it seems to have received decent reviews so far.

I would like to get it but as a fellow Maccer informs me, it would perhaps be better to wait till the first update is out.

Here are some of its desirable features:

1) Podcast Capture, an application allowing users to record and distribute podcasts. It requires access to a computer running Mac OS X Server with Podcast Producer.

2)) Dictionary can now search Wikipedia, and a dictionary of Apple terminology as well. Also included is a 200,000-word dictionary

3) Front Row has been reworked to closely resemble the interface used by the Apple TV, and Photo Booth includes video recording with real-time filters.

4) iCal calendar sharing and group scheduling as well as syncing event invitations from Mail

5) Mail enhancements including the additions of RSS feeds, Stationery, Notes, and to-dos.

I will definitely be making the transition from Tiger to Leopard. Keeping up with the program is just necessary. The podcast feature is what sold the system to me since podcasts are now proven to help with information dispensation and acquisition.

Is it just me or is Apple coming up with new notions and gadgets very fast these days? No, No, not complaining. Just trying to keep up and taste all the goods, I guess.



graph per Apple

Author to Read: Michael Chabon

I have no idea when Michael Chabon does life and when he writes. He is very prolific and much like Grady Tripp, the main character in his "Wonder Boys," he seems to write because he 'cannot stop.'

But what a brilliant writer this 43-year-old author is!

His recent The Yiddish Policemen's Union is yet another success. It is amazing to me how one single person can possess the imagination of ten good writers, but that is the idiosyncratic beauty of Chabon. From vivid language use to complex story lines and healthy historic references, this author can do anything but disappoint.

Other works by Chabon include:

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, which incidentally his grad adviser submitted for publication for him and which made him a literary sensation over night, is his first novel.

The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, for which he received the Pulitzer, is generally regarded as his magnum opus.

Wonder Boys, also dexterously modified for the silver screen by Curtis Hanson, is my favorite. And so forth.

When does Chabon sleep, really? Hmm.

Check out his latest The Yiddish Policemen's Union. It will deliver in true Chabon fashion.


graph per wikipedia

Reformation day

On this day in 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses which he nailed to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany.

The reason for this 'nailing' is indeed a rather logical one, ie., when people had something of substance to say, they posted their ideas on the church door. Such a 'space' had also a public function.

The 95 Theses treat the practice of indulgences.

On this Halloween day, Martin Luther posted his thesis on the church door. I don't think he was in 'costume' or 'character' when he did so.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

This is the new president-elect of Argentina.
Well, the other woman on the picture, that is.

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, noted for her wardrobe and shoe collection, will hopefully perform, as my good friend, Georgie, originally an Argentine, put is, as well as she looks.

Fernández started her political career in the Peronist Youth movement of the Justicialist Party in the 1970s. She married Néstor Kirschner - the current Argentine president - while at Law School and both practiced law in Río Gallegos.

Cristina Fernández espouses a kind of combative speech reminiscent of Eva Perón, some say.

I bet today she is singing: "Don't cry for me, Argentina!"


graph per wikipedia

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