Yelle - "A Cause Des Garcons"

These guys are hilarious. I am currently searching for hipster guy friends to replace Patrick and Jeff in my life.

Summer reading: "A People's History of the United States"

"Slavery existed in the African states, and it was sometimes used by Europeans to justify their own slave trade. But, as [Basil] Davidson points out, the 'slaves' of Africa were more like the serfs of Europe - in other words, like most of the populations of Europe. It was a harsh servitude, but they had rights which slaves brought to America did not have, and they were 'altogether different from the human cattle of the slave ships and American plantations.' In the Ashanti Kingdom of West Africa one observer noted that a 'slave might marry; own property; himself own a slave; swear an oath; be a competent witness and ultimately become heir to his master... An Ashanti slave, nine cases out of ten, possibly became an adopted member of the family, and in time his descendants so merged and intermarried with the owner's kinsmen that only a few would know their origin.'" (27)

I'm reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States (free here) because one of my least favorite yet most interesting professors recommended it. This is the description:

"Known for its lively, clear prose as well as its scholarly research. A People's History of the United States is the only volume to tell America's story from the point of view of - and, in the words of - America's women, factory workers, African Americans, Native Americans, working poor, and immigrant laborers."

I am trying to unpack my college experience and understand what it all meant. One of the ways that this book is helpful in this process is that it is helping to define for me what perspective Mizzou was taking on history. Although part of me doubts some of the facts that Zinn uses to support his view of history, I feel my hard conservative heart melting towards the oppressed groups throughout history.

Why I wanted to talk about this quote in particular: I have kept a quite offensive idea in my mind for the last couple years and have been gathering evidence to support it. I mostly accept that it's a really dumb idea, but still, it's a pet idea of mine. I have wondered whether slavery (the more gentle and humane version as described above as more akin to serfdom - which also sucked, I know) might not be some kind of practical solution to poverty and unemployment. It's structured, it provides for the basic needs of the slave, and (in a just society) it would have a set date of termination. I don't know what kind of payment system would be worked out, but as I have been reading, some slaves received land and supplies at the end of their slave term. This would also pay off any debt, I would assume. Interesting idea.

Never Have I Ever

sumo wrestling in nyc - I won.

Most great youth group games are modified drinking games, one of those being 'Never Have I Ever.' I always forget what I haven't done and end up falling back on "never broken a bone" (which is kind of a lie - I broke my pinkie toe, but who counts that?) and "never kissed a girl" (especially funny with middle schoolers, because it's really embarrassing for the boys). I am going to actually brainstorm now that I'm not under pressure to come up with a good, legit list:

1. never gone paintballing
2. never had a sister
3. never went to a public high school/middle school
4. never lost a toenail/fingernail
5. never been to disneyland/world
6. never owned a pool
7. never owned a trampoline

hmmm...more to come.

[Scottish] music from my friend Alison:

Broken Records (MySpace)

Sigur Ros - Gobbledigook

I am DIGGING the new Sigur Ros. Mmmm.

Janis Ian "Society's Child"

thought about the 'viva la vida' album

So, I've been listening to Coldplay's Viva la Vida album for about five weeks now, and I think I've finally come to a decision about it. I like the songs a lot, I'm always switching my favorites, but the songs are fun to listen to and some are quite pretty.

Last week I realized that the album is very postmodern. In a lot of interviews on the album, Chris Martin was unabashed about the fact that they borrowed a lot of ideas from the musicians and bands they were listening to. I can hear some U2, some Postal Service, and some other melodic themes that sound familiar but I can't place. Very cool pastiche. However, some critics have said that the album doesn't end up saying much at all. They mention war, peace, love, and religious symbols in their songs, but there is nothing clear in any of the songs. I'm not expecting "the Iraq war is wrong and should end" in a song, but the messages are conflicting or too vague to draw any conclusions from.

From what I've read and from the classes I've taken, these are both postmodern tendencies. Vagueness and idea borrowing are not wrong, but they can be a little frustrating. If all Coldplay set out to do was to make a pretty album, they succeeded. But don't tease me with allusions to war and religion if you're not going to give me something to think about.

Questions for New Yorkers

What does New York mean?
How come you are in New York?
Are you American?
What do all of these lights and these noises mean?
Why do you live here?
What does it feel like to step on the sidewalks and find your subway in the greatest city in the world?

I was kind of overwhelmed by New York - but not in the over-sensitized type of way, but more that all of my perceptions of what New York City would be like did not quite compute with the reality. New York seemed way more American than I thought it would. On television and in people's stories it seemed like this dark, dangerous, magical city in which anything and everything happened. "Everything is available all the time" my friend told me. I don't really get the appeal of this, besides being able to stop by a place to get hair-bands at 11:30pm.

I was also expecting to be intimidated by every New Yorker I came across - their fabled wit, cynicism, fashion sense, cosmopolitan-ness, etc. The only neighborhood that made my jaw drop was SoHo. There were literally models walking down the street and a shoe boutique was having a sale that looked like a club opening.

I no longer have the 18 year old high-school graduate blind desire to move to New York and attend NYU. Maybe it's just that right now I don't want what New York offers.

Favorite Things from New York City

Boat from Liberty Island to Ellis Island.

Washington Heights.

Near China Town.

Times Square subway station



Astoria, Queens.

Astoria, Queens.

Hunter S. Thompson in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas:

"He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."
- Dr. Johnson

Recent favorites on 89.1 the Wood:

Summer reading: "Anthills of the Savannah"

What Chinua Achebe says about Africa and corruption:

"The prime failure of this government began also to take on a clearer meaning for him.  It can't be the massive corruption though its scale and pervasiveness are truly intolerable; it isn't the subservience to foreign manipulation, degrading as it is; it isn't even this second-class, hand-me-down capitalism, ludicrous and doomed; nor is it the damnable shooting of striking railway-workers and demonstrating students and the destruction and banning thereafter of independent unions and cooperatives.  It is the failure of our rulers to re-establish vital inner links with the poor and dispossessed of this country, with the bruised heart that throbs painfully at the core of the nation's being."

I love you, Bob Cassilly

(stltoday.com) The new roof the City Museum, set to open in late July.
STLtoday: "High (and not so) Dry", on Cassilly's plans for the City Museum and Cementland

"The Ferris wheel is part of the City Museum's so-called rooftop attraction, the latest creation from City Museum founder/artist/madman Bob Cassilly. Poised to open this month, the roof will feature fountains, ramps and bridges, a cafe, a circus big top and three slides, including a 10-story ride to the bottom of the museum.
Cassilly has big dreams for the space — acrobats swinging from a trapeze underneath the one-time dome of the St. Louis Planetarium, families lounging under the shade of B-52 parachutes, kids splashing in the fountain fashioned from a carved elephant's trunk."

"I don't talk about money. That would be vulgar," he said."

"Cassilly has floated vague ideas for the site for years, but was forced to reveal his plans a month ago after St. Louis and the village of Riverview ordered Cassilly to stop work on the property. The site straddles both cities, but to no one's surprise, Cassilly never obtained permits from either."

""His story was always all of the work was being done in the city and then he'd tell the city all of the work was being done in Riverview. Finally we had to put our foot down. Let's just say working with him has been quite an experience.""

"St. Louis' most imaginative recycler, Cassilly built the rooftop attraction with slate from a St. Louis roofing company, bricks picked from the rubble of Cementland, mirrored blocks from Barnes-Jewish Hospital, steel panels from Boeing, benches from St. Louis Community College at Forest Park and old Cypress tanning barrels."

Gosh, I love him. It seems like the only way to get things done in this backward town is to do them and ask permission later. I hope Bob Cassilly runs for Mayor.


Bob Cassilly's Cementland in the New York Times: "One Part Cement, Two Parts Whimsy, One Odd Park"

"“In St. Louis, no one has the confidence in their creativity and intelligence” to make projects like the museum or Cementland work, said Tim Tucker, a developer who worked with Mr. Cassilly in the 1990s. “Lots of people conceive things, but very few can implement them as well as Bob.”"

"Pointing south, he rhapsodized about how downtown St. Louis would look from Cementland: “In the afternoon, when the sun shines on the city, you get this nice reflection. You don’t see all the trash and stuff. It’s the best view of the city.”"

"Mr. Tucker, the developer, was not encouraging when Mr. Cassilly told him of plans to buy a 750,000-square-foot complex for 69 cents a square foot. “If you’d given anyone half a million dollars in 1993, the last place to spend it was in St. Louis,” Mr. Tucker said.
Nevertheless, the Cassillys bought the complex, including the International Shoe Building, offices and a 10-story warehouse with a severe, boxy exterior that Mr. Cassilly described as “something Joseph Stalin would have designed.” He and a crew set about renovation, punching holes in walls and floors and transforming the site into the St. Louis City Museum."

"While the process has been slow, and Mr. Cassilly received a ticket for dumping with an expired permit in 2000, nature’s constancy will eventually be contrasted with man-made decay, as grass covers the dirt, Mr. Cassilly’s collection of obsolete machines grind and whir to no end and the core of the factory is flooded, allowing visitors to ride boats in and out of the buildings."

"The goal, he said, is similar to that of the City Museum: to create an unmistakable place “where people can come and do things they’re not supposed to.”"

View a slideshow of the progress of Cementland here.

I have a cool sister-in-law: Liz Kueneke

RebuildingRome.com

My sister-in-law, Liz Kueneke, is an artist based out of Barcelona, Spain. She is called a psychogeographer and works in cultural cartography, most of her art installations have to do with how people view the space they live in. My favorite piece of hers to talk about is the one she did for the city of Barcelona. I probably don't have all of the facts right but she collaborated with other artists in Barcelona to create a large map of the neighborhood and people would walk by and interact with it. She had markers for people to put on the map, to change the map, to make it their own. Markers such as "I got mugged here," "I fell in love here," "I used to live here," etc. I love this idea. (see pictures of the project here)

Her most recent project is with the city of Rome. She has gathered people's thoughts on various spots in Rome on MP3 and made it into a biking tour of Rome - much like the headsets one wears in an art museum, with a voice explaining each piece. At various spots in the city, a voice will come on explaining what that place meant to them, and how they think of Rome. The picture above is the bike map for Rome. It's an awesome idea.

Liz Kueneke artist page
Eternal Tour - Rome
Rebuilding Rome

I want that: a Tiffin

(source)

It's kind of an Indian lunch box from heaven.

wiki: Tiffin

A Little Bit of Nigerian History:

View Larger Map
I'm beginning to read Chinua Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah, which (according to The New Yorker) is based on the Nigerian government. So, to better understand the book, which is about some government employees and corruption, here's a bit of wiki Nigerian history:

Beginning in 1979, Nigerians participated in a brief return to democracy when Obasanjo transferred power to the civilian regime of Shehu Shagari. The Shagari government was viewed as corrupt and incompetent by virtually all sectors of Nigerian society, so when the regime was overthrown by the military coup of Mohammadu Buhari shortly after the regime's fraudulent re-election in 1984, it was generally viewed as a positive development by most of the population.^[13] Buhari promised major reforms but his government fared little better than its predecessor, and his regime was overthrown by yet another military coup in 1985.^[14] The new head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, promptly declared himself President and Commander in chief of the Armed Forces and the ruling Supreme Military Council and also set 1990 as the official deadline for a return to democratic governance. Babangida's tenure was marked by a flurry of political activity: he instituted the International Monetary Fund's Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to aid in the repayment of the country's crushing international debt, which most federal revenue was dedicated to servicing. He also inflamed religious tensions in the nation and particularly the south by enrolling Nigeria in the Organization of the Islamic Conference,^[15]

After Babangida survived an abortive coup, he pushed back the promised return to democracy to 1992. When free and fair elections were finally held on the 12th of June, 1993, Babangida declared that the results showing a presidential victory for Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola null and void, sparking mass civilian violence in protest which effectively shut down the country for weeks and forced Babangida to keep his shaky promise to relinquish office to a civilian run government.^[16] Babangida's regime is adjudged to be at the apogee of corruption in the history of the nation as it was during his time that corruption became officially diluted in Nigeria.^[17]

From Boing Boing:
" DeviantArt's FilthyLuker produced this fantastic be-tentacled building installation somewhere in France with collaborator Pedro Estrellas. FilthyLuker's terse description: "Octo-pied Building: a house with tentacular cancer." Link"

It looks fake, as in, digital, but it's not.

Date with St. Louis

Contemporary Arts Museum (source)

Soulard Market (source)

tricked-out photo of the Cathedral (source)

My friend Alison from L'Abri was in town this past week and I got the unique pleasure of showing her some of St. Louis. She had already been here before, so we got to skip the Arch (thank God). We hit up the Soulard Farmers Market, The Contemporary Art Museum, the Pulitzer Foundation, and the Cathedral Basilica, all places I had never been before or hadn't been since I was 12. I feel like I am developing a new crush on St. Louis. Maybe I will stay here for a bit after I graduate from seminary (if that ever happens).

Also, she gave me a CD from a fabulous Edinburgh band she's been singing with lately, Molly Wagger, check them out.

"The lights must never go out,
The music must always play,
Lest we should see where we are -
Lost in a haunted wood;
Children afraid of the dark
Who have never been happy or good."

from George Orwell's essay "Pleasure Spots"

""We warn the enemies who intend to threaten us with military exercises and empty psychological operations that our hand will always be on the trigger and our missiles will always be ready to launch," [Iran Revolutionary Guards air force commander Hossein Salami] said, according to ISNA news agency."

Oh crap. My dad said this is what is called "saber-rattling."

Reuters: "Iran tests missiles, heightening tension with West"

Hey I know them! - nytimes article

A popular church in town with the 20-something set is The Journey. My brother and his wife used to attend when they lived in town, and it's super hip with people my age. It was recently in the New York Times and I went to high school with the Mr. Beckemeier they mention and my other brother dated his sister. And the place in the picture is Schlafly Bottleworks in town, which has very very good beer. Whatev, it's a good article:

nytimes.com: "Taking Their Faith, but Not Their Politics, to the People", (June 1, 2008)

Costco vs. Sam's Club Throwdown

A new Costco recently moved in close to where my parents live. I have heard a lot of good things about Costco, and it always impresses me when a brand (or TV show, or whatever) creates rabid fans. Costco, Apple, the Wire (TV), LOST (TV)...I think I might just follow the cult fans around and enjoy what they like.

So, my parents are Sam's Club members and have been for as long as I can remember. I have heard that Costco has a great ethnic foods section and are more ethical towards their employees, so I am in the process of creating a PowerPoint presentation for my parents on why they should switch. In case you are wondering about this epic battle of the wholesellers, here's a killer article on Costco vs. Sam's:

USA Today: "Costco wins loyalty with bulky bargains" by Julie Schmit, (Sept. 2004)

Interesting Idea: Investing in Bands

Wired.com article: "Put Your Money Where Your Indie Rock Is" by Eliot Van Buskirk

"With CD sales declining and labels whining, it might seem crazy to view recorded music as fertile ground for investment. But for thousands of fans-turned-music-investors on SellaBand and Slicethepie, it makes perfect sense to gamble on a favorite band's future.

"I don't see anything wrong with the music industry in terms of artists being discovered, financed and released," said Slicethepie founder David Courtier-Dutton. "The problem is [the labels'] economic model. It just costs way too much money to get to the point where they find whether or not anyone likes the music."

...The idea is to tap a band's online fan base to generate cash for recording and production costs, and in the process help musicians that are hot on MySpace move to the next level. The model is so intriguing that Amazon.com wants in on the action, although regulatory hurdles could keep music-investment sites from taking off in the United States.

...Anyone can become an investor in a SellaBand artist by buying an advance copy of an album and a single share in the recording for $10. The site has raised more than $1.5 million from more than 25,000 investors. They've deposited an average of $50, but investments have run as high as $25,000.

Out of 6,500 bands, 14 have reached the $50,000 mark, which is when SellaBand helps find a studio and a big-name producer to record the album. (SellaBand artist Cubworld got paired with Gwen Stefani's producers.) Advertising revenue and sales revenue are split between SellaBand, the artists and investors. (Both SellaBand and Slicethepie keep the float: interest on fans' money in the time between collection and disbursal to the bands. If a band doesn't raise enough to record an album, the money is returned to investors.)"

Mika - "Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)"

Thanks to Emily for reminding me of this gem.

Vespa laws, FYI

So my brothers chipped in and gave me a very old Vespa for my graduation present. It has been in the shop since May 18th, but I might possibly be able to get it this week. I've been reading up on Missouri laws for motorized bicycles/scooters (under 50cc engine) and whether I need insurance or a license or what have you.

• No person shall ride a motorized bicycle upon a sidewalk.
• 307.180. Bicycle And Motorized Bicycle, Defined
  As used in sections 307.180 to 307.193: (1) The word bicycle shall mean every vehicle propelled solely by human power upon which any person may ride, having two tandem wheels, or two parallel wheels and one or two forward or rear wheels, all of which are more than fourteen inches in diameter, except scooters and similar devices; (2) The term motorized bicycle shall mean any two or three-wheeled device having an
  automatic transmission and a motor with a cylinder capacity of not more than fifty cubic centimeters, which produces less than three gross brake horsepower, and is capable of propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than thirty miles per hour on level ground. A motorized bicycle shall be considered a motor vehicle for purposes of any homeowners- or renters- insurance policy.
  

from: Missouri State Statutes Regarding Bicyclists (August 2005)

• it is illegal to operate motorized bicycles on public streets and highways unless the operator has a driver’s license.
• Motorized bicycles and mini-motorcycles that have a motor with a cylinder capacity of more than 50cc and/or the ability to travel faster than 30 mph on level ground are--by law--defined as motorcycles. As such, these types of vehicles must abide by all of the state laws pertaining to motorcycles.

from: Missouri State Highway Patrol News Release, July 30, 2007

• What are the licensing requirements for motor scooters or mopeds (under 50cc)?

  Licensing for a scooter or moped depends on whether the vehicle meets the definition of a motorized bicycle. The Missouri statute definition of a motorized bicycle is as follows:

  "Any two-wheeled or three-wheeled device having an automatic transmission and a motor with a cylinder capacity of not more than fifty (50) cubic centimeters, which produces less than three (3) gross brake horsepower, and is capable of propelling the device at a maximum speed of not more than thirty (30) miles per hour on level ground."

  A motorized bicycle does not have to be registered with the Missouri Department of Revenue. However, you must have a valid driver license to operate a motorized bicycle (though no motorcycle endorsement is required).

  Missouri statute does not require a helmet to be worn when operating a motorized bicycle. Please contact your local law enforcement agencies for any county/municipal codes that deal with helmets and motorized bicycles.

  Keep in mind that no motorized bicycle may be operated on any public thoroughfare located within this state that has been designated as part of the federal interstate highway system.

From: Missouri Department of Revenue

Sloan: "Who Taught You To Live Like That?" (2006)

People.com: "John Mayer's Shocking Confessions (Sadly NOT About Jen)"

A high schooler that I work with at my church gave me free tickets to John Mayer's show this past Thursday. I forgot how funny he is. The funniest part of the night by far was the last bit in the article. Here's an article from the night:



Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer were together again for the second stop on his summer tour, which hit St. Louis Thursday night. But rather than acknowledge her presence in the crowd, Mayer teased his audience about interest in his personal life.

"[Fans] send me links from PEOPLE," he said, marveling at the coverage of his remarks the previous night when he – with Aniston in tow – joked about being the subject of Internet rumors. "That just tempts me to say things." The audience at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in the St. Louis suburb of Maryland Heights roared its approval, but Mayer would not divulge any intimate details.

Instead, he playfully peppered his nearly two-hour concert with dubious confessions designed to feed those who were curious about his private life: He fears the color green. He weighed 400 pounds when he was 12. He wrote the lyrics to the Kenny Loggins hit "Danger Zone" – at age 9. And he was "33 percent done" with building a time machine.

"When I was a child I would kill small animals and wear their teeth as necklaces," he deadpanned. "True. Print that. And I've always felt deep down that I was born a woman."

Aniston remained out of sight during the show, but she watched Mayer's pre-concert soundcheck from the fifth row of the amphitheater, according to radio contest winners who sat a few rows farther back. She wore a slate-colored dress and a cardigan in the damp, late-afternoon air. "She looked like Colbie Caillet," said a witness, referring to the "Bubbly" singer who served as Mayer's opening act. "But it was definitely Jen."

Other fans clearly had Aniston on the brain.

During musical breaks between acts, the twin video screens flanking the stage displayed anonymous notes sent via text message from the crowd. "Team Aniston!" wrote one.

The most brazen of the bunch, preceding Mayer's own onstage joking: "John, I'm pregnant. – Jen."

Summer reading: "Obama's Iraq Problem"

"In February, 2007, when Barack Obama declared that he was running for President, violence in Iraq had reached apocalyptic levels, and he based his candidacy, in part, on a bold promise to begin a rapid withdrawal of American forces upon taking office. At the time, this pledge represented conventional thinking among Democrats and was guaranteed to play well with primary voters. But in the year and a half since then two improbable, though not unforeseeable, events have occurred: Obama has won the Democratic nomination, and Iraq, despite myriad crises, has begun to stabilize.

...At the start of 2007, no one in Baghdad would have predicted that blood-soaked neighborhoods would begin returning to life within a year. The improved conditions can be attributed, in increasing order of importance, to President Bush’s surge, the change in military strategy under General David Petraeus, the turning of Sunni tribes against Al Qaeda, the Sadr militia’s unilateral ceasefire, and the great historical luck that brought them all together at the same moment. With the level of violence down, the Iraqi government and Army have begun to show signs of functioning in less sectarian ways. These developments may be temporary or cyclical; predicting the future in Iraq has been a losing game. Indeed, it was President Bush’s folly to ignore for years the shifting realities on the ground.

Obama, whatever the idealistic yearnings of his admirers, has turned out to be a cold-eyed, shrewd politician. The same pragmatism that prompted him last month to forgo public financing of his campaign will surely lead him, if he becomes President, to recalibrate his stance on Iraq. He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded Al Qaeda in Iraq, reënergize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia’s recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse. The question is whether Obama will publicly change course before November. So far, he has offered nothing more concrete than this: “We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.”"

"Obama's Iraq Problem" by George Packer in The New Yorker

Predictably Irrational - Gas Prices

I want to buy this guy's book, Predictably Irrational.
Oh, and his accent is Israeli (wikipedia - Dan Ariely).

Summer reading: "Shadow Player: the provocations of Paul Chan"

"There are six projections in the title series, each soundless and lasting fourteen minutes; a seventh takes the form of abstract drawings on music manuscript paper. They all begin with a flood of warm colors, reds and yellows, which gradually give way to black, silhouetted images. In '1st Light,' the initial images include a telephone pole, overhead wires, and flocks of birds; into this space, a minute later, small objects slowly rise - cell phones, eyeglasses, folding chairs, an iPod - defying gravity and breaking apart. Larger objects float up: a police car, a bicycle, and then, shockingly, a body hurtles downward. More human figures fall, sometimes singly, sometimes in pairs or groups, travelling much faster than the rising objects, until color returns in washes of deep blue and violet and the cycle begins anew.
One thinks inevitably of September 11th. Also the Apocalypse and the Rapture, but with a twist - God welcoming our consumer goods while sending us to the Other Place. When I asked Chan about this, he grinned and said, 'Given that what I like is to turn things upside down, I thought it might be more interesting if Jesus didn't take anyone, but only took our favorite things."

"Shadow Player: The provocations of Paul Chan" by Calvin Tomkins in The New Yorker

Summer reading: "After Empire: Chinua Achebe and the great African novel"

"In contrast to European modernism, with its embrace of “art for art’s sake” (a concept that Achebe, with characteristic bluntness, once called “just another piece of deodorized dog shit”), Achebe has always advocated a socially and politically motivated literature. Since literature was complicit in colonialism, he says, let it also work to exorcise the ghosts of colonialism. “Literature is not a luxury for us. It is a life and death affair because we are fashioning a new man,” he declared in a 1980 interview. His most recent novel, “Anthills of the Savannah” (1987), functions clearly in this mold, following a group of friends who serve in the government of the West African country of Kangan, obviously a stand-in for Nigeria. Sam, who took power in a coup, is steering the nation rapidly toward dictatorship. When Chris, the minister of information, refuses to take Sam’s side against Ikem, the editor of the government-controlled newspaper, the full wrath of the government turns against both of them. The book does not match the artistic achievement of “Things Fall Apart” or “Arrow of God,” but it gets to the heart of the corruption and the idealism of African politics."

"After Empire: Chinua Achebe and the great African novel" by Ruth Franklin in The New Yorker

After reading 'Culture Matters,' I think it would be helpful to read about the corruption of third world countries from the perspective of its citizens. Off to the library...

Mizzou Disc Golf Course, Frolf Course, whatever

(missouri.edu)

Awhile back I googled Mizzou disc golf course and it came up with nothing. Then I asked my friend Andy Patton, who plays the wonderful sport frequently, about which course he uses and he gave me all 18 holes over the phone. Wonderful guy. If you find yourself on Mizzou campus and fancy a game of frolf, here's one option:

1. From corner of College and University, through archway, to fire hydrant.
2. Hit red emergency phone by giant tree.
3. Towards Memorial Union, throw from 1st intersection of sidewalks to statue of kids outside HDFS building on left.
4. Through arch at Memorial Union to hit light post on left.
5. From stage on Lowry Mall to hit square fountain.
6. Scoot over from square fountain to throw through two trees to hit circular bench across 9th st.
7. From back steps of Jesse through columns to hit informational pedestal.
8. From pedestal to orange sculpture through hoop.
9. From sculpture to hit Thomas Jefferson.
10. From far column to mini Washington Memorial.
11. From fire hydrant to Beatle Bailey.
12. From circle drive at Alumni Center blue handicap square to bench by parking garage.
13. From 'No Parking' sign at Newman Center to land in Bank of America circle by Cornell.
14. From Buisness School platform/porch to Tiger
15. From Tiger to Brady Fountain
16. From Brady fountain to Law School trashcan.
17. From Speakers' circle to Emergency red thing between the circle and Lowry.
18. From big ball on stick sculpture (by Lowry Hall - A&S) to other metal sculpture on Lowry Mall.


Try it out. Enjoy!

Ira Glass

I previously wrote a post on how I had a brain crush on Ira Glass, host of NPR's This American Life. I love him, he's awesome, whatever.

He came to Mizzou during my last year, and I was really sad that I missed him. He's coming to the Pageant in St. Louis. I have no idea what his live show will be like, but I bought a ticket for myself anyways. I'm talking to every Ira lover I know and trying to get them to go with me.

His show (I think) is benefiting Prison Performing Arts, which is a program in some eastern Missouri prisons where the prisoners put on plays. You'd be better off just listening to the This American Life program on it:

'Act V'