Some of you may not know...

For those of you who find your typing fingers more stimulated by a prompt than the trials and tribulations of post-student life and adult decision-making, I invite you spill your guts by responding to what is known as the "8 things meme":

Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

It's really just an excuse to talk about yourself on a blog, but I think the world will benefit from me posting it here instead of continuing the bloody cycle of posting it on blogs across the virtual universe. If you Google it you'll see the freakish number of other bloggers who are on this wagon, and you can do some serious voyeuring. Anyways, I'll start by reposting what I posted on my blog:

1. When I was in middle school I would watch a Star Wars movie everyday when I got home from school.

2. I think the best things about summer are: eating blueberries in milk sprinkled with brown sugar, the Fourth of July (I like watching fireworks and congregating rednecks), Bing cherries, and bike rides after dark.

3. I’m quasi-secretly horse crazy. As I child I would dress-up in crazy old-lady dresses and then walk in my high heels across the gravel road to the horse pasture, where I would sit in a tree and try to get my mom’s horses to stand by me. When not in costume, I would pretend to be a horse and run through the woods on the paths they had worn. Once my best friend and I crawled through the window cracks in the horse trailer and couldn’t get out again.

4. For as long as I can remember it has been normal for me to change out of “work/school clothes” and into some sort of pajama/recreational outfit as soon as I get home for the evening. This means that in the winter I’m always wearing the same PJ pants from 5pm onward, and in the summer I’m basically in my underwear as soon as I get home. It’s also habitual to leave the day clothes strewn all over the apartment, because it’s playtime, not fold-and-put-away time.

5. I watch The Saint when I get sick. It’s my comfort movie. And it’s too embarrassing to watch with friends.

6. One of the few things I’m afraid of is my body revolting on me. Thus, I’m kind of a hypochondriac.

7. I have a history as an obsessive hair cutter. I cut it when it’s not necessary, when there’s hardly anything there, when I’m feeling bored or especially neurotic. This does not apply to armpit and leg hair, which has been growing freely for the last 6 years. and I’m proud of it.


8. I am habitually and consistently amazed by: infectious diseases, astronomy, dance, and the fact that I fell in love.

JPB update

Coincidentally, my mood aligns with those posting their own reflections in recent days. Summer is the season to think twice about your life.

My exit from student life this past April was a happy one; it felt much overdue. This job search stuff, however, won't let me forget that I haven't really accomplished anything yet. I watch as my more geographically flexible colleagues and former classmates get plucked up by reputable and prestigious institutions around the country while I collect rejection letters from these Michigan schools and library systems:

• University of Michigan
• Eastern Michigan University
• Northern Michigan University
• Grand Valley State University
• Ann Arbor District Library
• Capital Area District Library

Why so many rejections? I prefer to tell myself that I am encountering an above average number of special cases in which the institutions already have candidates in mind, and their search for external candidates is a mere formality. I know that this was the case in at least one of the above rejections. Also, as we all know, Michigan is currently dying a slow death in its Department of History, Arts and Libraries. Everywhere else too. Tristan may know better than I do, but I think the recent budget "solution" involved cuts in the HAL Department more than any other sector. As a result, some jobs that institutions expected to fill may no longer be sustainable.

Tectonic movement in the Great Lakes area is reshaping the Michigan mitten into a gigantic thumbs down.

I hold out hope for an upcoming interview with Michigan State University, my first and only on-site interview. It's an all day deal, 8am to 5pm, including a presentation that I am to give to the entire library staff (160 people) on an assigned topic:

• Issues and Challenges in Serials Cataloging

For the purposes of preparation, my nose is now back in the books just as it was almost two months ago, thus reminding me that I am only a graduate in name, and the tethers of student-hood are not easily shaken off.

i'm back!

I'm meeting Brian, Stefan, and Stefan's brother Ethan in a hostel in Athens this Sunday. After that we'll meander around Greece and Turkey for two weeks. On June 19th I'm starting a program at Bogazici University in Istanbul. I'll be there until mid-August, but I'm not sure what I'll do after that.

I finished my MA in Durham this May. My thesis was a sprawling, hastily written treatise on departmental autonomies in Bolivia. Actually, it was about "departmetnal" autonomies; there was a typo I neglected to correct on the coversheet. This oversight will be consigned to posterity for anyone (and no one) to see in the school's library. Oh well, I'm done. And in spite of everything, I found out after my bags were packed that I could continue there, working on the same project. I'll have to think twice about that. Perhaps I've quit while the quitting is good.

Strangely, I find myself technically enrolled back at Michigan (I deferred in anthro.) There are quite a few reasons why it is advantageous to maintain this status for as long as possible, but the most important right now has to do with the legitimacy of my summer plans and avoiding the wrath I'd incur without such a wondrous loophole.

Right now I think it would be nice to not be a student for a while. No offense to students, but from my position, it seems like an awful way to spend the next couple of years. And for that simple reason alone, it would be a good idea to step back for a while. I'll be back at it eventually, but probably not this fall. Or the next. Right now, I'm considering staying on in Turkey after I finish. These plans are half-assed, but they're one of the most exciting things I can think of. At the very least, I'd like to spend some more time there before I come back to the US.

Sorry for being out of touch. For some reason, I haven't been able to write things on the computer for the past month or so. Congratulations to everyone on school and career decisions, whatever they may be. I hope to post more in the future and hopefully will include pictures and other mementos from the trip.

Vacancy at Tristan's!

Due to the decision of one of our colleagues to move on to bigger and brighter things, I'll soon have an open spot in my charming Brooklyn apartment, and am giving Swimclubbers and their friends first dibs on this priceless real estate. Does anyone know anybody moving out to New York in the near future? I'd like to have a Michigander or someone associated with you good people move in with me instead of one of these ratty New Yorkers. If you've got a lead, let me know.

So What's Next

From my cubicle at Sony:



I moved to Los Angeles a year ago to study architecture at SCI-Arc. After a gut-wrenching decision two months ago, I put that off for at least 3-4 years.

This was *the* perfect school for me. It has the techiest, most radical perspective on architecture in the world. And it's respected. You don't go to SCI-Arc to design shopping malls and apartment complexes. You go there to work for the 5% architects, the ones in the same category as Rem Koolhaus or Frank Gehry.

But I can't do that right now. I looked at the lifestyle of the people in the profession. Almost none of them were happy. If they were successful, they were old or unusually lucky.

True, they were doing what they love. The importance of that cannot be understated for most of us who read this blog. That something is difficult is no reason to stop pursuing it. Most Sony employees I know value safety, which leaves them in mindless jobs for 8 years at a time. But, I realized that I'm just not ready to submit to so many sleepless graduate student nights.

Architecture is one of the few professions (apart from academia) in which highly trained graduates work >60 hour work weeks and make $40,000. To put this in perspective, I make more than that right now as an HTML monkey for Sony (though most of it goes to rent, gas and food).

Honestly, the money doesn't concern me. I can always go back-- most of the entering grad students are in their late 20's. But if the ascetic architecture student lifestyle isn't for me right now, what's next?

I'm working on that. I have several options, but working at Sony Connect (http://musicstore.connect.com or http://ebooks.connect.com) has become obsolete. You have to watch out-- if you don't monitor your own routines and make sure they are in alignment with what you want, life becomes a sleepy blur.

To be clear, I have no regrets coming out to L.A. even though I'm going to do something completely different than what I intended. The city has been more challenging to master than I expected, but it's been very important for me to be here.

Hope your life is going well.

i don't know how useful it is

but i like this website

http://shaheeilyas.com/flags/

Fields of Industry on Last.fm

Hi all.

A friend recommened I upload some Fields stuff to Last.fm, so I did. Apparently, Last.fm users can go to our artist page and describe us, comment on us, tag us and associate us with artists they find to be similar. I encourage any interested Swim Club Last.fm users to do so. Our artist page is here:

http://www.last.fm/music/fields+of+industry

Happy Holiday weekend!

Moving

Moving makes me want to do this!

I've been posting too much, but I couldn't resist sharing these.

DVN Episode 3: "What do you do?"

So, we finally got episode 3 edited and online. You'll notice that there's snow on the ground - that's how long ago we shot it. Now that I'm done with school for the semester we should move a lot quicker.

We switched formats from Youtube to Revver, which has much better audio and video quality. Also, there are ads at the end of Revver. I know it's kind of weird for ads to appear on this blog, but if you guys click on some of these ads, we should make a little money - probably enough to cover the tape stock for the next episode. So if your finger's itching, give those ads a click!

Also, we improved the audio on the past three episode and added them to Revver as well. Check them out and you can catch up on the ever-exciting, "Lost"-like plot.

Also, note that we're using some of Joel's music in addition to the theme song, which is Fields of Industry covering Bear Mountain Picnic. We're going to try and only use music by friends' bands - if any of you have secret music projects that you'd want to share, post that up and we'll try and work them in. I can't wait until we have a good chance to use GORO.

We're going to try and make more episodes soon. I'm going to give us an arbitrary deadline and say two more by the end of next month.

Here's Episode 0, which served as kind of a prototype for the show:



Episode 1:


Episode 1: "Food?" from Dax Visits Nicole on Vimeo.


Episode 2:


Episode 2: "Scraggle" from Dax Visits Nicole on Vimeo.


And, (Drumroll) EPISODE 3:


Episode 3: "What do you do?" from Dax Visits Nicole on Vimeo.

Hi Swimclubbers,

I just wanted to share a key prop from a movie I shot this weekend, co-starring Dax.

Europa Zweitausendsieben

Much has happened in 2007. My father has started to work in Maryland and has moved into an apartment there, in Glen Echo. From Baltimore to Detroit is a cheap flight so he returns often and my mother sees him. Otherwise, she spends her time preparing the house in Dearborn for boarders from Ford, interns who need a place to stay in the area. She is preparing the house for another reason: an eventual move to Maryland. The housing prices are much different outside D.C. than outside Detroit. It's all very different. My mother spends her days with her mother and her friends in Dearborn remembering the days when she used to smoke on Dorothy's porch on Edison, drinking gin and tonic, dreaming of the future.
As a result, my family is divided. We all live in different places and have started a blog to keep connected. My father likes to take pictures of Maryland and post them. Chris will start to do so soon as well. I have recently acquired a camera and will return with pictures of Europe. We all discuss current events such as the tragedy in Virginia. I realize how hard it is to get any idea of what is happening from our sensationalizing media. My mother agrees. My father as well.
Chris graduated and had his 23rd birthday. I'll be 25 this summer, one quarter of a century. Natalya and I are going to Europe in 6 days. We'll visit Paris, Munich, Prague, and Berlin. When we return, we'll be moving in together. Chris may visit work in Boston this summer and live in our apartment. We'll visit Lovecraft sites around New England, along with Melville sites and movie nights including the three and a half hour long films of Andrei Arsenevich Tarkovskii. I watched The Sacrifice this weekend.
Soon, the Singletons will unite again. Most likely, it will be in Maryland where our family will be "based." Right now, we are floating. I live in Somerville. Ian Singleton. Signing off. Have a good June!

Wrong Answers: $$$ (in: love)

My friend Arthur's roomate Ben made this animation -- he tapes telemarketer calls.

Gates McFadden/This is how the world ends

Yo- here's some computer/noise stuff I've done dating back to my East Quad days. Mostly just fucking around, trying to make sounds.

Horses drinking and smoking

Click here to be amazed.

Enough Mourning

Slate put together a nice little reflection on the legacy of the recently departed Rev. Jerry Falwell, composed of charming little quotations from throughout his inspiring career. A sample:

"I listen to feminists and all these radical gals. ... These women just need a man in the house. That's all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it and they're mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They're sexist. They hate men; that's their problem."

Amen! He will be missed.

Master Cleanse is CRAZY

Every time I think it's universally agreed that the Master Cleanse does more harm than good, and also that it is idiotic, someone tells me they are doing/have done a master cleanse. WHY? From Wikipedia (my bold):

"One critic of the Master Cleanse has pointed to an 'alarming lack' of essential nutrients, citing a deficiency of protein, vitamins, and minerals such as calcium. As a result of these deficiencies, individuals on the diet may experience dizziness, delirium, and fainting in the short term, with possible damage to the body ocurring in longer-term applications. Dr. Fuhrman, on the other hand, attributes these effects to detoxification, which he says passes after the toxins are eliminated.

People with intestinal conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome may experience added discomfort. Furthermore, there is a risk that the saltwater "flush" may remove both beneficial and harmful bacteria from the body. Finally, a no-food diet may cause the gut to stop passing food, resulting in constipation, or may make the consumption of food immediately after the fast painful."

It seems really obvious. But maybe it isn't?

Truck Runs Over Cyclist's Head

Wow! How do you survive this?

More fun online.

This is a "VisualDNA widget" generated by an online process where you select images based on your reaction to a series of question. It then generates your "Visual DNA", with a short script ("Read my DNA"). I got it from this blog.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Ladies & Gentlemen... The Monks!!!

Sorry to post two videos in one day, but I just came across this and it's totally fucking awesome!

Sonic's Rendezvous Band - City Slang

I'm thinking about getting their box set, even though I don't know much of their music -- they're supposed to be one of the great overlooked/lost bands. Fred "Sonic" Smith was guitar player for the MC5 and married Patti Smith.

More at their MySpace.

The White Stripes' Generational Import

This past weekend I heard The White Stripes' new single which got me to thinking. I first heard them in the Half-Ass in East Quad and saw them at the Magic Stick before their third album came out. The band has seemingly survived their peers (both the Detroit garage scene and the wake-of-9/11 rock resurgence such as the Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, have fragmented and become more dissolute). They feel linked to stages in my life more than other contemporary bands, and was wondering what other people thought of them.

If you dislike their music, do you respect Jack White's attempts at stylistic changes? Do you accept them as one of the bands of our generation, as much as that can happen these days? To what extent are they an art rock band? Do they straddle the line between rock independence and mainstream acceptance, or have they compromised their artistic integrity? Free association, I'm wonder what people's appraisal is.

Bob Dylan scares kids.

"The kids have been coming home and telling their parents about the weird man who keeps coming to class to sing scary songs on his guitar."

Short story here.

Death of ideas!

(a project for Getty Images done by Heye Team)

"7500 offline packets were sent out to promote the website www.ideenfriedhof.com. (the website is only available in German.) The translated version of the letter reads "It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the death of your idea. Beloved ideas are often torn from this world far too soon, and whether these unexpected farewells are at the behest of consultants, creative directors or customers, the pain is always real.

Perhaps your grief will be easier to bear if you know that others share in it -thousands of ideas die each day. Join our large, grieving community at www.ideenfriedhof.com and commiserate with friends over the grandeur of your idea. To find peace, please use the enclosed memorial park, which will make your desktop a place of solemn reflection.

You’ll realise how good it feels to let go. Wonderful days with beautiful new ideas lie before you. Our online catalogue ‘One Life’ will show you the latest and most important visual trends and will inspire you to fresh, stunning ideas."

I buried my master's thesis on gendered apotropaic images in Greek art here.

discovered at http://creativecriminal.blogspot.com

The Clean - Anything Could Happen

This one's really worth it, dudes.

Justin said that someone might have posted this earlier, but I couldn't find it, so forgive if it's a repeat. In any case, how could you *not* want to watch it again?

New North Korean Liquor Coming to U.S.!!!!!!

"A traditional North Korean liquor that is clear and tastes smoother and sweeter than vodka is expected to hit the U.S. market as early as next month, a news report said Thursday."

Yay! This summer is going to be awesome, and it's all thanks to our nuclear negotiations with North Korea. We finally are allowing their exotic booze into the states! I'm going to try some for sure. Come to New York and we'll drink a toast to the Dear Leader!