Fascism and Sci-Fi Part 2: Life on Tattoine

Time now for life on Tattoine on the hopes that our own viewers might be uplifted by the comparison and enriched with the gratitude of relief:


Now that we live in unabashed fascist times, it's time to look at our escapism to see how we got here. I believe that George Lucas' self-suppressed Star Wars Holiday Special is unintended commentary and anecdote to the propagandistic original movie series.

The Empire has Shut Us Down!

Listen! The words of Bea Arthur are a clarion call to arms.

Run a tab for the Empire!

This cultural artifact contains the buried memory of America; before we were choking on whatever it is we are choking on now.

As the Koreans say, Even if you roll in a field of excrement, this world is better than the next.

If You Weren't Scared and Pissed-off Enough Already

Here you go.

Tingles

Overheard in the office:

I have to go piss; The one thing about it is you get the tingles and the tingles at first feel real good but then you have take a piss.

Perfection

Commando Leopard!

Kinski matches the inanity of the TV culture point for point. Kinski is inane in his own totally fascinating way. Fantastic clip. And one bonus:

I make the party in Seoul

More Julien

I got a--I got a-- I got a poem.You want to hear it? Yeah. Daddy, can I read a poem? Okay. "Midnight chaos... Eternity chaos... Morning chaos,eternity chaos, noon chaos, eternity chaos,evening chaos, eternity chaos, midnight chaos,eternity chaos, morning chaos, eternity chaos,noon chaos-- evening chaos,eternity chaos, midnight chaos,eternity chaos... morning chaos,eternity chaos, noon chaos,eternity chaos, evening chaos,eternity chaos... midnight chaos,eternity chaos, noon chaos, eternity chaos, evening chaos, eternity chaos..." Julien, cut it out. "Morning chaos, eternity chaos..." You're repeating "Chaos, chaos."It doesn't even rhyme. - It rhyme with chaos.- Oh, come on. Come on, stop that.That's not a poem. I'm not finished. - "Midnight--"- What kind of poem is that? It doesn't even rhyme.You repeat "Chaos, chaos." It doesn't even rhyme. - How about that?- "Midnight..." Shut up. Shut up. I don't like it becauseit's so artsy-fartsy. You see, I likethe real stuff. I like something like, uh, the end of "Dirty Harry." I saw this "Dirty Harry,"and the end is really-- a terrific showdown. What? There was thistremendous shoot out. You should better listen.Just listen. Grandmama, listen.Just listen. There was this shoot out. Dirty Harry hasthis bad guy cornered. I mean, he wasa real bad guy, and there's thistremendous shoot out. They're really exchanginglots of fire. They're shooting bulletsat each other and they keep missing. At the end the bad guysomehow drops his gun. It's just down thereon the bottom. Harry hovers over him, and now Harry, he is reallyfull of contempt. Harry's standing there,he's totally full of contempt, and he says to him,"We've wasted many of our bullets. Do you think there's stilla bullet left in your gun? " and he says to him, "You know, now you've gotto ask yourself a question: 'Do I feel lucky?'" At that moment, the bad guylunges for his gun, raises itand it goes, "click." He hasn't got a bullet left.And Harry blasts him away. He blasts him into a river. He knocks him off the feetand blasts him away. You see,that's good stuff. I truly like that. I don't likethe artsy-fartsy thing. I think I hated his poem.

Rescue Dawn

MGM acquires it...

I don't know anything about movies--but that means it will get released.

Black Albino From Way Down South

"Once upon a time,
there was a young man..."



Yeah.



"For your mind.
Dedicated."



"Victor's a nice man.
Yeah."



"Go, Victor.
Go, Julien."



- "Go, James..."
- Yeah.



"I'm a black albino
straight from Alabama,



way down south."



"You know, I'm a black albino,
straight from Alabama



way down south."



"Then you know
that I'm a black albino,



straight from Alabama.
Yeah."



"Check it out.
Well, salutations from Polk,



it's the up above.
There's no mistaking about the name,



- because it couldn't be..."
- Yeah!



All right! All right!



"...black albino,
straight from Alabama..."



- Go, James!
- "...way down south.



Then you know
that I'm a black albino



straight from Alabama,
way down south.



Then you know
that I'm a black albino



straight from Alabama,
way down south.



Then you know
that I'm a black albino



straight from Alabama.
You've got to be smooth.



Oh-- smooth!
What does it mean?



I feel just like the E.F. Hutton
of the hip-hop scene.



I can kick a rhyme
other MCs might miss,



and it goes a little something
like this--



Hit it-- a long time ago,
I couldn't even flow,



you know? I had an Afro,
and I rapped slow.



But I took a look
inside a book,



to find my nook in society.
I'm tired of my piety.



The plan, understand,
was to become the grand man



on the rap stand, and dish out
my own brand of justice,



'cause it seems
that when I bust this,



people gather 'round
and say, "Aw nuts!"



This Polky bust rhymes
the public never heard before.



The suckers bag the mike
and start heading for the door.



...then you know
it's a black albino



straight from Alabama,
way down south.



Then you know
that I'm a black albino



straight from Alabama,
way down south..."



Go, Franklin!
Yeah!



Back in the s, they had this
world championship



of talking birds.



And they sent all these parrots
and beals--



it's a starling type of bird
from Borneo--



and boy, do they speak well.



But the championship back then
was won by a parakeet,



a little parakeet.



And the parakeet would say,
"Birds are smart,



but they can not speak."



and that really made him



Boy, was that bird good.



You can still buy a record which
repeats and repeats his sentence,



"Birds are smart,
but they cannot speak."



and you can teach your own bird.



Maybe even dogs
are gonna talk one day.



When we were kids arriving
at the breakfast table,



we had to say a poem
and it went like this...



From Julien Donkey-boy, of course.

Note to self

I could always join a Korean crime syndicate.

My favorite quote:

J wasn't particularly bothered by this. Her new boyfriend was quiet, self-confident and preppy looking -- except for the giant tattoo of a dragon arched across his back.

Obligatory political links

These links aren't just normal links. I've been thinking lately that America has severely changed course the past couple of years. I mean, sure, it started somewhere around 9/11. But what I mean is that historians will look back to this period and look at the presidency of George Bush as the beginning of the end.

Maybe. Who knows. But here are the links.

Number one.

Number two. (You knew it'd be billmon.)

Due for a revival, dammit

Bulljumping!

Meditation in Apartment Colors

Stingrays=Islamofascists

Yep.

Is the dark age over?

Maybe.

Possibly.

Nah.

uh huh

yeah

H.G. Wells quote.

No passion in the world is equal to the passion to alter someone else's draft.

Harmonica!!!!!!

Exclusive! Video of Steve Irwin's Grizzly Death

Has annoying narration, sorry.

Go-go!

No frame of reference

Here's a post I think poses an interesting point, that Americans have no frame of reference with regards to healthcare. I would second that, with my limited experience of healthcare in Seoul, I'd say that American healthcare pretty much is awful for the common working stiff.

I went to Samsung Hospital today and the experience was pretty good. My Korean doctor seemed more concerned about my condition than any American doctor ever has.

Where I spend my time.

I spend my time at Captain Abner's.

The Facts therein. Of, more precisely.

A barbed stinger to the heart

This is truly, truly sad news. As Matt Zoller Seitz sez, revamping Star Trek is removing the essence of its appeal:

That essence includes the texture of the work itself -- the color scheme, the costume design and wardrobe material, the haircuts, the actors' tics, the optical effects.

All this world does is make me want to hate. It insists on dimming all its stars, most of all its Star Treks.

Timoth Treadwell of the Mind (and of the Lizards)

Basic Office Conversations:

Conversation 1:
A: Kelly, what's the word on the focus group?
B: I'm on top of it, they will be here at 3:30.
A: Which product will we be testing today?
B: They will sample our new lotion and fill out our survey.
A: Kelly, please do me a favor?
B: Sure, what can I do for you?
A: When you have time, can you balance the Kim books?
B: Sure, I'll do it right away.

Notes:
Focus group: Before a market launch of a new product, some companies use focus groups (a sample of people that fit the target demographic profile of their target market). Usually multiple (more than one) focus group is used.

They will normally test a product and give their opinions and the company will make changes according to the focus group survey.

A Survey is a questionnaire that a company will ask to see how people feel about products, issues, etc.

*When the boss says, "When you have time", it means to do it right away.

Conversation 2:
A: What's my schedule for the day?
B: You have a 2:15
A: Will you clear my schedule and hold my calls?
B: It's done, anything else I can do for you?
A: No, that'll be all, thank you.
B: Where shall I say you'll be?
A: I'll be at the plant, there was a power outage there.
B: Will do.

Notes:
Clear my schedule means cancel all the day's appointment.
Hold my Calls – Take messages or forward calls to voice mail.

Crocodile Tears

And his heart goes out to a stingray...

That's what we get for worshipping false heroes. (Alternate title for this post is Jesus Lizard Wept.)

Genius

Richard Hell on your American Apparel.

Incidentally, I've seen in small quantities Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth and Joy Division t-shirts in K-land.

Remembrance of Links Past

Well, these days, if you're reading Proust, I suppose you should blog about him, why else am I reading him?

Where to begin? Well, I am reading him in 70 page chunks, and I'm almost done with volume 5. At times I think it's the most amazing thing I've read, and sometimes I don't. I suppose that's why he's Proust. He could come up with something a little more interesting than it's "amazing" or "not amazing" to describe a book. Really, I'm learning a lot. Sometimes I think that there are so many pages that one can't but help but feel changed after reading it. And we get to be a part of this club of people who have read Proust. Why? It's not like anybody I've ever met who was really quite superior and I'd want to be like them have ever read the whole of Proust. I've met a few people, mostly academic types who have. I admire them, and at some level I suppose I have to emulate them, and so that's why I'm reading Proust. Also, to make myself feel better than other people, I guess. I don't know, really. I'm glad I'm doing it. The last two books have gone on and on about Jealousy, and I suppose one can. I actually started skipping some pages because I couldn't handle much more about Jealousy.

Here's a good Scott Walker interview with Jon Savage.

Lashing Mr. Spiegel

It has not gone un-noticed by A&S:

I've been a blogger for three-and-a-half years now, and I well know the business
end of an angry readership with instant feedback mechanisms. The temptation to
create a new persona and rally support for yourself in comments can be almost
overwhelming. Almost. But most of us resist the urge, take the lashing and move
on.

It could be said that some of us live for the moment when we get to be lashed.

Insa-dong