2004 in space

well, the year is done. though a sucky year in most respects, culturally, politically, etc, it was actually a great year for space, or rather man’s exploration of space, or more specifically man’s exploration of space via robots and imaging systems. as such i thought i’d share a little gallery of some of my favorite images collected out there in the great black yonder this year. i did not choose these images for any scientific import but simply by aesthetics. though some of these images may make us photographers wince, knowing a brainless cold piece of machinery can manage as well as we can, i still think they’re incredible. wish i could get out there…

posted by jmorrison on 12/31 | tech & science - space | | permalink
today’s video of absurdity

speaking of entertaining absurdity you guys see the new chemical brothers video? haha. so stupid and great and 10 years late. the song is of negligable founkiness and who the hell listens to the chembros anymore anyway? but i must admit, kroma did a good job on this. can spielberg do better with his recently announced transformers movie adaptation? maybe. but he better bring dat founk!

posted by jmorrison on 12/30 | sights & sounds - film | | permalink
today’s vortex of absurdity

i have only just now managed to claw my way out of an internet vortext which sucked up a good five hours of my day, the result of which is one miniscule nugget of understanding: in my humble opinion humanity is not equipped in any proper way to deal with absurdity. what began with a short article in the fortean times about ‘pataphysics lead me yet again unknowingly into the territory of duchamp, the sittuationalist, et al, in bread crumb fashion though a veritable laundry list of the alternative viewpoint- alfred jarry, ‘college de pataphysique, dada, london institute of ‘pataphysics, ecco, baudrillard, beckett, ionesco, patapsychology, robert anton wilson, the committee for surrealist investigation of claims of the normal, gorilla ontology, the principa discordia, timothy leary, bucky fuller, marshal mcluhan, wilhelm reich, orgone energy, william s. burroughs, ken kesey, ru sirius, the church of the sub-genius, etc… it was like being taken on a tour by the ghost of counterculture past.

posted by jmorrison on 12/30 | lost & found - ideas | | permalink
working the conscious canvas

the ability to directly alter subjective and emotional experience will make mental manipulation an art form. or so says george dvorsky at betterhumans.com and i’m inclined to agree. he gives examples from science fiction of artistic endeavors created by tapping directly into human consciousness, and the technologies which are bringing these fictional constructs closer to reality. artists will co-opt every new technology and work them over. that’s a given. it’s just a matter of the tech becoming freely available. one comment though, i can’t imagine the type of work which will result can possibly be as fascinating as the art being done with genetics already. though this new form will likely not face as much resistance so may perhaps have an easier time proliferating.

memory lane

all you old timers who made mixed tapes using the pause and rewind button ought to get a kick out of this extensive gallery of blank tapes. i know i did. remember when you scored your first 120 minute tapes? oh the possibilities! remember the sticker sheets? i think i still have a stack of those in a box somewhere. i guess it really wasn’t all that long ago that this was still the media of choice, though it feels like a hundred years. this link has been making the rounds lately so i expect to see some of these things popping up in graphic design pieces any day now. it’s in russian i think so just use the brand links in the sidebar. enjoy.

posted by jmorrison on 12/29 | lost & found | | permalink
sin city

the trailer for the movie adaptation of frank miller’s sin city went up on the apple site. looks like Robert Rodriguez did a pretty good job capturing the look of the comic. the cast is decent for a non-batman comic property. mickey rourke as marv could be genius… still i can’t help but think it will end up being crappy. but hey who knows. frank millers name is still prominently attached.

posted by jmorrison on 12/29 | sights & sounds - film | | permalink
modern painters relaunch

purchased the “relaunch issue” of modern painters at penn station yesterday. saw it, saw that something was very different. the size, the logo. picked it up, felt that something was different, the paper, the sheen, the weight. leafed through it and saw that the design was different… purchased it only to find that looks in this case were not deceiving, that perhaps the old adage of not judging a book by it’s cover, though generous and optimistic, may not in fact apply to all publications. had i judged this new modern painters by it’s cover i’d have said “another lame, limp, fashion obsessed rag that dips it’s gnarled little toe into a subject but decides to lay on the beach trying unsuccessfully to look pretty rather than dive in.” and sadly, i’d have been right.

posted by jmorrison on 12/28 | sights & sounds - art | | permalink
a visit from st. nicholas

found this nifty piece written by james thurber in 1927. what if papa hemingway had written the night before christmas instead of clement c. moore? he might have done it something like this:
“Is Saint Nicholas asleep?” asked the children.
“No,” mamma said. “Be quiet.”
“What the hell would he be asleep tonight for?” I asked.
“He might be,” the children said.
“He isn’t,” I said.
hahaha. thurber was a champion. i loved walter mitty when i was a lad.

posted by jmorrison on 12/20 | sights & sounds - books | | permalink
turds ahead, veer left.

swanksigns. quote: “this website was born of a love for the strange and bizarre, and mocking said strange and bizarre items.” fairly amusing. “only fairly amusing?” you ask. “not a very glowing review” you say. “why not post something that is extremely amusing, or better yet genius?” well, because it’s sunday and i’m lazy, alright. post something yourself why don’t you? now back off.

posted by jmorrison on 12/19 | sights & sounds | | permalink
“the fucked-up leading the hypnotized”

came across this australian news story and found it pretty fascinating. a billboard on a busy commuter thoroughfare reads “get out of your mind.” the source cloaked website it leads to offers almost no information other than a list of what neurocam is not and the chance to register. those who register “are assigned missions, with the threat of grave consequences should these tasks not be carried out. Individuals prove their mettle by completing progressively more complex, riskier assignments - possibly of questionable legality”. the news story is great. it paints this very mysterious picture of what is almost certainly an elaborate piece of art. it’s possible i suppose that the people involved wouldn’t even call it art, that they just like fucking with people, seeing what will happen, and what they can get away with. if so, all the better. here is the story (if asked to register use username: freepass password: freepass) and here is the neurocam website. additionally one of the participants mentioned has a blog. is it art or a marketing ploy? who cares? i love that people actually respond.

posted by jmorrison on 12/18 | lost & found - wtf | | permalink
you can’t go back, thankfully

let’s face it folks, we’re getting older. many married, some with children. working stiffs one and all. as we all get older, more crotchety, more rooted, i expect a mid-life crisis or two to crop up any time now. before any of us foolishly go off and buy motorcycles or book a backpacking trip through india let me provide a small community service and remind anyone who might be teetering on that sad edge that you can’t go back, and more importantly that you really wouldn’t want to. but as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some pictures which ought to bring the whole chaotic, freakish, filthy mess back to you, and crystal clear. enjoy these, laugh heartily, and thank god you’re not still back there in those most ridiculous of trenches. embrace your burgeoning elderliness and grow a white beard. you’ve earned it. xo.

posted by jmorrison on 12/18 | lost & found - wtf | | permalink
a joyful holiday for your precious little ones

well, the holidays are very nearly upon us. shopping is in full swing. very many of you now have precious little lads and lasses to shop for this year, and we know what that means, toys toys toys! i’ve searched around and come up with what i think is perhaps the greatest educational toy on the market today, sure to impress itself on any childs sense of wonder and imagination. namely: the cubes. ohh goody! playtime was never so soul crushingly mediocre-riffic!  my favorite part: if you look at the “ann figure expansion pack” you’ll notice that along with her flow charts and in box they’ve supplied everyone’s favorite kitten poster- “hang in there.” genius. for extra fun try attaching a hand drawn “there’s no such thing as santa” card to this gift, perhaps on a large post-it, folded in half… ba-rum-pa-pum-pum, rum-pa-pum-pum, rum-pa-pum-pum!

posted by jmorrison on 12/17 | lost & found | | permalink
airing of greivances

ok, since we seem to be in a bantering state of mind, let me just say a few things. every morning i wake up, groggy, mind gone, and sit on the couch next to my old lady. she’s already got some morning news show on and while i sit there with my first smoke and maybe a little o.j. awaiting the weather report i sit through 15 minutes or so of t.v…

posted by jmorrison on 12/17 | piss & vinegar | | permalink
the elimination dance

“anyone who has lost a urine sample in the mail”. a man hides his face and is led off the floor by his equally embarrassed partner. “anyone who has been penetrated by a mountie.” a man is slapped by his mortified partner and dragged off. In this way, the ranks of the eliminated swell. The rules of the dance are simple: if the caller announces a circumstance that has occurred in the lifetime of you or your partner, you must leave the dance floor at once. The elimination dance- a short canadian film based on the poem of the same name by michael ondaatje. (via mefi)

posted by jmorrison on 12/15 | sights & sounds - film | | permalink
in a better world

last week a friend of mine sent me a link for a non-profit that trains capuchin monkeys as companions for quadriplegics. he said he saw some footage about it on t.v. and was blown away. evidently these little guys can cook up a quick meal in the microwave, play a video on the vcr, and otherwise help out the chair-bound and motionless among us. it is pretty fucking cool. hot on the heels of seeing that i came across a site called the great ape project. these folks are pushing for “human rights” for all the higher primates: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas and orangutans. here’s their video. i like the idea, i think apes are amazing, but all humans can’t seem to secure human rights, so what are the chances for gorillas? nill, zilch, zero, nada. perhaps in a better world these noble ideals would be viable. in the meantime…

posted by jmorrison on 12/15 | lost & found - ideas | | permalink
how much is that doggy in the window?

tom and i had planned on going to the all new, re-designed, re-shuffled, re-priced moma this weekend but we never made it, and seeing as how there was nothing on any of the internets i deemed worthy of posting, i decided to search around and look at some art. in my travels i came across artnet’s 300 most requested artists list. artnet is essentially an art market designed to funnel you and your wallet toward the art which interests you. so i guess the 300 most requested list reveals, in it’s own humble manner, the artists people are most interested in paying for a piece of.

posted by jmorrison on 12/12 | sights & sounds - art | | permalink
my fate: second level of hell

“you have come to a place mute of all light, where the wind bellows as the sea does in a tempest. this is the realm where the lustful spend eternity. here, sinners are blown around endlessly by the unforgiving winds of unquenchable desire as punishment for their transgressions. the infernal hurricane that never rests hurtles the spirits onward in its rapine, whirling them round, and smiting, it molests them. you have betrayed reason at the behest of your appetite for pleasure, and so here you are doomed to remain. cleopatra and helen of troy are two that share in your fate.” or so says dante, or rather this divine comedy fate tester.

posted by jmorrison on 12/12 | lost & found | | permalink
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