Did I just see that, or did I imagine it?

This is pretty weird and, on a superficial level, kind of primitive. I get a good feeling from it, though.

William Tyler's The Cat and Chicken They Go Swimming from CGAC VPW on Vimeo.

Open question Friday Random Ten

I just may or may not have cured myself of the hiccups. For the night, I mean, not forever. Which remedy would you say works best?

1. Grizzly Bear--Knife
2. Beck--Walls
3. Ladytron--The Lovers
4. Talking Heads--With Our Love
5. Patsy Cline--True Love
6. Wes Montgomery--Days of Wine and Roses
7. Roxy Music--All I Want Is You
8. The Beatles--Drive My Car
9. Fol Chen--The Longer U Wait
10. Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross--Charleston Alley

Eye to idea (not all headers can be good)

Can pictures spark ideas? Most definitely. What's the best way to derive an idea from an image and see it through to fruition? I'm still trying to figure that out for myself.

I think it has something to do with picking up on a quality of the picture, something in the thing depicted and the way it's depicted. And at some point you have to let it go and go off in your own direction. More than that it's hard to say.

Anyway, a recent discovery whose work does seem to pluck the narrative strings is Canadian Brad Phillips. He's a versatile painter, from still lifes to mysterious group scenes. He does his fair share of nudes, too. These it's harder to work off of from a narrative point of view. If you as a writer ask "Why is she naked?" the obvious answer is "Because she took off her clothes. That's how it works where I come from." Still, these are worth appreciating.

But he's very good at shadows and light. Shadows that highlight, and light that looks like it's coming from somewhere. I find it evocative, even if I don't know right away what it's evoking.

At home with horns

While I'm a little late here, and I know there have been a zillion Amy Winehouse tribute blog posts already, this is a nice song, so I'm running it.

Oscar Wilde said, "Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground." Let's just say that tends to get forgotten in the rush of YouTube comments.

I...

Forgot what I was going to say. Oh well, I'll recover it in some form later.

Running for (no) class president

He knows, doesn't he? It would be pretty hard to miss. So yes, I'm quite sure that Herman Cain knows that he won't be president, won't be the nominee, won't get to point at Obama face to face and scream, "Look! Look! I'm blacker 'n you!" Regardless of what victories he may score in meaningless polls and penny-ante endorsements, it won't happen. Try to find a picture of the man looking relaxed or even slightly upbeat. No, he's always got the expression you wear when you smell something putrid, hope it's not you, and really hope that no one blames you either way.

So what's with the raw meat he throws at Muslim haters? Sure, saying that communities can ban mosques 'cuz they feel like it is a great way to show that you've skipped over all the faggoty passages in the Constitution, but is it a path to victory? Of a sort. It's almost inevitable that when the chips are down, the GOP will hand the sash to Mitt Romney. Rick Perry if they're feeling bold. But win or lose, these guys will never go far enough in pushing the Christians-on-top agenda. Especially not Romney, who a lot of the base don't believe is Christian himself. Cain will always have run, and no one can take that away from him. And he will always have run the most hardcore anti-Islam campaign. Which means that for right wing groups who believe in the uniqueness of Muslim evil against all opposing evidence, Cain will always be a welcome and well-renumerated speaker. In the English language, nothing can match the sweet melancholy of the words "if only."

Off the fritz Friday Random Ten

Whoo boy. Well, this may be the ultimate in short posting weeks. For a few days I was just too preoccupied to post anything. Then last night I was going to do something, and pretty much the exact moment I tried going to Blogger, I lost internet connectivity. It seems to have been a regional thing, related to the heat, which by the way has been and is horrendous. In conclusion I may try rescuing some near-forgotten post in the next couple of days. Await with baited breath.

1. Pink Martini--Ohio Ohayoo
2. They Might Be Giants--Alienation's For the Rich
3. Talking Heads--The Good Thing
4. The Beatles--You Won't See Me
5. Shannon Stephens--In the Summer In Mthe Heat
6. Fol Chen--Please, John, You're Killing Me
7. Simon & Garfunkel--Overs
8. Fiona Apple--Tymps (The Sick in the Head Song)
9. Roxy Music--Prairie Rose
10. Nancy Wilson--If It's the Last Thing I Do