Oh Elka, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways

Miss Elka talks the bay area and Kitchen Sink over at the SF Weekly.

b girlz

"Myspace and the Mainstreaming of the New Racism" or "The Real O.C. is full of Nazis"

In a previous post, I mentioned how I'd discovered a whole nest of white-pride nasties via the myspace profile of one Josh Waring (aka the troubled son of Lauri Waring from the Bravo series The Real Housewives of Orange County). Said profile is now set to private, perhaps to prevent nosy people like me from happening upon the profiles of random white supremacists and writing irate letters to the vulcans at myspace.com. I finally got a response today (I wrote the letter two weeks ago) saying that the content had been removed.

Even though the terms of use state the racism/hate propaganda are not allowed in the myspace community, a google search for "white pride" + "myspace" reveals that white supremacists are pretty annoyed that their nazi profiles get deleted. This seems to point to something -- I'm not sure what -- but something that suggests an interesting semantic trend regarding the ways terms like "community" are overlaid with "functionality." Why do white pride people want to be part of the myspace community? Probably because Myspace is one of the largest and most popular social networks on the web. And probably because posting content on myspace allows one to "publish" or "promote" all sorts of material to all sorts of people, not just those who are already in agreement with one's nazi agenda. In other words, myspace is a way to "mainstream" the racist vitriol.

And this is something that seems to be happening in many places these days, not just in some internet community frequented by the 13-30 set. The list of known racists in Hollywood just keeps getting longer. We know that Paris uses the n-word and other racial slurs. We know that Jason Wahler (one of the boneheads from MTV's Laguna Beach) slung racial slurs and spat at police officers. And then there's the good ol' boys: Mel Gibson and Michael Richards. WTF?

This trend seems to parallel the obvious racism in "the war on terror" and, for that matter, the whole stupid war(s). Never mind the obvious racism in the "immigration debate." I've heard people say that this is a "post-9/11" thing or a "post-hurricane katrina" thing. These explanations -- to me at least -- seem too simple. Especially against the backdrop of a trend which seems to indicate that casual racism is becoming increasingly mainstream.

Lonely Girls?

The Shangri-las. Mary Weiss was about 15 when they recorded this song.





"My mother kind of signed my life away when I was 14"

Crackers and Bits

WTF? The Olsen Twins can't stop wearing fur.

Fun Stuff to Distract You from all the Sh*t

I am so so so into the san-x dogs stuck-in-things. puppytire is my muse.




















I am also *obsessed* with sports dogs. Look at these poses! these outfits! Those little goggles and swim trunks!





















And I don't even know what is going on in this one. Kitties who turn into things?




















those folks over at san-x are f*cking genius.

also, I need to learn Japanese like five years ago.

I feel disturbed

Okay, I admit it. Sometimes the over-consumption of trash culture does make me sick. Right now I feel sick. Not just because of the non-stop and ghoulish ANS coverage. Not just because Britney shaved her head. And not just because Lilo sent shit-faced Brody Jenner a text message that said "I just got out of rehab and I want Mcdonald's and sex." It's the toxic combination -- that noxious cocktail. Death and pain and hate whizzed with special sauce and saccharine.

I am convinced that The Real Housewives of Orange County is simply nazi propaganda. Do you know that people have fucking myspace pages for WHITE PRIDE!!!???!! I found one while trying to get the dirt of the castmembers for the The Real H of OC. How gross and offensive can you get? I find it hard to believe that such blatant, obvious racism has become so mainstream. It is SICK SICK SICK.

And then there's the *shocking* results of a study: us involvement in iraq INCREASES terrorism. no shit sherlock. That's about as revelatory as that other story that confirmed the "theory" of global warming.

Usually, engaging in a critical analysis of pop-culture is a productive outlet for these feelings of disgust. But sometimes the juxtapositions are so jarring, the implications seemingly so grim, the content so gruesome...

cutie crack

1. Twiggy head, 2. Lhasa Apso, 3. Perfect Day, 4. Soosi, 5. Pokki showers. The only reason why..., 6. At the beach in Ban Thai, 7. after shower, 8. pokki, 9. What? Come and warm me!, 10. Tan, 11. SquamDog Canoe, 12. No name yet, 13. Beach Puppy, 14. hiding place, 15. Buds, 16. snowball017, 17. Running to mummy, 18. Shih Tzu, 19. blossom 3, 20. my pets, 21. Our 12 months old Shih Tzus, 22. Shih Tzu 02, 23. Soosies nose, 24. Ernie & Gizmo bouncing around in the snow, 25. peeking tzu, 26. Missy, 27. Only for the photographer, 28. Phoebe sitting on the balcony, 29. Samson Watching for Daddy, 30. chilling, 31. The Great Race, 32. Twiggy, 33. chasing birds, 34. Twiggy on the subway, 35. 16, 36. HAIR DO

made with fd's flickr toys

Girls, Lost and Lonely: Links

Alice
Alice II
Persephone
Ophelia
Laura Palmer
Lilly Kane
The Vigin Suicides
The Lost Girls, about the movie 13
Lost Girls an "adult" graphic novel
Little Girl Lost, twilight zone ep.
Little Girl Lost, little house on the prarie ep.
The Lost Girl, by DH Lawrence
Tess
Diary of a Lost Girl, film
A review of Factory Girl

A Little Girl Lost
by William Blake

Children of the future age,
Reading this indignant page,
Know that in a former time
Love, sweet love, was thought a crime.

In the age of gold,
Free from winter's cold,
Youth and maiden bright,
To the holy light,
Naked in the sunny beams delight.

Once a youthful pair,
Filled with softest care,
Met in garden bright
Where the holy light
Had just removed the curtains of the night.

Then, in rising day,
On the grass they play;
Parents were afar,
Strangers came not near,
And the maiden soon forgot her fear.

Tired with kisses sweet,
They agree to meet
When the silent sleep
Waves o'er heaven's deep,
And the weary tired wanderers weep.

To her father white
Came the maiden bright;
But his loving look,
Like the holy book
All her tender limbs with terror shook.

'Ona, pale and weak,
To thy father speak!
Oh the trembling fear!
Oh the dismal care
That shakes the blossoms of my hoary hair!'

William Blake

annotated bib for this poem

Lonely Girls, Pt. 1.5

So because I've been out of the loop and not reading very many blogs lately, I'm just now catching up on the blog discussions around LonelyGirl. Thanks go to zp who pointed me in the direction of this post at the churty experiment. At the time this entry was written, the mystery around the authenticity of LG was just about to boil over, and the degree to which LG's use of "new media" was instrumental in the hoax was the subject of much discussion. In a comment on this post zp observes that LG, despite its use of new media, is in fact an "old story."

I think what really bothers me is that, in this case (like, probably, the previous cases of the early novel and the fairy tale) the reader-consumer is solicited as an agent that is allowed to imagine that he might intervene and "save" the girl in all her princessly virginity.

That this experience (the experience of belief/participation in this particular narrative suspense) is being realized (because, in all the media and regardless of whether the story is fiction or claims to be something real, the reader-consumer's experience IS real) yet again, in a "new media" just makes me tired. If new media does new things, now that would be interesting.

Can we please become invested, as an audience, in something other than a young woman's purity now?

This comparison of LonelyGirl to fairy tales seems especially salient. The series was developed under the title The Children of Anchor Cove, and this sounds pretty fairy tale-ish to me. The lack of parents is reminiscent of fairy tale, as are the themes of entrapment and "being lost." I'm also reminded of the depiction of real-life lost girls -- girls like Jon Benet Ramsey in her pageant/red riding hood outfits.

What especially interests me about zp's comment is the observation of how the audience is solicited to intervene -- to mediate. Is the impulse to intervene separate from an impulse to judge and evaluate Bree? Is it a response to the absence of parents? Is it a recognition of the world as a cruel and sinister place? Does it inspire a radical critique of power?

Next: the use of the occult and magical in these types of stories

For Every Generation there is a Lonely, Mysterious Girl, Pt. 1

It's been awhile since the folks behind the you-tube driven phenom Lonely Girl 15 confirmed that the so-called vlog of Bree, a lonely, home-schooled teen, was in fact "not real." That is to say, that they confirmed that Bree is a character played by an actress. Whether or not this makes her "not real" is open to some debate.

I didn't begin watching Lonely Girl until a few weeks ago. I'd known about the series for some time, but it wasn't until I read this piece by the ever astute MZN that I decided to look at some of the videos.

I wasn't immediately sucked in. I thought the form was interesting and I found Bree mildly charming, but I wasn't really sure why the series was so popular. But then I watched a few more, and the mystery began to unfold.

I won't go into a detailed plot summary here (if you are interested you should check out the Lonely Girl entry on Wikipedia or else visit the lovingly-detailed LGpedia), but I would like to touch on how some of narrative strategies and themes of Lonely Girl have made me a potential victim of what fan-forum users call "lonelycrack." I think the "turn" for me happened when I saw this video:



I like this video for a number of reasons 1) Bree discusses her religion in a way that is guarded and odd -- seemingly programmed; mystery! 2) Bree responds to Daniel's vlog, thus introducing an additional point of view 3) the conflict b/w Bree and Daniel is enacted via vlog/media, and thus invites the viewer to mediate (indeed, a number of viewers began to post vlog responses to Daniel and Bree) 4) the vlog also gives us a sense of this conflict as happening in real time.

LonelyGirl reminds me more of a novel than a television show -- something like Turn of the Screw or Dracula or Rebecca (also, of course, a great film by Hitchcock). I think this is because one is forced to question the reliability of the narrators; Much like a novel that includes letters and diary entries, LonelyGirl pivots and swivels not only between points of view but also between points of address. What a character says and how she says it depends upon her intended audience. The fact that we are all here listening is (sometimes) irrelevant.

One of the most fascinating things about LonelyGirl is how the show used new media to "trick" the audience. This is similar to the supposed panic that swept the country after the radio broadcast of War of the Worlds. LonelyGirl also used the youtube platform in way that allowed viewers to engage with the videos by posting comments and gathering in chat rooms and making response videos. It was through these same channels that the folks behind LonelyGirl introduced new characters .

LonelyGirl has inspired a number of spin-offs, and one of them -- OpAphid -- has been "cannonized" by the LG "creators" as the "official" LonelyGirl alternative reality game, thus establishing that fan-created videos could potentially become part of the "official" storyline. The OpAphid videos contain clues, puzzles, and backwards messages that supposedly come from "the Order," a mysterious group connected to Bree's religion.

As MZN points out, before the videos were revealed to be "fake," the task of trying to uncover whether or not the videos were real rivaled the developing intrigue between Bree and Daniel, and later Bree's religion. MZN notes that

It comes during this cycle of greater democratization and interactivity, with media users and makers coming together like never before. lg15 has been a contradictory phenomenon, at once drawing its energy from the web community and taking advantage of it.

This give and take dynamic with the audience is certainly one of the most exciting things about LonelyGirl. Yet my hunch is that only a small number of the total viewers make response videos and post comments. And I'd be curious to know how many viewers stopped watching once the gig was up. I imagine that there are many others out there -- like me -- who started watching and keep watching because we are intrigued by the story.

So what about this story? It reminds me of some other stories. Or perhaps I should say that Bree reminds me of some other characters -- other lonely, mysterious girls -- girls like Laura Palmer and Buffy Summers. More on that in Pt. 2

Womb Poetry Volume One : Hives & Covens

The premier issue of WOMB, an online journal of poetries by women, is now live!!!

Please visit www.wombpoetry.com.

Volume One, HIVES & COVENS:

Volume One
dedicated in memory to kari edwards

featuring work by:

* t h r u m *

: kari edwards : Eileen Tabios : Barbara Jane Reyes : Elizabeth Treadwell : Ann Bogle : : Alison Cimino :Susan B.A. Somers-Willett : Amy King : Kristy Bowen : Julie Choffel : : J.B. Rowell : Ebony Golden : Jenna Cardinale : Juliet Cook : Susan Morrison-Kilfoyle : : Holaday Mason : Toti O'Brien : Jessica Schneider : Karen McBurney : Sunnylyn Thibodeaux : : Sarah Mangold : Meagan Evans : Jennifer Bartlett : Marcia Arrieta : Michele Miller : : Priscilla Atkins : Anne Elezebeth Pluto : Marie Buck : Michalle Gould : Anne Heide : : Susan Meyers : Melissa Eleftherion : Susan Settlemyre Williams : J. Elizabeth Clark :

* s p a r k l e *

: Danielle Pafunda : Kathryn Miller : Julia Drescher : k. lorraine graham : Karen McBurney : : Michelle Caplan : Marcia Arrieta : Ashley Smith : Annette Sugden : Christine Bruness :

* c h i m e *


: a chapbook by Julia Drescher :

Trump Sucks

WTF? Donald Trump is all over the place talking shit about Rosie O'Donnell because she dared to question his role as some sort of moral compass in the whole Miss Underage USA goes drinking so should she lose her crown debate. First of all, I think it's gross that he "owns" the Miss USA pageant. Second of all, I find it difficult to sympathize with mean-spirited millionaires, especially millionaires who make stupid reality TV. Third of all, his over-reaction to RO's playful yet valid critique of the whole scenario is petty and ridiculous. He's called her ugly, fat, and repulsive. He made disparaging references to her sexuality, suggesting that RO is acting out of suppressed desire for Miss USA. And he's said all sorts of other stupid stuff. He's just this white blustery angry man face. He's so offensive. What the fuck does he care what RO says about him? He's such an ass. I wish he had to pay a tax for every mean thing he's ever done. I bet that'd dry him up pretty quick.

The Wire is so good

Thematically, it's about the very simple idea that, in this Postmodern world of ours, human beings—all of us—are worth less. We're worth less every day, despite the fact that some of us are achieving more and more. It's the triumph of capitalism.

--David Simon, interview in Slate

The Wire is the Best Television Show Ever

I am in love. Those who know me know I love my TV. Yes, I was obsessed with Twin Peaks. Then Buffy and Veronica Mars. And yes, I've even lost days to the Gilmore Girls, Freaks and Geeks, Angel, The Soparanos. For laughs -- Curb Your Enthusiasm and the Office. But none of these shows -- do you hear me? -- not one of these shows can even touch the Wire.



season 1 recap



season 2 recap



season 3 recap




and season 4

5 quick things

1. we saw Borat. a funny romp, however I could have done with fewer jokes of a scatalogical nature. if anything, it is valuable for its documentation of how little it takes to get homophobic rodeo dons and inebriated frat boys to reveal their prejudices. it is also interesting to see how many law suits are springing up. i'd be curious to hear what some of you film folks think of these.

2. tis the season to fluff your dollars. we hope to bring back a new and improved version of the fluffy dollars drinking game.

3. Laguna Beach just gets skankier and skankier. But Tessa and Rocky are very interesting young women. Or rather, their depiction within the context of the show is interesting. The whole "mean girls" vs. "nice girls" is as old as snow, but it's never been an especially pronounced theme on the show before. Sure, you had Kristin vs. Lauren, but Cami and Kyndra are way meaner and more gnarly than Kristin. And Lauren didn't really have any of the nobility they're trying to heap on Tessa and Rocky. As for the boys, an annoying boy of the week post is coming re: Rocky's manchop Alex, Kyndra's Tyler, and everybody's fuckbuddy Cameron. This is by far the most emotionally abusive cadre of dudes yet.

4. Hey! I'm learning how to design web pages. Here's a the first draft of our homepage.

5. Puppytire has a new friend.

3 Things to Be Happy About

this

this

&

this

goodbye mac guy

Perhaps for striking people as a "smug little twit," in the words of Seth Stevenson, ad critic for Slate. Long, he adds, is "just the sort of unshaven, hoodie-wearing, hands-in-pockets hipster we've always imagined when picturing a Mac enthusiast.... It's like Apple is parodying its own image while also cementing it."

source

The Best Store in the World

Giant Robot


also, we saw Marie Antoinette. WE LOVED IT.

Annoying Boy of the Week: Mac Daddy

I've always found the pc/mac debate mind numbingly boring. It's like arguing about whether you prefer nikes or addidas. They're just stupid brands. You like what you like. Whatever.

But the new mac tv ad campaign is so annoying. You know, the ones that feature a schleby guy in a tie saying he's a PC and a smarmy guy with facial pubes saying he's a mac. I guess we're on the third or fourth commercial by now. Anyway, the mac commercial I just saw featured supermodel Giselle. Giselle is supposed to represent an i-movie. A hairy, cross dressed man represents the pc movie.

This commercial makes me prefer PCs for the following reasons:

1. If I am asked to chose between schluby and smarmy, I'll take schluby. The mac guy is one of the most obnoxious characters I've ever seen. I hate that type of guy. If you are that that type of guy, cut it out. srsly.

2. If I am asked to chose between a supermodel and a transvestite, I'll take the transvestite; this person is much more socially-radical, and s/he promotes a fluid interpretation of gender. The supermodel is incredibly problematic.

I'm not saying I don't *get* the metaphor. I just think its premise and execution are incredibly annoying. Almost every commercial is offensive and annoying, but people are always talking about how hip and edgy mac's ad-campaigns are. Whatevs. This commercial makes me associate macs are with suburban, smarmy, white boys who think they're cool just because they read pitchfork and like the films of Quentin Tarantino.

Anyway, the new HP commercials with Jay-Z and Pharell are less annoying. And anything is better than those computer commercials that had the blue men pretending to be processors. Yikes. But it seems to me that very few commercials for computers feature women. And most representations of computer use in tv and movies seem to focus on the geeky "computer guy." Thankfully, Veronica Mars is all about the techie ladies, though the main computer whiz on that show is named -- you guessed it -- Mac.