best when viewed in low light

8.25.2012

Yeah, but Kanye's had a revelation

Kiese Laymon's Gawker article, "Kanye Is Better at His Job Than I Am at Mine (But I'm Way Better at Being a Fake-Ass Feminist", is a thorough homage to Ye's widespread ideological influence - both good and bad.

"...Kanye wants maligned folks to get what they deserve. Poor black folks from New Orleans deserved more so Kanye said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
Beyonce deserved more, so Kanye said, "Taylor, I'ma let you finish, but Beyonce had one of the greatest videos of all time."
Queer brothers deserved more, so Kanye said, "I been discriminating against gays … and I wanna come on TV and tell my rappers, just tell my friends, Yo, stop it, fam ..."
Black kids in Chicago deserved more, so Kanye said, "Man, killing's some wack shit."
Listeners of American popular music deserved more than formulaic noise so Kanye West offered us eight years of GOOD music. In those eight years, Kanye managed to collapse, carve and distort disparate sounds rooted in the black musical traditions into newly shaped inescapable musical experiences. His work did more than challenge conventional composition. Whether it's College Dropout, Late Registration, 808s and Heartbreak, or Watch the Throne, Kanye's work literally dared us to revise our expectations of sound."
But then...

"Kanye West, that box-jawed American virtuoso who told the white man the truth, is eons better at his job than Les is at lying and I am at writing, but when it comes to exploring women (you know, "females," "cats," "bitches," "hoes," "pussies," "Kelly Rowlands," "hood rats," "good girls," "sluts," "light skinned girls," and now "Perfect Bitches"), Kanye West ain't really using his voice or his art right. This actually makes him just like almost every other virtuoso and mediocre American man I've read, watched or heard.
Kanye West is better than those jokers, though.
He's good enough, brave enough, conceptually genius enough, compassionate enough and now rich enough to use his voice to explore with prickly honesty, and dramatic irony, what black women are and the ways he encourages, and is encouraged to, obsessively dismember, soulfully mutilate and straight diss the fuck out of women in order to move units and feel like a manlier man.
At what point does listening to artists obsessively encourage manipulative relationships, sociopathic deception and irresponsible sex with women doubling as accessorized pussy become not just destructive, but really, really boring? If Kanye West won't, or maybe even can't, explore the meat of that question, isn't he too great to exploit it?"

All fair points.

And I agree...but then, the revelation


I think in his rap in this song, Kanye is the most honest about, and with himself, than he's been in much of his misogynistic narrative. Because it's here that he rejects society's assumptions about what "healthy" relationships are - admits the truth about what he wants and can offer to a woman. For that, I applaud him.

And even though Laymon veers off on a different rant, he illustrates from his own experience the nugget of what makes for a real feminist: being honest about how you relate to women; admitting that you are a shithead like everyone else, and that you still need to be loved and held in an intimate relationship. "Deserving" just clouds the issue. If you want to relieve yourself of the burden of real equality in your intimate relationships (and, because you're a shithead just like everyone else, of course you do), you can make yourself a martyr or a murderer of women. But don't think for a second that women aren't coming to the table with their own distrust, deception, and desire to avoid accountability for those truths about themselves.

The goal isn't even moral propriety (how archaic). Cause even your selfish do-gooding is morally questionable, right? (At least, you think so.)

As Ye says: "We formed a new religion/No sins, as long as there's permission"

I'm glad Kanye knows what he wants, he (just like all us other shitheads) deserves at least that.


8.24.2012

Seurat, you futurist, you

I never realized until today how prophetic Seurat and the other pointillist painters were. But...pixels?

More Moon mythology

Kickstarter is an emotional rollercoaster

I contributed to the Blink/Steady project - how could I not?

As an experienced manufacturer might expect, the production has been plagued with minor problems, all of which delay the completion and shipping of my awesome new theft-proof bike light!


Every time I see an update email from them I'm all a-twitter...and today there's yet another minor delay (etchings are backwards)...I swear, it's like every time they tell me it's gonna be longer, I get annoyed and then reminded that soon, eventually, finally I will actually get this awesome thing, and I even helped it come to life in a tiny way. Hooray!

You should Kickstart something, too.


8.14.2012

Here's how to preserve disappointing stereotypes

Hollywood heroines: Here to stay?

I'm so isolated in an imaginary world that I rarely read "professional" articles in my industry. I guess this is why: this man, who--with all due respect--has been a great success in the gaming industry shares knowledge that, intentionally or no, preserves the lame assumptions and low standards we set for media aimed at girls and women.

Why tween girls aren't playing your games


"So, what makes these girls tick, and what will get them playing your games? Here are some insights on how to create games that tween girls will love…
Understand the psychology: An informed approach to developing for this audience means understanding tween girls’ behavior and what motivates them. Between the ages of 8 and 12, girls are just starting to become aware of and experiment with their appearance, which explains why beauty and dress-up games reign supreme. They’re also interested in imagining and acting out their future lives, making role-playing games a great fit — particularly those that enable them to try various jobs on for size, like playing veterinarian or head chef. Self-expression is another hallmark of this demographic, making personality quizzes and creation games especially popular."

8.08.2012

Memoirs of the Twentieth Century

Haven't seen anything this ridiculously awesome in a while:

In the past...