The Lovely Spectacle

"Roland Barthes posited that when a professional wrestler enters the ring, he's stepping into a role in a grandiloquent drama of suffering, defeat, and justice: "Even hidden in the most squalid Parisian halls, wrestling partakes of the nature of the great solar spectacles, Greek drama and bullfights: in both, a light without shadow generates an emotion without reserve." For a comparable appreciation of the Ultimate Fighting Championship—the interdisciplinary martial-arts league that broadcasts matches regularly by pay-per-view and, irregularly, on the cable channel Spike—we must turn to that noted semiotician from the great state of Arizona, John McCain: "a cockfight, only we're using human beings." The senator definitely beats Barthes for both pithiness and understatement."

from: "Enter the Octagon: The Lovely Spectacle of Ultimate Fighting," by Troy Patterson.

History From Below: Carrie Mae Weems

Recently, I visited the Hunter to do a review for the Pulse on an exhibit by Carrie Mae Weems. I did a fair amount of research on the American artist (above) before my visit. I also viewed dozens of her film stills and photographs on-line. None of this adequately prepared me for the way I felt upon leaving the Hunter.







Weems’ photographs, especially when placed alongside their accompanying pieces in the context of an exhibit, are visually stunning; they hold their own as fine art. As social commentary, her visual messages are conscience-searing: Weems’ work makes an ethical appeal that goes straight for the jugular.

In this, Weems stands on equal ground with her contemporaries. Over the last year, my wife has helped me to see the power of the work of Barbara Kruger and Cindy Sherman in a new light. Few visual artists working today produce images that are as direct and challenging as Kruger’s and Sherman’s.

Weems’ work often packs a similar punch; but there are some things that seem to set it apart. Weems' responses to injustice typically convey a sense of anger that seems pure and sincere in a way I can trust. Her images seem free of what I would call “subversiveness for subversiveness’ sake”—a symptom that, in my opinion, hinders much modern protest art by compromising the authenticity of its sense of urgency.

Weems is a true cynic. If she’s bitter, she makes her reasons plain and, as I see it, persuasive. Her cultural critiques go beyond self-righteous complacency or mockery. She asks the tough questions with bold renunciation, dismantling the foundations of social stereotypes, racial epithets, and misunderstood American tragedies with the rigor of a new historicist, and the pathos of a skilled artist. The beauty of her work, as I see it, rests in the obvious sense of courage and compassion it conveys. She boldly asks her viewers to rethink their assumptions about America’s past, while positing a compelling voice for those people whose voices have been overlooked by those assumptions. You might call Weems' work “History from Below,” to quote Stephen Greenblatt.

In 2003, Tulane University's Newcomb Gallery commissioned Weems to do a photography-based exhibit commemorating the bicentennial of the Louisianna Purchase. Weems called her entry The Louisianna Project. Among other things, the exhibit gave visual examples of how the city's social elite have marginalized the voice and presence of the largely black lower class: the billboard ad in the above photo shows a group of young black men beside a door that reads, "Board of Directors;" the slogan beneath the men reads, "Here's to the other 9-5." Weems finds it interesting how one of the city's few nods to the black lower class consists of a beer ad. Another set of images featured in the exhibit seems to address one of that class's main malcontents with its elected officials (see below). A recent New Yorker article looks at how these two issues have come to a head in a post-Katrina New Orleans.






If you've ever had moments where you've realized you might be a midnight vulture, a drunken dialer, a has-been, or simply a man or woman who's come into some hard times, Weems is also speaking for you--black, white or otherwise:

Weems is also particularly adept at comitragedy and tragicomedy:



The Louisianna Project and From Here I Saw What Happened And I Cried (the three red photos above are excerpts from the latter) is a dual exhibit of Weems' work that will be at the Hunter until mid April.

A puppy looking for a home.

For now, my name is "Maybe".
John and Kristine found me shivering on the side of the road.
Maybe you find me to be adorable.
Maybe you can be my new mommy and/or daddy.

Maybe you can love me, I promise I'll love you back,
there's no 'maybe' to that.
Maybe we can take naps together.

Maybe you can hold me close like this.
Definitely, Maybe.

(For anyone interested in taking this puppy,
John or Kristine may be contacted.
If you do not know them, please comment.
I will get back to you w/ their contact information.)

Rags of Our Fathers

Dad once modeled for Carhart. Or was it Levi's? Maybe Walls. Czeslaw Milosz, in his poem "Should, Should Not," says, "A man should not love the moon/ An axe should not lose weight in his hand." The sun on the fence behind him and the chopped branches beneath his boots prove Dad was getting off to a bright start. Milosz, had he by some strange twist of fate been watching this sight from the kitchen window, would have raised his owl brows, and puffed his pipe in approval. I can also imagine Milosz throwing open the window and yelling at Dad to get back to work. "Should, Should Not," in its entirety, appears below:

A man should not love the moon.
An axe should not lose weight in his hand.
His garden should smell of rotting apples
And grow a fair amount of nettles.
A man when he talks should not use words that are dear
to him,
Or split open a seed to find out what is inside it.
He should not drop a crumb of bread, or spit in the fire
(So at least I was taught in Lithuania).
When he steps on marble stairs,
He may, that boor, try to chip them with his boot
As a reminder that the stairs will not last forever.

Falling Chocolate Cake

The men in our small group cooked for the women

on Valentines day.
The food was excellent, and in my book, it was the most enjoyable
Valentines dinner.

Many thanks to the shefs...in no particular order:

Jim

John

John
John Simpson planned the main menue.

Vincent
He prepared the dessert...falling chocolate cake!!!
So So good.

We, the girls just sat and watched while men
worked hard in the kitchen.

Here it is: The delicious dinner.

and last but not least: the dessert!

EVERY thing was from scratch...dinner to dessert.

It was the most fun Valentines...

...plus I got roses...
(and lots of other gifts)
...you can never go wrong with roses.

HIP HOP IS DEAD

Reviewed by Vincent

9 minutes of dissapointment

If you have nine minutes to waste...here is a clip for you.
Justin Timberlake: "What Goes Around...Comes Around"
(I just wasted 9 min. and plus some, to watch it and to post about it.)

My father-in-law

This post goes out to 'dad' (and Aunt Kate).

Happy Birthday, 'dad'!!!

Our Silver Boogers

In the Tower

Look what Sienna and Kyrie found today:

My name and...

...and Vincent's name...

...in the Carter Tower!
(Apparently both names were signed on the same pillar/post,
unbenknownst to either one of us.)

Adopting Foster Children

My co-worker, Emily and I had another opportunity to set up a booth for MCC at New City’s Ministry Fair. Therefore, promoting foster care and adoption is fresh on my mind…it should always be second nature to me, as it is my job, but nonetheless I don’t advocate for these children as often as I should.

According to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, 513,000 children are in foster care in the U.S.. Majority of these children were placed in the welfare system as foster children due to abuse and neglect (sexually, emotionally and physically). About a quarter of them are waiting to be adopted, however due to the fact that they are not infants and on average 9yrs of age or come with emotional baggage or fight to be placed with their siblings…they are more difficult to find homes for. Believe me, when I get a call from DFCS asking to take a child over 8yrs old, I think to myself that they are asking the impossible. The sad fact is, this year alone, 1 out of 5 kids will turn 18, and will ‘graduate’ from the welfare system with out a family. No home to go back to on school breaks (that is, if they go), no family to be there on their wedding day…well, you get the point.

Vincent stated yesterday that I’m asking a lot out of families to be foster parents. I know I am, but the fact is, a) we are called to help the orphans (James 1:27), b) many of us are willing to go on short term mission trips for a year to two years over seas. How about serving God, in the comfort of your own home? Majority of the children are in foster care for the same amount of time. c) within the 50mile radius of where I live, if one family, out of one church takes in a child, we would have found a home for every child in foster care in the state of GA. d) “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name, welcomes Me…” Mark 9:37.

I realize that we are not all called to be foster/adoptive parents, but there are other ways to help. So if anyone is curious, let me know, I’ll fill ya in.

Also, if you have time, check out the video from Dave Thomas Foundation. It is a promotional video so it can be seen as impersonal, but I work with/for these children…they are my ‘reality’: I claim it’s message to be personal.

Alright, alright back to work…

Bagpipe Article on "A Day in the Life of a Covenant Student"

This post is for those who don't have anything better to do but surf the net (like me), here it is:The Bagpipe- ghetto style. I'm sure its somewhere online, but this was the way I recieved it from a very dear friend and my personal 'informant'.

One, Two-three...its his birthday!

It's Vincent's Birthday today.

When I asked him when his birthday was, awhile back, he replied, "it's really easy to remember: it's 1-2-3." At that point I thougt he meant Dec. 3rd...I found out last Dec., that it wasn't the case and it was Jan. 23.

So, Happy Birthday, Baby!
Apparently, according to the Knot.com, we've been married for 150 days, as of today...


...so, parte like it's your birthday!

I would like you to dance--Birthday

Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance
You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.Anyways...happy birthday.
I love you.

Peace! your wife peice

Rodney Fox

Here is a clip of Rodney Fox's story of how he was attacked by the great white. The video was taken by Sienna or Kyrie the night we went to hear him speak. The clip is more for you to hear his cute accent, than for anything else.

Sharks to Dancing

It’s been a busy weekend.

Friday, the Howard clan of Chattanooga (Lowen, Sienna, Kyrie, Vincent and I) went to the TN Aquarium to hear Rodney Fox speak. Rodney Fox is one of the most famous shark bite survivors in the world and a renowned shark specialist/conservationist.

We had the privilege of meeting Mr. Fox because Vincent had written an article about him in the Pulse. Brent Mills, the host of the event and producer of National Geographic Video: Hunt for the Great White Shark, had helped Vincent gather information, set up the interview with Mr. Fox and was kind enough to invite us to the event. The speaker was enjoyable and furthermore the sushi and the shrimp cocktail were delish.

Saturday, we attended the Brian-Susan wedding with several of our friends. Brady and Kristen were in town for the wedding, so later that evening, we all met up for pizza and dancing.

Kristine, Kristin, me and Emily (Andy in the back) at the wedding.

Here we(Brady, Kristen, Vincent, me, John and Kristine) are Sunday: pooped from all the shinanigans. Hanging out before the Kings head home.

Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards

Vincent's current CD review is out on the Pulse news stands.

I have to admit, being around for Vincent's process of reviewing albums, I become cynical towards the articles he puts out. I have a tendency to ignore the music he plays to review and wait for my turn to pop in my personal collection of music. All the more, I breathe a sigh of relief when he finishes his articles, glad that I can have his company again. All that said, once I get over myself and read the articles, I appreciate his passion for writing. The current review of Tom Waits, Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards has been my favorite read so far (and the album itself is a joy to listen to).

The clip above is the music video for "Lie To Me" from the new album.

Many Birthday Wishes All Around

This past Saturday, we celebrated Vincent (1/23, turning 26), Ryan (1/16, turning 25), Andy (1/7, turning 30) and Grace's (1/11, turning 28) birthdays. We had dinner at Sitar and the after party at the Dixon's cabin.

Thanks to everyone for coming out to celebrate their birthdays! Pictures are up on Flickr.

A Grand Union of B & B

Well, to no surprise Josiah posted about the greatest news of this year before I got to it. He took the joy of my blog posting moment of the day. (Like I told him, I had just promised Bethany I would give her till the end of the day to tell people in person.) Oh well. Anyways, so here is the news, which is actually not my news to spread either, but Bethany and Ben's: they are engaged!

Bethany ("my almost common law roommate", as she would put it) is to be married to Ben Weaver! Ah, such sweet news! God is always so good, ever so faithful. If it weren't for Vincent and Ben, Bethany, I and her cats would have grown old on our porch, growing to be the greatest hags of all times. Ben, I'm so excited at the thought of having you as a brother. Bethany, love you, miss you, I'm coming up to celebrate.

A new blog on Covblogs: A Day in the Life

So the infamous Codington Blog is officially listed on Covblogs. Does this make the blog more 'authentic'? I thought it was just an ad-campaign-blog? I can't blame Josiah and his crew, they are in a pinch. If they don't list "A Day in the Life of a Covenant Student", I'm pretty sure the folks on the mountain will be a bit offended.

I guess this means that someone from Coptix can recruit a writer for "A Day in the Life of a Coptix Worker". OH! and then some one from 3HD can up the ante by writing "A Day in the Life of a 3HD Worker." Well, while we are at it, Vincent can start writing for "A Day in the life of a Trueshine Worker".

Covenant College, you do understand that you put covblogs in an awkward position. Why not be more consistent and not so easily compromise your integrity: you know what your intentions are with "A Day in the Life Of a Covenant Student". Tell covblogs, it doesn't belong in their listings...just on your website: Covenant.edu.

30 is the new 20

Our dear friend Andy Montgomery turned 30 this past Sunday. The Roes and the Howards got together with our friends and threw him a surprise party. QT was memorable as always.
The first clip is of him walking in, and the second is of him making a wish as he blew his candle. More pics are posted on my Flickr site.

Andy says, "30 is the new 20." Which is quite true looking at the current demograpics of people in their 20s. We don't get married till we are older, we don't get "real" jobs until we are older, we don't have kids till we are older and the list goes on (with the understanding that there are exceptions). We live in a culture that wants to prolong our adolescence as long as we can(...or is it 'want', not 'can'?). Is it because we are lazy? Is it becuase we have too many options in how to live? Or is it because we just love our lives as is? I dunno. All I know is that Andy turned 30 and he's livin' it like he's still 20! A responsible 20yr old, that is.

New Years Eve Throwdown

Check out these clips of the guys breaking bad and bustin' moves on the dance floor at the New Years Eve party. Though the party was well attended, these guys were the lone rangers on the dance floor. Vincent said their style was so big, that there wasn't room for anyone else. Personally, I was just plain scared to join them, and so was everyone else.


Tommy the dancemaster...

I did think of cutting the end off this clip, but Lowen's moves were priceless, so I kept it in for fun viewing.

And here is a bit of Josiah:

Pan's Labyrinth - Is it coming to Chatty?

Does anyone know when and where in Chattanooga "Pan's Labyrinth" will be showing? It looks a bit scary for me, cuz I'm the wussy type, but I'm curious just the same. Rotten Tomatoes gave it 99% (Cream of the Crop gave it %100). I've never heard of the director, I don't really like scary movies...but I do enjoy a solid flick. So, if anyone knows anything about this flick and thinks it worth seeing, let me know if its coming around town.

Who Knew?

I'm sick. I've been sick for several days now. So the only thing I can muster towards "oh-it's-the new-year-relfection-time" is this: Who the %#$@ thought I'de be married to a skinny, no butt, white boy a year ago? Not me. Who thought I'll be married to anyone at all?! Maybe we'll have kids in 2007...ha ha ha. Anything is possible I suppose.