Mad Men Yourself. Do it. You know you want to.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Through the Past, Darkly
If you ever feel like your job or hobby takes a lot of time/patience, just check out this guy’s photographs. Amazing. I am not sure how he made it all work, but I am grateful that he did.
Athens Soundies
From a group called Athens Soundies comes a charming website filled with video of impromptu music performances around Athens, aka “The Greatest City on Earth.” The videos, which are beautifully shot and only a couple of minutes long, feature local and not-so-local bands playing acoustically on railroad tracks, gas stations, alleys, former cult temples (what?), rooftops, front porches, etc. It’s great to see the random parts of Athens, although I don’t think that you have to be familiar with Athens to appreciate the videos. Make sure to check out Dr. Dog, Wakey! Wakey! and The Empties.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
No dignity, no doubt
Dignity is a hard thing to define (although Brooks does a pretty good job in his latest Times column), but I feel like it’s something that you instantly recognize in a person. Unfortunately, it seems to be declining in America, particularly in Washington.
Why? Brooks sums up four reasons: “First, there is capitalism. We are all encouraged to become managers of our own brand, to do self-promoting end zone dances to broadcast our own talents. Second, there is the cult of naturalism. We are all encouraged to discard artifice and repression and to instead liberate our own feelings. Third, there is charismatic evangelism with its penchant for public confession. Fourth, there is radical egalitarianism and its hostility to aristocratic manners.”
These all made sense to me, especially the self-promotion bit. But what do we do about it? Brooks suggests that all is not lost because our current head of state is a man who represents dignity across the board. I agree, but how do we restore dignity into our own lives too?
I am going to assume that the answer to that overhwelming question is to drink PBR, listen to interesting music, go on long bike rides and read good books. In which case, I am doing a great job.
Why? Brooks sums up four reasons: “First, there is capitalism. We are all encouraged to become managers of our own brand, to do self-promoting end zone dances to broadcast our own talents. Second, there is the cult of naturalism. We are all encouraged to discard artifice and repression and to instead liberate our own feelings. Third, there is charismatic evangelism with its penchant for public confession. Fourth, there is radical egalitarianism and its hostility to aristocratic manners.”
These all made sense to me, especially the self-promotion bit. But what do we do about it? Brooks suggests that all is not lost because our current head of state is a man who represents dignity across the board. I agree, but how do we restore dignity into our own lives too?
I am going to assume that the answer to that overhwelming question is to drink PBR, listen to interesting music, go on long bike rides and read good books. In which case, I am doing a great job.
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