iTunes won't sell the single version of the ronettes 'be my baby'. so i bought another one, but it turns out it is live and lacks the wall of sound. fuck you dirty dancing soundtrack, you imperialist bastard!
i have downloaded marvin gaye's 'what's going on?' and my life is improving. today on my walk to school today this song made me shed a tear (it is all -10 centigrade):
i thought of my friend gg returning from iraq, getting denied his application (?) for PTSS, "you joined the marines, you must have been crazy to begin with". but for all the sadness in the song, and the fact it is an accurate depiction of the USA currently, gaye's voice really gives you the feeling that we'll (yes, collectively) get through. here are all the lyrics: (Marvin Gaye/James Nyx)
Hey baby, what'cha know good I'm just gettin' back, but you knew I would War is hell, when will it end, When will people start gettin' together again Are things really gettin' better, like the newspaper said What else is new my friend, besides what I read Can't find no work, can't find no job my friend Money is tighter than it's ever been Say man, I just don't understand What's going on across this land Ah what's happening brother, Oh ya, what's happening my man
Are they still gettin' down where we used to go and dance Will our ball club win the pennant, do you think they have a chance And tell me friend, how in the world have you been.
Tell me what's out and I want to know what's in. What's the deal man, what's happening What's happening brother Ah what's happening brother What's happening my man Ah what's happening brother What's been shaken up and down the line I want to know cause I'm slightly behind the time.
part II
today was the last day of winter camp. it was filled with some high points and low spots, as teaching tends to be, but the last week worked quite well. they were able to talk about movies (the two we watched) with a minimum of my getting involved. they aren't at the level where they can talk about a movie with each other, but they know (or should!) genre, setting, character, actor, plot, special effects. the character/actor confusion took a bit of sorting out. and there was a funny moment when talking about setting. we covered the definition, and they seemed to get it. i asked, 'where are some settings for a movie?' --school 'sure, many movies take place at school' --home 'yes, a lot of movies involve a house' --movie theatre 'movie theatre? ahhhhh! no no no. setting isn't where you watch the movie, it is where the movie takes place. like...harry potter, hogwart. star wars, outer space.' --ahhhhhhh! we watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and reviewed the songs as they came up.
today we worked on pronouncing 'b' 'p' 'v', koreans have a nasty time with 'v' especially. when they say it it often sounds like 'bwee'. so we were saying each letter, then i wanted words that had multiple occurrences of each. the first two where easy: bubble puppet but two 'v's? i suddenly found myself writing the word 'vulva' on the board, confident that at least they wouldn't know what it was. i lucked out. it got better, too. half way through the drill i came up with 'volvo' and 'valve' so was able to erase 'vulva' before they entered it into their translators.
then we made sandwiches and watched How The Grinch Stole Christmas. i asked them to think about comparing the two movies while watching--what is the similar/what is different. we were able to quickly say 5 of each about the two movies. that made me happy.
then, when class was ending, two of the girls came up and gave me a present. there is a box of snacks, which may or may not be good, given korea's sweets are sub-par to what we are accustomed to. they also gave me a chalk holder, which is marvelous because my pants always get completely chalk covered. also, a piece of soap. it looks nice. there were also two letters which i will type verbatim.
from Soug I Dear. Kevin Hi :) How are you? I'm fine. Thank you for your teach. I like America. Because Americans very very kind. I want go to America. So I want to see Statue of Liberty myself. "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" -->FROM. CHOI Song I P.S the soap was hand maded by my mother
TO: Kevin teacher <3 Hellow ~ <3 How are you today? I'm find. today is last day in English conversation therfore I write letter ~ <3 youer teaching is very good and fun I'm very good and you are very kind...^_^ I like you ~~~ and I miss you ~~~ * I'm very thank you <3 and last I like you ^_^ From: Da Yoen
all of her mentions of like have white-out over them, so i have a feeling someone may love me~~~~~~~~
HONGDAE NANA STENCILS IN SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA francis van maele's photographs of stencils taken in Hongdae in 2007 and 2008 some pictures are digitally modified
11 x 16 cm - 52 pages - ring binding 2009, 75 signed copies 35 euros - 45 US $ - 30 UK Pds
for more pictures see http://www.redfoxpress.com/SK-nana.html
to order this book reserve your copy by email and we will send you the book with an invoice.. no postage charged
i am included with an absolutely large group of poets in the new interval(le)s 4/5 funded by the centre interdisciplinaire de poetique appliquee from the universite de liege in belgium. the issue, edited by jon cotner and andy fitch, features over 1000 pages and quite a few videos. you can download individual contributions here: http://www.cipa.ulg.ac.be/intervalles4/contentsinter4.php
poets included include ammiel alcalay meena alexander bruce andrews david antin eleanor antin rae armantrout jennifer ashton joshua beckman susan bee steve benson lauren berlant charles bernstein mark bibbins dick blau christian bok lee ann brown sarah campbell mary ann caws maxine chernoff rachel blau duplessis craig dworkin kevin dwyer elaine equi clayton eshleman zach finch robert fitterman kenneth goldsmith loren goodman george green bruce hainley carla harryman zarina hasmi michael s hennessey sheila heti james hoff ben hollander paul hoover eliza jackson pouran jinchi mary reid kelley myung mi kim noelle kocot wayne koestenbaum richard kstelanetz tim krause dorothea lasky legends david lehman alan licht tao lin donato mancini russell martin walter benn michaels eileen myles kirin narayan nature theater of oklahoma murat nemet-nejat ron padgett bob perelman dushko petrovich richard price sally price rebecca reilly joan retallack enrico riley matthew rohrer marina rosenfeld bob rosenthal rebekah rutkoff richard schrechner christopher schmidt leonard schwartz jeremy sheldon jonathan skinner danny snelson wendy steiner susan stewart gail taylor kevin thurston lynne tillman hannah tinti trampoline hall lewis warsh mara l werner roger white tyrone williams reva wolf
this was on full blast in my local grocery store and a man was shouting over the top of it selling radishes and other such things. i was already a bit dazed, took nap, have been watching too much OZ, woke up, had a pepsi, trying to set my emotional barometer to a normalized level. suddenly i was transported back to buffalo, circa 1995, with nick, iwan, karen, and others into asberry alley (ashberry ?) and suffered another mental shift. the second in the last 45 minutes. very confusing, all of it. especially as i then struggled trying to figure out which rice to buy. the size wasn't the issue, i knew the size i wanted to buy. size was not the issue, as previously stated, the type of rice was the issue. and was it even rice. this is, after all, asia. they have many different grains.
i know what white rice looks like in hanguel, sadly, and of course, nothing says just white rice on it as companies put other information on their labels to sell their products and to build brand equity. i was in a circle of hell. and transported (as mentioned) by the song being played, and wondering if the man yelling over the perversely quick beat--especially for post-work grocery shopping--actually helped sell more of 'x'.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
the wheels fell off
i was in a groove, stepped out, and messed up all in a few weeks. more soon.
