(^One of the less than lifelike and more than creepy mannequins in Rabat’s medina)
Apologies for this deadspace lately. Things will continue to be spotty for the indefinite future (read: two months or so). Right now I’m in Rabat, Morocco for an intensive Arabic program and the internet connection here is unreliable and elusive at best. I hope to drop some more content soon in shah allah, but no promises.
… and a bonus conversation: I got a haircut a few weeks ago and this is the story that the barber told me. When he was younger, the barber was a soft drink rep. in mid-michigan. One of his favorite clients happened to be an Iraqi man. His name was Hasid and he owned a convenience store in Flint. His party store had done fairly well, but when the Iranian hostage crisis hit, red-blooded American patriotism kicked in and Hasid was suddenly “Iranian.” The reactions sounded hellish. The barber left mid-michigan around this time and didn’t get a chance to say farewell to his friend. Later in life he was in the area and went out of his way to stop by, but found a different party store in Hasid’s location. It was called “Chico’s” and was draped in Mexican everything. A little disappointed, he went inside to get a drink anyways. Hasid sat behind the counter full of tacos and nachos. On his chest was a name tag that read “Chico.” His wife and children had “latino names” as well. Apparently after the hostage crisis Hasid “became” Mexican. He claimed that after the switch business was better than ever.
*Energy drinks continue to blow my mind. For instance there’s the terrifying addition of Spot On energy patches to the already uncomfortable canon of caffeine and taurine.
*”How come nobody does anything anymore, but there’s more energy drinks than ever?” [via This isn't happiness]
^ “The Flytrap/Hull Loss” by Nova Jiang [via WMMNA]
*“There are numerous reasons why I’m now certain that Clevelanders in general suffer from a loser’s mentality. They live in city that went from over one-million people in 1950 to less than 400,000 half-a-century later, send their kids to the nation’s poorest schools, still absorb cheap shots and bullying from other cities that were never nicknamed ‘The Mistake by the Lake,’ and are still reminded on a seemingly daily basis that the Cuyahoga River was so polluted during the city’s steel heyday that it actually caught on fire. In New York, whenever I tell a stranger that I grew up in Cleveland, that person usually gets a sympathetic look on his or her face and shrugs as if to offer condolences. And this reaction isn’t just particular to New York, as I’ve received it throughout the country, in places as varied as Los Angeles, Washington DC, Omaha, Provo, and even Flint, Michigan. This seemingly nationwide negative perception has visibly worn down my hometown and resigned its dwellers to believing that it actually is as dreary as the rest of the country perceives it to be. But instead of rallying, instead of fixing its perilous school system or bringing jobs back within the city limits, the masses seem to hide, only coming out for one reason – to root for its sports teams.”
*”Denim is the infantile uniform of a nation in which entertainment frequently features childlike adults (”Seinfeld,” “Two and a Half Men”) and cartoons for adults (”King of the Hill”). Seventy-five percent of American “gamers” — people who play video games — are older than 18 and nevertheless are allowed to vote. In their undifferentiated dress, children and their childish parents become undifferentiated audiences for juvenilized movies (the six — so far — “Batman” adventures and “Indiana Jones and the Credit-Default Swaps,” coming soon to a cineplex near you). ”
Seriously? My friend Drew put it very succintly, “I think George Will is the least fun person ever.”
“Life in Cairo is a do or die race, in which you trample or are trampled. The traffic here is so bad those of a faint disposition will not long survive the daily commute.
The struggle with overcrowded roads is complicated by a lack of any respect for traffic lights or policemen. There is no semblance of lane discipline.”
I love this writer’s views. Of all the social ills he points out (aging cars, crowded traffic, etc.) it seems he alleges that their root is the average citizen. I’m pretty sure that anyone else who has actually ridden through downtown Cairo would realize that it is a much more complicated problem which extends itself to all parts of Cairene life (for example the bureaucracy alone that one must wade through to renew a license is overhwleming). Also, after getting used to driving in Egypt, you’d be surprised at how safe you’ll learn to feel — though whether or not this is statistically true is certainly questionable.
***Also… the following points have been found in the oldest depths of my potential post reserves…
^ Baker Tweet: ”[A] wiFi-enabled, Arduino-based prototype that one mounts on the wall of their bakery. Items are added or removed via web interface, which you can later select by simply spinning the dial. When the sweets come out of the oven, press the button to Tweet your eager customers and await the stampede. The prototype unit is being used at Albion’s Oven in London.” [via Engadget]
“1. Event organizers: If you respect the artists you are inviting, then pay them. You can’t buy bananas with publicity, so don’t try to pedal this as a form of currency (especially since the artists are also bringing you publicity). If you can’t afford to pay artists, then you don’t have enough funding to host the event.
2. Artists: Airfare, hotel, and publicity are not payment for your time. If corporately sponsored events can’t pay artist fess then tell them ‘no’. By accepting gigs like this, we are just as guilty as they are for perpetuating a system that ensures we stay eating Ramen Noodles until the day we die.
In summary: Event organizers, show some love to those you love. Artists, god gave you middle fingers for a reason, don’t be afraid to use them.”
^ Department of Eagles’ “No One Does It Like You.” Music video collabo by Marcel Dzama x The Directors Bureau [via Cool Hunting]
Today I attended a reception for graduating seniors and had the opportunity to meet my university’s President, Lou Anna K. Simon. This is what she had to say to me:
“Congratulations, you’ve reached the end of the food line.”
I couldn’t think of a more demoralizing thing to say if I tried. Ugh. Ugh.
Marshmallow peeps are one of those weird cultural icons that intersect in the arena of nostalgic food and kitsch. As such, I’ve always been a huge fan. Over the span of my life I’ve rabidly choked down dozens of their sugar and carnauba wax covered bodies. Maybe hundreds is more accurate. Regardless, my love for these little guys betrays my inner man child time and again. For those of you who love them with a similar fervor, here are a few peep related blips. God I love junk food subculture.
It cracks me up that so many junk foods have such obsessive followings. Not that I haven’t found myself wrapped up in them (I spent months on an epic search to buy my own icee machine), but I’m always amused when I find people speaking of junk food in the same vernacular and with the same detail as wine snobs and foodies.
“How do you store Peeps so they will keep through the off-season?
I’ve found that sealing unopened boxes of Peeps in ziplock bags and storing them at room temperature will keep them fresh, without getting too ripe, from one Peep season to the next. Some prefer to refrigerate or even freeze them.”
“What’s this about Peeps needing to ‘age’ or ‘ripen’ ?
Many Peepophiles prefer a certain degree of staleness to their Peeps, ranging from a slight stiffness, to downright hard and crunchy. This is somewhat of an acquired taste. This is normally accomplished either by letting them age naturally, or else leaving them exposed to air.”
A couple months ago I went into Lansing and noticed how much bleaker everything was. Now, don’t get me wrong Michiganders are a hearty breed and can find beauty and happiness in nearly anything (and I mean anything), but with cold weather and Christmas looming, things seemed a bit heavier than usual. So, a friend and I rounded up two armfuls of bubbles and headed downtown, intent on sharing them. With the exception of two senior citizens who reacted to us as if we had been offering them crack cocaine, everyone we met seemed elated for the distraction. A week or so later I headed downtown Cleveland with more bubbles in hand. Reactions in Ohio were similarly glowing.
The video above is a combo of these two trips plus a little bit of post production.
Song featured is “Choir from ‘The Sun’” by Mirah and the Microphones.
Sound Advice: Though there’s a preachy Nancy Reagan-ish tone to the whole thing (at its base it is an anti-drug initiative), the Sound Advice Project operates on a fun premise. Speak into your mic and the captured audio will be transformed into corresponding bead waveforms that you can purchase. It’s an interesting and beautiful transformation for nostalgic audio bits, inside jokes, etc. I’m going to make an educated guess and say that most of these will have little or nothing to do with the cautionary tale message that’s being pushed.
On Race and Rape: “In the clip, Kimmel asks Wayne about losing his virginity at age 11. Wayne reveals that he did, indeed, lose his virginity at 11. He lost it to a 14-year-old girl who turned out the lights and surprised Wayne into participating, even as he had not intended doing so. What is fascinating is, were Wayne a white female, this narrative would have been considered molestation or rape. As a black male, doubly hypersexualized as a man (who always wants sex) and a black man (who really always wants sex), it’s just considered a joke. This is really nice evidence of the social construction of men, especially Black and Latino men, as hypersexual and, therefore, incapable of being sexually assaulted… Just one excerpt:
White guy: I didn’t know you could lose your viriginity at 11-years-old. Other white guy: Well, we can’t, but he did.”
1. Women’s Self Defense Classes: Sexual harassment is crazy rampant in Cairo and the Middle East (while I was there a man began masturbating in public while my friend passed by). Often it’s chalked up to be a “woman’s problem,” so it’s nice to see some sort of positive headway.
2. Thoughts on the Decline of Cairo: In many ways Cairo, seems to be the Middle Eastern equivalent of Detroit (or Cleveland, etc.). Both cities have such a faded mystique and luster to them, but that luster, though decaying and blighted, ardently refuses to die. Neither place is classically beautiful, but in that hell and back sort of way each has more character (and is subsequently more inspiring) than almost anywhere else I’ve ever been.
3. On Blogging and Gender in the Middle East: “Banat wa Bas or “Girls only” is the first online Arabic radio station entirely run by women and which addresses their issues. It is one of a growing list of online stations that have sprung up in Egypt including Horytna (Our Freedom) and Teet (an Arabic reference to the censor’s “beep”). Banat wa Bas was started by a 25-year-old computer science graduate, Amani Tunsi, who was frustrated with how women are treated in Egyptian society. “We are almost not living. If you are always at risk of being sexually harassed everywhere, What kind of life is this? ” she asks. Banat wa Bas is not afraid to let its contributors express opinions about what is in the news, and they can get away with it because using the internet means they can steer clear of government censorship.”
Artists Buying Up Detroit’s Inexpensive Bungalows: I was suprised to read this, as I had been thinking of something similar for a while now — though not as a place to live, but as space for large scale urban installations. It seems like others might be considering the same thing.
“But the city offers a much greater attraction for artists than $100 houses. Detroit right now is just this vast, enormous canvas where anything imaginable can be accomplished. From Tyree Guyton’s Heidelberg Project (think of a neighborhood covered in shoes and stuffed animals and you’re close) to Matthew Barney’s “Ancient Evenings” project (think Egyptian gods reincarnated as Ford Mustangs and you’re kind of close), local and international artists are already leveraging Detroit’s complex textures and landscapes to their own surreal ends. In a way, a strange, new American dream can be found here, amid the crumbling, semi-majestic ruins of a half-century’s industrial decline. The good news is that, almost magically, dreamers are already showing up. Mitch and Gina have already been approached by some Germans who want to build a giant two-story-tall beehive. Mitch thinks he knows just the spot for it.”
Dazzle Camo: A lot of military technology can be chotchy and bro-ish, but some of it is really very incredible. One example is dazzle camouflage. I’m a sucker for biomimicry to begin with, so it’s always exciting to run across anything pertaining to the surreal facade found on turn of the century British and American vessels. One of the most best sites is RISD’s special online collection, which includes 455 ship plans and 20 photos.
The publishing of this marks Spicybiscotti’s 201st post. BOOM! BOOM! PEW! PEW! The virtual parades and fireworks have apparently already begun commencing. But, seriously, for anyone who has been reading along, thanks for sticking around, and for those who are just joining, I reckon Spicy’ll be around for a while to come. It’s been an interesting two or so years. Who knows where things will go from here…
Recently the vestiges of Team Spicy gathered forces at the Muskegon Winter Sports Complex in Muskegon, Michigan to fulfill a longtime dream: to go luging. All three of us sat down and wiggled our way down America’s only non-refrigerated track (and one of only three US tracks) in what turned out to be an absolute, albeit initially anxiety ridden, blast (think: creaky rollercoaster that you can barely control and looks like it will kill you but is actually not too terribly unsafe, or in short, a really fast sled — whatever suits you best). Agent Drew whipped up his first video ever (above) in celebration of this historic event. All in all it was definitely one of the most fun filled days I’ve ever had.
“The common attitude about metro Detroit is that this is a morbid, decaying Rust Belt city. That’s the impression one would take from the opposition in Washington and across the country to the idea of government loans for Detroit automakers. But Soji Adelaja, director of Michigan State University’s Land Policy Institute, sees the Detroit glass as half full.
“Detroit has extensive assets,” Adelaja says. “It has a long history of deep culture and a historic music heritage. It has one of the largest expanses of vacant land of any city. If we are interested in green urban infrastructure, Detroit has greater potential than many other places. There’s potential for more local food systems related to urban agriculture. We should lead the country. It has the lowest property values so it is an affordable city. There are Great Lakes access points; the waterfront is beautiful. Detroit has the potential to be globally relevant. It has great potential to catch the imagination and interest of global investors and private equity players. There are major health care facilities, universities and a major international airport within a short distance. There is a history of innovation in the region. Just because we’re not manufacturing cars doesn’t mean we can’t manufacture wind turbine components. That will be big. We’re part of a regional economy. The metro area has the strongest concentration of knowledge workers in the state. The ability to attract knowledge workers could be a center point of regional development.” [image via Anthropophagous]
Really? People are just realizing that you might get blisters from gaming? I can’t even begin to name the number of other repetitive activities that cause sores (crew, marathon running, guitar, etc.). I’m calling shenanigans. [image via The Age]
The way I see it there are already tons of kids burdened with totally inadequate parenting — add this to the list of things that can be manually screwed up and toyed with. As an addendum, if doctors start pumping out celebrity baby lookalikes we’re all doomed (this world is terrifying enough with one baby Suri, it doesn’t need any more).
