BG Speaks to the People . . . Quickly
We got the land but they got the view
Dec 21
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This is the essence of the white guilt fantasy, laid bare. It’s not just a wish to be absolved of the crimes whites have committed against people of color; it’s not just a wish to join the side of moral justice in battle. It’s a wish to lead people of color from the inside rather than from the (oppressive, white) outside.
Think of it this way. Avatar is a fantasy about ceasing to be white, giving up the old human meatsack to join the blue people, but never losing white privilege. Jake never really knows what it’s like to be a Na’vi because he always has the option to switch back into human mode. Interestingly, Wikus in District 9 learns a very different lesson. He’s becoming alien and he can’t go back. He has no other choice but to live in the slums and eat catfood. And guess what? He really hates it. He helps his alien buddy to escape Earth solely because he’s hoping the guy will come back in a few years with a “cure” for his alienness. When whites fantasize about becoming other races, it’s only fun if they can blithely ignore the fundamental experience of being an oppressed racial group. Which is that you are oppressed, and nobody will let you be a leader of anything.
— When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like Avatar? I post this knowing full well that i run the risk of becoming the guy who hates on the thing that everybody else loves, but trust me that’s not what this is. I thought Avatar was a fine movie, very pretty to look at and engaging through most of it’s massive run time. But the script was pretty terrible and the above point can’t be ignored. It’s almost 2010, shouldn’t we be done with lazy tropes like this, especially from a movie that had 12 years to come up with something better?
» This American Life - #1 Party School
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Posted for Mindy and Giodude, as this episode takes place in State College, PA.
Dec 20
Dec 18
Maria Bamford’s One-Hour Homemade Christmas Special! on Vimeo
Friends. You owe it to yourself to watch Maria Bamford’s whole video at leisure and in one uninterrupted sitting. Because, it’s a gift. She made it for us. For Christmas.
A very special, homemade Christmas gift that will, in future generations, sit alongside A Charlie Brown Christmas, Christmas Comes to Pac-Land, and your drunk aunt from Ohio who smells like formaldehyde and Starlight mints. All with equal awkward ease.
No words. Just. So good.
A very Merry Christmas to Maria, Bert, and Blossom. Thank you for the gift. Thank you very much.
Watch out, it might ruin baby carrots for you.
UPDATE: So yeah, this is one of the funniest things i’ve seen in forever. Make the time to watch it. You won’t be sorry.
Dec 17
“ But raising awareness of hoarding as a mental illness (which is problematic to begin with, because the hoarding is likely to be a symptom of some other mental illness – my dad was clinically depressed – and not simply an illness in itself) by presenting the most extreme cases – as spectacle, to shock and horrify – is no more effective than raising awareness of post-partum depression by creating a reality show called DEPRESSED MOMS and featuring only women who are struggling with psychosis and failing and shouting things about intrusive thoughts..
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— Her Bad Mother (via kayfabe)
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
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Wye Oak - “For Prayer”
Baring some kind of miracle, Wye Oak’s The Knot will be left off of both of Pitchfork’s year end lists. Which is really a shame cause, as i said earlier, i think it’s very very good.
Ok, how is it that SAG gives a nod to Diane Kruger for her role in Inglorious Bastards, but not Mélanie Laurent? I know in the end it doesn’t really matter since everyone is just vying for the chance to lose to Monique, but still, Shosanna Dreyfus was one of the most fully formed characters to come along in 2009 and Laurent deserves much of the credit for that. Boo-urns.
Grades 3-5 are taking the SAT? That’s fucking epic.
Adam, how odd/cool is it to see our school show up as an Internet meme?
So weird.
» Tokyo man marries video game character
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Slippery slope! Sanctity of marriage crumbling! Disturbing literal representation of cultural objectification of women!
Or, alternatively, Japan is weird.
Scott C’s “Lost Showdows” pieces for the Lost Underground Art Show are so amazing. To see a larger version of part one click here, part two click here.
Dec 16
» Dirpy - YouTube to Mp3 Converter
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Hello there, useful application!
Oh my, this is awesome. I give it a week, maybe two, before it gets shut down.
Dec 15
Ricky Jay on The Arsenio Hall Show
Two thoughts: I really need to see Ricky Jay perform live, he’s probably the best sleight of hand magician alive and he won’t be around forever. This clip also reminds me of how cool Arsenio’s show was back in the day. It was like America was being invited to the chill bachelor pad of this really cool, funny black guy. I wish it was still on the air.
Ditto to the above. Plus, hearing Ricky Jay get the “woof woof” from the crowd is just awesome.
