No idea when this will be screened in NY but I can’t wait.

“An intellectual exercise treating human beings as pawns to be moved on a chessboard, ATTENBERG is a keen attempt to look at the human race just like Sir David Attenborough observes all the other species in nature… with a dispassionate eye and sincere wish to understand and analyse them in detail. Indeed, several clips of Attenborough’s shows are featured in the film, and its title is an intentional mispronunciation of the British scientist’s name.” – Dan Fainaru from Screendaily

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Just as some people get an occasional massage to alleviate the symptoms of poor posture, I too, in an attempt to improve poor eating habits, enjoy the short-term effects (mainly glowing skin) of a good “brain-wash” documentary or book.

After reading Skinny Bitch, for example, I denounced all dairy products, started a relationship with the vegetable aisle and declared myself a Vegan. Within a short period the gory details that scared me into submission began to fade,  my selective memory reshuffled and I began eating dairy again after only 2 months!!  I still gag occasionally when I eat cereal but for the most part my old eating habits came back with a vengeance. Since then I’ve sucked in Food Inc., Killer at Large, and The Future of Food. All at declining success rates (Food Inc. at the top).

The success rate is mostly a function of time in this case. The more effective documentaries have a longer-lasting influence – and those seem to be the ones that really emphasize gory or disgusting practices within the food industry. The stronger the image the deeper the imprint.  Easier done with meat since the gore associated with fertilizers is mostly abstract. Fittingly, the longest success rate I know of was achieved by my meat-eater friend, who after watching the suitably titled documentary Meet your Meat became a vegetarian for a whole year, which, she alluded, might as well have been 10 years. When push comes to shove our habits beat the hell out of any newly accepted notions. ‘Practice makes perfect’ in this case dictates she would have to ‘meet her meat’ every few months – and that’s assuming she even wants to be a vegetarian (if I remember correctly the movie was a school requirement).

Personally I enjoy even temporary changes/challenges, so last night I did it again. This one is called Food Matters. All I have to mention is the three kiwis and two cucumbers I brought to work today. A good massage motivates the body to straighten itself just as a good documentary promotes a straightening of  ill practices; it’s all a matter of spine.

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‘Greenwich Village – One of those rare districts that occurs once in a while in human history. Fear – a basic theme of all of our lives; constantly afraid along the streets of Greenwich Village, under threat of assassination and the assassins are our dream’s triumphant. The byproducts of such pursuit: creativity and radicalization, which are  further themes of Greenwich Village lineage’ – TL

I’ve never been tempted to get on one of those double-deck sightseeing buses just to cruise (more of a crawl) through my home of 13 years  – but after listening to this tour guide’s poetic perceptions of Manhattan I might just give it a chance. Timothy ‘Speed’ Levitch’s maxims might seem theatrical at first but when you consider them in context make perfect sense.  He doesn’t just tell you about the city, he makes love to her history (too bad his voice isn’t as sensual) -  expressing moments of ‘umph’ as he stares at Terra-Cotta architecture, often comparing structures to female anatomy while trying to reveal the creator’s instinct. Mr. Levitch is now a self-proclaimed history buff, philosopher, actor, tour guide and as he calls himself psychogeographer. At one point he explains the rough divorces he goes through with the city – that ’she’, like a gorgeous, angry, irrational woman, puts him down a lot – this was in ‘98.  He no longer lives in NY (though he does return for the occasional tour guiding) so the only way go on his tour now is to see Bennet Miller’s documentary and the reason for this recommendation – “The Cruise” .

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My girl put me on to this awesome website called kickstarter.com. It’s a funding platform for creative projects – once a goal is decided on, the project establishes a time period in which it will try to raise necessary funds. If you like what you see you can donate money to help with the project and in return will receive benefits, products, or experiences, depending on the amount donated. The catch is ‘no money unless the goal is reached’. If the goal isn’t reached by the deadline the money goes back to the investors. This is supposed to motivate the investors and the artists to achieve the desired result. Projects range and include  films, fashion, music, illustrations, writing etc. The point is to help out those you believe in and so become part of the process. So if you want to contribute or have an amazing project that is in need of more funds, this is your chance.

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Most people have a hero.  A family member, a friend, historical figure – a person put on a pedestal to be admired, respected and followed. In ‘The Last Station’ Leo Tolstoy is that hero. His chief follower, Vladimir Chertkov, dedicates his life to following Tolstoy’s virtues and beliefs, especially as he gets the chance to befriend and work for him. As he gets to know him better something appropriate happens (and it’s not at all the point of the movie): Tolstoy himself doesn’t adhere to all the rules he preaches. Chertkov discovers this and breaks the rule himself. Sensible, right? Your hero changes, and you change with them. Finding hypocrisy in what you thought was a one way truth, seeing that the virtues upheld were not at all a constant, or a discipline.  More often than not,  an eye and an ear are kept shut, ignoring subtle diversions, so that the hero can remain a hero. It’s a known cliche: Love is blind. Think about it. The consequences can range from none to world war three. Maybe the bearing of the word ‘hero’ should be changed so that it won’t define the whole person but will instead suggest a particular deed or quality; because a quality is either there or it isn’t, whereas a person’s character can easily sway, and if you sway with them you might unintentionally fall in the wrong direction.

About Barbara Kruger – she is an American conceptual artist who is famous for her layered photographs in which she combines images with captions. Her work deals with hyper-consumerism and the dynamics of different cultural issues as she aims to reveal the deceptions of signs and images. If you are a fan of  ‘Supreme’  then you now know where the inspiration for the logo came from. Check out more of her work.. Read more »

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Parts of ‘Inception’ went over my head, but the notion of an idea, planted in a dream, spreading like a cancer and open to inception is stimulating (obviously).  It’s hard to believe that the dreams, the ones that seem to last hours and have a complex, sort of genius, plot , in reality only last seconds. No wonder only bits stick to the conscious memory. The dreamworld is a tumble through our imagination on a parallel time scale. Our fantasies run way beyond our usual conception and grasp. Hence the paradox (think Penrose stairs). Maybe this dive into the world of dreams could be the next race to the moon…

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