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Here's a shot from Yuki, via Jean Snow, of Tokyo at night.
For me, when I was living in Tokyo, winter was my favorite time of year, the air was so crisp and dry and cool that it felt like little storms of sparks could erupt at any time.
A lot of people complain about the lack of heat in Tokyo apartments but it really didn't bother me so much, it was such a great feeling to eat lots of warm food and keep thick blankets around me, that kept me warm.
Wir stemmen ohne es zu wissen / die kompliziertesten Prämissen
It's not the physical things down there that have weight, it's the homogeneity of American consciousness that feels heavy and downward-pulling.
The Report on the Meaning of the Moment vol. 47, 11.07:
A.C Kaar reads from Capitalism and Schizophrenia Part I:
After busy preparation for Three Pieces on Tuesday night, a freelance sound restoration project for a local non-profit, which was great fun to work on, and the piece I presented last night, a sound/video project by myself and my boyfriend Jano, who incidentally has a freshly minted visa (yes!), I think I have a few minutes.
Last night at midnight on the TV at an airport bar I was watching a repeat of the Democratic presidential debates. I've already voiced my endorsement of Mike Gravel, but unfortunately he's far too Euro-sounding to ever win an election in the United States. His lines sound as though they could come straight from leftist politicians in Holland, which is of course why I like him so much.
But back to this particularly weird cultural construct Americans seem to enjoy calling reality, we have Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton as viable contenders. Granted, a cymbal clapping monkey doll would be a huge step up from the current cliche-sputtering-neocon-cabal-public-face called Bush. But in an attempt to think a bit larger than just "anything-is-better-than-this-shit" it seems Obama is the candidate that would be the best for this country. His seeming inability to strike a pose other than that of elder statesman gets a bit tiring, but just imagine: a black president. And if somehow the black community, if any sense of community still exists, could find solidarity with him, amazing things could come of it. Finally someone in real power who actually can give a voice to racial minorities, who publicly speaks of the pain of being an outsider in this country, who is humble but still has a sense of his power; the mind reels.
I also think Hilary would make a great president. She's a seasoned politician, and that in itself is not a bad thing. In fact, I actually think that knowing how to play the political world and make it work for you is a real talent. And she's probably the best for the gay community, a community which doesn't really exist outside inebriated cliques at bars, but why not use that word anyway. And I'm OK with her dodging questions and giving feel-good answers, I think she has to do that.
But Obama is the more radical choice, and that in itself is probably enough to get my support. It's going to be a long election year here in these disunited states, but what an opportunity. As my friend Nathan said, it's almost as if aliens sent us Obama as this country's one last hope to set things right. Democracy has never seemed more fragile, and I can't help but think what little of it still exists here would go the way of the wind if, at the very least, we don't get a Democratic president. Yes, it's going to be a long year.
Three Pieces last night was just wonderful, as it always works out to be. Anne Yalon showed works dealing with memory and particularly her experiences of living in New Orleans but being away when Katrina hit. Elise Baldwin presented a gorgeously nostalgic but completely unsentimental sound piece, using a monster of a Max/MSP patch. Lauren Schime talked about and showed her work dealing with psychosexual tensions between people and the way that those tensions become present in intimate physical settings.
All in all, the crowd was a little less than usual, largely due to Deric and I waiting a bit too long to do PR, but as always, totally stimulating and fun. The discussion periods last night were particularly engaged. Fascinating stuff. We're already hard at work on the next one.
Pictured: Anne Yalon and Scott Kiernan
This Thursday night I will be presenting the second installment of Distance Study, a sound and moving image collaboration with award-winning Peruvian video artist Jano Cortijo. The performance is at 7:00 PM in the lovely Tateuchi Hall at Community School of Music and Arts in Mountain View.
Every artist, musician, you-name-it; anybody who's somebody, we all need a pithy 30 + word summary of What We Do. It's something I've tried to do several times, usually while collaborating with others. But I always find it an irritating exercise, how do you express what you do so succinctly? And how do you state it without it just sounding silly? I figure there's no way to do it without sounding a bit silly, so I'll give it a shot anyhow:
Music can be a transliterative force, moving ideas into temporal existence, from one ephemerality to another. I build music that actively continues the move away from bulk and weight, creating sound sculpture with the sole intention of play.
Well! Now I'm a little past 30 words, but I'll keep it for now.
I keep hearing about Andrew Sullivan.
First the facts:
-Openly gay
-Former editor of the New Republic
-HIV positive
-Self-described "conservative Libertarian"
-Currently writes for the Atlantic Monthly
-Vocal opponent of promiscuity.
-Bear
-Practicing Catholic
-Supported Bush in his first election
-Was publicly discovered placing ads for anonymous bareback sex online
-Has a blog
-British citizen
I've never read much by him, but with his resume as editor of the New Republic and the wild popularity of his blog, I decided I should try to figure out what this guy is about.
At first I found his public admissions of self-doubt to be almost courageous. But as his opinions become ever more omnipresent, I find him to be someone who needs to present himself as a type of moral guardian but comes off in desperate need of public acceptance. Like so many of those who call themselves conservatives, he criticizes the way others live, usually the ones who are doing what he most wants to do himself.
There is absolutely no need for gays or lesbians to even join the current moralistic debate in this country. Gays and lesbians have been shamed into being de facto apologists for the way we live in the seemingly never-ending struggle for equal acceptance. In order to be American, you have to put away the "unseemly" parts of your life and adopt the proper stance.
John Boswell, a practicing gay Catholic, espoused a much more inclusive, compassionate, and genuine type of tolerance. Sullivan could learn a lot from him.
(One of) the tech. brains behind Bjork and the musical drive behind my favorite director Lars von Trier, Valgeir Sigurosson is finally given the freedom to make a great album. Ekvilibrium is just wonderful.