Category Archives: society

Prognostication on FOX

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So, recently I decided to watch the old FOX TV series The Lone Gunmen, a decidedly more silly spin-off from The X-Files. I’ve got through 10 of the 13 episodes and two crazy coincidences have shown themselves.

One, in the pilot episode, original airdate 4 March 2001: A hijacked airliner was being piloted into the World Trade Center in NYC.

Two, in episode ten, original airdate 27 April 2001: Some top secret software was about to be handed over to some unscrupulous people. When it is discovered by the Gunmen what the software was for (a radar cloaking system), one of them says something to the effect of “Saddam Hussein could put this on a Cessna and fly it right into the Whitehouse.”

Perhaps this is why the series was canceled before a second season could begin in the fall.

Or maybe it was just a dumb show.

SIFF Day 8: Sexual Deviance

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After a short-but-sweet volunteer shift at KEXP‘s summer pledge drive, I headed downtown for movie number one.

Savage Grace stars Julianne Moore and Stephen Dillane as the heir to the Bakelite fortune and his wife. The Baekeland’s have a child, Tony, in 1940s New York City. As they subsequently traverse around Europe, young Tony becomes Mommy’s precious boy and virtually her sole companion. This is much to the detriment of all three family members. What happens between Tony and Mommy is “not normal”, but it happens quite beautifully. The locations, the costumes, the actors – all beautiful. Based on a true story.

Movie number two was the sensationally-titled Young People Fucking. This Canadian film focuses on five couples as they each navigate through a night of, well, fucking. Each with their own set of circumstances that, despite the title, are relatable to the modern sexual world at large. Funny and genuine, this film was actually a lot better than I expected. Of course I was half-way expecting some godawful drivel along the lines of London, so I was very pleasantly surprised.

Essay: What Is Fashion?

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This is an essay I wrote while attending the Fashion Institute of Technology. I apparently didn’t like the instructor who gave the assignment.

WHAT IS FASHION?
by Monica Neumann

Fashion is yet one more way to control how the mindless millions act and think. It is an outlet for vanity. It is a cause of numerous adolescent heartaches over the years. It is a source for general feelings of ill will worldwide. A small handful of self-proclaimed experts make arbitrary decisions about what colors and silhouettes people will like because they don’t know they can decide for themselves. Money is the root of all evil, and fashion is a branch of that wicked tree.

We need only to look at costume history to see that this is true. When humans first started wearing clothing, it was purely functional. A purely secular view is to say that nomadic tribes didn’t have homes to protect them, so they wore their homes in the form of clothing. Biblically, of course, the first clothing was meant to hide the naughty parts.

It was only when man started seeking beauties and riches and a more far-reaching power that things started getting a little tense. Certain men could go to other lands and bring back things that the folks at home couldn’t, and those certain men would hold these things over their heads. They brought back foreign gems to adorn themselves with, and they brought back dyes. With their rarity in some parts of world, the usage of these dyes became a status symbol. Only citizens of Rome, whose qualifications made them a surprisingly small group, could wear a true toga. And only senators, an even smaller group of men, could wear a red sash, made with those rare dyes.

The expense of dyes and the dying process made colored cloth symbolic of royalty, for they were the only people who could afford them. Time goes by, the middle class rises, and to show this, they start adopting some of the habits of the aristocracy. They wear clothing made of dyed cloth to show they are gaining in importance. Even with this turn of events, a few colors, the most expensive to procure, are still reserved for the kings and queens and princes and dukes, etc.

People developed the habit of dressing to show their importance in their respective cultures. One could see a person walk down the street and know what social class they were in merely by the clothes they were wearing. A perfectly wonderful human being could be reminded of how close to dirt he was by seeing another’s purple robe or red dress.

Our society has talked much of equality. A good human being, some would say, should try their hardest to look at everyone without judgment. Too much of the time, however, clothes get in the way. Fashion is a weight that helps keep too many good people down and lets too many dead fish float to the top.

Spring 1998

Review: Seattle Obama Rally

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On Thursday, I saw a Seattle Times article announcing a Barack Obama rally was to be held on Friday (yesterday) at Key Arena. Since I live and work just a few blocks from Key Arena, I decided I should go. In the event that Obama is elected President, I thought it would be nice to be able to say I’d seen him in person.

The article and Obama’s website said doors were to open at 11 a.m. I left my office at 10:55, knowing it would be about a five minute walk, to discover that the arena was already two-thirds full. By 11:30, it was filled to capacity – people were being refused entry. Wikipedia states concert capacity is 16,641. Mayor Nichols said later that there were an additional 3000 people outside. Apparently they set up a monitor so they could watch from the outside plaza. I’ve never seen the Sonics draw this kind of crowd.

At first it was chaos, as everyone tried to find seating. I sat with some strangers one section over from a friend I had attempted to sit with. For a bit, it was pretty exciting. There was an energy to the crowd that was contagious. The Wave was done several times in the interim, a couple girls had a dance off in the bleachers. But then time dragged on. In retrospect, maybe they were setting up the video feed for the people outside. But in the moment, it just seemed like bad form to keep us waiting so long.

At around 12:30, three people came up on stage. Pastor Patrinell Staten Wright, founder of the Total Experience Gospel Choir; some guy whose introduction was not clear to me; and Matt Cameron, current drummer of Pearl Jam. Apparently, these three musicians and some others got together (on my birthday, as a matter of fact) and made a video for a song they performed together for Obama’s campaign. After a long-winded speech by the unknown man having something to do with his brother coming back from Iraq, the video was played on the monitors.

The stage was empty for another 10-15 minutes when Seattle mayor Greg Nichols came out. He talked for a while then introduced U.S. Congressman Adam Smith (of the 9th district, which includes Seattle’s south suburbs, Tacoma, and part of Olympia). Rep. Smith talked briefly then introduced Washington governor Christine Gregoire, who had just announced her support of Obama earlier in the day. She got the crowd really fired up, shouting out all the great things about Washington Obama would take away with him in his heart and mind. The Boeing plane that got him there! The beef! The potatoes! The apple pie! among other things (except salmon and geoducks – maybe the candidate is hydrophobic).

Finally, at 1:06, Ms. Gregoire introduced Barack Obama, and a minute later he was on the stage. He is a good speaker, I’ll give him that. And as he enumerated the ills of our country I thought, in the great words of GI Joe, “knowing is half the battle.” But in the time I was there, I didn’t hear any solutions. I know what the problems are, too, but I have no idea how to fix them. Does he?

At 1:36 I left Key Arena, and he was still going.

Barack Obama at Key Arena

An Evening With Crispin Hellion Glover, Part One

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Tonight I had the opportunity to finally see Crispin Glover’s film What Is It? at the Broadway Performance Hall. The film was preceded by a slide show reading/presentation of Glover’s books given by Glover himself. It was followed by a question-answer segment.

I first heard of this film when I watched Glover’s interview on Tom Green’s online show last summer. I’ve been fascinated by Glover ever since watching him in River’s Edge. That performance, with respect to his in Back to the Future, really made me wonder what was up with this man. Crispin Glover, without a doubt, is a unique individual. Sometimes I wonder whether I like him, but I always appreciate and respect him. People such as him are necessary for our culture, people who work both within and without our parameters, to challenge the status quo and keep us from becoming stagnant.

I was a little afraid to see the movie tonight. I had seen the trailer, and heard Glover talk about it on Tom Green Live, so I knew it was most certainly unconventional fare. I can’t really begin to describe it, nor would I really want to. For anyone who would want to see it, I’d like them to be able to go in with as little preconception as possible. The gist of it, though, is a sort of presentation of societal taboos in order to explore their meaning and context in our minds. According to him, it is a reaction to his experience with the film industry and some of the changes it has gone through in the last 20-30 years. This film is not for everyone. You know all those parodies of art house films that are completely absurdist? This is their fodder.

The Q&A afterward was quite good. I sat with rapt attention as he meandered and digressed about a handful of questions. We must have been there for about an hour listening to him explain his intentions and philosophies regarding the making of What Is It? and the rest of the trilogy of which it is a part. I love the thought processes behind it all, and was thrilled to know there were actually philosophical reasons for even the music choices. (He chose some of the music because of the social currents running at the time the music was written, to put it simplistically.) Glover is quite brilliant indeed. At least in my estimation. I think I could listen to him for hours, if he would let me.

In fact, tomorrow evening I will be seeing the second part of the trilogy, entitled It is Fine! Everything Is Fine. It will be presented the same as tonight’s film. That is, sandwiched between the book reading/slide show and the Q&A. I’m curious about seeing the slide show again one day later. How much will it be the same? How different? But maybe between now and then, I will be able to come up with a question to ask, and then ask it. And maybe I will stick around after and buy a book for him to sign.

While you wait for the answers to those questions, you can watch the trailer for What Is It? as presented on Tom Green Live.

The Grocer Makes House Calls

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One of the things I loved about living in New York City is that anything and everything could be delivered. Very few people have cars in Manhattan, and it’s a bit cumbersome to carry bags of groceries on the subway. I very rarely took advantage of the delivery option. For one, I felt uncomfortable being an able-bodied young person and having someone bring my produce to me. For another, I was a poor college student and felt the time and effort it took for me to pick up my own lo mein was worth much less than that tip I’d be saving.

I did have a full size futon cushion delivered to my apartment one time – there was absolutely no way I could carry that thing home myself. And another time, my roommates had a washer and dryer delivered to our fifth floor walk up apartment. I stayed in my room, as I did not want the delivery men to think I had one iota to do with that ordeal.

More than a decade later, I’m in high-tech Seattle in the age of internet shopping. One can get most anything delivered through any number of online stores. Yet, grocery delivery seemed to elude us. Back 5 or 6 years ago I think it was, we had Home Grocer. I loved that company, with its giant peaches on the sides of its trucks. I had them deliver once or twice but the service never really took hold and they went out of business. I still have the magnetic image of their delivery van on my refrigerator.

About a year after Home Grocer went away, Safeway began online shopping with home delivery. For some reason, I never tried it out. They’re still offering the service, but now I think I know why I never did it. There is a delivery charge no matter what the size of the order is, and the minimum order for delivery is $50.

And now I bring you today. Several weeks ago, I got a notice from Amazon.com telling me that they have started home grocery delivery and that my neighborhood was one of the first to be offered this service. Naturally, I would have to avail myself. It was not until this last week that I placed my first order. I have general and specific reasons this appeals to me. Generally, I have an affinity for Amazon.com since they are a local Seattle company (despite their global tentacles). This service also complements my Flexcar experiment.

One of my concerns with not owning a car is not being able to make big grocery trips. I was raised to buy all the groceries for a full week in one trip, rather than taking daily trips to the store. This type of shopping helps to keep you on budget and prevents frivolous spending and spontaneous purchases of “bad” foods. This way of thinking is quite ingrained in me. However, since I’ve moved blocks from my workplace, I have begun making more quick trips to the grocery store. I can stop by on my walk home, or else now I can walk two blocks to the supermarket that opened earlier this year. This way of grocery shopping has been detrimental to my kitchen. I no longer plan meals ahead or shop with any real foresight beyond keeping stock of a short list of staples. As a result, I’ve been eating a lot of crap.

Adding to the mindset that I should walk as much as possible, and take public transportation/flexcar when walking is out of the question, a couple weeks ago my car become non-functional. For various reasons, I’ve not got it repaired yet. So, realizing I should get back into the habit of buying groceries for at least a week at a time, not having a car to carry all those bags home, and not wanting to spend $15-20 to take a Flexcar to the supermarket, I decided this week it was time to try out AmazonFresh. Unlike Safeway, you don’t have to place a minimum $50 order. There is no delivery charge for regular daytime deliveries over $50. The prices seem the same as regular grocery store prices, and in some cases better.

I got my first delivery this morning. I got everything on my list. The only “problem” was that I ordered a 5-lb bag of sugar and they substituted a 10-lb bag for the same price. I think I’ll let it slide.

The AmazonFresh logo has what appears to be a radish instead of a luscious peach, but I’m pretty sure I’ll order from them again. Even if it does make me feel a bit like an invalid.

Stop the Madness

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I know I’m not the first to say it, but I’ll still say it on the off chance someone will listen.

Suicide spree killers are only doing it for the publicity.

They’ve been nothing their “whole” lives (like 19 years is a long time to suffer living) and now, even if it’s in death, they are something. This kid Hawkins was a loser, and I can see how he might decide to give up. But he didn’t need to take eight people with him. So why did he?

I know that the families of the victims probably want to be heard, want their loved ones memorialized in some way. They don’t want to feel like the death is swept under the rug and their life was in vain. But in the interest of future victims, we need to stop making such a big deal out of these spree killers. A local news story should suffice. Report it like any other murder in the city. But don’t blow it up to some sensational national headline. That will only encourage other losers to go down in a blaze of glory at some future date. If they don’t think they will gain some sort of posthumous notoriety, they will off themselves in the privacy of their own homes, and no one else has to suffer.