http://www.the-means.com/communiques New dispatches (both intellectual and humorous) every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:03:00 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This is a creative and surprisingly smart explanation of the evils of neoliberalism. http://www.monochrom.at/kiki-and-bubu/monochrom–kikiandbubuandtheshift.mov Tags: marx, neoliberalism, revolution http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=255 This is my favorite video since Doo Dah Doo Doo. Tags: clark and michael, wall pounding, http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=254 Special thanks to Crooks and Liars, this is Ronald Moore, the man behind Battlestar Galactica on precursors to the WGA strike: “I had a situation last year on Battlestar Galactica where we were asked by Universal to do webisodes [Note: Moore is referring to The Resistance webisodes which ran before Season 3 premiered], which at that point were very new and ‘Oooh, webisodes! What does that mean?’ It was all very new stuff. And it was very eye opening, because the studio’s position was ‘Oh, we’re not going to pay anybody to do this. You have to do this, because you work on the show. And we’re not going to pay you to write it. We’re not going to pay the director, and we’re not going to pay the actors.’ At which point we said ‘No thanks, we won’t do it.’” “We got in this long, protracted thing and eventually they agreed to pay everybody involved. But then, as we got deeper into it, they said ‘But we’re not going to put any credits on it. You’re not going to be credited for this work. And we can use it later, in any fashion that we want.’ At which point I said ... http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=253 With the Writer’s Guild on strike, I know there are more than a few people pissed that their favorite networks are airing reruns. But to put into perspective just how expedient it is for the writer’s in Hollywood to be fairly compensated, United Hollywood made the following video: As pro-union Midwesterners, Tanner and I feel very strongly about labor issues, and these demonstrations deserve everyone’s attention. I know Tanner and I have been on strike now for months, as evidenced by our rarely updated content for this blog, but once we start receiving our much deserved millions, we’ll become more productive, I promise. All kidding aside, please show support for these writers. http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=252 I received the following spam ad in my email today and was rather surprised by the artful nature of its prose. Apparently spam companies are now concerned with aesthetics? I guess the one good thing that can come out of this is more jobs for M.F.A students. Title: There are no losers among the possessors of long dic’ks. Now you can be one of them! Do you believe in magic? We dare say you’re likely to give a negative answer . We hadn’t believed, either…until the moment we tried MegaDick! The action of this remedy on a human phallus cannot be called otherwise than a Miracle! Just imagine, that your pen!s suddenly becomes longer and thicker and makes women tremble with ardor! It’s fabulous! Tags: spam, increase your dick weight http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=251 The discussion of In Rainbows has focused primarily on its rather unique distribution scheme. Free of a record label, Radiohead has decided to offer the album via their website and digital download for a small transaction fee and donation. They also are offering a more robust, material collector’s edition of sorts, called the Discbox for 40 pounds. Most interpreted this move as a political statement against the music industry and its antiquated stance on copyright. When asked by Pitchfork about the concept of accepting donations instead of a set price for the album, Greenwood had a different perspective: It’s just interesting to make people pause for even a few seconds and think about what music is worth now. I thought it was an interesting thing to ask people to do and compare it to whatever else in their lives they value or don’t value. Whether Greenwood sees it or not, this is indeed a political stance against the music industry. But it doesn’t just pit them against record labels, but music itself. I originally grabbed In Rainbows free as a torrent download because their website was inaccessible. After one listen, I returned to the website several times persistent in my resolve to purchase ... http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=250 This guy is saying basically what me and Chris have yelled about on many a podcast, but it’s nice to see it packaged succinctly and getting main page coverage on Salon: Michigan needs a new industry, because the auto companies blew it. Tags: michigan, auto industry, corporate idiocy http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=249 I was surprised to read Slate this morning and find an article by Jonah Weiner claiming that Wes Anderson “mishandles race” within his films. It would appear this was sparked by his viewing of “The Darjeeling Limited,” which I have not seen, so this article will not comment on race within that film. However, I can address his other films with a higher degree of knowledge. Wes Anderson’s work has a running theme of privilege over poverty, with whites predominantly occupying the former and minorities in the latter—this I’ll grant Weiner. For instance, in the film “Bottle Rocket,” Anthony and Dignan don’t need nine-to-five jobs to get by (Anthony and cohort Bob Maplethorpe do join the working world eventually, but its purpose is to more fully round out Anthony’s life and to live by routine; certainly not by necessity). Even Bob lives in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, sharing the place with his brother while his parents are on perpetual holiday. In “Rushmore,” the setting is landed in money, but this is meant only to underscore the pseudo-privilege that permeates from Max Fisher, in spite of his obviously humble upbringings. “The Royal Tenenbaums,” without question, is a film ... http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=248 I would be embarrassed to admit how many times I have watched this video. I am obsessed with it. It’s from the Tim and Eric show.. I actually stumbled on it because a blogger on Destructoid was saying how pretentious and pointless their comedy was (it’s in the comments). Of course, the pointlessness is the point. As for the pretension, I think that has more to do with the blogger’s frustration at the fact he doesn’t quite get something a lot of other people enjoy. Because of the rather mysterious workings of humor it can be frustrating when you don’t find something funny, especially because humor and wit are connected in many ways to intelligence. Understanding the nuances of a Tim and Eric sketch requires a far more complicated relationship with the text and understanding of its references than with a Jeff Foxworthy bit based on a standard framework. I personally think the absurdist humor, often steeped in pop culture references, that has developed in the last decade is one of the best things the web has to offer. And what makes it really addictive for its fans, is that it requires a certain grammar to construct and understand ... http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=247 This was in the 9/8/2007 edition of the L.A. Times in the “California” section. It’s rare I am floored by statistics, but this did it. I am not sure what is more depressing: the fact this much money is being spent on sexual abuse, or the fact they have this much money to disperse. Here is the rest of the article. Tags: church sex scandal, priests, morons giving, their charity to churches http://www.the-means.com/communiques/?p=246