ARTelevision

This classic and historic moment of big-buck depravity brought to you by the usual degenerate suspects...

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Cynthetiq

Art,

i'm trying to find out about the behind the scenes for this supposed media stunt.

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ARTelevision

Right, Cynthetiq. I see your continuing reports in the topic-specific thread.
Perhaps a cross link when it's nailed (pierced) down and fully covered (exposed), etc...
Thanks.

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powerclown

Interesting new angle...

wilbjammin

I apologize for any redundancy to previous entries, but I I have a feeling that I'm wording myself differently than everyone else... so I'm allowing myself to speak off the cusp.

I feel like I've just stepped into Jean Baudrillard's office.

There's an interesting thing about media... our lives are truly mediated to us. Before the age where media was a totality the method that one perceived reality was by direct experience more often than otherwise. This has been wildly reversed to the point where the vast majority of information we receive is interpreted for us, and culminated from simulacra (that is loosely defined as copies without an origins). There are many weird twists that I think about a lot that I'll innumerate:

1) Reality TV is the best example of a simulacrum. A completely fabricated situation that we know is fabricated, and yet somehow perceive as real simultaneously. On one level this wouldn't be so threatening, except that this is our collective experience as a culture. We share in these experiences and have discussions about these things, and eventually, we adopt a new reality from these simulacra. Eventually, "original reality" is removed so far by this process that we have moved beyond a point of knowing what it means to naturally be human.

2) News is turning more and more abstract on a seemingly daily basis. We are given more and more scripted commentary about events with less and less contextual footage of events, or incomplete footage (all footage is incomplete as it only provides a narrow scope of perception - we only experience a narrow visual field and sounds that reach the microphone that aren't edited out... the other senses, which are sadly given less attention that they should, are completely absent).

On a note of this, the idea of a democracy or a republic has always been couple with the concept of a responsible citizenry (see Machiavelli The Discourses, Jean-Jaques Rousseau The Social Contract). For a representative government to work it relies on the active participation of the citizens to educate themselves on the issues and make deliberated decisions. Since mediated reality has reached the totality that it has, so many are overwhelmed with information of all sorts of types of different qualities that coming to a reasoned, deliberated decision is exceedingly difficult because knowing what is real is so difficult. In fact, reality cannot be defined as what is true and factual now, reality is simply what you perceive and what you use to make decisions from. The post-modern terminology for reality is hyperreality, for obvious reasons.

3) Television dramas, particularly sit-coms, are other examples of simulacra. The interesting thing about these shows is that they tend to be accompanied by encapsulated moral messages as well as implied values in society. These shows mimic reality, and then place judgments on society, and give direction to society. As much as critical skeptic can try to bring all of these messages into check by considering all that is transmitted through these shows, it ends up invariably having an indeleble effect on all of us (whether we watch television or not, because once these values spread through macro-culture they are embedded in day-to-day interactions between everyone).

I could go much further in depth, but I think my 3 points illustrate the answer to the question, How much of an effect does the type of world we are living in have on us - our thinking and our behavior? - a nearly absolute effect.

But the real question, that I have been stumbling over for years, remains - what is left for the individual?

what meaning is left for us to create and what value does it have?

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ARTelevision

Thanks for your deep, penetrating, and incisive words, wilbjammin.

IMO, it is the best we can do to simply be aware of the actual situation.

Most of us are in deep denial.
That, to me, seems both pathetic and ignorant - something like a submissive slave cluelessly and happily licking the boots of an unworthy and cynical master. Or more precisely - it is like lambs being led to the slaughter...

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~springrain

yes... so let's not forget that many are lambs... young (whether it be in actual age, or spiritually) and yes, ingnorant...

to label them as pathetic ... to me... defeats the humanity we are perhaps trying to find in the face of the "media assault" and all that it brings.

i very much like what wil says here:


that is something i think many question on a daily basis... and how to balance a quality of life, and humanity... despite what we see and experience happening around us...
and of course we are all on a different leg of the journey... so our awarenesses will differ.
we can all learn from each other... even those who perceive themselves as "further down the road to enlightenment" than others...

perhaps that is precisely where the value is.

ARTelevision

~sr, our vernacular has been affected by our problematic cultural context as well - pathos is a noble state:

from m-w.com

One entry found for pathos.


Main Entry: pa·thos
Pronunciation: 'pA-"thäs, -"thos, -"thOs also 'pa-
Function: noun

Etymology: Greek, suffering, experience, emotion, from paschein (aorist pathein) to experience, suffer; perhaps akin to Lithuanian kesti to suffer
1 : an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion
2 : an emotion of sympathetic pity

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wilbjammin

I agree. Now, more than ever, what is required is vigilance. I do not mean that we must latch onto every pivotal political and social issue and champion them. But we must pay attention to how knowledge is created and keep that in mind on all empirical and subjective matters.

My newest challenge to this situation is affirming the "forgotten senses". Touch, taste, and smell the world. Embrace the connection between the mind and the body, in fact, reject the seperation entirely - we have embodied minds. We have categorically reduced ourselves for too long, and we've gone way too far.

There are some days when I see something that is so obvious to me, that no one makes any mention of as though it is simply a given that we should all take for granted when I practically lose my mind. Like lambs being led to the slaughter? Yes... and in strange darkness.

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ARTelevision

Absolutely - the best antidote to culture is...nature!

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wilbjammin

The concept of enlightenment and a kind of perfection achieved from knowledge is something that I cannot believe in. What is created is an understanding of suffering, absurdity, and another kind of powerlessness. As for the value of this kind of understanding...???

This kind of metaphorical lingo - "journey", "further down the road" implies not only progression, but an end (I understand that you may not be think of the journey of road metaphor leading to a specific "place", but neither of those things tend not to lead to nowhere). I think we've gone beyond the age of ends (ironically, at a time when we talk of ends incessantly).

Awarenesses differ, but what is the value or meaning of this? I know that I would rather be more aware than less. But this era has removed us from judgement. There is nothing inherently right or wrong; there are circumstances and choices.

I don't even know how to define humanity anymore. However, I feel a burning passion somewhere within me, and somehow I feel certain that this, above all else, is indicative of humanity.


And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for the seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke.


Are we in need of this pilgrimage? Maybe, but in the end no one is "saved". I would much rather live in defiance than in ignorance, however.

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ARTelevision

yep - it's better to be aware than unaware.

that's worth living for, IMO...

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ARTelevision

in another thread, Shakran lists some well-known Academy Award winners:

"
Kevin Spacey won best actor for American Beauty in which he played a pedophilliac, unfaithful husband who's main goal in life is to masturbate in the shower.

Anthony Hopkins won it for Silence of the Lambs in which he played a cannibalistic serial killer.

Michael Douglas won it for Wall Street in which he played a crooked stock trader who thought nothing of committing crimes and of destroying the lives of hundreds of workers so he could make a few bucks.

F. Murray Abraham won it for Amadeus in which he played a psychopathic musician who's sole goal in life was to kill Mozart.

Louise Fletcher won it for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in which she played a twisted nurse who's driving ambition was to psychologically torture the mental patients in her ward.

Marlon Brando won it for The Godfather in which he played the head of a massive crime family.

Liza Minelli won it for Cabaret in which she played a girlie club floozy who'd sleep with anyone to get what she wanted.

Joanne Woodward won it for The Three Faces of Eve, in which she played a mental patient.
"

I think this list points to something about the glorification of sociopathology that has a powerful hold on our consumer culture.
The brief list is another entry point for those interested in delving into how we are being exploited by the types of material we are continually exposed to...under the deceptively misleading banner of "entertainment."

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wilbjammin

A hallmark of post-modernism is the draw to the spectacular and extremities. These are just more examples of how easily we embrace that which is spectacular and extreme. The neverending battle between deciding if media is symptomatic of the society, or if the society is symptomatic of what the media shows us is irrelevent. Both build on each other, the real world is more and more fascinated with the extreme world. The real world gets more extreme. The boundaries keep stretching.

An interesting thing about these characters is that they are strongly human and yet exceedingly eccentric and bizarre. Like The Heart of Darkness by Conrad, we are fascinated by the darker side of humanity. The unfortunate limitation of Hollywood film is that it tends to do a terrible job of achieving balance with these complex philosophical and literary issues. It tends much more to lean on the dark side, and to reduce it so that it doesn't have it's full philosophical weight (though even if it could, is pop media an appropriate forum for that?). To continue with The Heart of Darkness theme, Apocalypse Now is a great example of this phenomenon. A more aware person would see the Freudian allusions and the duality. Someone less interested in the philosophical or psychological issues would view the violence in an entirely different way. Truthfully though, where our imagination and introspective inclinations go when reading are not tapped in nearly the same way as watching a movie.

In any event...

The Horror, The Horror...

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Charlatan

As I have said elsewhere what is needed and needed now is education.

As children are taught to read books in school so should they be taught to read the media.

At present our populace is illequipped to understand what they are seeing. Many have no interpretive tools whatsoever.

This needs to happen today.

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- Old Man Luedecke

ARTelevision

One would think teachers would be speaking up about what they contend with every day in terms of the cultural nonsense that controls the mindsets of their students and prevents actual education from displacing media mind control.

In my former career as a teacher, it was more evident than the noses on my students' faces that their minds were not their own - from their pretend self-images to their consumerized and peer-pressured shallow rebel personalities.

I know there are political/union reasons why teachers affiliate themselves with so-called liberal causes - such as freedom of expression for wealthy Hollywood-based causes...

Well, that's probably it. According to old-style sixties' liberalism one doesn't criticize what pretends to be socially rebellious - instead one forms classic liberal alliances with it...

In any event, as you know, I'm a niche-content producer who presents a lot of erotic and iconoclastic content. I do my bit for social responsibility by taking no action toward mass-marketing or distribution. I know my place, you might say - and it is not in mainstream media. Unfortunately, most of my creative friends and colleagues have no such restraint.

So conventional categories do not do us well in this move toward realignment for the sake of global sanity. What we are contending with at the moment is a great deal of predictable obfuscation by those who either refuse to focus on the complexities of the issue or simply choose not to because they are either in denial or believe we are threatening their "guilty pleasures."

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

There is just no reason at all why our guilty pleasures need to be broadcast to millions of people who do not desire them in their faces - and who don't want them used to sell every product under the sun...

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wilbjammin

Teachers are in an uncomfortable position of being able to only challenge their students so much in the face of school boards, state education regulation committees, and, of course, high stakes tests that dictate curriculum. Curriculum activism worries me also though, standards seem to have their place (I'm reminded of my high school teacher years ago that told me that a gay pride parade was filled with disgusting, horrible acts and people and everyone around me was nodding their heads like it was a fact)... In any event, education is a profession of conflict if done it right.

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ARTelevision

True.
I do think however that Charlatan's plea for Media Literacy education is a must-implement solution toward improving things.

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Arbiestsheft04

ARTelevision , you remind me of my senior english teacher. He has similar views concering mass media and modern advertising. As an aside, my classmates and I were recently visited by one William Lutz, a "expert" on the book 1984 and double speak. Lutz told my peers and myself about the prevalance of doublespeak in our society and how to understand what is being said. Interestingly enough, this Lutz character has worked for corporation after corporation creating double speak en mass. This man had some serious personal issues, in one moment he is telling students how to avoid the perils(sp?) of modern speech and, in the next moment creating such speech. I think its quite a telling example of the state of our nation, that a man can be a complete hippocrate and be commended for it. (Lutz has been given numerous public service awards and is viewed as a fighter for clear language)

*Doublespeak is language deliberately constructed to disguise its actual meaning.

ARTelevision

Arbiestsheft04, one problem is that most of the human persuasion and psychological manipulation research is in the hands of private companies. These are closely guarded corporate secrets - the results of highly funded private enterprise research into the exact messages, sounds, colors, images, methodologies, and stimuli that render us susceptible to unwitting consumption.

Only a former "insider" would have had any significant access to any aspect of this research. Of course, to have been an insider renders one suspect. It's too late for purity in this effort. We have all been compromised in some way. You can see this in all of us. It doesn't necessarily mean there's no one that can be trusted.

In any event, The real way to proceed is for each of us to move forward at our own velocity. Everything we need to reveal is already right before our eyes. All that remains is to see it for what it is...

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Arbiestsheft04

This Lutz character has worked with private companies giving the same basic speech to both sides. On my end he is supposedly informing me, while on the other end he is teaching the corporate sector how to use doublespeak effectivly, all while taking in a nice profit.

In any event, you are correct, we all have been effected. I, for one, am outraged. The trouble is not many people are aware, and not too many care to be. I have hope for the future but the present is looking pretty dim.

Cynthetiq

to give you all an idea as to how much research goes into this...an email that went out...NAN is shorthand for Nick At Night.

-----Original Message-----
From: Wendt, Laura
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 5:36 PM
To: M_MTVN_NY
Subject: CTAM RESEARCH AWARD

Last week, the Cable & Telecommunications Association of Marketing awarded the 2004 CTAM Research Conference Case Study to our very own Tanya Giles, Vice President, TV Land/Nick @ Nite Research for her outstanding study: The Emotional Anatomy of the Nighttime TV Viewer. This study is proving to have tremendous 'legs' as it provides insight and inspiration to NAN Creative, Programming, Ad Sales, Marketing, Press and is now the winner of a national research award. The study delivers insight into the motivations and rituals of late night TV viewing, and reveals that NAN late night viewers aren't vampires or couch potatoes, but younger (under 40), urban professionals with hectic lives that use TV -- and NAN as a release, with predictable, familiar programming that gives them a sense of control and escape.

So Cheers! to Tanya for this great piece of innovative research.


Laura E. Wendt
Senior Vice President, Research
Nickelodeon Networks

ARTelevision

Right. Thanks for the inside info - always appreciated!

We are the most comprehensively analyzed humans that ever lived. The corporations whose products we consume know us far better than we know ourselves. And they know us far better than governments know us. Corporate psychological research is more all-enveloping and more vast than the subset of academic and psychological health systems - and its aim is not benevolent.

There are some tips of the marketing psychology iceburg evident in our midst that do bear some scrutiny. Just to get the topic moving forward, here's a very simple and obvious example:

http://www.intelliseek.com/marketingi.asp

It's always illuminating to see how they promote their methodologies...check the products listing.

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Cynthetiq

for those of you who have no idea as to what the holdings are of the media companies... here's a great link from the Columbia Journalism Review

http://www.cjr.org/tools/owners/

The timeline for the Big 3 are on the side bar and quite interesting because they go back so many years.

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Cynthetiq

I had placed this in it's own thread, but i think that it needs to be added this to this conversation:

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ARTelevision

Well, I just think it's too huge.
We have some local groups I like to hear.
I'm go to some local locations to pick up a few of their otherwise unavailable disks. Sometimes they're on local radio for a guest spot. I like it because it's often based on regional geography, dialect, and lore.

I don't really see a need for big music.
Music is made all over the place by local musicians.
Heck, you can even make it yourself.

The mass-media-mind-control part comes in when we all have to have the same songs in our heads at the same time.

We're very far from seeing why that is unnecessary and problematic in itself.

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Cynthetiq

wilbjammin

In response to the music article:

What bothers me isn't so much that the mass media isn't giving people access to good music, but that they're manufacturing musical groups as products. This trend has been growing since New Kids on the Block, and now the majority of what you would see on MTV, CMT, etc (they're all the same company now, so what difference does it make anyway?) is simply performance aimed at certain audiences. Artists typically don't write their own music, or only a small part of the songs. The music industry is forcing a "dumbing down" of music. Creativity and ingenuity isn't embraced, the visual product is often more important than the audio product, and lyrically most songs are simply not very creative. There is more to life than love (relationships), sex, and violence - but you wouldn't know it if you watched TRL for an hour.

I sort of have to agree with Art here. I also love good music though, and I am a musician. So, I struggle with it. It is typically a big struggle in the indie scenes. When small bands start to make it big a lot of people feel betrayed, that their band has "sold out". Music and art have been incorporated into social movements (such as the "No Mas" movement) and I think there is a lot of potential power in these mediums to address society. The problem is that the main outlets are in tight control by a few corporations. I'm very frustrated with what Michael Powell has let happen, and I really wonder where the near future is going to take us with this.

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Cynthetiq

the consolidations happend because of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Mr. Powell did not become FCC chairman until November 3, 1997.

While he does have the power to undo the mergers, like when CBS had to divest Viacom in the early 70's, it's not likely.

wilbjammin

Yes, well, like with any policy that has obviously not had a positive effect on its industry, it is his responsibility to change the policy. Since that act passed, he has sat by as one merger after another has happened without raising a finger to stop it. He has been in many hearings discussing the negative effects of the Act and specific mergers, and he could care less.

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ARTelevision

'Passion' draws crowds, results in one death


The Associated Press
Feb. 26, 2004 06:50 AM


The opening of "The Passion of the Christ" drew everyone from conservative churchgoers to confrontational New Yorkers more than willing to roll out their soapboxes as screenings got under way.

But the gore _ and in some cases, church rules _ kept even the most devout Christians away.

In Salt Lake City, curiosity about the film among many Mormons was outweighed by church teachings that discourage viewing R-rated movies.

"I don't think our Lord would want me to see an R-rated film about his son," said 20-year-old Shawn Watts, a Mormon missionary.

Watts said he was intrigued but would need permission from his bishop, since missionaries are not allowed to watch films or television under church protocol. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stresses family values and frowns upon members seeing R-rated films.

Despite concerns about violence and accusations that Mel Gibson's film fuels anti-Semitism, "The Passion" made a bundle on its Ash Wednesday opening.

The movie took in an estimated $15 million to $20 million after just one day of release, remarkable for a religious-themed movie. It opened in more than 3,000 theaters _ an unusually large release for a religious film with English subtitles to translate the Latin and Aramaic its characters speak.

Among the legions that saw "The Passion," many streamed out of movie theaters feeling as if they themselves had been through a flogging.

"It sort of felt like you were coming to watch an execution," said Peter Hitchins, whose wife, Amy, wiped away tears as they left a movie theater in Charlotte, N.C.

"It's a little bit more brutal than you would think," said a sobbing Kim Galbreath, 29, in the Dallas suburb of Plano. "I mean, there were times when you felt like it was too much. But I dare anybody not to believe after watching it."

A woman in Wichita, Kan., collapsed during the film's final, bloody crucifixion scene. While people were helping the woman, identified as 57-year-old Peggy Law Scott, the lights were turned on and moviegoers were ushered out. She later died at a hospital. No cause of death was immediately given.

Directed, produced and co-written by Gibson, the film has received mixed reviews from critics. Some have praised Gibson's commitment to his subject. Others see it as excessively bloody, obsessed with cruelty and unfair in its portrayal of Jews.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League who saw "The Passion" before opening day, said he was still worried about reactions to the film when it comes out in places like Argentina and Europe, where there's been less debate about its content.

"We know the power of images, and we know the power of a star with a reputation around the world, and this concerns us," Foxman said.

In New York, famous for its love of raucous debate, members of the New Black Panther Party gathered outside a West Side theater, saying the film's biggest problem is obvious: Jesus wasn't white.

"We call this the greatest story never told," said Divine Allah, a youth minister in the group's Trenton, N.J., chapter, citing a biblical verse that describes Jesus with wooly hair and brown skin.

Even People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sounded off in the Big Apple _ but this time, it was in support of the film, which they said underscored the brutality of violence.

"It points out our belief in the unacceptability of violence and how animals suffer the same pain humans do," said Corinne Ferraro, 29, of Hoboken, N.J.

It wasn't theological or moral concerns that kept 77-year-old Pat Curry away from "The Passion."

The Ocean City, N.J. resident had been intending to see the movie but changed her mind after getting some bad news at the doctor's office. She opted for the comedy "Welcome to Mooseport" instead.

"I need a laugh," she said. ___
................................

I figure this mess of a bloodfest in the name of something will go down in the annals of filmdom as a classic "splatter" flick. I can see it being a death-goth drink-and-drug party favorite - and spawning a cult following of adolescent gore-lovers and torture afficionados.

If there's one thing one can be sure of regarding mass media, it's that what is produced is quickly drained of meaning in favor of appearance. It's always image over substance. Mel Gibson is a lightweight. His recent interviews, the promotional campaign, and the film-related-product marketing attest to the silly seriousness surrounding all this. The fact that religious zealots will be bringing their kids to this fleshgrinder is a new and fascinating twist on the absurdity of our cultural landscape and the inanity involved in our consumption of it.

Anyway, just wait for the spin-off movies that come from this. The skin-ripped, boiled-in-oil, drawn-and-quartered, eyeball-gouged lives of the saints and martyrs can be predicted to fuel a whole new genre of "meaningful" and "spiritual" horror.

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Cynthetiq

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
MTV goes right back
to its bad sex habits
By RICHARD HUFF
DAILY NEWS TV EDITOR
Thursday, February 26th, 2004

Just a few weeks after promising to clean up its act during daytime hours because of Janet Jackson's Super Bowl bra-ha-ha, MTV is baring all again.
Britney Spears' graphic sex romp "Toxic" is back in heavy rotation around the clock.

So are controversial videos from Blink 182 (although edited a bit) and Maroon 5.

MTV officials, under heavy criticism for producing the R-rated Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 1, had vowed afterward to do the "responsible" thing and pull such explicit music videos from daytime viewing.

Instead, the music channel said it would air them only late at night - when fewer young people and families would be watching.

So what happened?

An MTV spokeswoman explained the network's backflip this way:

"We decided to take a temperature check, we listened to the audience, we wanted to make sure we still felt good about the images on MTV."

Now that some of the initial shock of the Jackson nip slip is over, she said: "The audience ... decided they wanted to see these artists."

"Toxic" has been on again at all hours for about 10 days, showing voluptuous Britney writhing on the floor, wearing a mesh outfit, and carrying on with all sorts of guys.

Blink 182's "I Miss You" was replaced by a European version of the video, without the offending material. MTV said it never asked for the alternate version, but it was supplied by the record company after "I Miss You" was limited to late-night showings.

Another controversial video, "Splash Waterfalls" by Ludacris, is still banished to the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

MTV's initial move to take the sexually explicit videos off the air during the day came amid the furor over the Super Bowl halftime show.

The network's leaders - as well as Mel Karmazin, president of parent company CBS Viacom - received a torrent of criticism over Jackson's breast-baring dirty dance with Justin Timberlake.

Karmazin vowed to clean up the airwaves, and NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue pointed the finger of blame at MTV.

Spears' "Toxic" video had originally started airing on MTV Jan. 15. Even though it was off the daytime hours for a short time after the Super Bowl, it remained a popular video on the network's highlight show "Total Request Live."

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Cynthetiq

since most people don't know about who owns what here's a good one page synopsis.


Who owns what

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tangledweb

Over the last few months of trolling through this discussion, I have learned a great deal about the mind control that is so completely ingrained in our daily lives.

This information has prompted me to cancel my newspaper subscription and limit my TV exposure in order to see what effect media exposure has had on my daily behavior. The results of the last three months have been more interesting than I initially believed they would be.

Here is what I have found so far:

1. (and most surprising) I have lost 18 lbs and my blood pressure has dropped by about 10 points (from 140/90 to 128/80).

2. I have saved over $900.00 over my normal savings because I never see the sale papers or ads for the various electronic gadgets that I sometimes obsess with.

3. I have spent more quality time with my kids (playing games, etc.) than ever before.

These are just the most noticeable changes that I have seen. I am sure that there are many more things that have slipped below the radar as well.

I know that becoming a media hermit is a drastic step, but it has been an informative test. I am curious to hear if anyone else has noticed a change in their buying/eating/planning behavior based on what they learn or have learned form this forum.

ARTelevision

Absolutely!

I've done this from time to time. And your experiment is laudable. More than that, it's the best news I've seen in this entire thread!
Thanks much!

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Cynthetiq

absolutely! that's one of the reasons how I figured out that I was being manipulated and turned into a zombie consumer. When I was younger I figured out that limiting my media intake of advertsing and understanding the cultural side effects of movies and TV shows helped remove the need to "keep up with the joneses"

While I work for a media company and that's where my bread is buttered, I pay even more attention to see how the manipulation is being created. It's not a vast conspiracy, but an ever tiring chase of the dollar bills.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

ARTelevision

Even though I gave it 5 minutes of my expensive time, I couldn't think of a more unimportant, useless, waste-of-time-and-effort piece of news than this. I mean the whole concept of "fashion" is where this whole thread inevitably leads. Let's take a silly romp down a whole bunch of mixed-up agendas, messages, allusions, and associations that are dredged up from the detritus of our media-induced self-images and resurrect a few of them - while adding some new gee gaws - and parade them around on some people who don't look like people.
............

Chanel mixes tomboy chic with sleek elegance

March 5, 2004

AP
A model wears an outfit designed by German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel's fall-winter 2004-2005 ready-to-wear collection, presented in Paris Friday, March 5, 2004.
PARIS - Chanel turned tomboy in Friday's ready-to-wear show for the fall-winter collection.

Versatile designer Karl Lagerfeld dipped into his Coco Chanel memories and found a look she started in the 20s, putting the trademark tweedy touch on man-tailored jackets.

Lagerfeld explained in the show's program that he would not describe the collection as androgynous or unisex. But occasionally the two sexes can dress the same, as he showed by parading out a male and female model wearing matching bright blue pants and dark leather jackets.

The clothes created a woman who was both strong and faintly fragile, who never looked droopy or as if she were really wearing a man's jacket.

Wearing cute plaid or herringbone newsboys' or engineers' caps, the girls came out in slim pants with some wonderful jacquard knit jackets or coats and pullovers in lovely check plaids and herringbones.

It looked warm and easy, fine for town or country, though the knits occasionally looked a bit heavy.

But short or long white cashmere blend coats were sleek and outstanding.


Edging into feminine evening wear, Lagerfeld showed a fine blue outfit - a blue-plaid topper and a long to the ankle stiffened lacy skirt edged in plaid to match the pullover.

A couple of shiny gold-blue quilted strapless dresses in a synthetic fabric looked OK for a rich debutante. But more interesting for the sophisticate is the strict, long black tweed sheath, or a smashing Little Lord Fauntleroy suit a la Coco.

This collection was not a blockbuster, like some of Lagerfeld's creations for Chanel. But there was lots to admire, and the usual admirers will find plenty to choose from.



cute, eh?

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create evolution

-Ever-

Great post!
I still can't find the word in the flower picture on the first page. Anyone care to point it out?

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Embracing the goddess energy within yourselves will bring all of you to a new understanding and valuing of life. A vision that inspires you to live and love on planet Earth. Like a priceless jewel buried in dark layers of soil and stone, Earth radiates her brilliant beauty into the caverns of space and time. Perhaps you are aware of those who watch over your home And experience of this place to visit and play with reality. You are becoming aware of yourself as a gamemaster...
--Acknowledge your weaknesses--

Conclamo Ludus

Hint: Its all you, or I, or mostly anybody else ever thinks about. At least that's what we are supposed to think we think about all the time.

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Lord, have mercy on my wicked soul
I wouldn't mistreat you baby, for my weight in gold.
-Son House, Death Letter Blues

ARTelevision

Yes. It is what sells...

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create evolution