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February 8th, 2010
09:19 pm - A really great book
Arika Okrent has studied Klingon, but she comes from the world of "the Mundanes" - all the rest of humanity who don't dress up in Klingon costumes and bark gutturally at one another. She's written a book called "In the Land of Invented Languages", and by the end of it, she's come to terms with her "mundanity" and practically adopts as her spiritual children the VERY motley crew of conlangers, auxlangers, and universal symbol language inventors, past and present. She's very much a loving step-mom who is stunned by all this creativity, while she frets for her "kids" once they're out there in the cruel mundane world. She's a bit like my own mother that way, who never tackled the Alphistian grammar I wrote when I was 12, but who never once discouraged my imagination.
The kindest word one could use to describe the people Arika writes about in her book is "misfits". A lot of people are far more insulting and dismissive, but Arika concludes that conlangers are basically, artists. After hanging out with some extremely eccentric Klingon students, she writes: "What are Klingon speakers doing? They are engaging in intellectually stimulating language play. They are enjoying themselves. They are doing language for language's sake, art for art's sake. And like all committed artists, they will do their thing, critics be damned."
For 300 pages Arika describes language inventors throughout history, from the most well-known (J.R.R. Tolkien and Dr. Zamenhof), to extremely obscure oddballs whose books gather dust in the stacks of only a few large libraries. She "discovered" conlangs browsing through the language section of a university library when she was a linguistics student. Instead of ignoring or making fun of the inventors and their inventions (as most linguists do), she went on to study in-depth the history of constructed languages, and this book written for the layperson, is the result.
It's a real blessing that it was she who tackled this topic, because Arika is a fantastic storyteller. This book is a real page-turner, except perhaps for one chapter on John Wilkin's philosophical language back during the Enlightenment. That was way over my head, even though Arika tries to explain it so an ordinary reader could understand. But the chapters on the birth of Esperanto and the sainted L. L. Zamenhof are really wonderfully written. Then there was Charles Bliss, a major nutcase who created a universal symbolic language and alienated every single do-gooder who wanted to make use of his invention. Arika describes sympathetically his manic depressive behavior and endless harangues of his supporters. The same for the inventor of Loglan, James Cooke Brown, who sued his own students and collaborators when they dared to tamper with his handiwork.
I truly enjoyed reading Arika's book, and not just because I'm a conlanger myself. A conlanger no longer needs to "be in the closet" (Tolkien referred to his wonderful creations as "The Secret Vice"). Arika's book is so accessible that it will hopefully inspire many more conlangers, who can now easily share their creations and find like-minded souls via the web. After all, it hasn't been conlangers who've fucked up the world - the Mundanes have done that...
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January 29th, 2010
06:29 pm - The womb was pretty nice, actually
Jarrett Walker is a blogger at http://www.humantransit.org/ who made a comment on another blog - http://www.urbanophile.com that hit the nail on the head for me. He writes (excerpted below) about the very nice urban environment that has been created in the central core of Portland Oregon - it's quite unique in the US, and a place that has always been very attractive to me. I still would like to be able to live there actually one day, but it's a bit out of my price range at the moment.
"...the remarkably womblike quality of the physical environment. The gentle embrace of the forested hills, the wet and mild climate, the famously intimate built scale, the relative lack of crushing big-city monumentalism in its architecture. There’s a quality about Portland that has profound subconscious appeal to people who want to detach, who are cut off from home, maybe consciously thinking of themseves as rebels — but who nevertheless still need to be consoled or embraced.
I think that applies to people of all ages and classes, from teenage runaways to retirees to people who, at the tops of their careers, find they can have their wired career anywhere, and choose Portland....
...“We’re not doing this to win a race or score points or achieve performance targets. We’re doing this to build a civilized city.”
Ah, probably why I like the Dutch way of life so much too, very similar in certain respects to what Portland can be like. And it certainly explains a bit my homebody personality and my Alphistian imaginings...
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January 24th, 2010
03:56 am - Goodness...
I can't seem to embed it, but I just watched a video from the 1973 movie Godspell. A million things from growing up just resurfaced from deepest memory.
During my religious days, I LERVED Godspell, playing the vinyl LP over and over and over again at home on Putnam St in Newport, most likely driving my mom nuts...I was a very progressive Catholic, but of course then abondoned the religion (and all religions) when I finally concluded yep, I'm gay. But some of the music, rituals, and beautiful churches still have a hold on me, because I'm a terribly nostalgic person.
Anyway, the NYC of those late hippie days is long gone, the beautiful actress singing "By your side" left it all behind years ago, the boy with the raccoon tail on his cap died from AIDS in the 1980s...the actor playing Judas Iscariot died a few years back too...and the actor who played Jesus is now in his golden years :-)))
Here's the link to the video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/gotribe78#p/a/u/1/u3FJ10qsUNE
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January 22nd, 2010
02:05 am - Not bored...
...just posing with the art at the Metropolitan Museum (Lisa took the pic)
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January 20th, 2010
01:25 am - Love this artist's style
I stumbled across this artist today on another blog, and love how he paints. He's a Belarussian artist named
Igor Rimashevski. A selection of some of his work is here (I really like the ones that feature cats as well):
http://www.bellabelarus.com/en/component/option,com_jsgallery/mode,by_artist/artist_id,49/Itemid,49/
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) impressed
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January 19th, 2010
02:23 am - Now THAT'S Kitsch!
I want to get this for my Museum of Bad Religious Art (MOBRA)
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January 16th, 2010
03:35 am - Too adventurous for our own good
My dear friend Seth and fellow philistine joined me for a meal in Flushing Queens tonight. I had to visit the unemployment office in the afternoon out there and we decided to meet up for dinner as a treat, and go somewhere we hadn't been to.
In the end we settled on a place that Seth had seen before full of Chinese locals happily devouring big meals.
But we're not Chinese locals...
The menu was like a multi-colored catalog of exotic dishes, some of which frightened me - like giant crabs the size of a large pizza and a pyramid of snails in fish sauce. Seth was worried when he couldn't figure out the schematics of the menu - it didn't follow the traditional Chinese takeout paper menus we're so familiar with: a long list of appetizers, soups, then chicken, beef, pork, seafood, vegetarian entrees, with lunch specials on the back. Oh no - we were in an AUTHENTIC Chinese restaurant!
In the end, I ordered "strangled half-chicken" and Seth got a "strangled quarter duck". He also got a soup in a pretty tureen that he said had no flavour at all, and we shared a mound of noodles with unidentified bits that turned out to be rather tasty. My chicken arrived with its head intact...one half of it anyway. I tucked the head under some other parts of the chicken and jumped in. It was cold...almost gelatinous...and extremely boney. Just like Seth's duck. One wrong crunch and either of us could have ended up at the Dental Hospital Emergency Room.
Where was General Tso when you needed him?
We were attended by lovely waiters and waitresses who looked a little worried we might not find the dishes to our liking, but we were very good Touristos and told them it was all lovely. We were given a complimentary dessert of sweetened beans made into a little pudding, and Seth said: "what the heck is this?", then ate it all without complaint while I just stared forlornly at mine.
The meal was very inexpensive considering how nicely decorated the restaurant was and the volume of food we were served. But I'd not eaten a lot of my chicken and told Seth I'd stop for a taco on my way home.
Next time we'll just go to a faux Polynesian-Chinese eatery in midtown for chow mein ;-)
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January 12th, 2010
12:06 am - Prospekt se de Republik
Avenue of the Republic in Enteve, Alphistia's capital...on a sunny summery day, not too hot...
In the center is the Kilrete building, the Alphistian parliament. Directly under it are two small buildings. On the right is the Radek, the State Council, which is the cabinet. On the left is the Stat Kort building, the supreme court. Below that on the left is the campus of the University of Alphistia, and on the right, is the National Theater.
And there you have it, complete with Metrotram and people sitting in cafes and strolling along the boulevard.
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January 11th, 2010
03:52 pm - Eric Rohmer has died
So, the French film director Eric Rohmer just passed away - he was 89. The man was a genius.
I didn't discover Eric Rohmer's movies until a jaded NY queer (born in Rockford IL but a transplant like me) took me to see Pauline at the Beach around 1985. I'd never seen such a movie! It was non-stop talking and nothing happened really - it was all about love, heartbreak, cheating - but no real action. Still, so bittersweet, and it felt so authentic...although I couldn't (and still can't) imagine English speakers having conversations like the well-educated bourgeoisie in a Rohmer film. C'est impossible! For all the globalization in the world...people are different even as we're all concerned about the same things...love, heartbreak, cheating...
On video or at the cinema, I went on to see wonderful movies like Claire's Knee, Chloe in the Afternoon, the Aviator's Wife, Le Beau Mariage, Full Moon in Paris, Boyfriends and Girlfriends...oh, they're all wonderful, chatty, atmospheric, filmed in lovely French settings, often when people are out in the country or on vacation, but sometimes in those marvelous airy French apartments.
I'm happy to have some free time now, I'll put these movies on my netflix list :-)
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January 9th, 2010
03:56 pm - Well hello there, Mrs Robinson
A young man (pictured above) is in the middle of a scandal in Northern Ireland. It turns out he was the boy-toy of the wife of the Northern Ireland government leader Peter Robinson. Mrs. Robinson is 60 (!) and her lover, 21(!!). At the time of the affair, she was 58 and he was 19. To stir the pot, Mrs Robinson is a Pillar of Morality and more than once viciously criticized gay people in recent years, all the while nailing a young man. She has since resigned her own government post after it's been revealed that she's not only an adulteress, but pulled strings to get funding for her lover to open a restaurant...
It's getting so hard to figure out which country really is the Native Land of the Hypocrite.
ps - the gay community in Britain and all of Ireland is "adopting" the youngster - I would too if I could ;-))
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January 6th, 2010
01:15 am - Cry the Hateful Country
NYT editorializes about what's going on in a rotten little country:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/opinion/05tue2.html
Editorial - Hate Begets Hate - NYTimes.com
www.nytimes.com
The U.S. and others should make clear to Uganda that if it passes a law imposing the death sentence for homosexual behavior, it will be shunned globally.
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January 4th, 2010
03:53 pm - Results of an unbalanced transportation system
The USofA has neglected passenger rail transport for decades. The result is a scene like the one above at Newark Airport yesterday. An unknown man breached security, and for 7 hours flights were disrupted, with thousands of passengers stranded through the night. When you "design" a nation's public transportation exclusively around poorly-managed private airlines, one little problem can frequently snowball into a travel catastrophe.
And people have no alternative except driving long distances. The intercity bus system is by and large dreadful, and Amtrak is extremely slow and only provides hourly service between Washington and Boston. If instead a network of short and medium haul high-speed trains had been developed around population hubs (like Chicago-Indianapolis-Cincinnati or Chicago-Columbus-Pittsburgh), a lot of pressure would be taken off overburdened airports and airlines. But no...trains for some reason are a form of socialism in the minds of many Americans...and the state-subsidized Amtrak is starved of funds and creaks along on tracks that can only sustain traffic going about 35-40 miles an hour (except for a sliver of electrified track on the east coast).
Well, at least all the people sleeping on the floor at Newark Airport look well-rested and comfortable! That's the important thing :-)))
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January 3rd, 2010
January 1st, 2010
09:39 pm - Kit-Kat Klub Kronicle
Breaking News:
from AP:
"CINCINNATI – Swiffer kitties? Just attach little dusting pads to your felines' paws, so they can help keep your floors clean while making their rounds.
A bit farfetched? Executives at consumer-products king Procter & Gamble Co. thought so, too, and sent the idea to the discard pile."
Still, there are some kitties wouldn't object...an example:
http://www.youtube.com/user/jennytg3#p/u/4/H7rtXwzPn8s
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December 31st, 2009
09:56 pm - Happy New Year
Current Mood: content
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December 29th, 2009
01:36 am - Breadbaking party
I invited two equally unemployed librarians (Lisa and Seth) over today to bake bread with me today :-) I wanted to try to replicate the bread recipe of my mom's that I remember from childhood...and didn't do too badly. The aroma of the yeast and the baking bread was wonderful all by itself. After eating half a loaf immediately, I had to crash and take a nap. When I woke up, I saw that Lisa had sent me some pictures.
The challah was very heavy but still delicious (challah was unknown to my mother...) but the regular white bread loaves came out just as I remember them.
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December 28th, 2009
12:07 am - On the horizon...a little red house
...be it ever so humble
Back in my hometown of Newport Kentucky, an old friend has offered to rent me a small house at a VERY low price. He'll even hold it for me until I can move at the end of my apartment lease in NYC. While it will no doubt be difficult to leave Sunnyside...a neighborhood I've been quite happy to live in for almost 6 years now...and even harder to move from dear friends in New York, I'm glad I'll have a place to call my own in familiar territory. Actually, I'm going to call the house "The Alpha Cottage" :-)
For years I've planned Alphistia and the Alpha Village (an interim community like a kibbutz)...but I don't think I have the chutzpah to pull either off. But I'm like the Little Engine Who Could with the Alpha Cottage: "I think I can...I think I can...I think I can".
The house was built in 1888 and has always been a "workman's cottage" in a working-class neighborhood. It has a little garden out back and it's a three room brick house that I can fix up as a warm and welcoming place to do my Alphistia projects...and to live comfortably. The house is humble, and needs a little tender loving care from someone like me. I'd make some improvements and plant a garden.
I'll be able to put friends up if they trek to the wilds of the Greater Cincinnati area and since I tend to find nice people wherever I live, I think I'll have some new friends locally before too long. On Walkscore.com, the Alpha Cottage's address gets a 91% walkability score, which is very good for that part of the country, even better since I plan to live as carfree as possible. Also I'd be just a short walk or bus ride from downtown Cincinnati, with its urban feel and most important for me - the enormous main branch of its excellent public library.
Another good thing is that I'm not locked into anything quite yet. If other opportunities happen in the coming months, I don't necessarily have to move in. There isn't a housing shortage in Newport KY, so it's not a take it or leave it proposal.
In the meantime, I plan to enjoy NYC as much as I can!
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December 27th, 2009
05:31 pm - Nice Quiet Christmas
I didn't go in for the decoration of the apartment with all the various pagan trimmings this year: the pine tree, the yule log, the Saturnalian parties. My brother Mike visited from Cincinnati for the week and we took a series of naps and shared meals each day, culminating in the BIG NAP of Christmas day and the BIG MEAL of cottage ham, string beans and potatoes. It was delicious and fun. In between sleeping and eating, we watched some old old Fawlty Towers episodes on dvd, as well as a few favorite ones from Curb Your Enthusiasm -- all fiascos where Larry David alienates every single person he comes into contact with, with hilarious results :-)
I kinda like this semi-retired thing. Ask me again in three months...a year...ten years from now :-)))
Current Mood: happy
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December 26th, 2009
02:21 am - Doodle of the day
Flowering youth
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December 23rd, 2009
12:20 pm - Trailer life for artists in deepest Brooklyn
I saw this article on Gawker about low-rent housing for artists in Bushwick Brooklyn - in small camping trailers!
http://gawker.com/5431831/bushwick-artist-communitytrailer-park-is-brooklyns-new-hipster-hell
the original Craigslist ad:
$590 Bushwick Trailer Park? (Bushwick)
Date: 2009-12-20, 10:13PM EST
Join our artist community/trailer park!
Here's the story: A few individuals with a rooted commitment to providing affordable studio space for artists have signed a lease on a 6,500ft2 space with access to a huge backyard. The indoor space will accommodate a number of shared facilities (darkroom, recording studio, screen printing room and workshops for ceramics, metal, woodworking, etc.). The backyard will have 25 campers that will be rented out as private artist studios. Imagine your own mini-building with windows on all sides! Rent for a private camper will include access to all shared facilities. Located just off the Montrose [L] stop, it's in the middle of the East Williamsburg/Bushwick hotbed of creativity.
As far as we know this has never been done before and we're looking for the right group of individuals to bring this project to fruition. This is a work in progress, so we're looking for folks who believe in the vision and are excited to contribute ideas, share knowledge, help organize, decorate and bring in others to make this something extraordinary. It will be a great environment to meet people, exchange ideas, inspire and be inspired. The tools, atmosphere and active neighborhood will be available at a reasonable price so you won't have to spend all your energy working a mundane job to pay for studio space. Rent starts at $590. Call Hayden 860-449-3771
All individual campers include:
Electricity
Free Wi-Fi
Beds
Running water: Cold water only for now. Hot showers and sinks available inside.
Sink
Drawers, closets and shelving for storage
Hotplate
AC
Heat
Shared facilities will include:
Photography darkroom: Fully equipped with several enlargers and chemicals for developing.
Silk screening room: Screen printing table and chemicals available.
Wood shop: Will include basic woodworking tools for communal use.
Metalworking: Access to MIG welder, cutting tools and safety equipment. Free classes will be available to learn how to use equipment safely and effectively.
Music studio: Building a space with excellent acoustics, an isolation booth and basic sound recording equipment.
Ceramics studio: Includes kiln and potters wheel.
Communal kitchen: Several ovens and gas burners with a plethora of pots, pans and shared cooking ingredients. Also hoping to have free feasts made from mostly salvaged food.
Entertainment: Indoor space will have stage for live music and a party once a month to which tenants will have free access. Camper area will be sectioned off so as not to disturb those who wish not to participate. Also, living room area with couches and a large screen for movie nights.
Library: Shelves packed with donated books and records (turntable included) will be available on loan.
Wi-Fi: Free high-speed internet included in communal space and campers.
Backyard: Large back deck with chairs and tables. Free range chickens and small lawn may be included in backyard.
Showers: 4 hot showers.
Bathrooms: 4 toilets and sinks with hot water.
Individual space for large canvas work: Sectioned off space with 15.5' high ceilings available for artists who wish to work in privacy on a larger canvas.
Recreation: Pool table, dart board and fitness equipment.
Community gardens: Each camper roof will be utilized for gardening.
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alphistia's journal