Mr. Yoder’s initiation to his new subject was
unceremonious. He showed up with a few cameras, and,
standing in the middle of the fray backstage at his first
show, suddenly realized he was in a room full of mostly
naked women. He panicked, thinking that he was in a lot
of trouble.
Despite (and perhaps due to) his tribulations at the outset of fashion show photography, Dave Yoder has produced some fine work. I find many of the pictures make the models look like cattle: herded there, prodded here, and so forth.
Despite this, the images seem empathetic toward the models — furthermore, I do not think Mr. Yoder’s candid ephemera intends to take down the rarified world of high fashion into the realm of the plebeian. And yet, the project is disinterested in the fact that these are beautiful people, focused instead on documenting the day to day slog that is working as a fashion model.
The power of imagination is such that, with a little willpower and a little practice, suddenly you’re floating out of lecture — onto a hot air balloon gently rising above Chambley, France… into the sunset.
But, be careful. You’ll fall straight out of your daydream into sleeping-in-class if you aren’t careful. So, save the daydreams for study breaks.
Upon entering the lab, I gave an enthusiastic “thumbs up” to a classmate of mine, Maria. She’s from Kyrgyzstan. Then, I got to thinking… isn’t that “the foulest of gesticular insults” in some countries? Hmm.
So I looked it up.
If you find yourself in these places in the world:
Parts of West Africa, South America, and Sardinia
Bangladesh
Iran
Iraq
Thailand
… you’ll want to go ahead and not use the thumbs up. Elsewhere (including Russia!) you should be ok.
One of the best trance build-ups this year is brought to you by Oceanlab and remixed by Daniel Kandi. (This video is from a radio show, and I’ve got that “record of the week” whispering voiceover stuck in my head.) You can start making fun of me… now.
BUT!
But but but.
I do have an antidote to the above. It’s the superb rock song (and perfect accompanying video) “She Is Beautiful” by Andrew W.K.
So.
If you didn’t enjoy Oceanlab, fine. But if you didn’t like Andrew W.K., I don’t know what I can do for you.
“The point is that after my unsuccessful murder I wasn’t unhappy for an entire year.” Turns out you can get stabbed in the throat and come very close to death; and still, despite your immense gratitude at being spared death, return to your baseline happiness in about 12 months. Not a cause for hopelessness, no — but an interesting anecdote to keep in mind.
I’ve saved a bunch of articles from the beginning of the summer, and now I am making my way through them. The first: Advice for High School Graduates from The Conversation Blog at the New York Times. The blog is like sitting around a dinner table with two knowledgeable, witty, opinionated folks: David Brooks and Gail Collins, both columnists at the Times. In this piece, Brooks requests help from Collins, as he will soon make a commencement speech at a high school. He laments some sizable gaps in the education options available:
The most important decision any of us make is who we
marry. Yet there are no courses on how to choose a
spouse. There’s no graduate department in spouse
selection studies. Institutions of higher learning devote
more resources to semiotics than love.
The most important
talent any person can possess is the ability to make and
keep friends. And yet here too there is no curriculum for
this.
The most important skill a person can possess is
the ability to control one’s impulses. Here too, we’re
pretty much on our own.
These are all things with a provable
relationship to human happiness. Instead, society is busy
preparing us for all the decisions that have a marginal
effect on human happiness. There are guidance offices to
help people in the monumental task of selecting a
college. There are business schools offering lavish
career placement services. There is a vast media
apparatus offering minute advice on how to furnish your
home or expand your deck.
This isn’t the only great piece from The Conversation Blog — check it out if you’d like some more thoughtful, witty commentary on the “pressing, and not-so-pressing, issues of the day.”
Just heard the distinctive honks of geese flying overheard. It’s amazing how evocative of fall that sound is. I suppose fall is only one week away. I hope we have one of those lovely indian summers, where it remains warm into October.
