whoa totally meta

First off, this entry is dedicated to Jenny for giving my blog a shout out and making me feel like a chump for being critical of tumblr in the process. 

With three entries under my belt, and what I initially intended on being an informative, non-pretentious (or at least interesting enough to forgo pretentiousness), and dare I say, exciting blog, I've realized how my dive into the blogosphere is already kind of swampy and hypocritical. So here, I will outline some points I believe legitimize intentions of having a blog.

1. To inform others of your views, thoughts, travels and interests. 

2. To make those views, thoughts, travels and interests anything but pointless by making them unique, interesting, promoting others to read them and (in most cases) provide feedback.

3. To take that feedback and build a following to encourage bigger and better views, thoughts, travels, and interests. 

So from this model, I had a lot of conflicts in the past with starting something I felt to be completely vain, even if being an artist ironically follows these guidelines pretty much exactly. I even tried to start a tumblr page and couldn't do it because the format seemed lazy to me (which I justified as promoting the vain stereotype as easily as possible). Regardless, a blog is like constant self promotion, no matter which direction you encourage it. And although I've come to terms with this aspect to even write this entry, I can't help but feel talking about books I'm reading or music I'm listening to is not in some way trying to express how awesome I am, even if its unintentional (if it really ever can be). And this makes everything feel hypocritical. 

Interestingly and as mentioned before, being an artist follows the guidelines of a blog pretty much exactly. The hypocrisy here now is twofold, one representing my already published entries, and one representing my current life goal. I hadn't really thought of it that way until Jenny mentioned me in her blog and forced me to realize I was kind of focusing on blogging too narrowly. So from here I want to express how much I intend this blog to be hopefully interesting and capture the essence of being in Korea once I get there from an analytical and artistic mindset. I like to keep tabs on blog models I like and interestingly, even ones I don't, and it feels like this blog is not necessarily trying too hard (well maybe), but definitely coming off as if it is. I think. I am pretty much my only resource here. So comments would be awesome. Let me know. You are 50% of this blog. 

On another note, I will be in Korea in less than a week. I can't tell how excited I am because it seems to have plateaued over the past month. I mean, I am super excited but can't tell what to think about anymore because everything's run through my head 3,467 times already. And by the way, that number may not seem like much, but it is exact. One thing I keep repeating in my head is what the landing is going to feel like. I haven't abroad since I was 14 and can only nostalgically remember watching foreign land sweep by under the plane in what felt like (and probably was) a two hour descent. The anxiousness combined with the mystery made the whole thing  feel so awesome. I think that combination is the recipe for adrenaline, which in a dose like that, is pretty intense. 

Wow, two entries in a row about plane landings. Maybe I'm destined to be an ambassador. 

history shmistory

So I'm reading this book called The Shape of Time by this guy named George Kubler and it is pretty interesting. I found it in a store called Myopic Books in Chicago and promptly bought it after reading this description on the back:

Let us suppose that the idea of art can be expanded to embrace the whole range of man-made things, including all tools and writing in addition to the useless, beautiful, and poetic things of the world. By this view the universe of man-made things simply coincides with the history of art. It then becomes an urgent requirement to devise better ways of considering everything man has made. 

Published in 1962, the book is written in the form of an essay, providing examples of the inter-relationship between humankind's multiple array of developed complex systems (tools, math, history, etc.) and art at length. It is pretty dense and formidable, but it breaks down very logically, an aspect I really enjoy. I am only halfway through and have gathered maybe 75% of the content, but if I understand some main points Kubler is presenting, it is these:

1. Current and past dispositions in the field of art are inherently hindered by their predisposed paths in history. The relationship between artist and movement for example, is forever linked based on our biological (his term, not mine) classification system, i.e. organizing artistic achievements and movements regionally, periodically, or based off style etc.

2. I don't think Kubler necessarily believes there is anything wrong with the practicality of this approach, he just feels that it is like examining historical achievements through a pinhole rather than the gigantic gaping hole behind it: 

"... the 'history of things' is intended to reunite ideas and objects under the rubric of visual forms: the term includes both artifacts and works of art, both replicas and unique examples, both tools and expressions- in short all materials worked by human hands under the guidance of connected ideas developed in temporal sequence. From all these things a shape in time emerges... This self image reflected in things is a guide and a point of reference to the group (of people) for the future, and it eventually becomes the portrait given to posterity." 

So far, the merit of this book is unprecedented. It is really a fantastic way to approaching history on general terms, de-emphasizing the significance of art while retaining its absoluteness as a legitimate human necessity. I am totally excited to read the rest, even if it does take a while to do so.

That said, I was very lazily sitting around the other day gorging on cookies when a show called Inside Air Force One came on the National Geographic Channel. It was pretty absurd learning about the security measures and amenities provided by the president's plane. Did you know there are two Air Force Ones? And they're not officially recognized as Air Force One until the president is on board? At one point during the show, there was a scene in which Air Force One landed in Israel, and taxied right up to the already rolled out red carpet. The pilot could be heard talking about representing America and just how important and perfect every aspect of a landing had to be over imagery (from his window) of military guards holding flags and saluting the president as he strolled off the steps and into the diplomatic foray of Israeli leaders. It was this instance I found most intriguing. The perspective given from the cockpit gave off a very weird energy, depicting a somewhat abstract essence of what being a person of world stature would be like firsthand. The cockpit view captured a subtle yet interesting actuality I just can't imagine being shared by that many people throughout the world, diminishing the grandeur of the event to a level of purely engaged reality. The elevation of such an event has to be the means of ensuring its historical significance. However, it's interesting that such significance is beheld by only a handful of people whom actually experience it as legitimate reality. This is not to say it is overemphasized, or even that it is unnecessary (OR even that my experience of it through recorded and edited film did not elicit some of its own significance), but rather that it is nearly entirely focused within a specific core of people, while the rest of the world has to experience it through miles upon miles of wires. Watching the footage of that scene took me on a thought path that totally subtracted all media filters and lead to some of these conclusions. On some levels, it was kind of like looking at a fine Baroque painting in person, seeing it in its rawest and purest form, and focusing on how the frame took more time to make than the actual image inside it. Regardless, I can't imagine what kind of pressure something like exiting Air Force One into a foreign country would demand, let alone what it would be like to be greeted on such a massive scale. Everything on the president's schedule is apparently timed down to the minute and there is no room for error or setbacks. That means no sleeping in or sitting around to watch National Geographic when your job gets a little hectic. What is it like to have an entire country depending on you? I think its hard enough living up to Facebook standards let alone those of 304,059,724 people. Well whatever, I used to want to be the president, but I don't really anymore. 

pump up the jam

So I found a neat title photo for the blog after searching for exactly three minutes. I am officially a legitimate blogger. Speaking of legitimate blogs, I have had this blog in heavy rotation with random 60s girl group on my itunes and I have to say it is really refreshing. I had been in a music-exploration slump for the past few months or so, very narrowly focusing on hilariously cheesy/fantastically groovy new wave-electro-dance music provided by my friend Ryan's innumerable playlists. Admittedly, the beat electric blog doesn't veer from this very much, but it does present a whole new (as in retro) basis to my dance music thirst. It is completely fascinating how specifically genre-blending, experimental, and innovative this short-lived era of music was. It was entirely a transitional period, lasting all but 5 to 8 years if that. Drawing heavily from beat orientations of Disco and Funk, this period began the first really solid incorporation of synthesizers and the fresher than fresh hip hop trends as they developed into independently  legitimized musical styles. I believe it entirely set the tone for the wave of electronically based, dance-oriented styles that emerged in the 80s and 90s. What's most interesting is how the massive appeal of duos like Daft Punk and Justice today, very consciously reverted to not just drawing influence from subtle nuances of this musical time frame, but sampling it directly. With the onslaught of 80s throwbacks in dance (and double interestingly, current pop music) in response, this avenue of musical expression appears to be recycling what already happened nearly 30 years ago as fresh and new. And this presents the best part of it all, because it totally and completely is fresh and new. I think its the entire reason why Daft Punk  and Justice were responded to on such an immediately appealing level. Their combination of elements from bass driven 90s house elevated the fresh sounds of this transitional disco, funk, electro period to freshness that is becoming of our own era. And damn, it is really nice. 

On top of all this, listening to 60s girl groups has really inspired this incredibly weak soft spot I have for women with beautiful voices. Man, I can't even believe how amazingly moving some of the harmonies and subtleties of this other abstract, somewhat forgotten, yet highly influential era of music are. Add to that the vintage appeal of the best decade ever and its forever freshly established openness, and you have a combination that melts my heart. I mean seriously look at how cute Sheila Ross from the Royalettes looks in this freeze frame:

I think the combination of these things is what I find so appealing, even if the music requires you be in a precise mood to take it all in. While sifting through this genre, it is very easy to write it off as all sounding the same, and much of it is notoriously formulaic. But what's exciting, as in all music, are the little breaks, unexpected tempo changes, unpredictable chorus punches and lovely harmonies. For me, it strikes a power chord in my body and will almost always, if the mood is right, make my eyes inexplicably well up. It's hard to explain, but I can honestly say the movie Dream Girls had me in the constant disposition of wiping tears off my face. 

Here are some good songs if you are interested:

Oh No Not My Baby- Maxine Brown

She Don't Deserve You- Honey Bees

It's Gonna Take a Miracle- The Royalettes

I unfortunately don't know/am too lazy at the moment to figure out how to post these as downloads, but I highly recommend looking them up on youtube for the full awesomely 60s instant nostalgia effect. 

Anyway, my dog, Sato, is awesome.

cue first entry

Korea is on the horizon. Two weeks time and I will be anxiously waiting in a deceptively comfortable passenger loading lobby, listening to dance music and thinking about approximately 172 things at once, all intercepting each other. I returned back to the pleasant sunny cool breeze that was Dallas, Texas yesterday and had a perfectly coincidental evening with my good friend Steven. Three hours of the most intense Yoga I've ever done and a typical Paul und Steven jam/dance/embrace one another's presence session ensued. All in front of his lovely girlfriend. Later this morning, we said our goodbye and I was helping my little sister load the contents of her apartment into my Dad's mini-van destined for S.A.. This was all of course after a week spent in New York, God among cities, with my brother, also named Stephen (with a ph). NYC was predictably fantastic, and I logged at least 30 miles of walking while I was there. I was fortunate enough to have much on my own time to explore and looked at quite a bit of art:

My brother turned 28 and had a party the day I arrived. He, his friend/roommate Ben, Yuka, and I went to a club later where we (I) drunkenly attempted breakdancing moves in a haphazardly organized dance circle. The music was completely on point and there was even a live band to compliment the DJ's booty-jive inducing skills. Basically I want to live in New York now. I'm pretty sure I'll end up there eventually. 

Now I am home in San Antonio, embracing the seemingly perfect kid-absent decor that was my childhood. My parents have done a lot of work on our house since all their children have ventured into adulthood and it has always managed to simultaneously please and throw me off when I return after a long absence. It's kind of exactly like Trading Spaces, but without the hot hostess.