Antonioni Starved Himself to Death

tripp

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08 aug 2008 :: 10:46am

The filmmaker went nearly completely blind after suffering a stroke and, according to his widow, “not to see for him had become absolutely unacceptable.” Fico says Antonioni actually asked her to shoot or poison him, but she refused, and instead allowed him to starve himself by subsisting on “only a few teaspoons” of food each day from September 2006 until his death the following summer.

Somehow, this is marvelous and sad to me all at the same time. I was actually wondering the other day how well I would cope with being blind. Not well was the answer I came up with.

link

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Playboy Centerfolds from the 50s, 60s and 70s

tripp

::

30 apr 2008 :: 12:03am

fleshbot links to galleries of all the playboy centerfolds from the 50s, 60s and 70s. clearly nsfw. but really interesting to see how the times have changed. (and boy howdy have they.)

now go get downthemall for firefox, so you can quickly slurp them all out to your harddrive.

via valentine

98;07: a collection of drawings (a book by tripp)

tripp

::

22 apr 2008 :: 10:57am

This is a long time in the making, but I am delighted to present to you a collection of 76 drawings, made during 1998 and 2007. This is a self-published volume through Blurb, selling there for 24.95. If it helps, only 3 dollars of that goes to me — printing 80 pages of images is not cheap. The up-side is that the book is fantastic — not just the content, but the actual book is very nice.

For those of you who don't like physical things, how about a pdf of the book for free? Ok. The dpi is screen resolution, not print, but you can look at the pretty pictures.

Enjoy it and please feel free to drop some feedback.

portishead interview

tripp

::

07 apr 2008 :: 01:37pm

portishead's adrian utley on public enemy:

I'm still trying to find something in the world– even though I'm a huge fan of many things– that has been so utterly life-changing as Public Enemy was. It was at that time, that sound, and I knew nothing about it– it came right out of the side of my vision. I didn't even know it was coming. There's lots of things I absolutely love now that are massively inspirational, but that was a first-love moment.

I relate to this, though I can cop to being late on the draw — I remember hearing '911 is a joke' and not being blown away, though to be fair, I had a very limited frame of reference. (I was 13 in 1989.) But when PE (re-)did 'Bring the Noise' with Anthrax, I was in 9th grade and the shit blew me away — it was a crossover moment for me. I remember spending 9th grade gym with Matt and Brian, seeing who could rap the lyrics, tag-teaming through the song. Then David got 'Apocalypse 91′ — it wasn't a 'Fear of a Black Planet', but I still wore that album out.

Looking back now, with more context, it is amazing. And even moreso when you realize that the sound has never really been re-created. Everyone cites 'Fear of a Black Planet' as mind-blowing (it is) — and it inspired an entire generation of music-makers — but it is still an anomaly.

But perhaps that is exactly why it is a masterpiece.

And perhaps this is the very definition of a artistic masterpiece.

music is transitory

tripp

::

07 mar 2008 :: 12:07am

I'm stuck on the train, jetting home to my empty apartment (r is in Portland) at a late hour, after sushi and drinks with a co-worker that I adore. I'm rocking Justice's cross album.

I linked to their 3rd single/video, dvno, the other day. The album debuted #1 in Billboard dance; they are (basically) considered the 'new Daft Punk' — 2 French guys rocking disco house in funky new ways. But they aren't robots.

And I've been rocking it all day. I think this must be my fourth time through the album today. Which, granted, isn't literally 'all day' but it's close enough for government work.

And the note I have had on my laptop for months now regarding post topics is 'the disposibility of music.' And I find it true — music, perhaps more than any other medium, is one, especially right now, made up of trainspotters and snobs, kids looking for the next big single, the next thing for the week. In many ways, it remind me of my own political junkiness the last month or so — watching the moves of the Democratic potentials — not just week to week, but day to day. Hour to hour.

And it's how I feel about music sometime. Haven't heard 'Beeper'? Shit dude, Rex posted the video last week, Annie Mac has been rocking the song for months, where the hell are you in following it? You're late son. Rex runs something now saying 'favorite band of the next 5 minutes.'

And I just want to stand up and say 'that's whack.' Fine arts don't do it. Films don't do it. Why the fuck are we always obsessed with the next thing in music? Why does any 'movement' have to rise and fall in 12 months (see: UK garage, oh, I'm sorry 'funky house') like a dried up fad? Why do my favorite albums and songs have to be replaced by the next big thing? Why the hell does music have to have trainspotters? No other art does. It doesn't have to be fleeting and it doesn't have to be elitist.

I get the notion of things evolving, hearing new things is exciting and it's fun to be on the cusp. But do we have to do it at the expense of running through things so quickly that they never get a chance? What's wrong with rocking half a dozen albums a year? That's plenty for any of us, if they are quality.

Sigh. 'Dvno' still rocks.

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sweet jeebus

tripp

::

08 feb 2008 :: 01:00am

april wrote some minor thoughts about jesus a bit ago. and, it seems, i must link to her all the time now.

but then, yesterday, i came across this glorious picture of Our Lord ™:
sweet jeebus with a rifle

and the combination of the two things made me realize I had to tell the best Jesus portrait story I have:

Years ago, my parents were in Sunday School and the adult class was discussing the historical Jesus. And the person leading the discussion said something about how Jesus was not a white man. And a woman in their class said, "Yes, he was."

The group looks at her and the person leading the discussion says, "What makes you say that? He was in the Middle East thousands of years ago."

Her answer?

"I have a picture of him here in my wallet." She produces the same image that happens to be April's grandmother's favorite picture of him.

I can't even fathom people who can't understand reality.

patrick power memorial auction

tripp

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25 jan 2008 :: 01:23pm

got this from meg in the mail and wanted to share, esp as the site is still get a lot of patrick power 2 traffic. It sounds like a great auction, with some great work, for a really good cause. I mean Nam June Paik, Edward Gorey, plus a bunch of others?

MEMENTO PMONK

An art auction in honor of Patrick Power 2

January 22 – February 2, 2008

http://www.forp3.com/auction

Announcing the launch of Memento Pmonk!

Memento Pmonk is an online art auction raising funds for Patrick Power 3, the 8-month old son of Dawn Bennett and the recently deceased Patrick Power 2. P3 is a very needy yet very grateful young man whose parents are loved by many artists.

Bid high and often! It really does make a difference for P3 and his mother.

Visit our website at http://www.forp3.com to learn more about P3 and to purchase some great artwork from international artists including:

Nam June Paik
Edward Gorey
Stephen Vitiello
Patrick Power 2
Dawn Bennett
and over 60 established and emerging artists

We will be adding more artists and artwork all this week, so be sure to check back often.

Please forward this information on to anyone who might be interested in our auction (either donating art or purchasing it). Patrick would have loved this thing going viral so definitely post on your blogs and sites about the auction – and get your friends to, also!

If you have any questions about the auction, please email us at auction@forp3.com.

Thanks from everybody here at The P3 Fund!

Best,
Kevin Power and Meg Mingione

Auction Co-ordinators/Uncle and Aunt to P3