hey, i'll trade you your reputation for a position in the new world order! oh, wait, no one respects you already. well, at least we pushed that RAVE act through. Who's up for some VICTORY act action!?!

the old bait and switch

The government has been taken over by dot-com marketing people! This is old news, but I'm wondering if anyone else is sick of the "administration" turning everything into an acronym. Naming something takes away it's mystery; makes it seem familiar and thereby safe to ignore. Especially with names like "patriot", "rave" and now "victory". We westerners are obsessed with and neurotically comforted by our names for things. A rose by any other name does /not/ smell as sweet, or sour, as long as there is a constant barrage of information to cover up the stink.

Information warfare is upon us, and I'm afraid most people don't have the good habits of thought necessary to realize it. I'd say we should teach philosophy and rhetoric in public schools if I hadn't experienced first-hand the way they botched up reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic.

where did the a go, and where did the 'ry' come from?

Scott mcCloud has made it his personal mission in life to make Web comics a widespread and artistically successful effort of personal expression.

The Morning Improv - scottmccloud.com

EMINENT AUTHOR AND EDUCATOR MARK GOTTSEGEN HAS JUST DELIVERED HIS LONG-AWAITED critical essay on the problems with college-level art education in modern times, and has authorized its publication here on the Art Renewal Center web site. Mark is the author of The Painter's Handbook, and Chairman of the ASTM Subcommittee on Artists' Paints and Materials, among his many credentials. A tenured professor in the university system, Gottsegen gives us an in-depth account of the failures of that system, explains what led to the present situation, and offers suggestions as to how the reforms it so sorely needs might be brought about. Read what he has to say about it, without further ado.

The Decline of the Visual Arts and the Remedy

I thought this was a really touching story. The person who wrote this was nominated for a Nebula award, which is apaprently like the Oscars for the science-fiction world.

Fiction: Little Gods, by Tim Pratt, illustration by Mark Precious

Salon interviews Jamie Gloeckner, writer and artist of a graphic novel series based loosely upon her own life. She has some very interesting views on the catharsis of creating art and how it affects not only the viewer, but the creator as well. The interview itself is a very good read, even if you never pick up a copy of the "Dairy of Minnie" series.

"OK," she says, taking a deep breath. "I believe that all art is about the artist," she says. "So, yeah, my work is about me. But being an artist -- art is artifice, it's creation. By reading that book, you're not experiencing what I experienced. You're perhaps experiencing my interpretation of it, but you're bringing yourself to it. In that way, I always hesitate to say this is a true story. I'm not attempting in any way to make documentary. You can never represent everything. It's always a selective process.

"I mean, really, my motivation is, 'This all happened to me. I feel really totally fucked-up. I don't understand any of this. Let's look at it. Let's not look at it sideways or make it look prettier, but let's just look at it for what it is.' I think the reason people relate to it is because I don't avoid things that may seem unpleasant. I don't really judge things ... I just look at them."

Not your mother's comic book

Even if ratings were collected with absolute accuracy, it might not be enough for an industry that prefers to chase after elusive demographic segments instead of cultivating advertisers eager to reach the audience that's already watching. In "Farscape's" case, Sci Fi wanted the show to perform better with boys. But the show has already attracted a broad audience, including large numbers of women attracted to the show's strong female characters, feminist storylines, and the sexual tension between human John Crichton and his alien flame, Aeryn Sun (Claudia Black).

The Neilsen system is not only outdated, it is rejected by anyone with a sense of self worth. As one who has been targeted as a Neilsen household, I know just what their approach is. You get a diary in which you're supposed to keep track of every show that you watch. That's fine, I suppose I can handle that. But wait, they add an insult to it. There's a $1 bill in the envelope and a letter that says, "If you were honest about what you put in the diary, please keep this dollar. If not, please return it with the diary." That's got to be the biggest load of crap I've ever read, yet it was there in black and white in front of me. Granted, it may be more than $1 (I participated in the mid 90s, though, so it's not *too* long ago) today but I doubt by much.

Using 5,000 households to track the viewing habits of 200 million people is just patently wrong. Like the article states, you then have to hope that those 5,000 people have more than a basic cable subscription and can get the SciFi Channel!

One of the current 'Scaper tactics that was overlooked in this article is in patronizing the advertisers. There are web sites that list who advertised each week and fans are encouraged to let them know how much the corporate support is appreciated. I'm sure that has to make some level of impact, but probably not until the series is already gone.

Dolemite

Can Farscape Fans Reinvent TV?

question: Why can't there be a movie that tells a strong story, is full of humor and pathos, is packed with powerful performances, and features a lot of explicit sex — hard-ons, cum and all?

Sex is a conversation. Why can't a scene with two people having real sex be as dramatically interesting as a scene with them talking in a restaurant? Why can't there be a film that makes you say, "I laughed, I cried, I came!"

There's also a series of articles by someone going through the audition process in the salon sex section, Naked on the Set.

http://www.salon.com/sex/feature/2003/03/13/festa/index_np.html

The Sex Film Project

Welcome to the exhibition of rediscovered works by the mid 20th century illustrator A.C. Radebaugh.

A very cool exhibit, soon to open in Philadelphia, displaying lots of futuristic graphic artwork from the 1950s. Flying cars, urban airships docked at skyscrapers, and more. This stuff is almost propagandist in its technological optimism.

Radebaugh: The Future We Were Promised

Here's how you can play music with your wireless network card.

Poor Man's Theremin