the exploration of a postmodern woman

Volokh is the shit

ava — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 06:09:22 +0000

Eugene Volokh wrote a fantastic breakdown discussing the constitutionality of gun license fees after the McDonald decision. It is here. ”when a cost is high enough to impose a substantial obstacle to the exercise of a right for a considerable number of people, it is unconstitutional.”

Subscribe to his (actually loads of contributors) blog. You’ll be a better person for it.

the North Korean

ava — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 06:59:11 +0000

[A North Korean defector known as Kim Hae-young, 33, weeps as she speaks about her experience at a gulag in North Korea during a news conference for the human rights of North Korean people, in Seoul December 3, 2009.

South Korean human rights activists and North Korean defectors would like to see a criminal case against the North's leader Kim Jong-il be taken up by international courts. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak (SOUTH KOREA POLITICS CRIME LAW IMAGES OF THE DAY)]

I’ve always suspected that I’m Korean in origin, though culturally, I was brought up Chinese. This girl could be my sister. She has the same face shape as I do, similar mouth, different nose, similar eyes (well that might be projecting). She has bangs, I don’t. And she’s sad… Communist bastards at gulags will do that to you. Motherfuckers.

brevity and the best movie takedown ever

ava — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:50:24 +0000

stole this from someone else’s blog.

brevity is the soul of wit

Polonius said this. Well Shakespeare, his creator, thought it up. That clever William, that. Of course, the irony being, Polonius is neither particularly witty, nor brevit… or, err, brief.

This is completely non-sequitor – but an acquaintance posted this on his blog – and I was hooked istantly. In the video, 7 parts at 70 minutes total, the quote is used effectively. By the way, if you haven’t seen Star Wars IV: the Phantom Menace, don’t. Fortunately, you won’t need to with the way the review is done. The guy made the video in 2005, why am I just hearing about this now? So fucking awesome.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/12/17/watch-this-70-minute-video-review-of-star-wars-the-phantom-menace/

rebel

ava — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 07:58:13 +0000

Lou Dobbs was the only reason I would bother watching CNN. Now that channel, along with TLC, MTV, Lifetime and the O Network can kiss my black ass. Lou Dobbs is on my top-celebrities-I-want-to-meet because he is a rebel. Now, do not confuse the “rebel” from the “bad ass”. Greg Behrent does a great joke about this. Lou is no Backstreet Boy. Rebels are rebels because they pay a price for their beliefs. Yet in spite of the consequences, they keep going.

It’s no small thing that Lou lost his job on CNN, severing the ties that have held strong for him since he was a beginning journalist with the network. He has been harrassed and his family endangered because of his steadfast reporting. When there are important things that a person could lose, but he carries forward anyway, knowing the possible consequences, then rebel is his name. He used his show as a platform for his own kind of advocacy journalism, and he reported on what he believed to be important.

Case in point – Lou’s ardent defense of the Second Amendment.

This video actually has two of my favorite people in it. Larry Pratt from the Guns Owners of America organization, and Lou Dobbs.

I look forward to seeing what Mr. Dobbs has in store for his admirers in the future.

Long Portrait

ava — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 05:52:31 +0000

I admire the courage that this “woman in black” had to make this portrait. Clayton Cubitt is the artist who produced it. The covered face is fascinating. I thought I would get bored watching this… who sits there for 5 minutes, and what does one do?

I tried to embed the video, but wordpress isn’t letting me. So…. this is the link.
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4111723

Ryoanji Rock Garden

ava — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 08:22:45 +0000

The Ryoanji Rock Garden is a famous “zen” garden, located in Rinsenji, Kyoto. Many think that it dates back to the 15th century, and was always a zen garden. The only real evidence that date back to a text from 1799 that refers to the a garden in the 1500s was called Tiger and Cubs Crossing the River (Tora no ko watashi) and designed by Saomi. The two meanings of the garden encompass the 1) allegorical, mimetic, representational and 2) as an expression of Zen philosophy.

The artist, Isamu Noguchi, had reincarnated his version of this garden at Chase Manhattan in the 80s. The materials, size, place have all changed, yet it is still totally reminiscent of the original, famous garden. I love this work. It’s no longer there, as the installation only lasted 4 years.

If there is a purpose…

ava — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:03:06 +0000

I am for any medium of communication that facilitates connections between people. Who holds the keys to the way we think, feel, see things? Michael Christian has it right (in below sculpture). We are all looking for people who fit. Fit into as many of our doors and keyholes as possible.