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On Saturday September 13th, NYC will host an Interesting conference. It’s a day of speakers on topics as varied as The Physics of Quicksand to The Potential of Lego – people speaking about their hidden passions or flights of fancy. It’s already gone gangbusters in London, Amsterdam and Sydney.
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Here are a couple of my best shots from New Orleans. After being away from New York for two months, it’s been a bit of a culture shock slipping back into go mode. As for reflections on that strange and vibrant place, there are many. The richness of the speech might be the first that comes to mind. I overheard a man chatting with the clerk at the counter of a convenience store. In expressing a resigned “what can you do†kind of sentiment, the following words came from his mouth:
Now that Johnnie Cochran’s dead, I guess I can’t cut nobody.
He knew that the space between the words of customers and clerks was not designed for cleverness, and it was there he chuckled to himself quietly before the conversation veered in another direction. “Ain’t gonna be another Johnnie,†he said, picking up his bags, “y’all take care.â€Â
Here is a short yet paradigm shifting piece about the future of online film and video, success, constraints, quicktime and racism. Just kidding about that last subject. Peep it here…
(by Paul Kamuf / music by Jeff Rabb)
The word ‘urban’ is often used as ad industry shorthand for black/latino people, as noted by our friend Amanda. Even though we are in the business of communications, few folks speak simply about race. This can make for very circular conversations about casting and locations, some funny, some SMH.
Earlier this month in the hipsters hoods, Barbarian Group executed a brilliant subway campaign for Hello Health. I’d been meaning to wax poetic ever since seeing it, but been busy busy. Luckily for yall, the Barbs wrote about it here.
The film Pineapple Express brings forth the new genre of Bromantic Comedy. How new is this term? It ain’t yet on Wikipedia.
Over the last few years, Hollywood has taken male bonding to a new level of intimacy, far more sensitive than Lethal Weapon. Entourage, Superbad, 40 Year Old Virgin and the forthcoming Bromance.– all of these are about male friendship and openly speak to the fact that Guys Have Feelings. (‘feelings’ being historically ‘unmanly/queer’) While the scripts are rife with jokes about being gay, the stories are grounded in the pursuit of punani.
Not so in Pineapple, a film in which many of the male characters are painted with unasked/unanswered question marks about their sexuality. Women are used moreso for comic relief than to reaffirm the hetero status of the characters. So if this film makes a tidy profit, I do wonder what the next step in this narrative trend will be.
Raafi and I first met at a bar in Brooklyn back in ’02. There was much drinking and debating, one topic being which OutKast album is better – ATLiens (mhb) or Aquemini (rr). Months later, I was listening to RR’s choice while picking olives on a farm in Paganico. Through my head went the thought hmmmm that dude Raaf might be right. And now one of our heroes – The Sartorialist – bumped into another hero – Andre 3000 – not too far from that farm. So now I bop out into the night and leave you with the story.