Saturday, September 16, 2006

Not sure if I ever went over the history of soaps here--at least I'm sure not to this extent. Hook up Da history (gotta love da BBC):

Soap opera' is a phrase first coined in the 1930s in the USA. It was used to describe radio series that were sponsored by the manufacturers of soap powder; hence 'soap'. The 'opera' part came from the fact that they were about dilemmas and other dramatic or melodramatic situations.

By the 1950s, these serials had made the transition to TV. They spread across the world and grew and grew in popularity.

That site it's so English, can't get more polite yet colonial as this:

This entry focuses mainly on British soap operas, but the history, conventions and formats detailed below can also apply to other soaps all over the world.

well, got to check the hook on da latinas:

The telenovela is perhaps the most important television program genre in Latin America. The genre was not invented in Latin America as such, as the notion is the logical extension of the serial narrative which exists in oral and written form since time immemorial to electronic media. Some well-known serial narratives in the long history of civilization are Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Icelandic eddas, the Niebelungenlied, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, Tolstoy's War and Peace, Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits and the Bible.

Check the U.S. influence:
Due to language differences, the radio soap operas produced in the USA obviously cannot be broadcast to Latin America as they were. Nor can they just be translated directly, because there are different social mores and customs involved. Initially, Spanish-language radionovelas were produced in Cuba in the 1930s and 1940s and exported around the region, again under the sponsorship of the soap companies. Later, some countries began to produce their own radionovelas. Today, radionovelas are no longer popular as they once were. Instead, the television serial drama format known as telenovela is the most popular television program genre in Latin America.

I was recently in Argentina Uruguay and Chile, and it was amazing to see that the telenovelas that people watch there are completely different from the ones in the U.S. North and Central America. Basically most telenovelas from Central America and up north are largely produced in Mexico, some Venezuelan soaps show up but not many. And then in the South is all about Argentina and some Brazilians (Argentines rule the soaps on Uruguay and Chile, hands down all da way). Although I understand that the Brazilian telenovelas are more popular in parts of Europe as well as Asia, when translated. Interesting because the customs that are at play in these telenovelas are culture specific, yet now such differences, if anything, probably function under the exotic gaze once they are exported to the "far east." (oh yeah baby give me da gaze.) Not sure, got to think 'bout that.

Gay Day Parade. NYC does not come even close to being on top of Google on a search for Gay Day. First is Orlando at Disney World:

Gay Day Orlando

Since 1991, gay men and lesbians from around the world have converged in and around Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida for an entire weekend of exciting events centered around area theme parks and attractions. Gay Day Orlando attendance has grown considerably, attracting more than 100,000 gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, family and friends since 1998. Come on in and explore what we've got in store for you during Gay Day 2005 and beyond, and take a look back at past Gay Day's to relive those wonderful memories!

And after that we have more Orlando:

The Host Hotel
ROYAL PLAZA

You can now book the Royal Plaza for 2007!

And then there's Disneyland in Anaheim, California:

The Unofficial Gay Days Disneyland

Gay Days Anaheim 2006: October 6–8

American Idol Jennifer Hudson, star of the upcoming film Dreamgirls, to perform at…

This is what's at the top of Google. All Disney.

San Francisco, does not even show up for pages.

On Flight 747 we have:

TWA Flight 847 was an international Trans World Airlines flight which was hijacked by Organization for the Oppressed of the Earth, a group with alleged links to Hezbollah, on Friday morning, June 14, 1985, while flying from Athens, Greece to Rome, Italy. The aircraft with its passengers and crew endured a three-day intercontinental ordeal during which one American passenger was murdered. Dozens of passengers were then held hostage over the next two weeks, until released by their captors.

One thing this reminds of is an interview of a security expert, recently on 9/11. One of the things the woman said was that the difference between previous forms of terrorism and terrorism today is that the terrorists today don't really have a defined set of demands to stop their activities. An example she gave of terrorists who had specific goals was the IRA in the UK. It appears that after such a long time in dissent, they put their arms down:

On July 28, 2005, the IRA announced that it was entering a new era in which it would unequivocally relinquish violence, give up its arms, and pursue its aims exclusively through political means. In late September, the Irish Republican Army made good on its promise to give up all its weapons, and their disarmament was verified by an international mediator. Some Protestant groups, however, continued to doubt the veracity of the IRA's claims. In Feb. 2006, the Independent Monitoring Commission (IMC), a watchdog agency monitoring Northern Irish paramilitary groups, reported that although the IRA “seems to be moving in the right direction,” dissident republican paramilitaries are still engaged in violence and crime. On May 15, Northern Ireland's political parties were given six months (to Nov. 24) to come up with a power-sharing government or else sovereignty would revert indefinitely to the British government.

Looking for Joan Quinn I ran into this great page:

The Day The Factory Died

From Andy Warhol: The Day The Factory Died by Christophe von Hohenberg and Charlie Scheips

Forty-three years ago, in the autumn of the year, Andy Warhol had one of his first uptown, bigtime exhibitions in three small rooms in a ground floor gallery in a brownstone in the East 70s. One room was Brillo boxes, one Campbell soup boxes and the other Kellogg’s Corn Flakes boxes. To the world beyond the art world, this was nothing less or more than a hoot.


I know because there I was, as I continue to be, not of the art world, invited by a girl I knew who worked as an assistant to Glamour magazine editor Marguerite Lamkin (now Littman). The impact of the man on his world was hardly apparent that night and in fact could have been foreseen at the time only by the most clairvoyant.

And then looking for the office I ran into this odd page on paperweight pyramids and Warhol office supplies:

Andy Warhol Empire China Paperweight Pyramid
by Andy Warhol
$45.00
Sale
$29.00
Sparkling Empire China crystal paperweight is from the.


And then it was all about that film on Solanas

There's a movie called Material Girls. It's with Hilary and Hayley Duff. So Disney. Madonna has been fully absorbed, fully--she's beyond selling out. Although the electronic music avant-garde are not always eager to work with her, here is an apparent exception (which I don't buy. Massive is just too cool to do this). The hook up on Massive:

Biggest female pop artist in the World. Massive Attack allegedly so terrified of meeting her that they hid. Finally collaborated with her on single 'I Want You'

And William Orbit was interviewed on KCRW at one point about mixing and producing Ray of Light for Madonna. She wanted that electronic feel in her album--something she had not been able to really tackle in previous albums; and apparently, according to Orbit's story, he knew of other producers who could have worked with her, but would not touch her with a ten foot pole because she was too mainstream. And he was straight up about this on the radio and basically said that it was a lot of money for the production. The boy was honest. He's still cool. I like his work. Here's an interview where he keeps it safe...


Moving on to Madonna, he modestly notes that "I had it lucky, as she'd just come off Evita where she'd had vocal tuition, and so we were able to try something like the song Ray Of Light. It's just a semitone higher than she's comfortable with but we thought the strain really helped. She got frustrated when we were recording but you want that bit of edge with singers, that thing of reaching. You can't fake it, and you can hear it when she cracks it on the record. Live, she has to sing it very slightly lower, with all the dancing and everything going on."



I know another person who would not hesitate to produce anyone, a real ho' in the music biz. Todd Terry ain't frontin' when it comes to the moola, check the goods:

“I’ll always be doing music,” he reassures. “But I don’t need the record business.” He looks up from the keyboard and straightens his hat. “If I make the money I wanna make, I’m just gonna hang out and laugh at people.”

The hook up on walkins. Here's some stuff:

Q: What is a walk-in experience?

A: This is where two individual souls have agreed to switch places. The first soul has gone as far as it can in its development and is ready to move on. The soul that has taken its place will serve in a different capacity than before. Normally, permission has been granted in order for this to take place. Another way to call the experience is soul transference.

It gets funky rather quickly:

Starseeds, Walk-ins and Lightworkers

Starseeds

Not everyone on earth is from earth. There are those who are here from other planets and civilizations in this and other universes. And though they walk around in human bodies, in truth many have forms that are not human.

Many starseeds feel that this is true, but they don’t have information available to them to confirm it. Many are drawn to animals and other life forms on earth that, in fact, closely resemble their true form. For instance, some are very drawn to dolphins and there is a race of Beings called the Nommos who live on a planet in the Sirius star system.

This is more like the type of walkins I think of (hook up MIT):

Walk-in hours are brief 20-minute sessions to have your resume or cover letter reviewed and to answer quick questions. Please sign-up at the front desk (in 12-170). Take a seat while waiting for a staff member to assist you. The first walk-in appointment is taken at 11:00am, and the last walk-in appointment is taken at 12:40pm. If the designated walk-in hours are not suitable to your schedule, we encourage you to call 617-253-4733 to schedule an appointment to meet with a member of the MIT Careers Office staff. If you have further questions, after your review, our Career Assistants will help schedule a follow-up appointment with a Career Development Counselor.

At peak times, we may experience heavy volume and it may be necessary to wait. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Then Christopher Walkins showed on Google. Somebody apparently mispelled his name, it should be Walken. Come to think of it, he's one of those character actors who constantly are walking into a scene, and flip the story. Always. That's his role in all the movies. He sort of appears. There. Like in that scene from Tarentino's Pulp Fiction; he appears with that story about Butch father's watch up his ass. Butch, a kid then, who later would turn into a boxer, just listens to Captain Koon (Walken) tell the story of a watch that had been up Butch's father's ass and also Koon's. Once a boxer, this story would make Butch go back to his place even though it would mean possibly losing his life for crossing a hustler, and to eventually get caught in a masochistic scene with a gimp, Walken is da man:

33. FADE UP: 33.

ON THE CARTOON "SPEED RACER."

Speed is giving a detailed description of all the features on

his race car "The Mac-5," which he does at the beginning of

every episode.



OFF SCREEN we hear a WOMAN'S VOICE....



WOMAN'S VOICE (OS)

Butch.



DISSOLVE TO:



BUTCH'S POV

We're in the living room of a modest two bedroom house in

Alhambra, California, in the year 1972.

BUTCH'S MOTHER, 35ish, stands in the doorway leading into the

living room. Next to her is a man dressed in the uniform of

an American Air Force officer. The CAMERA is the perspective

of a five-year old boy.



MOTHER

Butch, stop watching TV a second.

We got a special visitor. Now do

you remember when I told you your

daddy dies in a P.O.W. camp?



BUTCH (OS)

Uh-huh.



MOTHER

Well this here is Capt. Koons. He

was in the P.O.W. camp with Daddy.



CAPT. KOONS steps inside the room toward the little boy and

bends down on one knee to bring him even with the boy's

eyeline. When Koons speaks, he speaks with a slight Texas

accent.



CAPT. KOONS

Hello, little man. Boy I sure

heard a bunch about you. See, I

was a good friend of your Daddy's.

We were in that Hanoi pit of hell

over five years together.

Hopefully, you'll never have to

experience this yourself, but when

two men are in a situation like me

and your Daddy were, for as long as

we were, you take on certain

responsibilities of the other. If

it had been me who had not made it,

Major Coolidge would be talkin'

right now to my son Jim. But the

way it worked out is I'm talkin' to

you, Butch. I got somethin' for

ya.



The Captain pulls a gold wrist watch out of his pocket.



CAPT. KOONS

This watch I got here was first

purchased by your great-granddaddy.

It was bought during the First

World War in a little general store

in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was

bought by private Doughboy Ernie

Coolidge the day he set sail for

Paris. It was your great-

granddaddy's war watch, made by the

first company to ever make wrist

watches. You see, up until then,

people just carried pocket watches.

Your great-granddaddy wore that

watch every day he was in the war.

Then when he had done his duty, he

went home to your great-

grandmother, took the watch off his

wrist and put it in an ol' coffee

can. And in that can it stayed

'til your grandfather Dane Coolidge

was called upon by his country to

go overseas and fight the Germans

once again. This time they called

it World War Two.

Your great-granddaddy gave it to

your granddad for good luck.

Unfortunately, Dane's luck wasn't

as good as his old man's. Your

granddad was a Marine and he was

killed with all the other Marines

at the battle of Wake Island. Your

granddad was facing death and he

knew it. None of those boys had

any illusions about ever leavin'

that island alive. So three days

before the Japanese took the

island, your 22-year old

grandfather asked a gunner on an

Air Force transport named Winocki,

a man he had never met before in

his life, to deliver to his infant

son, who he had never seen in the

flesh, his gold watch. Three days

later, your grandfather was dead.

But Winocki kept his word. After

the war was over, he paid a visit

to your grandmother, delivering to

your infant father, his Dad's gold

watch. This watch. This watch was

on your Daddy's wrist when he was

shot down over Hanoi. He was

captured and put in a Vietnamese

prison camp. Now he knew if the

gooks ever saw the watch it's be

confiscated. The way your Daddy

looked at it, that watch was your

birthright. And he'd be damned if

and slopeheads were gonna put their

greasy yella hands on his boy's

birthright. So he hid it in the

one place he knew he could hide

somethin'. His ass. Five long

years, he wore this watch up his

ass. Then when he died of

disentary, he gave me the watch. I

hid with uncomfortable hunk of

metal up my ass for two years.

Then, after seven years, I was sent

home to my family. And now, little

man, I give the watch to you.



Capt. Koons hands the watch to Butch. A little hand comes

into FRAME to accept it.

Andy's post for today appears so incidental; not because it's any less interesting than others, but because today is a heavy day in the U.S. Yep, I wonder what Andy would have said about the 9/11 events. Oh, what's the point? I'm just pepping him up to link up 9/11 here. No use in covering that intent. It's been a heavy day all around though.

I had to teach to today and decided to show some websites on 9/11. so I chose to look over the Art on the Net, 9/11 2002 juried exhibition. Then we looked at Agricola de Cologne's a Virtual Memorial. Then class was over, and I put on the radio, and there's this song, the lyrics went over and over, "Wake me up when September Ends..." and then there's Bush's voice saying something about 9/11, how we can't go back, and then a woman talking about the troops in Iraq and then the voice of Bush again, and the guitar and drums get louder and the lyrics go "wake me up when September ends," and Bush again, and a man now is talking about having been in NYC at the time and another woman tells her story of that day, and lots of voices saying how their not the same and the chorus said, "Wake me up when September ends..." And on and on, and at the end of the song, I felt empty that passion that the song was giving off was lost, it was like they over did it, like they were pushing me to the extreme, to feel something I already felt, that loss of that day, all that passion that the song was supposed to give with these testimonies started to feel odd, and the song ended and it felt like it was not right--like everything else, the media ended up over doing it, even a simple tribute they couldn't get right. Odd day.

The song is called, guess what? Wake me Up When September Ends, by Green Day.

Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends Lyrics

Summer has come and passed

The innocent can never last

Wake me up when September ends



Like my fathers come to pass

Seven years has gone so fast

Wake me up when September ends



Here comes the rain again

Falling from the stars

Drenched in my pain again

Becoming who we are



As my memory rests

But never forgets what I lost

Wake me up when September ends



Summer has come and passed

The innocent can never last

Wake me up when September ends



Ring out the bells again

Like we did when Spring began

Wake me up when September ends



Here comes the rain again

Falling from the stars

Drenched in my pain again

Becoming who we are



As my memory rests

But never forgets what I lost

Wake me up when September ends



Summer has come and passed

The innocent can never last

Wake me up when September ends



Like my fathers come to pass

Twenty years has gone so fast

Wake me up when September ends

Wake me up when September ends

Wake me up when September ends

Coke changing its formula. I remember that, April 23, 1985. Who doesn't? it was a cultural disaster! All of the world was shaken, it was like the end of everything! All I know is that Coke as a soft-drink Monolith never recuperated since then. As a kid, I remember watching the whole controversy on TV, the commercials and all, and the taste tests, and then Pepsi sneaks in, and bam! it was a stronger competitor than ever. I felt like I had to take a side on the soft-drink battle--it was that powerful, I kept asking, "am I Coke or Pepsi?" Then again, that may have been tied to my puberty stage. And at this point I learned that Coca-Cola had actual cocaine in it, when it was first introduced, and then they took it away,

Dear Cecil:

When Coca-Cola launched the ill-fated New Coke, news accounts said the change in Coke's legendary flavor formula was the first in the company's 99-year history.

But back when Coke got started, the company led the public to believe that the coca shrub--the source of cocaine--provided one of the ingredients, giving consumers that extra lift that we now associate with mirrors, tiny spoons, and rolled-up hundred-dollar bills.

Of course back then cocaine was legal and sold over the counter. So how can Coke say the formula hasn't changed in 99 years? Has cocaine been part of their formula up till now? Or were they misleading the public back in 1886? Did they change the formula when cocaine became illegal?

Personally I don't particularly care about cocaine one way or the other. All I want to know is if Coke was then or is now fibbing. --Phillip F., Los Angeles.

Ah, but the trace of its origin is still there, regardless how we take it. The name still carries the "Coca" as in Coca leaf in its name and history. That trace exposes many contradictions in Pop culture of desire and repression, addiction and control, and their political play according to economics.

Yo got da history:
The world has changed in many ways since pharmacist, John Styth Pemberton first introduced the refreshing taste of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia. However, the pure and simple magic of one thing remains the same - Coca-Cola. The name and the product mean so many things to hundreds of millions of consumers around the globe. Coca-Cola products are served more than 705 million times every day, quenching the thirsts of consumers in more than 195 countries in every climate. That's a long way to come after such a modest beginning...


Speaking of Coca, Evo Morales, da main man from Bolivia is invested in legalizing the Coca leaf.

Evo Morales is standing before an adoring crowd, a garland of coca leaves draped around his neck, a straw hat layered with more coca shielding him from the searing heat of the Bolivian sun. "The fight for coca symbolises our fight for freedom," he yells. "Coca growers will continue to grow coca. There will never be zero coca."

I hear that the natives of the Andes hook up the leaf to expand their lungs in high altitudes. Word is that when tourists go to the Andes, they have to chew on the leaf at some point in order to keep going on the trek. Imagine going back to the States and applying for a new job and there's this drug test you might have to take, depending on the company, and then there's the leaf hanging baby... but maybe it's okay because it's not Cocaine, I mean the blood would not be full of chemicals, and stuff. right? Things that come to mind when I think of Coke. And I drink Pepsi from time to time, but Coke is such a power world wide.

The world's most recognized trademark in the World! It is recognized by 94% of the world's population.

The whole Coke Classic thing was kind of brilliant in the end. It was like, "Look, we've been here for a while, and we're not vintage, honey, no! We be Classic, yeah! Drink the mutha, dammit! Drink both, but hook the damn old school!" That's how Coke classic reads in my mind. And you know I'm all 'bout th'old skool.