Blog is a Mix Tape

books: i put a spell on you

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 15:18:03 -0800

I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone

Nina Simone

I Put a Spell on You: The Autobiography of Nina Simone by Nina Simone with Stephen Cleary (1993, Da Capo). In the very first paragraph of the prologue, Nina Simone reflects on a statement James Baldwin – Jimmy, to her – had directed to her, “This is the life that you have made, Nina. Now, you have to live in it.” She doesn’t come back to acknowledge that simple but important truth until the end of her tale but it is the one that stuck with me throughout my reading.

To be quite frank, Ms. Simone is much less effective with prose than lyrics and melody. This is not about insight into her psyche or much reflection on the challenges and triumphs of her life. If you’re looking for that, if you’re interested in her passions and emotions, stick with the music. You’ll find no new access here. If you want to know about her life’s loves, her relationship with her family, and her near constant lack of business acumen, well, this is for you.

This is not what I was hoping for. I wanted her to delve deeper into her connection with the civil rights movement. A good portion of the middle passages deal with this part of her life but only anecdotally. I yearned for a stronger discussion of her politics and how she reconciled that with her music and her career and her station. I wanted less about how her relationships with men dominated her emotional state and effected her movements.

What we do get, however, are glimpses into her genius and how, despite suggesting up and down at the opening of the book that she wasn’t proud of her skill as a musician, her awareness of her own genius gave her a unique point of view. Wealth was not really a concern for her but respect – for her celebrity, her craft, and her skin – were incredibly important to her. This ego -- a hallmark of her career, her performances, her relationship with her audiences – rears it’s head often. I found these glimpses into how she saw herself most fascinating. We could all learn to demand to be treated with the kind of respect Ms. Simone often required.

As Jimmy noted, “We are the creators of the worlds we live in.” If that’s the case, might as well make it a world where our own brilliance is acknowledged.

Mildly recommended but, really, I’d just recommend picking up as much of her catalogue as you can. The recent re-issues Nina Simone Sings The Blues, Forever Young Gifted & Black, and Silk & Soul are great starts.

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books: be our guest - perfecting the art of customer service

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:59:27 -0800

Be Our Guest

Ted Kinni

Be Our Guest - Perfecting the art of customer service by Disney Institute (Disney Editions, 2001). As Carrie noted on our trip to Disneyland a couple weekends ago, I've moved from just drinking the Kool-Aid to making it. It's true. I make few apologies about it. Since the day I started at the mouse, I've been challenged by my job in interesting and enjoyable (and frustrating) ways. I've also been rewarded for how I handle these every day struggles. Plus, there are those days when we're just doing stuff that is so fun and cool, I'm a bit overwhelmed with what I get to call a job. Like The Muppets and Phineas & Ferb and Here Come The 123s.

Be Our Guest is all about what we do "backstage" to make the Disney magic happen. Online, just as in the parks, you don't get to see what goes on behind the curtain. You're never aware of our process, our heated discussions around guest experience and quality of content and everything else that goes into our show. You just see the pixie dust.

I won't dig too deeply into this here. I know there is only so much Disney crap people can take before they want to smack me around but the most significant part of this book for me was the discussion around communication and specifically about how Cast Members at the park are taught to deal with what, on the surface, seems like one of the silliest questions ever to be asked: "What time does the 3 o'clock parade start?"

This is one of the most common questions asked in the parks. The answer, however, is about engagement and understanding that guests aren't really asking about the time. They are probably asking about where they should stand, what the route is, what time it will be at this specific location or a whole host of possibilities. Rather than give a glib response or even one that answers the question (but not the guest's need) like a bubbly "Why, 3 o'clock!" it is an opportunity to make someone's day with special attention and empathy.

I need to remember this at work. I need to remember this in life.

As the unfrozen head of Walt might say, "Never forget, the magic always begins with you." </pixie dust>

Recommended.

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literary meme

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 20:27:18 -0800

RPM, I'm calling your name-check of me in the post a tag, so here we go:

Instructions:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag 5 different people.

People's Movements, People's Press: The Journalism of Social Justice Movements

Bob Ostertag

Among the Special Forces people Barry had noticed was Master Sergeant Donald Duncan, who left the Green Berets in September 1965 and wrote "The Whole Thing Was a Lie" for the radical Ramparts magazine in February 1966.
On March 8, 1965, the first U.S. combat troops arrived in South Vietnam. Just three months later, Special Forces Lieutenant Richard R. Steinke refused a direct order into a combat zone because of his opposition to the war.

I'll tag Scooter Kitty.

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Speakeasy: The Future of Publishing?

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 11:22:47 -0800

A few years ago, my first novel was published. It did pretty well, won an award, was translated and sold around the world; the movie rights were even optioned. Now I want to put it online — no charge, no hook, no catch. My motivation is simple: greed.

- Apocalypse Soon by Jon Evans, The Walrus, September 2007

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2007 Wrap-Up

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:50:00 -0800

I had grand plans to do a post a day about my favorite 2007 things starting about 2 weeks ago but life got in the way. It's hard to write when grandma's in town and a Felicia returns and you're stuffing your face all the daggone time.

So, here's what I would've gone into more depth about.

Best Albums of 2007

Untrue - Burial (Yeah, it creeped on up)
Play With The Changes - 4Hero
Version - Mark Ronson
The Reminder - Feist
American Gangster - Jay-Z
Kala - M.I.A.
Our Earthly Pleasures - Maximo Park
Koop Islands - Koop
Writer's Block - Peter, Bjorn & John
Ear Drum - Talib Kweli
Neon Bible - Arcade Fire
Introducing... - Joss Stone
Under The Black Light - Rilo Kiley
The Fragile Army - The Polyphonic Spree
The Undisputed Truth - Brother Ali
Desire - Pharoahe Monch
The Weatherman LP - Evidence
Those Things - Miguel Migs
Proof of Youth - The Go! Team
Volta - Bjork

Best Record Label of 2007 - The Numero Group

Best Hip-Hop Album of 2007 that you probably don't have

Below the Heavens

Blu & Exile

Best Albums of 2007 that didn't come out in 2007

Bees + Things + Flowers - Incognito
Keep Reachin' Up - Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators
The Only Thing I Ever Wanted - Psapp
Set Yourself On Fire - Stars
Best Kept Secrets: The Best of Lam 1996-2004 - Lamb

Best Compilation Makers of 2007 - Jazzanova

Best Songs of 2007 (based on actual spins)

Innocence - Bjork
Black Mirror - Arcade Fire
Unlike Me - Kate Havnevik
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You) (featuring Outkast) - UGK
Give It To Me (f/ Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake) - Timbaland
The Show - Talib Kweli & Madlib
Don't Act (F/ Freeway) - Skillz
I Still Love H.E.R. - Kanye West
Ancient Curse - Peter, Bjorn & John
Lookin' At Me Sideways - Brother Ali

Best Songs of 2007 (based completely subjectively)

Innocence - Bjork
Paper Planes - M.I.A.
Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You) (featuring Outkast) - UGK
I'm A Flirt (Remix ft. T.I & T-Pain) - R.Kelly
He Can Only Hold Her - Amy Winehouse
1 2 3 4 - Feist
Champion - Kanye West
Young Folks - Peter, Bjorn & John
Look Inside - 4Hero
Roc Boys (And The Winner Is...) - Jay-Z

Best Video of 2007

Snoop Dogg - Sensual Seduction

Best Movies of 2007

Michael Clayton
Ratatouille
No Country For Old Men
Superbad
Lars and The Real Girl

Best Documentaries I Saw in 2007

The Heart of the Game
Who Killed The Electric Car?
Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing
An Unreasonable Man

Best TV show I Liked that Nobody Else did in 2007 - John From Cincinnati

Best Read of 2007 - The Race Beat: The Press, The Civil Rights Struggle, and The Awakening of a Nation

Best Website of 2007 - Last.fm

Best Website of 2007 to hate to sorta like - Facebook

Best ~~Blog~~ ~~Podcast~~ ~~Vlog~~ Content Site of 2007 - Undercover Black Man

Best New (to me) Content Site of 2007 - Away with Words

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one line: reading was once bad for your health

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 09:38:53 -0800

Advice about when and where not to read was once a medical specialty.

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Books: 300

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 20:41:57 -0800

300

Frank Miller

300 by Frank Miller (1998, Dark Horse). I didn't like the movie. It occurs to me that I might simply have a problem with media based around Greek and Roman history as I also don't like Gladiator and couldn't get with the Rome HBO series (although I'm thinking about giving that another try). That said, I love Clash of the Titans (I know!) and was very nearly a Humanities major in college focused on the Roots of Western Civilization (even spending my Freshman year of college in a dorm and class structure focused on the subject. Nerd, me? Yes.). Hell, I'm even named from a classic Greek Myth.

I "get" the movie, mind. It's visually stunning. There are these bold, classic archetypes at play and everyone involved commits fully. It just left me flat. After reading the graphic novel, I understand why. Much of the film's story is created from whole cloth. Miller's source material has none of the mysticism or the fantastic creatures. Miller's original also has none of the betrayal and political intrigue that dominates Sparta in the film.

I enjoyed the graphic novel much more than the film. Strip away all that other BS (there is a place for that in the myths of the time) and you've got a spectacular historical tale. One Herodotus was proud to spin. One that makes me want to delve deeper. To learn more of The Hot Gates. To understand the rise of Persia who, by the way, are demonized as the dark skin evil here just as much as they are in the movie. Although, at least in the graphic novel, Frank Miller doesn't emasculate Xerxes. His sin here is hubris. In the film, there's this fay undertone to the character to contrast him with the hyper-masculine Leonidas that doesn't jibe for me. And, to remind myself why I always choose Greece when playing Civilization.

Recommended.

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Books: Mouse Guard - Fall 1152

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 01:38:19 -0700

Mouse Guard Volume 1: Fall 1152 (Mouse Guard)

David Petersen

Mouse Guard Volume 1: Fall 1152 by David Petersen (2007, Archaia Studios Press). Halfway through Special Topics in Calamity Physics, I lost interest. I was reading a line here, a paragraph there, a chapter during an ambitious afternoon and then this arrived in my PO box and saved me. I don't remember how I learned of the Mouse Guard but the lush fall colors and illustrations drew me to it. Perhaps it's nostalgia, although I shudder at the thought of being that corny and pedestrian, but it does remind me of some of my favorite elementary school reads -- an encyclopedia about Gnomes and the illustrated The Hobbit.

Much like the lush worlds of those stories and art, the Mouse Territories are not for those with weak constitutions. Terror hides in every dark corner. Friends are lost in battle. Treachery and treason infect souls. I'm not sure if David Petersen intends his Mouse Guard to be children's lit but I'm sure it will be considered as such. Taken that way, it's the kind of kid lit I like. It doesn't lie or coddle. It tells children what they need to know, not that bad things exist (they already know this) but that bad things can be dealt with (why do I feel like I'm stealing that from something I saw this week?).

Each chapter opens with words of wisdom from Mouse Guard text and guide books. I was particularly taken with this one:

"Clouds, leaves, soil, and wind all offer themselves as signals of changes in the weather. However, not all the storms of life can be predicted."

Books: The Bell Jar

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 19:39:50 -0700

The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1971, Harper). I sat outside the Beehive next to two women kanoodling over coffee and an unopened copy of Potter. I was reading Sylvia Plath with Sleater-Kinney blaring through my ear buds. I am Jack's riot grrrl lesbian sister. Tomorrow, I'm auditioning for a Heavens to Betsy tribute band.

I kid. Sort of.

I'm struggling with what I want to say about this book. You don't need me to tell you it's a spectacular piece of writing. It is feminist canon for a reason. It is also, perhaps, one of the most brilliant recollections of mental illness and depression. Plath is also witty and wry and wonderful.

Her Esther, and Plath by extension, would be a chore of a person to care about but I'd like to think I'd get her. Not that it would help anything.

[I've written and deleted a paragraph here three times. We're going to leave it deleted and start fresh.]

Suicide has been a prominent part of my life. I get those who ponder and attempt it. They call and announce their pain. They, generally, don't want to end their lives. They want help. Or to be heard. Whether doing suicide hotline in college or with friends and family in extremely hard times, those people have reached out to me.

Those who are successful at suicide...don't. They dissapear. They simply show up dead.

The two times I've felt intimately involved with someone who has committed suicide, I perceived them as intelligent and special as Esther is written. They saw the world differently. They found absurdity in what most of us consider normalcy. Their response to seemingly "normal" situations were generally so far outside expectation as to be both mesmerizing and often insufferable.

They also had incredible bouts of sadness and solitude. They came up with extreme ways to solve what they considered to be the problems of their lives and the world. They failed to get their desired changes at every turn.

And then they were gone.

I have a friend like that right now. This is her favorite book. She's the reason I read it.

And, I worry.

I wouldn't ever want to be trapped in the bell jar but it's not much easier being on the outside of it either unable to uncork it, smash it, or otherwise break free.

For the insight into what that mindset might be like alone, it is highly recommended.

For the style and skill with which Plath composes her signature work, it is a must.

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Books: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

nobody@vox.com(Jason) — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 19:16:19 -0700

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (2007, Scholastic). What the hell do you care what I think? By the number of people I see on a daily basis with the 700+ page tome under their arms, you've either already read it, in the midst of reading it, and/or are reading it again.

But, real quick, despite JK Rowling's sometimes clunky writing -- I mean, seriously, couldn't we find a synonym for 'prise' -- she continues to be a gripping storyteller with a more than satisfying climax (even if it did feel reminiscent of contemporary films and stories. One particular scene at a particular train station felt pulled almost directly out of The Matrix trilogy).

I would recommend it but, like I said, if you haven't already read it, you're gonna anyway.

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