Reading List: Mai.

Fiction:

Neil Gaiman: Anansi Boys
George R. R. Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire Book Three: A Storm of Swords.
George R. R. Martin: A Song of Ice and Fire Book Four: A Feast for Crows.
Sarah Diemer: The Dark Wife.


Non-Fiction:

Arjun Appadurai: Die Geographie des Zorns.

Films:

TRON: Legacy (2010, Joseph Kosinski) **/***.

Machete (2010, Robert Rodriguez) **. 

Hanna (2011, Joe Wright) ***.

Palabras encadenadas (2003, Laura Mañá) ****.
Elena Undone (2010, Nicole Conn) ***.
Habitación en Roma (2010, Julio Medem) ***/****.
Les chansons d'amour (2007, Christophe Honoré) ****.
Boy A (2007, John Crowley) ****.
Janghwa, Hongryeon / A Tale of Two Sisters (2003, Jee-woon Kim) *****.
Half Nelson (2007, Ryan Fleck) ****.
Surveillance (2008, Jennifer Chambers Lynch) ****.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, John Hughes) ***.
The Quiet (2005, Jamie Babbit) **/***.
The Chumscrubber (2005, Arie Posen) ***.
Hoshi no koe (2002, Makoto Shinkai) ****.
Aufschneider (2010, David Schalko) ****.

Das Lied zum Sonntag

Titus Andronicus - No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future



But now I'm asleep on top of a mountain, I've been covered in snow
Yes, I have surrendered what made me human and all that I thought was true
So now there's a robot that lives in my brain and he tells me what to do
And I can do nothing without his permission.

random mixtape - gegen die dramatisierung meiner lebenssituation

[tumblr]

dj shadow | this time (i'm gonna try it my way). shirley manson | samson and delilah. the kills | black balloon. spoon | got nuffin. blonde redhead | equus. the spells | can't explain. sleater-kinney | anonymous. portland cello project | take five. adele | lovesong (the cure cover). element of crime | kaffee und karin. river city extensions | something salty, something sweet. mirah & thao | spaced out orbit.

...

There is a phenomenon on tour wherein you decide you're going to adopt what is commonly known as a "tour look." Basically, you're in a strange city, you walk into a store and you purchase an item of clothing you would never wear in your hometown. Examples of tour looks include but are not limited to: a faux fur vest, sunglasses in the shape of anything other than sunglasses, cowboy boots. Thinking that a bolo tie or chaps look good can be the result of over-confidence coupled with a hangover and too much cash in your wallet. Also, homesickness and a complete loss of perspective. The saddest part about your temporary-loss-of-insanity look is that it ends up in every single photo. In fact, your nascent style is so hyper-documented that it becomes the way both your bandmates and your fans remember the tour. "Oh, that was the eye patch tour" someone will casually say. Or, "Their Land's End duck shoe tour was my fave!" Advice to fans: Kindly ask the band member wearing a cape to step out of the photo. Lastly, a note to myself: Throw out the fedora. 

Carrie Brownstein, Rolling Stone Magazine [via fuck yeah wild flag]

Linkliste unbehandelter Themen

Politics: 

The New York Times, on the divisions within societies that seem to undermine the revolutions currently taking place in Arab countries: 

In an arc of revolts and revolution, that idea of a broader citizenship is being tested as the enforced silence of repression gives way to the cacophony of diversity. Security and stability were the justification that strongmen in the Arab world offered for repression, often with the sanction of the United States; the essence of the protests in the Arab Spring is that people can imagine an alternative. 

NY Times: Promise of Arab Uprisings Is Threatened by Divisions, May 21, 2011

Meanwhile, heavy NATO bombings of Tripolis continue, the trial of a Pakistani-American terrorist in Chicago raises tensions between Pakistan and the United States over alleged connections between Pakistani intelligent services and terrorist groups, and World Affairs calls President Obama's foreign policy "Ambitious Realism". 

There are times in the course of history when the actions of ordinary citizens spark movements for change because they speak to a longing for freedom that has been building up for years.  In America, think of the defiance of those patriots in Boston who refused to pay taxes to a King, or the dignity of Rosa Parks as she sat courageously in her seat.  So it was in Tunisia, as that vendor’s act of desperation tapped into the frustration felt throughout the country.  Hundreds of protesters took to the streets, then thousands.  And in the face of batons and sometimes bullets, they refused to go home –- day after day, week after week -- until a dictator of more than two decades finally left power. 

Remarks by the President on the Middle East and North Africa

In Sudan, following the successful referendum on Southern Sudanese independence, troops from the northern parts of the country have invaded a town on the border between the soon-to-be separate countries, raising the threats of a war. "The area produces a small amount of oil; but more than that, it has become a potent emotional symbol for both north and south, drawing analogies to Jerusalem because of the difficulties in resolving its status.", and openDemocracy on the aftermath of systematically used sexual violence in Sudanese conflicts in the past year. 

SWP on China's position in the UN Security Council.

Pop Culture: 

John Lithgow provides a dramatic reading of Newt Gingrich's press release (this all looks very fun from a fair distance....) I guess Republican Presidential Candidates really do have an unfair advantage over minor Austrian politicians when it comes to entertainment and wackness. Also, sadly, Donald Trump decided not to run despite being absolutely certain that he would have won, which deprives us of a year of potentially brilliant political SNL sketches (the whole thing is watch-worthy but the relevant bits are starting at 12:16). 

Two Arcade Fire songs from the upcoming The Suburbs Deluxe Edition (considering that this was one of my favourite records of last year, I am appropriately psyched) have leaked: Speaking in Tongues and Culture War ("now the future's staring at me / like a vision from the past"). 

Indeed, Kenneth Branagh’s assertion that he cast Elba because he provided the gravitas needed for Hemidall made a distinction between the content of his character versus the color of his skin.  Thus, while we can be dismissive of CCC, we should take note of their protest within the shifting landscape of identity.  Like questions about President Obama’s birth and debates about immigration policy, the fixation upon race in Thor forces us to consider what are the systems that define society and how the new millennium will reshape our world. 

PopMatters: If Ye Be Worthy: Thor and Identity and Idris Elba

(while elsewhere, a debate still rages over the casting of Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games). 

The world Bob Dylan and The Beatles made remains in its moment of creation all the more compelling to those who lived through it (and to many of subsequent generations) for its tantalising glimpse of a different self and an authentic life. When Dylan is lauded for his shapeshifting or criticised for his desertions (which amount to the same thing), part of what is going on is an effort to recuperate imaginatively this forever lost world of psychic possibility. 

openDemocracy: Bob Dylan at 70: revolution in the head, revisited, May 24, 2011

Das Lied zum Sonntag

Nina Simone - Ballad of Hollis Brown (originally by Bob Dylan)



Your grass is turning black / There's no water in your well / You've spent your last lone dollar / On seven shotgun shells.

Proving my point...

Biting is excellent. It's like kissing, only there's a winner. 

This is possibly the ultimate 'When fandoms collide'

It's also quite magnificent how it was obvious from the very first scene that Neil Gaiman had written the episode.

Reasons why you should be watching Luther

• It's kind of a procedural detective series, except that, from the very beginning, it's obvious that the show ultimately aims to subvert the genre and its limitations. The cases (gruesome and shocking, all of them) are most interesting when they reveal things about the main characters - what are they willing to do in order to get what they want? How do they justify their acts? How do they relate to each other? 
• Talking about the main characters - there's John Luther (Idris Elba), a Detective Chief Inspector recently returned to his job after undergoing psychological evaluation (because a murderer suffered an unfortunate 'accident' in his presence) - an incredibly intelligent and well-read man who works hard to contain incredible amounts of anger, and is undergoing a gruesome separation from his wife Zoe (Indira Varma). The second main character is Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), a "high-functioning sociopath" who grows obsessed with Luther after he investigates the murder of her parents, and eventually manages to affect every aspect of his life. 
• The acting is magnificent. 
• It's a very, very dark show, and not for the faint-hearted (especially the fifth and the sixth, and final, episode of the first season). It doesn't pull any punches. 
• The cinematography is beautiful. Negative space, precise observation of the characters, colours, London... 
• Quotable dialogue on love, justice, the nature of evil, physics and other light-hearted stuff. 
• Brilliant and fitting use of music: the theme song is Massive Attack's Paradise Circus, and the last scene is usually set to a song you'll immediately want to listen to again and again (especially Emiliana Torrini's Gun and a version of Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood by Nina Simone). 
• You will find yourself rooting for and identifying with characters and relationships you never thought you would, and therefore start to question some things you took for granted before. 

"...its mere existence may encourage good behavior"

But the key weakness of the Geneva Conventions is that the rules that currently exist are inadequately monitored and more seldom enforced. Without an independent monitoring mechanism capable of making informed, systematic, nonpartisan claims about what has happened on the ground, it is all too easy for countries to exploit the gray areas in humanitarian law. Consider drone attacks in Pakistan, which are criticized for having an undue impact on civilians. No independent body is responsible for systematically counting how many civilian casualties they cause. Nor is there any international institution to aggregate other relevant numbers -- for example, civilian casualties from non-aerial attacks worldwide -- for comparison. Instead, journalists and think tanks produce wildly conflicting estimates, relying on non-comparable sources and talking past one another. The discussion over drone use is thus stalemated, and it is left to the allegedly offending government to determine whether, in its estimation, its actions are justified. 

Foreign Affairs: War Crimes Reporting After Goldstone, May 9, 2011

Linkliste unbehandelter Themen

Gah, had a bit of a "If I saw this happening in a movie I would later write a review about how unrealistic and ridiculous it was" week, which is supposed to explain the warm desert wind blowing through the deserted ghost town that is flame gun, but anyway, I hope it's over for now.

Politics: 

The Guardian and vox on Italian and French attempts to close European borders as a reaction to the Northern African refugees.

openDemocracy on what the birther's obsession with President Obama's birth certificate has to do with the royal wedding.

In the domestic political landscape since Barack Obama came to office, the underside of this attempt at civic American identity -  the very real hope of meritocracy and equality of opportunity - has also shown much of America’s fascination with blood, heritage, belonging.  As Donald Trump boasted of his ‘pride’ at securing the publication of Obama’s birth certificate, like a patriarch displaying bed-sheets the night after a medieval wedding, the message was clear: we don’t trust this President, dark, alien and other; we want to know where he comes from.  We want to know about his heritage, his blood. 

openDemocracy: Blood, birthright and belonging: Obama’s birth certificate and the royal wedding, May 2, 2011

ProPublica offers a guide through the coverage of Osama Bin Laden's death.

Angela Merkel's reaction to the death has been highly criticized within her own party.

Following the drastic defeat of the Liberal Democrats in the North of Great Britain (and Labour in Scotland), Scotland will hold a referendum on independence (the referendum was originally intended for last year but postponed until after the elections). "Significant legal arguments about Holyrood's doubtful constitutional authority to hold a referendum also remain."

Pop Culture: 

The trailer for the second part of The Deathly Hallows was released, and it looks beautiful and epic and I kind of don't want it to come out because then it will be over forever. Also, some things seem to be different from the books (my personal moment of tearing up is the glimpse of Tonks and Lupin during the battle). 

This isn't really news but if you're not already watching Parks and Recreation, you really should. Every time I'm convinced that the show can't possibly get any more lovely, honest, genuine, un-cynical, passionate and beautiful, a new episode comes along and proves me wrong. 

Oh, and the Beastie Boys' Fight For Your Right Revisited (the 25th anniversary) is ideal for playing celebrity bingo. 

Things that can only be judged for their relevance in a couple of months, if not years.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden.  It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground.  I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan.  And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.  A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability.  No Americans were harmed.  They took care to avoid civilian casualties.  After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

The White House: Remarks by the President on Osama Bin Laden, May 2, 2011

Bin Laden's death sparked a frenzy of speculation on al-Qaida's future. Experts have debated for many years how important the leader is to the organisation. Some argued that because Bin Laden promoted decentralised fighting, with individuals acting on their own initiative, his death would make little difference. Others insisted Bin Laden and the other top al-Qaida leaders such as al-Zawahiri were crucial to the continued existence of the group.

Though Bin Laden was an icon for many, his message of violence had been increasingly rejected across the Islamic world. From around 2005 repeated polls indicated flagging support for him personally and for his organisation. 

The Guardian: Osama bin Laden killed in US raid on Pakistan hideout, May 2, 2011

A collection of Foreign Affairs articles on al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.

NY Times: Bin Laden Is Dead, Obama Says, May 1, 2011

Foreign Policy: Al Qaeda is still deadly without Osama bin Laden, May 2, 2011

Das Lied zum Sonntag

WILD FLAG - Future Crimes

If you gonna be a restless soul, then you're gonna be so so tired.

I can't express how much I love this song, and the energy, and just simply EVERYTHING about WILD FLAG.