dntel gear pr0n

I’ve been wondering about Jimmy Tamborello’s gear for yonks; this is a pretty good walkthrough. Not that I’ll be affording any of that anytime soon though.

I will however be going for the Fostex sale this Sunday to score proper monitoring headphones, woot!

Reads: The Aardvark is Ready for War

Set in the first Gulf War, our protagonist is Iraq-bound on an aircraft carrier, slowly losing touch with reality and finding numerous ways to get out of combat as the front approaches. That’s mostly the book as the plot goes, more or less a pale imitation of Catch 22.

The angle here however, is that author James W. Blinn however, is obviously enamoured with Baudrillard’s infamous statement, “Le gulf war n’existe pas.” As Daddy Bush’s watch went, the Gulf War was relatively bloodless for the Americans, who pretty much conducted most of the war by remote and beamed everything back home live via CNN. The hypermediation of political conflict rendered the Gulf War indistinguishable from media for entertainment or some sort or other intellectual hyperbole. This one idea is pretty much beaten and flogged throughout the book to ridiculous proportions.

The Aardvark is Ready for War is really just a thinly disguised postmodern treatise on Baudrillard’s idea. While I enjoy the occasional postmodern brainfart as much as anyone, Blinn really kind of pushes it, making it so it seems every other sailor onboard is able to hold forth on media discourse, even including a stereotypical, tweed jacketed, professor who just happens to be teaching a course on the artifice of religion aboard the carrier. It’s really all a bit show-offy.

I was planning to be all snarky – well, snarkier – in this review when I realised I’ve not read Simulacra and Simulacrum myself, so no real intellectual authority here. Anyway, didn’t like Aardvark all that much.

The Aardvark is Ready for War
(ISBN No: 1560255463) Check NLB Catalogue for item availability.

Feist – 1234

Here’s something off the new album. Leslie Feist is undoubtedly the most adorable woman in rock today. I likes it many many.

Off of Stereogum.

kilgore trout was here

The NYT has a great writeup.

And so it goes.

update: It appears de riguer that I mention this: “Kurt is up in heaven now“.

Placebo – Pure Morning

Posting this just cos i feels likes it.

thank you for smoking

Just as well I’ve properly quit smoking, cos I’m tempted to start again just so I can use this super-cool ashtray. Yeah, I get the sardonic message, but the cool factor surpasses the health warning factor lah.

By way of Core77.