The Un-Memoriam Mega-Post

I've been writing about things!

The Magician's Nephew!

Un Memoriam is a new column in which I’m going to be reviewing my nostalgia. Which is to say, I’m going to be taking things I’m nostalgic for (or “for which I’m nostalgic” if you’re one of THOSE people), writing about why I remember liking them, and reviewing them now that I’m old and wise. This will mostly be YA novels and movies (to be more specific, probably mostly YA fantasy novels and, uh, Disney movies), but something else might sneak in here occasionally, too (food, or activities, or board games, or what have you). I plan to keep this column up until one of three things happens:

1) I run out of stuff.
2) I get too sad and prefer to live a life of intense ignorance.
3) Umm… profit? I guess there were only two reasons.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe!

Before JK Rowling flew in on her broomstick and obliterated all comers, there was a time when CS Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was the go-to young adult fantasy novel. Everyone I knew loved it. Or maybe everyone I loved knew it. Whichever, it was one of my favorite books when I was a lad. There’s a decent chance that it was one of your favorite books too, right? I’ll acknowledge that it may have just been ubiquitous around me because I grew up in a very conservative, very Christian San Diego suburb… but no, I’m pretty sure it had reached critical mass elsewhere as well. Everybody loves lions, everybody loves witches, and my goodness gracious who doesn’t love a wardrobe? Universal appeal!

The Horse and His Boy!

It’s great. Seriously. It’s great. So yes, I’m flabbergasted. The characters are compelling and complicated and fleshed out, the quest they’re on is exciting and beautifully written, and the authorial voice seems far less ‘dictated into a tape recorder’ rather than ‘you know, actually written out’. I read without cringing at every page turn. I actually laughed at some of the jokes. I cared about the characters, and thought they made good decisions. For the most part, it’s wonderful.

Prince Fucking Caspian!

Oh, man. OOOOOH MAN. Nothing happens in Prince Caspian. “Prince Caspian” is barely in Prince Caspian, which seems like an odd choice, but whatever. And it’s not like I remembered it being awesome. All that I remembered about this volume before picking it back up again was that at one point, a boy and an old man were standing on a rooftop, looking at stars. About halfway through reading, I realized that what I was remembering was the cover art.

More to come. Soon and soon.

Cost/Benefit Analysis

Winter: Cold, but I can breathe.
Spring: Warm, but I can't breathe.

I'm not sure which is better. I'd try to break it down and figure it out but I HAVE TO BLOW MY NOSE AGAIN.

Should Have Done This Earlier

Come one. Come all. Come giggle. Tomorrow. With us.
Happy Valentine's Day.
Perv.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum

PRESENTS


Sex, Lies and February... a pageant?
a play-reading what teaches us the true meaning of February.


by Thanksgiving! A! Pageant! playwright David McGee
"directed" by Deena Selenow

featuring
Preston Martin, Slaney Chadwick Ross, Mark Lindberg, Elon Rutberg, Karina Richardson
&
introducing Laura "Moss" O'Brien as Ma Groundhog

THIS Caturday, February 16 @ 7pm
159 West 119th Street @ Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.
There will be beer. There will be laughs. There will be groundhogs.

- - -

THEN join us NEXT week at
- - -

Ad Nauseam Lyceum


PRESENTS

BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX!

a collaborative installation project

Saturday, February 23 & Sunday, February 24

12 - 8 PM

Reception Saturday February 23 from 5 - 8 PM

chashama on 119th
159 West 119th Street @ Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum is proud to present BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! a collaborative installation project at chashama on 119th on Saturday, February 23 and Sunday, February 24, 2008.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum has been granted a chashama residency for the month of February at a defunct storefront on 119th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd. Instead of curating a traditional group show as we have done in the past, Ad Nauseam Lyceum will use this unique opportunity to explore new territory as an organization and to utilize the distinct talents and interests of our community of artists. BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! is a collaborative art installation created by Brent Birnbaum, Matthew Broach, Celso and the Endless Love Crew, Ryan Frank, Scott Goodman, David Herman, Peter Lester, David Ort, Joan Pamboukes, Tara Parsons, Jake Scharbach, Deena Selenow, Rory Sheridan, Adam Parker Smith and Kyle Walters.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum will present a large scale collaborative installation that reflects the distinct connections and conflicts between various artistic mediums, styles, and processes in which artists are working today. By engaging with the space in alternative and experimental ways, Ad Nauseam Lyceum and its collaborators aim to explore and expose how different types of work can relate to each other through the context of the exhibition display. With some artists working independently and others in collaboration, this ambitious project will present work in a setting that resembles the sanctuary of the artist's studio and outside the confines of a commercial gallery. Created through the communal efforts of over fifteen artists, BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! will be an alternative to the traditional group exhibition and exist as an experimentation in curatorial practice.

Ad Nauseam Lyceum is an artist run organization committed to showcasing multi-disciplinary work by emerging artists in New York . The group aims to give young artists an opportunity to collaborate, present work, and have a creative dialogue outside the traditional art market. Founded in 2006 by Ryan Frank, Deena Selenow, and Rory Sheridan , the group has hosted previous events at Ephemeroptera Art Space, chashama, 717 Studio, and EXPLOSIVO! and has collectively shown the work of over 50 visual and performing artists. Dedicated to blurring the lines between various artistic genres, Ad Nauseam Lyceum is a platform for a new generation of artists working in performance, visual art, and digital media.

chashama is a non-profit New York City arts organization with a nine-year history of supporting artists of all genres and experience levels by offering them access to space and major support resources. chashama provides opportunities for artists by transforming vacant real estate into multi-arts complexes and animating them with innovative and challenging art. Through low and no-cost admissions, chashama provides more opportunities for audiences as well as artists.

BIG WHITE INSTITUTIONALIZED BOX! will be open for a final presentation on February 23rd and 24th from 12-8pm,
with an opening reception on Saturday, February 23rd from 5-8pm.

--
Ad Nauseam Lyceum
adnauseamlyceum@gmail.com
www.adnaus.com

Obama-Morris-Jumel!

Two down, twenty to go!

Stephanie and I set out this morning for a day of Obama canvassing, and historic house visiting. Which is just about the best day I can imagine. We walked around Haarlem (real New Amsterdamers use two A's!) handing out fliers and hanging up signs in business windows (with permission) and at bus stops (without permission). We wore Big Ol' Blue Stickers, we wore buttons on our hats, and lo, did we encourage the masses to go out on Tuesday and vote for our candidate of choice. Our neighborhood, which had been strangely empty of political signs of any sort, is now covered in Obama material. Apparently, some people make their voting decisions based on, like, printed material they see hung around their homes? That's... strange. But, OK, I'll go with it. Does it work on the Internet too? Just in case:

So go vote, damnit.

After we performed our civic duty or whatever, we headed up to the Morris-Jumel Mansion, which is in Washington Heights. British Colonel Roger Morris caused the house to be built in 1765 as a summer home, and at the time owned a parcel of land that extended from river to river across Manhattan. That's not so possible anymore, but luckily the house still exists, on a nice little piece of land that still has a fairly nice view. It just has a fairly nice view of an entirely developed island, instead of the wilderness that Morris must have looked over.

During the autumn of 1776, the house was George Washington's home and headquarters. Oh. So Washington Heights is not just a clever name, then. Later, the house was captured by the English, who taxed the HELL out of its tea. After the colonies won the war (spoiler!) and George Washington was President, he brought members of his family and cabinet back to the house for a sight-seeing trip. Washington, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton all dined together in the, er, dining room. We felt appropriately awed, I think.
Later, the house was purchased by Stephen and Eliza Jumel. When he died, she married Aaron Burr, who shot up the dining room in retroactive Hamiltonian spite. Not really. Well, maybe. They didn't specifically say he didn't do it I guess. Anyway, this was his (Burr's) bedroom.

Now that I've made your browser work to look at this post, I might as well keep it up, right? Here's me on the stairwell doing my best to look regal:


Here's Stephanie looking toward the place where the herb garden once was:

Here's the octagonal room, which was apparently an architectural marvel at the time:

A mirror, featuring the reflection of Eliza's bedroom:

And, finally, the end of another wonderful expotition.

Oh, hell.

I just finished reading Chuck Klosterman (this one) and my old nemesis has returned: I'm not writing like me I'm writing like the writer I just finished reading. I was all set to get to work on my next thing for readingground and I started writing Untitled Klosterman Essay 42 instead of Untitled Dave McGee Essay 6, Or Whatever Number I'm At But It's Low.

I fucking hate that. Gah.

This is why I stopped reading fiction for a while back there in Aught Five, because I am such a mental-flow-junkie that I just steal unabashedly. Or in this case, totally abashedly. I am fully, 100% abashed. Not sure what to do here, because apparently non-fiction is now verboten as well. Backs of cereal boxes and nothing else, forever?

Hmm. OK.

Step 1: Read David Mitchell. Can't copy him because he's a chameleon. Brilliant.
Step 2: ?
Step 3: This joke is probably overused.

Jack Hitt, Redux

More Jack Hitt! More! More!

This week, This American Life is rerunning the (this?) episode "The Middle of Nowhere" which includes Jack Hitt's fantastic piece on Nauru, as well as a really fun non-Hitt segment on battles with the phone company's billing department.

This has been one of my favorite episodes since I first heard it, but at the time of first listen, I did not know who Jack Hitt was. Coming back 'round to it this time, I was delighted to, in the words of the old saying "put two" and "two together."

The episode will be available for free download until 12/14/07, after which STREAMING!

In other news:

Today: Snow this morning will become a mix of wintry precipitation for the afternoon. Some rain may mix in late. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds ENE at 10 to 15 mph. Snow accumulating 2 to 4 inches.
Tonight: Rain and sleet this evening ending with continued cloudy conditions overnight. Snow mixing in. Low 31F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precip 70%.

Good grief, sometimes I miss California.