Filed under: Video
If you haven’t seen this movie yet…well, get off the couch and go see it.
Filed under: Art
A series of these “Obama Socialim” posters have been seen throughout the L.A. area with the past few days. Apparently the Obama joker poster was actually some kids project…it was on his blog and then I’m guessing someone ripped him off added their changes and then created a stir with these posters. It’s funny how Obamas face has been causing some serious art issues. Shepard Fairey’s supposedly ripping off some AP photographer… and now a obama as a joker… im surprised no one depicted Bush as a joker…Oh wait it’s been done.
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2008/07/bush-as-joker.html
Filed under: Uncategorized
The king of Pop music died…oh well.
Filed under: Literature
This past weekend I had the privilege of attending an amazing event…an event so large that droves of people migrated from all over the country just to sneak a peak of a red carpet which was studded with stars such as: Bono (along with his sunglass wardrobe), Matthew McConaughey (forgetting to bring a shirt, or a brain), Oprah (along with her ego), and even Tom Cruise (along with his cover-up, Katie Holmes). Okay okay, maybe these guys weren’t there (as if I cared), and maybe the event wasn’t really that big at all. What I attended was a barbeque festival which is annually held in a quaint town nestled in the foothills of the blue ridge mountains. Now that I have you on the edge of your seat I’d like to tell you a few things that I learned at this festival: spiders are always scary, cops are still dicks, and apparently rattails are still in style (were they ever?).
On the topic of spiders…I am a huge pussy. I have always been and will always be terrified of spiders, no matter what the hell their benefit to nature is. Upon traveling up to the barbeque festival, this city boy came into a close encounter with a black widow (spawn of the devil). My friends who live in the festivals hometown had captured the largest black widow in southeastern America…and probably the world. Since the spider had become captive to a group of continually buzzed twenty year olds, I gained the courage to try and feed the spider a moth. As I slowly slid open the bottom of the spiders transparent pyramid of a jail, I carefully placed the moth near the spider. The bottom of the “bug catcher” suddenly betrayed me and almost let the spider out! As anti-climactic as it gets, I quickly closed the insect prison and immediately changed my underwear.
Note to nature lovers/animal freaks/hippies: the spider was never intentionally harmed…but did die
Note to self: don’t ever drink and play with deadly spiders again
As a general consensus, cops get a bad rap. They needlessly distribute speeding tickets, grow horrible mustaches, and eat an extraordinary amount of doughnuts and coffee (or so I’ve seen in cartoons). Of course I understand that they do serve a purpose (Reno 911) and help keep the peace (Rodney King riots…anyone?), but a certain undercover cop at the barbeque festival adhered flawlessly to the stereotypical portrayal of a cop in dick-mode. While I and some friends were casually drinking at the festival, he (robo-cop) confronted us and asked to see our id’s. This was no problem for any of us except one person…who was under twenty-one. He performed his job exquisitely (using pathetic intimidation) and kindly shoved her out of the festival. I know I am bitching about something that has most likely happened to most everybody who will read this…that’s why I’m bitching. (a plea for sympathy…)
Note to underage drinkers: don’t drink…or better yet, drink really fast so they don’t catch you drinking and then drive away so you don’t get charged with drunk in public.
Note to self: drink a lot so you forget about being under twenty-one.
Rat tails meld into southern pride as well as the Confederate flag, tobacco, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Due to the lack of competition (mullet remains the only mainstream rival), the rat tail has amazingly made its way into 2009. Being a frequent attendee of southern events (BBQ festivals, hillbilly hoedowns, sibling speed dating, and spittoon sharing’s) I have become a connoisseur of mullets. But I noticed at this barbeque festival that the rat tail has made a valiant comeback and will continually thrive in the south along with Jeff Foxworthy and The Dukes of Hazard. I myself have never grown a rattail and have no intentions of doing so, but there are certain rules to adhere to when growing the symbol of the south: keep it clean, shoulder length is ideal, never be caught drinking any foreign beer, and of course, wear it with pride.
Note to potential rattail owners: don’t copy Dog the Bounty Hunter’s rattail unless you’re going to shamelessly kick ass like him.
Note to self: never be associated with a hairstyle named after a rodent appendage.
In deserved respect though, the barbeque festival was filled with friendly people who were brimming with hospitality. The unrevealed location was scenic and welcoming and I cannot wait for my next pilgrimage to this festival to chow down on some barbeque and wash it down with a beer (the southern Baptist’s communion).
-Uncle Pauly, writer for Paula Walrus
Filed under: QUOTES
Filed under: Literature
The following article is the start of a new series of writings from a long lost member of the Walrus family. His submissions will range in all topics and of course all articles will be open to discussion…enjoy!
As a belated follow-up, there seems to be a trend in the opinion’s expressing discomfort of the current American culture…articles such as Sarah Nardi’s “What is the New Aesthetic” and Douglas Haddow’s “Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization” portray a bleak outlook on America today and the attitudes which the youth have harbored within the past decade. As Nardi expresses her displeasure with the direction which present-day art is heading, Haddow criticizes the hipster movement, or lack thereof. The source of unhappiness within both of these factions of American culture may be summed up with the statement which Nardi expresses at the end of her article, “We will be content to live in a world of appearances, virtual successes, and hollow forms.” Nardi and Haddow do not stand alone in their thought that much of the American culture is void of character, confidence, and individuality. The hipster movement, as observed in Haddow’s article, is a false culture that is wholly based on consumerism; which is a tough accusation to deny. But this is not a horrible crime which recently emerged through the hipster movement, for ninety-nine percent of minor cultures (such as punk, hip-hop, hipster…) quickly retreat to consumerism in their futile attempts to solely portray the American culture as a whole. Consumerism is an integral part of the American culture due to its close ties to capitalism. This correlation is meant to defend the hipsters against this consumerism argument which Haddow makes (Douglas Haddow is a writer for Adbuster’s….Adbuster’s, as cool as their magazine may be, stealthily promotes the exact same consumerism which is supposedly plaguing hipster’s). The truth is, consumerism is everywhere in a capitalistic society! That is how families make money! That is how this country progresses!
Okay…so Haddow is wrong in blaming consumerism. Yet he makes a valid argument that the hipster movement has no motive, no drive behind it. Hipsters across the country nonchalantly cast the “fuck you” attitude in any direction they please, uncaring…and unable to find their reason for existence. Beatniks of the 1950’s became motivated in moving away from mainstream culture to explore America and experience societies…the flower children on the 1960’s wanted liberation and unification through love, politically charged by the Vietnam war…the hipster’s are different. Beatniks and hippies were part of countercultures, ie. attempting to get away from American culture, and in doing so, became a rich and vital part of American culture. Hipsters lack substance, therefore lack the ingredient required for acceptance into American culture.
Of course, even this shallowness cannot be blamed wholly towards the hipster movement. The present day American attitude is corrupted with dollar signs, political scandals, religious uncertainty, and a blinding focus on the bottom-line. As James Joyce described Ireland, the American culture is in a state of “moral paralysis”. These kids ranging from ages 16-30 who fly the hipster flag have grown up in a society that has lost its values, and has replaced hope with cynicism. This could very well be blamed on the captains of industry who rule the capitalistic world and adhere to the gods of mammon over their own mothers…the exact same people who have profited off of the exact same capitalistic economy which I promoted earlier in this article.
The lack of motivation which the hipster movement often portrays is derived from a lack of direction from the American leaders. This article is riddled with contradictions and loopholes…due to the fact that there is no end to this pathetic “blame game”, and the American culture, just as its economy, is cyclical by nature and will rebound. Having hope in the hipster movement is just as important as have hope in the economy… If we hold on to the attitudes of Nardi and Haddow, we will become a lost culture.
“We are a defeated generation, resigned to the hypocrisy of those before us…” – Douglas Haddow
A note to the reader: IF THIS BECOMES OUR ATTITUDE, IF WE DO IN FACT RESIGN…WE GIVE UP!!! WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER–HIPSTERS, JOCKS, JUNKIES, ARTISTS, BUSINESSMEN, PRIESTS, POETS, LABORERS, TEACHERS, STUDENTS, JAILERS, GAS STATION ATTENDANTS, FARMERS, BUTCHERS, BAKERS, CANDLESTICK MAKERS, PLUMBERS, STAY-AT-HOME MOMS, SCAD STUDENTS, THE HOMELESS, THE JOBLESS, THE MONEY-LESS, PIMPS, WHORES, YOU, ME, BLACKS, WHITES, JEWS, NATIVE AMERICANS, GARBAGE MEN, THE PRESIDENT, HOMOSEXUALS, HETEROSEXUALS, BISEXUALS…ALL OF US!!!
Individuality is only possible with unity. Therefore, reader, do me a favor: take into consideration your own actions first, then worry about others. Then constantly remind yourself of your specific significance while humbly keeping in mind your general insignificance. Then read Whitman’s Song of Myself.
- Uncle Pauly, writer for Paula Walrus
