Sunday, January 31, 2010

George Carlin on Stuff:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac


... favorite line

"...that's the whole meaning of life, isn't it? Trying to find a place for your stuff."
"have you noticed that their stuff is shit and your shit is stuff??"

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Have you ever thought about how awesome you might look with Angelina Jolie's lips?


Have you ever thought about how awesome you might look with Angelina Jolie's lips? Or Daniel Craig's chin? Or Alexander Skarsgaard's piercing grey eyes? (They're just like the sky after a storm...)

Well, someone across the pond with way too much time on their hands has taken it one step farther--to developing the "Most Attractive British Man" by combining the best features of the most attractive Brits. I read a post about it a while ago, and when something similar came up in our talks about our obsession with beauty and self-image during "Corpus" rehearsal, I realized I had to share.

So here we have a "composite sketch based on answers to poll questions about the most desirable features of famous British men to create a picture of the 'ultimate British male.' In the end, they utilized Hugh Grant's hair, Daniel Craig's eyes, Orlando Bloom's nose, rugby player Jonny Wilkinson's mouth, racecar driver Lewis Hamilton's skin, and Ewan McGregor's jaw."

And the result?

Well, personally, I am a little disappointed. And slightly TERRIFIED that this plastic creature might somehow find its way to Brooklyn and find me next time I'm walking home from the F-train in the dark.

No, no--I know he's not really that bad, and if he were not clearly synthetic, I would not be so down on him. But it's fascinating to me that this might be something that people aspire to. We try to improve upon the looks of six very attractive men (again, begging the question: WHY?), and end up with a veritable Frankenstein's Monster. Isn't there some saying about liking people for their attractive qualities but loving them for their flaws?

And now I'm just babbling.

(Text and photos from towleroad.com. )

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Brazen Beckham

Hello everyone! David Beckham came up in rehearsal for "Corpus" recently, and I'd like to share with you some of my thoughts on the footballer as it relates to our theme. We’ve been exploring the body as both a tool to be used(working in the field, typing on a computer) and an aesthetic to be sculpted(painting your nails, plastic surgery). Working in an exclusively male ensemble, the subject of masculinity has inevitably begun to intersect with our exploration. How we view it, how we deal it, and how we define it have all been touched on in the rehearsal room. This leads me to some thoughts on David Beckham:

Looking at this picture of David Beckham, he seems to inhabit a space both “masculine” and “feminine“.

Beckham brazen and assertive this displays of his body, but there is also something demure and fragile about him in this photo.

The photo is fiercely sexual, but in what way...

Perhaps he is so brazen in his masculinity, so fiercely confident, that he dares to be oiled up, half-dressed, and clutching a massive rope. His masculinity has such force that it can invade and occupy feminine territory.

But more importantly, what do YOU think about Beckham’s fashion spreads?

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Frankenstein + Jersey Shore

So I've been thinking about Frankenstein lately.  Or rather, Frankenstein's creation - a monstrous being he created in the search for the secret to life.



 And then I started thinking about Jersey Shore.  (Work with me here).


I don't even watch this show but I've heard about it so much that I know that this guy's nickname is "The Situation."

As we are finding Corpus - one of the three dance plays that makes up For the Love Of..., I have been returning to these two cultural landmarks. 

I'm intruiged by our colletive obsession with the body and with being attractive.  Victor Frankenstein made his monster out of old body parts.  It was only once they were fully assembled and came to life that he was horrified by his creation.  It occurs to me that The Situation is in some way one of those monsters.  He is endowed with physical attributes that our culture typically finds attractive:

1.  Thick hair
2. Tanned or golden skin
3. A muscular, toned body
4. Confidence


However, once combined, they become horrifying (or at least that's my opinion).


Your thoughts?