I'm seeing Antony Gormley!

100 of him. On Crosby Beach. It's an art installation (at least that's what we used to call it when the earth was young... meaning back in high school when I took art classes) that piqued my interest when I saw it in some of the tourist stuff I picked up when I first arrived in Liverpool.

Another Place used to be a touring exhibit, but the Brits stole it and are hoarding it now permanently. Not unlike many other things (like socialism), they refuse to share this exhibit with the Americans, who were booked to have it next (in New York). If you look carefully on the sign, it says that is will be there until 2006 (which was true). I wonder if I can use any more parentheses in this blog post (I'm just going out on a limb here, but probably). The pictures in this post are better viewed large. Click on the photo to see a bigger version.


I will now quote the artist statement from the sign, because you probably can't read it.

"The seaside is a good place to [explore man's relationship with nature]. Here time is tested (what? ok) by time, architecture by the elements, and the prevalence of the sky seems to question the earth's substance (hmm). In this work, human life is tested against planetary time. This sculpture exposes to light and time the nakedness of a particular and peculiar body, no hero, no ideal, just the industrially-reproduced body of a middle-aged man trying to remain standing and trying to breathe, facing a horizon busy with ships moving materials and manufactured things around the planet."

Obviously, I think that some of this is a bit waffly (it's ok... we all do it in art at least a little) but some of it is golden. I think the decision to use crosby beach was genius, mostly because check out what looms in the background:

There was something very strange about the way that people interacted with the statues (or didn't).


Perhaps it is my tendency to imagine others' lives, but I found myself wanting to know what they saw.




Some were more subjected to the elements than others. These tended to be the ones further out, less visited, and in the areas that were deemed dangerous by the sign on the beach warning of "soft sand" and "quick tide changes". The sign even cautioned visitors not to even attempt to reach those statues furthest away.




One had gotten caught up in unexpected externalities.


It was a bit eerie that they were all tagged, more or less faceless, and people took pictures, pointed, and talked about them but didn't touch them.



You may be thinking, that's what we usually do with art. There are a lot of things we usually do. Perhaps we could change convention.


As for me, I'm seeing Antony Gormley. And I plan to see him for the rest of my life.

Candide and Marxism 2008

I'll be honest, I don't really like Candide. It sounded somewhat promising as a satire of optimism, but the cannibalism, bestiality, and overall depressing and disgusting themes of the piece absolutely repulse me. It's not often I stop reading a book before I'm finished it.

In light of what I've been reading about, it seems appropriate to introduce the idea of attending the Marxist festival 2008 in London. If you were me, would you go?

Seriously, I need some opinions.

Click here for more info.

I blew a fuse

... two days ago. Literally. In the transformer that I use for my laptop which, you may have noticed, I am often on. Although watching that movie about Che was good last night, I needed a backup plan for today.

Hence,

I'm thrilled.

On the fuse subject, I went into Rapid, an extremely classy establishment for all things household (sort of like Home Depot, but spread over an entire street of what was once quaint shops and homes) and the lady there gave me a free fuse. It works! Huzzah!

Lloyd of London

Not to be confused with the world-renowned insurance company, my good friend Lloyd came up this weekend from London to spend some quality time in Liverpool.

Here are some cool things we did and saw:
Public Art:

LamBanana!!!

Chinatown:


Quiggins @ Grand Central - coolest little collection of shops!


Mathew Street (birthplace of the beatles)

The Cavern Pub - "Where it all began"

Near Mathew Street

More public art: Turning the City Over

The Liver (lie-ver) Building, icon of Liverpool (liv-erpool)

The Egg Cafe in Liverpool

Fortunately and unfortunately, my good friend Lloyd arrives in Liverpool this evening. This is fortunate because we will have a blast this weekend. This is unfortunate because it means that I need to spend enough time out to be in the city until 10 but not enough time out to really... well, do anything. I decided that tonight was the obvious time to check out the famous Egg Cafe in the Liverpool city centre.

I took some of my own pictures, but I can't upload them right now because I don't have my cord. In the mean time, here are some that I stole from the web:


This one is from an article about the Egg Cafe. I'm not quite sure how I feel about it, because the idea that someone gets into this sort of stuff just to make money on trendy eating is a bit of a turnoff. Probably just because I spent years in high school slaving for nothing (monetarily) to keep an organic supermarket dedicated to low prices and quality (often local) food in business for the first few years of its existence.

I do, however, like the local art displayed here, shown in the next photo:

After walking up a dodgy flight of stairs in an obscure alleyway past an alternative hairdresser and an alternative lifestyle clothing store, I came to a set of exceedingly skinny and closed doors with music and a dull murmur of voices coming from behind it. With no indication of what it was save the sign at the bottom of the three flights of stairs ("cafe on top floor"), I paused for a moment. What if this was the staff entrance and I ended up in the kitchen? That would explain the strange look I got from the man with the green mohawk I'd met going up the stairs. I finally pushed the door that seemed most likely to move and squeezed myself through the cupboard-sized hole towards a friendly-looking woman with slightly garish makeup and matted hair at the counter. Luckily, I asked, but unluckily, they only to find they accept only cash. Supposedly cash from any country, according to the first article I linked to, which is interesting.

Interesting. I can't believe I just used that word.

One short walk to and from the ATM and some excellent Ratatouille, salad, and beans and couscous later, I began doing some extra work as I owe time today. However, in an attempt to save paper, I had printed the report out odd pages first - and neglected to flip it over and print the even ones. Not to be deterred from time-killing in my preferred location, I pulled out the trusty iBook from thelma and checked for wireless. I am now using it at a rate of 2GBP per hour while waiting for Lloyd.

My feelings on the Egg? Good veg and vegan food, great prices (main dishes range from 3 pound to 5.50 - cheap in my book), and a nice atmosphere.

You should come see it. And me.

I am totally speechless. James Brown and Pavarotti.

A photo says a thousand different words... depending on how you read it.

The New York Times published an article yesterday that was the first one in months over a page that I read from start to finish. I was hooked, and I don't think it was all about the funnel technique and a brilliant lead. It really made me think. Errol Morris' "The Most Curious Thing" explores the well-known photograph below in a way that only a documentary filmmaker would think to do. I'm not sure exactly what happens when people fight in wars, but it's certainly not easy on them. Read it. It's an interesting commentary on human nature - regarding both how the photo came to be and how it has been - and should be - interpreted.

It's probably not what you think.

You are ace on the dance floor

Although I write this post at the peril of someone from work actually seeing it, here I go. This weekend was the ASPHER conference at University of Liverpool and for some reason, they were nice enough to let me attend. While it was good from a networking perspective, my favorite part of the weekend were the evenings I spent dancing like a shmaniac at the Cavern.

My favorite favorite part of the weekend was receiving this text from my boss:

And that, ladies and gents, is all you need to know.
Just for kicks, here's a picture of Rach and I being ace on the dance floor at the Guggenheim.

Mirror Quote

You may have noticed a green piece of paper on my mirror (which appears frequently in this blog). The quote is one of my favorites from David O. McKay and reads,

"Unity and its synonyms—harmony, goodwill, peace, concord, mutual understanding—express a condition for which the human heart constantly yearns."

This is out of control... an outrage.

Someone needs to contact Amnesty because there are human rights violations going on all over the world. When did we start thinking it was ok to put innocent people in cages?

Someone needs to contact PETA because there are animal rights violations going on all over the world. When did we start thinking it was ok to put innocent animals in cages?

Someone needs to contact common sense. because this is ridiculous:

For those who don't know me well: I'm not trying to make light of the second or especially the first issue. You can go to peta.org to learn more about animal cruelty. Please visit here to learn about the current situation in Burma. But yes, I am making light of the third.

Juss a little bit mo' reason to celebrate!

While I am unable to access my beloved Pandora in the UK, I am able to access the newly-updated website of one of my very favorite artists.

A pioneer in "sustainable rock 'n' roll," Shake Your Peace is currently doing a fabulous bike tour through the western US. If you're interested, you can read more about it here or here. I am so incredibly bummed to be missing out on this, but being able to listen to their streamed music while in my office at UofL is a small consolation.

My recommendations for newlisteners to Shake Your Peace are "Juss a little bit mo'" "In the Arms of the Gypsy" and "Sky is Blue"... I would love to stop there, but I have to add "On the Hudson." Listen to all of them. One more... "Thinking of you all day."

You won't regret it.

Today I was told I had a "nice figgeh"

by a construction worker. Quite a far cry from other construction worker comments, say, in the states. Liverpool somehow manages to multitask, being both working-class and dignified... perhaps even classy.

More importantly, I made samosas! I know one is shaped like a spring roll. I do what I want. Including awkward self-photography, just for you. That's how much I care about my reader feedback. You'll note these pictures are in my bedroom. Not only is that where I eat, it's also a much less embarrassing location for auto-photography if you will.

And I will. Please notice here that I'm trying to figure out what's going on. And also my makeshift apron/tea towel.

Note here my food. Yum. I had them with honey and apricot jam, it was fabulous.

Also, this made me think of Parry and Mav.

Liverpool is like ogres.

Smelly, damp, and green. While this is true, I was of course making a reference to the popular Pixar film Shrek. I have been noticing that Liverpool also has a visible history.

I wonder what this building has been used for?

Here are some others I've noticed:

A guide to the next few posts (Saturday)

I had an extremely eventful and picture-filled day and decided to break it into several posts, as many of these things have been things I've been thinking about for a while and just got the chance to photograph today. Many people have asked me what Liverpool is like, which is an exceedingly difficult question to answer succinctly. Perhaps this will help you understand some of what I've learned so far.

Also, I got some complaints about there not being any pictures of me... which is difficult, considering I usually go places alone. Please accept this photo as penance for my lack of interest in having pictures of myself.

Enjoy.

The SuperLambBanana - get it here first.

While looking for a place to live, I passed the SuperLambBanana without knowing what it was. I quickly find out while researching things to do in Liverpool and, realizing my folly, decided to return for a better look. After learning more about the background, I developed a new respect for the SuperLambBanana. It manages to be simultaneously aesthetically interesting and raise the issue of the possible effect of GMOs while not taking itself too seriously. I mean, we're much more likely to have an ape-le. Obviously.



I am super pumped that starting June 16th there will be about a hundred SuperLambBananas throughout Liverpool! I saw a teaser in a shop.




I feel a photo series coming on.

Depending on the street, she is definitely in the top three...

pieces of street art on the street. I think you can tell a lot about a city by its street art - I love it here. Pardon the small-ness as I didn't want to risk standing in the middle of the road. I love the man - very minimalistic yet somehow expressive. Not to mention the text-based art which is found in various locations across Liverpool. They're not very optimistic or uplifting, but I think they're fascinating.

More to come, of course.