Last night I took a sleeping pill and slept soundly, and this morning Mom and I enjoyed our complimentary breakfast at the hotel (which was quite nice, actually), and set out to walk along the Thames.

Across the street is a neat place called the Garden Museum, so we started there in the morning and walked out across Lambeth bridge. There is an incredible juxtaposition of Medieval and Modern architecture and scenery all over, and it’s beautiful to look at. It’s the one thing I feel is missing from America–the feeling that you’re standing in something almost ancient. We walked in front of the houses of Parliament and saw Big Ben, before crossing Westminster Bridge back to the South London side of the Thames.

We walked along the embankment in search of the Tate Museum of Modern Art, and saw the infamous London Eye (that big ferris wheel…or is it the London I? I don’t know.) We walked further and found the Tate, and at Mom’s suggestion, we decided to look for the Globe theatre. Fortunately, it was only about another 500 feet away, so we walked in and were both a little disappointed. It isn’t that the building isn’t incredible (which I think it is), just that the admission fee was a bit much, since after a brief gander past the entrance looked underwhelming. Perhaps I missed out on an important experience, but I guess that’s the nature of this trip: travel and make decisions on the spot.

We turned back and headed for the Tate, where Miroslaw Balka and John Baldessari have exhibitions running (for those of you who didn’t know, these are both people my dad has worked with and I’ve had the pleasure of meeting.)

Miroslaw Balka’s work has always felt charged with austerity for me, and this piece was no different. His work was only one piece, and it occupied the large hall in the front of the room. It’s a giant metal box (about 10×13x30 meters) with nothing in it but darkness. The idea is that you walk inside and your perception of space completely disappears. It looks like it could be endless. The experience was very interesting, and it was my favorite piece I saw all day.

Mom and I didn’t go to the Baldessari exhibition, because we didn’t want to pay the entry fee (₤10) and because we’re familiar with his work. We did walk through the entirety of the museum apart from the Baldessari exhibit though. It took quite a while, but the work was fantastic. I saw familiar names and new names, things I liked and didn’t care for, but the experience as a whole was great. Once we finished walking through the museum, we ate lunch at the restaurant on the top floor.

By the time we were done eating it grew dark (at about 4:15pm) and we left the Tate to walk back to the hotel. The walk was pleasant, and the return to the hotel was a welcome one (we’re both still pretty tired from traveling.)

We’re going out to dinner with a cousin from London, Jacob, and it will be great to reconnect with family here. More to come…

(Also, I took about 200 pictures today, the best ones will go up on Flickr as soon as someone tells the British that not having the internet everywhere is a horrible idea.)

Am un prieten. Il cheama Dani, e membru de seama M.I.S.A.N. si student pe la Bucuresti, pe la nu stiu ce facultate, baiat destept… Dani pretinde ca el poate sa numere pana la 1 miliard intr-o zi. O zi, adica 24 de ore. Si daca vrea, poate sa numere si pana la 1000000001, pentru ca poate. Deci Dani numara in 24 de ore cam cat numara un om obisnuit in vreo 34 de ani. Asta ca sa-ti faci o idee despre cat de smecheri sunt membrii M.I.S.A.N.. In prezent Dani se antreneaza sa numere pana la infinit si cauta sponsori care sa-l ajute sa-si deschida o scoala de numarat pana la 1 miliard intr-o zi care sa se numeasca “Scoala de numarat pana la infinit in 24 de ore a lui Dani”. Noi ii uram succes si suntem alaturi de el! Brra!

Si mai e si grafitti, de la Cast.

there’s been much hustling and bustling around the gallagher home lately…

here’s a sneak peek into what we’ve been up to:

hunting for the perfect Christmas tree.

hot chocolate on the way home.

silas got to skip school for a day to go on a beginner's ski lesson on our hometown mountain. this was his first time being interested in learning to ski and he absolutely loved it! i thought this was the CUTEST picture and couldn't pass up buying it...

tate joins his brothers in their bedroom upstairs. for the most part, a smooth transition... more pictures of our very re-arranged house to come!

the completed gingerbread house. lincoln LOVED helping stick gumdrops all over the house, and silas added santa's feet sticking out of the chimney!

last but not least, silas' letter to santa that he brought home from school. i love how he thought to ask for something special for lincoln, too!

so, just a quick look into our lives in the past couple weeks.  we are looking forward to a wonderfully relaxing week at home to celebrate Christmas and a road trip to Texas to visit some dearly missed friends on Saturday!  more later…

ICT: Transmitter of crisis and catalyst of global economic restructuring; (Dec. 19, 2009)

Astronomical sums are invested in the technologies of information and communication (ICT). In 2008 alone, over 1,800 billion were spent by private and public institutions. Since 1980, half the total investments by banks and financial institutions have been oriented toward the ICT sectors so that exchange of information and transactions be as fluid and instantaneous as desired on global scale. It followed that banks and financial institutions were drawn to diversification into acquiring factories, lands, real estates, and mines. Multinational ICT companies were frequently reconfigured to adjust with evolving strategies and global market access.

Before the financial crash, Citigroup hired 25,000 computer programmers and invested 5 billion on ICT technologies and related infrastructure in 2008.  Lehman Brothers was using 3,000 programs on 25,000 servers around the world.  This run for ICT technologies was viewed as the main tool for “space-time bailout” by channeling capitals to emerging sectors susceptible to inevitable expansion. The age in the 70’s was coined “society of information”.  Thus, in 2007, US multinationals profit from outside investment amounted to 25% compared to only 5% in 1960.

So far, Information and Communication technologies are the two main factors for capitalist global economy expansion and have displaced many traditional economies. For example, Skype (voice on internet) has over 400 million users and is the most important provider of international communication; Skype was the catalyst for the explosion of high debit mobile phone infrastructures and for the demand of internet services to enterprises. Facebook has 300 million subscribers.

Mobile phone is displacing computers and TV markets: there are over 4.5 billion users of mobile phones and the latest generations function as multimedia screens. Apple’s mobile has swept China and South Korea markets; over 100,000 programs were developed for its applications.

Amazon, Apple, and Google (via YouTube) have broken serious barriers into cartels in music, books, video games, and movies. Low priced connections are provoking the centralization of programs, data, images, and emails are frequently stored in “farm servers” belonging to giant operators.

In 2005, 19 out of the 25 first ICT enterprises were from the US and over half the satellites are US. Heavy weight consumers of ICT such as Wal-Mart and General Electric impose standards on information and communication systems that are applied globally. By 2009, Samsung, Nokia, Nintendo, Huawei, Tate, SAP, Telefonica, DoCoMo, Americal Movil, Vodafone, and especially China Mobile are displacing minor US players among the 250 greatest enterprises. Newer investments are primarily flowing from China, India, and Mexico in ICT.

Although Cisco (the prime provider in web routers) has accumulated financial reserve of $20 billion, Microsoft (the emperor of systems of exploitation) around $19 billion, Google (dominating search engines and on-line video) around $16 billion, Intel (world leader in semi-conductors) around $10 billion, and Apple (programs most prized by elite users) around $26 billion, only China Mobile generated profit of $18 billion in 2009.

Publicity expenditures in 2009 amounted to $500 billion (though they declined by 10% after the financial crash) but multimedia expenditures in the US in 2008 reached $900 billion and are increasing by 2.3%.  The giant ICT companies are trumpeting acquisition of competitors and setting the stage for an unknown educational, cultural, and economic world.  The capitalist global economy is going ahead and strong because of IC technologies; we have the impression that the world is reduced to a town square.

The high winds of a fast descending Cornish winter rattled round the streets of St Ives; caking a quiet Sunday in the sublime. Walking up the winding paraplegic entrance to the Tate, I was caught in a wind tunnel before being faced with a sign saying ‘Pull the door hard – High winds’.

As the heavy door shut behind me and the sounds of the elements vanished; I was confronted by the ethereal feel of any white-walled gallery. For all the purity however, I’d arrived to explore their latest exhibition: ‘The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernity in British Art.’

Taking its name from the fictional/autobiographical novel by Sven Berlin, the exhibition aimed to examine “the influence of folklore, mysticism and the occult on the last 100 years of British art.” After skipping past Hurst’s ‘The Child’s Dream’ I quickly set upon finding the art and exploring the narrative of this very literary exhibition.

I began my story in the Occult Philosophy section, where the blackened walls of the Upper Gallery 2 made for a shrinking space. Works like Graham Sutherland’s ‘Dark Hill’ (2004) set about integrating the great mystery of the landscape with the ominous perceptions and secrecy of occult ideas. Indeed, if I didn’t know better, I would say that McKenna could find his symbolic mushrooms once again.

There was a jarring alchemical battle between nature and its occultist understandings; no more so than in Paul Nash’s ‘The Combat’ (1910), which depicted two man/bird creatures struggling in a sort of attempted transcendence.  It was easy to see how such art became important artistic pointers for the 1960/70s counter-culture.

Moving out from the darkness into the open light of the Tate front, overlooking an angry tide and disappearing beach, had the most wonderful effect of drawing the two spaces together; calving an emotional line from Barbara Hepworth sculpture, through a small library of occult and esoteric books, to the photo art of Penny Slinger. Newly-weds against the back drop of a shelled stately home, fronted by spiky iron gates, left me utterly chilled.

As my journey round the gallery space continued, Michael Ayrton’s ‘Skull Vision’, made a very strong impression on me. The picture, depicting a skull coming out of the landscape, as the landscape even, was beautifully painted, smooth and not jarring, and when a young girl next to me pointed out to her father: “Its nose is heart-shaped”, the full circle of the exhibition began to take shape.

Finally, the natural light, having cast upon the ‘The Mantic Stain’ in Lower Gallery 2, gave way as I passed through to Gallery 4: a ‘Path through the Wood’. On this occasion, my favourite room in the gallery. A room of neo-romantic landscape coupled with “the spirit of British literary Modernism.”

The story element of my journey through the space finally culminated in the confrontation with John Russell’s ‘Untitled: Abstraction of labour time/eternal recurrence/monad’ (2009). A bizarre untitled homage to German philosophy? It remains to be seen, so to speak. However, Russell’s huge contemporary digital artwork certainly left me in an unnatural and fantastical light that seemed to have taken me round the spectrum, when I finally re-entered the whistling sounds of St Ives.

‘The Dark Monarch: Magic and Modernity in British Art’ runs at the Tate St Ives till 10^th January 2010.

Article by Robert Dickins

so my trip to london went very successfully. No sleep was had unfortunately

So as you can see, it was brill i a n t

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 “a newbery contender? seriously?” 2009-12-07
By Lindsay Cano (Andalucia, Spain)
I am amazed at the overwhelmingly positive reviews of this book.

I love stories of spunky girls who defy convention, and when I saw that this was a spunky naturalist girl, I knew I had to buy it. The cover is beautiful and the title intriguing.

I’m giving it 2 stars instead of 1 for the cover, title, and some interesting naturalist moments.

Other than that, I thought it was pretty dull and poorly written. Lots of annoying Meaningful Capitalization, awkward 1st to 3rd person shifts, and general stiffness. The characters didn’t feel real to me, nor did the setting.

I got the feeling that the author believes that all work or art that isn’t intellectual is demeaning, especially to anyone who has half a brain. Calpurnia asks her grandfather why Viola works in the kitchen all day, and the grandfather replies that it’s because she doesn’t know any better.

This strikes me as the kind of book adults think kids should read. I’ve read loads of fawning adult reviews, but I’d like to know what the kids think of it.

 “A very good book” 2009-11-24
By
This is a very good book because it tells about a young girl at age 11 and later 12 who grew up a while ago in 1899 Fentress, TX. She realizes that

her Granddady is doing pretty interesting things. The girl, Calpurnia Tate learns to love science, but as one girl out of seven children there is

trouble with her mother. Calpurnia’s mother wants her to become a fine young lady who can sew, knit, cook, and do any thing a fine young lady can do.

That is not Calpurnia’s idea of life! She wants to become a naturalist and go to college. I think any good reader should read it. I am 9 and I love it! My aunt Eileen has read it and she loves it too! When I first read it I thought the begening was a little boring but I grew to love it! I realy

like the part where Calpurnia keeps talking and talking while her mother is trying to get her attention. I think it is very funny. It is a very

good book.

– Sofia Martinez

age 9

 “A poignant expose on Southern society at the turn of the 20th Century” 2009-11-23
By Lindsey Miller (Brooklyn, NY)
Kelly’s debut novel is a wonderful exposé on Southern society life at the turn of the 20th century, rife with subtexts and references to post-slavery issues and mindsets, the rise of modern machinery like the car and telephone, and the clear and unbalanced gender lines that existed and the struggle of one girl to overcome those.

In particular, this is an important novel for those looking into pursuing sciences, especially because of the constant references and education around naturalism, its rise into society, the opposition it received from schools and a predominantly Christian culture, and the important role it played in the emergence of a new humanity in over the 20th century.

Calpurnia is a delight to follow as she begins to notice the world around her. In her own evolution, she begins in the larval stage and moves through pupae, cocoon, and eventually becomes a bright and beautiful butterfly (or moth as is a symbolic reference in the book). Kelly is witty and clever in her treatment of Calpurnia’s growth as a person, a scientist, and a courageous and curious mind. She exhibits a vast range of human emotion, showing empathy, sadness, self-sacrifice and exuberant joy, clearly a believable and lovable character.

Kelly also has deftly woven passages from Darwin’s Origin of Species, cunningly breaking the 4th wall for the reader in an effort to compare the evolution of Calpurnia and her world to that of Darwin’s scientific expositions.

For those looking for an excellent read that contains layers of depth that can be turned to several times before fully comprehending everything, then this is the perfect novel. I recommend it to all readers 10+.

-Lindsey Miller,[...]

 “A wonderful book about a young girl, science, and the south that will keep you laughing” 2009-11-16
By K. Eckert (Minneapolis, MN)
I will be honest I picked up this book because I loved the cover, then I read the premise and it sounded interesting. I am so glad I read this book, it was an awesome and wonderful read.

Calpurnia is an eleven year old girl who lives in south at the turn of the 19th century. This book takes place in the summer of 1899; just as wonderful things like Coca-cola, telephones, and cars are being introduced to the region. Calpurnia (usually called Callie) is struggling through a long hot summer as the only girl in the family (she has six brothers). Then one day she wonders why the green grasshoppers and the yellow ones are different. She decides to ask her somewhat intimidating grandfather. Her grandfather opens up a whole new world to her. He used to be a naturalist for National Geographic and now he is teaching Callie all about the science behind nature, how to be a good scientist, and how to be a naturalist. Callie loves spending time learning about how to be a good scientist, unfortunately as the only daughter in the family, domestic issues rear their ugly head. Callie is expected to learn things like sewing, cooking, and tatting. She struggles with her parents expectations of her as a daughter even as she gets deeper and deeper into the science of what it means to be a naturalist.

I loved this book. The book is written in a wonderful way and has a great sense of humor about things. All of the characters in the book are well developed; and Kelly writes in such a way that you are really brought into the South during that hot summer. There are little things added in that keep the story engaging and give it some urgency; so it ends up being very hard to put down and quite the page turner.

Calpurnia is an intriguing character. She is smart and she is fair in how she judges things (although sometimes it is hard to be fair). Even as she hates learning domestic chores she does grudgingly recognize the value in learning them. She struggles with trying to figure out how she can fit science into her parents’ idea of what a girl should be. This insight and thoughtfulness makes for a wonderful character. At one point she recognizes the futility of her mother’s work as she discusses how her poor mother labors over house, cloths and food and then has nothing to show for it when it all needs to be done again the next day.

Callie also has a wonderful sense of humor; at one point wondering why she can’t get a wife of her own to do all of these horrible chores. Much of the second half of this book has Callie struggling with gender roles. She sees the necessity of them, but she can’t fathom why her brothers can’t do domestic work so she can have more time for science. It is people like Callie, that made it so women like myself can make a good career out of science without causing too much trouble in this day and age.

Kelly does a wonderful job of showing life in the south as it was at that time. I loved watching the characters experience phones, cars, and Coca-cola for the very first time. The whole book was just a pleasure to read as you witness Callie’s brothers’ antics as well as her own.

Kelly also did an excellent job of presenting scientific theory in a wonderful and interesting way. Kelly really captures the wonder of discovery and the things that drive scientists to do what they do. This book will make you re-examine the world around you and take new wonder in everything you see. As a scientist myself, this book really made me remember why I do what I do.

I really loved this book. Not only was it a great portrait of that late 1800’s, but Calpurnia really captured my heart both as a girl and as a scientist. I was a little disappointed that we didn’t find out what Calpurnia’s future was going to be. But, that wasn’t the point of the story and the story ended as it should have; it ended realistically. Still, I can’t help but wish I could read more about Calpurnia in a future book.

This is definitely a keeper. A great book for all ages, genders, and interests. I will definitely be keeping tabs on Jacqueline Kelly to see what wonderful thing she writes next.

 “Unresolved conflict and a predictable, anticlimactic plot detract from this promising story about a science-minded girl” 2009-11-12
By Julee Rudolf (Oak Harbor, WA USA)
growing up near the turn of the century.

After recently reading Ingrid Law’s religious-themed Newberry Honor book, Savvy (unique but unspectacular), I looked forward to finding out what one might do with a more evolutionary theme. The story, about an eleven-year-old only girl (and only daughter of seven children) growing up on a five-acre farm in Texas from the summer of 1899 through January 1900, seems promising from the start. When “Callie Vee” shows an interest in and aptitude for natural science, her granddaddy (with connections not only to the father of evolutionary theory but also the inventor of the telephone) acts as teacher, mentor and partner in crime. The two trek off regularly in search of plants and wildlife and are always successful in finding a variety of both. If that and not much more is enough motivation for young adult bookworms to traipse through its 350 pages, more power to `em. Unfortunately, most kids (including my own) of that age range (9 to 12) seem unlikely to feel that way. The problem is that nothing UNEXPECTEDLY extraordinary ever really happens. The intended primary issue of interest seems to be whether or not Callie and her grandfather’s find of a prospective new plant species will turn out to be the real deal. The result is as expected. The main conflict in the story is Callie’s aptitude for and interest in science, which doesn’t jibe with her parents’ (and society’s) expectation that she choose the more traditional path: housewifery. The issue is left unresolved. Since it’s obviously narrated by Callie Vee, an Afterword, with an update on her later life (perhaps signed, Dr. Calpurnia Virginia Tate) would have been helpful. Additionally, it’s hard to imagine that out of six boys of various ages, that not one would get caught up (or more likely, force his way) in (to) Granddaddy’s and Callie Vee’s naturalist world.

The book has its highlights, including: kindness concerning kittens: Lula, love-interest; her elder brother Harry’s interest in girls; the trouble with turkeys; an overly interested photographer; and the day to day life of dealing with six brothers. There are also intriguing allusions to things like former slave quarters (never explained), Grandma Tate (briefly mentioned – what happened to her?), and Granddaddy’s misstatement about Callie being his only grandchild (unintended cruelty or the beginnings of dementia?). By mid-book, I had had about enough, and was checking to see how many pages until I’d be done with it. In summary, great subject, decent writing, but not compelling enough to thrill many of its intended audience. Better: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and for adults: Servants of the Map by Andrea Barrett.

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I am very excited about the result of the Turner Prize 2009! I bet they know who it is already but the little people like myself have to wait for the live broadcast… I don’t even watch TV so I will have to find out another way. Does Channel 4 also broadcast the live event online?

I went to see the exhibition last week and rather liked the exhibition. The 4 short-listed artists for this year’s award are:

Enrico David

Roger Hiorns

Lucy Skaer

Richard Wright

I thought all four artists’ works were interesting but I’m keeping my fingers crossed on Richard Wright. I love his beautiful wall painting and the way it makes the art space so much more interesting to be in. Sometimes it’s also the person and the ideas behind the works that elevates the art to a new level.

I will wait to know who the winner is before I have an entry on each individual artists, all of whom I found to be interesting. I wanted to write an entry before the announcement but other commitments made that impossible.

***

Image _ Tate Galleries www.tate.org.uk

Stardate 12032009; Captain’s Log*:

Daily advances being made among the crew.  Captain’s morale rising at warp speed.

baby food now accompanied by bottles in the kitchen!

A Thanksgiving Miracle.  At approximately 20:00 Breckenridge time, at the home of Bruce & Katie Buller, where we and a couple other families were celebrating Thanksgiving this year, our son, Tate, decided to FINALLY give the bottle a go.  Perhaps it was because he was too tired to continue his two-week-long resistance, or because he just wanted to bring a LOT of joy to his mommy and daddy’s hearts (and a tear to the eye), but he did it!  He drank his entire bottle down to the very last yummy drop — a Thanksgiving miracle, indeed.  I know that Phil & I went to sleep that night with hearts FULL of thanks!

a peek into lincoln's dresser drawer.

In other news, Lincoln is close to being fully potty-trained.  He occasionally has an accident when he is playing with friends and  way, way too distracted to remember to stop and head for the “big boy potty.”  Other than that, he’s been diaper-free for quite some time now, and we are happy to report that we only have one child left wearing diapers.

silas' modified pj tops -- to help him break the habit at bedtime, too!

Finally, Silas has not sucked his thumb in about 2 full weeks!  Guess the vision of a promised Nintendo DSi dancing in his head has been motivation enough to kick the habit once and for all!

So proud of my little crew here on the Starship Gallagher*…

(*Just a little shout-out to my dad and all those Star Trek episodes we watched together back in the day…  Love you!)

Although it was originally posted on the whiteboard, it had to be erased.  Thankfully Steph documented the final version of one of our very first scales… a scale from which multiple arguments arose… a scale that attempts to document the progress of romantic lives… “The Relationship Scale”.

0 -  “Completely uninterested in any relationship.  Up to and including self-gratification”

1 – “Solo +”

2 – “T.A.T.E. / facebook stalk

3 – “one-nighter”

4 – “F.W.B., F.B., D.F., or hookup default”

5 – “Date (exclusively)”

6 – “Meet parents, first trip”

7 – “Holidays, extended family”

8 – “Furniture talk”

9 – “Cohabitation, engaged”

10 – “Committed”

We actually talked a lot about these stages, and I’ll have to be reminded of what exactly some of them mean (and what some of those acronyms are).

The Liverpool trip, was – in Nick Park terms – a grand day out!

Although the Michael Landy exhibtion wasn’t exactly to my taste, I still came away with some ideas for my own work. Including creating moving canvases.

Elsewhere in the Tate were some interesting things,  including a video thats to be shown  on TV soon  focusing on childeren viewing art and their reactions to it. Possibly the best quote ever from a small girl, words to the effect of:

“it could represent decay in society. Or, it might just be a lightsaber!”

Will consider running all my creative ideas past a panel of 5 year olds in future. I love their honesty!

credits:

tate.co.kr (TATE Official Website) + 小A @ SJBlueCN
Reuploaded by: ★_Excentrique @ SJ-World.net

credits:

TATE + 李成民吧

A big night for Rachel Whiteread. On this date in 1993, she won the Turner Prize for Best Young British Artist, receiving £20,000. Then, minutes later, she walked outside the Tate Gallery to receive £40,000 from the K Foundation-for Worst British Artist.

The work that won Whiteread both awards was entitled ‘House’. It was created by filling a Victorian house in Bethnal Green with liquid concrete, and then stripping away the mould-the house itself. What was left was a solid hulk of concrete, bleak and dead, looking like the opposite of what it once was. The Independent called it one of the most extraordinary and imaginative sculptures created by an English artist in the twentieth century.

Rewind back to the start of the year. Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty, once number one artists as the Timelords and dance pioneers as the KLF, had been taking out strange adverts in the national press all throughout 1993. As the KLF, their statements filling the page had started out as cryptic and seemingly pointless (K Time), but by the summer their mood changed. On the 14th August an ad was put out with the confrontational message-

Abandon all art now. Await further instructions. Major rethink in progress.

The K Foundation then announced they would hold their own art award in 1993, with the same shortlist as the Turner Prize, on the same date, but with one vital difference. The award would go to the artist deemed the worst of the lot. This seemed to be obviously a challenge to the smug elite of modern art. Avant-garde art, such as that shortlisted in the Turner Prize, was no longer the anti-establishment by the 1990s, it was the establishment. And because of this, it had grown complacent, and become boring and vacuous. The popular media and the public were sick of this abstract nonsense, and it seemed so were the K Foundation.

-

But this interpretation was totally mistaken. It is easy to see how this happened. This argument between the art establishment and the popular media had been raging on for years. With their confusing, anonymous messages the K Foundation did not every explicitly deny that this was what they were talking about. So most of the press focussed on this line, seeing the night of the 23rd in this way. For example, The Times saw it as another tiresome campaign in the fight against obscure modern art, while on the other hand Factory Records boss Tony Wilson praised it as a great artistic statement in itself. However it was not really about artistic integrity, aesthetics, or that old chestnut, ‘what is art?’.

It was about money. The journalist Miranda Sawyer noticed something interesting that night. At the start of the night Drummond and Cauty gave the prize money to a group of artists, as witnesses,  to look after and then give to the winner. By the time the money reached, much of it had disappeared, around £9000 in fact. Sawyer saw from this as an example of what the K Foundation were examining – cash, art and all the associated feelings around them. Bill Drummond confirmed this years later. They weren’t attacking Rachel Whiteread and her concrete block at all, they were looking at something completely different. They weren’t making a statement about the art establishment, but rather a statement about money. That’s that then. But wait, what is the statement, K?

- – -

Unrelated to the 23rd November, but if you have the time then watch this 5 part documentary on what the K Foundation did next with their money. Amazing.

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Part 1 of 5)

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Part 2 of 5)

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Part 3 of 5)

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Part 4 of 5)

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Part 5 of 5)

And a brilliantly frustrating TV interview afterwards. Also fascinating.

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Interview)(Part 1 of 3 …

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Interview)(Part 2 of 3 …

K Foundation – Burn A Million Quid (Interview)(Part 3 of 3 …

It’s a tough time being a Michigan Wolverines fan right now. A season filled with extreme highs to disappointing lows concluded yesterday with another loss to the hated buckeyes. From the undefeated 4-0 start with last minute wins over Notre Dame and Indiana, to pretty much losing every game for the rest of the season. I can’t believe this is the same team that started out the year. I guess it really isn’t considering we started out with a healthy team, and the team that finished, included a less than 100% freshman qb, 2 senior running backs out, and the best offensive lineman out.

Before this season began, I boldly predicted to my friends and naysayers that the Wolverines are going to be 8-4 this year and at the very worst be at 7 wins and 5 losses. With 4 great performances by a precocious and clutch freshman quarterback, all was thought to be well in Wolverine nation as it watched Tate Forcier be anointed as the one chosen to right the program back to respectability and relevance.  After 4 games I looked like a genius, but after 12,  a damn fool. I guess in hindsight, it is painfully clear that this football team is nowhere near ready to play big time college football. And while a couple of more positive plays during the MSU game and Iowa game may have changed the final record, the same can be said for the results of the Notre Dame and Indiana games. Although the offense is a big improvement with true freshmen qbs Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson at the helm this year, the offense is still very inconsistent in scoring, especially when playing against good defenses.

The defense on the other hand has been a major weakness all year and needs to correct itself as soon as possible. Much respect to Kevin Leach and Jordan Kovacs, but when your starting defense has two walk on starters, out of all of the scholarship players on the roster, you’re defense is not gonna be good and it clearly showed this year. I fear for the defense next year. With one of the two bright spots of the defense definitely heading to the NFL and the 2nd very likely following right behind. It is clear the coaches gotta spend the rest of the year recruiting their asses off. Hopefully some continuity in the defensive coordinator and a year of experience will see a noticeable improvement next year. Here is to hoping that Justin Turner is the second coming of Charles Woodson everybody has hoped for and Will Campbell becoming the beast he was projected to be coming out of HS.

While watching the last few seconds tick off of today’s OSU vs Michigan game. The sixth buckeye win in a row in this storied rivalry, I could not help but feel disappointed.  However, my disappointment wasn’t directed at the team. Especially the defense’s valiant efforts led by blue chip senior Brandon Graham, I was also surprisingly not as upset at the 5 turnovers  by the offense, which basically gave away the game. What I was angry about was the fucking fairweather bandwagon riding fans that do not deserve to hold season tickets but do.  The ones that allowed what was supposed to be a home field advantage, a loud  sea of maize and blue clad irritators to be  heavily sprinkled with red. The ones that turn our senior’s last home game into a neutral field.  All for what? A few measly dollars? Thanks for turning Michigan Stadium into one of the easiest places to play in the entire country.

Here is a piece from the Wolverine Liberation Army

It’s senior day. Brandon Graham has played at maximum effort, valiantly, all day. Mark Ortmann and David Moosman have largely protected Tate Forcier well. It’s their last day, their last moment in a Michigan uniform, on the field of Michigan Stadium, and you fair-weathered, contemptable assholes have turned this into a road game for them.

This isn’t about liking Rich Rodriguez. This isn’t even about SUPPORTING Rich Rodriguez. This is about seeing this Senior Class that has worn the Michigan uniform for four or five years off  – thanking them for the hours of entertainment they’ve provided your thankless, pathetic asses for half a decade.

“But Michigan is bad”, “I don’t want to sit in the cold and watch them lose again”, “Rodriguez is an embarassment” – fuck you. Fuck you with a barbed-wire baseball bat. Give me your fucking tickets – or anyone who cheers for Michigan, not just a winner.

This will likely be one of this blog’s last posts in it’s current incarnation, and I cannot think of a better send-off.

Michigan fans: many of you are spineless, entitled, fair-weather bitches. Show some respect to the kids you profess to cheer for. On many kids’ final game in the Big House, you have embarassed Michigan more than this team ever has on the field – you turned Michigan Stadium into a pro-OSU crowd, and it makes us, as a blog, completely fucking sick.

My sentiments exactly.

A win against the buckeyes would have done wonders for us. Finally breaking Ohio State’s win streak, give us momentum heading into a bowl game, all those extra bowl game practices the team could have had, having the football recruits see what Michigan is like when we win, but instead you useless sacks of crap, I thank you for cramping up my space when the team is doing well and for leaving at the first sign of trouble. I hope you do not purchase tickets next year or ever if you aren’t willing to make the commitment win or lose.

Here’s looking to Michigan football 2010, a more experienced offense led by a healthy Tate Forcier, a more talented defense, and hopefully a lot more wins.

Go Blue.

Listen to a Londoner. This is a weekly post where people who live (or have lived for a while) in London answer a few questions about the Big Smoke. If you fit the bill and want to be interviewed, give me a shout at littlelondonobservationist@hotmail.co.uk. Always looking for new victims volunteers….

Lucy McDonald, 25
(Usually, it’s 10 questions, but Lucy likes questions, so she answered 30. Bonus.)

Lucy is from the most rural county in England but her soul is a Londoner. She likes tea, merry-go-rounds, walking along the Thames, lists, the radio, food and getting dressed several times a day. She works as an admin monkey at a language school in Bloomsbury.

LLO: How long have you lived in London?
LM: I accidentally say I’ve lived here for five years, despite the fact a year of that was spent in Mexico. Actually I similarly used to answer ‘?Donde vives?’ in Mexico with ‘Londres’ for an irrationally long number of months. I’ve known I wanted to live here since I was eleven.

LLO: Where are you from originally?
LM: The shire, the middle of nowhere, where England meets Wales, the green and pleasant and beautiful land, the most rural county in England – Herefordshire.

LLO: Best thing about London?
LM: It’s still possible for me to get excited about the little things – being able to jump on the tube and end up in a place that looks and feels completely different to the one I’m in now, popping and seeing the Houses of Parliament and all the sites tourists come to see. The many and glorious parks, the way people dress, the interests people have – a general and indescribable Londonness that is strongest I think at Sunday brunch time, when Saturday revellers are in recovering in cafes, wandering the streets and dressed in their most interesting togs.

LLO: Worst thing about London?
LM: Being ground down by the insularity and commuting. The fact that travelling from one side to another – east to west, north to south – seems like an epic challenge worthy of Tolkein. Light pollution and other grubbiness. The 25 bus, expense, Victoria Coach Station. Being from elsewhere in England, it can be irritating that people from the South East don’t believe in any realistic sense that the rest of the country exists. Most bad things in London are the same in the big metropolitan cities and the mindset that puts you in. The best-worst thing about it, London is a difficult place to leave.

LLO: North, south, east or west?
LM: East. No question. 

LLO: Best restaurant?
LM: Moro.

LLO: Best shop?
LM: Atlantis Art Materials, Hanbury Street. I like to peer in the windows of the rope shop and the umbrella shop in Bloomsbury, and Blade Rubber Stamps.

LLO: Best place to escape the city?
LM: Hampstead Heath or the top of Senate House Library, depending if you need glorious openness or protective dusty rooms and books.

LLO: 2012 Olympics – stay or go?
LM: I don’t know and can’t decide. Is that significant?

LLO: How do you spend your time on the tube?
LM: Reading. If I can find another participant I like playing tube chicken, empty tube platforms allowing.

LLO: Most random thing you’ve seen in London.
LM: Somebody stopping to help a stranger – tee hee – gallows humour.

LLO: Best place to catch a gig?
LM: The Union Chapel, Islington

LLO: Best local band?
LM: The Correspondents

LLO: Favourite book, song or film about London?
LM: 1599 by James Shapiro. 

LLO: Favourite London discovery?
LM: Signing up to go and see free recordings of radio and TV programmes, Sam Smiths Pubs and the many retro nights.

LLO: Best place to spend a Sunday afternoon?
LM: Ah, I’m too predictable – Brick Lane.

LLO: Best museum or gallery?
LM: Tate Modern during the week, otherwise The Museum of Childhood. It’s not my favourite, but if you haven’t been you should go to The John Soane Museum. I like to sit in the big leather chairs in the National Gallery to read.

LLO: Favourite market?
LM: Predictability reigns, Brick Lane Sunday – the Upmarket, Spitalfields and everyone along the edge of the lane.

LLO: Give us a funny London story.
LM: I’ll cheat and copy and paste from previous writing –
Waiting on the platform at Leicester Square for the train to come, and a drunken suit, pink shirt, grabs my hand and begins to twirl me around the platform, asks what my dance would be, if I could dance any, here on the platform, between the yellow line and the commuters and the couples. I decline. He presses my hand to his heart and asks my name. I guess his instead. It’s not Charles and it’s not Jim. He takes my hand, asks my name, asks if I’ve seen the most recent exhibition at the British Museum. He tells me the last exhibition was a disappointment. Not enough artefacts. Central London has a different class of drunk.

LLO: Most influential Londoner?
LM: Can’t think of one person.

LLO: Best London magazine, newspaper or website?
LM: C’mon – the national British media is solely a London set of magazines and newspapers – so the Observer on Sunday.

LLO: If you were to dress up as one of the tube station names for a costume party, which would you be?
LM: High Barnet. My hair loves a good backcomb.

LLO: Best time of year in London?
LM: Impossible question – Autumn on Hampstead Heath, Christmas in Covent Garden, Summer in Russell Square. 

LLO: Best place for a first date?
LM: Dates? In London? Don’t people just get drunk and fall on each other inappropriately?

LLO: First place to take a visitor?
LM: To St Pauls, across the wobbly bridge, to South bank and along to the London Eye. Or a trip to The Globe.

LLO: Favourite place to be on a Saturday night?
LM: The George Tavern, Commercial Road. And as far as possible from Leicester Square.

LLO: Best and worst things about tourists?
LM: Worst thing – they get in the way and behave as if the place you live has been placed there for their own enjoyment, loud voices, big bags and not getting out of the way on the tube. Best thing – they talk loudly and think they can’t be understood so always good for an eavesdrop.

LLO: Boris is…
LM: …a muppet.

LLO: What would you change about the city if you had the power to do so?
LM: Not sure – I want to say make it smaller and cleaner and cheaper, but it wouldn’t be London anymore. I would take the violence out of it, and (sorry for the nod to Boris) I do hate the bendy buses.

LLO: Most interesting recent news story.
LM: Anything told to me by John Humphrys as I drink my first cup of tea in the morning.

 Thanks Lucy!