it’s about careful consumption, not really simulated poverty, but it could be perceived that way from the outside i guess. and it allows for financial freedom, it reducess pressure on the environment, it gives you a clearer head all day long and it permits greater enjoyment of life.

it’s not a cure-all for societal ills and it’s still very me-oriented, but it sure beats our farkakta ferengi culture that produces shit like this





ocean hi

most of the pollution in the world is due to industrial processing, but everyone likes to lay the blame on individuals. Minimalism is like carbon c redits, a way for people to feel good about themselves while not actually stopping the causes of the death of our planet.

The western nations have been industrialized for over a century, and did not give a fuck about polluiting or destroying life. once the rest of the nations of the world catch up, and start their own industries and manufacturing and such, the western powers decry their pollution and their wate and try to force upstart nations to follow extremely strict and un feasible (for them) pollution standards. meanwhile giant american corporations continue to dump where they feel like it, and have now been exempted from having to contribute to Superfund cleanup sites,.


Minimalism, as it is now pushed, is a BANDAGE

that sounds kinda like the nra

“regulating guns can’t stop 100% of mass killings and murders so let’s have no regulation”

whoever is to blame you gotta remember though that all business starts with the customer. the market is supply and demand, but demand comes first. in other words, need & desire precede their (temporary) satisfaction.

since us (the customers) can’t really get into the boards of directors of major corporations, the only thing we can do is, yes, vote with our dollars.

sure this is just a bandage at this stage.

i have more about this plus a couple of things to reply about global industrial development but i gotta jump off the screen right now and then what i typed disappears. so i’ll post this for now and complete things a little later.

Went to Black Panther. Now, even though I am far from a comic book movie fan, it was pretty good. I can really see why the young black kids loved it. I expect a sequel will be in the works! Plus some pretty good looking women never hurts.

so anyway you’re right that first world countries have caused the most pollution historically. sure. and you’re right that the industrialization of third world countries will bring about more pollution. sure.

but

1) third world countries can skip certain developmental stages due to technological change. one country for example, i forget if it was singapore or malaysia of where, they hit modernity in our age and so they skipped the whole expensive laying out of telephone copper wire and went straight to cellular.

2) third world country consumption often emulates first world consumption. if rich countries demand hipster commodities like organic fair traded coffee then the poors begin to want it too. we drive a hybrid they want a hybrid. juliet schor alludes to that briefly in the documentary when she says we imbue material goods with symbolic meaning. we can in fact change the symbolism of driving 100 miles in a gas guzzler every day so that we may provide a better material living for all. this also happens internally btw, between social classes— walmart is the biggest seller of organic foods for example.

3) third world countries can get ahead of first world countries in their development and it doesn’t have to be industrial. costa rica for example is trying to phase out internal combustion vehicles by 2030.

yeah.... or more like It: Cliff's Notes For The First Half Of The Original Movie.

And just, the writing... ugh... the original movie worked so well because they did a good job of showing you that these kids actually meant something to each other. You could really get a feel of their bonds. In this movie it was like they gave personality to what? One kid? Two? So many of the kids in the group just became Generic Kids In A Movie.

It has been a really long time since a movie ended and I just ranted for so long about all the problems I had with it. I'm generally the kind of dude that finds something to like about even movies I don't think are great. But this new It just felt like an awful and generic waste of time. I don't recommend anybody even bother.

oh i forgot the most obvious, lol

4) in spite of future trends and chinese drivers, rich countries continue to be the greatest consumers of goods and energy and resources on the planet. and who services those needs? 3rd world countries of course. so a change in our own consumption patterns is bound to make a huge impact in those countries. e.g. when we demand organic coffee they stop breathing pesticides. it’s really simple and sure it’s not a cure-all but it has a positive impact. same thing with less oil polluting everything, less beef burning down the amazon, less plastic swimming in the ocean, etc. yes. less is more.

ok.

I think I rather unintentionally live like a minimalist since my girlfriend went on “girlfriend sabbatical.” But that probably doesn’t count.

I should watch that doc.

I watched Born to Be Blue, the bio movie of Chet Baker starring Ethan Hawke. I thought it was a damn solid movie. I haven't really heard his music before.

i hope you do

it’s a good general organizing principle

a little annoyed that most of these movies/blogs/etc don’t provide more specific how-tos, and it’s more about... feelings and spiritual insights and shit like that. but you gotta start somewhere. there are some brief demos here.

i’m more of a nuts-and-bolts person once i get the main idea, so looking for that to further my... practice?

speaking of nuts and bolts, my bicycle chain got really rusty. gotta clean that today.

Who's that Knocking at My Door

Very much a forerunner for Mean Streets. Too many nods to the nouvelle vague (typical film school grad's 1st feature syndrome) but still some great individual scenes.

^^ oh hell i’ve never seen that. where did you find it?

I bought it off Amazon UK. It's always been a bugger to find and was surprised myself when I saw it.

on vhs? i’m looking at amazon here and i can rent it digitally for $2! but funny, it’s in SD, so i’m assuming a vhs transfer. no?

No, it's a proper DVD release from the BFI, so a nice transfer and some good extras.

http://shop.bfi.org.uk/http-shop-bfi...l#.WpgVu5PFLOQ

nice! dvd is still SD resolution (max is 480p i think?), but i like that the listing shows they maintain the original aspect ratio, which is the important thing (more so than resolution for me). btw, the digital mean streets rental is HD. there’s something going on and i gotta investigate lol.

I wanna be nuts-and-boltsy!!! I want to be able to make my own furniture and, like, fix shit.

I should take a class with all this extra time I have on my hands ohwaitnevermind

ha ha ha ha

i didn’t mean nuts and bolts in the literal sense— i meant in the sense of implementation. the mention of my bike repair was just a free-association.

for example i have gone from 4 bank accounts to one— and the savings are contained within the checking. that’s minimalist in my view. less tracking and complexity and time wasters.

i’ve moved to a walkable small town that allows for foot and bike traffic instead of trucking through mud roads on a v8 truck. lower transportation cost + better fitness. that’s minimalist. moving close to work was an important factor in this decision.

trying to go to a paperless workflow. it’s easier said than done. not quite there yet.

for food im maximizing nutrition and health while removing elaborate preparations with complex tool requirements. it’s taken me years to develop such systems. it’s still a process. my fridge is clear and clean and streamlined. most people have theirs clogged with useless rotting shit growing mold all over. i used to do that myself. not anymore.

went from a 3 bedroom house to a 1-room loft type place over the past decade. now that im in a town it’s hard to find a similar space, so for now we’re in a 2br house which is too much space actually— a room is empty and we don’t wanna fill it up with shit. will look for smaller later.

over the years donated a lot of big and bulky furniture, from king size beds to leather couches, to people who had a use for it. i still have an nice 60’s engineer steel desk that needs an owner, but that might end up recycled at the metalman. so impossibly heavy!


even “how to shop” is done with simplification in mind, to save time and mileage and yes money too. currently testing amazon pantry with good results. costco also available w/ higher amounts required.

by nuts-and-bolts i mean: how do you get rid of your massive bed and what do you use instead? how do you maximize use of space so you don’t spread out and add further? how do you transition from fossil fuel to muscle-powered transportation in a way that’s safe and practical and reliable? what clothes do you buy to get the most utility and less clutter? how do you heat people, not buildings? how do you reduce or even eliminate the trash you produce? that sort of thing.

how to execute on “big ideas” on an everyday basis. tactics to actually achieve the grand strategic goals. setting up and doing the practical shit.

ps- as for the “extra time” you mention, minimalism is very much about maximizing free time, yes.

Meet the Feebles.

So Shape of Water lands Best Picture Oscar. In an awards marking a controversial year for the industry, it was the safe choice.

God fucking damn stupid ass fucking Guillermo Del Toro fishman movie. Fucking Pacific Rim guy, who hasn’t made a great film since Pan’s Labyrinth, beats goddamn motherfucking DUNKIRK?!

What the fuck does Christopher Nolan have to do to win that goddamn award?! Dunkirk defies every rule of filmlmaking, made every other nominated film feel small and trivial.

Not that I’ve seen Shape of Water but fuck it. No way was it better than Dunkirk.

Odd that a Sci-fi film finally wins BP the year fucking BLADE RUNNER 2049 GOT SNUBBED.

FFFFFFFFFFFUCK!!!!

lololol

Love you.

I’m taking some much-needed comp time this fine Monday morning, sitting on my ass and rewatching Wonder Woman.

It really is amazing just how much this movie gets “right” about storytelling and making a superhero story feel meaningful and multi-dimensional. Literally everything that Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad and Justice League got wrong, this gets right.

It zeroes in on a singular character who’s part of a greater theme and story, and allows you to really get to know her while moving quickly from scene to scene, providing just enough dialogue and exposition to not feel rushed, and just enough action and fun — and downright beautiful design — to not be boring.

It has a lot in common conceptually with Batman Begins, I think. Just as there was that moment, an hour or so into Begins where Bruce Wayne brings the hurt down on that group of gangsters in his “I’m Batman” moment, Diana has this sequence right here:



^ That’s iconic.

If this is the only good thing to come from this era of DC movies, I think that’ll be enough. All signs seem to be pointing to a hard “yes” on that anyway. Maybe it will keep up the pace for a second installment, but even if it doesn’t, this movie is pretty goddamn good.

EXCEPT:
• How all the other Amazons speak in a weird accent so Gal Gadot’s hard middle eastern accent doesn’t stand out. Robin Wright, bless her, is really bad at this, and her lines stand out and feel grating and weird.
• How the General Ludendorff and “Dr. Poison” scenes feel like they’re from a different, much stupider movie... They play like Boris and Natasha scenes and ultimately pimple this otherwise pretty darn seamless movie.

Good stuff. Jenkins should have been given a Best Director nod for this. Just as important as “Get Out,” I’d say. Maybe.

Pretty much. I don’t WANT to be pissed but I’m FUCKING PISSED!!

Goddamn fuckass pussy ass Academy taints.

Blade Runenr 2049 > Dunkirk > fucking everything else

But Dunkirk should have won because DUH, fuckwads. BR2049 was too much for most bitches. Not giving it a nod is ri-goddamn-diculois though, and giving BP to ANOTHER SF movie instead of Dunkirk is fucking just adding dumbass insult to injury.

I’ll fucking watch Creature from the Black Lagoon again if I want a goddamn fish guy movie. FUUUUCK. Vilaneuve and Nolan are making mainstream cinema MASTERWORKS and this shit gets the award. Come the fuck ON.

Ha, sounds like they did good, IMO, they gave Dunkin Dunkirk just the approval it needed to get a sequel.

lolololololololololol

it’s rare these days when a thread gets better but this is one clear case

Sorry Severian, I'm happy that Del Toro won only because if it gives him the clout to make whatever damn movie he wants next, the studio green lights it. I want Del Toro to have the same creative freedom that Nolan got after the success of his Batman movies. I'm much more interested in what Del Toro does next than what Nolan does next.

Fuck you and your family!!!

Ok that was harsh, but REALLY? He made his best movie like a decade and a half ago. Since then, his obvious genius has been used to either A) produce foreign movies that are better than his own domestic movies (Orphanage); or B) make fucking Pacific Rim and that dumbass movie’s dumbass sequel.

Maybe he’s got something major up his sleeve, but this feels more like the end of a career than the beginning of one. He’s already been able to make whatever he wants. Now he’ll just fade further into James Cameron normal land.

Hope I’m wrong.

Nolan already has a body of work that puts most of his contemporaries (PTA, Villeneuve, Coens, and a few others excluded) to fucking shame. Every one of his movies is a masterclass in genre filmmaking. Dunkirk broke all the “Nolan” rules and just have us an obscenely immersive and brutally real experience.

I feel bad for you do you think Pacific Rim/Hellboy: The Golden Army guy can compete. He lost his artistic clout a whole ago, on one of his burning fish guy movies.

I’m sure Shape of Water is fine, but movie of the year it is not.

christ. speaking of the shape of water. you need to drink some! with an ice cube preferrably xD

I’M FINE!

yes, yes you are.

inhale...

...and exhale...


good.

—

lol ok jokes aside i think you make too much of this award shit

i used to look at the ny critics circle for more accurate assessments of quality. if you look at past years you’ll see they had a good record. haven’t checked lately though.

[eta: they gave the title to greta gerwig. gonna guess she’s more deserving than the usual bros. plus, who doesn’t love her? scream about how she didn’t win the oscars instead]

and since i spot that you mentioned pacific rim somewhere... pacific rim was a ton of fun and well aware of its own cheesy qualities. it was a kind of live-action anime, and did so shamelessly and for lols. way more enjoyable than... other stuff i shan’t mention.

Del Toro should have won for Pan's Labyrinth. I think that film is more profound and quite a horror in ways.

Pacific Rim is NOT better than Dark Knight, Jack. I know what you’re thinking. Know what? Let’s not even talk go there.

Agree. That was a genuinely incredible and fucking horrifying movie. I’m pretty sure he was nominated for Best Director for that, and I’m positive the movie was up for Best Picture. Not sure if it was my pick that year, but I remember thinking it was one of the most interesting movies I’d seen in a long time.

it’s “better” in the sense that a good cheeseburger is better than a mediocre filet mignon.

pacific rim is a great cheeseburger. no— a really tasty and ridiculous funnel cake at the carnival. (it knows what it is). it’s fun and hilarious and you know it’s not “real” food or good for you. it doesn’t even make sense but who cares.

btw, do they have whattaburger where you live?

i tried it recently and holy fuck!

the fries are not great. but the burger. o mama.

i don’t eat a lot of fast food or hamburgers but i’ll take a detour for whattaburger next time

But HONESTLY...

I could make a strong case for Blade Runner 2049 in several different categories. Yes, it won for Best Cinematography (because fucking DUH), but how about ...

- Best Actor: Laugh if you want, but Ryan Gosling acted the fucking shit out of that movie. If you think he was just strong/silent, you’re missing the point. He portrayed all the hardened emotionlessness of articificial intelligence AND all the frailty of sentience with mere flickers of his eyes.
If you’ve seen the movie you know what I mean.
If you haven’t, google the “Within cells interlinked... within cells within cells” scene and ACT LIKE that motherfucker doesn’t have a belt in two classes.

Best Supporting Actor: Harrison Ford, goddammit. Actually surprised he didn’t get a nod. Shouldn’t have won... Gosling shouldn’t have either, but if he ever deserved an Oscar for any movie, this was it.

Literally every effects category, sound, audio, production, costume, etc.

Best Director: Denis Villeneuve, because one asshole put all this shit together and made 3 hours feel like NOT ENOUGH TIME

And Best Picture, because pound for pound, it was the best picture of 2017. Dunkirk is what should have won, because it makes more sense and because it was damn good, but BR was better. Star Wars, Wonder Woman, Guardians of the Galaxy... all fucking salad compared to that ribeye.

best things at whataburger - the whataburger with cheese and jalapenos, and the crispy BBQ chicken strip sandwhich. FOUR thick chicken strips. you can take one out and give it to a friend and still have a massive sandwhich in your hand!

No and also no. At least I don’t think there’s Whattaburger here. I dunno. I’m in a small town for the first time ever and it’s been like 3 years. Could be Whattaburgers all over the goddamn city by now.

But yeah, no on the other stuff you said which I won’t dignify by mentioning directly.

wow, glad you guys aren't in the acad