Just So Stories: Stories We Tell About Africa (And Those We Don’t)
G. Pascal Zachary01.24.11
G. Pascal Zachary, author of Married to Africa, examines the narratives that construct our understanding of Africa including, of course, the concept of Africa as a unitary entity. Rather than contributing to our understanding of the diverse cultures, communities and political forces at work there, Zachary argues that these narratives render contemporary realities more opaque. Along the way, he examines an array of the figures who have shaped the discussion, including Rudyard Kipling, Robert Mugabe, Isak Dinesen, Yossou N’Dour, Langston Hughes, Kwame Nkrumah, Maya Angelou and LeVar Burton as Kunta Kinte.
These Three Bowls
Tom Flynn12.28.10
In case you missed the Little Caeser’s Pizza Bowl, fear not! Tom Flynn brings tidings for another three of the 35 bowl games going on this week. Flynn breaks it down for people like me who don’t really follow this sort of thing, revealing intriguing storylines behind the obscurity behind the lesser known, less-well funded, and medium-power houses of college football. Art by the inimitable Danny Jock.
The Marvelous Museum – Orphans, Curiosities & Treasures: A Mark Dion Project
Emcee C.M., Master12.21.10
Artist Mark Dion’s work takes the form of some combination of curatorship and archaeology. I first heard about his exhibit at the Tate Museum, in which objects that he and a team of volunteers found along the banks of the Thames were displayed with equalizing reverence, including evidence of early Roman settlements, a fossilized sea urchin and unusually shaped disposable soy sauce bottles. The exhibit emphasized their shared current context in the river, rather than stratifying them based on perceived importance. The Oakland Museum has recently reopened in the midst of a major renovation and Dion’s project that inaugurates its return examines that museum’s unique, almost haphazard origins and collection, as well as the role that public institutions take in shaping knowledge and history. Artist Emcee C.M. reviews the accompanying collection of essays published by Chronicle Books in partnership with McSweeney’s The Believer. Fanzine contributors Peter Jacoby and Andrew Leland were both involved in the project.
Assume Vivid Astro Focus: Chaos Bound
Gean Moreno12.02.10
Try and judge Assume Vivid Astro Focus’ first monograph by its cover and you may be falling for an old adage which instructs one not to bother. Instead start flipping. Flip, then focus. Then go back and read the main essay and appreciate the fact that it’s gonna be a bitch to put a hardcover lid on an art collective that is heir to the Situationists International. Artist Gean Moreno tackles that notion, and all this movement, color and vivacity, but sets off on a different tack, one tinged by say… Caribbean Carnival?
I Have a Fake Body Part. Guess What It Is.
Various Contributors11.28.10
New work from seven poets spanning several of our nation’s major metropolitan areas – Chelsea Martin, Kevin Sampsell, Aneesa Davenport, Brandon Scott Gorrell, Claire Donato, Jeff T. Johnson and Michael Thomsen. Poetry isn’t dead, it’s just been feigning an injury to get worker’s comp benefits and is about to go to town with a pocketful of cash. Sweet illustrations from artist Rachel Pollak.
I’ll Take Detroit
Tom Flynn11.24.10
Tom Flynn remembers a simpler time when all he had to do to get his Thanksgiving thanks and grub on was get himself through a soggy football game in the miserable cold of early winter. If one played sports in the 80s and 90s, it’s easy to recall with wincing redolence the solid "foam" core of helmets, the bulky pads, and of course, the cheap no-name cleats that hardened with weather and time to resemble craggy griffin-like claws, their faded black exteriors stale and cracked, and souls just as black and evil in color and comfort. Flynn also recalls relaxing post-game with the Detroit Lions game perenially played on Thanksgiving. Having no personal affiliation toward the Lions then and now, he contrasts the stark fortunes of Detroit (both the town and the team) with the excesses of the other game-of-the-day, that of the Dallas Cowboys, and finds something to which Detroit can represent on this day of thanks.
Zenyatta: From the Back of the Pack, But a Backseat to None
Pete Hausler11.04.10
This coming Saturday, November 6th, breeders, bettors and plain old racing enthusiasts around the world will be focused on the Breeders Cup, a contest that offers the largest payout in all of the horse racing sport. And this year it’s super special, with a heap of hype all over one mare, Zenyatta. With 19 victories so far, and beyond incredible stats, Zenyatta is said to retire after the race, hopefully with an even 20 wins/ zip losses. Pete Hausler explains her confounding talents, exacting style, and why he will be betting against her. Art by Danny Jock.
Invisible Missive Magnetic Juju: On African Cyber-Crime
Louis Chude-Sokei10.24.10
Using William Gibson’s Neuromancer as his guide book, Louis Chude-Sokei, author of The Last Darky, examines the culture surrounding Nigerian internet scams, often known by the name "419" derived from the Nigerian legal code. Along the way, we see Colin Powell dancing to African hip-hop, the largest bank theft in history, a series of corrupt military dictators, Frantz Fanon, smoldering piles of e-waste, the most trusted man in Nigeria and the kidnapped star of the Nigerian film adaptation of Things Fall Apart.
Adam at the Races: the NASCAR Air Guard 400
Adam Ganderson09.26.10
Adam Ganderson takes us on an outsider’s trip to the last race of NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series, which is kind of like the end of the regular season before the playoffs start. It’s also the weekend of September 11th when Adam arrives like Hunter Thompson at the Kentucky Derby, his partner-in-crime at the ready. It’s a weekend full of American Pride, BBQ grills, cheap beer, and leathered sun-burnt skin. Oh yes, and the scream of 48 race car V8 engines revving at high power for 400 laps. It’s NASCAR and it’s as big as country music and bigger than the NFL. Photographs by Adam Ganderson.
Low Orbit: “Packing for Mars” by Mary Roach
Rob Tennant08.04.10
First human-made satellite in orbit, 1957, first person on the moon, 1969, and. . . Despite its focus on the physics of defecating in space, Mary Roach’s latest leaves Rob Tennant salivating for his trip to the Red Planet. Is sending humans to Mars an unjustifiable waste of resources at a time when they already seem plenty scarce or a surreal and beautiful fulfillment of our species’ odd ambition?
