{"id":4457,"date":"2009-09-14T05:00:03","date_gmt":"2009-09-14T09:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/?p=4457"},"modified":"2009-09-14T05:49:33","modified_gmt":"2009-09-14T09:49:33","slug":"what-it-is-91409","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/what-it-is-91409","title":{"rendered":"What It Is: 9\/14\/09"},"content":{"rendered":"

What I’m reading:<\/em> This note about the 400th anniversary of the death of Rabbi Loew<\/a> inspired me to re-read Introducing Kafka<\/a>\"\" (mainly for R. Crumb’s drawings & strips<\/a>). I also read Locas II<\/a>\"\", a huge collection of Jaime Hernandez’s comics. Occasionally I forget how wonderful it is to live in an era when artists like Xaime are doing such fantastic work (and making great illustrations<\/a>).<\/p>\n

What I’m listening to:<\/em> A great B.S. Report podcast<\/a> with Patton Oswalt, and an okay one with Bill Hader.<\/p>\n

What I’m watching:<\/em> The Basketball Hall of Fame<\/a> class of 2009 induction ceremony, in which I learned that John Stockton can be kinda funny, Vivian Stringer had a tough life, Jerry Sloan has enormous hands, and Michael Jordan cannot handle retirement. Also watched a ton of NFL, and the Vandy-LSU game.<\/p>\n

What I’m drinking:<\/em> Cascade Mountain & Q Tonic.<\/p>\n

What Rufus is up to:<\/em> Meeting a ton of greyhounds at the annual grey-picnic in Bridgewater, NJ on Sunday. Pictures to come. (Here’s one from my wife<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

Where I’m going:<\/em> No plans! Got any ideas?<\/p>\n

What I’m happy about:<\/em> Writing those Gary Panter<\/a> & Gillian Welch <\/a>posts last week.<\/p>\n

What I’m sad about:<\/em> Norman Borlaug’s death<\/a>. He did have a full life, reaching 95 years and saving countless lives<\/a>, but still.<\/p>\n

What I’m worried about:<\/em> Not my conference next week<\/a>. At least, not as much as past years. We’ve already taken care of a lot of the things that usually get taken care of late in the game \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the USB drives are much better than last year<\/a>, for example \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and our attendee count is surprisingly good, esp. given the economy. I’m sure something crazy will happen that throws everything askew, but I’m less nerve-wracked about things. Now I just gotta hope all 11 speakers actually show up for their sessions.<\/p>\n

What I’m pondering:<\/em> Whether I’m too old to start a band called Umvelt of the Dog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What I’m reading: This note about the 400th anniversary of the death of Rabbi Loew inspired me to re-read Introducing Kafka (mainly for R. Crumb’s drawings & strips). I also read Locas II, a huge collection of Jaime Hernandez’s comics. Occasionally I forget how wonderful it is to live in an era when artists like … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “What It Is: 9\/14\/09”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,4,32],"tags":[96,853,851,613,460,850,838,831,852],"class_list":["post-4457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-basketball","category-literature","category-sports","tag-jaime-hernandez","tag-jerry-sloan","tag-john-stockton","tag-kafka","tag-michael-jordan","tag-normal-borlaug","tag-patton-oswalt","tag-r-crumb","tag-vivian-stringer"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4C7K-19T","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3672,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/air-kafka","url_meta":{"origin":4457,"position":0},"title":"Air Kafka","author":"Gil","date":"March 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"You could link to just about any Onion News Network item and laugh, but I almost peed myself watching this one: Prague's Franz Kafka International Named World's Most Alienating Airport (It's pretty loud, so turn the volume down before playing it.)","rel":"","context":"In \"bobbie battista\"","block_context":{"text":"bobbie battista","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/tag\/bobbie-battista"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15813,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-522-ross-benjamin","url_meta":{"origin":4457,"position":1},"title":"Episode 522 – Ross Benjamin","author":"Gil","date":"January 16, 2023","format":"audio","excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show 522: Ross Benjamin \"My kids have never known me to be doing anything else. This is my entire job to them. My daughter found it easier to remember that I 'do Kafka' than 'translation' as my career. If people ask what I do, she chimes in, 'Daddy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/rossbenjamincomp2023.jpg?fit=1200%2C503&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/rossbenjamincomp2023.jpg?fit=1200%2C503&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/rossbenjamincomp2023.jpg?fit=1200%2C503&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/rossbenjamincomp2023.jpg?fit=1200%2C503&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/rossbenjamincomp2023.jpg?fit=1200%2C503&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15281,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-488-andreas-kilcher-and-judith-butler","url_meta":{"origin":4457,"position":2},"title":"Episode 488 – Andreas Kilcher and Judith Butler","author":"Gil","date":"May 31, 2022","format":"audio","excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show 488: Andreas Kilcher and Judith Butler \"Kakfa was drawing in a very individual, very idiosyncratic way. I think that's the source of his boldness, just to draw and not to think.\" To celebrate the publication of the groundbreaking Franz Kafka: The Drawings (Yale University Press), contributors Andreas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kilcherbutlercomp2.jpg?fit=1200%2C551&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kilcherbutlercomp2.jpg?fit=1200%2C551&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kilcherbutlercomp2.jpg?fit=1200%2C551&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kilcherbutlercomp2.jpg?fit=1200%2C551&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kilcherbutlercomp2.jpg?fit=1200%2C551&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":17208,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-616-ken-krimstein","url_meta":{"origin":4457,"position":3},"title":"Episode 616 – Ken Krimstein","author":"Gil","date":"December 10, 2024","format":"audio","excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show 616: Ken Krimstein \"Prague was to Einstein as the apple was to Newton. The city is bizarre. It's got a heritage of art and science crashing into each other, going all the way back to Mad Emperor Rudolf II.\" LIVE from Labyrinth Books, artist and vulgarizer of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Architecture"","block_context":{"text":"Architecture","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/architecture"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/krimstein2024comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C491&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/krimstein2024comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C491&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/krimstein2024comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C491&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/krimstein2024comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C491&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/krimstein2024comp.jpg?fit=1200%2C491&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12022,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-303-peter-kuper","url_meta":{"origin":4457,"position":4},"title":"Episode 303 – Peter Kuper","author":"Gil","date":"January 14, 2019","format":"audio","excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show 303: Peter Kuper \"Art has been my saving grace, in terms of having an outlet so I'm not just having today's news run around in my head and make me scream.\" Political artist\/illustrator Peter Kuper rejoins the show to talk about these Kafkaesque times and his new\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kuperbw.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kuperbw.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kuperbw.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kuperbw.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/kuperbw.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16633,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/episode-577-scott-guild","url_meta":{"origin":4457,"position":5},"title":"Episode 577 – Scott Guild","author":"Gil","date":"February 20, 2024","format":"audio","excerpt":"Virtual Memories Show 577: Scott Guild \"I wish I could've understood the book I wanted to write and written it in one go, but here we are, 10 years later.\" With his fantastic debut novel, PLASTIC (Pantheon), Scott Guild brings us a dystopian future of eco-terrorism, meta-reality, and . .\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/art"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/guildcomp.jpg?fit=1200%2C740&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/guildcomp.jpg?fit=1200%2C740&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/guildcomp.jpg?fit=1200%2C740&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/guildcomp.jpg?fit=1200%2C740&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-content\/uploads\/guildcomp.jpg?fit=1200%2C740&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4457"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4463,"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4457\/revisions\/4463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}