Regular readers will be familiar with Canadian futurist and ethicist George Dvorsky, whose excellent site Sentient Developments explores topics related to science, technology, human performance and the moral imperative to expand rights of personhood to certain non-human animals. We’ve linked to SD dozens of times over the years, and George was even good enough to let us do some guest blogging back before we got too busy to populate our own damn site.

George is also the Chairman of the Board at the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies as well as the program director for the Rights of Non-Human Persons Program.

We’re happy to count George among our personal friends, which makes it that much more fun to tell you about his podcast, which we listened to all the time back in the day. Besides the cool discussions, we were always really impressed with George’s choices in music for the program. (Dude’s got some big ears!) Now the podcast is back in full force, and we encourage you to check it out. The official feed is here; you can get it through iTunes right here.

Another pal, Michael Nordstrom (aka Nerdstrom, aka Mondhexe, aka fifty other things), has taken his obsession with über-legendary kaiju character Garamon to an absurd and fairly fucking awesome new level. Already the proprietor of fan site Garamania, Nerdstrom is now attempting to become Garamon.

We’re not kidding.

Check out the Kickstarter page for The Becoming of Garamike project, through which Nerdstrom is attempting to raise a mere $2,200 to get a couple of pro sculptors and makeup artists to help him, erm, make the transition. Here’s the official description:

Yes, at last… no longer content to merely document and celebrate the world’s favorite clunky, crusty, fish-lipped, oil-belching, high-rise-wrecking meteorite monster… I, Michael Nordstrom (Nerdstrom), Proprietor of Garamania, being of warped mind and highly costume-tolerant body… have decided to becomeGaramon (actually, Garamike).  Working with ultra-talented professional sculptors/make-up artists Michael Ridge and Michael Turner and a whole lot of alginate, foam and silicone, I will be alchemically transformed into a being as outwardly Garamonic as I could ever hope to be. Our design honors the original suit while adding some cutting-edge components (including the face, which will be a form-fitting silicone masterwork of Gara-expressiveness).  Our goal is to complete work on at least the initial phase (head, hands, feet and tail) by the opening night of GARAMANIACAL, the all-Garamon, all-Pygmon art show I am curating for FOE Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts (the current image for this project is a section of an incredible painting by Jason Edmiston, which will be on display at the show).  On opening weekend, my hope is to be a Gara-transformed barker and ballyhoo-er, stomping the snowy streets of Northampton to connect the public at large to the show, turning them on to works of Garamonstrous art that they didn’t even realize they needed in their lives (but they do… they definitely do).  The funds you contribute will help us meet this goal, as well as further us on the road to completing a full suit in the foreseeable future.

Backers should know that this will not be a short-term transformation.  Once granted the powers of Gara-becoming by Ridge and Turner, I will be able to become my Gara-self at any time, night or day… I plan to fully inhabit this suit, mustering all of my performance experience to truly bring it to life as a Gara-character unto itself.  Just as Jandek was Ready For The House, I am Ready For The Suit. I have a slew of mindbenderly projects in mind for my Gara-persona… YOU, the audience, will:

THRILL! at the sight of Garamike hosting a delightfully art-damaged musical variety show, to be produced for local cable access (also to be broadcast online);

GASP! while watching Garamike deliver gripping, novel musical performance art happenings to delight and inspire legions of like-monstrous folk (again, to be captured on video for cable and online broadcast);

GUFFAW! at frequent photoplay amusements featuring Garamike, to be posted to Garamania… and much, much more!

This may sound strange, but is it really any weirder than, say, Dolly Parton’s face in that thar new singin’ contest movie?

Best to both of our buds in their quest for excellence!

You know how people who hate Nickelback are nonetheless forced to reconcile their distaste with the fact that, were it not for Nirvana, the band could not exist? Well, the same could be said for David Bowie and ABC. I’m a died-in-the-wool Bowie fan, and it both annoys and enthralls me that every aspect of this song — from Martin Fry‘s flamboyant baritone to the relentless electro pulse — is ripped from the Thin White Duke’s hymnal (with a sprinkling of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music). But the song is more than a sum of its parts: ABC’s exuberance comes through loud and clear in every call-and-response chorus and gated snare thwack.

As you were.

Back in April, Salon published an article called “Val Kilmer’s Dramatic Decline,” which used the straight-to-DVD movie Blood Out as a springboard for belittling the actor. I haven’t seen Blood Out; I doubt I ever will. But I am something of a Kilmer afficianado. Not on the level that some people worship Nic Cage, but close.

The first time I saw Kilmer in a film was Real Genius — still among my favorite goofball ’80s comedies. The character he played made being a science geek look cool. I was never actually a science geek, but I did identify with intellectual outsiders who were fast with a quip. And there are plenty of those in Real Genius. Example: “Would you be prepared if gravity reversed itself? The only thing I can’t figure out is how to keep the change in my pockets. I’ve got it. Nudity.” OK, so it’s not particuarly funny as written dialogue. But that’s what makes Kilmer so awesome — he sells it with a kind of slick, left-field charm. (That quality is also evident in the mock-tastic Top Secret, another early role.)

Everyone of a certain vintage is familiar with Kilmer’s turn as Jim Morrisson in Oliver Stone‘s The Doors, so I won’t go into why he’s the best thing about that bloated bag of inaccuracy. And as the Ice Man in Top Gun? Brilliant.

Kilmer has had some rough years. Not a lot of good roles. Packed on some pounds. Almost ran for governor of New Mexico.

Kilmer is an easy punchline, for sure. On the other hand, everyone loves it when an aging weirdo actor gets a shot at redemption. All eyes are on Francis Ford Coppola‘s “horror” flick Twixt as the potential vehicle. (I put horror in quotes because we all saw what the formerly-great director did with Dracula.)

The trailer is the kind of ridiculous that great horrible movies are made of:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP7cQnOcU7I

What do you think?

This is essentially a feminist site, but as its male proprietor, I confess to being utterly out of my depths when it comes to stuff like this new ad campaign for Summer’s Eve.

Hail to the V:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_zJwLZ49zM

And look, they made some for different races!

White:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKvLd_XxFuw

Black:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DcFjbELeW0

Latino:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=szausZLMZuY

Readers (and contributors) please help me out here. Are these sexist, racist, ridiculous or some kind of hitherto unexplored combination?

This just in from our audio division:

What is the sound of a thousand suns collapsing? The blossoming of desire and the splendor of decomposition? We think we have a pretty good idea.

The Ten Thousand Things is an organic drone act of considerable potency. Lush, transfixing and unearthly, Anastam brilliantly captures the taxonomy of decay. This powerful aural talisman is available in three unique editions exclusively from Lux Eterna Records. Grab it below, or in the shop. Or listen here forever… and ever… and ever…

Anastam I
1. Immediate download of the album in any file format you want, including high quality lossless
2. Limited edition litho album art suitable for hanging
3. High-quality art photos and zen poems inspired by Anastam (PDF)
4. Antique library card embossed with a unique magickal theorem
5. Liner notes
6. T-shirt
Limited Edition w/physical and digital extras: $15

Anastam II
1. Immediate download of the album in any file format you want, including high quality lossless
2. Antique library card embossed with a unique magickal theorem
3. High-quality art photos and zen poems inspired by Anastam (PDF)
4. Liner notes
Special Edition w/digital & physical extras: $10

Anastam III
1. Immediate download of the album in any file format you want, including high quality lossless
2. High-quality art photos and zen poems inspired by Anastam (PDF)
3. Liner notes
Digital Edition w/extras: $5

And why not check out the rest of our roster while you’re at it?

David Fincher‘s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has its trailer in theaters now. Tagline: “The Feel Bad Movie of Christmas.” It’s a well-put-together montage of scenes that look more like what I pictured in my head when I read the book than what appeared in the Swedish version.

You probably know that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are doing the soundtrack (the two won an Oscar for Fincher’s previous flick, The Social Network). Well, this trailer features a cover of Led Zeppelin‘s “Immigrant Song” performed by Reznor and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I don’t love it, but I certainly admire it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yUwXwrR35U

Definitely looking forward to the film…

Did you know The Contrarian has an audio division? Well, we do, and it’s awesome.

The label is called LUX ETERNA and we’re getting ready for a couple of exciting releases this summer, with more in the queue.

First up is the new album from The Ten Thousand Things, who you all know as Contrarian Library Scientist Wes Covey.

The record is called Anastam, and we’re releasing it in a few exclusive packages:

Anastam I
1. Immediate download of the album in any file format you want, including high quality lossless
2. Limited edition litho album art suitable for hanging
3 High-quality art photos and zen poems inspired by Anastam (PDF)
4. Antique library card embossed with a unique magickal theorem
5. Liner notes
6. T-shirt

Anastam II
1. Immediate download of the album in any file format you want, including high quality lossless
2. Limited edition litho
3. High-quality art photos and zen poems inspired by Anastam (PDF)
4. Liner notes

Anastam III
1. Immediate download of the album in any file format you want, including high quality lossless
2. High-quality art photos and zen poems inspired by Anastam (PDF)
3. Liner notes

These nifty packages will be available exclusively at the LUX ETERNA shop.

Next up is the debut from Strange Angels — the recording project of composers/producers Arthur Leon Adams III and Casey Rae-Hunter. This baby runs the gamut from art-pop to Beatles bounce to psychedelica, with a little They Might Be Giants thrown in for good measure. Here’s a track called “Hotel Suite,” which is definitely more on the “psych epic” side of things:

Backstory:

[Wikipedia]: In 1989, sixties pop group The Turtles sued hip-hop band De La Soul for using a sample from their 1969 hit “You Showed Me” for the interlude track “Transmitting Live from Mars,” despite the fact that The Turtles did not actually write the original song.

Last week, the Library of Congress selected De La Soul’s 3 Feet High and Rising for the National Recording Registry. This is only the second hip-hop album to receive this status, after Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet, which was added in 2004.

Both records would be impossible to release today, due to current copyright law and the environment for licensing samples, which is both expensive and unwieldy.

The following is a faux-letter to the Library of Congress from the Turtles, protesting the addition of De La Soul to the National Recording Registry. It was written by my policy intern Adam Holofcener. We believe that the following bit of satire is covered under a clear parody exception.

————–

To: Library of Congress
From: The Turtles^[1
Re: More like “Piracy-brary” of Congress
Date: 4/20/11

Dear Library,

We, the Turtles, were extremely disappointed with your decision to name De La Soul’s morally bankrupt recording, Three Feet High and Rising, to the 2010 registry of the National Recording Preservation Board of the Library of Congress. This is not an exercise in envy, um, lest you, Library, tactfully forget our magnanimous barrage of decorative hand soaps to your personal residencies.^[2] But, back to the matter at hand, The American Criminal Law! Or, is it Copyright?^[3] Whatever the case, our American courts have determined^[4] that De La Soul fiendishly appropriated our wits and bravado without due cause or compensation. Plagiarism! Barbarism! Patriotism! We are well aware that the Library has rational faculties at their beck and call; however, we would prefer that they use such faculties in a way that does not promote rampant intellectual theft.^[5]

We, or shall I say “I,”^[6] would like to remind the Library that we obtained a pretty nice out-of-court settlement from Messrs. De, La and Soul which, in a certain way of looking at it, bound us to them and their nefarious work in perpetuity.^[7] Thus, we propose a new out of-court-settlement to accompany our last one.^[8] If De Law® Soul is in the registry, then we would also like to be inducted. We aren’t terribly sure how the registry is organized (perhaps by alphabetical order?), but, whatever the case, we would like to be inserted directly in front of De La’s entry.^[9] The symbiotic nature of our two works has gotten very “Frodo and the Ring”-ish in our book. Some have said that characterizing the works this way is a unique reading of the situation that literally no one else has bothered to notice.^[10] Well, fiddlesticks. The Turtles and De La Soul go together like fried haddock and mushy peas.^[11] I could really go for some mushy peas; perhaps, even, some fiddlesticks. You have gotten me off track!^[12]

….

In conclusion, Library, it would be our honor to invite you to a band showcase that we are having at “The Whiskey A Go Go” this evening.  I told the promoter that we could bring at least 37 people and he seemed impressed. We hope you take our considerations to heart when contemplating new additions to your registry.^[13] Again, great work on the Songs of the Humpback Whales pull!

To us being “Happy Together,”

The Turtle(s)

^[2] Are hand soaps not “in” anymore?

^[3] Our lawyers are unclear, as well.

^[4] Well, maybe not “officially” determined, but their large, looming shadow really pushed our cause into the litigious end-zone, so to speak.

^[5] A job well done on choosing Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man,” for this year’s registry.

^[6] [Ed's. Note: At this point, it seems clear that all but vocalist Howard Kaylan has relocated to the local watering hole in the less prosperous section of the Hollywood Hills.]

^[7] In the settlement, we tried to stipulate that the group change its name to “De Law Soul,” as a constant reminder of the infrastructure surrounding their future creative endeavors, but we, sadly, lacked the clout.

^[8] Our lawyer has repeatedly asked us to ignore the law, and all allusions to it, in responses to this inquiry.

^[9] Please send us the official Dewey decimal demarcation of our LP’s placement.

^[10] A fan commented that it was similar to baseball teams that think they are engaged in an explicit rivalry with the New York Yankees even though they are not the Boston Red Sox.

^[11] [Ed's. Note: Kaylan has gradually affected an East London accent (“Top of the Pops” reruns have been on throughout the making of this transcription). There is probably a correlation between this possibly unconscious behavior and the ingestion of his fifth Pimms Cup.]

^[12] [ . . . Eds. Note]

^[13] Have you thought of doing this more than once a year?  I am in a business class at the Santa Monica Community College and the Professor has stressed that limiting yourself to such few engagements does not, in fact, “up the rarity factor.”

In a rambling, hastily arranged press conference Monday, embattled American Apparel CEO Dov Charney addressed multiple charges of sexual harassment from his female employees by claiming his behavior was actually a misunderstood ironic commentary on ’70s and ’80s styles.

“But you know, clearly no one ‘got it’,” Charney said in a mocking tone, making air quotes with his fingers. “So y’know…” he chuckled, burying his hands in his pockets, his voice trailing off as he looked into the distance. “I guess, whatever.”

Waving away questions with a supercilious scowl as if he smelled something unpleasant in the room, Charney continued emphatically. “People don’t get it, see? When I’m, like, calling my female employees ‘sluts’ or ‘cunts’ or, like…  locking one of the girls in my apartment and forcing her to have sex with me, I don’t, actually like… mean it, really. It’s more like ‘unhh, look at me, I’m some creep from a ’70s porno’” he said, adopting a low, growly voice. “‘Ohh, look at my porno mustache, check out these weird ’80s glasses… they’re so cool, right?’ You know, like vintage old-school sex-predator shit.” He sneered, chuckling to himself, “It’s not like I’m actually forcing a girl to suck my dick, right? I’m like, ‘forcing‘ a girl to ‘suck my dick‘ or whatever. See?”

“It’s an artistic comment, man. That’s my thing, you know? Real in-your-face stuff that freaks out the latter-day Puritans in this country. Like, um… Artaud, hel-lo? Heard of him?” Charney let out an exaggerated sigh, shaking his head. “Y’know, it’s like no one has read any books or seen any movies or anything. Lars Von Trier does, like, edgy sexual stuff all the time and you don’t see girls getting on his case. It’s like… just fucking read some Foucault, man. Read some Derrida.”

Santana spent the last 50 years of his life on the island, every so often wandering into nearby port cities for supplies and other goods. He never divorced, but rarely saw his children or invited friends out to visit. People respected the privacy of an aging man who renounced modern society.

Time passed, and mainland dwellers became unnerved by the odd acquisitions Santana made with each visit, namely, old unwanted dolls. He would gather them from local garbage dumps, trashcans or the side of the road. Sometimes he traded fresh fruit grown on his island for a frayed and forgotten artifact from some stranger’s childhood. Ironically, Santana appeared to be swapping his own memories for those discarded by others.

Eventually, someone asked Santana what he did with the dolls. His chilling response spread quickly through the area.

It seems that Santana’s island was haunted by a wicked little girl who drowned in the island’s canal. She stalked Santana and menacingly occupied every facet of his life — blaming him for her watery death. He took the dolls back to the island where he spread them out, tying them to trees, to his house and to other objects in an attempt to distract and appease the child’s spirit. In 2001, Don Julian Santana stopped coming into the town. Some time after, the locals summoned the courage to go to his island, where they discovered his body drowned in the same canal that had claimed his ghostly tormentor.

It seems fitting that Santana, a man who rejected the life that was given to him, was haunted by a manifestation that desired the life that was taken away from her.

Santana’s legacy has resulted in one of the creepiest locales in the world. The small island is creatively littered with plastic corpses representing discarded childhood memories. For reasons unknown, some dolls were left intact while others were dismembered or seemingly tortured by the Mexican recluse. Although Santana claimed he gathered the playthings to appease a menacing spirit, it is perhaps more likely that the Island of the Dolls was the physical manifestation of a deeply troubled mind. Or maybe, Santana established his own silent society to ward off those who would interrupt his idyll.

The Island of the Dolls exists today as one of the most peculiar man-made sites in our world, not for the supposed haunting, but because it offers a window into one individual’s unconventional relationship to place and memory. It is a reminder of our own desires to break free from unwritten societal rules and establish our own safe haven where we can live — and die — as we choose.