a while ago i found an extremely well presented and powerful illustration of consumption in america, the story of stuff.
i was reminded of it while going through some of the photographic work of chris jordan, who put’s our consumption into a visual scale. one of his huge prints shows almost half a million cell phones, equal to the number of cell phones retired in the US every day. others illustrate breast augmentations, plastic bottles, cigarettes, incarcerations and more.
if you haven’t already, check out chris’ running the numbers and watch the story of stuff here.
Christmas was merry and full of family time.
I’m now back in full force from the appendectomy and seizing the days.
One of the partly-self-serving presents I gave my lady was the Sigur Ros movie, Heima. The Icelandic band has been one of my favorites for years. I’m usually listening to their invented lyrics and ethereal sound while post-processing images. The film follows the group as they tour around their motherland giving free, unannounced shows at intimate venues. The photography is beautiful. It’s sold me on traveling to Iceland. Enjoy the trailer:
My first blogged movie recommendation is a powerful one, not the feel-good movie of the year, but instead a sobering and crucial exploration into Iraq’s decent into chaos. I feel it is essential for all Americans to see–to understand the complexities and characters involved in this pivotal failure in policy.
Unlike Robert Greenwald’s films (Iraq For Sale, Outfoxed, Walmart), No End In Sight avoids simplifying and demonizing the administration. Instead, it presents an extremely well researched and executed retelling by “the ultimate insiders” of the operation.
This is the first film by director and producer, Charles Ferguson, who holds a PhD in political science from MIT. “For over 20 years, Ferguson has been intensely interested in film, and has regularly attended film festivals such as Telluride for over a decade. In mid-2005, after learning that no major documentary covering U.S. policy in Iraq was being made or was planned, he formed Representational Pictures and began production of ‘No End In Sight.’”
I cannot stress enough the importance and significance of this film. More info can be found here.
