Bronxville NY 3385 Miles // Zach’s Road
This time on Zach’s Road the poem is coming in the form of one of Mr. Schomburg’s poem films. He has his own Vimeo channel from where you can browse these little numbers. I highly recommend rummaging through these, they will set your day right as rain. Beyond the brilliance of setting poetry to short film, Zach has crafted little worlds to surround his verse that highlight and intoxicate.
Zach, you are so far away from home right now!
Once done, I suppose you’re gonna have about 6,000 miles behind you.
I’m not sure I even know how far that is – like 1/4 way ’round the globe. For poetry. And of course, fame + fortune, that’s a given.
Mashed Taters – Viviane + Robyn
Alright here’s the story. I wasn’t feeling well today so I spent a ton of time rummaging around strangers’ blogs, jumping down rabbit holes and basically getting lost on the internet. These mashed taters are the result. My web history today shows about 500 pages visited since this morning, so I hope these taters taste GOOOOOD.
First up – the soundtrack to this post, None of Dem by Robyn, produced by Röyksopp
Viviane Sassen’s photographs smack of something more than just photography. She’s treating her subjects with some incredible art direction and craft. Check out blue boy up there, his fingertips are dipped in aqua paint to match his underwear, his skin made to resemble fabric. Next, a woman’s limbs mingle with tree limbs. Super. And with this bip bop track produced by Röyksopp this concludes todays round of mashed taters.
Thank you, Robyn, Vivane, + the rabbit holes of the internet. Stay free, stay strong,
the Fort.
Come On Back Home – Mixtape!
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Come On Back Home – a FORTPORT Mixtape
You know that feeling when you go back to your old room in your parents house. Perhaps it’s been converted to a craft room, or a guest room. The warm white sheets, the stale teenager smell, which is basically your lingering scent from years ago. The feeling of a nap coming on.
This mixtape is what that sounds like – from the drive there, to kicking your shoes off and walking around your parents house in socks. Most people make a trip home when the weather gets warmer here in the Northern Hemisphere, now at least you are prepared with some tunes. Prepared to feel both like an adult and a child simultaneously, prepared to revert to old habits if only for a weekend.
Get ready for some home cooking from the good ol’ parental units. And that nice, warm feeling when you drive back into your adult life in time for work on Monday.
Great images from Icelandic volcano
All from Denver Post
Global air traffic is disrupted for an unknown amount of time, millions of dollars are lost daily, all due to one little eruption and some killer wind patterns. Nature’s big fu to thinking we’re on top of things in 2010. Good perspective. Ash + wind are all it takes to keep us grounded. Duly noted.
The sound of Yup’ik
Alright so friend of the Fort Lloyd Eugene Winter IV suggested I add this here – and I have an audio file to accompany this post so let’s roll with it.
A couple weeks ago the Oregon Humanities were nice enough to publish a few of my words on their blog about an experience I had listening to an Inuit man speak to me in his native Yup’ik language. I’ll just quote a couple descriptive parts here, and link to the article later if you want to catch it.
“His English was broken, spoken in the most soulful voice I’ve ever heard. He revealed to me that he was a Yup’ik Inuit. The word Yup’ik came out of his mouth with a startling glottal stop I had only previously heard in Cockney accents. The ‘k’ at the end of the word was spoken so sharply from the middle of his throat that it made an echo.
The only way to describe this tongue is to say it sounds both like a song and an interruption at the same time. It is filled with consonants strung together in meaty phrases and originates deep within the throat and chest. His soulful vocal lilt surrounded the language in a way that still has me spellbound. I had never been so perplexed by a human sound.”
Anyhow, this is what I was talking about.
Check these out:
AUDIO FILE: Ayagnera Marualrianek
AUDIO FILE: Ayagnera Cayuurlakunguur
At first you will hear ambient Arctic sounds before the speaking commences, they’re both short and sweet, little 30 second gems.
These sound bytes are part of an album that was a gift from the great Ryan Schowen of Alaska. He was so funny to say when he gifted it to me “I’d love to say that these are my people… but not so much.” Ryan is a white boy. Clearly with the soul of an Inuit, however. Next life, maybe?
Album: Pamuya Drums of the North