Disqus - Latest Comments for fightwithknives

Re: The worst thing you can do is tell me that there are bedbugs in library books. - Fight with knives

fightwithknives — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 15:05:27 -0000

Thank you! I really appreciate that. :)

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/30265996319

fightwithknives — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:14:56 -0000

Yessssss.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/28141435836

fightwithknives — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:35:40 -0000

Your mom is cool.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/28141435836

fightwithknives — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 15:32:25 -0000

I thought it sounded familiar.

Re: http://hungryghoast.tumblr.com/post/20539406666

fightwithknives — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:54:41 -0000

Let me know how it is! I've been wanting to read this.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/20534927166

fightwithknives — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 13:45:03 -0000

I thought that was considered Good, though, or at least Not Embarrassing. Surprised no one brought up Fitzgerald, either.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/20069467802

fightwithknives — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:14:56 -0000

See reply above. Evidently I forgot how to use comments.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/20069467802

fightwithknives — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 14:14:25 -0000

I think a play's script can be literature, especially a really scripty one with all the directions built into it, but not the performance of a play. It's all about the language, though. Film is too much about visual storytelling, but I guess you could count the script as literature, sometimes, although I can't really think of any great examples.

Re: http://willdinski.tumblr.com/post/19286974996

fightwithknives — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:12:35 -0000

Facebook?

Re: http://southtwelfth.tumblr.com/post/16530372763

fightwithknives — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:39:56 -0000

They converted it to a theater. I believe Roundabout still puts on shows there. It's where I saw Sam Mendes' revival of Cabaret (starring Molly Ringwald!) and A Streetcar Named Desire (starring Natasha Richardson (RIP) and John C. Reilly). After Streetcar, I got to go to a vodka reception in what was formerly a cocaine lounge.

Re: http://hungryghoast.tumblr.com/post/14457079829

fightwithknives — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:42:24 -0000

Hey. That guy lives in my neighborhood.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/8391860569

fightwithknives — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 08:55:29 -0000

Look, Shanai, I based the original blog post on Reading Room's one piece of promotion that existed two weeks ago, which was the Facebook page. Further critique, which was based on a quote to the MPR that wasn't plucked out of nowhere, or used out of context. It's pretty clear that Chris Fischbach thinks there's something wrong with libraries today, and he represents it with this kind of old literary snobbery. You and Colin have tried to put a different spin on the event, but in the end, what stands out is something that disdains libraries for being too damn loud all the time, damn kids. The motivations behind it are really suspect, as represented by the quotes and literature that we've been provided by the event's creator. That is what I'm commenting on, in a casual manner, because it's funny. It's funny that something this bourgie would get picked up by the Walker because it's so typical art scene "Gawwwwd my life is so busy I barely even have time to READ anymore. I would PAY someone to give me time to READ I'm so BUSY and IMPORTANT." That's how those quotes read. That's how I read them; that's how many other people have read them. And that attitude, to me, represents itself as hilarious and obviously classist, which isn't something that you should just reject.

It would be encouraging to see you engage the class issues raised in this rather than push back against them. It's my feeling that if someone calls you out on something that might be racist, sexist, or classist, that you should try to examine and explain your motivations, rather than saying that all commentary is like Fox News. That's not really an argument. You haven't really responded to the text I've written, or taken it seriously, and you don't have to-- but please don't call it lazy, and if you're going to call it lazy, please do it in the comments section of my blog, or take the time to address the questions I raised in a blog post of your own, instead of just arguing "It's deeper than that! You haven't even looked!" I have looked, I asked questions, and I don't see that it's particularly deep. To me, it looks like a fake problem invented for the sake of having a community-oriented event. Sorry.

Yes, this is written in a style that's particular to an online format and style of critique-- but since this conversation was picked up and posted everywhere (not by me), I explained the motivations behind it. When my writing and work is being engaged, I want to participate in the conversation.

In that vein, it would be interested to see some kind of metered conversation and legit exploration rather than this "haters gonna hate" vibe. Nothing I wrote was ill thought out. In my opinion it's a legitimate response--written in a silly way-- to a rather silly idea.

Anyway, you can take this and laugh about it when you hold the event, which, you know, some of it is funny. Being too BUSY and IMPORTANT to read is bullshit, not having any place to go is an invented problem, and also hilarious. You make time for what you want to make time for, unless you have a baby.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/8391860569

fightwithknives — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 19:30:25 -0000

Whatever the event's intentions, I don't think they've been communicated particularly effectively. I still find the whole thing incredibly classist, particularly the "have you been to a local library lately? they're not quiet at ALL!" angle. There are plenty of quiet places in libraries; it's where people who don't spend their Saturdays at the Walker go to read. Also, the "I'm so busy I would PAY to read somewhere" is extraordinarily bourgie, no matter which way you cut it. It reads like we've somehow lost George Plimpton's salon, that our civilization is decaying, and there's no way for the publishers to get it back. Sorry-- that's not at all what I see, as someone who has spent her career working in publishing. There are plenty of places to read. We don't need a Facebook invite to find them.

I understand the intention, and it's not my taste. I like solitary reading. It's why I like books so much that I've made them my career; I can be alone and not feel lonely. I get the idea of Reading Room-- I just wish it weren't touted as being so revolutionary. And I wish the materials around it didn't smack of snobbery.

I'm not one to really consider the intention of the artist to be
important; artists have plenty of terrible ideas. Certainly Vonnegut had
many of them. Most of mine are pretty bad. I don't think I'm missing out on conversation; I kinda feel like I'm creating it. With all the events going on, there's a severe lack of time to contemplate and critique what we're actually doing on occasion, which is taking away from the idea that the individual is able to create without connection, that often, by ourselves, we create the best work. For me, Reading Room is the perfect example of how our sense of "there's always something going on in the Twin Cities!" is getting ridiculous. Not everything needs to be curated. There are facilities to accommodate a lot of these ideas already. And also, not everyone needs to like everything. Expressing and incorporating disdain is part of making art-- although, I wish Reading Room would address the class issue.

Reading Room is fine, but it's also fine to critique and, yeah, mock it, because it's not really an original idea at all. We need more arts critique in the Twin Cities. And although this isn't critique, either, there's nothing wrong with calling out the ridiculous, especially when the comical aspect of it masks the fact that at least the promotional materials for Reading Room read as more than a little intolerant. Who cares if you put a frame around reading when the whole point is to shun the institutions that are built for it?

Re: http://bthny.tumblr.com/post/8370489003

fightwithknives — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:41:33 -0000

Also, and this is a big deal for me, the new HHS guidelines will require insurance companies to cover birth control in individual health insurance plans. In Minnesota, none of the plans for individuals cover birth control at ALL, so it's like you're paying exorbitant amounts of money for this individualized health plan and the insurance doesn't even cover the one thing you need every month. But that hopefully won't happen anymore!

But you're right: if you don't have insurance, everything still sucks. I just wanted to point out this benefit!

Re: Addendum: Excerpts from interviews with actors about their roles portraying cultural figures of the last ten years in future hagiographic, award-winning feature-length biopics, and the years in whi...

fightwithknives — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 09:36:46 -0000

It's disturbing to note that the male-dominated media is still firmly in place in a few decades. The women in your list are all pretty counter-cultural (I'd never heard of a couple of them), and definitely run on the twee side, providing a few interesting things to look at, while the gentlemen are running businesses, selling large numbers of records, and genuinely upsetting the current state of the press and the government. Is this due to the persistent sexism of the film industry or the fact that the only notable cultural figures of the late aughts-early teens are men?

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/6282904246

fightwithknives — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 11:06:36 -0000

Hahahaha. "My colors are crimson, black, and endless despair."

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/6294656387

fightwithknives — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:55:53 -0000

I don't disagree with any of this! It is totally a matter of taste, and I'm
sure there are some women who are into it.

I do think, however, there is often a more perceived interest in junk photos
than is actually there, in many cases, at least as a "turn-on" experience.
But I am not every woman, so I can't tell. However, it's always something
that is ridiculed among my friends, enough that I can say "Who are these
women?" and to me, it always seems like "you like sex so you'll probably
like my dick." And it's always like "yes, well, but it's more complex--and
sometimes barely more complex--than just a lone snake in the grass." I am
just saying it seems like a forced male perception of what a woman might
like, and in this instance I am pretty sure he didn't really know he
audience (and she has said as much).

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/6294656387

fightwithknives — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 08:46:01 -0000

There are probably some women who are into it, sure, but to me the act of
sending a dickpic represents a gross misunderstanding of female sexuality
coupled with the overblown male ego thinking, "This is something I like, so
it will be something you like." I think it's telling that a lot of powerful
men think that a simple low-quality junk photo is a way of expressing their
sexuality and desire and most women see it as something that is evaluative,
humorous, or harassing, depending on your point of view.

I'll believe a woman finds a dickpic sexy when she tells me it's what she's
into.

At the same time, I would never type "Hottt." on anyone's Facebook page,
especially not a politician. So. I'm just a prude.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/6258391688

fightwithknives — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 10:35:55 -0000

Thanks for reading! Fix the sexism, too (it's pretty sad to mock young women
for getting their first PR jobs), and I'll be a lot more likely to be
engaged.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/6258391688

fightwithknives — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:34:18 -0000

Haha, they are a really good news site, actually! They do a lot of great
neighborhood coverage, and were one of the first sites in the country to do
a lot of citizen journalist training. I should write there under the nom de
plume Lois Lane.

Re: 2012: Tough on security, savvy on spending

fightwithknives — Wed, 04 May 2011 11:32:46 -0000

After I originally read this, I was thinking that the next line would be, "The President then suffered a horrendous bout of food poisoning after eating shrimp from Costco."

Re: Anatomy of a Fake Quotation | The Atlantic

fightwithknives — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:23:53 -0000

So it's all a giant lesson on Why Quotation Marks Are Important. Got it.

Re: Stuff about Minneapolis: Neighborhoodr is in Minneapolis!

fightwithknives — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 17:58:47 -0000

"You couldn't be more wrong" generally would indicate that I was incorrect about both statements when, in fact, Neighborhoodr is not actually paying writers or editors.

(When you are a media professional who has studied how words work, you learn not to use cliches incorrectly.)

There are a lot of us in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area who are working to build community media and working with new economic models to do so. There are lots of local community-oriented media outlets across the country that have been working to build up their neighborhood media for years. Watching a New York for-profit startup trying to monetize that community spirit is disturbing and disheartening.

"Giving free advertising" or the "exposure" model doesn't work in 2011, when people who invest their time into writing and create media would prefer to get paid for their labors. If you had been doing this in the early 2000s, when this kind of aggregation model was first being successfully employed, maybe no one would question you and you'd be seen as a harbinger of community spirit. But, from the point of view of the head of a Twin Cities nonprofit media startup, the Neighborhoodr model seems to be a cheap way of profiting off local resources.

Yes, I do have an idea of what you're doing. It is very obvious. I do it myself, for my community. Maybe you should focus on building your local communities, instead of trying to profit from others'.

Re: http://icanseenewyorkcityfrommyhouse.tumblr.com/post/4169723168

fightwithknives — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 19:05:52 -0000

Metadata win. Also, I want my whole dashboard to be this gif.

Re: http://fightwithknives.tumblr.com/post/4024684509

fightwithknives — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:32:05 -0000

I can't believe how often I went to class considering how little I remember. I'm a little disturbed because of the entire courses I forget entirely.