the Red Ape

HAIRitAge

2009-02-02T22:25:00.004-06:00

Its that time again. Time to let your hair down, let your freak flag fly, time to loosen the locs, brush out the mane, etc.
I have no idea why.

But its an issue. I was listening to the radio the other day, another informative work from NPR. An author of something, I can't remember what, theorizing on the existence of the Mullet.

His theory was that the mullet was man's contribution to masculine rebellion. The long hair symbolized asocial tendencies, a certain savage otherness that was kinda hot, (I paraphrase), while the short front circumvented the need for certain efemminate gestures associated with hair grooming and hygiene. Interesting.

By happenstance, I happen to have done some thinking about this myself. I've thought a bit not only about the hair-fondling aspect of long hair, but about male-pattern prejudice regarding long hair, and come to some rather nice conclusions.

1. Hair fondling, brushing, moving, etc., isn't necessarily feminine. Its a function of long hair. The need to occasionally brush hair out of the eyes, pull it back behind the ears, pin it back, or even the sheer pleasure of running hands through it, is simply a function of having hair. The reason we associate it with femininity is because we still relegate long hair to women, so we see these actions predominantly from women.

2. Long hair is vane. Which of course means that we (men?) attribute a certain vanity or self-absorbtion to women that men, (with their bull-nuts, $25 ties and polished shoes, belt buckles, favorite hats, big trucks etc.), don't have, a certain inherent character weakness that society allows because ..........? while men are just kinda basic.

3. Long hair is dirty. Except if you're a woman? Greasy. Somehow in the gender difference is some inherent quality of nastiness that hair takes on when sprouting from a guy's scalp. I'm not sure how that happens, but somehow its a sure sign of general nastiness,
or a motorcycle,
or a guitar,
and definately not part of the upright, arhythmic and generally unimaginative male that guards the borders of our simple and effective way of life.

4. Long hair is restricted to women because male-dominated professions would make long hair dangerous. Men's work requires short hair.
Really. For 75% of males out there, when was the last time you were around heavy machine? Or something with big hair-sucking gears? Or swinging a pick, a shovel, a hammer, etc., enough that your hair really became a liability.
A fortunate consequence of the change in labor/manufacturing and the general economy over time is that "work", has changed quite a bit. Most guys I know, and I probably know more working guys than many, but still, most guys I know work from their phone, their car, their desk, their office, or their home. In fact, most of the guys I know who vocalize the loudest about the sure nature of men and women regarding a number of aspects of daily life, are the guys with a bit of belt over-hang, cranking out a sweat punching numbers into their phone or hitting Office Max for new Bluetooth technology, of taking the boat out for fishing excursions.

Now I'm not saying long hair is for every guy, or gal for that matter. All I'm saying is, while maybe steering clear of overt Foppishness, it might be nice to put a little zing back in the social stream for guys. Why not. Yes, it might get a little awkward every so often because the ability to distinguish men from women might get a little harder, and some men and women might feel different but equal levels of threat from a guy with a nice head of hair.

On the other hand, what is this strange vogue men have picked up of shaving themselves bald. Really? Is this somehow the epitome of masculinity? Or an attempt to confuse the thinning issue? Maybe some attempt to embody the essence of technology by removing any visible hair from the body, streamlining, pushing the envelope of evolution, according to bad Sci-Fi theory?

Really, if guys can go all Yul Brenner and clonish, how about a bit of color, movement, nature. And instead of for whatever reason desperately looking to exagerate any difference locatable for differentiate men from women, maybe thinking of finding the similarities or the lack of difference and just enjoying breathing and walking and being without have to posture a gap between members of the species.

Now, i haven't got to the skirt-wearing point, which makes me feel bad. I mean, what of society disintegrates in the presence of hairy legs? It goes on in other places. But I'm a bit not that progressive. But as for hair, its not a new thing. Its come and gone. Aside from youth, its a while since its been here. And it might best work with the young, or the young and others. But hey. Hair is kinda fun.

Oh Yeah!

2008-11-23T02:13:00.002-06:00

Referring to the posting of Nov. 20th

The whole point of the posting, "the Invisible", which I'm soo disgruntled about just because of the chore of having to sit down and actually WRITE the thing, and to have to write it in a way that might make SENSE to someone else reading it, (jeez),

Was simple. I'm not sure I've ever really seen much in the way of theories, data, or even observations, about what seems a fairly common phenomena.

The decline of a civilization.

I know. It sounds boring. And somehow SciFi-esque, still.

Somehow, I'm of the impression that, and I'm pretty sure I was raised with the idea, that America was the culmination of all of Human History, that we were the logical peak of some strange cultural or social evolution, that our constitution and our democracy and something else,

other stuff, made us good, and that we'd always be good, and we'd always be around.

Personally, I'd like to think that some of the last 8 years might have reminded some of us that We're not always good, and its not a given that because we are the USA, everything we do is going to be good in the end, or that we will be around for ever.

I've been teaching some art history lately. Surprisingly short history.

35,000 years. Most in the last 8,000. Really, most in the last 2,500.

Thats just art. Human civilization went Agrarian some 8-10,000 years ago, with most settled places blooming somewhere in the 6-8,000 year range.

I tell my students that of all that time, in the West, we have about 1000-1,500 years of Representational art, that all the rest of that history, including the last 200 years, has been Abstract art.

Count up Democracies. Not numbers, years.

Greece, the Roman Republican period, US. Somewhere around 700 years. Out of a history and preHistory of, 200,000? Or 35,000 for art. Or 10,000 for "History". 700.

Egypt had a good 3-5,000 year run. China, pretty much going strong. Some other cultures, Persia/Iran, still cranking in some form. Most every other culture.......up and down pretty quickly.

And ours seems enormously fragile, based on ephemeral sets of ideas that actually require most of us to believe in them, if we're going to continue manifesting the reality of those ideas and actually sustain a body politique that actually has a body, and not just a head with a whip.

Rule seems the rule, the easier method of social cohesion. Popular consensus seems based on a number of ideas, any one of which disappearing could create a collapse of the whole structure, and probably, most of us couldn't define what those sustaining ideas are that wove this last 200 years run of populism.

However, we're not the only kind of society that dies. Almost all have. We're probably not an exception, odds being.

So why is it that I don't recall hearing much about what the decline and fall of a culture looks like.

No, not what it looks like, what constitutes it.

My partner pointed out to me the simply defining what constitutes "culture" is problematic amoung acedemics, and I imagine amoung everybody else. So trying to quantify the process by which a culture begins its deterioration, outside of being obliterated or taken by some outside entity, may be that one thing too awesome to be tackled by the hubris of "us". I find that difficult to believe, though.

So what I'm left with is the idea that this phenomenon, cultural death, is either cleverly hiding, or a topic for extreme denial.

Or its invisible.

Considerations

2008-11-23T00:30:00.002-06:00

Sue Camp, Linda's mother, gave me permission to post this on my blog site. I thought it was wonderful.
Sue is an amazing woman. Strong, insightful, fearless, compassionate, and thoughtful. Shes a devout Christian, a strong role model, an inspiring wife, mother, and grandmother, very funny, with a steel streak. She and her husband Dan are some of the nicest people you would ever want to meet, in Texas or anywhere else, and I'm happily impressed and surprised by them on a regular basis, and its wonderful when you find people that consistantly surprise and impress you.
This writing that Sue gave to her family, I thought fit well with some of the things written and talked about lately.
Thanks, Sue, for the generosity.

Sue Camp:

"45 years ago today Danny came home for lunch from the National Supply Company as he did every week day. We had Campbell's cream of tomato soup for lunch and watched As The World Turns. The twins were in the 3rd grade, Darren was almost 4 and Kim was almost 5 months old. Just after dad left with his carpool to return to work they interrupted the TV shows to announce that President Kennedy had been shot. Kennedy had just diverted the Cuban Missile Crisis the fall of 1962 and the nation had fallen in love with Jackie and their cute little children. Everything stopped, just as we had all stopped the day of the missile crisis, not knowing what was going to happen in the next few moments. Actually Kennedy's shooting was shock and unbelief where the missile crisis was fear and certainly that fear was justified that day.You should Google the Missile Crisis and read how serious it was. Back to my story. We were all transfixed to the TV for next few days. All the news that followed was shocking as policeman Tippett was shot and then Oswald! On Saturday I gave the twins a perm in front of the TV as we watched it all. We had not voted for Kennedy as he was Catholic and that was a scary thing to many people. I remember someone read the Knights of Columbus Oath to us, this is a Catholic Men's fraternal organization, and we were sure something terrible was going to happen if he was elected. I hope the fears that people have about Obama will dissipate as those fears did with Kennedy. It was a long week and we watched a life time of TV, Darren and Kim to young to remember and the twins not old enough to understand. The pictures of the funeral, Jackie and the kids will be indelible in our minds forever.

Kennedy was shot in 63, Cuban Missile Crisis was 62 and the Berlin Crisis was in 61 that took dad away almost overnight (he was in college, a full time job and three kids!) to fight in a war far away that would have been like the guards taken away to the Iraq war today, but thankfully they settled it before they shipped out and it only meant a year in Louisiana at Fort Polk preparing to go and fight. Kim wasn't born then, the twins were in the first grade and Darren was 1 year old.

It is funny how old people like to reminisce! :-) Thanks for reminiscing with me as a lot of the world will today."

Mom/grandma

Thanks, Sue.
Said or not, the big fear is the loss of culture, priorities, beliefs. Asked to define those, most Americans might not even be able to define the culture, the beliefs, the traditions, we worry about losing. Irish, Catholic, Black, Mormon, Jewish, Women, Southern/Northern, whatever our ideas are about whats good, we fear it being forgotten, and all the things we build our life on, prepare for our families, somehow going away, which does happen.
Its nice when time can be found to identify what our truths are, what we really feel, and compare that to reality, and see just how much tension we're making out of being here.

So......

2008-11-22T22:41:00.002-06:00

Heres the deal.

Writing is alot more work than I was aware of.

And alot less fun.

Its been a while since I wrote anything. Its been great. I've had the opportunity to float through quite a few years now, not having to lean on Allllllll these Arabic symbols to try to communicate whats going on inside, getting caught up between self-expression and a rigid form of communication that actually forces abstraction and distance from what one really means.

No offense to those who have actually mastered this discipline. I happen to have spent much more time using the visual as a language for self-expression and communication. ONE of the wonderful side-benefits of being a visual artist is that one expects the communication to be partial at best with a good 80% of your audience. Of course, being well schooled and versed in this language, one can trust that the content of the work is there, and as clearly discussed visually as content in any form, in the best works. And I think most people can sense that, even when they can't quite decipher the full experience.

But fortunately, the visual arts lend themselves to so many forms, that there are literally a million ways to "speak". And many of those ways are supremely immediate, and at least as accurate in that really, how accurate can one be about their internal life, when strained through language? An unfortunate reality of any language structure, including painting, sculpture, writing, etc., is that to be really accurate, one needs to become more and more focused, more and more specific, and defined through the structures provided by any external vehicle, which ultimately narrows the advent and informing of all the other impulses, feelings, impressions, imagings, etc. (See?), involved in the event of any "thought". So while one can narrow down a "thread" of an idea using language, ultimately that activity starves the idea of the myriad impulses that fed it. I suppose the audience can come in here, with a gifted writer, adding their own ambient impressions to a gentleor open idea, and invigorating it. Songs may be like this, or poetry.

Writing is a bit tedious. Of the million ways the visual arts have offerings for self-expression, in many, there is some factor involving a gratification in the process thats fairly immediate. Maybe not in a planned-out representational oil painting, where again, "language" in the form of a technique, only invigorates the craft sense of accomplishing something that paint-by-numbers can accomplish just as well. But in many activities, the blending of aesthetic considerations with a physical activity, with an emotional expression, is a wonderful dance to engage in, and the minor revelations through the process inspire actively throughout. Add to that loud music, coffee, Mt. Dew, and large amounts of chocalate, and you've got the makings of universal communion and nano-second enlightenments.

Sincerity. Someone used the term once in describing that difference in art between something self-conscious, and something "else", something whole and autonomous. It was likened to that Zen kinda no-mind moment with the perfect golf swing. I liken it to that "zone" one finds in activities. I Noticed when my sister found that voice in her singing. I see it when I find it in a painting. Its alot of work to let go and say whats there to say clean and resonant. Top shelf stuff with a form one works years with. Writing is hard.

Writing is a pain.

Writing can't compete.

Maybe poetry, song, stream of consciousness stuff.

Needless to say, I'm fully disappointed that blogging entails soo much writing.

The invisible

2008-11-20T15:49:00.002-06:00

One assumes in this era that there are no phenomena that are not or have not been observed, nothing left unlabled, unexamined, etc.

Interestingly, along with the blurring of bounderies between what is legal and illegal in a monetary sense, in a business sense, in a political sense, I'm of the opinion that the same blurring is occuring in the social sense, between what is appropriate and inappropriate, vulnerable or safe, power or weakness.

Really

2008-11-05T19:05:00.003-06:00

The "Crying" post was a 2nd Draft. The first disappeared, and was much, much smoother and more coherent.
I'm working on it.

And don't let anyone on the planet act like we didn't shock them with our election. They didn't know.

2008-11-05T18:08:00.002-06:00

Last night, I cried like a baby.

I know. But you don't. I cry all the time.

Watching Obama, and listening to his speech, I cried like a baby.

Linda cried, too. But Linda cries at galloping horses.

So today I wake up and hit the radio, and all morning, from national to local programming, grown men were calling in, talking about crying. Grown men. Grown Texas men. Grown Texas Redneck men.

ON TV, young girls, Jesse Jackson, round white guys, etc.

Weeping.

Seems to me, along with a bit of happiness, there might have been a little release of some tension last night, not just in who we elected, but in what he said about it.

Probably 7 years of tension. Maybe 8. Maybe even 15, 20, or 27 years of tension. Heck, maybe 30.

For my money, I'm thinking 40. 40 years of tension. Or 45.

I was born in the 60s, and raised in the 60s. I don't remember a whole lot about the 60s, but I do know that it was a time when people attempted to raze or change a whole culture.

What I know about the 60s is head-stuff, the ideals, the stuff I heard in the music, on TV, a little at home.

I'm a lot like Worf, from Star Trek: the Next Generation. Worf was a Klingon raised by Earthlings. As a wayward Homicidal Klingon youth, Worf idealized what he thought were the traits of his Home planet's culture.

So in ways, instead of having to "live" through the 60's, I got to think about the 60's. I do remember the down times, when nothing changed, and the times when idols fell, or the mix of ideals with all-too-human wants and needs. I remember something of the tensions between the older and the younger. I remember little culture moments when the old guard would collectively "shrug", and by what their kids, TV, the movies, and music were selling, and decide to step aside, and allow the Great Experiment.

I've got to watch that aqcuiecing, and watch those Hippie kids become adults, and get richer, and others react in terror and try to impose some rigid notion of good and bad as the "old values" in an attempt to save American Culture. I even got to watch those folk make up a bunch of imaginary money and values, sell them to everyone, and then misplace the money. Emporer's clothes stuff.

The other thing I got to hear, think about, see a little of, were those ideal back then. We heard them in school, in books, in movies, on the news. We got dose after dose of ideals about the constitution, what America was, etc. etc. And believe it, even while not seeing it much anywhere.

So last night, in one of those rare moments that outshine relativism, I got to see something just really good happen. And I got to see about the premier symbol for all the rhetoric I ever heard about America, from Left or Right, old or young, rich or poor, cool or geeky.

Remember the riots? Remember the beatings?

I remeber walking through the projects of North Omaha on a Friday night. And I remember being on a date , and seeing a friend, and being turned away. I remember waking up to writing on the street outside the house. I remember having to stand, waiting to be jumped. I remember losing friends.

Remember those dinners listening to hate, or not knowing what to say. Remember all those moments of mixed company, mixed tensions.

Maybe not. It goes on all over the planet. Somebody told me it shouldn't go on here, and I believed them. And then stopped, and knew it really did go on here. I also knew that I wouldn't see a black as president.

I realized today that I always had that. If nothing else, the main man was white. Not today.

I also understand that somehow or other, through all the suspension of tradition, and experimenting with culture, and etc, that while we didn't lose our culture, we did, somehow, manage to create an environment where what happened last night, to a younger group, was not so huge a deal. At least not to some. Pundits have been talking about the young generation not having the same experience of race, and being more open and comfortable. Maybe its true. But I hope they will stop to think about realities they didn't experience, but that shaped them, and the journey of 400 years for a population that was systematically bought and sold and abused, ignored and pushed aside and excluded, and expected to enjoy it.

And how graceful this change has been, not only by Obama, but by nearly everyone I meet, black or white, and how what he focused on in his speech, seems to be what we're all trying to focus on, and how our ideals, in this one act, seem real.

So I could say 400 years of tension, or 45, or 8, but for some reason, alot of people seem to hear something fairly unique in Obama's words, and seem to be really relieved, happy, whatever.

So congrats, and thanks for the dreaming, and a heck of a thing to make up.

Well...

2008-11-04T17:10:00.002-06:00

The blog is not unpopular. I'm getting hit left and right. Thanks.

However, I haven't said anything stunning, although I try to make everything provocative/deep.

So I'm not scaring away postings with my razor mind. Maybe not provocative enough.

Still not quite sure the function of this space. It might end up being a posting of art samples. Hopefully, its not a purely biographical blah, though that seems the directions so far. I need a bit of time.

Maybe its an Andy Rooney type thing.

But for those checking in, leave a little pile before you go. Critique is welcome. Wisdom is welcome. Really big, head-bending wisdom is sought by all.

A moment

2008-11-03T18:19:00.004-06:00

I'd like to take a moment to thank my family for who they are, as we approach this historic election, in managing to negotiate some fairly morally righteous stances and postures, or at least quietly non-commital observances of history, or well reasoned opinions backed up by cogent arguments, instead of fear and/or prejudice, and in generally engendering a degree of hope(?) in change, if not in a particular political agenda.

If all this is made up, its been pretty in alot of ways.

Good luck to all on voting tomorrow, and thanks, ma.

Oops.

2008-11-03T13:39:00.002-06:00

We're stuck with notifications. I can't remeber to e-mail.

But make sure you stop by anyway, for all the extras at the blog!!!?

First "Political" blog. Yeeeeee, ha.

2008-11-03T13:08:00.002-06:00

Story.

So I'm listening to the radio, and here a news blurb that another major financial institution was relocating its Regional Headquarters to Dallas.

As the story breaks, it turns out the headquarters is relocating from North Dallas to Downtown Dallas.

Story 2.

The good citizens are driving around town, and around town and near the airport strange derek-like contraptions begin to spring up. After about a year of this, people start talking , putting away theories of Oil drilling, defense hardware, or navigation upgrades. Buzzing begins, mentions on radio, etc, at which point, a campaign springs to life supporting the amazing good luck of Dallas sitting on a natural gas motherload and the need to support its developement, like we'd all been sharing this journey together and now just needed to push it through.

Fact.

Dallas has a group of CEOs who belong to an organization established in the 30's, which requires a 10,000 membership fee, whos job it is to sink money and support into projects that "need some help", or can't be conveniently initiated through govt. representation.

Fact. Dallas, and Tx in general, has experienced a building boom since the 1950s or 60s.\

Fact. Bush is President. So was his Dad. So was Johnson. And Jim Lehrer is from TX.

Observation. I forget that TX used to be know for its tall tales. I've lived here for 2 years, and have seen the strange culture of myth taken for granted, and people straight-faced believing whatever is said, and a super lack of humility, or worry about outside opinion.

Theory. Tx decided in the 60's to take over America. Given the prevelance of financial institutions here, and money, and this propensity to worry about self, I think the link between the national and global crisis, and TX, is pretty clear.

OOOOPS!!!!!

2008-11-03T09:24:00.003-06:00

apologies. I didn't realize that "Notification of New Posts" meant the new post would be e-mailed.

I'm removing this tool, so will try to e-mail announcements of new postings to the wonderful site "the RED APE", (which is slowly becoming a world favorite).

So tie up in the "Following" section!, and await the verbose wisdomings.

2008-11-02T13:54:00.003-06:00

Let me introduce Teddy, the mad Popper. A work in progress. jBy the way, as I said, I'll occasionally put images up. I'd like to mostly put up my own work, so when something other is posted, I'll point it out. Otherwise, its mine. Enjoy.

So heres a try. In the spirit of equal access, I'm posting recieved responses, which will go in line with my postings, if I can keep up. This will leave a chronologically linear narative for people to follow.

I'd also like to welcome the Goon for joining, ("Followers" over on the right) what is slowly becoming the most popular blog around!!! (Mark this phrase, as I'll be referencing it later).

And of course, one of the delights of this blog will be the sharing of obvious and more esoteric pop culture references. Remember, you're only cool if you get it.
In this case, I believe the Goon was a character from old Popeye cartoons, though for some reason, I'm iffy on that. A scary character.

Also, people may be interested in learning that the creator of Little Nemo, a hugely popular comic strip in the early 20 Cent., was involved in the first animation, and may have been involved in the production of the old Popeye cartoons, which used layered glass plates to recreate 3-D spatial effects.
unless I don't have time. But you can always trust the relevance of the statement, even when its wrong, relatively.

Wecome, the Goon.

Now,

Postings by Linda and Ryan.............

Linda Blogless said...
It works, honey. I got the posting.Congratulations.Now, in regard to political (ir)relevance...I am pondering the value of voting in Texas on Tuesday when there isn't a chance in hell my vote will lead to my candidate being elected.Of course, there is the solidarity of standing and shivering (okay maybe not shivering) in line with Joe in the early morning mist with coffee and donuts...Hugs
November 1, 2008 7:16 PM
Linda Blogless said...
Punkedes! I meant to say elected FROM TEXAS!!! He WILL win, of course. Jinxed him.
November 1, 2008 7:19 PM
Anonymous said...
It works... I like the looks of the place.-Ryan

Check it.

2008-11-01T18:38:00.004-05:00

This is a test, and an invitation.

I thought I should jump on the wagon. However, I'd like to make a wagon anyone can jump on for ideas, writings, thoughts, critiques, news, etc., so please, bookmark here, drop a line, , create or leave something beautiful or interesting or messed up, (interestingly), check it, and let me know if you'd like to be notified of new postings.

This would be an Issue -Nuetral space, since we're all in this together, and expression is messy. We allow expressive freedom, support sensitivities, and encourage understanding. Define the line, test it, step over it, ask about it, but no hurting.

So try it on. Post your postings, events, pics, news, worries, etc.

Do me a huge favor and let me know if you've recieved notice, so I know how it works.

Grand Opening

2008-11-01T17:55:00.003-05:00

Greetings.

Welcome to the grand opening of the Red Ape. I'm opening this site as a forum for me, to post the many amazing thoughts and observations I have about the world.

I've actually been doing this for some time through e-mails. I've given over oodles of time to observations intended to astound readers.

However, I've been under-appreciated.

So I've decided to open as close to a Basilica-type gathering place as possible for anyone to come and comment on most anything interesting. (ah.....The basilica was the Roman architecutural structure Christians adopted for cathedral design. Interestingly, the basilica was open, and had access at various points around the structure. Christians directed access to one opening, creating a condition where participants became supplicants pursuing a journey, channeled through the long axis of the structure towards an authority awaiting them at the altar).

So the idea is to float in and out and mingle and discuss with the assumption that all have equal authority, and you're on your own to offer or defend your notions.

We'll be rooting around for a bit trying to find a form for this, so all input will be welcome. I'll be posting images of my own work and other artwork occassionally, so enjoy.