Personal Essays

Death At The Demolition Derby

November 8, 2011 | by Ross Mantle

Dave Cosper, Logan, Ohio, September 12, 2006. (Photo: Ross Mantle)

Dave Cosper passed away on September 12, 2006 after winning his heats at the Hocking County Fair demolition derby. I had just met Dave and his family that day. The photo above is the first image I made of Dave, before I even introduced myself. I saw him and stopped, he looked over and I made this portrait. He was immediately and genuinely warm and open. We talked and he explained that his son Brandon drove too. I asked if I could spend the evening and make some photos of them all. Dave agreed and I met Brandon and Dave’s wife Natalie and started shooting. Read More »

Video Vault

Daniel Clowes’ Unaired Ad Spot For Apple

November 7, 2011 | by Roshan Abraham

Not ready for prime time: Daniel Clowes, shilling for Apple.

It’s hard not to be entranced by this 2004 Apple advertisement starring cartoonist Daniel Clowes (click to view). It was part of the largely unsuccessful “Switch” campaign created by Errol Morris. The ads star mostly unknown “citizens” (including Morris’s son), as well as some b-list celebrities and cult figures like Clowes. They present unorthodox spokespeople advocating in stilted, awkward, circular speech about their newly acquired preference (hence the “Switch”) for Apple products. The jittery, quirky style of the ads are undoubtedly intended to communicate Apple’s supposed authenticity and relatability. Clowes’ ad, which never aired, feels particularly strange, as the not quite camera ready cartoonist stands uncomfortably in head to toe black, a jarring image against the the bucolic white nowhere-space that is the setting of all of Apple’s ads. Morris wisely chose bites that showcase Clowes at his sardonic, detached, emotionally removed best. Read More »

Versions Galore

Angus Beef

November 3, 2011 | by Leopold Stotch

I know, I know, they are one of those bands that everyone like totally loves but I gotta confess, I never really liked AC/DC. In fact I can’t stand them. It’s got nothing to do with their musicianship or anything like that, for me it’s much more visceral. Whenever I hear, say, “You Shook Me All Night Long,” it’s like I have an allergic reaction. I picture sweaty, smelly Angus Young under those 8,000 megawatt stage lights and immediately my skin starts to itch and it feels like the temperature starts to go up; but not in any kind of sexy way but in more of a someone left the heater on in the conference room and I’m wearing a one size too small wool suit-kind of way. Then, like a demented parent in some bad 80s metal video, I manically set out to destroy whatever listening device it’s playing on until it is silenced. Read More »

Culture Broke

Permanent Reminders Of Our Academic Shortcomings

November 3, 2011 | by Matthew Newton

The human machine: Spellcheck optional.

To blame Radiohead would be satisfying but unfair. After all, it’s Thom Yorke’s love of a good pun that set a fire in this young man’s heart; moved him in such a way that only a permanent mark in the skin would suffice as a proper way to express his winking acknowledgment. No, what’s most upsetting about this situation is what it says about the memory retention of this young man’s family, social set, and tattoo artist. The rule is simple (and catchy): i before e except after c. Read More »

Consumer Cult

Live Like An Imaginary Millionaire

November 3, 2011 | by Dan Solomon

I was looking at Groupon or Living Social or one of those sites the other day, and I found one for the “getaway” deal that gave you a room at a fancy-ass hotel in South Beach for $999, which is a ton of money for a Groupon — but it also came with a Lamborghini rental for the night.

I couldn’t find that offer when I looked for it just now, but apparently that’s kind of a thing — “Lamborghini Groupon” or “Lamborghini Living Social” each turn up a handful of results around the country. Some of them are for $99 half-hour rentals, which actually make a certain amount of sense to me: Say you’re a car person, but you know you’ll never in your life afford something like that. For a hundred bucks, you can at least get the experience of driving one. But the $500-$1,000 overnight rentals? That shit is ridiculous. It is a Lamborghini. The only point of driving one around at night is the most conspicuous of conspicuous consumptions. If you pull up to the club in your rented Lamborghini that you bought with a Groupon, and you don’t order bottle service or buy drinks for the entire bar, you have just told everyone that you got that car with a Groupon. Sorry, Jean-Ralphio, you might as well put a big green “G” decal on the back window. Read More »