Joe Mills

The Gingerbread Latte

I’ve been busy with school and creating my new web site recently that my blog has taken a back seat. So, I’m just posting a little something for fun right now.

The gingerbread latte is one of those things that I like so much that it bugs me. It has become one of my favorite purchases to make during the holiday season. It REALLY makes me feel like just a consumer, but I consider it a part of November and December as much as Santa and Christmas trees. I guess I’m allowed to be a consumer once in a while.

Anyway, I’ve actually sampled many of them lately, and I wanted to give a short ranking:

1. Starbucks (The granddaddy of them all…they are like Duke in this situation…hard to rank low.)
2. Dunkin Donuts (I don’t know if they are better than the next two, but they are at least a dollar cheaper.)
3. Seattle’s Best (They give you a small gingerbread man and tons of whip cream.)
4. Caribou Coffee (Solid, but does not set itself apart from the rest.)
5. Coffee Bean (Los Angeles coffee shop…don’t even bother…they use powder instead of syrup.)

Thank you for indulging me.

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Dissent

I have been really interested in this idea of dissent over the past year. With all of the issues that our country (and world) face right now (Bush, Iraq, global warming…I could go on…), I have wondered why a real revolution has not taken place in this country. During the 60’s, people were rising up against the war and civil rights and people had to take notice. Now…these “special-interest” problems seem to be just another news story. Is it apathy? Or, is it something else? After reading The Rebel Sell, Hip: The History, and a short article called Why Johnny Can’t Dissent, I realize that there is no counterculture to fight the machine because the counterculture IS the machine. In this day and age, you can make your voice heard because there are products and services that are tailored to YOU. It is very easy to be an individual and to do the things you want to do because we have freedom to do so much. “The man” is not keeping you down because “the man” now makes it easy for you to be a puppy-loving, Precious Moments-collecting, Harley-riding, vegan who plays in a Bon Jovi cover band. It is tough to dissent when you “feel” as though your voice is being heard, and you are able to do the things you want to do. And our government and corporations are laughing all the way to the bank because our contentment with the system means they aren’t being challenged to make things better. As Frank and Weiland further describe in Why Johnny Can’t Dissent:

The structure and thinking of American business have changed enormously in the years since our popular conceptions of its problems and abuses were formulated. In the meantime the mad frothings and jolly apolitical revolt of Beat, despite their vast popularity and insurgent air, have become powerless against a new regime that, one suspects, few of Beat’s present-day admirers and practitioners feel any need to study or understand. Today that beautiful countercultural idea, endorsed now by everyone from the surviving Beats to shampoo manufacturers, is more the official doctrine of corporate America than it is a program of resistance. What we understand as “dissent” does not subvert, does not challenge, does not even question the cultural faiths of Western business. What David Rieff wrote of the revolutionary pretensions of multiculturalism is equally true of the countercultural idea: “The more one reads in academic multiculturalist journals and in business publications, and the more one contrasts the speeches of CEOs and the speeches of noted multiculturalist academics, the more one is struck by the similarities in the way they view the world.” What’s happened is not co-optation or appropriation, but a simple and direct confluence of interest.

So, what does this mean? I think in this day and age the only way to be really counterculture is to become part of the machine and make your voice be heard. Our governments and corporations need citizens with morals and values who are willing to fight for what is right…not fight for the bottom line. Any battles against the system can not be won outside of the system. They must be fought from within…easier said than done.

When I was in Los Angeles recently and saw the Takashi Murakami exhibit, I read the blurb they had put on the wall about the exhibit. While it might not necessarily reflect someone fighting against the machine within the machine, it does show that it is possible to be true to yourself as well as part of the system at the same time.

The concept of copyright itself holds an exalted position within Murakami’s practice, rooted in the acknowledgment of his work as simultaneously representing a deeply personal expression and a corporate, legal, and commercial entity.

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Parkour

I saw the above video on ESPN this past week. It is about Parkour which you have probably seen in a movie or two recently…maybe even a commercial. I know I saw this “sport” in Casino Royale. It is really fascinating. I hate to try and explain it since any definition I would give it would probably be a little off. So, I pulled this off Wikipedia:

Parkour is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment — from branches and rocks to rails and concrete walls — and can be practiced in both rural and urban areas.

I seem to get interested in these off the mainstream dances to activities every once in a while. I got interested in krumping after seeing Rize a few years back. Anyway, check it out…

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Animator vs. Animation

A friend of mine passed this along…I guess it has already made the rounds, but it is the first time I’ve seen it. It has a La Linea quality to it, but updated for the computer age. A simple idea that is well executed. Something like this could be remixed in so many different ways, but the execution of it is the key.

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Illini…Football…Basketball…

Even though I am a much bigger Illini basketball fan than football fan, I’d be remiss if I did not mention somewhere here about the Illini football team. For the first time in many years, Illini football is relevant again. Yes, we have been relevant all year long, but our win over Ohio State this past weekend was our biggest win in a long time. I’m just glad to see some excitement in Champaign at Memorial Stadium. It is too bad we had too many mind-boggling losses this year, but we could have easily put together a BCS team this year if we played the way we played in Columbus. I’m hoping we take care of Northwestern this weekend and get a nice New Year’s Day bowl…then we can look forward to next year.

And basketball…yes, this looks to be a down year for Illini basketball, but it could also be very interesting and exciting depending on how well Weber gets this team ready to play. It sounds like we are going to have a lot of players in the mix. I’ve heard as many as 12 players could play every game. Either Weber does not know who the best players are or this is going to provide a lot of competition down the road. I think we are going to have a lot of ups and downs this year, but I’m looking forward to the new blood. This really feels like Weber’s “first” year. These are his recruits (I think) and it his solely his program. Though I expect us to miss the tournament this year, anything is possible. And, Weber has generated a lot of excitement for the program with the big in-state commitments and I think the Jeffrey Jordan thing will bring a lot of attention to our program. We are at point where we can surprise other teams…which certainly wasn’t true just a couple years ago. We will see what happens…

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Stickers

I got these stickers at In-N-Out Burger a couple weeks ago. Why are stickers so cool?

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Mike Parsons

Image courtesy of Hey Apathy!

I wrote about Mike Parsons previously, but I thought I would mention him again since I saw that he has a new web site. Or at least…it is new to me…

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Fantasy Baseball

I guess it is not unusual for a 31-year-old male to like fantasy baseball, but let me explain. First, I think most people who play fantasy sports probably enjoy football the best, but I think there is just too much luck involved. What happens week to week is, in some ways, completely uncontrollable. I’ve been playing for 7 years now, and it is always the same.

Now, fantasy baseball, specifically rotisserie, requires much more skill. You need to be more adept at picking the best players because you will have their statistics for the entire year…none of this week to wins and losses. If you pick the best group of players, you are more likely to be at the top at the end of the season. I firmly believe this. Yes, injuries and down years can be a killer, but more often than not, your wise player selection will shine through.

The other reason fantasy baseball rules is the statistics. Baseball is a statistical sport much more than fantasy football. If I ask you to list off the statistics needed to make a baseball player “good”, I think you can do it. While football does have some yearly milestones, I think “good” is such a week to week thing that it is hard to pin that down. Plus, football players are judged a lot by their intangibles than their overall statistics. Baseball is made for fantasy sports…I only wish April was closer.

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Chuck Close

After talking about one of my new favorite artist’s earlier this week, I got to thinking about my other favorite artists. My list has grown over the years, and I can’t believe I have not mentioned Chuck Close before. Drawing faces was one of my great loves when I was a kid, and I think Close takes portraiture to the extreme. He takes ordinary faces and blows them up to this enormous size that just looms over you when you see his work in person. It leaves me awe-struck. I’ve especially liked the direction he has taken recently with the more “pixelized” faces. It is amazing how he can make each square unique without losing the integrity of the portrait. I’m looking forward to getting the retrospective of his work soon.

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The Monster at the End of this Book

This was one of my favorite books as a kid and it is still one of my favorites. With my attention to characters lately, I think this book offers up tons of possibilities when thinking about a character’s personality. It is such a simple idea…I wish I had thought of it first.

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