Babylon Falling-Blog-

Studs on a Soapbox

Studs Terkel, who made his name listening to ordinary folks talk about their ordinary lives — and who turned that knack for conversation into a much-honored literary career — died today. He was 96.

The author of blockbuster oral histories on World War II, the Great Depression, and contemporary attitudes toward work, Terkel roamed the country engaging an astounding cross-section of Americans in tape-recorded chats — about their dreams, their fears, their chewing gum, about racism, courage, dirty floors, the Beatles.

With his loud laugh and raspy voice, plus his inept fumbles with his tape recorder, he set his subjects at ease and tugged from them memories, predictions and simple truths about their everyday existence. Terkel transcribed and edited the interviews, then compiled them into books at once intimate and sweeping, among them “Division Street,” “Hard Times,” “Working,” and “The Good War,” which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984.

Terkel was also a legendary radio personality, hosting a daily music and interview show on Chicago’s WFMT for 45 years.

He never prepared his questions in advance. He interrupted his guests often. Yet Terkel was known as a master interviewer, able to establish an easy rapport with just about anyone. His secret, he once said, was simple: “It’s listening.”

Read the full story on the LA Times site here

Thanks for the heads up Kensey.

Just put up the audio slideshow of the studio visit and interview with C3. You can click the picture above or click here to watch the slideshow.

At a little over 2 minutes it’s short but just long enough to get inside C3’s head. The opening reception is this Halloween night from 6-9pm. Drinks and music as always. We finished hanging the show this week and C3’s Institution has taken over the store. See you Friday!

I should have sent this out in the email but forgot. The store will be closed Saturday and Sunday because we’ll be holding down the Babylon Falling table at the Alternative Press Expo (APE). All books, including the signed books, on the table will be 20% off for those two days. If you missed the buZ blurr show we’ll have some signed (Colossus of Roads moniker) copies of the Bill Daniel book. In addition to the sampling of books, dvds, toys, and tshirts, we’ll also have some vintage political ephemera that hasn’t been out in the store. See you there. Babylon Falling - Table 148. You have to pass us to get to the bathroom so really there’s no excuse.

APE returns to San Francisco November 1 & 2!
The Alternative Press Expo, affectionately known as APE, moves to the fall this year. Held once again in its home of many years, San Francisco’s Concourse (620 7th Street), APE is November 1 and 2, right after Halloween. Come to San Francisco early, and celebrate that spookiest of holidays in the beautiful city by the Bay before hitting the APE Exhibit Hall!

APE is one of the country’s largest gatherings of the best in indie comics, offering a venue for exhibitors ranging from self-publishers of minicomics to such large publishers as SLG Publishing, Fantagraphics, Drawn and Quarterly, Oni Press, Top Shelf, and many more. It offers a huge collection of some of the best indie and alternative comics material out there: graphic novels, ’zines, art books, prints, original art, and comics of every size and shape. You can’t walk through the giant APE Exhibit Hall and not be inspired to either open your wallet and buy cool stuff or go home and hunker down and create some of your own. It’s that kind of show.

Below is the flyer for the launch party for Big Up Magazine. Crazy line up. There’s a feature on Babylon Falling in the form of an interview with me, as well as a few photos by our friend Shaun Roberts in the magazine. It’s amazing to see how quickly the magazine went from conception to fruition. Big up yourself Katya!

Also next week is this release party for Alex Pardee’s clothing line. Despite all the corporate bullshit involved it really is a sick line up of artists showing. Especially was hype for the chance to see Robert Bowen and Lucien Shapiro’s work. Definitely check this out if you have the chance.

And finally to round out this blog post which has amounted to a list of shit to do is next weekend’s symposium on the works of Paul Virilio put on by SFAI and City Lights.

TRAJECTORIES OF THE CATASTROPHIC

A symposium exploring the ideas and arguments put forth in the theoretical works of Paul Virilio. From the sweeping effects of technology on culture to the history of the City as war-machine, internationally acclaimed artists and scholars will critically examine the ideas of one of the foremost theorists of the information age.

Lectures, film screenings, and roundtable discussions spanning over a two day period featuring:

Dominic Angerame, Jordan Crandall, James Der Derian, Ricardo Dominguez, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Arthur Kroker, Marilouise Kroker, Sylvère Lotringer, John Martini, Timothy Murray, Steve Redhead, John Colle Rogers, DJ Spooky, and Stelarc

Dates & Locations:

Friday, October 24, 2008

-San Francisco Art Institute Lecture Hall, 800 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, 7:00 pm

Saturday, October 25, 2008

-Battery Townsley, Marin Headlands, GGNRA, Marin County, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm

-San Francisco Art Institute Lecture Hall, 800 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, 4:00 pm

See agenda for detailed description of times All Events Are Free To The Public

For more info see trajectoriesofthecatastrophic.net

Who is Paul Virilio?

Dubbed the “High Priest” of speed, Paul Virilio is a French cultural theorist who examines the effects of technology on culture. Central to his thinking is the exploration of how warfare and the military complex affect society. His work has encompassed a broad range of subjects and disciplines such as art and architecture, culture studies, media studies, politics, urban planning, warfare, technology, and much more. Since the 1960’s, he has been producing books and delivering lectures that have received accolades and sparked debate. With Trajectories of the Catastrophic we hope to critically explore the core of his ideas, allowing artists and scholars who have a special connection to his work inquire into his methods and thinking.

Click here for a series of links to further reading on Virilio.

The store will be closed between Tuesday October 21st and Saturday October 25th. We will re-open and return to regular hours on Tuesday October 28th. I really apologize for any inconvenience. I will be out of the country to attend a funeral. Please understand.

The Opening Reception for ‘Within This Institution… - New Drawings by C3′ will still be on schedule for Halloween night and we will still have our table at the Alternative Press Expo (APE) on Saturday and Sunday November 1st & 2nd. More on that in a few days.

I’m sure the ongoing absurdities in the world of finance and politics will compel me to post here and there while I’m gone.

Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe is collapsing. Citizens of this once great African nation are suffering under crushing inflation, a deteriorating infrastructure, and an aging despot determined to cling to power.

According to the World Health Organization, nearly a quarter of the population has contracted HIV, with approxamately six hundred new cases per day. Between 2002 and 2006, the population of Zimbabwe decreased by four million.

Caught between economic statistics and a crumbling regime is one of the few remaining medical facilities in Zimbabwe. Staffed by two American doctors, one physician’s assistant, and three registered nurses, along with a small group of Zimbabwean nursing students, Karanda Mission Hospital sees approximately seven thousand patients per month, more than half of the cases being HIV-related.

These images were captured in the winter of 2007 when inflation was at 10,000 percent. Today, Zimbabwe’s inflation rate is officially 11.2 million percent, the highest in the world.

Guernica just put up their October issue. A bunch of good stuff as usual but found myself stuck on this photo essay by Matt Wright-Steel. See the full slideshow here

Below are a couple photos from another of his photo essays, this one on Central American migrant workers who travel by rail throughout Mexico in search of farm work. You can check out the full set on his website, here.