xenolinguistic terror!

I've made a crucial discovery. some vigilant soul is out there monitoring the madness that has oft been ridiculed: tattoos featuring logographic lettering. that is to say, getting 'good luck' or somesuch written in Kanji or Hanzi tattooed right above the ol' buttcrack. total class. so mysterious...

The blog is Hanzi Smatter, and its propietors simply field questions from computer users who send a picture of said body ink with a corresponding request for proper reading. the results are what you'd expect: often totally wrong. what's most interesting is the actual semantic content of the tattoo and the writer's conjecture as to how such a result was arrived at. (nice dangling preposition...)

to be fair, this discovery came on the heels of this post at Language Log, the University of Pennsylvania's linguistics blog, dated April of this year (the year of the Crocs ethylene vinyl acetate clog, 2009), confirms what was just as often states as the reciprocal atrocity; legion Chinese citizens inking themselves with western lettering.

a personal favorite

something about the shift from punk rock being a trash art (i.e. using stolen or broken gear, playing illegal shows, actual police interference) to the interminable so-called "pop-punk" and (improperly appropriated) "hardcore" of 21st century teenagers, marked by spectacularized and glamourized versions of its predecessor, leads me to believe that seeing faux-hawked 14 year old kids ruining pretty gear practicing something akin to showmanship is a joy tantamount to that of oedipus realizing he's a motherf***er.

observe:












clearly, there's no shortage.

by way of introduction

what follows occurs in the intersection of imaginary, virtual and real, if such distinctions can be meaningfully made. or perhaps the ensuing thoughts, concepts and conditions reside in a liminal space between these realms. at any rate, I want to explore and share a quest for understanding.

the fields in which this intellectual play is held are those of sound and symbol, and the tools and moves have largely not yet been defined. those that exist are to be reevaluated for their use and meaning, and taken into the greater movement.

formostly, the rule of law, absurd law, is forever in effect, and no person, place, thing, or concept is above it.