John Lacey Gets Personal » Culture http://blog.johnlacey.net Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:16:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 What A Lovely Way To Burn… http://blog.johnlacey.net/what-a-lovely-way-to-burn/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/what-a-lovely-way-to-burn/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:16:57 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1770 I just happened across this performance by Madonna of ‘Fever.’ It’s so unlike any Madonna performance I’ve ever seen before. I was so impressed by it I thought I had to post it here. Far from the pointy bra wearing antics, Madonna is remarkably understated but the audience are enthralled. She yields her cigarette like a sword, or perhaps something more phallic. She loses her place mid song and just continues with a wry smile. She exclaims at one point, “I’m not taking anything off, okay?” Her long dress seems uncharacteristically conservative but then they are juxtaposed by some extraordinary set of heels.

But you know what I like most about this? Madonna is actually singing, and her voice is full and rich. She’s not screaming (as she seems to do for some of larger stadium shows) and for a song that’s been recorded by everyone from Elvis to Peggy Lee her phrasing is truly her own.

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/what-a-lovely-way-to-burn/feed/ 0 Expertise http://blog.johnlacey.net/expertise/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/expertise/#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 01:00:50 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1687 John A. Keel spoke often in his books of self-stylized paranormal investigators. The expression always seemed kind of curious. I mean aren’t all paranormal investigators self-stylized? There aren’t any schools (to the best of my knowledge anyway) for paranormal investigators. But I think the point Keel was trying to make was that they were all created in their own image, they didn’t take cues from other documented cases and they had no sense of the broader history of the endeavour in which they found themselves. Perhaps they really were just making it up as they went along. Regardless they clearly felt they knew what they were doing, and would present themselves as experts in this dubious field.

I’m quite sure expertise is always relative. Anyone who knows more than you do about any given subject has the potential to be an expert in your eyes. You might know nothing about snake oil and your ‘expert’ might have divined that it has an oily quality about it.

I don’t mean to be critical. I really do believe in learning by doing and certainly to some extent learning on the job. But I’m concerned for the people who don’t have a broad enough scope to appreciate the degree of ‘expertise’ – or lackthereof – they are receiving (and paying handsomely for). I’ve known self-stylized social media ‘experts’ who haven’t the faintest idea how to update their own website. I’ve seen people preaching the merits of blogging who have had four or five short and rather uninspiring blog posts about nothing in particular. Internet marketing ‘gurus’ who have cluttered difficult-to-even-look-at websites. To people with a more nuanced understanding of these subjects the omissions are glaring.

Ultimately the advice for consumers is the same as with everything else – do your homework and get a lot of advice, and be mindful of any bias that might be in the advice you receive.

Oddly I find many of these self-stylized ‘experts’ as inspiring and instructive as I find them perplexing. I mean, if you actually do have skills and experiences that can help others now is certainly not the time to start being modest.

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/expertise/feed/ 0 Sarah Silverman on The State of Marriage http://blog.johnlacey.net/sarah-silverman-on-the-state-of-marriage/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/sarah-silverman-on-the-state-of-marriage/#comments Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:48:37 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1580 The View recently.]]> Sarah Silverman appeared on The View recently.

[I've tried to embed ABC's video of the segment but their embed code doesn't seem to want to work. For the time being here's a bootleg YouTube embed that does actually seem to work...]

Sarah Silverman:

I cannot imagine wanting to get married right now at this time in America. And I can’t get my head around anyone – you guys were talking about it earlier… If you’re for equal rights, why would you get married right now? Why would you want to be in a club – it’s like joining a country club that doesn’t allow blacks or Jews. There’s no difference. Why would I want to join that club? It’s gross.

So until equal marriage, no marriage. Absolutely not. No way.

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/sarah-silverman-on-the-state-of-marriage/feed/ 3 Music For Relief http://blog.johnlacey.net/music-for-relief/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/music-for-relief/#comments Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:46:17 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1545 A bunch of artists – including Peter Gabriel, Alanis Morissette and Slash – have released music to support the efforts in Haiti. Basically you download the music for free and then make a donation.

It was really wonderful to hear Beth Hart lending her vocals to Slash’s contribution to the effort (I had been wondering recently what became of her).

Check out Music For Relief for more information.

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/music-for-relief/feed/ 1 SMH’s Strange Fruit http://blog.johnlacey.net/smhs-strange-fruit/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/smhs-strange-fruit/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 23:49:59 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1423 SMH's Strange Fruit

The Sydney Morning Herald, the apparent ‘Newspaper Of The Year’, has featured a section on its website about Tiger Woods’ visit to Australia… with a most disturbing headline (apparently cached by Google).

The headline read:

Fans swing from branches to see Tiger

If you don’t see what is wrong with this headline, here’s an educational video. Though be advised that the video contains photographs of what this song is about.

Here is a strange, and bitter crop…

[Hat tip: @glebe2037 (via Twitpic)]

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/smhs-strange-fruit/feed/ 0 The Man In The Cinema http://blog.johnlacey.net/the-man-in-the-cinema/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/the-man-in-the-cinema/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:17:24 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1380 I don’t think I’ve ever felt so conflicted about going in to see a movie as I was with the Michael Jackson concert, This Is It. The movie itself doesn’t dwell on the singer’s death, infact other than one line of text at the end (“Love Lasts Forever”) the entire thing feels like a run-of-the-mill behind the scenes music concert documentary. Only, the audience knows why they’re there sitting in the cinema. They know why they’re experiencing this concert in a cinema and not on the stage with Jackson in the flesh. I was filled with a terrible forboding feeling from the start, an ominous sense lingering around me in the cinema seats. It was as if I walked in to see The Sixth Sense and already knew how it would end. However, quickly you are thrown into the process of the production – picking dancers, interacting with musicians and the musical director, costumes, dance moves, music performances. At times you tap your feet with the music, at other times you held your breath, there were even times that my entire body tingled.

Everything was so spectacular, it would’ve been a truly breathtaking thing to behold had it made it to match Jackson’s vision. As it was the behind the scenes footage added a real earthy gritiness, and we were given moments to see Jackson as the appreciative, softly spoken man as well as the dancing, singing superstar. However because of what we know as the audience viewing this some time after its creation, the feelings are bitter-sweet. Every other line out of Jackson’s mouth takes on new significance. He talks about environmental destruction and how we haven’t much time left, and we’re really left with no doubt that this (one way or another) is true. But then there are sweet funny moments and you are brought back into the warmness of this experience with a chuckle. Scenes featuring Jackson trying out his cherrypicker and his apparent fondness for the choreography of air stewards are truly delightful.

It would’ve been easy to exploit the grief of fans, it would’ve been easy to become overwhelmed by the sometimes depressing messages contained within the songs (especially with overlay sequences as powerful as that used in Earth Song for example). But here we are given a really wonderful balance. It is a warm and honest tribute to a man as beloved by his fans as the people he worked with.

Admittedly I come to this film as a Michael Jackson fan. I am aware that some people have said things like ‘the dancing was interesting’ and ‘I found it kind of boring.’ Such comments astound me. For anybody who has been alive at any stage during the last forty years, here is an opportunity to see the final work of one of our greatest performers and creative talents.

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/the-man-in-the-cinema/feed/ 0 And of course sex! http://blog.johnlacey.net/and-of-course-sex/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/and-of-course-sex/#comments Sun, 18 Oct 2009 03:05:23 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1345 I don’t think I have anything for you this week… except this amazing video! Why date when you can court? This little piece comes via the Found Footage Festival and apparently harks from a Salvation Army in Cleveland, Ohio.

Gag me! Dating? Uh, never.

If the Acquire The Fire segment hasn’t put you off dating completely, perhaps this will…

To be honest dating, courtship… bleh, it all seems like too much work.

Happy (Single) Sunday!

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/and-of-course-sex/feed/ 0 Sat In Your Lap http://blog.johnlacey.net/sat-in-your-lap/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/sat-in-your-lap/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:06:28 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1324 Sat In Your Lap. ]]> Continuing from that earlier post (I Fail At Life) I take some solace in Kate Bush’s Sat In Your Lap.

I see the people working,
And see it working for them.
And so I want to join in,
But then I find it hurts me.

Some say that knowledge is something sat in your lap.
Some say that knowledge is something that you never have.

I see the people happy,
So can it happen for me?
‘Cause when I am unhappy,
There’s nothing that can move me.

Some say that knowledge is something that you never have.
Some say that knowledge is something sat in your lap.
Some say that heaven is hell.
Some say that hell is heaven.

And ’tis I that moan- and groaneth.

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/sat-in-your-lap/feed/ 0 iSnack, You Snack http://blog.johnlacey.net/isnack-you-snack/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/isnack-you-snack/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 09:12:11 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1301 What’s in a name? And what does it say about Australia?

The reaction to the naming of a new ‘yeast extract and cream cheese blend’ in this country has been absolutely ridiculous.

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/isnack-you-snack/feed/ 0 The Genius Of Love http://blog.johnlacey.net/the-genius-of-love/ http://blog.johnlacey.net/the-genius-of-love/#comments Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:34:28 +0000 John Lacey http://blog.johnlacey.net/?p=1224 You might remember some time ago I featured a remix of Mariah Carey’s Fantasy here. The remixed version included extra lyrics such as “Whatcha gonna do when you get out of jail?”

Anyway, watching Rage from my hotel room in Brisbane over the weekend I discovered the song this remix was inspired by. It’s Tom Tom Club with Genius Of Love.

He’ll take my arm when we’re walking
Rolling and rocking
This one time I’m glad I’m not a man
Feels like I’m dreaming but I’m not sleeping

The things you learn watching television!

]]> http://blog.johnlacey.net/the-genius-of-love/feed/ 0