Aesthetic Materialism

  24. wind chimes - not really for the sounds, but the (a?)rhythmic pattern 23. banging a metal railing with a rock, especially under a bridge 22. twanging a plastic ruler on the side of a table 21. those big white noise generators they blast at some events 20. splashing water 19. warping a plastic record backer 18. a guitar pedal running out of batteries 17. ocean waves 16. tapping and turning a partially full metal tea kettle 15. wiping a window with glass cleaner and paper towel 14. a lot of crows 13. a very low frequency sine wave 12. a large bubble rising through thick viscous liquid 11. train whistles (but only certain train whistles) 10. wind blowing through trees 9. dragging heavy metal furniture across a wooden floor 8. a ball bouncing and echoing in a racquetball court in Pittsburgh, PA 7. wheels/track/brakes on a train 6. old radiators starting up 5. footsteps in very cold fresh snow 4. the squeaky wheel on my recycling dumpster 3. thunder, basically all thunder/any thun...

  The integration of the integrated spectacle is a double-edged sword, which, by combining incompatible narratives, creates new contradictions - even as it silences not only all resistance but indeed all rational thought. According to the spectacle, the United States are the good guys. And the good guys must win. The good guys are unconquerable. A defining feature of the spectacle is its happy ending. But at the same time the spectacle must reproduce itself, not only in endless sequels and reboots but also in endless prequels, as tangled as the chronology of the Fast and the Furious franchise. It has always been the happy ending. History was over before it began. Since we all already lived happily ever after, there can be no more antagonism, and yet there must be more antagonists, or else the story cannot go on. The role of the bad guys in the spectacle must therefore become more and more spectral, virtual in both senses, powerful and powerless, the same ...