Seven Red

In one of our earliest posts, I bemoaned the fact that John Dillinger’s place in history had been “supplanted by a fucking Qdoba,” and speculated that there might be nothing worse. I meant, of course, that the location where Dillinger was gunned down, after being famously betrayed by a mysterious “woman in red” outside the Biograph Theater, was now the home of the dreaded burrito chain, and their endless warnings about the extra cost for guacamole. Lately, though, I’ve had occasion to test another theory: that it may be worse to have endless recreations of your death played out on the exact spot of your death. That’s because the new Dillinger film is ready for shooting on Lincoln Avenue, a mere 100 steps from Unnamed Employer Institution.

It’s a big budget affair, directed by Michael Mann and starring – who else – Johnny Depp as Dillinger. Needless to say, she is all excited, hoping for a sight of the star. I mentioned this to one of my female coworkers, and she did the self-fanning gesture upon hearing Depp’s name. A male coworker was there too, and he said “Yeah, I guess the ladies will be happy with that.” Ladies? I asked, and started doing the self-fanning thing myself. I mean, it’s Johnny Friggin’ Depp. That’s a good-lookin’ fuckin guy, yeah? Male co-worker then pretended that he didn’t “get the attraction,” to which I responded, “Dude, nobody’s that heterosexual.” That would be off the fucking Kinsey scale straight.

In any case, it is an interesting choice, because Depp is beautiful, of course, and Dillinger was one ugly motherfucker. So, what gives? Well, the other myth around Dillinger is that he had some incredibly giant penis (which still supposedly sits in a jar somewhere, according to the general mythology). I won’t comment on how this – ahem – feature affects attractiveness, but the rumor itself suggests that “Dillinger” – as a site of cultural interest, as a metonymy for general gangsterism of the era – was a site of powerful libidinal investment , and probably still is. In this sense, the casting of Depp is pitch perfect, even if he doesn’t “resemble” Dillinger in a physical sense. Dillinger, like Depp, had people fanning themselves, in other words (at least in the cultural imaginary) and I think Mann is right to tap into that sexuality, and the ways it both circulates and links up with criminality. But, on to the more interesting stuff: the set!

The producers for the Dillinger film really went all out on this one, setting up a set on location around the actual Biograph theater. That meant covering up the fucking Qdoba, and basically everything else on the block besides. They put in tons of 30′s era signs, and filled the store fronts with period merchandise. They even laid down fake trolley tracks, and repaved – with soft fiberglass “bricks” – the infamous alley of Dillinger’s demise. I’m talking both sides of a city block for about 100 yards completely transformed into a 1930′s street scene. It’s pretty incredible. So I thought I’d share a few flicks with you here.

Renovated to the past: the Biograph Theater sign

Cool flop house sign: Transients Welcome!

Dillinger’s Last Flick: Manhattan Melodrama (Now a Chicago Melodrama…)

Who says food prices are up?

Whole Foods be damned! It’s the National Tea Company Food Store!

Beer AND air conditioning? It’s like something from the future!

Now compare the original:

Not bad, huh?

The Atlanta-Athens-Atlanta-Seattle trip went off without a hitch. I have yet to be really annoyed by the airlines. I’m more amazed at the logistics of it all, quite frankly. On Friday my co-panelist and I woke up in Athens, Georgia, drove over to a parking garage at UGA, went to the student center, did our spiel, got back in the car, drove to Hartsfield-Jackson, had a few beers, got on a plane, and in six hours we were in a bar in Seattle. I guess other people are more used to this sort of thing, but I find it amazing.

In any case, I was going to post the Top 20 RSA Presentation Mistakes, until I realized that I don’t really see many bad presentations at RSA, and I really don’t remember one. Even the ones I disagree with are at least well presented; it’s usually a case of “That project would be so much more interesting if I was doing it,” as one of my buddies and I said a lot, but that means it’s interesting and smart enough to consider doing. I was pretty happy with the show, all told.

Probably the best one I saw was my co-panelist from C&W’s presentation at RSA. His stuff is always sharp, clever, funny, and smart, and I always learn a lot about my own work by speaking with him, especially because we fundamentally disagree on pretty important perspectives (production/consumption, etc.). Luckily, I had a chance to see two of his presentations this weekend, and we also had a good talk over beers at some college bar in Athens. I also had a chance to hang out with all the old cronies in Seattle, which was fun, as always.

Our watchwords for the weekend were as follows: fastpitch softball (mmm), eggroll (don’t ask, won’t tell); cheese-grinder (youch); beshat (which is to say, Biblically); DNA (as in, “The prosecutor will tell you, ladies and gentleman of the jury, that you can put blood in a magical machine that will tell you who committed a murder!”). You may find this confusing, but I can assure you that each of these terms was repeated on the order of 500 times, to much hilarity. Good times.

Anyway, while doing the flaneur thing in Teargas City, I came across these, probably a legal wall on 2nd and probably Lenora. These are just detail shots. I’ll probably post more on Friday. Enjoy.

Gas Mask Character, HEWS, Seattle (2nd and Lenora?)

Character, SNEKE, Seattle (2nd and Lenora)

That’s my itinerary for this coming weekend. I fly out of O’Hare (always an iffy proposition) Thursday, en route to Computers & Writing in Athens, GA. First, I’ll meet up with my C&W co-panelist and partner in crime at the Atlanta airport; we’ll drive to Athens, fervently hoping to avoid any My Cousin Vinny style situations on the way. We deliver our talks Friday morning, then back in the sub-compact, back to the airport, line up some drinks, and wait for our direct flight to Seattle for the Rhetoric Society of America conference. Co-panelist and I will be wearing Dockers and our most obnoxious golf shirts in order to pretend that we’re those consultants who go around the country firing people, like the guys in In the Company of Men, or younger and (at least for Co-panelist) hipper versions of The Bobs from Office Space. (Speaking of The Bobs, she reminded me the other day that there was actually a TV character named Bob Loblaw. I miss Bob Loblaw. You know you’re saying it out loud right now, listening to it: Bob Loblaw…Bob Loblaw…Bob Loblaw…)

In any case, I’m not as good a salesperson as some people (who actually know how to reveal just enough to virtually assure attendance!), so I’ll just offer the intro teaser for the RSA paper:

Since James Kinneavy’s efforts to resuscitate the concept in the early 1980’s, kairos has enjoyed a remarkable recuperation. Indeed, between the detailed histories of kairos in its classical sophistic tradition and its wide range of application to contemporary rhetorical phenomena, kairos has been transformed from the “neglected concept” that Kinneavy identified less than thirty years ago to one of the most important and frequently used concepts in rhetorical studies. While our understanding of the way kairos functioned in antiquity has been greatly enriched by the varied studies of its role in sophistic discourse, and while collections such as Philip Sipiora and James Baumlin’s have extended our understanding of the concept through Renaissance and Twentieth century thought, little analysis has sought to explain kairos’ historical reemergence in our own era. Put more plainly, we are told that kairos was neglected, and that it is back now; we learn about the origins of the concept, and the way it functioned in various historical periods; we apply it today for various analytic purposes. But we don’t particularly reflect on what has been a rapid return to prominence of the idea.

Our instincts as rhetoricians and historians should suggest a different direction. Our instincts should suggest that for a concept to attain such centrality in any historical period, it must solve a number of theoretical or practical problems; it must lend order, coherence, or shape to a broader table of concepts or discourse; or it must link up with material conditions in some relevant or useful way. Our instincts should cause us to ask, in other words, “Why kairos now?”

Want more? Huh? Do ya? Barn burner, yeah? Then I guess I’ll see you at 8 am Monday morning in Seattle! I told you I wasn’t that great a salesperson…

The crib is done, placed away for maybe another time, off to the basement for storage until we work up the fortitude (maybe) for another one of these creatures. Last night, babygirl (who tells me, whenever I call her that, that she’s “not a baby”) slept in the big girl bed for the first time. She went to sleep easy, but then had some fit around midnight, with her usual “Mommy Mommy!” This subsided, then she had another one. The second time, she ignored her. Suddenly, I heard babygirl’s footfalls on the hardwood: she was up and moving. That’s another first. About a week ago, she tried to climb out of her crib, and took a pretty nasty fall. Last night, she just  slid right out of the big girl bed and moseyed on over to our bedroom. It’s all over. The virus is airborne. This morning, she was at it again, up and about at 5:30, tugging on she’s hair and generally disturbing our Sunday. And it was only then – after years of mocking snark – that I learned the inherent logic of television…

Workers and Students. Indeed. For an education in the service of the workers. Workers and Students in solidarity… That’s 40 years ago now. And all I hear on TV is that the students and college-educated support this one, while the “blue collar” workers support the other one. We have to learn these lessons again and again, I guess.

Here it is my thirtysomethingth birthday and I’m back at work after a quick vacation in the country. babygirl loved our visit to the farm, but my camera ran out of batteries so you will not be subjected to painfully cute pictures of her chasing chickens. She didn’t catch any.

We also visited with old friends and new babies. babygirl made many friends. I had to promise her we would go back so it looks like another plane ride is in the works for August.

Two recommendations when flying with a two year old. Bring lollipops. Do not run out of wipes. 

Wow. We’ve been neglecting poor Seven Red. I haven’t really had the energy for it after quite a bit of work. For those on semester systems, aintcha lucky. We still have four weeks to go here. In two weeks, I’m doing two conferences in a five-day stretch: one in Athens, GA, and one in Seattle, so it’s been a little hectic with that and grading and meetings meetings meetings. Oh well. She is away with babygirl this weekend, so of course it’s been utter debauchery, where debauchery means topspun in his underwear watching Sports Center. It’s pretty racy, trust me.

Some quick reviews, in any case, so this won’t just look like a maintenance post. 1) I actually really liked Cloverfield, which I found weirdly engaging. This should not be surprising. I like anything that takes an old idea and submits it to contemporary technology and emotional tonalities. So, Cloverfield probably started with the question: What would a totally fucked up Godzilla-situation really play like? And I think they pretty much nailed it.  2) There Will be Blood is a curious study of the way business fanaticism encounters religious fanaticism. It’s very clearly a way of thinking through our own problems with these two phenomena, so the early 20th century setting is an interesting switch. I vote yes.

I love the way two lines of Chicagoans alternate through the revolving exit doors at the Quincy El stop.  It’s a silent dance of order in a world of too loud ipods and bad breath.