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photo & text by nacrowe
in the modern age of streaming and platforms like SPOTIFY there is now incontrovertible proof that HIP HOP is the leading cultural force and has been for more than a generation. one aspect of driving culture results in an outsized influence over economic trends and makes such the focus of the INVESTMENT CLASS seeking to monetize relationships through ENDORSEMENTS, PARTNERSHIPS and INNUMERABLE PRODUCTS. according to ABC NEWS, conservative estimates have HIP HOP generating $10 billion a year in annual revenue. in today's environment, the idea of a PHARRELL WILLIAMS signature shoe line rather than that of an athlete is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. as JAY-Z once adroitly quipped on the KANYE WEST track "DIAMONDS FROM SIERRA LEONE (REMIX)" off of LATE REGISTRATION (DEF JAM / ROC-A-FELLA, 2005), "im not a businessman, im a business, man."
but that was not always the case. THE BIG PAYBACK: THE HISTORY OF THE BUSINESS OF HIP-HOP (NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY, 2011) examines the HUMBLE BEGINNINGS of how rap established itself as a culture and then as a business throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. these were AMOEBIC INCREMENTAL steps that saw NYC community parties in the park evolve into late hour terrestrial radio programs to small business record label entrepreneurship and so on. what is REMARKABLE is the extent to which major players and gate keepers at every turn were reticent to be involved due to an UNPROVEN track record that was largely based on SYSTEMATIC RACISM. looking back the immense untapped market throughout the early period is OBVIOUS, but it took to time for CORPORATE AMERICA to understand and buy-in. case in point from the book is the example of COCA-COLA who were reserved about associating its main brand with a black athlete, so they took their side product in SPRITE (who at the time was a secondary market competitor to 7-UP) and ran a campaign with recent LOS ANGELES LAKER phenomenon KOBE BRYANT. it was massively successful and the continued relationship between SPRITE and black rappers/athletes continues unabated to present. my favorite example of BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP and gaming the system from THE BIG PAYBACK is the WU-TANG CLAN, who signed a record as a collective to LOUD RECORDS but had a clause in their contract that such did not cover individual members. this allowed members to sign with different label such as METHOD MAN with DEF JAM, OL' DIRTY BASTARD with ELEKTRA, GHOSTFACE KILLAH with EPIC, GZA with WARNER BROS, RAEKWON with RCA and so on. that effectively meant that the whole industry had a piece of the WU-TANG CLAN pie and collectively promoted it accordingly. just incredibly business savvy and genius in a manner that THE CLASH and countless ROCK N ROLL bands ripped-off by extended, exploitative contracts would probably be crying and seething with jealousy over. another thread in this book is the extent to which BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP was underpinned by another UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY GROUP that saw their ARTISTIC and ECONOMIC POTENTIAL and nurtured such. for generations there has been much interplay and mutual support between the black and jewish communities, especially in NYC going back to JAZZ age. from producers like RICK RUBIN (BEASTIE BOYS, LL COOL J, RUN-DMC, JAY-Z, EMINEM, KANYE WEST) to managers and executives like STEVE RIFKIND (MOBB DEEP, BIG PUN, WU-TANG CLAN, DAVID BANNER), there is a deep mutual admiration and partnership at play that is largely UNHERALDED and UNSPOKEN. such a relationship makes the anti-semitism from KANYE WEST, NICK CANNON, JAY-Z, 21 SAVAGE and even going way back to SCARFACE, ICE CUBE and PUBLIC ENEMY's PROFESSOR GRIFF a bizarre aberration that denies the SUPPORTIVE, MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL nature of such. its hard to stomach especially after reading this book. if you are interesting in the business and economic underpinnings of HIP HOP and how a culture infiltrated and dominated the mainstream from seemingly nowhere than THE BIG PAYBACK is well-worth investigation. i found it FASCINATING, having read it years before my current path pursuing an MBA. it goes to show that if marketed well, CORPORATE AMERICA will follow suit on any LUCRATIVE opportunity no matter how OUTRAGEOUS or seemingly UNPROVEN. HIP HOP is a case in point. 
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photo & text by nacrowe
YOU ARE THERE (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2009) is a KIM THOMPSON english translation of the deeply SATIRICAL FRENCH serial ICI MEME, which was a legendary 1978 collaboration between notable FRENCH illustrators JACQUES TARDI (IT WAS THE WAR OF THE TRENCHES) and JEAN-CLAUDE FOREST (BARBARELLA). it is often credited with spearheading the modern EUROPEAN graphic novel movement in the 1980s.
the narrative deals with the PECULIAR protagonist ARTHUR THERE, who ODDLY lives on the INTECONNECTED walls that divide the land of his ancestors. generations before they have had it stolen by the antecedents of the current landowners and the unusual arrangement is that THERE opens the gates that give these families access to their properties. in return he charges a small toll for the effort. a consistent theme throughout includes the INTERACTION that borders on PLAY in HUMAN CONNECTION and ISOLATION. THERE by definition provides access and CONNECTION for the inhabitants of the region but he himself is situated ALONE OUTSIDE SOCIETY. he is paradoxically an inert gas as well as an enzyme at the same time, figuratively. THERE is in the middle of a lawsuit over his stolen lands which ABSURDLY finds the region caught up in a national PSYCHODRAMA/POWER STRUGGLE by a leader with low poll numbers before an ELECTION. since technically the land THERE controls is its own self-determined state, this POLITICIAN seeks to reinstate him as a ploy to rally voters to support him. its an ABSURD plot with ABSURD characters, many of whom i am glancing over, but at the heart is a FATALISTIC, almost EXISTENTIAL, view of the FRAILTY and IMPOTENCY of humans to AFFECT CHANGE in the world. ABSTRACT concepts like DEATH, LOVE, JUSTICE, MONEY, COMMUNITY and even HEALTH are seen as distractions that dont provide meaning in a cosmos that has no rhyme or reason to it, even for a CONFUSED, HALF-MAD protagonist. the whims of HISTORY is seen as a wave that carries us all with it and we have no capacity to alter or fundamentally affect change in any meaningful manner beyond the fringes. this DIRE perspective feels incredibly OF-THE-MOMENT given the FRAIL STATE of global democracy (ala JANUARY 6TH INSURRECTION), threatened nuclear war (with RUSSIA) and the collapse of trust in the AMERICAN JUDICIAL SYSTEM given the recent DOBBS V. JACKSON WOMEN'S HEALTH ORGANIZATION decision. i feel like THERE. i escape to my own REALITY. that is probably why i read books at the rate i do. i think its hard not read this graphic novel and think about the gatekeepers to our own INTERACTIONS with each other (SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, POLITICIANS, INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDERS) and their own AGENDA in that exchange. 
photo & text by nacrowe
im always taken by how much of my understanding of LITERATURE, ART and MUSIC is a result of my SOCIAL INTERACTIONS over the years. whether that be through family, friends, coworkers or brief acquaintances over the years; in essence my appreciation of such is a direct consequence of a SOCIALIZING CONTEXT at a certain period in my life.
in my estimation, ROLLING STONE editor ROB SHEFFIELD in his memoir LOVE IS A MIX TAPE: LIFE AND LOSS, ONE SONG AT A TIME (CROWN, 2007) is very much about that personal and largely intractable ritual of MUSIC being socially contextualized and identified with those around us whom we cherish the most. in his case, MUSIC is the tie that binds him to the MEMORY of his late wife RENEE. and initially while going through stages of GRIEF that connection with all of its INTRICATE CODED INTIMACIES and unspoken acknowledgements was absolutely SUFFOCATING. MUSIC, new and old, were reminders of a LOST POTENTIAL. a MISSED OPPORTUNITY to foster a deeper connection. its quite the TRAUMATIC narrative and makes one consider what MUSIC is attached to people in your life right now and how such would be TRANSFORMED once that loved one has passed on. ultimately SHEFFIELD moves out of the rural VIRGINIA college town of CHARLOTTESVILLE for BROOKLYN and discovers new sounds and makes new CONNECTIONS while not forgetting his past, but acknowledging these past BITTERSWEET MUSIAL attachments. which is something is his wife would have wanted. i always felt that with MUSIC a big part of the cycle is the listening experience. artists create MUSIC, but the listener by the very act of consuming it, in fact transforms it. the listener creates meaning through appreciating a sound. SHEFFIELD argues that love is a mixtape and is that but a TACTILE artifact with a NEW TRACK-LISTING, a NEW ORDER, a NEW MEANING. human attachment and LOVE is as much about that narrative we curate in our hearts and minds related to those we cherish as it is about the actual events themselves. each of us individual create our own meaning. its nice that SHEFFIELD at the closing of the memoir decided to leave his heart open to new events as well, allowing that process of LIVING, PROCESSING and CONNECTING to continue. 
photo & text by nacrowe
the informative graphic novel HYPER-CAPITALISM (THE NEW PRESS, 2018) by cartoonist LARRY GONICK and PSYCHOLOGY professor TIM KASSER is essentially an exhaustive breakdown of the extent to which INTRINSIC VALUES (such as appeals to SOCIAL JUSTICE, CREATIVITY, connection to NATURE / COMMUNITY) are INCOMPATIBLE with the prevailing ethos of the modern corporate system we all inhabit. this graphic novel very much gets at the heart of what makes MODERN CAPITALISM such a PERNICIOUS threat to GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY efforts as well as the stability of communities and the general well-being of its inhabitants. corporations in particular are terrible neighbors who, by design, have an insatiable need to seek and ultimately leverage various COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES (regarding RESOURCES, LABOR, TECHNOLOGY, etc.) in order to appease shareholders and exploit stakeholders in the process. the drawings are targeted and delineate numerous complicated strategies, postures and procedures (with regards to the culpability of the CONSUMER, GOVERNMENT, LEGAL SYSTEM and BUSINESS OWNERS) in a succinct and efficient manner. the effectiveness of these panels is pretty staggering and is really a testament to how talented and knowledgable both GONICK and KASSER are as a team.
but its all so DEPRESSING and just OVERWHELMING. such is why the pair decided to have write a second section of the book that outlined how various practices (at both the consumer and business level) can ward off the DESTRUCTIVE elements of CAPITALISM and reinvigorate communities and social congruity. making purchases (and long-term investments) based on HUMANISTIC VALUES and participating in local communal efforts (FARMER'S MARKETS, TIME BANKS, LIBRARIES, etc.) keeps the immense influence and power of capital at the local level. and that is basically they key to transforming what the author refers to as "HYPER-CAPITALISM", you have to alter it from the inside out. by changing how you interact with the system you are in essence transforming it to something that is more HUMANISTIC and in line with INTRINSIC VALUES that better everyone. or so that is the central thesis. i feel that MATERIALISM will not change and that people will forever be mindlessly subject to the GREEDY, PERNICIOUS whims of coordinated corporate ADVERTISING, LOBBYING and LEGAL efforts. i dont see a communal change in our CONSCIOUSNESS as AMERICANS, which is essentially built on RACIST, MATERIALISTIC and unapologetically NARCISSISTIC framework devoted to the idea of the INDIVIDUAL. the antidote to this DEVASTATING situation is a seemingly QUIXOTIC dream that i share but dont see coming true. we are doomed. our individual and collective desires are doing us in. 
photo & text by nacrowe
there is something distinctly AMERICAN about EXTREME RELIGIOSITY. maybe it comes from our collective unabated allegiance and piety towards MARKET CAPITALISM and the need for all of us as individuals to assume and attest our own INDIVIDUALITY and SUPERIORITY over the herd. i can remember as a PEACE CORPS volunteer in ALBANIA the lengths to which other volunteers consciously separated themselves from those they sought to "assist." they were often CONFUSED why they were not thanked for their SELFLESS efforts by their new neighbors. it is that need for status and lack of EMPATHY that i'd argue makes us SUSCEPTIBLE to FANATICAL CHARLATANS and POWER / MONEY-HUNGRRY HUCKSTERS, both in terms of RELIGIOUS and POLITICAL CULTS (cough, cough, DONALD TRUMP).
in the comprehensive graphic novel AMERICAN CULTS (SILVER SPROCKET, 2021), edited by ROBYN CHAPMAN, there is an EXHAUSTIVE array of testimonials and narratives from over 20 cartoonists surrounding various DOMESTIC RELIGIOUS CULTS ranging from the benign (SUFISM REORIENTED, ONEIDA, THE SOURCE FAMILY, THE SULLIVANIANS) to the infamous (THE MANSON FAMILY, HEAVEN'S GATE, CHILDREN OF GOD, SYNANON, THE BRANCH DAVIDIANS, ORTHODOX JUDAISM, THE PEOPLE'S TEMPLE AGRICULTURAL PROJECT aka "JONESTOWN", CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT FOR LIVE aka "MOVE", THE FUNDAMENTALIST CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS and NXIVM). seemingly what they all have in common is the need to supplant the individual's need for an independent identity with that of a community ethic modeled on a CHARISMATIC leader, whether that be DAVID KORESH, KEITH RANIERE, JIM JONES, CHARLES MANSON, WARREN JEFFS, DAVID BERG, JOHN NOYES or MARSHALL APPLEWHITE. sometimes this new group ethic espouses COMPATIBLE VALUES with that of AMERICAN society at large, so the group is largely BENIGN. but most of the examples explored in this collection showcase when a new set of RETROGRADE value systems are implemented and the untold DAMAGE such creates, not only on members and their children, but the larger communities they inhabit. one interesting aspect of how these CULTS flourish is through a LAUNDERING of their reputation, especially initially, with regards to local political and business interests. its pretty interesting to know that HARVEY MILK and ROSALYNN CARTER endorsed JIM JONES at some point, likewise the DALAI LAMA with regards to KEITH RANIERE. the CULPABILITY of the broader community in allowing cultural loopholes whereby these insects burrow and later flourish into caustic colonies that threaten the larger body politic seems to be a narrative as old as the founding of our country, which itself was initiated by CALVINISTS and CHRISTIAN FUNDAMENTALISTS with BACKWARDS views on RACE, GENDER and the ENVIRONMENT. especially in a post-TRUMP (or perhaps pre-TRUMP's return) world there is an understanding of the DANGERS that come with HUCKSTERISM that plays on our COLLECTIVE FEARS and BASE INSTINCTS. and yet it continues on unabated. having lived overseas for many years i questioned whether it was something about being AMERICAN that made us so VULNERABLE to such. now im convinced our ISOLATION, ARROGANCE and NAIVETE about world affairs leaves us distinctly susceptible to such outright FRAUD and CHARLATANISM. and we seem to celebrate it. 
photo & text by nacrowe
during my teaching days i absolutely loved teaching LORD OF THE FLIES (FABER AND FABER, 1954) by BRITISH author WILLIAM GOLDING. this was due in large part to its highly SUBVERSIVE core message surrounding how AUTHORITY is rooted in CULTURE.
you have these children that are marooned on an island after some unspecified world-ending event and what happens from there is INTRIGUING. you would think that this SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON-esque premise would result in a colonialist fever dream whereby 'CIVILIZATION' is established where there once was 'NOTHING.' the idea that in our ANTHROPOCENTRIC conception of reality, NATURE is something to be tamed and made SUBMISSIVE to our own designs and needs. in short order among the new inhabitants a SOCIAL ORDER is quickly established among, with a HIERARCHY based on BRUTE FORCE and an arbitrarily divined and ever-evolving set of RITUALS (i.e. "THE CONCH"). it is difficult to read and not quickly discern that GOLDING is not merely describing a set of list children in a deserted tropical locale, but rather the story of CIVILIZATION. how SYSTEMS OF POWER are established and maintained. what is ingeniously presented is a DARK FANTASY of innocents effectively being CORRUPTED by the eternal forces of GREED, STATUS and POWER that have motivated humans through time immemorial. the implication of such is that these motivations are part of HUMAN NATURE and that CULTURE cannot elevate us above such. in fact CULTURE may be the root of the problem as it is rooted in HUMAN NATURE. even in a vacuum, new RITUALS and HIERARCHAL STRUCTURES will emerge and over time we will SUBJUGATE NATURE and our peers in a never ending climb to ascend atop that greasy pole. it really is an amazing thought experiment since many people have the idea of escaping society. what they dont realize is that they cant separate themselves from CIVILIZATION. it is a part of your SELF-CONCEPT, your IDENTITY, even when stripping it or deny its affect, you are still interacting with the concept. furthermore, if you were successful in extricating yourself physically to a foreign 'BARREN' land, you would only be effectively spreading 'CIVILIZATION' to a new locale. LIKE A VIRUS. it is quite a DARK CYCLE to consider and something I always find intriguing to think about and investigate. all that in a novel normally taught in middle school. again, i always loved teaching LORD OF THE FLIES. it allowed for potent discussions about the NATURE OF CIVILIZATION and our individual role in supporting or supplanting such en masse. these themes are arguably more resonant now with our current domestic political situation than at any time in living memory. 
photo & text by nacrowe
there is something about the SUBTLE interplay between TEXT and ILLUSTRATIONS in a WELL-CRAFTED graphic novel. especially when both are done with a sparing MINIMALISM that allows for much PROJECTION and INTERPRETATION on the part of the reader, much like when deciphering cues when watching an early silent film.
such is the case with ITALIAN cartoonist MANUELE FIOR's highly EXPRESSIONISTIC revisiting of WESTERN MYTHOLOGY in RED ULTRAMARINE (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2006) which combines both the ANCIENT GREEK DAEDALUS/ICARUS narrative with that of the GERMAN FAUST myth. at the heart of this intertwining HYBRID NARRATIVE are the DIRE consequences associated with OBSESSION. this search for PERFECTION may be the result of a WELL-INTENTIONED objective in order to save or assist a loved one, but it seems that challenging one's fate (and the gods' wrath) is another thing altogether. FIOR effectively showcases with an adroit IMPRESSIONISTIC touch the deep well of AFFECTATION and EMOTION at heart with multiple character's pursuits. this is done with a sparing use of text, letting the ARTWORK push the NARRATIVE. the space in these PANELS gives voice to the INTERNAL DIALOGUE in all of us as we go about our daily pursuits and pedestrian desires. the UNADORNED IMAGERY is not EMPTY, but rather rich in anticipation for meaning. this is a PSYCHIC, MENTAL and EMOTIONAL space we all live within throughout our existence. at the close of RED ULTRAMARINE there is no victory, solace or knowledge gained. we are just mired in our own INTERNAL DIALOGUE and personal NARRATIVES that have no bearing on REALITY. i believe FIOR illustrates in this graphic novel the extent to which FAUST and the MINOTAUR are aspects of ourselves. our OBSESSIONS and SELF-DELUSIONS are not real but projections of ourselves upon an UNCARING, seemingly NEUTRAL physical world. life is less about dealing with actual REALITY, but that which we create ourselves. RED ULTRAMARINE is a THOUGHTFUL graphic novel well worth investigating. 
photo & text by nacrowe
the ambitious graphic novel LOGICOMIX: AN EPIC SEARCH FOR TRUTH (BLOOMSBURY, 2009) by APOSTOLOS DOXIADIS and CHRISTOS PAPADIMITRIOU attempts to do nothing less than present the evolution of LOGIC from the perspective of towering 20th century BRITISH philosopher/logician BERTRAND RUSSELL and his many cohorts and forebearers from the likes of ALFRED WHITEHEAD, GEORG CANTOR, DAVID HILBERT, LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN, KURT GODEL, GEORGE BOOLE and GOTTLOB FREGE among others. in essence, since the time of EUCLID, generations of mathematicians have been search for the essence of LOGIC, otherwise known as FOUNDATIONS OF MATHEMATICS, in which no proof is assumed and everything is proven. from this base all else is proven.
ultimately such a objective turn out to be a bit of a white whale that drove many a logician to madness, divorce, infidelity and ruinous despair. in a sense the whole enterprise was a failure since no final proof was ever determined. even the inexact, impressionistic filter of LANGUAGE was called into question. ultimately this important work laid the bedrock for all that has followed, especially with regard to the advent of computing under ALAN TURING, which was based on said principles. the graphic novel itself takes acknowledged liberties with the life of RUSSELL, which serves as the central narrative, which includes invented meetings, conversations and events that never happened. such is fine by me since the complex concepts are what take center stage here. what i do appreciate are the stakes at play with logic, which is presented at a lecture RUSSELL "gave" at an AMERICAN university with a crowd looking for intellectual justification for their reasons for sitting out the second world war in EUROPE (assumably pre-PEARL HARBOR). RUSSELL recounts his life story but ultimately puts the locus of control over LOGIC to each person since ultimately there is no empirically derived correct opinion. that responsibility is within each of use to deduce as we see fit in accordance with our values, concerns and obligations. in this sense LOGICOMIX is an intellectual call to arms for its readers to consider the MORAL POWER they hold as individuals and not farm such out to leaders and experts. even there are lots of charlatans out there, such comes with the territory of INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM. cant say the same for internet culture. god id love to know what some of these thinkers would have made of TWITTER. LOGICOMIX is an ambitious and compelling graphic novel well worth repeat revisiting. the format seems ideal for transmitting such complex and seemingly obtuse concepts to a general audience. it is quite the achievement. 
photo & text by nacrowe
with all the recent advancements in BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING (i.e. PERSONALIZED MEDICINE and SYNTHETIC EMBRYOS) and genetic editing (i.e. CRISPR TECHNOLOGY), MARY SHELLEY's novel FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS (1818) is arguably more prescient to our current situation than ever before. it does not feel like a total disconnect from reality that somewhere someone is toying with the idea of creating life from scratch.
what remains interesting about the idea of ARTIFICIALLY MANUFACTURING LIFE, now as in the early 19th century, are the ETHICAL LIMITATIONS of where SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION meets real-world implementation. humans are adaptable and the TECHNOLOGICAL and CULTURAL RATE OF CHANGE during my lifetime feels unlike anything from previous generations. when i was teaching middle school a decade ago i could not help but realize that my adolescent experience probably had more to do with my parents than with these kids. what blew my mind was how different their my students' experience would be from that of their children. as TECHNOLOGY and our willingness to adapt to it move forward in time, it feels inevitable that ethical guardrails and basic expectations become fluid as well. with major OMNIPRESENT CORPORATIONS like APPLE and AMAZON currently becoming or planning to get involved in HEALTH CARE monitoring applications and at-home services, the amount of intrusion into our individual bodily PRIVACY becomes another barrier broken. during the ROMANTIC period that defined the literature of SHELLEY, as well as other notable AMERICAN authors like WASHINGTON IRVING, EDGAR ALLEN POE, HERMAN MELVILLE, and NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE, there was an open resentment against technology and its perceived creeping encroachment on the freedom and liberty of the individual. today we live in that world. its arguable we are all collectively FRANKENSTEIN's monster, defined by TECHNOLOGY and our viability in a CONSUMERISTIC SOCIETY. we are consuming as we ourselves are being consumed for what purpose is unclear. our METADATA, SEARCH HISTORIES, ONLINE PURCHASES and BIOLOGICAL TRACKING INFORMATION is being utilized by someone somewhere. its just a fact. where is it heading and to what detriment on our INDIVIDUALITY is unclear, but it feels proto-ORWELLIAN at worst and slimy at best. FRANKENSTEIN's monster had no choice in the matter. it was created and ultimately destroyed by a morally absent yet technologically advanced society that could not reconcile one aspect with the other. that feels like today. like right now. im always finding myself thinking back on the ideas present in FRANKENSTEIN; OR, THE MODERN PROMETHEUS and its forewarnings of our present situation still concern me. if you havent read the book, it is definitely worth checking out and the concepts it presents far exceed the limited appreciation brought on by the GERMAN EXPRESSIONIST-influenced, JAMES WHALE-directed UNIVERSAL monster/horror feature of the same name. 
photo & text by nacrowe
MARKET DAY (DRAWN & QUARTERLY, 2010) tells the poignant story of a JEWISH rug weaver from a turn-of-the-20th century, presumably EASTERN EUROPEAN country who travels from his small village to a town market in the hopes of selling his wares in order to provide for his pregnant wife and unborn child.
you really get the sense of the OPPORTUNITY and SOCIAL CONNECTION that the market represents to an artisan, but also the sheer IMPOTENCE and VULNERABILITY from being unable to discern environmental economic shifts. such is what happens to our protagonist MENDLEMAN, who despite having a connections and a good reputation for his superior rugs, finds himself unable to secure a buyer. disgruntled and deeply frustrated for putting so much time, effort and creativity into his work, he sells not only his remaining stock of rugs but ultimately his loom as well at a steep discount. for me this narrative is an evocation of the SUBSISTENT EXISTENCE that much of the world's COMMUNITY deals with day to day whereby steep BARRIERS regarding EDUCATION, CORRUPTION and PREJUDICE keep them down. CAPITALISM is a BRUTAL system and does not universally reward those who put in their TIME, EFFORT and CREATIVITY into their trade or craft. instead it usually rewards those that are able to leverage marketshare at scale and undercut the competition. MARKET DAY showcases how the influx of cheap goods through INDUSTRIALIZATION decimates the individual artisan who simply cant compete. it likewise showcases in striking terms the PSYCHIC DAMAGE dealt to an affected individual's lost sense of IDENTITY. i saw this unfortunate dynamic play out during my time in NIGERIA, VENEZUELA and ALBANIA where local labor was denied a dignified existence and left to serve the corporate interests of foreign companies (with no regards to their country) in order to make a decent living. it is an INTOLERABLE yet far from unique situation and is the untold seedy underbelly of global CAPITALISM. i can image when MARKET DAY was released not long after the 2008 financial crisis that this sort of dynamic of the potential damage wrought by soulless corporate interests who care not for the DIGNITY of the COMMUNITY beyond its shareholders may have been top of mind. it was when i read this graphic novel which is a touching PARABLE of our current predicament. MARKET DAY should be read by everyone. 
photo & text by nacrowe
CHICAGO's FALL OUT BOY was POP PUNK band i was familiar with throughout their peak in the 2000s with but never really a fan of. for me their music was always too clever by half with their OPAQUE and needlessly PROTRACTED lyrics as well as sonic misadventures for seemingly no reason (other than attempts at staying current to market trends) into other genres. i respected them but for me the point of POP PUNK was to be direct (to the point of being CUTTHROAT) and having the main focus be all about the hook. i preferred POP PUNK bands like NEW FOUND GLORY and ALKALINE TRIO on the traditional side and POST HARDCORE bands like AT THE DRIVE-IN and GLASSJAW on a more experimental tip during that period. FALL OUT BOY was a hybrid in my opinion that cut the difference but didnt force multiply the results. regardless i became aware of guitarist JOE TROHMAN as a creative entity through his side project THE DAMNED THINGS, a collaboration with THRASH METAL icon SCOTT IAN of ANTHRAX. to my ears that band creatively was much more ROBUST, the MELODIC hooks HARDER HITTING and they didnt appear worried about being clever or ironic at all. so that is my bias going into this book and i just want to get that out of the way right at the jump.
whats interesting is that the memoir NONE OF THIS ROCKS (HACHETTE, 2022) is not really all that concerned with FALL OUT BOY, it is more about the PSYCHOLOGY surrounding SUCCESS, FAME and POPULARITY and feeling like an IMPOSTER and completely unworthy of one's own success, irregardless of talent, work effort and luck. the memoir dives headfirst into TROHMAN's TROUBLED relationship with his mother and the extended CRUELTY he sustained as a child and the consequences of such on his EMOTIONAL, PHYSICAL and PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT. TROHMAN fearlessly explains how growing up JEWISH in the midwest likewise isolated him outside of his household much as his mother's PETULANT and UNSUPPORTIVE behavior did so within. to share that MENTAL SPACE with him could be quite CLAUSTROPHOBIC at times and that feels like part of the point. you realize through that TENSION what a RELIEF and TRANSFORMATIVE experience it must have been to discover the CHICAGO HARDCORE scene in his teens. you can sense the freedom that comes when the IDENTITY you inherited marks you as the "other" in one environment and then in a new context you are but one of many in a supportive, ENABLING community with a shared INTEREST and PASSION. in essence your passion defines you. ive read i dont know how many memoirs and biographies of musicians and artists since beginning this blog and NONE OF THIS ROCKS differentiates itself through its conversation of what people now term IMPOSTER SYNDROME, which is that UNEASY feeling of not being qualified for a position or level of SUCCESS. having lived half my life abroad (JAPAN, NIGERIA, ALBANIA, KUWAIT, VENEZUELA and MYANMAR) and returning stateside to venture into varying industries (starting a recording studio, making music videos, going back to school for my MBA) and interests (starting a bi-weekly internet radio show, writing semi-publicly about various content); i am all too familiar with that intense feeling of being fearful of being exposed as a COMPLETE FRAUD. i really feel that TROHMAN is quite COURAGEOUS in writing a book largely concerned with contextualizing why he feels this way (CRUEL mother, JEWISH "otherness," not being "sporty" or having fancy college degrees) and how it led him down a FRACTURED, non-functioning path with his INTIMATE collaborators in FALL OUT BOY that led him to drug abuse and other outside palliative efforts that didnt get at the core of his NEUROSIS and DYSFUNCTION. i also believe just as COURAGEOUS is how, ironically, it is his family that serves as his SALVATION. specifically the grounding effect of his wife and two daughters as well as the perennial support and guiding example of his father, not to mention friends and peers like SCOTT IAN who had the STRENGTH and EMPATHY to call him out directly during the depths of his chemical downfall. for me this book is not about the career trajectory of a band, but the evolution of a musician to transcend aspects of his childhood and upbringing of which he had no control over and break the cycle moving forward as a creative adult fully aware but not defined by his mistakes and deficiencies. i found it all rather TOUCHING. my only gripe is stylistically the CONFESSIONAL, almost DIARISTIC fashion in which the book is written can feel meandering and in need of editing at times. also structurally much of the same plot points in his life are repeated several times for no identifiable reason. these are small concerns and inevitably they are AUTHENTIC to TROHMAN since i have no doubt he is the actual author of this book. a ghostwriter would never have allowed such to transpire so for better or worse, this is unequivocally his true and salute him for putting himself out there in such a NAKED fashion. much like the DIY ethos of the HARDCORE scene, his example makes me feel like i should get off my ass already and start writing about my time living abroad already. i get asked enough to do such as it is. like TROHMAN, i just need to get over myself and just go ahead and do it. 
photo & text by nacrowe
in the fall of 1998 i entered my freshman year of high school at a BOARDING SCHOOL in MASSACHUSETTS. the previous three years i spent living and going to school in NIGERIA, where my parents relocated for work and were still living at the time. before AFRICA, i grew up in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. its funny to look back on everything now, but arguably the CULTURE SHOCK of attending a BOARDING SCHOOL was a bigger DISRUPTION to my system than moving to AFRICA. for all of its cultural and political differences with the CALIFORNIA, NIGERIA was really not that different. sure you had to adjust to things like overt corruption when dealing with the police and reduced access to clear water and electricity, but really life in AFRICA was a variation on a theme.
BOARDING SCHOOL, however, was another beast entirely. it was an OPAQUE system filled with UNSPOKEN POWER HIERARCHIES and agreements. i found this period to be incredibly CONFUSING and still do to this day, especially given how it later fed into an equally mysterious college system that favored the BYZANTINE influence structures of the elite. which brings me to J.D. SALINGER's THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (LITTLE, BROWN & CO, 1951), a novel seemingly everyone has read in high school. funny enough, this was one of a dozen books i was assigned to read the summer before freshman year. it was a funny choice: a book about a kid who hates the PHONINESS of BOARDING SCHOOL that was being read by a kid about to enter an elite BOARDING SCHOOL. i had a hard time identifying with HOLDEN CAULFIELD. i couldnt figure out the source of his complaints and his gripe with his peers. maybe that was the point. maybe he was like MARLON BRANDO's character in THE WILD ONE stating "what have you got" when asked what he was rebelling against. maybe he is a cypher for youthful rebellion in general, unable to verbalize or locate his anger within the context of a COMPLICATED ADULT WORLD he is about to enter. i got that sort of existential dread, as i was soon to be leaving my parents a hemisphere away, but not the ANGER. not that sense of projection of FEAR and SELF-LOATHING misdirected at his peers. as i stated before, my original context of reading this book was within the confines of living and attending a BOARDING SCHOOL. as a primer to that experience, i didnt share his reaction. his fictional experience was that of a PRIMAL SCREAM directed outwards. mine was completely internal. the unrelenting competitiveness, the arcane rituals, the unspoken agreements, the double standards all led me to doubt myself. i entered a fish out of water and i left equally unsure of my place. i remember an older student in my dorm was busted for selling PCP on campus, but was quietly reinstated after a brief suspension, his father after all was a famous businessman from NEW ENGLAND and a soap magnate. i guess they wouldnt want to sour his reputation with public knowledge of his son's extracurricular activities. to make it worse the school had the father give a speech soon after about the business implications of BUDDHIST precepts surrounding the NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH. it was the height of hypocrisy. i could go on. a 'C' student was one of a handful that got into YALE UNIVERSITY, his father being a corporate lawyer in the auto industry. it was all CONFUSING and UNJUST. it was a great entry point into the real world. for me THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is about that moment when childhood ends and one becomes numb, jaded and less IDEALISTIC about their place in the world. maybe i wasnt that different from CAULFIELD after all. 
photo & text by nacrowe
EXIT WOUNDS (DRAWN & QUARTERLY, 2007) by ISRAELI cartoonist RUTU MODAN is a narrative concerned with the crippling PSYCHIC CONSEQUENCES that come with being SEPARATED from family. much of the narrative follows a cab driver named KOBY who learns that his estranged father may have been killed in a terrorist attack. given his distance from his father, the story unfolds as a series of echos and readjustments of this strained relationship as he meets more and more people that have varying degrees of remembering him, including a young wealthy girlfriend named NUMI. as the two seek out KOBY's father, the two find themselves likewise testing out their own feels of connection for one another.
its a very interesting dynamic that MODAN is adroitly manipulating throughout the graphic novel; that idea of CONNECTION and DISTANCE in a volatile geopolitical space. more than a decade ago i was able to visit ISRAEL and witnessed firsthand the extent to which public safety and calculated risk play a daily part of one's existence in major cities like TEL AVIV, JERUSALEM and HAIFA where i was visiting friends. there is a very real sense that anything can happen at anytime and that one's personal relationships are of paramount importance because there is the palpable concept of each day being your last. and that isnt hyperbole. within EXIT WOUNDS, you have characters that feel varying gradations of CONNECTION to one another, irrespective of this background noise of DANGER and wonton public VIOLENCE. i think its an interesting choice that (SPOILER ALERT) KOBY never explicitly verifies his father's existence but is calmed and soothed that his new wife is such a pleasant person. it is almost as if the reverberations of his father's past actions and the BITTERNESS and PAIN they extolled are being replaced, effectively in abstentia, by a new set of reassuring echos of GRACE and UNDESTANDING. seeing this wonderful, selfless person who is nourished by her new relationship with his father is enough for him to move on as well and initiate a new sense of aspirational connection with NUMI. its an interesting dynamic and very much reminded me of people ive met in places like VENEZUELA, MYANMAR and ALBANIA who make the most of life in volatile surroundings. life being experienced as ever more PRECIOUS. its something that i dont feel on AMERICAN soil, especially in recent years with the pandemic and political strife effectively bifurcating my country. maybe as some point we will all come to the same realization. definitely not. 
photo & text by nacrowe
the greater AMERICAN media culture and the incestuous community of HOLLYWOOD in particular has a long history of SELF-CANNIBALISM and callously discarding outmoded GENRES, DIRECTORS, STARS and FILMS to the over-piled trash heap of history. with his legendary film SUNSET BOULEVARD (PARAMOUNT, 1950), emigre screenwriter / director BILLY WILDER very much examines the created media figure of the "has been" and the extreme lengths to which people will go to get ahead in HOLLYWOOD and by extension, AMERICAN CAPITALISM.
in his book CLOSE-UP ON SUNSET BOULEVARD: BILLY WILDER, NORMA DESMOND, AND THE DARK HOLLYWOOD DREAM (ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN, 2003), writer SAM STAGGS examines the history of the production of this landmark film. far and away the most interesting aspect of this film was its staggeringly poignant sense of INTERTEXTUALITY, whereby casting decisions placed a meta conversation on top of the narrative. this happened when the character of NORMA DESMOND, a washed-up former silent film star outmoded in the age of "talkies," was played by GLORIA SWANSON, a washed-up former silent film star who suffered a similar career fate. ingeniously her butler who steadfastly stands silent sentry throughout the film in her stead is none other than silent-film era director ERICH VON STROHEIM, who directed SWANSON in QUEEN KELLY (UNITED ARTISTS, 1929), of which some footage is utilized in this film. one of the famous lines from SUNSET BOULEVARD is the line "I am big. It is the films that got small." in which DESMOND essentially contends that the transition from silent film to talkies was in essence an ABERRATION and effectively a DENIGRATION of a higher art form. for me it is that concept of TECHNICAL INNOVATION manifesting in an apparent act of ARTISTIC DESECRATION that has long held fascination with me. it is a dynamic that is beyond poignant in the modern digital era where CONTENT and VIEWER ATTENTION is king, and ARTISTRY and INTENTION is of secondary or even a distant tertiary concern. i noticed this all the time when taught middle and high school stateside and students had little knowledge of CINEMA CULTURE or LITERATURE. its one thing to have not read MOBY DICK, but it is another to have never heard of the book at all. and to tell you the truth, i never blamed them since they are coming of age in a mobile technological ecosystem that has no bearing on the experience of past generations. to expect them to have the attention or drive to seek out past forms of entertainment makes little sense. they are native to a new format with a new set of SOCIETAL NORMATIVE EXPECTATIONS and CULTURAL MORES. the bigger question, and this gets back to SUNSET BOULEVARD, is what is the value of the outmoded medium, the forgotten actor or a film of previous era in this new media environment. does it dissipate into the ether? technology will always move forward with new attendant modes of communication and artistry. same deal if you expand that metaphor out to the lived AMERICAN experience in terms of economics and the labor market in the age of automation. it feels like we live in an era of SELF-CANNIBALISM, whereby all that comes from before is rendered useless and of no value. much like the career of the washed-up DESMOND awaiting her close-up with MR. DEMILLE, we are all awaiting our moment to bask in a glory outside our own mediocrity and human frailty in this modern era where we are churned and mined for content and metadata. 
BOOK REVIEW | "TRINITY: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB" BY JONATHAN FETTER-VORM8/29/2022 
photo & text by nacrowe
in TRINITY: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB (HILL AND WANG, 2012) author JONATHAN FETTER-VORM gets at the MORAL QUANDARY that was the MANHATTAN PROJECT and the creation of the ATOMIC BOMB during WORLD WAR II. initially viewed as a purely SPECULATIVE and PREVENTATIVE MEASURE that would help end the war with GERMANY, its creation instead sparked a new age of global PARANOIA and the threat of global MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION.
at the center of the narrative is theoretical physicist and BERKELEY professor J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER who, along with GENERAL LESLIE GROVES (who previously oversaw the construction of THE PENTAGON) gathers a team and spearheads this national project. part of what FETTER-VORM does exceedingly well in this graphic novel is literally illustrate the SCIENTIFIC THEORY and TECHNICAL WIZARDRY that came with solving COMPLEX PROBLEMS with regard to controlling this incredible NUCLEAR ENERGY. it really cannot be understated how much INNOVATION and INGENUITY was involved in the conception and construction of the ATOMIC BOMB. whats hard to stomach is how little it seemed that these scientists considered the MORAL IMPLICATIONS of their work, so caught up in the PATRIOTIC FERVOR and EXISTENTIAL state of affairs that WORLD WAR II presented. even after its completion on a panel meant to analyze the POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS of their work, these scientists obfuscated and essentially passed the buck to their enablers in the political sphere. i understand that science, much like the nature of reality, is inherently neutral and that all DISCOVERIES, INNOVATIONS and APPLICATIONS of APPLIED TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE are susceptible to the whims of people. people who are innately FALLIBLE and prone to OUTSIDE PRESSURES and INTERNAL NEUROTICISM. but when you are messing with NUCLEAR FISSION and the ELEMENTAL DESTRUCTIVE FORCES OF THE UNIVERSE, how could they be so NAIVE? its an interesting dilemma that is expertly outlined by FETTER-VORM. and is beyond timely given the COMPLICATED GLOBAL POLITICS at play currently between THE WEST, RUSSIA and CHINA. that said, TRINITY: A GRAPHIC HISTORY OF THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB is an incredible MEDITATION on the line between TECHNOLOGY, SECURITY and RESPONSIBILITY and is most definitely worth checking out. 
photo & text by nacrowe
i read HERMAN MELVILLE's MOBY DICK (HARPER & BROTHERS, 1851) back when i was an undergrad at RUTGERS UNIVERSITY. i was an english major and learned that junior year that because of my GPA i was eligible to purse an honors track, which meant more work. and a lot of it. so the context of my reading this book was in a specialized class meant to "prepare" you for writing a senior thesis, of which you had a year to research and write. what the class in reality was meant to do was wean out anyone the department deemed ineligible to purse the track further. it was intense.
and this book is INTENSE and ALL-ENCOMPASSING. the plot of the book is pretty simple and uninteresting, famously dealing with a captain seeking a SPERM WHALE somewhere off the coast of NEW ENGLAND. again, not that interesting. the power of the book lies in its almost encyclopedic presentation of the vast myriads of ways that relationship can be understood. MELVILLE essentially explores ad nauseam all the various CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS, EMOTIONAL, POLITICAL, METAPHYSICAL, and ALLEGORICAL understandings surrounding the figure of the WHALE. at least from a late 19th century coastal NEW ENGLAND perspective. this includes everything from CHRISTIAN RELIGIOUS ICONOGRAPHY to the ECONOMICS of SPERM OIL PRODUCTION and beyond. literally anything and everything you would ever want to know about SPERM WHALES and its impact on AMERICAN society in the mid-19th century is presented at some point in MOBY DICK. so the task of the reader in essence is in attempting to understand and balance all of the CULTURAL, EMOTIONAL, ECONOMIC, RELIGIOUS, POLITICAL, METAPHYSICAL and ALLEGORICAL implications of the situation when CAPTAIN AHAB seeks out his obsession. i remember when i was teaching at STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL there was another teacher that taught this book and i would often sit in on those classes, just hanging out in the back listening attentively while taking notes. listening to these students fight over the meaning of CAPTAIN AHAB's obsession was ENTHRALLING, because depending on which section you cited, there were arguments and counterarguments aplenty. there was no one definitive answer, just an overabundance of information to sift through and consider. it felt similar to when i took a class on the OLD TESTAMENT in college in which everyone argued over the meaning of scripture. it felt like a never ending stream of beautifully considered, compelling CONTRADICTIONS. so that is why i still love this book despite its notoriety for being overly OPAQUE and annoyingly MULTI-DIMENSIONAL. thinking about the MOBY DICK seemingly always makes me consider how our individual experience in life is but one LIMITED PERSPECTIVE of many and even attempting to draw meaning from such on its own is a truly COMPLEX, and somewhat FUTILE, endeavor. who knows why we make the choices we do and what the specific interior COGNITIVE and PYSCHOLOGICAL machinations that cause such. we are all ultimately prisoners to our own SOLIPSISTIC individual experience of reality. i remember doing well in that class almost two decades ago. but in the end why, you may ask, did CAPTAIN AHAB chase that WHALE? i still don't know. 
photo & text by nacrowe
ever since i first saw the BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy (AMBLIN, 1985-1990) back in my early childhood there was always that PHILOSOPHICAL THOUGHT EXPERIMENT about what, if anything, you would want to revisit in the past if given the opportunity. would i spend more time talking with grandmother before she passed or maybe rewatch significant childhood moments from my past from a distance with the perspective of an adult? despite the EMOTIONAL CHARGE and immense temptation of the idea, i always come back to "no." the space-time continuum moves in one direction (i assume) and we are not PSYCHOLOGICALLY or EMOTIONALLY equipped to hand that sort of STRESS. moving forward in time is difficult enough.
but cartoonist DANIEL CLOWES' in his vividly colored and insularly CEREBRAL graphic novel PATIENCE (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2016) provides a character so utterly consumed by GRIEF by the death of his pregnant girlfriend that he is willing to risk all to alter that moment she was murdered. part CRIME MYSTERY, part SCIENCE FICTION, at its core PATIENCE is all about the transcendent power of LOVE and how such a powerful connective force transforms our very sense of MEMORY and IDENTITY. for JACK, the protagonist, this LOVE and its attendant emotions from is so strong that he is set off on an all-consuming course of SELF-VIOLENCE and SELF-DESTRUCTION to the point of SELF-ANNIHILATION that it very much makes you question the MORALITY of such a choice, even if the ends are somewhat redeemable. i know i just described the tired motivation of virtually every STEVEN SEGAL or JEAN-CLAUDE DAMME plot ever devised, but in the capable hands of CLOWES this narrative is more of a MORALITY PLAY than a revenge thriller. the focus is on the INTERIORITY of that MOTIVATION, rather than the SCI-FI or "whodunnit" aspects of the plot. my thought is that there is more than a bit of an unhealthy sense of HUBRIS, EGO and even ENTITLEMENT in attempting to change the past. out of all the possible past wrongs that could be rewritten, obviously it is to JACK's benefit for this wrong to be corrected so that he can enjoy the family that was taken from him. i understand that, but for SOCIETY as a whole there are plenty of other actions that could be taken to provide a far greater UTILITY for mankind related to preventable WARFARE, DISEASE, POVERTY and the like. possibilities are virtually endless, but the thing that gets me is that even these choices would have REVERBERATIONS and resulting OUTCOMES whose wake would inevitably result in more unintended CONSEQUENCES and unavoidable avenues and opportunities for HUMAN SUFFERING. i just dont see the cycle ever ending. as much as we find connection with one another, we equally bring pain and SUFFERING to world. it is unavoidable and i dont see any "fixing" of the past solving such a DILEMMA. i really enjoyed PATIENCE for thoughtfully thinking its way through such a proposition. definitely a compelling read worthy of investigation for anyone interested in compelling thought experiments. definitely recommended. 
photo & text by nacrowe
i was excited to read FREE: A CHILD AND A COUNTRY AT THE END OF HISTORY (NORTON, 2022) by LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS professor LEA YPI, which recounts her youth her native ALBANIA as it emerged from the COLLAPSE of its SOCIALIST government in the early 1990s and struggled towards a market-driven CAPITALIST economy. its an absolutely fascinating period of time from a largely FORGOTTEN and MISUNDERSTOOD country. and i should state my bias up front, since i served 27 months as a PEACE CORPS volunteer in ALBANIA between 2011-2013 and was primarily stationed and spent extensive time primarily in both the north (KUKES) and the south (VLORA) of the country. ive written about this experience extensively before so i will link to those entries if there reader is interested: HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. that being said, im always interested in learning more about the country and its COMPLICATED past and FREE is a revelation.
one of the strengths of this book is YPI's capacity to personalize the ideology of the state during SOCIALISM through her depiction of not only teachers, family members and acquaintances, but also herself as a child. part of what made the fall of the government such a DISORIENTATING and DEBILITATING event for YPI personally was how it transformed the actions of others. she was led to believe that the SOCIAL, POLITICAL and CULTURAL COHESION of the country was founded on one set of ideals, only to see that none other than here own family had shielded her from their true beliefs and FAMILY HISTORY in order to safeguard everyone from backlash from the state. you really get a sense from YPI's personal narrative what a shock to one's strongly held sense of IDENTITY the fall of the state was for people. their sense of self and relationship to each other were irrevocably TRANSFORMED. another compelling facet of this book that very much hit home for me was the portrayal of the influx of NGOs and foreign aid organizations post-collapse that had SOCIAL and POLITICAL AGENDAS that didnt necessarily coincide with the local population. in fact, YPI's mother was gifted at sifting through all the PRETENSE and BUZZWORDS and JARGON of these international organizations in order to secure physical entry for ALBANIANS during the mass EXODUS to ITALY. it was particularly draining because the problems being prescribed by foreigners did not intersect or cohere with how ALBANIANS actually self-identified or assessed their situation. in order to prosper under these new rules, one had to self-impose a new VALUE SYSTEM and participate in the construction of new SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS (i.e. 'civil society') that were completely derived from foreigners. this makes sense since PEACE CORPS encouraged its volunteers to initiate programs that addressed issues and problems they saw as worthy. i always felt such was completely backwards and worked with my ALBANIAN counterparts to develop initiatives that addressed problems derived from what they deemed worthwhile. i was vehicle for helping them help themselves is how i saw it, but this mindset of PATERNALISM that enfeebles the local population is such a common trait of foreign organizations dealing in aid and development. the fact that YPI delineated that TENSION on such personal terms very much hit home for me. YPI also gets into the mass PSYCHOLOGY behind the pyramid schemes that collapsed in 1996 and led to a brief civil war in 1997. as a PEACE CORPS volunteer stationed at the UNIVERSITY OF VLORA, i initiated an oral history project in order to create concrete examples for my translation students to, well, translate and use as evidence for future employers. i had my students record their grandparents and parents answering questions about SENSITIVE topics that included everything from life during COMMUNISM to the KOSOVO WAR, but even i knew that the widespread PYRAMID SCHEMES that ultimately spiraled the country into civil war was completely TABOO and out of bounds. there was still such collective SHAME about the population being duped at scale by CORRUPT OPPORTUNISTS. YPI presents her parents as educated individuals that wanted to be involved in MARKET CAPITALISM and the INVESTING CULTURE they learned about from EUROPE. post-collapse ALBANIA in the mid-1990s was one where regular people were excited about the prospect of integrating economically with their neighbors and being seen as equals. the TRAGEDY is that the financial institutions were not in place yet and what were deemed "the firms" came in its place and became so integrated into the culture that they even prominently sponsored a political party. the population lost $1.2 billion (approximately half its GDP) and the PSYCHIC SCARS lasted well over a decade later when i arrived. YPI covers so much ground in this book and i knew going in to write this that i would not be able to address most of it. suffice to say this book is personal narrative that gives voice to the EXPERIENCES, STRUGGLES, HOPES, TRIUMPHS and all too much DESPAIR of a population that is often DERIDED, MISUNDERSTOOD and outright DISMISSED. ALBANIA to many people in THE WEST is a non-entity, an open canvas, a tabula rasa for them to pin their uninformed assumptions and pet theories upon. that was my experience as a volunteer with my own organization and it frustrated me to no end. so the fact that FREE is an attempt to present the COMPLEXITIES that arrive out of this remarkable period in ALBANIA's history, from the perspective of the people themselves through YPI very much resonated with me. im glad i found this book. 
photo & text by nacrowe
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION is an interesting literary technique. it allows you to provide useful information about a subject not through describing it outright, but instead showcasing how said subject affects its environment and all that inhabits it. this technique provides more useful and comprehensive knowledge in understanding the complete arc of narrative.
such is the conceit of current THE ATLANTIC staff writer and former NEW YORK TIMES chief national correspondent MARK LEIBOVICH's recent offering THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVITUDE: DONALD TRUMP'S WASHINGTON AND THE PRICE OF SUBMISSION (PENGUIN PRESS, 2022) which details that story of the 45TH PRESIDENT's not through the man himself, but through the perspective of the devolving GOP ESTABLISHMENT and the HUBRIS, OPPORTUNISM, GREED and FEAR that marked their continued (to this day) undying fealty to this false emperor. it really is quite remarkable how a CULT OF PERSONALITY transformed a political party in such a short amount of time. growing up a child of the oil industry, my family moved around a bit to countries like NIGERIA and KUWAIT who had longstanding tenuous grasps on DEMOCRATIC VALUES like EQUALITY, JUSTICE and LIBERTY. if you spoke ill publicly of SANI ABACHA or the EMIR then bad stuff happened. this sort of thing i saw again later in life when i work as an secondary english teacher at AMERICAN international schools in both VENEZUELA and MYANMAR. a coworker's uncle in CARACAS literally disappeared after he said something untoward about MADURO on TWITTER and in MANDALAY it was just understood that you didnt go there with taboo subjects like the ROHINGYA genocide, AUNG SAN SUU KYI or other ongoing ethnic conflicts in the north. i say this to just emphasize the fact that i am intimately aware of what it is like to grow up, go to school and even work in these types of AUTHORITARIAN situations where fear of reprisal works its COERCIVE magic on what you say and to whom. as a former PEACE CORPS volunteer in ALBANIA, i even saw a country struggling to get a handle on infighting factions corrupting genuine attempts at implementing a more just state of affairs. i know what it feels like to be in a situation where your values are not remotely represented, in practical or even idealized terms, in that of a government. in fact i know what it feels like to survive in an anti-democratic country. and the UNITED STATES feels like it is getting closer to the latter. so its quite upsetting that in the UNITED STATES, the literal beacon of democracy that the world looks toward (fairly or unfairly) could have a major party meltdown to outright AUTHORITARIANISM in such quick succession. and what LIEBOVICH presents to the reader over and over again is that the AMBITION for POWER and INFLUENCE or the fear of reprisal and humiliation has led most REPUBLICANS to justify decisions that go against their better judgement. like a meek kid that acquiesces his lunch money to a school bully at recess or a repeatedly abused spouse, these "LEADERS" instead of standing up offer limp CONCESSIONS, JUSTIFICATIONS and ASSURANCES to the public that maintaining the new status quo will work out in the end. that line of thinking has brought our country to the brink of civil war and the end of democracy. it sounds hyperbolic but that risk still stands. its easy to call these REPUBLICANS COWARDS, CHARLATANS and even ACCOMPLICES to our current state of affairs. i think what LIEBOVICH provides on a steady case by case basis as he makes his way through the narrative of TRUMP's DOOMED presidency is an understanding of the pressures, both internal and external, that led to such SPINELESS, SERVILE behavior. stating these senators, representatives, anchors, governors, white house aids, cabinet members and such by name just riles me up and i dont want to give them anymore exposure. that recognition is what they crave. my hope is that when history is written they will all be lumped together and forgotten about as individuals, instead given a derivative tag that evokes their SUBSERVIENT nature (the new KNOW-NOTHING PARTY). THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVITUDE provided me with an unfortunate new appreciation for the nature of POWER and its predictably coercive affect on humans, even those tasked with upholding our way of life. the most chilling moment is LEIBOVICH's image of TRUMP watching and rewinding his live television feed during the JANUARY 6th INSURRECTION, taking in his warped credo of MAKE AMERICAN GREAT AGAIN play out on THE NATIONAL MALL and in the halls of the CAPITOL BUILDING. its still chilling to consider and even more so now that the inevitable next campaign is all but assumed to be announced in short order at the time of writing this. we are still seemingly very much in peril. TRUMP and his TOADIES are currently advocating for something called SCHEDULE F, that if given power again he would effectively rid the government of civil service workers protections and pave the way for him to replace career civil servants with his own acolytes at will. it is still a scary time. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVITUDE is an informative and helpful book that utilizes a familiar narrative to structure the past and present openly stated motivations for CAPITULATIONS by a whole slew of SYCOPHANTIC REPUBLICANS over the past half decade. its difficult to stomach but most definitely worth reading, especially given the potential AUTHORITARIAN trajectory our country is seemingly headed down. 
photo & text by nacrowe
it is difficult to read BOB FINGERMAN's graphic novel BEG THE QUESTION (FANTAGRAPHICS, 2002), itself a collection of his entire MINIMUM WAGE series, and not feel just the tiniest bit nostalgic for the less complicated, pre-internet existence of the 1990s. if only. FINGERMAN's narrative follows a BROOKLYN couple in their 20s as they navigate their way through ADULTHOOD PROBLEMS like moving in together, CAREER, SEX, DEATH, BODY IMAGE, FERTILITY, MONEY, FAMILY, CHILDHOOD TRAUMAS and ultimately MARRIAGE. to my understand the piece is basically an extended meditation on relationships and the evolving motivations for maintaining such as individuals inevitably shift through different phases. is it lust? is it emotional security?
BEG THE QUESTION employs an extended network of FAMILY and FRIENDS of the couple who offer various examples of the NEEDS, DESIRES and OBLIGATIONS that bind us to one another. for some it is all about ETHNIC and RELIGIOUS TIES, while for others maintaining a CONNECTIONS is done out of a sense of duty. again for others there is common PERSPECTIVE and TEMPERMENT that gravitates some to each while for others sheer SEXUAL ATTRACTION does so (which is pretty creepy given that such AFFECTION is intra-familial during parts of this graphic novel). for all of its questioning FINGERMAN does not give us a clear answer. the ties that bind are ultimately a MYSTERY and a core facet of the collective HUMAN EXPERIENCE. speaking for myself, i find that i often cannot get out of my own head on these sorts of matters. i have always questioned what my MOTIVATIONS are for the people i maintain an emotional connection with. is not even possible to not be SELFISH and be around people that make you feel good about yourself? is that a bad thing? being around people that offer you a different PERSPECTIVE and look on life? do i have an ULTERIOR MOTIVE? and what about the people that are EMOTIONAL VULTURES and provide nothing but take. no NOURISHMENT or PERSPECTIVE, just baggage. are they not worthy? and what if they are family? how does that play into it, do i have an OBLIGATION to them because we are kin? i dont know the answer to that. which is why i thoroughly enjoyed reading BEG THE QUESTION and wish to further seek other publications by FINGERMAN moving forward. i found this graphic novel to be quite THOUGHTFUL, despite its at times RAUNCHY and TRANSGRESSIVE subject matter, and highly recommend it for anyone interested in piercingly HONEST meditations on modern life. and one last thing: in a post-ROE world it is hard to not think about how much AGENCY has been shifted away from women to make the types of decisions regarding FAMILY PLANNING and BODILY AUTONOMY examined in BEG THE QUESTION. its hard to stomach the fact that we have regressed that much as a society in terms of HUMAN RIGHTS and basic EMPATHY and COMPASSION. makes this graphic novel feel like a political and cultural ANACHRONISM id like to get back to. 
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December 2022
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