Into Thin Air

You will not complain about how cold you are during winter after reading this.

In Jon Krakauer’s second book, Into Thin Air, Jon elucidates upon a previously written article for Outside, a magazine. He writes about his ascent to the top of the world, Mount Everest. His preceding book, Into The Wild, was already a hit, spending two years on the New York Times best seller list and it was made into a movie in 2007. However, this was not even close to surmounting Into Thin Air, which hit number one on The New York Times non-fiction bestseller list, was honored as ‘Book of the Year’ by Time, and was one of the three finalists considered for the General Non-Fiction Pulitzer Prize in 1998. This personal account of his Mount Everest disaster keeps you on the edge of the mountain and away from the protection of a tent.

The fact that Krakauer is a reporter is evident from his writing style, he includes third party quotes, quotes from climbers present, historical information, his opinions, and information from interviews with other climbers. This puts on the crampons you need to navigate the icy context of the climb, past and present. In addition Krakauer tries to pin point every point in time; each chapter begins with a location, date and height. Even the fact that he begins with telling us that six people will die is reflective of his reporter style of writing, a hook.

As far as hooks go, this whole book is a hook, one whose pages fix the ropes that guide you up the mountain. There is barely a moment to become sidetracked because bad luck is the standard, even as they are climbing up. Fortunately for the reader, Krakauer sets up 21 well placed “camps” where the reader can take a breather and take in the preceding chapter while an illustration provides a setting for the next chapter. Even without these illustrations, everything is described well and is embellished to a point where envisioning people, places and hardships are easy, yet they do not take away from the story.

After all of this, the reader will know why the book deserves and received the merits it did. Krakauer’s reporter like writing style really works and is not only interesting, but actually arouses feeling, wether that be of adventure, excitement, or most importantly, morbid despair.

So next time you want to complain about how your hands are cold in 30 degree weather, imagine -40 degrees without gloves and having to climb down a mountain.

Birdy Nam Nam

DJs making music and spinning it is one thing, but DJs making music by spinning is another level.

To ice the cake, not only is there one DJ making music by spinning but four DJs consecutively spinning to make music. Birdy Nam Nam is a group of four French DJs, each with their own turn table and unique record, who play together and make music by combining beats and sounds. To put it simply, they make original music with unoriginal content, thus earning them much acclaim and awards, including the DMC Technics 2002 World TEAM Championships. Beat that Girl Talk.

Birdy Nam Nam’s goal?

“To use the turntable player as an actual musical instrument” and they sure do it well. With such an original concept, nothing sounds quiet like it. Literally nothing. It definitely resembles electronic dance music because it utilizes artificially created sounds, but the use of drums, violins, guitars, vocals and other traditional sounds distorts this classification. Another attribute that distorts Birdy Nam Nam’s classification is the fact that each song has a different set of samples used, so each track is unique (other than Violons part 2).

One may say, “Oh, so they are DJs. This means that there is a whole bunch of scratches and squeaks.”

The most amazing characteristic of Birdy Nam Nam’s music is the fact that there are barely any clearly heard scratches or squeaks. This goes against what most DJs music is known for. Sure one might find a few stray scratches, but overall the group fades in and out extremely efficiently. Either that or the scratches blend in and sound natural.

Birdy Nam Nam’s unique sound and method are really something worth checking out. With its four DJs working together to create original music, This group is truly bringing something new to the turntable.

Amuse 126

           
            Running water. Noxious fumes. Vortexes. The dripping of blood. Vestigial parts eroding. These appear to be taken from a science magazine but they are not. These are the images that come to mind when looking at one of AMUSE 126’s newer pieces. It is featured in an undisclosed building’s interior wall. This location tells a story of neglect, as the walls have holes and the hardwood floors are blackened, making the clean artwork look out of place.
            Once one lays his eyes on Amuse’s piece he will swear it was moving. Flowing black and brown lines that extend from the negative space between the M and the S look like noxious fumes lingering through the air. Free floating and undulating black lines that thicken as they retreat from the main focal point add to the lingering air effect. Disconnected lines from the bottom of the A, in partnership with white lines cutting into the A, gives the viewer an impression of a cracking and crumbling sandstone rock. Keen white lines cut into and exit out of the S. They resemble a bear’s claw that slashed into the meat of the letter. Accent lines permeating from the top of the letter S gives the viewer a sense that the S is collapsing in on itself; especially since the letter’s width is spacious on top but suddenly thins at the curve. This fading contrasts with the rest of the letters, whose tops are sharp and defined. Multiple shades of blue and white stream throughout the whole piece. They end as Aqua blue lines that ribbon around the leg of the R only to be pressurized and gushed out of the end in thin streams. All of this is only the half of it. Everything is topped off by blood red dripping from multiple points, which gives a final impression that the letters are in pain, as if they where calm and at rest before an artist came and ransacked them. Even the tags on either side seemed to be attacked.
             Normally an artist attempts to create his art in a way that will lure it’s viewer closer. Instead this piece has a menacing look, one that makes the viewer feel like he will be sucked into the chaos if they come too close.These are the robust images of AMUSE 126’s new piece. One whose location will never be advertised nor filled with well dressed people sipping on wine but will be left in that deteriorating building, only to be viewed by a few people who accidentally stumble upon it while exploring the nooks and crannies of Chicago.