Crasstalk Staff

484 posts

Book Club

21 comments

Hey there folks, I just want to throw out a few possible rules/guidelines/decisions for the upcoming book club. Feel free to disagree, and/or add more of your own.

1.  Book Club discussion will be posted every third Sunday of the month at 7pm EST.  While it will be nice to have a lot of us at that particular time, feel free to add to the discussion at your leisure.

2.  If it’s your turn to host book club please choose a book that is widely available and preferably also available in paperback.  I guess Kindle availability would be a plus for those folks, but I don’t that it’s absolutely necessary, right?

3.  Try not to pick the same genre or author as the previous Book Club selection, let’s mix things up.

4.  Whether or not you are hosting, as you read the book think of some questions to ask your fellow readers so we can keep the discussion going.

5.  If you are hosting, pick the next host before your Sunday so they have enough time to chose a book.

6. New book selections should be posted in a separate post the third Monday of each month.

7.  If you have any suggestions for future picks, or problems with that book, post your comments in that post ^

8.  You don’t have to stick to traditional book club books though you’re welcome to.  Add in the classics, graphic novels, sci-fi  (if you must), anything that floats your boat. Expand our horizons.

9.  If you don’t have an intense debate commenting account get one now!

10. If you are hosting, you’ll need to have a Crasstalk account.

11. Even if you think you are going to hate this book/genre why not give it a try.  You can tell us exactly what you dislike in the discussion.  And if I’m going to give sci-fi a try, I expect you all to give everything a go.

So if you have any book suggestions, questions, or general comments this is the place to let me know about it.  I’ll post my selection a bit early just in case we need to work out any kinks.  So the book will be announced next week, and the first discussion will take place on February 20th.

Edit –  Now that I think about it, is posting the book on the third Monday okay? Will that give you all enough time to go get the book and read it? Or should we post it earlier? So many decisions!!!

Let’s Get Boozy: The Classics

9 comments

If you’re looking for some simple cocktails to make this New Year’s you’ve found the right place.  With four ingredients or less these classic cocktails are quick to make, and easy to cater to personal tastes.  Perfect for when you’re serving a crowd. Fair warning, while these drinks may seem easier to assemble than more complicated cocktails, they can actually be much harder to master. Everyone knows what they should taste like, and you have high expectations to live up to when serving them.  So before starting to assemble your drinks make sure you have the appropriate hardware, and high-quality ingredients. So go make some ice, grab you cocktail shaker, THROW AWAY those pre-made mixes, and join me for this classic edition of Let’s Get Boozy. Continue reading →

Book Club

33 comments

A few of us have expressed interest in forming a cross/crasstalk book club.  While the logistics still need ironing out, the basic idea would be we all read the same title, and then have the option of discussing it online, or possibly with meet-ups in different cities.

Please let me know if you’re interested, or have any ideas.

EDIT – Also.  Can you let me know what type of literature you’re into? And if a month to finish a book is a good amount of time.

Gordon Parks

4 comments

Gordon Parks: Director, activist, poet, composer, author, musician, and photographer.  While Parks is well know in all of these genres, in my opinion his best work is in photography (okay, I haven’t actually seen Shaft, so I could be wrong).  Moving between different genres of photography, he really came into his own when he was accepted as a photographer for the FSA.  Here he created some of his most famous works and gained great popularity.  He is one of the first photographers to study racism, bringing this subject into the commercial art world. His portfolio includes portraits, fashion, Broadway, and photojournalism, specifically focusing in poverty and segregation.  No matter what the genre has the ability to capture a moment like very few photographers can.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

3 comments

I’m so done with all of this Gawker nonsense. Seriously, fuck all that shit.  Let’s look at something beautiful instead.

Hiroshi Sugimoto is hands-down one of my favorite artists of all time.  His work is stunning and timeless, both conceptually and technically.  He works exclusively in large-format photography, using an 8×10 camera to compose all of his works.  He is heavily influenced by Dadaism, and surrealism, as well as the passage of time, and the conflict of life and death.

Seascapes – By drawing a line directly in the center of his viewfinder, Sugimoto is able to exactly match the horizon line on every single photo in this project.  Sugimoto traveled the world photographing the the sea, creating one of his most beautiful, and most well known collections.

Theatres – Sugimoto travled across the U.S. looking for old movie theaters to complete this project.  Using only the light from the projector, Sugimoto opened his shutter as the movie started, and closed it as the movie ended.  This extremely long exposure renders the screen completely blank and illuminated, and the audience invisible.

Architecture Nature of Light Sugimoto


Li Wei

2 comments

Li Wei is a Beijing artist and photographer who focuses on seemingly impossible human acrobatics.  Wei uses wires, mirrors, scaffolds, and the gymnastic ability of the subjects to create these photos.  They are not composites, and the only post production he does, is to retouch the wires.

Joyce Tenneson

5 comments

Since Friday is PhotoPhriday over at crosstalk, I figure it should also be PhotoPhriday here at Crasstalk.  So every Phriday I’ll introduce one of my favorite photographers.  This week I’ll start with the lovely Joyce Tenneson.

Tenneson is a fine art photographer who works primarily in large format Polaroids, using the human body as a subject.  She states that her upbringing in the convent that her parents worked at, greatly shaped her world view.  This upbringing inspired her to study the stages of life, using photography as her medium.  She currently shows in numerous galleries, and has quite a few books available for sale, all of which I cannot recommend highly enough.  If you’re looking for a new coffee table book, or a present for an art lover this holiday season, definitely think about these. Wise Women Amazing Men Joyce Tenneson: A Life in Photography Intimacy: The Sensual Essence of Flowers Illuminations Light Warriors