A catalog in america

[Leo]

The rodeo had this sort of all-encompassing-america feel to it.

Performative patriotism (hand on heart for the national anthem as expected but also the main C&W singer, Cody Johnson, at the end of the night, saying something to the effect of "next time you argue with someone, be happy about that, cos we live in a land where you have that right to disagree").

Over the top caveman style food. Lads walking round with giant BBQ turkey legs, looked like the flintstones or something. Just an insane amount of food. I had deep fried oreos.

But also the show nature of it. Women in ridiculous outfits, one in front of us in a sort of see through skirt showing off her thong, but big cowboy boots to go with it and a massive hat too. Just loads of cowboy hats generally.

And then the animals. We went into the stables/cowshed area where you can see the animals, give them a pat, see all the owners who are there all week, trading.

So there is this element of "real" connected to the more superstructural thing that follows, where you've got the guys going on the horses and bulls, seeing how long they can last. Like 4 seconds on the bulls.

And they've even got the kids going for it. There's a thing called "mutton bustin" where they put a 5 year old onto the back of sheep and set em off, see how long the kids can last.

And what got me was how when the kid falls off, there's a camera right there in their face and they are doing a thumbs up.

Also my cousin introduced me to this new type of drink they have over there now, called a "seltzer", its basically an alcopop type thing, but there is NO taste of alcohol at all. Its like drinking one of those flavoured sparkling waters. Incredible.

America.

 

[shakahislop]

Meant to post these earlier.

I visited a really good museum in Baltimore: https://www.avam.org/

'The American Visionary Art Museum'.

Mainly outsider artists but a few professionals. No Dargers unfortunately.

Nice mosaic on the outside

And a weird sculpture outside the door

Some of the paintings/exhibits/sculptures that caught my eye

Close up:

This one above reminds me of the 'fan art' I did for Dean Blunt / Jah Shaka:

Some more from the museum:

This next one was my fav, by Ramon Alejandro, who I've not heard of before

never been to that museum, loads of that looks great. including your one actually

 

[catalog]

yeah it's boss and the staff are really good.

best of all, as it goes, was the shop. i spent 40 dollars on old-school toys. like do you remember those red fortune telling fish? jacob's ladder - the little wooden blocks? flick books. jew's harp. weird magnetic things. and stuff i've never seen before.

i gave the staff in the shop a 5 dollar tip cos i was so bowled over and they refused. they pointed me to the donations jar and it was a plastic model of a bloke pulling his pants down and you put the money through a slit which is his arse crack, and it makes a guffing sound for each note.

gave the actual toys to my niece and nephew who looked really nonplussed and annoyed that it wasn't a snazzy iphone cover or something. so if i get them back, i'll do a post about them.

the fan art i did is a transcription from skin fade

 

[shakahislop]

yeah it's boss and the staff are really good.

best of all, as it goes, was the shop. i spent 40 dollars on old-school toys. like do you remember those red fortune telling fish? jacob's ladder - the little wooden blocks? flick books. jew's harp. weird magnetic things. and stuff i've never seen before.

i gave the staff in the shop a 5 dollar tip cos i was so bowled over and they refused. they pointed me to the donations jar and it was a plastic model of a bloke pulling his pants down and you put the money through a slit which is his arse crack, and it makes a guffing sound for each note.

gave the actual toys to my niece and nephew who looked really nonplussed and annoyed that it wasn't a snazzy iphone cover or something. so if i get them back, i'll do a post about them.

the fan art i did is a transcription from skin fade

i guess its obvious that dean blunt fits into the outsider artist mould pretty well. less so his brother james blunt, it is weird to think what's gone on in that family

the US has that outsider art tradition doesn't it. i know nothing about it but it feels like something that happened in maybe the 90s, where the kind of people who get into this kind of thing went through an outsider art phase. probably where it got its name too. there's stuff like that dotted about. the watts towers in compton (well watts but i'm saying compton coz it's right next to it and it gives you a better idea), there's a house you can visit in philly which was smothered in mosiacs by its owner over 20 years or whatever, that one is great. in detroit in the bit that's collapising / collapsed, there's some geezer whose been covering his garden and the lots around it with sculptures.

there's something about the US i think which is really fertile for art stuff. and there's a weird thing about the moneyed rich people somehow getting into these homemade things and taking them seriously, or at least going to see them. that bit feels like a unique cultural quirk.

 

[catalog]

part of it must be related to the simple issue of scale. you just get these huge urban and suburban sprawls in america, which only exists in england in patches.

miles and miles of road, houses conforming to a particular style for miles as well. then loads of fields.

i think that aspect is what i caught most on this visit. like this feeling that "baltimore is kinda like manchester" but then you start walking around the place and it's just fucking massive.

just so much more space to get lost in your own head in?

 

[catalog]

the thing about dean and james blunt that no-one talks about is that they are actually step-brothers not real brothers, so that might explain the musical differences

 

[sus]

Mildly embarrassed that I looked this up "just in case"

 

[IdleRich]

I gave the staff in the shop a 5 dollar tip cos i was so bowled over and they refused.

Probably was the wrong amount or something.

they pointed me to the donations jar and it was a plastic model of a bloke pulling his pants down and you put the money through a slit which is his arse crack, and it makes a guffing sound for each note.

There is just something so beautiful and pure - almost transcendental - about art for the sake of art. The insatiable search for pulchitrude, the desire to grasp the fleeting finespun magic of the universe, to wrest it out of the ineffable into something tangible, to shape it, give it form and then finally to breathe into it and bestow upon it life; fiery, bloody life in all it's earthy, messy, uncontrollable, farting realness.

 

[catalog]

I want to work in that place, all the staff seemed really happy to be there.

 

[sus]

That's really funny you tried to tip a cashier at a museum gift shop. That'sr eally really funny lol

 

[sus]

Here are the tacit rules as I know them

Give $1 to your bartender per drink, whether the drink is $3 or $10. If it's a really expensive drink, like $10-20, or the service is exceptional, you can give $2.

Basically same with cafes. Get a coffee? Give a dollar. Whether the coffee is $3 or $6. With the digital payscreens these days they often have 15/18/20% options which makes things slightly trickier. If 15% is like... sixty cent tip? Give 20%.

Giving a coin-based tip is often seen as rude, especially if the tip is less than a dollar. It comes off as "take this dirty grubby pocket change off my hands." Also, because they can't tell how many coins you put in the jar, just whether you put coins or a bill, they'll automatically assume you're a cheapskate. Don't even think of putting bills and coins, because in the off-chance that they hear the coins clink but don't see the bill, they'll assume you gave a shitty tip.

If you get a full meal somewhere, cafe or restaurant or whatever, give 15%.

If you go to the barber, give about 10-20%. If I get a $15 hair cut I'll just give them $20 because that's such a good deal.

If you take a shuttle or car and someone helps you with your bag, give them $1-5 depending how helpful they were.

Everything else you don't tip. You don't tip grocery baggers in the States, although you do in Mexico. You don't tip cashiers at non-food/beverage establishments under almost any circumstance. Is this fair? No. Does it make any sense? No. But that's how it is.

You're also not allowed to complain about tipping culture, or even to say things like "wow maybe if we paid these people a fair wage then we wouldn't need to make every pleasant social interaction a financial exchange." Or even to say things like "isn't it weird that if you work a minimum wage job at a gas station, you don't get any tips, but if you pour coffee for somebody you automatically deserve one?" Don't say any of that. Just shut up and get your wallet out.

 

[sus]

There is a very subtle, important art to putting the bill in the tip jar.

(I am just going to assume that you have wisely internalized the "no coins in the tip jar" rule.)

You want to make sure they see, so as to prevent tension. But you don't want to do it so performatively that you are making a big deal about giving them a dollar, like wow, golly, thank you so much for that bill, you are too kind.

What you want to do is slip the bill in the jar in such a way that they definitely see it, but also have plausible deniability that they didn't see it, so they aren't obligated to thank you for it. This takes some practice. It's all about timing, and tracking the barista's attention, although there is some skill in the wrist.

When at a bar who gives a shit, the $1 tip is so standard and automatic that everyone knows it's coming, you can just set that down on the table in advance. The bartender is drunk anyway he really doesn't care.

 

[sus]

@linebaugh what do you think? Am I missing anything? I don't wanna mislead Catalog.

 

[linebaugh]

I think you nailed it

 

[linebaugh]

There is a very subtle, important art to putting the bill in the tip jar.

(I am just going to assume that you have wisely internalized the "no coins in the tip jar" rule.)

You want to make sure they see, so as to prevent tension. But you don't want to do it so performatively that you are making a big deal about giving them a dollar, like wow, golly, thank you so much for that bill, you are too kind.

What you want to do is slip the bill in the jar in such a way that they definitely see it, but also have plausible deniability that they didn't see it, so they aren't obligated to thank you for it. This takes some practice. It's all about timing, and tracking the barista's attention, although there is some skill in the wrist.

When at a bar who gives a shit, the $1 tip is so standard and automatic that everyone knows it's coming, you can just set that down on the table in advance. The bartender is drunk anyway he really doesn't care.

My wife doesnt understand that they need to see you tip. Insane to me. Thered be more use throwing the dollar directly into the trash

 

[sus]

Couldn't have said it better myself

 

[shakahislop]

you have the tip the breakdancers on the subway. although they seem to have disappeared.

it's also good practice to tip any member of sonic youth if you see them walking around. except thurston moore coz he's moved to the land of the tipless

 

[version]

 

[luka]

hes just exhausted by being alive

 

[luka]

that could be me if i was a fucking idiot