The Mainly Annual EastWesterly Review / Postmodern Village Conference 2011

Notes on the 18th Annual Postmodern Village Conference

By E.W. Wilder

Roccum Socum-ReichelKing James Beard: Foodies, Fundies and the Fallacies of Foreknowledge
by Roccum Socum-Reichel

Aside from the blind verve that comes from being true believers, what do Christian fundamentalists and Food Channel junkies have in common? It all comes down to the unswerving acceptance of TV magic.

Lucy SazeracMojito-Daro: Paleotourism and Civilization, Serving Cocktails from the Subaltern, a Travelogue in Three Digs
by Lucy Sazerac

We thoroughly enjoyed this slideshow from the bowels of time, chronicling the lives of the lower classes from the point-of-view of the serving platter's rich reflection. But the free samples of the paper's titular concoction did little to dispel the despair.

Blanche KnottcockScrotial Anapests: Highbrow Culture Meets Lowbrow Humor and Macks on Indie-Pop, a Manifesto
by Blanche Knottcock

There once was a girl, Dr. Knottcock
who concocted a paper on schlock thought.
The subject became her,
and came her and came her:
I'd never heard better cock-talk!

Marshall PeaberryEx-Juan Valdez: Oil, Java, and the X-ploitation of the Colonicon -- The Medium Roast is the Mess-Age
by Marshall Peaberry

Peaberry's free-trade, shade-grown, coop-traded, organic blend of insight and unction left us convincingly wired but distinctly worried. The two great lubricants of industrial production are both cruel and crude, but can the knot really be solved semiotically?

Budd MarinThe Audacity of Dope: Medical Mary Jane and the Orisons of Obamacare, a Smokeout
by Budd Marin

The workshop started at 4:20 sharp. The buffet table disappeared three hours later. That's change you can believe in.

Leo Pius Benedict John Paul Kutcher XVIIIThe Audacity of Pope: Infallibility and Influence, or Totalitarianism in Twee Tweets
by Leo Pius Benedict John Paul Kutcher XVIII

Delivering the paper in blasts of 140 characters or fewer gave this paper a staccato effect: Doubleplusgood ducktalk, a hiccup of bishoprics, a hash of tags for as far as the papal people can see.

Gokai HondaThe Audacity of Rope: One Take Wonders and the Art of the Edit, or Formalism Reformed Again
by Gokai Honda

In an era of 3D, CGI, THX extravaganzas, it's hard to really understand the skill with which Golden Era directors created dramatic effects, but writing the whole paper as a single sentence left us breathless.

 

Papers, Part 6