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In Cecil B. DeMille’s 1923 silent film, The Ten Commandments, Jell-O was used to create the parting of the sea effect.
Bompas & Parr have teamed up with Selfridges to create a crazy 9-hole golf course with hazards made of jello.
My friend and I turned our faces into edible Jello sculptures.
It is called Raindrop Cake, otherwise known as Mizu Shingen Mochi in Japan, its country of origin.
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p.s. Hey. ** Dominik, Hi!!! I loved Prater. I loved how out of date and handmade it seemed. Plus it has so many dark rides, which are my favorite rides. I only wish it had actually fully opened so I could’ve ridden them all, but its opening was very slow and lazy/sleepy, and I had to leave to do my event at a certain point. It doesn’t have the dazzle and potential to amaze of newer, larger parks, but it was very charming. What did you think? Sometimes festivals invite you and put you up, but it’s pretty rare. Anita’s theory makes a lot of sense. Did love get an answer to his question? Or should I say a satisfying answer? Love making jello and discovering too late that it’s evil, G. ** _Black_Acrylic, Ryan Trecartin is such a genius. I’ve heard such mixed things about ‘Weapons’ that I think I’ll wait for your review before I plop down the 15 euros. ** Steeqhen, Well, yes, the past is full of extraordinary things that deserve better than being seen as examples of the good old days. Turloughs, huh, very interesting. I’ll see what I can see. ** Alice, Life has been tolerant of me and vice versa. So great that you’re in an inspired phase and that you’re dedicated to mining it. That’s the best. Of anything really. I think. Thanks for watching some of the films. ‘Genesis’ is beautiful, yeah. Luck galore the employment hunt. Few things are more nagging and disruptive. A successful week on the art and financial fronts. That would be quite a hat trick. ** Carsten, Pat O’Neill is great. Very underrated artist/filmmaker, and ‘Water and Power’ is kind of his biggie. Lyon, right, I always forget that Spain is southwest of Paris. My geography is not stellar. 6-7 hours of driving is solid. Great about Duende Day! Whenever you’re ready and like. Thanks! A lot of Parisians leave in August. However, the area I live in is pretty touristy, so the city doesn’t seem to empty out around me just change its population and maybe even increase its population if anything. I like it. The August vibe is very curious and wide eyed. Like me really. The cool weather has arrived, and please dear god, let it stick. ** Hugo, Enjoy England. The weather should be decent there, I think. Thanks about the films. Oh, thank you about ‘Like Cattle Towards Glow’. Zac is the one who placed Adam Lanza’s pic in the first scene. I don’t think he had some big obvious reason other than it making a weird sense that enhanced the scene somehow, but I’ll ask him again. Also that Lanza pic is an artwork by John Waters, and maybe that had to do with it. You have a good or hopefully gooder one too. ** Jeff J, Hi, Jeff, old buddy! Thanks re: the films. Full-time teaching, whoa. Very good subjects there. I’ll check the new EPs, cool. Sure, a Zoom sounds good. Monday, September 1 should work for me, yes. Give me a plan. Ideally talk soon! xo. ** HaRpEr //, The trilogy is amazing, but I’ve seen some of the newer works that are almost impossible to see because their financier/owners are insisting on keeping them under wraps, and they’re amazing — set in and kind of about the construction of Ryan/Lizzie’s theme park in progress. Owen Land’s work is wonderful, but, of course, hard to see. Maybe physically constructing the ‘RT’ haunt was instructive, but the ‘RT’ haunt is deliberately kind of shitty and of course we want to make a dazzling haunt. But, yeah, the building aspect taught us some stuff. I kind of love London Dungeon, but I haven’t been since they moved it. I suppose it’s probably kind of the same. ** Nicholas., Ouch. Healing vibes, you’ve got them. I’ve gotten bronchitis twice, and I think that’s the only tenable bad smoking consequence, but of course my bod could be full of cancer, who knows. I never feel sexy, but I think if I did I would feel sexier when bundled up in winter clothes for some reason. ** Uday, Hi. I saw that that ‘Destroy … ‘ book exists, but not what’s in it. I don’t think I’ll order it, that would be too embarrassing. You iron? I’ve never ironed in my life. Oh, except I did try to iron my hair as youth when I had long hair because I thought it was too curly, but it didn’t work. ** Right. Super easy restored post for you to do something with today. See you tomorrow.
Now available in North America 
Hi!!
Some of these gifs are so satisfying to watch. Thank you for the resurrection!
Charming is a great word to describe Prater – I thought so, too. As I said, I don’t have much to compare it to, but I also really enjoyed its absurd design and old-school atmosphere. It did take a long time to fully wake up, though, yes. In fact, I had the impression that it only reached full swing in the evening rather than the afternoon. Maybe that’s how most theme parks work, I don’t know, but it surprised me.
Love turning into jelly every time he sees you (though hopefully not evil), Od.
Here in the UK we call this stuff jelly, which for you Americans is another word for jam. No wonder the so-called “special relationship” between our nations never works out.
Re Weapons, last night I watched Zach Cregger’s previous film Barbarian and I must say that for a mainstream sort of project it’s surprisingly good. Maybe I’m damning the thing with faint praise but hey, I’m just easily pleased. The guy is making a success out of what he does so all power to him.
Hey man,
Yeah not so secretly working on the immolation novel … maybe half way through? It’s like 5 novella sized chapters all in a different style. I think I’ve talked about the ash gray proclamation a lot but that’s a model for one section… the first is kind of a ghost story, ones like an oral history etc
It’s slow going and all the usual doubts are there plus I tried to raise some money by entering the first chapter to a competition but it was predictably shot down haha.
BTW I’m going to New York for the book fair and some events in September! Whiskey tit are putting together a kind of book tour and I might also be going to Memphis and Baltimore! I’m excited but nervous as hell, social anxiety is tingling.
Hello!
Mexicans love jello! (I also assume other Latin countries do too) Growing up it felt like all events had an extremely elaborate jello “cake”, most commonly with a floral design, next to a more traditional cake. Sometimes they’re both mixed into one cake. My immediate family luckily never did any jello cakes as I actually found them so gross. Vanilla for the most part, but also extremely bland and the texture was too much. I’ll demolish a strawberry jello any time though. Do you have a favorite jello?
A bit back I asked you your thoughts on parasociality. I struggle with parasocial tendencies and then I get into very circular thinking patterns. Do you feel you attract a certain type of person with your work? Anyway I’m going to focus on finishing the last of your books before the new semester starts and most likely taking a slight step back from commenting.
Wishing you a very happy rest of the week, Dennis! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و
Funny, I’m in a chat with friends discussing squishiness and my love for it. Jello definitely counts in spades. I’m adjusting a piece for a gig in a few weeks, and making things more squishy is definitely on the to-do list.
Quite a California presence in the program yesterday. I love that Jenni Olson piece, so simple and moving, and relevant with the shit going on at the moment.
Saw Lurker, and really liked it. All the vicious social games and sparring, and an ending which I read as destabilizing.
Bill
Do raccoons eat Jello or just enjoy playing with it?
Thanks to hurricane Erin, the next few days in New York will be rainy and windy. (We’re not getting the full force of the storm.) It’s pleasant to sit in my apartment and look out the window, but I worry if I should’ve bought more food.
I made it to the end of MY UNDESIRABLE FRIENDS. It’s really essential, documenting a sudden turning point when it becomes absolutely impossible to live a free life under a dictatorship. The fifth episode, in which its subjects have just days or even hours to flee Russia, is terrifying. The parallels with the American media are impossible to miss. Director Julia Loktev’s working on the second part, which will follow Rain TV’s workers into exile.
This proves that jello is more suitable for art than food.
I’m sure Paris is a charm any time of the year. Or is there a period you dislike?
Yeah I’d love to take a detour up to Paris & hang with you for a bit but given the company & schedule I mentioned it’s just not in the cards. But I’ll be back there before you know it. Paris will always be one of my comfort spots in Europe.
Dennis, you’ve outdone yourself yet again. Growing up one of my mom’s friends was still making 50s suburban style jello fruit salad. I enjoyed it. I have an addition to the post, a video I’ll let speak for itself:
https://youtu.be/Yvvav-e9nC8?feature=shared
I’m working away on the magazine. Haven’t reached out to Paul Cunningham yet. I’m just performing a preliminary translation at our event tomorrow. I’ll keep refining the translation and definitely contact him before publishing. Not easy stuff to translate, so I’m consulting with Hebrew poet friends.
The group dynamic of the magazine is way better than one would expect from five poets but there are still hiccups. Three of us are in early-mid twenties and two in mid-thirties. As you might expect, the younger contingent is full of energy but also perfectionist and emotionally unstable. My fellow elder and I are calmer, more focused on raising money, and our personal tastes are also the furthest out there. Our big goal now is to become more popular (online and IRL) and to raise money to commission our very talented web developer friend to make a high-quality website. I put a ton of grunt work into the Tel Aviv underground events calendar, because as things stand now if I don’t make it then it won’t exist.
I’ll be selling my Risograph prints for the first time at our event tomorrow and at a zine festival in Jerusalem on Friday. This is my first time selling my work. I stopped dancing and cut back on some other stuff to focus more on printing.
What were the group dynamics like at Beyond Baroque? I’d also be interested to hear any relevant anecdotes from the early days of Little Caesar about recruiting contributors and finding the audience.
Hey Dennis
Gonna steal some of the jello gifs here, v intrigued by the jello skulls too. How do you decide these themes? Do you just wake up and decide to find a bunch of stuff about Jello, or is it all planned out in advance? Regardless, I enjoy it. Didn’t know that John Waters did anything involving Adam Lanza. Looking online, I can’t seem to find anything about it, though I am reminded that John Waters has been doing artwork for a long while and that it’s not something I’m too familiar with.
Funny how divisive “Weapons” is. It really seems like a love-it-or-hate-it kinda deal. I had some friends over today, and they didn’t know what to make of it either. I know you hate Robert Eggers’ work and Longlegs, so I don’t think you would get a lot out of it. I usually give what I watch a month to sit with me, then I make a definitive statement. Right now, I’m leaning towards it being a decent enough film with some inspired imagery and sequences. But it does seem like a lot of missed potential for what could be a more interesting movie. It is a very funny film though, I will say that. Especially if you like the sight of little kids tearing an old woman apart with their bare hands.
I’ve put “Giles goat boy” on hold for now, since its doorstopper quality is a bit daunting. I did finish “Party Going” by Henry Green, though, and I found it quite entertaining. Very interesting stuff with his sentences, though I do admit to not always caring much about the characters beyond the dead pigeon. I picked up “Margery Kempe” by Robert Gluck today, and I’m really, really loving it so far. I dunno, it feels so textually open and unpredictable. Really liking it. Will definitely pick up “Jack the Modernist” when I see it, since it is being reissued soon. Is there anything else by Gluck I should check out? I feel like I’m gonna want more after those two.
Anyway, wish you the best. Wish you a day full of jello and stars. Cya
Ah, jell(o/y), makes me think about being a kid. It’s a weird food, the sort of thing that I’ve never voluntarily eaten but goes down alright. It feels very 70s for some reason, the whole gelatin boom and the attempt to make foods look futuristic. I remember always thinking of pig skin when I ate it, and even after being a vegetarian for years I still probably would today if it was vegan gelatin.
Can we expect you or Zac to be hiding behind structures etc. and jumping out at people in elaborate costumes? Or will you get other people to do that? Being the person who does the spooking must be even scarier than being the person who enters the haunt, because that person may go into fight or flight by mistake and take someone’s eye out.
Yeah, I’ve heard about some of Trecartin’s structural projects and guessed that he was working on film stuff again but it’s great to hear that he is. Is the new stuff set to be released in tandem with the eventual opening of the amusement park?
*Poof* Fever and aspirin not in that order i feel better now im just hacking all gunk my lungs are over its great actually. Omg twice thats pretty okay did you have it for long either time? I got sick from vaping and now my skinny goop kate moss cig addiction so I call it fair and take it as a sign I can be cool without cigs thats my fav effect they give. Okay now thats peak fashion and. Actually so you haha your very tundra cool stark theyd say barren but its actually like primordial soup of life a sexy winter outfit is sooooo compelling layers = depth if done right! Cause it’s about being warm and not too hot a fun dance thats deep. Haha ill take that for this fall I need a wardrobe update.
(incoming ramble comment, feel free to chop away the indigestible bits like uncooked meat (neither of us eat meat, weird comparison)
Jellyyy, so you to do a post on jello. (Waiting for the spontaneous cheese post one day)
Another good day. Monday and Tuesday morning were tough because the world wouldn’t stop spinning and i hate wearing clothes in this heat. clothes kept feeling like closing in burning shells, and I just couldn’t stop crying because everything was awful and overwhelming. The crying part is more pathetic than pitiful but it’s my strongest release because even shrieking loudly(I’m sure the neighbors hear) is a release to hopelessness as good as cutting. An indistinguishable heat. On that topic I’ve not actually hurt myself in practically a whole month which is good since it’s been a while. some days it doesn’t feel I am here or should even be here and maybe that’s why I attracted the worst of people who never stuck around and only make u feel awful: ( maybe I deserved that but I’m just saying things ignore it.
Weird ramble ^^
There are good things such as this book club my newish friend is forming and I suppose it’s hard to redefine a new body from a filthy useless thing to someone capable of strength resilience and dissolution dissolution
I tried mochi pancakes this morning so good have you tried them B4? Try them get them from your local Saigon market nowww.
I finished the marbled swarm. What a fucking book! Very interesting mind of yours if the concept i got from it was correct. I’ll give you my thoughts when I can gather them. Oh, I’m on a reading streak!
Oh, halfway through (as of now) I started smoke a joint and am cringing at how I started this comment, but I try not to erase because I mean for it to flow like a conversation and more than likely I apologize over things I over share with my hearable voice anyways.
I suppose I could turn mywalk from the gym into a writing prompt, it’s so bleakly revering to me. You walk across the 4-way street there is a long vertical strip leading down to the gym, past the plasma center and the Hispanic grocery store
So much trash along the strip disposed needles and fetid sewer water, and its the aroma of feces and rain among geese poop.
And once I pass the large street it’s a bunch of shabby hotels. So many hotels in this town because if of tourist but the ones near us usually just linger with a smell. But there’s a large pile of ceramic shards that have been dumped along this land of grass near them. I like stepping on the shards and I tried painting one once.
It’s not that bad but that ONE strip on the way to the gym really does smell. It’s the same strip with the Saigon Market I go to.
What’s it like where you live?
Have a good week, stay organized
I do iron. I’m unfortunately exceedingly well-trained domestically. Even by myself in a college dorm I’ll lay the table before I eat. I think it’s a little more effort but it can make your life a lot more pleasant. I think you should’ve embraced the curls, but I say this about half a century too late. My hair didn’t start getting wavy until I was about 18 and I loved it so much that I refused to even style it until earlier this year. Today’s post is gorgeous. Wouldn’t call it super easy. Just really really in love with it. Going to show it to my friends when they come over.