TAO LIN | BLOG

6/8/08

werner herzog's sexual orgy

i should read that at every reading i have until it makes me kill myself

i feel really alone when i am standing there reading the same line

i like the reviews it got here

59 Comments:

Ben said...: the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster. the next night they ate hamster.; 11:43 PM
KEN BAUMANN said...: my favorite poem

good video; 1:39 AM
Tao Lin said...: video copyright 2008 kendra grant malone

thank you kendra

good job; 2:24 AM
Kendra Grant Malone said...: happy choad farm copyright 200andnever

<3; 3:12 AM
ryan manning said...: i love it; 7:05 AM
andy.riverbed said...: matty d read me this poem without even reading it. he knew it from memory. i bet all those beautiful people felt really cool. you should feel lucky you get to read for such beautiful people. i'm wetting myself right now.; 8:33 AM
TTB said...: There are a few things missing from this video:

1) Excitement
2) Any/All members of the Jaguars
3) #1 and #2 kind of go together
4) A reason to actually care
5) Readings are all the same
6) The Jaguar Uprising is going to change all of that.

TTB; 10:08 AM
Mandy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 11:32 AM
Mandy said...: I printed out the whale poem and taped it up in my cubicle. Only the first 4 pages though. I felt bad about the trees.; 11:33 AM
Poetics said...: i'm reading your blog, tao. i missed the whale poem. you are here now, very close:

http://flickr.com/photos/amyking/

along with my two gerbils.

xo,
amy; 12:46 PM
jereme said...: That is one of my favorite poems from you Tao but I never like to watch it being read.

The people start to giggle because they fear being alone with their thoughts.

They do not like the alien feeling of being alone so they giggle, laugh, gesticulate, sway their hands, etc.

I don't understand why people cannot appreciate the emotion of the poem quietly.

or maybe i'm being too serious.; 1:54 PM
victoria said...: why did you delete the things you said before? about limited-time and stuff; 2:27 PM
Tao Lin said...: i 'controlled' myself; 2:30 PM
Tao Lin said...: i didn't want to type in my blog url and then see all that on the screen, i like it more like this; 2:33 PM
Tao Lin said...: i thought about putting it back, i have thought about it, i don't know what to do

i feel despair right now

i wish i didn't type it at all so there wouldn't be this problem

i will learn from this

i will put it back and then next time i will use what happened this time to learn; 2:41 PM
Tao Lin said...: never mind, i am leaving it out

this problem is solved

i am now moving on; 2:45 PM
Mike zak said...: I'm glad to learn that you've read 'whale poem' out loud.; 3:09 PM
matthew said...: tao lin, man of mystery. oh, the mystery.; 3:59 PM
Zachary German said...: the next night we ate bread; 6:57 PM
Ashley said...: whales unite; 7:24 PM
Leigh Stein said...: to andy.riverbed and his sarcasm:

come to the next reading and you can be beautiful, too!

to ttb:

jaguar uprising is invited next time. tentative theme: karaoke.

to jereme:

we were all drunk. it was 95 degrees outside. i don't think we fear being alone with our thoughts. i'm alone with mine all the time actually. it's kind of a problem. come to the next reading.; 9:39 PM
Justin Evans said...: I really think it is a funny poem. It reminds me of a poem I wrote a long time ago (though your poem is much more playful):

SITCOM

Episode
pEisode
piEsode
pisEode
pisoEde
pisodEe To be Continued . . .
pisodeE
ipsodeE
ispodeE
isopdeE
isodpeE
isodepE
isodeEp
siodeEp
soideEp
sodieEp
sodeiEp
sodeEip
sodeEpi
osdeEpi
odseEpi
odesEpi
odeEspi
odeEpsi
odeEpis
doeEpis
deoEpis
deEopis
deEpois
deEpios
deEpiso
edEpiso
eEdpiso
eEpdiso
eEpidso
eEpisdo
eEpisod To Be Continued . . .
Eepisod
Epeisod
Epiesod
Episeod
Episoed
Episode
[CANCELLATION]; 11:21 AM
Mike zak said...: Nice, Justin.; 2:10 PM
jereme said...: Leigh,

This has not been the first reading of that poem I have seen where people can't keep quiet during the repetitive part.

Tao is reading alone with a neutral voice.

Awkward giggling and moving and noise making and etc from the crowd.

It was not directed at any one in general. Just something I have observed.

I will gladly go to a reading if Tao is in LA, Orange County or San Diego.

Until then I leave them to you and your merriment.; 3:06 PM
Mike Young said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 1:29 AM
The Man Who Couldn't Blog said...: I remember when you sent me that poem.; 2:45 AM
Mike Young said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3:53 AM
Mike Young said...: Hi Jereme: Thank you for your comments. I am the only person in the video swaying my hands, I think.

If anyone is curious or wants to shit on the terrible person who swayed his hands hands during the reading of such a solemn poem, you can visit his blog.

workaholic heat wave 08; 3:59 AM
jereme said...: Mike,

I liked your deleted post better. It wasn't as confrontational.

But I don't mind confrontation and you don't seem to mind martyrdom.

I am sorry that I offended you. That was not my intent at all.

I have noticed several times that people laugh, giggle, nervous energy etc. during awkward moments of Tao's readings.

now I have only seen videos so I am not part of the elite new york fun times reading group. It is a feasible idea that I am not privy to the audience/author demeanor.

I commented on my thoughts about past readings and this reading (that I have seen).

You just happened to be swaying your hands in this one.

You aren't a horrible person. I like your journal.

I will try to be more sensitive to the feelings of the sensitive people.

My bad.; 1:51 PM
Mike Young said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 2:24 PM
Mike Young said...: It's okay. I calmed down. No worries.

It may be true that people laugh, giggle, nervous energy, etc. during Tao's readings, but it's also true that people do these things all the time no matter what.

Elsewhere on the internet, the audience in the video is derided for being too reverential. Why no one seems to think it's just a normal audience doing normal audience things is mysterious to me.

It's like this blog is written in molotov cocktails.

Also, I am from Methfuck, California. Many of my New York friends are from similarly non-elite backgrounds and worked hard to move and live in the city. So when you say "elite new york fun times reading group" I think you are thinking some kind of feeling like "trust fund asshole" or something, which is unfair and oversimplified.

Anyway, it's all done, flash thunderstorms, galloping world. We have sat typing shirtless at our kitchen tables and made known our significant opinions. Good work, shirtless people. Heat waves for everybody.; 2:33 PM
jereme said...: FYI, "elite new york fun times reading group" is an attempt at humor.

It translates to "the congregation of east coast writers".

It does not translate to "rich trust fund assholes".

Part of me thinks that the awkward laughing during readings is very disrespectful but the other part of me knows that readings are meaningless and it isn't a matter worth getting fretting over.

I am not fretting.

I am curious as to why subconsciously the audience cannot be quiet during the reading.

Now if the reason is "we happened to be fucked up on booze that night" then I am ok with that answer.

There is no need to take umbrage w here I did not intend it.

I am sorry.; 2:39 PM
ryan call said...: good dancing mike young; 2:53 PM
Mike Young said...: When people laughed at my stuff, I didn't think of it as disrespectful. They were expelling minor shock; it was some kind of happy seizure.

I laugh worse than everybody, and I'm hardly ever drunk, so that can't be it.

Sometimes people laugh at things I don't think are "funny," but this feels surprising and not disrespectful.

Talking/ignoring/smoking outside etc. is disrespectful, I think. Responding directly is not disrespectful. Also, laughter will prompt other laughter, which makes everybody feel less alone.

Or it means we're all laughter robots and slaves to our chemistry and not original people, I guess. La la la.

Don't worry. I think we're past umbrage and this is an interesting thing. Laughing as respect or not. We think differently. That's okay.; 3:10 PM
Tao Lin said...: most of the time i read things with the only purpose to make people laugh

i really feel uncomfortable and like i am making everyone feel depressed and bored of life if i am reading something and there is no reaction

when i am in the audience at a reading i feel nervous that the reader might see that i am not focusing on him or her, i try really hard to control urges to look at my cell phone or make noises or move around, or even move my neck or something, i think

but i also wouldn't feel bad doing something 'insane' in the audience if i knew the reader didn't really care about 'respect' and just wanted to relieve everyone's boredom or experience anything different

for example if someone i knew was reading 'the whale poem' i probably wouldn't feel as bad moving around or yelling something out or something; 6:23 PM
Leigh Stein said...: >> Part of me thinks that the awkward laughing during readings is very disrespectful <<

Is this a joke?

What if it's a funny reading? I laughed very hard at Mike Young's poems and he liked it. If people hadn't laughed at my poems, I probably would have felt really bad about myself.

This wasn't a Catholic mass I organized.; 9:15 PM
jereme said...: Mike/Leigh,

Both of you are focusing on something that I directly discredited within the very next sentence.

I said that I understood that it was meaningless and not a big deal.

I am more interested in the psychology behind the need to laugh during spots where laughing didn't seem warranted.

I also said that my observation was based on several readings that I have watched online. The observation was not based on this specific reading or the specific persons at the reading who may or may not have been laughing, gesticulating etc.

Tao posted a response about how he feels the need to make people laugh during his readings. It falls directly in line with my original intent of the posting.

That is all. I am sorry i was not clear.

Please do not have negative thoughts. I am not bashing your reading.; 9:31 PM
Leigh Stein said...: Jereme,

You make many observations and assumptions and then qualify them in a way to suggest that Mike/Tao/I shouldn't take what you say seriously (if you meant it as a "joke") or personally (if you meant it as a blanket observation). Unfortunately, this is a public blog, and not a private dialogue between you and Tao regarding people appreciating emotional poems quietly.

"Elite new york fun times reading group" isn't funny. If you told someone they were a part of this, out loud, they would probably give you a dirty look and not continue talking to you at a party.

Even if it means "the congregation of east coast writers": this is another backhanded, ignorant qualification. When Joan Didion, John Updike, and Jonathan Safran Foer have a marshmallow roast, you can use that term then.; 10:06 PM
Tao Lin said...: while cutting paper using the library's large paper cutter i just cut my ipod's earphone cord in half

i was confused why the music stopped then i looked at the cord and thought 'haha' and felt good

hamster chapbooks are still available, go here to buy; 10:13 PM
jereme said...: Leigh,

The issue as I see it is that you percieved my post as being negative and critical of an event that you are emotionally attached to.

If my comment had been made about a reading in South Dakota that you were not present for, then I seriously doubt you would have taken the time to post about what I had said.

It is absurd. There was nothing critical with what I said.

I have already apologized several times if I offended any one. I did not double back and say "i'm sorry that you feel that I offended you". I said I am sorry for offending you.

But that doesn't appear good enough. Do you want me to write an apology letter and take out a page in the NY Times? Do you just want to fight? Maybe that is it.

So I will give you something that leaves no interpretation.

Fuck you.

See the difference? I never said that did i? But if you want to continue to be mad then reference that from here on out. If not, please ignore it since I don't really mean it.

And you are wrong on two other counts.

1. "Elite new york fun times reading group" is funny and not backhanded. That moniker should be used for assholes like Updike. Which clearly this reading or the people invovled are nothing alike, hence my use.

2. I can use the term without your permission. I am going to use the term as often as possible in hopes of beating into your head how absurd getting mad at such a label truely is. Hopefully you eventually see the humor in that. Maybe you'll see it in a comment a couple months down the line and smile.; 11:21 PM
Tao Lin said...: gawker might link if a lot of people start 'fighting' about this and there are more than 100 comments; 11:52 PM
Mike Young said...: "I am more interested in the psychology behind the need to laugh during spots where laughing didn't seem warranted."

I talked about this already. There's nothing left for me to say.

Hamster chapbooks available here,, mocha french toast chapbooks available here,, and vengeful unicorn chapbooks available here.

100 comments. Yes we can. Yes we can.; 12:46 AM
Leigh Stein said...: >> If my comment had been made about a reading in South Dakota that you were not present for, then I seriously doubt you would have taken the time to post about what I had said. <<

Well obviously. If all these remarks were about a reading in South Dakota, then the participants/host/readers in South Dakota would be saying the same things I am.

Can you write an apology letter and take out a page in the Times?

I want to be as famous as Tao.; 9:47 AM
jereme said...: I can try Tao but it is going to be hard. I am not mad. It would be easier if I was emotional but I feel apathetic.

Mike,

I have not read those. I was not aware those blogs existed. I live a sheltered internet life. I will go read.

Leigh,

How much does it cost to put an ad in the NY Times? Maybe I can pool resources.

Or we can compromise and I can try the LA times. I think that would be easier for me to accomplish.

Gawker,

I slept with your mom. You suck.; 1:52 PM
Leigh Stein said...: Jereme,

I would like to call a truce, but then we'll never get on Gawker.

Mike,

I just now realized that vengeful unicorn chapbook refers to my chapbook.

If I had the money, would I take out a page in the LA Times or buy a deformed deer to be my personal mascot?; 2:00 PM
jereme said...: That is a good question.

I don't personally care for unicorns but I bet girls do so I could use the unicorn to dupe girls into sterile hotel rooms for meaningless sex and the strange feeling afterwards.

but I dunno, the LA Times thing would be pretty sweet too.; 2:37 PM
Eric Z. said...: There's no better laughter at a show than laughter from an uncomfortable audience needing to defuse the tension in the room.

A bored audience doesn't do that.; 3:57 PM
jereme said...: WHO THE HELL ASKED YOU ERIC AND YOUR STUPID Z?

*trying to start fights*; 4:48 PM
Eric Z. said...: Shh, shh.; 5:10 PM
jereme said...: we are never getting to 100 posts at this rate.

What a crock of shit.; 5:58 PM
Leigh Stein said...: ERIC Z IS MY FRIEND

HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU KNOW WHO HAVE A LAST NAME THAT STARTS WITH Z?; 6:52 PM
jereme said...: I know a Frank Joseph Zamboni. Perhaps you have heard of him?; 7:10 PM
Eric Z. said...: Got your back, boo.

I want to see more footage of readings where all we can see is the audience's reaction. I'd pay 10 bucks to go into a museum if I knew there would be a dark room with an hour's worth of footage like that.; 8:21 PM
Leigh Stein said...: eric z:

good idea. i will videotape audience from now.

(can it be called videotaping anymore? probably not.)

once i have a collection of these "recordings," i will have a screening.; 12:15 AM
jereme said...: And then you can digitally record the audience viewing the video of the audience viewings at readings.

a copy of a copy of a copy.

That fight club quote just popped into my head.; 1:39 PM
Taylor said...: there was a segment on radiolab:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/radiolab/episodes/2006/04/21

"behaves so strangely"

about a repeated phrase eventually being interpreted as a melody.

(that is what i thought, i hope it is of interest)

when i move to new york i will feel uncomfortable in an audience unless we all laugh together occasionally and everyone knows it's ok.; 9:44 PM
Darci Alexis said...: I hate hipsters. Look at them looking around nervously to see what everyone else is doing. Do what everyone else is doing, hipsters--it's what you do best.

This poem is great, sort of.; 8:19 PM
gena said...: fuckasses; 7:37 PM
david fishkind said...: i guess this was one of the first times i looked at the blog. i had just read 'bed'; 2:59 AM