Flashback: Sumatra Places, Indonesia

August 2001
By Michael Ault


"Rise like Lions after slumber
In unvanquishable number
Shake your chains to earth like dew
Which in sleep had fallen on you -
Ye are many - they are few."
Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Mask of Anarchy.



::One::

Twelve of us were tightly wedged in the six-seat, rust-engulfed, mini-van, bouncing along the loosely packed gravel road. Small rocks crackled from under the weight of the deteriorating vehicle. Our current destination was a rain forest village located in the mountains of the military occupied territory known as Aceh in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Images of jade forested hills lined with towering patches of trees overwhelmed my line of vision, filling me with a serene sense of beauty. However, in the recesses of my mind, I kept hearing a voice remind me that several miles to the north of our location, the citizens of Aceh were resisting the Indonesian Military's presence and multinational corporations' dominance. Thoughts of execution style murders, torture, rape, mass graves, and citizen disappearances were silenced as the pockmarked gravel turned to Sumatran potholed dirt.

[Here's a link to the rest of the article.]

Treme: New on HBO

Watch the first three episodes online here but please remember to buy the First Season DVD next year. It's worth watching right now -- topical and engaging -- and it's also worth owning next year.

From SLO to Visalia: Beach House, Camera Obscura, and other miscellaneous stuff

[Beach House::San Luis Obispo]




























































[Happy Birthday Jim::Bakersfield]

















[Springtime::Bakersfield]

















[Camera Obscura::Visalia]

Laverta -- my Grandma [year unknown]

My brother and I are both wearing UNR Wolfpack t-shirts.










The Wolfpack?

Our Uncle, Laverta's son, my father's brother, is 'Coach' at the University of Nevada, Reno. To put it simply, he's a true bad-ass and his coaching career is inspiring -- then and now.

[Chris Ault]

Read more about my uncle here.

To Kill a Mockingbird [1962]

My friend Stephen recently reminded me of this movie.












My favorite quote from Scout:

"One time Atticus said, 'You never really know a man until you've stood in his shoes. And walked around in them.'

Just standing on The Radley Porch was enough for me."
Scout.

The Sunday Night Artist: David Foster Wallace

David Foster Wallace
1962-2008

David Foster Wallace took his own life, September 12, 2008. He was only 46 and widely recognized as one of "the finest American writer[s] of his generation." He was also a semi-pro Tennis player in high school. His Kenyon College Commencement Address is one of the absolute best Commencement Addresses ever delivered in written English.

He was best known as a novelist, a contributor to Harper's Magazine, and a professor of Creative Writing at Pomona College (PC) in Claremont, CA.

[Dave Eggers put together a "Tributes" page in honor of his friend.]

Pomona College (PC) is part of the 5 colleges that are known as "The Claremont Colleges." Years ago, I worked at a corner used bookshop called Chapter One, on the main avenue of Claremont's downtown historic district. I have fond memories of The Claremont Colleges.

He typically taught one class a semester (20 students) at PC and, needless to say, there was a waiting list several years long. He was also married to the talented artist Karen Green. Her gallery is also in the historic Claremont College downtown. Check out her gallery: Beautiful Crap.

Charlie Rose interviewed him back in 1997.


My Halloween Costume was meant to be a tribute to his life, his writing, his struggle. According to his father, David Wallace was clinically depressed for almost 20 years; his father spoke to the press a week or two after the suicide.


Halloween 2008.

Of course, Dave, as he was known to his students, would never be caught dead walking around with a copy of Infinite Jest but for the sake of the costume, I thought it was an important prop -- besides it sparked several interesting conversations that night.

Of Interest: Examined Life

Examined Life: Philosophy is in the Streets, 2008.

I showed this video to my American Political Philosophy class last Thursday and I asked them to write/react to it in one page. They turn-in their papers tomorrow; I'm curious how they'll respond.

As always, Cornel West is great, but I think my favorite interview is between Sunaura Taylor and Judith Butler. My second favorite has to be Slavoj Zizek -- the man with the orange safety vest. The trailer is below. And it's available for "Instant Viewing" on Netflix. Check it out.




Directed by: Astra Taylor
Zeitgeist Films, The Spirit of the Times

The Sunday Night Artist: Jens Lekman

He's currently touring small-town venues throughout the world.

[He's originally from Sweden.]

Just hit 'play' and then step back from your computer -- and listen and read the lyrics (below).

The song is called, Maple Leaves.


Maple Leaves

It's autumn in Gothenburg
I'm walking home to my suburb
Rain falls hard on the city
on every homeless kitty

Oh please god bring relief
even if it's only brief
that she says the dreamer just make-believe
but I thought she said maple leaves

So we talked for hours
and you cried into my sheets
you said you hated your body
that it was just a piece of meat, I disagreed

I think you're beautiful
but it's impossible
to make you understand
that if you don't take my hand
I lose my mind completely
Madness will finally defeat me

She said it was all make-belief
but I thought you said maple leaves
and when she talked about the fall
I thought she talked about the season
I never understood at all

I thought she said maple leaves
and when she talked about about the fall
I thought she talked about Mark E Smith
I never understood at all
I never understood at all
I never understood at all