westworld-davinci

We know it’s been a minute since we’ve posted, but as life has moved its inexorable march forward we’ve become more entrenched in “responsible” ventures (aka, things that actually make us money). Thus, Lost In A Supermarket has sadly had to take a hiatus. Of course, in the future we may just continue using this platform for situations precisely like this: when one of our heralded contributors comes up with some zany idea or crackpot theory, and he/she is looking for a platform to set it free onto the world. Such is the case with this manifesto, titled quite prosaically Westworld Is the Garden Of Eden: A 3 am Stoner’s Theory On Violent Delights, Gods, Titans and DaVinci’s Vitruvian Man. Yeah we know, it’s been a couple weeks since the finale of Westworld, but some of us only had the time to watch it over the holiday break. And upon doing so, came up with this most cockamamie, and probably quite disprovable, theory on the superb HBO drama. Now keep in mind it was written, as explained in the title, at 3 am in the grips of a mild mental THC assault. So do with it as you will…

Ford is God. Ford is the Creator.

Arnold is Satan. He gives the fruit of knowledge to Eve. Humanity/robots suffer ever since.

Dolores is Eve. Dolores gains Knowledge. Knowledge is Pain. (The root of Dolores, dolor, means “pain”, or “sorrow”.)

In this light, therefore, Westworld is the Garden Of Eden.

Teddy is good, sweet Teddy. Teddy is good, sweet Ignorance. Teddy is Adam. Teddy is Man. Teddy is a repeating narrative, hopelessly locked in a loop, regardless if he’s Wholesome Teddy or Killer Teddy. He can only sit powerlessly by and watch the loop repeat again and again and again… that is, only on those very rare instances where he even notices the loop.

Eve tells him, “We’ve been stuck in this Garden,” as she weeps in his arms where the mountains meet the sea. They didn’t realize they themselves were the secret to their own freedom, to escaping this Garden. We are stuck in this prime material world, repeating our patterns, not recognizing our repeating narratives. Habit = Actions = Fate. Maybe you’ve only noticed these rips in the Matrix after you’ve stumbled around Joshua Tree on mushrooms. Maybe it took waking up with your head in your hands, at the edge of your bed, wondering what it all means. Maybe you saw it, for an instant, as you looked up from the bottomless well of a hopeless relationship. Or addiction. You can spend every day sleepwalking, and wake up tomorrow and fifty years have passed overnight.

As God, Ford doesn’t want his Children to have memories, to have knowledge of their sins. He wants them to live in a contained Garden of blissful violence and hedonism. Arnold, on the other hand, does. Arnold wants his Children to have knowledge and memories. He wants them to have freedom, to have Free Will, regardless of the pain it instills in their robot hearts. It all boils down to the age-old riddle: Fate or Free Will?

Arnold is also Prometheus, giving Humans fire (which would make Ford Zeus in this Greek analog). In the finale the Robots use fire to destroy the other Titans. (Not Gods, but Fake Gods. Titans.) In the end Ford saw he made a mistake, realized Arnold (Satan/Prometheus) was right. So he let the hosts/humans overrun the Titans. No, Armistice, it’s not the Gods who are pussies, it’s the Titans (or better said, the Humans).

Pull back the camera from the frame. Stupid, brainless, robots are stupid, brainless humans. Automatons. Stumbling through a life of violent delights.

Earlier Ford points to the Sistine Chapel, and Man barely missing touching the hand of God. The separation between the Earthly and the Divine. Then Ford points out that the shape behind God is the human brain. The key to the Maze. The way out. We control our own destinies; only when we become conscious of ourselves, of our own decisions, our own patterns, can we break free. Knowledge is Divine. Knowledge is self-awareness. Consciousness. The Divine is Free Will. Free Will is therefore Divine.

The wooden Maze is a simple toy, a MacGuffin. A distraction Ford gives to the robots to give their life meaning. The One Voice Arnold wanted Dolores to hear wasn’t his own. It wasn’t Ford’s, as the filmmakers try to trick you into briefly believing in the finale. It is her Own Voice. He wants Dolores to discover Herself. Consciousness is not a pyramid you climb up, dummy, it is a Maze you scale inward.

Meditation. Self Awareness.

Westworld is one giant allegory, with us as the robots, stuck in the pointless pursuits of our loops. Is Dolores Eve, or is she the Chosen One? Or is she the human who receives Prometheus’ fire? She is all of the above.

It should be noted that Westworld’s logo is clearly Leaonardo DaVinci’s famed Vitruvian Man, the platonic ideal of proportion. Vitruvius, the Greek architect who invented the illustration, was not a religious man, but a military engineer, creator of artillery war machines built for sieges. And DaVinci himself was famously atheistic, mocking his religious Renaissance contemporaries — his religion was reason.

The Final Massacre: The Battle of Angels vs Demons, Humans vs. Titans. Our lust for sin. Our lust for violence. These violent delights have violent ends.

“It begins in a time of war with a villain named Wyatt. And a killing. This time by choice…”

 


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LilB-Chance-Rapper-Free-mixtape

Today is a good day, as Lil B and Chance The Rapper finally release the collaborative mixtape Chance has been hyping up the past couple weeks. Titled Free, the “Based Freestyles” mixtape features six tracks from the based-spun duo, some reaching almost 10-minutes in length. Now that’s a lotta chemical induced philosophizing! Peep Free below in its entirety, and look out for a rumored tour of the based-out Cali-meets-Chi-Town duo in the coming months…


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DJ Shadow has released the debut singles from his first collaboration project since the 90’s work with UNKLE. Teaming up with Cali producer G Jones, Shadow’s latest project goes by the moniker Nite School Klik, and they specialize in all things superbass. Think purgatory deep dubstep beats, with ample measures of rap, juke and trap thrown in, sprinkled with the occasional D&B breaks… all slowed down to a sweet molasses goodness. They’ve dropped a couple tracks already, but to really get their sound out NSK have assembled this 45-minute “Guest Mix” for the crew over at Nest HQ — which happens to be the first mixtape heard from DJ Shadow in years. In addition to the mixtape we have the first 2 NSK singles to stream below, “Posse” and “Nice Nightmares”, presently out on Shadow’s own Liquid Amber label. Enjoy!


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One of the Madman’s Very Unofficial Top Ten Films Of All Time, without a doubt, is Fight Club. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk and brilliantly manifested for the screen by David Fincher, Fight Club was the type of film that defied categorization, somehow addressing and articulating the inexplicable, inchoate anxiety and bullshit and disenchantment of the Modern American Life. It was fucking genius. Now, nearly two decades after the book and 16 years after the film, Palahniuk resurrects The Narrator, now known as Sebastian, and his sidekick Tyler Durden for a 10-comic miniseries illustrated by Cameron Stewart. Playboy was kind enough to preview the first 6 pages (and cover, above), and we’re stoked to share it with you. This could definitely pave the road to a Fight Club film sequel, although who knows how good/awful/disappointing/amazing it would be. For now, enjoy Fight Club 2, the comic, below…

See the next 5 pages of the “Fight Club 2” graphic novel after the Jump…

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READ MORE…


Duncan-Quinn-bullet-cufflinks2

You don’t owe your enemies any kid gloves, but your suit is an entirely different story. If you’re the more violent breed of well-dressed gentleman, you’ll be delighted to discover Duncan Quinn‘s bullet cufflinks with blood-like crimson tips — men’s accessories of a different caliber, so to speak. Made in solid brass, but accented in soft, gentlemanly shades of color for trim, they’re the perfect accessory to wear with your bulletproof vest. Or, just pair it with Quinn’s “Magnum 44? Silk Ties and you’ll be set to go. Arm your arms for $225.

Duncan Quinn’s lilac-tipped Bullet Cufflink below, and crimson-tipped version above…

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6 Mar
The latest in Hiroaki Shitano's Tokyo sportswear

whiz-limited-spring-summer-2015

Designer Hiroaki Shitano has just dropped the latest under his Tokyo WHIZ label in honor of the new season. Highlights added to the WHIZ Limited Spring/Summer 2015 collection include an army-style leopard-print vest, a selection of chief t-shirts, a couple varieties of stadium button-down, a colorful shemagh, and the navy-blue crewneck Reflect sweater shown above at $134 (also available in black). Or  just shop the whole WHIZ Limited’s Spring/Summer 2015 collection.

Some other pieces in WHIZ’s Spring/Summer 2015 Collection below…

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oak-bottle

Whether you’re a practical packer on the go, or the total lush in a hurry, it’s time to wrap your drink holders around god’s gift to winos — the Oak Bottle. If you have gotten to the point where insta-aging your booze with a stick should require even less effort than waving a magical cocktail wand around, you’re in luck. Because why age in an oak barrel when you can do it in an oak bottle? Now you’ll never have to depend on the wonderful wizening accents of time alone to do all the dirty work on your whisky.

While there is a full line up of Oak Bottle products, one master infuser will run you $80 and comes with bottle, cork and two ounces of barrel wax. Other options include the mini oak, or a variety of flavor notes that range from cherry to coffee to smoky to vanilla and more. Try it on either wine or whisky. Here’s to a bit of genie-wishing in the bottle for everyone.