I've been feeling out of it lately. When this happens I always fall back on these clips
Its a two parter!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 25, 2008
The Curious Case of Sweeping Hollywood Epics
INARTICULATE RAMBLINGS AND INCOMPLETE THOUGHTS ON BENJAMIN BUTTON BELOW WITH SPOILERS
I managed to escape the house on Christmas evening for a few hours to rid myself of the petty grievances of family gatherings that can pull you under and fled to my one true sanctuary. I saw Benjamin Button in Berkeley among an impressively full crowd of delicious hipsters at an expensive (10 dollars for a small popcorn and soda!) Art House theatre. The audience was my favorite part of the movie.
In the context of big sweeping Hollywood epics, which to my surprise it is, I guess you could call it a step in the right direction. I had been under the impression it was going to be a platform release and modestly budgeted allowing for David Fincher to continue his detail obsessed "quirky" cinema practices last found in Zodiac. Within the first ten minutes I knew it was swinging for the fences in a big way, hoping for a Forrest Gump like grand slam (same screenwriter), begging the audience to connect by dumping millions of dollars into every minute and creating many broad affable characters who speak in clumsy aphorisms.
The producers better hope for those kind of numbers. After a little research I find this thing cost upwards of 150 million and was financed by both Paramount and Warner Brothers. If you asked me a month ago based off trailers and buzz release, I would have said, it will prob do 35-50 million if its lucky. It’s a lock for 100 easily after Xmas box office figures are released despite a nearly 3 hour running time and a surprisingly amount of needless pessimism that comes across callow/juvenile.
Two recurring themes are death and storms. Both seem to constantly be happening on screen. One would THINK a movie about aging backwards, especially if you’re blessed with Brad Pitt’s face and an inheritance that allows you to not work ¾ of your life would have a little bit more fun. But no, Fun is for suckers and films that do respectable business but don’t earn the OSCARS, which this wants to do, desperately. To my bafflement it very well may do both.
Brad Pitt’s Benjamin Button is possibly the most enigmatic and non entity main character since Carol White from SAFE (praise be to the BEST movie of ALL TIME). But instead of using a blank canvas/sleepwalker to make subversive sociopolitical statements we are supposed to connect to him and understand him. How you ask? I don’t really know, a few possible theories; dump our emotional baggage onto him, we do the heavy lifting for such a pretty face. Or maybe some find charm in his listlessness as it is common knowledge that blank stares and mental vacancy are cute.
His characters towards the end does something ABSOLUTELY selfish and reprehensible abandoning both his wife and child because of his concerns about the baby having him as a father (I'll be different than other papas!) and his wife eventually having to take care of him. That he expresses these sentiments several times during her pregnancy to which she talks him down and out of it make his leaving all the more baffling and he does nothing to earn back her or our forgiveness. The film turns into an unofficial anthem for dead beat dads EVERYWHERE. Luckily there is a scene with Cate Blanchett whose acting saves this erratic and poorly written contrivance with a simple, “You’re so young” and suddenly we completely understand why it would never work and why he did what he did.
The film decides to “go there” and stupidly starts on the eve of Hurricane Katrina. By doing so, it politicizes the film from the get go, we can’t help but think of a certain ineffectual president, an incoming one and an underbelly of classism/racism so long ignored and shockingly exposed for everyone to see. This makes the sanitized and completely false historical flashbacks back indefensible. You can’t help but think WTF as we’re immediately introduced to Queenie the stereotypical black mammy figure who raises little Ben throughout the entire movie. Yes, a black woman who is a maid/caretaker at a convalescent home raising a prematurely aged white child in the deep south during the 30’s without a single character every commenting or addressing the issue. Not only that but she literally sleeps in a dank basement bedroom her ENTIRE LIFE. Even when Ben comes into money via a rich deadbeat father (recurring theme), what does he do? He goes to cavort in the Florida Keys with Daisy, while mama dies back at home. Her daughter drops out of the film somewhere along the line and her husband, a charmed happy smiling Shakespeare quoting gent died conveniently 10 minutes previously while Ben was off seeing the world. Characters who solely exist to please/accommodate ole' Ben. But don't worry there's a fun black church scene.
There is a brief interlude in which Benjamin meets an elderly upper class British woman played by Tilda Swinton that is charming and touching allowing for subtle psychological complexity and is one of the few times the movie has fun with the premise of aging backwards. He sees her as a mother figure or a potentially aged Daisy (the red hair) and she picks up on this and willingly complies, bossing him around and educating him on the ways of the world, through the taste of caviar and other ahem acquired tastes. That he is inexperienced and having his first bout of puppy love while looking 60 is part of the charm.
Cate Blanchett gives a solid performance as Daisy and tries her hardest to convince the audience of why she loves him but its just not there. There is no reason why she (or we) should love him.
It has a few interesting touches now and then. The simple fact that Ben has sex (losing his V in a whore house no less) with many different woman pretty constantly throughout the film feels revolutionary. Somewhere along the line it seems most characters in mainstream Hollywood flicks stopped doing it, too busy shopping or committing violent acts. And while she is the love of his life, and vice versa, they both take lovers on during various stages and don’t regret it or hold it against each other. Also, Daisy most likely dyked out and is pretty sex positive in her attitudes during an interesting conversation she has with him in an empty veranda wearing a sexy maroon number. No blushing flower is Miss Daisy.
In the end we are treated to a literal image of Time’s tide
I guess in other director’s hands this would be cavity inducing but thanks to Fincher’s sociopathic film techniques it goes down with a bit less indigestion.
I managed to escape the house on Christmas evening for a few hours to rid myself of the petty grievances of family gatherings that can pull you under and fled to my one true sanctuary. I saw Benjamin Button in Berkeley among an impressively full crowd of delicious hipsters at an expensive (10 dollars for a small popcorn and soda!) Art House theatre. The audience was my favorite part of the movie.
In the context of big sweeping Hollywood epics, which to my surprise it is, I guess you could call it a step in the right direction. I had been under the impression it was going to be a platform release and modestly budgeted allowing for David Fincher to continue his detail obsessed "quirky" cinema practices last found in Zodiac. Within the first ten minutes I knew it was swinging for the fences in a big way, hoping for a Forrest Gump like grand slam (same screenwriter), begging the audience to connect by dumping millions of dollars into every minute and creating many broad affable characters who speak in clumsy aphorisms.
The producers better hope for those kind of numbers. After a little research I find this thing cost upwards of 150 million and was financed by both Paramount and Warner Brothers. If you asked me a month ago based off trailers and buzz release, I would have said, it will prob do 35-50 million if its lucky. It’s a lock for 100 easily after Xmas box office figures are released despite a nearly 3 hour running time and a surprisingly amount of needless pessimism that comes across callow/juvenile.
Two recurring themes are death and storms. Both seem to constantly be happening on screen. One would THINK a movie about aging backwards, especially if you’re blessed with Brad Pitt’s face and an inheritance that allows you to not work ¾ of your life would have a little bit more fun. But no, Fun is for suckers and films that do respectable business but don’t earn the OSCARS, which this wants to do, desperately. To my bafflement it very well may do both.
Brad Pitt’s Benjamin Button is possibly the most enigmatic and non entity main character since Carol White from SAFE (praise be to the BEST movie of ALL TIME). But instead of using a blank canvas/sleepwalker to make subversive sociopolitical statements we are supposed to connect to him and understand him. How you ask? I don’t really know, a few possible theories; dump our emotional baggage onto him, we do the heavy lifting for such a pretty face. Or maybe some find charm in his listlessness as it is common knowledge that blank stares and mental vacancy are cute.
His characters towards the end does something ABSOLUTELY selfish and reprehensible abandoning both his wife and child because of his concerns about the baby having him as a father (I'll be different than other papas!) and his wife eventually having to take care of him. That he expresses these sentiments several times during her pregnancy to which she talks him down and out of it make his leaving all the more baffling and he does nothing to earn back her or our forgiveness. The film turns into an unofficial anthem for dead beat dads EVERYWHERE. Luckily there is a scene with Cate Blanchett whose acting saves this erratic and poorly written contrivance with a simple, “You’re so young” and suddenly we completely understand why it would never work and why he did what he did.
The film decides to “go there” and stupidly starts on the eve of Hurricane Katrina. By doing so, it politicizes the film from the get go, we can’t help but think of a certain ineffectual president, an incoming one and an underbelly of classism/racism so long ignored and shockingly exposed for everyone to see. This makes the sanitized and completely false historical flashbacks back indefensible. You can’t help but think WTF as we’re immediately introduced to Queenie the stereotypical black mammy figure who raises little Ben throughout the entire movie. Yes, a black woman who is a maid/caretaker at a convalescent home raising a prematurely aged white child in the deep south during the 30’s without a single character every commenting or addressing the issue. Not only that but she literally sleeps in a dank basement bedroom her ENTIRE LIFE. Even when Ben comes into money via a rich deadbeat father (recurring theme), what does he do? He goes to cavort in the Florida Keys with Daisy, while mama dies back at home. Her daughter drops out of the film somewhere along the line and her husband, a charmed happy smiling Shakespeare quoting gent died conveniently 10 minutes previously while Ben was off seeing the world. Characters who solely exist to please/accommodate ole' Ben. But don't worry there's a fun black church scene.
There is a brief interlude in which Benjamin meets an elderly upper class British woman played by Tilda Swinton that is charming and touching allowing for subtle psychological complexity and is one of the few times the movie has fun with the premise of aging backwards. He sees her as a mother figure or a potentially aged Daisy (the red hair) and she picks up on this and willingly complies, bossing him around and educating him on the ways of the world, through the taste of caviar and other ahem acquired tastes. That he is inexperienced and having his first bout of puppy love while looking 60 is part of the charm.
Cate Blanchett gives a solid performance as Daisy and tries her hardest to convince the audience of why she loves him but its just not there. There is no reason why she (or we) should love him.
It has a few interesting touches now and then. The simple fact that Ben has sex (losing his V in a whore house no less) with many different woman pretty constantly throughout the film feels revolutionary. Somewhere along the line it seems most characters in mainstream Hollywood flicks stopped doing it, too busy shopping or committing violent acts. And while she is the love of his life, and vice versa, they both take lovers on during various stages and don’t regret it or hold it against each other. Also, Daisy most likely dyked out and is pretty sex positive in her attitudes during an interesting conversation she has with him in an empty veranda wearing a sexy maroon number. No blushing flower is Miss Daisy.
In the end we are treated to a literal image of Time’s tide
I guess in other director’s hands this would be cavity inducing but thanks to Fincher’s sociopathic film techniques it goes down with a bit less indigestion.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Today is a Very Important One
I don't blog much these days but I simply must on this occasion as it is the birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven (238 years young today!), Jane Austin (233), the blithe Noel Coward (109), Phillip K. Dick (80), and Liv Ullman (70). But most importantly OF ALL, on Dec. 16, 1977 Saturday Night Fever was released and pop culture was forever changed! This is like the Titanic/Gone With The Wind of my summer childhoods spent in Suffolk County on Long Island. I dare you to watch this and not believe in romance again!
Also since this is ME and my blog and my preoccupation with all things dour I'd like to point out famous deaths on this day. We lost Sylvester this day in 1988 which makes me feel (mighty sad). Colonel Sanders also kicked the bucket this day in 1980, and Somerset Maughem left us in 65. I'd like to imagine all three hanging out, bonding over a tub of extra crispy.
Also since this is ME and my blog and my preoccupation with all things dour I'd like to point out famous deaths on this day. We lost Sylvester this day in 1988 which makes me feel (mighty sad). Colonel Sanders also kicked the bucket this day in 1980, and Somerset Maughem left us in 65. I'd like to imagine all three hanging out, bonding over a tub of extra crispy.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Satanic Santas
Someone over at youtube had the good sense to make a video tribute to Christmas Evil, the greatest holiday movie of all time! Sadly it only shows the truncated version of baby Harry coming down the stairs to see his mommy more than kissing Santa Claus. After that scene you have my permission to press stop. If or rather WHEN you rent it, you will be treated to a raunchier midnight Santa tryst. Also, it has a brief but memorable cameo by Patricia Richardson aka Jill Taylor aka mom from Home Improvement!
Next Up we have Siskel and Ebert reviewing Silent Night: Deadly Night in which they put on displays of indignation rarely seen outside court rooms dealing with social justice issues. Lighten up fellas!
And in closing I present you with "All Through The House" a horror short from the original Tales From The Crypt movie starring a young and actually attractive Joan Collins! I implore you to watch the entire 10 min film as it is REALLY good and gets under the skin by the end. It is genuinely creepy in the best way possible. They don't make em like they used to.
Next Up we have Siskel and Ebert reviewing Silent Night: Deadly Night in which they put on displays of indignation rarely seen outside court rooms dealing with social justice issues. Lighten up fellas!
And in closing I present you with "All Through The House" a horror short from the original Tales From The Crypt movie starring a young and actually attractive Joan Collins! I implore you to watch the entire 10 min film as it is REALLY good and gets under the skin by the end. It is genuinely creepy in the best way possible. They don't make em like they used to.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Days of Folly and Fun
A squat notebook with a lemonade yellow cover that has the words Do Not Read written three times on the cover. Yes, my high school diary has been unearthed. Contain yourselves please. I simply ask that you all commend me for this brave soul baring act.
4/30/97
Tomorrow I go to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. I’m excited. I saw Scream. The beginning was scary. I read a John Grisham novel, The Rainmaker, pretty good!
This will be the first and last time I share with you the insights of my mind at 15 because THERE WAS NOTHING THERE.
4/30/97
Tomorrow I go to Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. I’m excited. I saw Scream. The beginning was scary. I read a John Grisham novel, The Rainmaker, pretty good!
This will be the first and last time I share with you the insights of my mind at 15 because THERE WAS NOTHING THERE.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Doesn't it feel like Xmas? [no]
Now that we've gotten all that turkey business out of the way bring on XXXmas!!!!
a pair of chloe shades and a belly diamond ring??? you shouldn't have!
In the beginning all the shop clerks are giving dirty looks towards B and friends because they're dressed up as Santa sluts? Or is there a deeper social commentary on the subtle racial tensions/discriminations they endure even as superstars, ignorant shop owners who still assume they are potential shoplifters.
a pair of chloe shades and a belly diamond ring??? you shouldn't have!
In the beginning all the shop clerks are giving dirty looks towards B and friends because they're dressed up as Santa sluts? Or is there a deeper social commentary on the subtle racial tensions/discriminations they endure even as superstars, ignorant shop owners who still assume they are potential shoplifters.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
And So The Lion Fell in Love With The Lamb
I haven't posted in a while and one would think that say attending the protest ralley would move me to blog but no. That is NOT the kind of person I am and this is NOT that kind of blog. I come to proclaim the through mediocraty and ineptness of Twilight. To be fair, it does have its flashes of charm, which are my favorite types of film! Its like rummaging through the sales bin at a thrift store for far too long; your nose stuffed up from all the dust, slightly hungry and tired, and starting to question why you are there at all when suddenly you find a beautiful timeless cardigan or T Shirt that say I'm Glad My Mommy Didn't Have An Abortion. Suddenly the trip has been redeemed, its all been worth it.
For me that moment is the infamous vampire sparkle sequence, or should I say SEQUINce. After Bella discovers Edward is a vampire largely through her google search skills, he decides he wants to show her the REAL Edward... in the sunlight! So on his back she goes and he takes off at rapid speeds in some seriously low budget effects and editing to some mountainish top where the clouds have parted. For you see, in the world of Twilight, vampires do not perish at the sight of sunlight but sparkle brilliantly like diamonds. Somehow Edward's shirt comes completely unbuttoned when he steps into the light, revealing his true vampire glory, chest hair and all, looking like a cross of James Dean and Ziggy Stardust, glittering wildly as Bella declares his beauty and we the audience can't help but agree.
I wish the movie had more moments like that. A big problem is the vampire clan itself. They're really boring and seriel monogamists. Each one is paired off. For fun they like to play baseball during thunderstorms [zzzzzzzzzzzzzz] The villianous vampires are natually more intersting and a lot of fun but don't get nearly enough screen time. They're also a more progressive and unconventional lot traveling in a group of three with a West Indian Rasafarian vamp as the unofficial leader.
I'd like to focus now on Robert Pattinson's performance as the byronic Edward Cullins. I kept wanting this
[David Bowie as Thomas Jerome Newtom from The Man Who Fell To Earth]
as opposed to
[Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre]
His performance here is a miss, a somewhat amiable one which is a shame because he showed such promise as the tragic Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter And The Goblet of Fire where I had perhaps an inappropriate thought or two when he came onscreen.
The only other supremely homo moment that sticks out in my mind is when they do a brief sepia toned flashback to the making of Edward as a vampire which involves some queer and unexplained character psychology of the benevelont Dr. Carlisle Cullen. He is a doctor who already a vampire can't control his urges around Edward and it is only after making beautiful lithe Eddie an eternal creature of the night that he decides to turn his wife into one as well.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
The Video Starbucks DOES NOT WANT you to see!
You don't need to understand Spanish to enjoy the clip
From Almodovar's What Have I Done To Deserve This?
From Almodovar's What Have I Done To Deserve This?
Sunday, November 9, 2008
The Need for Tweed
Last night I sat around with a group of 'mos and we all wistfully recalled the softcore erotic thrillers we were forced to sit through while we came of age. Holding our breath for the tastefully brief shots of male buttocks and ravenously feasting upon the sight with our starving eyes, those were the stale salad days of our youth. For me this took place in my BFF's grimy living room around 1am, digesting pizza and coke while trying to hide a raging erection. The best bet was to be already lying prostate on the floor otherwise you had to feign sleepiness and hug a couch cushion. Here are a few clips from various films of the all time great high sultan of slutiness, goddess of softcore erotic thrillers, Canada's finest export, Mrs. Shannon Tweed!
Friday, November 7, 2008
They can't take away our right to Party!
Right??? Just watch it'll be on the ballot in two years and pass. Whatever, who wants to get married ANYWAYS right? ??? right??? :(
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Laughlin
Last weekend I engaged in the political process by campaigning for Obama in Laughlin, Nevada. Since it is now November my feverish obsession with the race has consumed me entirely. Not that I'm particulary worried about the outcome but My. Eye. Is. On. The. Prize. I canvassed with my new BFF (hi Bobo, hi!) which means we went door to door reminding people to vote and asking them how they felt about the upcoming elections, offering the most convincing, persuasive and polite reasons why they should vote for Obama (yes, I do plan on getting as much social mileage out of the situation as possible). We ran the gamut of responses from doors shut hastily in our faces to enthusiastic endorsements for OUR candidate.
To see people telling you that they plan on voting for Obama, our most common response by the way, who come from completely different backgrounds and experiences than you, ones that might not be the most conducive to voting for such an exciting and new candidate really can be quite moving if you let it be. I would say my favorite Laughlin citizen I had the pleasure of talking with would be Daisy who was an enthusiastic Obama supporter but didn't know her voting location which we were able to provide, also gaining points were her cat, bad leg and general Eddie Beale vibe. A close second was a sweet and tender thug who wasn't on our list of potential persuasion voters but answered the door shirtless and tattooed, whispering us good luck sincerely . Even recalling the memory has my knees buckling and head going slightly dizzy. DEFINITELY the worst was GAIL who we never actually spoke to but we did get an ear full from her irate husband who screamed and threatened to call the cops on us. Right before him was this uppity older woman who was reading a trashy romance novel and we clearly interrupted her session as she was seriously crotchety.
Well now that I've skimmed the surface of what went down (the stay at the Tropicana Express deserves a post of its own) the only thing left to do is filter the experience through the pop culture medium. The only way I know how to relate to or communicate with others. The easiest shorthand for expression/emotion in my HUMBLE opinion. This fits surprisingly well.
To see people telling you that they plan on voting for Obama, our most common response by the way, who come from completely different backgrounds and experiences than you, ones that might not be the most conducive to voting for such an exciting and new candidate really can be quite moving if you let it be. I would say my favorite Laughlin citizen I had the pleasure of talking with would be Daisy who was an enthusiastic Obama supporter but didn't know her voting location which we were able to provide, also gaining points were her cat, bad leg and general Eddie Beale vibe. A close second was a sweet and tender thug who wasn't on our list of potential persuasion voters but answered the door shirtless and tattooed, whispering us good luck sincerely . Even recalling the memory has my knees buckling and head going slightly dizzy. DEFINITELY the worst was GAIL who we never actually spoke to but we did get an ear full from her irate husband who screamed and threatened to call the cops on us. Right before him was this uppity older woman who was reading a trashy romance novel and we clearly interrupted her session as she was seriously crotchety.
Well now that I've skimmed the surface of what went down (the stay at the Tropicana Express deserves a post of its own) the only thing left to do is filter the experience through the pop culture medium. The only way I know how to relate to or communicate with others. The easiest shorthand for expression/emotion in my HUMBLE opinion. This fits surprisingly well.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ki Ki Ki Ki, Ma Ma Ma Ma
Since its almost Halloween I thought I'd pay tribute to one of my all time favorite morally wrong mamas Mrs. Pamela Vorhees. According to legend (or imdb trivia pages] Betsy Palmer said that if it were not for the fact that she was in desperate need of a new car, she would never have taken the part of Pamela Voorhees. In fact, after she read the script she called the film "a piece of shit". She worked on the film for ten days, for which she received $1000 per day.
Damn! That last one looks like Garey Busey with a bad weave. 10k! She could get a Kia Rio with that kind of money
Also to justify my kind of sincere enjoyment of the Friday the 13th series I thought I'd throw in some high falutin' art by Peter Doig who seems to be just as enamored and obsessed with the films as I am. He has several paintings that draw upon the final sequence from the first film.
According to the NYRB, "...he creates scenes where a defining act has happened or will happen, and what we take in is an indirectly tense coda or prelude."
Heady stuff!
Damn! That last one looks like Garey Busey with a bad weave. 10k! She could get a Kia Rio with that kind of money
Also to justify my kind of sincere enjoyment of the Friday the 13th series I thought I'd throw in some high falutin' art by Peter Doig who seems to be just as enamored and obsessed with the films as I am. He has several paintings that draw upon the final sequence from the first film.
According to the NYRB, "...he creates scenes where a defining act has happened or will happen, and what we take in is an indirectly tense coda or prelude."
Heady stuff!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Incoherent thoughts and Unfinished Ideas on this Weekend's Box Office
High School Musical 3 debuted to 42 million dollars this weekend, the highest opening ever for a musical but color me unimpressed. Given that the last sequel was the highest rated basic cable program ever with 17 million viewers and the 57 million dollar opening of that OTHER TV to film adaptation Sex And The City I had slightly higher expectations. Furthermore, the audience for HSM3 are the 18 and under crowd, notorious for rushing out opening weekend as opposed to the geriatrics who hobbled to the theatre for Sex And The City, a group more prone to go second or third weekend, or even wait for it on DVD. Who knew the latter would turn out to be the Stalingrad/Gettsyburgh/D Day for middle aged women across America?
That said, credit is due to the producers of HSM3 who somehow managed to have it made for 10 million dollars which is mind blowing. That is how much money should have been spent alone to guarantee the presence of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale. Not to mention the worldwide launch that brought in an extra 43 million bringing its total to 83 in just three days. Perhaps we can take this as a good sign, the rest of the world maybe doesn't hate us so much or they're at least curious, gobbling up our All American tale of Prom, Musical Theatre and Big Game Night drama just as enthusiastically as we are.
Also opening was Saw 5 with 30 million which you might say "hacked" or "sliced" into their audience, "bloodying" the film enough to prevent it from breaking further records. [Tee hee hee!] That 30 million take by the way is REMARKABLY sanguine for the 5th entry in the series. It will become the highest grossing horror franchise of all time after this week and before everyone starts griping about INFLATION and this and that you can look at the 5th entries in any other horror series and see how much trouble they were in fiscally and to a larger extent creatively. Michael Myers was going toe to toe with an 8 year old psychic girl at the 5th entry. That series like many others of its day were not meant or planned out correctly to be so prolific. The Saw series seems to be consistently competent for fans and ever so slowly inching forward its storylines while offering the same dismemberment and torture during each installment. No underage psychics or trips to exotic locals are needed at this point. I've written about the Saw phenom before here, so I don't have much new to add. Respect and admiration is due to the industriousness of the series which seems to poop out on the dot once a year with seriously low budgets. Sadly this probably guarantees that we’ll be seeing at the very least a Saw 9 opening around 2012, lucky us!
You would think the combination of super saccharine and sadistic viewing options at the theatres would be mutually exclusive audiences but I imagine they are not. The same bored 16 year olds who frequented HSM3 I'm sure have also been raised on a steady diet of Law And Order: Special Victims Unit and have no problems sticking around for a stronger fix in Saw 5.
Aside from the content of the films, this weekend gives me hope as you have audiences showing up in huge flocks for low budget entertainment that came from unconventional methods. High School Musical was originally a made for TV movie and the original Saw was an independently produced movie that was sold to a movie studio. In a strange way ingenuity is being rewarded, just not in the case of what's being seen on the screen, and showing that films can turn a profit while still playing in a theatre.
That said, credit is due to the producers of HSM3 who somehow managed to have it made for 10 million dollars which is mind blowing. That is how much money should have been spent alone to guarantee the presence of Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Tisdale. Not to mention the worldwide launch that brought in an extra 43 million bringing its total to 83 in just three days. Perhaps we can take this as a good sign, the rest of the world maybe doesn't hate us so much or they're at least curious, gobbling up our All American tale of Prom, Musical Theatre and Big Game Night drama just as enthusiastically as we are.
Also opening was Saw 5 with 30 million which you might say "hacked" or "sliced" into their audience, "bloodying" the film enough to prevent it from breaking further records. [Tee hee hee!] That 30 million take by the way is REMARKABLY sanguine for the 5th entry in the series. It will become the highest grossing horror franchise of all time after this week and before everyone starts griping about INFLATION and this and that you can look at the 5th entries in any other horror series and see how much trouble they were in fiscally and to a larger extent creatively. Michael Myers was going toe to toe with an 8 year old psychic girl at the 5th entry. That series like many others of its day were not meant or planned out correctly to be so prolific. The Saw series seems to be consistently competent for fans and ever so slowly inching forward its storylines while offering the same dismemberment and torture during each installment. No underage psychics or trips to exotic locals are needed at this point. I've written about the Saw phenom before here, so I don't have much new to add. Respect and admiration is due to the industriousness of the series which seems to poop out on the dot once a year with seriously low budgets. Sadly this probably guarantees that we’ll be seeing at the very least a Saw 9 opening around 2012, lucky us!
You would think the combination of super saccharine and sadistic viewing options at the theatres would be mutually exclusive audiences but I imagine they are not. The same bored 16 year olds who frequented HSM3 I'm sure have also been raised on a steady diet of Law And Order: Special Victims Unit and have no problems sticking around for a stronger fix in Saw 5.
Aside from the content of the films, this weekend gives me hope as you have audiences showing up in huge flocks for low budget entertainment that came from unconventional methods. High School Musical was originally a made for TV movie and the original Saw was an independently produced movie that was sold to a movie studio. In a strange way ingenuity is being rewarded, just not in the case of what's being seen on the screen, and showing that films can turn a profit while still playing in a theatre.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Live Requests and Dedication
I have a foreign friend who recently moved to Los Angeles and one of the first things he wanted to do was check out Hollywood Boulevard, the last place anyone who has lived here for more than 30 minutes wants to go. Okay that's not true there's always the valley. You can also approach the boulevard in that artsy resigned way where every hideous grotesque building/shop/tourist/street impersonator has a special kind of beauty. In regards to the street performers you can angle it as if there is a touching poignency to the gap between the reality of the situation and what they are trying to achieve. Their physical/monetary/mental limitations and constraints become endearing and winsome. Think Harmony Korine who has made an entire career out of exploiting that sensation. [For the record, I quite enjoy his work, even Julian Donkey Boy!]
N-E ways, sorry for that deep moment, hope no one drowned! After trudging past Marilyn Monroe's star in front of McDonald's [it don't get more American than that!] I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of this
That is neither my foot nor that of my friend, just a random passerby caught in the cell phone pic crossfire.
The Art Laboe Connection is definitely one of my favorite radio shows of all time, up there with The Quiet Storm After Hours with Sean Andre and the now defunct The Lockdown Hour with Michael Baisden where people would call in and talk about their own experiences of being incarcerated or of a close family member/friend and then request a song. What is pleasing and amusing about Art is not just the mild camp aspect of a 80 year old man fielding shout outs and dedications from all the working class homies out there in Norwalk, Whitter, La Mirada, etc, etc,
No, it is much simpler than that. The reason I love the Art Laboe Connection which airs on Hot 92 Jamz is that they play the same exact 4 songs EVERY night without fail and luckily I'm obsessed with two of them so I can get my fix daily. Now I know what you're thinking, stupid you can just listen to them on youtube if they're so great. NO, there is something magical and ephemeral about hearing the song you like come on the radio. Stop BUMMING me out with your cynical have everything now if you want mentality! Here are the songs that make me perk up and raise the volume.
Honey Cone- Girls It Ain't Easy. I fell in love with this song back when I was in third grade and I would watch the 15 second preview of Mi Vida Loca on Pay Per View because they would loop this song throughout the promo and it was instantly catchy and when accompanied by the image of a chola crying and dramatically shaking her friend over the hood of a baby blue vintage convertible chrysler, well its not something you forget easily.
Spanglish Version of Angel Baby- Rosie and The Originals. I prefer this to the original. I can't help but thing of the doomed lesbian sexlove from Mulholland Drive.
N-E ways, sorry for that deep moment, hope no one drowned! After trudging past Marilyn Monroe's star in front of McDonald's [it don't get more American than that!] I stopped dead in my tracks at the sight of this
That is neither my foot nor that of my friend, just a random passerby caught in the cell phone pic crossfire.
The Art Laboe Connection is definitely one of my favorite radio shows of all time, up there with The Quiet Storm After Hours with Sean Andre and the now defunct The Lockdown Hour with Michael Baisden where people would call in and talk about their own experiences of being incarcerated or of a close family member/friend and then request a song. What is pleasing and amusing about Art is not just the mild camp aspect of a 80 year old man fielding shout outs and dedications from all the working class homies out there in Norwalk, Whitter, La Mirada, etc, etc,
No, it is much simpler than that. The reason I love the Art Laboe Connection which airs on Hot 92 Jamz is that they play the same exact 4 songs EVERY night without fail and luckily I'm obsessed with two of them so I can get my fix daily. Now I know what you're thinking, stupid you can just listen to them on youtube if they're so great. NO, there is something magical and ephemeral about hearing the song you like come on the radio. Stop BUMMING me out with your cynical have everything now if you want mentality! Here are the songs that make me perk up and raise the volume.
Honey Cone- Girls It Ain't Easy. I fell in love with this song back when I was in third grade and I would watch the 15 second preview of Mi Vida Loca on Pay Per View because they would loop this song throughout the promo and it was instantly catchy and when accompanied by the image of a chola crying and dramatically shaking her friend over the hood of a baby blue vintage convertible chrysler, well its not something you forget easily.
Spanglish Version of Angel Baby- Rosie and The Originals. I prefer this to the original. I can't help but thing of the doomed lesbian sexlove from Mulholland Drive.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sweet Daddy Bear
This is a clip from Child Of Rage, a made for TV movie that aired on CBS in 1992. Interesting enough I have many friends who have the same complex as our little Catherine.
You can watch the whole thing on youtube where you will be treated to scenes of baby brother bashing and dog stabbing.
You can watch the whole thing on youtube where you will be treated to scenes of baby brother bashing and dog stabbing.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
No Matter What Happens Tim, I Love You
So tonight is the Project Runway finale and for me its the end of an era. The past two years I have slaved I mean diligently worked on the show and last Friday was my final day. Season five by the way is not my fault, blame casting. Currently unemployed with an ever increasing daytime TV addiction/habit I'm feeling nostalgic as I sip nescafe and iron. Kidding! Actually I'm at my friends house playing the Easy ABC music for all Electronic Keyboards: Madonna Edition.
I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast but this photo is perhaps one of my most prized and cherished possessions I will keep until the day I die.I'm not at the height of my creative powers/mental acuity otherwise I would create a fantastic story to accompany this image but all I can think is I'm hungry and its lunchtime. However, tonight I will get my second stab with Tim, here's hoping this time he'll respond to my sweet whispers.
I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast but this photo is perhaps one of my most prized and cherished possessions I will keep until the day I die.I'm not at the height of my creative powers/mental acuity otherwise I would create a fantastic story to accompany this image but all I can think is I'm hungry and its lunchtime. However, tonight I will get my second stab with Tim, here's hoping this time he'll respond to my sweet whispers.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Ms. Ross Appreciation Day
My powers of persuasion are nothing compared to wiki's description of her 1987 dance hit Swept Away...
The song talked about how the narrator thought she was in love with a special person only to find out that she had just been "swept away" after catching her lover cheating on her sending her into a rage and panic.
In the music video, directed by Dominic Orlando in Manhattan and on location in Long Island, Ross is seduced by a Frenchman and falls in love with him only to find out, after arriving unannounced in a bar, that he's cheating on her with another French girl in a stylized Apache Dance. She then confronts the man hitting him repeatedly, and later fights with the French girl who ends up being knocked out unconscious by the singer. Later in the video, the Frenchman tries to fight his way back into her life only to have Ross accidentally push him from a lighthouse tower into the water. It was one of Ross' most popular videos, and her first to air on MTV.
No One Gets The Prize
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Italians Do It Better
October means Halloween which means scary movies! In terms of which country does them best, contrary to popular belief it is NOT Japan but Italy. Yes, that beautiful boot shaped country known as the birthplace of fascism and pizza.
Don't Torture a Duckling
Inferno
Bay of Blood ending, it's a little slow but stick with it!
Don't Torture a Duckling
Inferno
Bay of Blood ending, it's a little slow but stick with it!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
October is the ME Month
An entry from my 6th grade journal for English.
Sept, 13 1993
10 favorite foods
1. Eggrolls
2. pizza
3. candy
4.chips
5.fruit
6.ham
7.bacon
8.hashbrowns
9. mashed potatoes
10. spare ribs
15 years on and I'm still quite fond of pork products. I had no idea I felt so strongly about the standard Asian appetizer during my childhood. They are pretty tasty. Although my list would pretty much be completely different now there is still some truth to this. When drunk I'm pretty sure this is what my palate regresses back to.
Sept, 13 1993
10 favorite foods
1. Eggrolls
2. pizza
3. candy
4.chips
5.fruit
6.ham
7.bacon
8.hashbrowns
9. mashed potatoes
10. spare ribs
15 years on and I'm still quite fond of pork products. I had no idea I felt so strongly about the standard Asian appetizer during my childhood. They are pretty tasty. Although my list would pretty much be completely different now there is still some truth to this. When drunk I'm pretty sure this is what my palate regresses back to.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Hail, Mary
OMG! I totally had my first apparition experience last night! Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe paid me a visit. At first I was nervous, you know? I worried the world was ending or I was dead or schizophrenic.
But then we totally hit it off! Mary's the best! She was like, " I can't talk for long, I'm really busy, but I just wanted to say hi, and see how you're doing?"
And I said, "Oh I'm good, same old same old, nothing new really. Just work and things."
And she was like, "I miss you so much! Its been soooooo long"
And I said, "Yeah, its been like 12 years since I stopped believing in you"
Then it got silent and a little awkward, so I offered up a feeble sorry and she was like , "Its okay, I understand"
Of course she would be like that! Sigh, Magnanimous Mary. Then I told her about Skype and how she has to get an account, I explained how fun and easy it is. We wrapped it up pretty quick after that, she told me she was voting for Obama and to keep a light on in her honor and that Joseph says hi.
But then we totally hit it off! Mary's the best! She was like, " I can't talk for long, I'm really busy, but I just wanted to say hi, and see how you're doing?"
And I said, "Oh I'm good, same old same old, nothing new really. Just work and things."
And she was like, "I miss you so much! Its been soooooo long"
And I said, "Yeah, its been like 12 years since I stopped believing in you"
Then it got silent and a little awkward, so I offered up a feeble sorry and she was like , "Its okay, I understand"
Of course she would be like that! Sigh, Magnanimous Mary. Then I told her about Skype and how she has to get an account, I explained how fun and easy it is. We wrapped it up pretty quick after that, she told me she was voting for Obama and to keep a light on in her honor and that Joseph says hi.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Emotions
Cruising youtube I came across the music video for one of my all time favorite Bee Gees jams and its a beaut. It has an eerie suspenseful vibe given all the smoke, vaseline lighting, doppelganger imagery and Samantha Sang's resemblance to Dr. Robert Elliot
Is it me or are the close ups used in a threatening/seriously frightening manner? As it zooms in to a degree that makes the viewer [or at least me] uncomfortable and Samantha coos "where are you now? Now that I need you? " you can't discern whether she wants to give you a baby kiss on the lips or slash your throat with a razor. I think De Palma would approve.
Is it me or are the close ups used in a threatening/seriously frightening manner? As it zooms in to a degree that makes the viewer [or at least me] uncomfortable and Samantha coos "where are you now? Now that I need you? " you can't discern whether she wants to give you a baby kiss on the lips or slash your throat with a razor. I think De Palma would approve.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
R.I.P Paul
You will be missed! Perhaps the studliest of all actors from his generation and that's no small feat! As my friend Hassan told me earlier, he wishes he was in the U.S. to commemorate by buying a bottle of his Caesar dressing which is SO good. He always was about quality on and OFF the screen.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
I Need To Listen to This ASAP
Here's the track listing.
1. Love & Tears
2. I Want To Live
3. Ride a white Swan
4. Life Of Leisure
5. Babywoman
6. Looks Swank (Spooky)
7. Picnic In the Rain
8. When I Think About Rain
9. All Through The Night
10. Sunshine On a Rainy Day
Looks like Naomi has a preoccupation with rain? Three songs have it in the title, four if you want to get creative and count tears. There also seems to be a bittersweet complexity hinted at in just glancing at the overall track listing, see #1,6,7, and 10. Who knew Naomi was so emotionally sophisticated? She also got a little help from her friends in the backup vocals department with Luther Vandross [!] and Chrissie Hynde contributing to Swan and Love & Tears respectively. How could anyone refuse at least one go round in the ole' boom box?
As to which song I'm most excited to listen to based on title alone, its a tough one. There is the T. Rex cover Ride A White Swan which gets me curious. Looks Swank (Spooky) seems like it might be a searing inditement of the fashion industry and Picnic in the Rain appears to be one of those ditties that captures the laughing through the tears emotions I know we all love to experience and more importantly listen to. Babywoman kind of gives me a semi as there's nothing hotter than women who act like babies, am I right guys? All Through The Night and Sunshine On A Rainy Day are too generic and Life of Leisure is just a touch too on the nose, its like duh Naomi! Ultimately its track two I want to skip to and put on repeat. I Want to Live, with its simple Corky St. Clair like affirmation really gets me salivating and itching to spend money in an ironic conspicuous way. Wish me happy hunting in the used CD section at Amoeba!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
The O.G. Riot Grrrrl
One of my favorite pastimes, and by past times I mean things to do while bored at work is to research and learn about the lives of the children of presidents. I'm also deeply obsessed with first ladies. Basically, anybody who is political by proximity. What they choose to do with the role they've been given says a lot about the person's character and in many cases they do absolutely nothing [Hi Laura!]
Politics have just been on the brain lately, they're all I can think about really so I thought I'd take this time to decompress and try to express the joy and love I have for my favorite child of a president, Ms. Amy Carter. I'm going to let the photos speak for awhile before I jump back in with a word or two.
Welcome To The Dollhouse
Amy with her cat Misty Malarky Ying Yang
Amy at tennis camp about to fuck up a bitch up for taking the pic
Amy at some sort of dull inauguration thing or other
I mean looking at these photos how can you NOT hear Kathleen Hanna wailing, "We are Bikini kill, and we want revolution! girl style now! " Amy lived in the White House from 4 to 9 years of age. During her occupancy she received an elephant from a Sri Lankan immigrant and owned 39 teddy bears [Wikipedia, what would I do without you!]
She apparently received heavy media coverage as she was the first child to live in the White House since the early 60's but she never let it go to her head! Choice quote, when asked whether she had any message for the children of America, Amy replied with a simple "No".
President Carter mentioned his daughter during a 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan, when he said he had asked her what the most important issue in that election was and she said, "the control of nuclear arms". This from a 9 year old! More politically conscious than the bush twins combined.
She maintained her sass through adulthood too as she was married barefoot and chose not to be "given away," stating that she "belonged to no one." Gangsta!
Amy, I love you.
Politics have just been on the brain lately, they're all I can think about really so I thought I'd take this time to decompress and try to express the joy and love I have for my favorite child of a president, Ms. Amy Carter. I'm going to let the photos speak for awhile before I jump back in with a word or two.
Welcome To The Dollhouse
Amy with her cat Misty Malarky Ying Yang
Amy at tennis camp about to fuck up a bitch up for taking the pic
Amy at some sort of dull inauguration thing or other
I mean looking at these photos how can you NOT hear Kathleen Hanna wailing, "We are Bikini kill, and we want revolution! girl style now! " Amy lived in the White House from 4 to 9 years of age. During her occupancy she received an elephant from a Sri Lankan immigrant and owned 39 teddy bears [Wikipedia, what would I do without you!]
She apparently received heavy media coverage as she was the first child to live in the White House since the early 60's but she never let it go to her head! Choice quote, when asked whether she had any message for the children of America, Amy replied with a simple "No".
President Carter mentioned his daughter during a 1980 debate with Ronald Reagan, when he said he had asked her what the most important issue in that election was and she said, "the control of nuclear arms". This from a 9 year old! More politically conscious than the bush twins combined.
She maintained her sass through adulthood too as she was married barefoot and chose not to be "given away," stating that she "belonged to no one." Gangsta!
Amy, I love you.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
In Time, Everything Will Please Us
Look at the graphic design for these generic brand sodas from the 80's. Minimalist and mega cool, right? In that Soviet Block kind of way
Anyhow much better than the one I grew up with
The above image strikes fear into my palette. I think of rock hard, cardboard like Cheerios in my mouth. The taste of disappointment.
Anyhow much better than the one I grew up with
The above image strikes fear into my palette. I think of rock hard, cardboard like Cheerios in my mouth. The taste of disappointment.
Magnetic Presence
What is it about musicians? I would say I do, after Nov 4th of course.
My two favorite Kim's of all time in one video!
My two favorite Kim's of all time in one video!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Frightening/ Depressing Children's Entertainment
I actually saw this as a child and recall the following sequence somewhat vividly. For good reason I believe as it is REALLY disturbing! However I don't remember being as rattled then as I am now upon second viewing. The lysergic animation coupled with the monster's horrific rabid gluttony as a means to fill the painful void of being and loneliness ["I could gorge forever, I'm just an empty shell"] is nightmarish to say the least. Because this was made in the late 70's [films were crazy then!] when Raggedy Anne reveals her heart is made of candy my pulse quickened and I truly feared for her safety and what would become of her in the taffy pit.
Upon first viewing [I know, that means I watched it more than once] of this clip I fell into a deep hole of depression that I was only able to climb out of with the aid of a healthy dose of anger. Is it me or does Kathy Lee sing and dance the entire time while underage children and puppets labor and toil away. We witness a frazzled obviously overworked mouse who comes this close to a nervous breakdown on camera to children forced to sleep at their workstations, make cookies, and POLISH the jukebox! Thus confirming what we've always known, Kathy Lee is a ruthless uncaring despot.
Upon first viewing [I know, that means I watched it more than once] of this clip I fell into a deep hole of depression that I was only able to climb out of with the aid of a healthy dose of anger. Is it me or does Kathy Lee sing and dance the entire time while underage children and puppets labor and toil away. We witness a frazzled obviously overworked mouse who comes this close to a nervous breakdown on camera to children forced to sleep at their workstations, make cookies, and POLISH the jukebox! Thus confirming what we've always known, Kathy Lee is a ruthless uncaring despot.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Culture Wars
It seems like everyone is freaking the fuck out over Sarah Palin as the VP nom, myself included. Looks like we've got ANOTHER tired culture war on our hands instead of an election focusing on policy issues. Being the liberal, provincial cosmopolitan I am I initially saw McCain's pick as a huge blunder, it came across as desperate, manipulative, and uninformed. But then again I also can't fathom how this receives 16 million youtube hits or how this artist has managed to sell over 25 million records.
I guess the point is, she does have appeal and we have to get over it. Obama is a smart savvy politician. He's a Clinton slayer who can up the ante and show the working class that he cares about them because he really does. We just have to take deep breaths and try not to worry about the ever approaching November 4th date.
I guess the point is, she does have appeal and we have to get over it. Obama is a smart savvy politician. He's a Clinton slayer who can up the ante and show the working class that he cares about them because he really does. We just have to take deep breaths and try not to worry about the ever approaching November 4th date.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
What I Thought of Sarah Palin's Speech Last Night
Although I must say baby trig was extra cute and stylish in a midnight blue and black striped onesie.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Roxanne's Brittish Behavior
The following plays out like a scene from a pitch black comedy.... but this is real! Youtube never ceases to fascinate me.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Food
I've been working on a show that involves food so its been on the mind lately. Here are a few choice clips on the theme.
Estonian commercial for beef from the soviet era, early 80's?
America's answer!
tasty stop motion to some groovy beats
fast food patron showcasing serious innovation
Estonian commercial for beef from the soviet era, early 80's?
America's answer!
tasty stop motion to some groovy beats
fast food patron showcasing serious innovation
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Nollywood
The Nigerian film industry aka Nollywood is experiencing an explosive growth and productivity rate thanks to the rise of digital cinema. In fact it ranks third, behind only America and India in terms of cinematic output often churning out 200 [!] titles a month. Its estimated worth is about 250 million US dollars and many Nollywood films deal with heavy subject matter; AIDS, corruption, women’s rights, etc etc. There are also apparently a huge number of blatant evangelical vids passed as entertainment. I NEEDED to quench my thirst for Nollywood with a youtube expedition immediately. Let me just say, thirst SATIATED.
The following two clips are trailers for Mama I Will Die For you and Alice My First lady. To call them visually assaultive and incoherent feels lazy. I heavily considered the possibility that someone had slipped acid into my afternoon tea or I was having a psychosomatic breakdown.
It seems the people who cut commercials for Truck Rallies or the crazy Used Car salesmen spots where everything must go had a hand in the making of these trailers. That being said I'd still rather watch either of these over half of what is currently playing in my local cineplex.
Caution: I do not recommend watching both trailers back to back as the experinece is somewhat exhausting. Also, It is now one of my goals in life to appear and/or participate in the making of a Nollywood feature.
So a little further investigation into Nollywood finds some similarities to our very own Hollywood. Here is Hassanat Akinwande, a popular actress who started her career in the 80's and has appeared in over 50 titles. However, in 2006 she was arrested for cocaine possession. Just like our stars! Here's hoping she beat those charges.
The following two clips are trailers for Mama I Will Die For you and Alice My First lady. To call them visually assaultive and incoherent feels lazy. I heavily considered the possibility that someone had slipped acid into my afternoon tea or I was having a psychosomatic breakdown.
It seems the people who cut commercials for Truck Rallies or the crazy Used Car salesmen spots where everything must go had a hand in the making of these trailers. That being said I'd still rather watch either of these over half of what is currently playing in my local cineplex.
Caution: I do not recommend watching both trailers back to back as the experinece is somewhat exhausting. Also, It is now one of my goals in life to appear and/or participate in the making of a Nollywood feature.
So a little further investigation into Nollywood finds some similarities to our very own Hollywood. Here is Hassanat Akinwande, a popular actress who started her career in the 80's and has appeared in over 50 titles. However, in 2006 she was arrested for cocaine possession. Just like our stars! Here's hoping she beat those charges.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
I felt the earth move under my feet
I had my first earthquake! I feel like a true Angelino. I may never leave now.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Proud Mary Keep on Burning
When I was in middle school I was pee shy. I would get nervous when using a urinal with people around and I really wanted to conquor my fear as I felt like it would be another step towards becoming an adult. Then I saw What's Love Got To Do With It? the Tina Turner biopic and I remember there was a scene that really affected me. Towards the end of the film there is a part where Tina having embraced Buddhism explains to her friend the mini temple she has set up and the phrase Nam Myoho Renge Kyo which she describes as chanting to find peace of mind, calmness, serentiy, blah blah blah. So, of course, being the absorbant sponge that most 12 year olds are, I decided to practice a little Buddhism the next day after a few too many capri suns. Low and behold, it worked. From that day on I have been able to pee next to someone, often with zero inhibition. Perhaps sometimes, I'm a little overzealous in my desire to pee next to you. What I really want to say is, thank you Angela Bassett.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
It will be 1982 forever
Everytime I think the current music trends are escaping from the late 70's early 80's post punk dance sound I usually stumble upon some undicovered [at least for myself] band from that era who help explain a lot of the current faddish bands and sounds.
Did everthing happen in 1982? It seems this entire decade in terms of indie rock is indebted to this magical year/era. I guess it could be worse. This is quite enjoyable but the modern day filtered down versions; Vampire Weekend, Hercules and Love Affair, not so much. Bring on the 90's!
Did everthing happen in 1982? It seems this entire decade in terms of indie rock is indebted to this magical year/era. I guess it could be worse. This is quite enjoyable but the modern day filtered down versions; Vampire Weekend, Hercules and Love Affair, not so much. Bring on the 90's!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
American Obsession with Teen Pregnancy Continues
From Zap2it.com: Despite ho-hum reviews, "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" drew in a record number of viewers to ABC Family. Tuesday night's (July 1) debut of the teen pregnancy drama by "7th Heaven" creator Brenda Hampton was the network's most-watched original series premiere ever [for the channel]
Apparently the series creator Brenda Hampton has gone on record saying that she has nothing to say about teen pregnancy. She is just creating a character who happens to get pregnant and is in high school. Hmmmm, this from the creator of 7th Heaven, a family melodrama that was known for its blatant Christian moralizing. Isn't lying through your teeth a big no no for the Jesus believers?
Anyway, I thought I'd call attention to the O.G. baby keepin' anthem since we're on the subject and all. Madonna's Papa Don't Preach! Apparently the video was met with serious controversy because she was accused of "glamorizing" teen pregnancy! Ha! If those accusers saw Juno or Secret Life now, they'd probably seizure in abject horror. The music video in comparison to those delightfully light comedic confections comes across like a stark neo realist cinematic entry from the early 60's a la Pasolini's Mamma Roma. Anyhow, the video boasts some classy production values i.e. Danny Aiello as her father! Maybe they can turn this music video into a series for the PAX channel. Do they do that now? Remake/reimagine music videos? If not, they should. I know I'd love to see Everybody Hurts: The Movie.
Apparently the series creator Brenda Hampton has gone on record saying that she has nothing to say about teen pregnancy. She is just creating a character who happens to get pregnant and is in high school. Hmmmm, this from the creator of 7th Heaven, a family melodrama that was known for its blatant Christian moralizing. Isn't lying through your teeth a big no no for the Jesus believers?
Anyway, I thought I'd call attention to the O.G. baby keepin' anthem since we're on the subject and all. Madonna's Papa Don't Preach! Apparently the video was met with serious controversy because she was accused of "glamorizing" teen pregnancy! Ha! If those accusers saw Juno or Secret Life now, they'd probably seizure in abject horror. The music video in comparison to those delightfully light comedic confections comes across like a stark neo realist cinematic entry from the early 60's a la Pasolini's Mamma Roma. Anyhow, the video boasts some classy production values i.e. Danny Aiello as her father! Maybe they can turn this music video into a series for the PAX channel. Do they do that now? Remake/reimagine music videos? If not, they should. I know I'd love to see Everybody Hurts: The Movie.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Happy 4th of July!
This makes me feel patriotic [no sound because Prince is a lame control freak]
God Bless America!
God Bless America!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Musical Therapy
I know I post a LOT of music videos but as Tolstoy once wrote, "Music is the shorthand of emotion." And I'm a lazy blogger so why write something poignant when you can piggyback. Anyhow this song makes me so happy and is a classic waiting to be rediscovered. When the girls go joyriding in the camaro coupled with Kim Deal's psychedelic vocals I am filled with glee. I like to imagine the girls stopped at the AMPM for some slurpees before they hit up the club.
Also these next two are for my friend Hassan who is having job troubles in London. Nothing brings me out of the darkest funk like a solid mid ninties R&B jam.
Also these next two are for my friend Hassan who is having job troubles in London. Nothing brings me out of the darkest funk like a solid mid ninties R&B jam.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Ineffable Sadness of Nell Carter
While at work my friend sent me a link containing the large, jolly and always sassy Nell Carter. Now, she's one of those celebrities of whom I have no recollection of how or from what I know her but her presence is strong, coming somewhere from the muddy memories of my childhood. So being the inquisitive soul that I am I decided to wikipeida her ass. When I read her life story dictated in the brutally truncated style that is Wikipedia it seemed the sort of tale that could only spring from the darkest recesses of Chekhov's mind.
Born Nell Ruth Hardy to Horace and Edna Mae Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, Carter, who was one of nine children, overcame adversity and hardships before finding success as an actress. Her father, Horace, died in an accident with a power line. She was raped at age 16 and became pregnant from the attack, giving birth to a daughter, Tracy.
She attempted suicide in the early 1980s, and entered a drug detoxification facility around 1985. Her brother, Bernard, died of AIDS in 1989.
Carter had three children: a daughter Tracy and two sons Daniel and Joshua. She adopted both her sons as newborns over a four month period. She attempted to adopt twice more but both adoptions fell through. In one case she brought home a child, Mary, but the birth parents demanded money before they would sign the adoption papers. In her final attempt, she allowed a young pregnant woman to move into her house with the plan to adopt the child but the mother decided to parent her child.
In 1992, she had surgery to remove aneurysms. She had divorced Krynicki and married Roger Larocque that same year. In 1993 she divorced Larocque. She declared bankruptcy in 1995 (and again in 2002). She also endured three miscarriages.
Appearing emotional and tearful on an episode of the Sally Jessy Raphael Show, Carter explained how she went to a Liza Minnelli concert during a very turbulent time of her life. Carter told Raphael how Minnelli, seeing Carter in an agonized state, ran offstage to tell her sister, Lorna Luft, to go out and take Carter backstage so that she could get some help. Minnelli and Luft helped get Carter into rehab for her cocaine problems which she conquered. [ Okay i have to interject, um, this paragraph contains Sally Jessey, Lisa Minelli, Nell Carter and cocaine. Its obvious this jewel of information was contributed by a gay man]
In the mid 1990s, Carter appeared on Broadway in a revival of Annie as Miss Hannigan. She was very upset when commercials promoting the show used a different actress, Marcia Lewis, who is white, as Miss Hannigan. The producers claimed that the commercials, which were made during an earlier production, were too costly to reshoot. Carter was later replaced by Sally Struthers.
Carter died from heart disease complicated by diabetes and obesity on January 23, 2003. She was 54 years old. Carter had previously declared bankruptcy and owed $1.1 million in back taxes, and was later discovered to have barely $200 in her bank account. She is survived by her two sons (Joshua and Daniel), a daughter (Tracy), and her partner Ann Kaser. Her bisexuality and relationship with Kaser did not become public knowledge until after her death.
The story of a successful hard partying bisexual black entertainer plagued with addiction and sadness sounds like some ripe biopic material. Nell, if I could... I would... give you a break.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Feb 8, 2001
Excerpt from Michael Stipe's recent interview with Attitude magazine:
"The whole vagueness around your sexuality in the past puts me in mind of Morrissey.
He plays with it. He’s very English in that he’s actually taken that and turned it into an art form. It’s all part of who he is. It’s funny and catty and sweet. That’s what I want form Morrissey.
Are you still mates?
A friend of mine shot him yesterday actually (Wolfgang Tillmans) but I don’t see him much these days. The last time I saw him I took him to dinner in LA. I brought a whole load of people with me to tell him that we really wanted him to make a record.
Who came?
Courtney Love, Fran from Travis was in town so he came down. A whole bunch really.
I can’t imagine Courtney and Morrissey together. How did that go?
It was funny, the two of them. Courtney’s Courtney."
EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! In the name of journalism I googled the internet for secondary sources...
Running around Los Angeles the other day I stopped to get a bite at The Cat and Fiddle, a small restaurant off of Hollywood Blvd. As the host led me through the restaurant to be seated who should I see but Morrissey dining with two others. As I got closer I realized who he was seated with. It was none other than Courtney Love and Michael Stipe. As I walked by I said "good afternoon" to which they all replied "good afternoon".
HEAD HAS OFFICIALLY EXPLODED.
As to the title of the epic erotic novel that I am now destined to write....
"Murmers of Killing Uncle"
" The Last of The International Green Adventures in High Fi"
"Nightswimming November Monsters"
Decisions, decisions.
Don't worry, Courtney will play a vital role in the book.
"The whole vagueness around your sexuality in the past puts me in mind of Morrissey.
He plays with it. He’s very English in that he’s actually taken that and turned it into an art form. It’s all part of who he is. It’s funny and catty and sweet. That’s what I want form Morrissey.
Are you still mates?
A friend of mine shot him yesterday actually (Wolfgang Tillmans) but I don’t see him much these days. The last time I saw him I took him to dinner in LA. I brought a whole load of people with me to tell him that we really wanted him to make a record.
Who came?
Courtney Love, Fran from Travis was in town so he came down. A whole bunch really.
I can’t imagine Courtney and Morrissey together. How did that go?
It was funny, the two of them. Courtney’s Courtney."
EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! In the name of journalism I googled the internet for secondary sources...
Running around Los Angeles the other day I stopped to get a bite at The Cat and Fiddle, a small restaurant off of Hollywood Blvd. As the host led me through the restaurant to be seated who should I see but Morrissey dining with two others. As I got closer I realized who he was seated with. It was none other than Courtney Love and Michael Stipe. As I walked by I said "good afternoon" to which they all replied "good afternoon".
HEAD HAS OFFICIALLY EXPLODED.
As to the title of the epic erotic novel that I am now destined to write....
"Murmers of Killing Uncle"
" The Last of The International Green Adventures in High Fi"
"Nightswimming November Monsters"
Decisions, decisions.
Don't worry, Courtney will play a vital role in the book.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Music Videos!
Switzerland's entry for Eurovision last year
This one's for Arnold
I've written about the best music video in the history of all time, now its time for the worst
This one's for Arnold
I've written about the best music video in the history of all time, now its time for the worst
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
I Need to Read this ASAP
Plot Synopsis: The main character, Arthur, is asked to pick up a bird for Thanksgiving dinner, so he brings home a 266-pound chicken named Henrietta. The family welcome her with open arms, but the neighbors are not so sure and then Henrietta escapes.
Intriguing! no?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
RIP 1998 Subaru Forrester
My car died over the weekend. I'm sad, living in LA without a car is similar to castration. Luckily I found this little inspirational duo to cheer me up...
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
10 Years Ago This May...
Introduction of the iMac! The first euro coins are minted in Pessac, France! Its a toss up as to which is more successful and controlling the world right now, the EU or Apple?
Friday, May 2, 2008
My Local Park
It warms my heart and gives me neighborhood pride when I see cinematic representations of where I live
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Goat Madness!
I'm pretty sure this is my inner spirit animal
Goat Witchiness
Warning, the next video is extremely unsettling. Stick with it to the spooky, spine tingling end
Goat Witchiness
Warning, the next video is extremely unsettling. Stick with it to the spooky, spine tingling end
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
First Blockbuster of the Summer
comes out quite early this year, today, and its not even available in theatres. I'm talking about Grand Theft Auto 4 of course which is expected to pull in 400 million dollars this week alone. Pretty eyebrow raising, you know what else is? The marketing campagin being used. The following video is a trailer put out by the company Rockstar itself highlighting the more salacious [misogynistic] aspects of the game.
All I could think of is, ummmmm where's Yoshi? Needless to say gaming has come a long way from the days of Mario and Sonic. Now to be fair to the game, it is not a goal or objective that you have to say go to strip clubs, hire hookers and then kill them, but it is a possibility as a player. What makes it trashy is that they market these aspects in hopes to drive up sales [it will]
All I could think of is, ummmmm where's Yoshi? Needless to say gaming has come a long way from the days of Mario and Sonic. Now to be fair to the game, it is not a goal or objective that you have to say go to strip clubs, hire hookers and then kill them, but it is a possibility as a player. What makes it trashy is that they market these aspects in hopes to drive up sales [it will]
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
...
Monday, April 21, 2008
Road Trip!
I'm going a little crazy with the technology on my new phone. Thanks to its video/photo capacities the trip is being well documented. These little snipits take place in the middle of bumblefuck nowhere
the next one is us rocking out to Nirvana like the 13 year old girls we are, smells like Excremento!
the next one is us rocking out to Nirvana like the 13 year old girls we are, smells like Excremento!
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Vintage Movie Trailers
This kind of makes me understand why Michelle Obama always looks like she wants to stab someone. Denzel's first film role! Aside from the mildly racist idea that finding out you have a black son [who is nothing but genial well dressed and spoken] is both horrific and hilarious, the jaw dropping moment for me is when Denzel declares, " Teach me how to fly a kite, I'll teach you how to pick a lock!"
This is everything The Brave One SHOULD have been.... that shit was more tired and overwroght than a pitchfork.com music review
Apparently this movie inspired the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video and was a favorite movie of Kurt Cobain. Its based on real life events that took place in Foster City, a former garbage dump that became one of the first planned cities and home to a good friend of mine. [hi Shyla, hi!]
This is everything The Brave One SHOULD have been.... that shit was more tired and overwroght than a pitchfork.com music review
Apparently this movie inspired the Smells Like Teen Spirit music video and was a favorite movie of Kurt Cobain. Its based on real life events that took place in Foster City, a former garbage dump that became one of the first planned cities and home to a good friend of mine. [hi Shyla, hi!]
Monday, April 7, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Tre Magnific!
So Les Chansons D'Amour finally made it to LA. I've been hearing about it for the past year thanks to my ex pat friend Arnold, who I've been writing about a lot lately. [April 18th!] Playing in one theatre ALL the way over in Beverly Hills I drove. After arriving and seating myself amongst an almost empty theatre dotted with the occasional gray haired patron [story of my movie going existence] I eagerly awaited. It is a delight. I get sad because I love to watch modern French films and have no one to revel in that joy with. In all honesty its for enjoyment purposes. They speak to me. I'm not particularly deep and have given up on trying to gain cultural cache by telling everyone about them because no one cares. I quietly consume these dessert confections. More often than not they're a heavy full course meal but still, its as if the experience isn't complete or real until you tell someone. So I'm telling you cyberspace! If you are a fan of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg as I am, you should by all means go. Its not perfect but how it makes me long to live in Paris and cavort with literate, articulate, complex, beautiful creatures like Louis Garrell. OMG, he is so dreamy in the film. Here's the trailer.
Tales of Pain and Loss
This lazy [hung over] Sunday morning I found myself glancing over one of my cherished books from childhood, The Classic Volland Edition of Mother Goose. If anything it’s the illustrations I recall vividly and perhaps one or two of the rhymes. Upon revisiting these classic poems I’ve come across several shockingly violent tales with dark sexual under pinnings and a whole slew of depraved miserable characters. Now I know most of us have an inkling to the brutality of our most cherished rhymes but it’s the lesser known tales that have given me pause in their eccentricity. Considering the anesthetized modern day baby culture this book would likely be given the 12 and up recommendation. Following are some of the more eyebrow raising ditties...
Lady-Bird Lady-Bird,
Fly away home,
Your house is on fire,
Your children will burn.
Conclusion: Fuck that’s depressing!
I like little pussy, her coat is so warm,
And if I don’t hurt her she’ll do me no harm;
So I’ll not pull her tail, nor drive her away,
But Pussy and I very gently will play
Conclusion: I think this one’s pretty self-evident.
One misty, moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet an old man all clothed in leather.
He began to compliment, and I began to grin
How do you do, and how do you do?
And how do you do again?
Conclusion: Rough trade cruising on an overcast day.
Little Polly Flinders
Sat among the cinders
Warming her pretty little toes
Her mother came and caught her
Whipped her little daughter
For spoiling her new clothes
Conclusion: A rhyme that doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of child abuse. Bravo!
There was an old woman, and what do you think?
She lived upon nothing but vituals and drink
Victuals and drink were the chief of her diet
And yet this woman could never be quiet
Conclusion: Cute ditty on an obnoxious drug addled granny.
Hickety, Pickety, my black hen,
She lays eggs for gentlemen;
Gentlemen come every day
To see what my black hen doth lay
Conclusion: Her black hen brings all the boys to the yard
Little Tommy Tittlemouse
Lived in a little house;
He caught fishes
In other men’s ditches
Conclusion: I can’t figure this one out but it feels raunchy.
Little Tom Tucker
Sings for his supper
What shall he eat?
White bread and butter.
How will he cut it
Without e’er a knife?
How will he marry
Without e’er a wife?
Conclusion: Tom Tucker is gay
Handy Spandy, Jacky Dandy,
Loves plum cake and sugar candy.
He bought some at a grocer’s shop,
And pleased away went hop, hop, hop
Conclusion: Jacky Dandy is really gay.
Bat, bat.
Come under my hat
And I’ll give you a slice of bacon
And when I bake
I’ll give you a cake
If I am not mistaken
Conclusion: Even the mentally disabled were given a voice. Who the fuck wants to capture a bat? And coaxing it with bacon and cake? That would work on me but not a bat, they eat bugs silly!
There was a man in our town
And he was wonderous wise
He jumped into a bramble bush
And scratched out both his eyes
And when he saw his eyes were out
With all his might and main
He jumped into another bush
And scratched them in again
Conclusion: Morally irresponsible tale on the self-destructive nature of humans, especially those possessing a higher intelligence.
There was a little boy went into a barn
And lay down on some hay
A calf came out and smelled about
And the little boy ran away
Conclusion: Riveting!
Friday, April 4, 2008
Yay
One of my very dear and best friends, Arnold is coming to pay a visit from France! Seeing how he is perhaps the only one who reads this I thought I'd post a video he would enjoy. Showcasing the bizarreness of early 90's euro dance music, its everyone's favorite French toddler Jordy singing Dur dur d'être bébé
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Serendipitously Sublime
I'm pretty sure I am grateful that my highschool years were not well documented. But moments like this give pause...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Being And Jar Jarness
Easter has passed but I thought I'd post this video anyway. It reminds me of a time when my friends Amy, Garrett, Ann and I out of sheer boredom watched a full marathon of World's Funniest Animals. We're talking 9pm to 3am. We were all maybe 16, 17? Anyway, I remember by 2am we had entered a state of delirium. Somehow the combination of the saccharine programming, the filth of Garrett's house [GOD it was so dirty!], the supremely unintelligent nature of enjoying pet tricks and the hopelessness of another Saturday night wasted in a small dead end town caused us to break out in painful fits of laughter. I specifically remember the breaking point. There was a clip of a goat and the announcer for some reason was pretending it was Jar Jar Binks and began speaking in that offensive faux Jamaican accent. It was such an idiotic and painfully unfunny moment that it became HYSTERICAL. Trembling at first, we eventually began to violently shake with laughter, unable to stop the cackles for at least a half an hour. It was akin to bawling, underneath we were all seething with rage, anger, and discontent. I'm sure questions like, Why are we watching this? Why are we choosing to spend our night this way? I wonder if they'll have some cute gerbal footage coming up soon, I love me some gerbals! were passing through our head. Eventually the giggles subsided and there was a calm, cathartic feeling that you usually have after a good weeping session.
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