On the way to Cali to steer Holly's worldlies back to the southeastern United Ess of Ay tonight, and my musical itinerary for the duration is:
The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love
Chuck - Bucket of Fuckin' D'n'B
Alex Metric BBC Radio one July mix
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavillion
Fake Blood -Fix Your Accent
Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle
Passion Pit - Manners
David Sedaris - Dress Your Family In Corduroy and Denim
1776 - David McCullough
Party on, Dudes.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Say Auf Wiedersehen To Your Nazi Review
The problem is that by making the star attraction of his latest film a most delightful Nazi, one whose smooth talk is as lovingly presented as his murderous violence, Mr. Tarantino has polluted that love.
- Manohla Dargis's Review
Yes, because Iago, Humbert Humbert, Anton Chigurh, Cruella Deville, etc., were all presented without comment, so as to justify, respectively, framing a woman for adultery, entering into congress with a twelve year old, murdering everything in sight based on an arbitration, or attempting to skin puppies for a coat.
Film naturally sensationalizes, because, in the hands of a master, all actions become sensational. To quote another film review:
Rear Window is not about Greenwich Village, it is a film about cinema, and I DO know cinema - Francois Truffaut.
So does Tarantino.
Dargis is a moralist, not a film critic.
- Manohla Dargis's Review
Yes, because Iago, Humbert Humbert, Anton Chigurh, Cruella Deville, etc., were all presented without comment, so as to justify, respectively, framing a woman for adultery, entering into congress with a twelve year old, murdering everything in sight based on an arbitration, or attempting to skin puppies for a coat.
Film naturally sensationalizes, because, in the hands of a master, all actions become sensational. To quote another film review:
Rear Window is not about Greenwich Village, it is a film about cinema, and I DO know cinema - Francois Truffaut.
So does Tarantino.
Dargis is a moralist, not a film critic.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Ebert For Secretary of Saying Things Better
I was informed that my entry was "typical liberalism." This is correct. I am a liberal. If you are a conservative, this appears to be a difference between us: I think you should have guaranteed health insurance.
Article Here
Article Here
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
... and Rice Crispie Treats
Been spinning these monthly events this summer at J.J.'s Bohemia, with a crew goes by Computers & Friends.
While there are those parties wholly satisfied with and only with the metronome, these boyos have fully embraced the broken beat (just in time me hopes for a prime and tasty Halloween mix, the most perfect time of year for the evilist of beats).
I'll try and get some of their sets online here if I can, but for now, I'll come out of internets-mixin'-sabbatical and offer you my June 28th show:
But of course, download here at the Droid-Rock show. Right click, ctrl click, whatever you gotta do.
What, you won't click? Fine, here's a tracklist:
1. Capricorn - 9 Nickel (Kevin Beber & Waveform)
2. Landlines - Shadow Dancer
3. Samo Ti (AC Slater mix) - Fagget Fairys
4. Starter - Boys Noize
5. The Night - Evil Nine
6. Riverside - Sidney Samson
7. A City Under Siege - Boy 8-Bit
8. I Love U (Bart B More mix) - Larry Tee
9. Shirley You Can't Be Serious? - Alex Metric
10. Machine In The Ghost (Djedjotronic mix) - The Faint
11. Shifting Gears (Stanton Warriors mix) - Plump DJs
12. Lovesick (Evil Nine mix) - Friendly Fires
While there are those parties wholly satisfied with and only with the metronome, these boyos have fully embraced the broken beat (just in time me hopes for a prime and tasty Halloween mix, the most perfect time of year for the evilist of beats).
I'll try and get some of their sets online here if I can, but for now, I'll come out of internets-mixin'-sabbatical and offer you my June 28th show:
But of course, download here at the Droid-Rock show. Right click, ctrl click, whatever you gotta do.
What, you won't click? Fine, here's a tracklist:
1. Capricorn - 9 Nickel (Kevin Beber & Waveform)
2. Landlines - Shadow Dancer
3. Samo Ti (AC Slater mix) - Fagget Fairys
4. Starter - Boys Noize
5. The Night - Evil Nine
6. Riverside - Sidney Samson
7. A City Under Siege - Boy 8-Bit
8. I Love U (Bart B More mix) - Larry Tee
9. Shirley You Can't Be Serious? - Alex Metric
10. Machine In The Ghost (Djedjotronic mix) - The Faint
11. Shifting Gears (Stanton Warriors mix) - Plump DJs
12. Lovesick (Evil Nine mix) - Friendly Fires
Minute 2:38, Wait for It, aaaand SCENE
(Minute 5:10 ain't bad either. Are Democrats more civilized in their approach to debate? Do you hear screaming and yelling and anger here? This appears to be a group of people in agreement about something, such as with the angry town-hallers. Why is this scene so different?)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Not Gonna Shy Away From Things That Are Uncomfortable
The message is simple, that your message will not get through. I've been criticized in the past for being too loud at certain points. But am I shouting anyone down? Am I showing up to disrupt debate, or seeking to engage it? I'm not really interested in arguing that point right now, but I am interested in showcasing one of the durable strengths of our president, his parity, his decency, and his willingness to stick to a position while expressing empathy (yes, empathy) for the other side.
We need him to get healthcare and the Afghan/Iraq wars right along with every other nightmare we're currently grappling with. But we also desperately need this voice to cut through the din:
We need him to get healthcare and the Afghan/Iraq wars right along with every other nightmare we're currently grappling with. But we also desperately need this voice to cut through the din:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Monday, August 10, 2009
#DouthatFail
From Ross Douthat's column today:
Don’t laugh. No contemporary figure has done more than Apatow, the 41-year-old auteur of gross-out comedies, to rebrand social conservatism for a younger generation that associates it primarily with priggishness and puritanism. No recent movie has made the case for abortion look as self-evidently awful as “Knocked Up,” Apatow’s 2007 keep-the-baby farce. No movie has made saving — and saving, and saving — your virginity seem as enviable as “The 40-Year Old Virgin,” whose closing segue into connubial bliss played like an infomercial for True Love Waits.
Don't laugh. DON'T LAUGH? How do I not LAUGH at the notion that there's anything enviable about Steve Carrell's character in The 40-Year Old Virgin? Is Douthat saying that social conservatives really think the best way to get through life is to stay trapped with the emotional maturity level of a teenager until further notice? Well, going by the behavior of the Christian Right and arch-conservatives, I wouldn't doubt it. Just watch a video of any of these crashed town-hall meetings. Some folks need to get laid.
As for the notion that Knocked Up (the most incoherent movie Apatow has made) is political in any way, I have a fulmination, based solely on a common misconception pro-lifer's have about anyone who supports abortion rights. Why does the right assume that those of us on this side (for reasons ranging from privacy to women's rights) are all so gung ho about the act of abortion itself? What kind of movie does Ross, et al think Knocked Up would've been if its principals decided to have an abortion instead? It would've had a different title and running time, and would've been based on an Ernest Hemingway short story.
After having seen Funny People this weekend, I can assure you, Apatow's concern is an apolitical one. He improvises his way through plots that render themselves irrelevant by their basic absurdity. He's actually a master at improvisation, which paradoxically forces domestic situations on to wonderful free-form comedy. The first hour and twenty of Funny People is a work of wild, sensitive genius. As for it being conservative on any subconscious level, well, it contains the line (SPOILER): "I want you to wear glasses above your asshole so when I'm fucking you in the ass it looks like you're blowing me."
You decide.
Don’t laugh. No contemporary figure has done more than Apatow, the 41-year-old auteur of gross-out comedies, to rebrand social conservatism for a younger generation that associates it primarily with priggishness and puritanism. No recent movie has made the case for abortion look as self-evidently awful as “Knocked Up,” Apatow’s 2007 keep-the-baby farce. No movie has made saving — and saving, and saving — your virginity seem as enviable as “The 40-Year Old Virgin,” whose closing segue into connubial bliss played like an infomercial for True Love Waits.
Don't laugh. DON'T LAUGH? How do I not LAUGH at the notion that there's anything enviable about Steve Carrell's character in The 40-Year Old Virgin? Is Douthat saying that social conservatives really think the best way to get through life is to stay trapped with the emotional maturity level of a teenager until further notice? Well, going by the behavior of the Christian Right and arch-conservatives, I wouldn't doubt it. Just watch a video of any of these crashed town-hall meetings. Some folks need to get laid.
As for the notion that Knocked Up (the most incoherent movie Apatow has made) is political in any way, I have a fulmination, based solely on a common misconception pro-lifer's have about anyone who supports abortion rights. Why does the right assume that those of us on this side (for reasons ranging from privacy to women's rights) are all so gung ho about the act of abortion itself? What kind of movie does Ross, et al think Knocked Up would've been if its principals decided to have an abortion instead? It would've had a different title and running time, and would've been based on an Ernest Hemingway short story.
After having seen Funny People this weekend, I can assure you, Apatow's concern is an apolitical one. He improvises his way through plots that render themselves irrelevant by their basic absurdity. He's actually a master at improvisation, which paradoxically forces domestic situations on to wonderful free-form comedy. The first hour and twenty of Funny People is a work of wild, sensitive genius. As for it being conservative on any subconscious level, well, it contains the line (SPOILER): "I want you to wear glasses above your asshole so when I'm fucking you in the ass it looks like you're blowing me."
You decide.
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Make Sure It's A Cartoon
This is sad news, particularly considering last summer. Recession cinema is truly the dregs. I wonder if people are able to register much beyond the fact that light and sound are constantly fluctuating around them in the theater.
Between T4, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and the squirrels and the guinea pigs, where are the real movies?
Well:
Up
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Funny People
Bruno (yes, because it's fucking funny)
Sadly, I missed Public Enemies. Will be seeing The Hurt Locker this week.
Last summer I had a better list, even as most critics, by July, were yakking that 2008 was a terrible year for movies. If only they could've seen the summer of 2009.
Between T4, Transformers, G.I. Joe, and the squirrels and the guinea pigs, where are the real movies?
Well:
Up
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Star Trek
Funny People
Bruno (yes, because it's fucking funny)
Sadly, I missed Public Enemies. Will be seeing The Hurt Locker this week.
Last summer I had a better list, even as most critics, by July, were yakking that 2008 was a terrible year for movies. If only they could've seen the summer of 2009.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
For The End
The End FTWWW
Actual content, written by me, is coming very soon, promise, now scroll to about six minutes into this video.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| William Jefferson Airplane | ||||
| ||||
Actual content, written by me, is coming very soon, promise, now scroll to about six minutes into this video.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Librul Medea
The sad truth is that what Olbermann and O'Reilly were doing in this particular instance was one of the rare examples of good journalism on these types of shows. Olbermann was holding O'Reilly's feet to the fire about his repeated falsehoods and embarrassing positions. In turn, O'Reilly was giving the public accurate and disturbing information about General Electric, including extensive technology dealings with Iran. (italics his) In my personal opinion, this was one of the rare useful pieces of information O'Reilly ever presented to his audience, and Olbermann was there to show how lousy the rest of O'Reilly's information was. Though it was in the context of a bitter feud, the two men were actually engaging in real journalism, at least in this case.
This is well worth the read.
I make no apologies for my support of Keith Olbermann in his crusade against O'Reilly and Fox News. I am unimpressed by the whole "he's just a liberal such and such angry commentator, no better than the rest of 'em" argument. I've never heard any such criticism coupled with any real dissection or analysis of any specific point Olbermann has made. Too much work, I guess.
It's certainly true that KO gets ridiculously silly sometimes, and I don't watch all the time, mostly because I don't need a reminder that Rush Limbaugh is a cocksmack. But Fox spews, on a daily and nightly basis, right-wing invective and hate-speech, and Olbermann was doing the right thing in propping up a counter-balance of sanity. I sincerely hope he can continue.
This is well worth the read.
I make no apologies for my support of Keith Olbermann in his crusade against O'Reilly and Fox News. I am unimpressed by the whole "he's just a liberal such and such angry commentator, no better than the rest of 'em" argument. I've never heard any such criticism coupled with any real dissection or analysis of any specific point Olbermann has made. Too much work, I guess.
It's certainly true that KO gets ridiculously silly sometimes, and I don't watch all the time, mostly because I don't need a reminder that Rush Limbaugh is a cocksmack. But Fox spews, on a daily and nightly basis, right-wing invective and hate-speech, and Olbermann was doing the right thing in propping up a counter-balance of sanity. I sincerely hope he can continue.
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