My recent rampage continues with Munich, screened during a visit to the Fiend's stomping grounds.
First comment- it was too GODDAMN long.
I can usually peg exactly how much fat a film needed to trim from the runtime, but measurement was addled by the bro in law's habit of pausing the film to rant, rewinding the film to see cool parts again and making us watch the first 15 minutes of War of the Worlds about halfway through.
The movie felt like it was 4 1/2 hours long, but IMDB claims it's under three.
2.5 would have been spot on, so it needed to lose 25 or 20 minutes.
It was pretty good, especially for one of Speilberg's 'serious, important' Oscar-bait movies. It had some great scenes and set pieces, the acting was uniformly excellent, the casting was spot on and Eric Bana earned forgiveness for the abomination that was The Hulk.
But Spielberg can't resist peppering a film with flashy "look at me, folks...ain't I clever!" directorial flourishes. That kind of gimmicky stuff is great in a movie with rampaging dinosaurs, dashing & heroic archaeologists or plucky children helping out their alien pal...it doesn't come off so well in war films, movies about the Holocaust or cinematic explorations of Israeli/Palestinian dilemma.
Bloated runtime and irritating bits of directorial business aside, it was a good watch. It was, of course, as much a story of post-9/11 America as it was a story of the Olympic massacre or Israeli/Palestinian relationships. The screenplay by Tony Kushner (Angels in America) handled the multiple levels of meaning with a deft touch.
I can see why it wasn't widely popular since the philosophical vision of the film takes something of a "pox on both their houses" approach.
The rationale for Israel's existence is forcefully made, but the end just as forcefully drives home the creator's viewpoint that the policies of the Israeli government have turned their back on what should be the guiding principals of it's population.
And it doesn't take a bloodhound to sniff out the parallels with our current situation here in the good ol' USA.
There is the seed of a great film here...but one with a different director, and made outside the Hollywood system.
Still, worth a watch. Flawed but interesting.
Monday, July 31, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
movie: Underworld
I've been balancing out my high-minded exploration of the Korean cinematic renaissance with a thoroughly proletarian binge of mainstream exploitation films.
I've been thoroughly disenchanted by what passes for 'exploitation' in mainstream Hollywood for quite a while. Having grown up amidst the glittering spires of Hollywood's golden age of exploitation, before it was levelled by the home video tsunami, modern offerings generally leave me cold.
This one was no exception.
In spite of a can't miss 'high concept' plot (vampires vs werewolves in a global battle for nighttime supremacy!), some good-on-paper casting (Kate Bekinsdale, Bill Nighey) and some nifty special effects this one mostly fell flat on its face.
Kate was put in an acting straight jacket, not allowed to do anything besides stare at the action with brooding petulance from behind greasy black bangs. This kind of schtick works best with limited actors- think Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction. It seems something of a crime to inflict those kinds of restrictions on a talented actress.
Also, it wouldn't hurt a bit if she ate a sandwitch or two.
And Bill Nighey was both the high point and the downfall of the flim.
It was an example of absolutely disasterous casting- he brought such flawlessly graceful majesty to the role of the elder uber-vampire lord that he made the rest of the indifferent cast look like Our Gang rejects who'd decided to put on a show in the old vacant lot.
And that's not even adressing the legion of gaping, oozing holes in the badly concieved script.
A note on the werewolves:
It's pathetic that they couldn't outperform the transformation scenes from 1981'sThe Howling with a big effects budget and computer technology. PATHETIC.
I've been thoroughly disenchanted by what passes for 'exploitation' in mainstream Hollywood for quite a while. Having grown up amidst the glittering spires of Hollywood's golden age of exploitation, before it was levelled by the home video tsunami, modern offerings generally leave me cold.
This one was no exception.
In spite of a can't miss 'high concept' plot (vampires vs werewolves in a global battle for nighttime supremacy!), some good-on-paper casting (Kate Bekinsdale, Bill Nighey) and some nifty special effects this one mostly fell flat on its face.
Kate was put in an acting straight jacket, not allowed to do anything besides stare at the action with brooding petulance from behind greasy black bangs. This kind of schtick works best with limited actors- think Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction. It seems something of a crime to inflict those kinds of restrictions on a talented actress.
Also, it wouldn't hurt a bit if she ate a sandwitch or two.
And Bill Nighey was both the high point and the downfall of the flim.
It was an example of absolutely disasterous casting- he brought such flawlessly graceful majesty to the role of the elder uber-vampire lord that he made the rest of the indifferent cast look like Our Gang rejects who'd decided to put on a show in the old vacant lot.
And that's not even adressing the legion of gaping, oozing holes in the badly concieved script.
A note on the werewolves:
It's pathetic that they couldn't outperform the transformation scenes from 1981'sThe Howling with a big effects budget and computer technology. PATHETIC.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Bourdain on Beirut
clicky clicky.
He's a fine writer and his scathingly accurate expose on resturaunt life Kitchen Confidential should be required reading for every adult in America.
He's a fine writer and his scathingly accurate expose on resturaunt life Kitchen Confidential should be required reading for every adult in America.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Zombie Plate Special
It's Undead Double Feature Friday at the Secret Garden tonight.
First up was the capstone to Romero's zombie zigguraut, Land of the Dead.
Reaction to this one among the Zomberati ranged from profoundly negative to red hot affronted rage that it dared trace its lineage to Night of the Living Dead & Dawn of the Dead.
I'm going to draw fire from my compatriots by saying I thought it was fine.
It wasn't a great movie, no Night or Dawn certainly, but I'd rank it with Day of the Dead- an interesting film with some problems that could have been solved by better casting and a few more re-writes.
The first two in the series are genuinely great because they worked on multiple levels- as straight-ahead horror movies and on a metaphorical level as indictments of contemporary society.
Land is only modestly successful as a horror movie- it was missing much of the verve and humor that fueled Romero's earlier works. But it works just fine as a scathing indictment of post-millenial American culture.
Where Dawn feasted on the soft underbelly of consumer culture, Land addresses the increasing disparity between the average citizen and the corporate elites who increasingly run the country.
Seen only as a 'zombie movie' I'd call it a modest failure- it wasn't particularly scary, and the carnage wasn't up to the high standards of earlier installments.
But I still rate it as a good watch.
Just use this decoder ring:
Next up is the recent remake of Day of the Dead, which the Zomberati have all given their stamp of approval and which I'm predisposed to dislike based on my deeply held belief that there's no point in re-making a truly great movie.
Will report back later.
Hey, that was pretty good!
I still don't know why anyone needs to remake a great flick, but at least they did it with energy and style. It pretty much pitched the depth of the original overboard and made up the lost ballast with action and explosions, which certainly have their place in the Zombie firmament.
It also had the things Land was missing, in spades...a well polished script, quality acting top to bottom and a couple of standout scenes including a fabulous pre-credit sequence that set up the senario in compact strokes, setting the stage without taking forfuckingever to explain every goddamn thing under the sun.
On the Zombometer I'd rank it just below the elite, above the well made but flawed 28 Days but below creme de la creme like Night, Dawn and Shawn of the Dead (which has the singular honor of being the only zombie movie the wife enjoyed as much as I did).
First up was the capstone to Romero's zombie zigguraut, Land of the Dead.
Reaction to this one among the Zomberati ranged from profoundly negative to red hot affronted rage that it dared trace its lineage to Night of the Living Dead & Dawn of the Dead.
I'm going to draw fire from my compatriots by saying I thought it was fine.
It wasn't a great movie, no Night or Dawn certainly, but I'd rank it with Day of the Dead- an interesting film with some problems that could have been solved by better casting and a few more re-writes.
The first two in the series are genuinely great because they worked on multiple levels- as straight-ahead horror movies and on a metaphorical level as indictments of contemporary society.
Land is only modestly successful as a horror movie- it was missing much of the verve and humor that fueled Romero's earlier works. But it works just fine as a scathing indictment of post-millenial American culture.
Where Dawn feasted on the soft underbelly of consumer culture, Land addresses the increasing disparity between the average citizen and the corporate elites who increasingly run the country.
Seen only as a 'zombie movie' I'd call it a modest failure- it wasn't particularly scary, and the carnage wasn't up to the high standards of earlier installments.
But I still rate it as a good watch.
Just use this decoder ring:
zombies = underclass
humans = middle class
corporate overlords = corporate overlords
Next up is the recent remake of Day of the Dead, which the Zomberati have all given their stamp of approval and which I'm predisposed to dislike based on my deeply held belief that there's no point in re-making a truly great movie.
Will report back later.
Hey, that was pretty good!
I still don't know why anyone needs to remake a great flick, but at least they did it with energy and style. It pretty much pitched the depth of the original overboard and made up the lost ballast with action and explosions, which certainly have their place in the Zombie firmament.
It also had the things Land was missing, in spades...a well polished script, quality acting top to bottom and a couple of standout scenes including a fabulous pre-credit sequence that set up the senario in compact strokes, setting the stage without taking forfuckingever to explain every goddamn thing under the sun.
On the Zombometer I'd rank it just below the elite, above the well made but flawed 28 Days but below creme de la creme like Night, Dawn and Shawn of the Dead (which has the singular honor of being the only zombie movie the wife enjoyed as much as I did).
stolen content
As payback for ruining my good looks with his Korgarth link, I'm stealing the greatest musical number of all time from his blog.
the world needs to experience the wonders contained within.
the world needs to experience the wonders contained within.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Trumped by Ivanus!
finally, my first use of that blog staple "promoted from the comments"!
That takes away some of the sting of Ivan blowing my animated offering with his own, rather like the indians overruning the delusional blowhard Custer at Little Big Horn.
I swaggered onto his turf with what I thought was a mighty army at my back and he met me with a storm of tomahawks & flashing teeth that routed whatever it failed to kill outright.
In my defense, how was I supposed to know he'd discovered the Citizen Kane of barbarian cartoons?
Take pity on me, dear reader....take pity on the earless, scalped freak who's only thought was to brighten your day.
That takes away some of the sting of Ivan blowing my animated offering with his own, rather like the indians overruning the delusional blowhard Custer at Little Big Horn.
I swaggered onto his turf with what I thought was a mighty army at my back and he met me with a storm of tomahawks & flashing teeth that routed whatever it failed to kill outright.
In my defense, how was I supposed to know he'd discovered the Citizen Kane of barbarian cartoons?
Take pity on me, dear reader....take pity on the earless, scalped freak who's only thought was to brighten your day.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Monday, July 24, 2006
attn Dango!
I've been neglecting our resident law dog the last while.
In lieu of an abject apology, behold the Meth Gun!
In lieu of an abject apology, behold the Meth Gun!
Sunday, July 23, 2006
sad state of antivirus programs
clicky clicky.
Virus writers want the widest possible demographic, so they're write for the biggest programs and they'll test on the most popular AV software.
That's one of the reasons I use Gaim instead of Aim, Firefox instead of Explorer, Open Office instead of Office.
The same logic would lead me to choose the Mac OS over Windows, if Jobs wasn't such a retard about supporting game developers.
Oh, and for AV I use Kaspersky.
Although the best AV prevention remains the use of common sense while patrolling the danker corners of the internet.
Antivirus applications from Symantec, McAfee or Trend Micro -- the three leading AV vendors in 2005 -- are far less likely to detect new viruses and Trojans than the least popular brands.
Virus writers want the widest possible demographic, so they're write for the biggest programs and they'll test on the most popular AV software.
That's one of the reasons I use Gaim instead of Aim, Firefox instead of Explorer, Open Office instead of Office.
The same logic would lead me to choose the Mac OS over Windows, if Jobs wasn't such a retard about supporting game developers.
Oh, and for AV I use Kaspersky.
Although the best AV prevention remains the use of common sense while patrolling the danker corners of the internet.
Gin & Tonic FAQ
Nikki and her pal Amber were over last night and queried me on the secret of my superior gin and tonics.
Making an ideal gin and tonic is a dirt simple but wildly misunderstood process. People think it's some mystical process, like turning lead into gold.
The end result is certainly an alchemical triumph- gin is pretty rough on its own, ditto tonic, it's the combination that makes magic.
But it's not something you need a well stocked laboratory and a library of ancient tomes bound in eerily familiar leather to make.
Start with quality ingredients.
GIN
Not necessarily the best available gin, but something solid. Gordons, Tanqueray, Beefeater, Segram's Extra Dry, all make an excellent drink, and all taste very different. Try out a couple of different gins to find your preference.
TONIC
The quality of your tonic is just as crucial.
Schwepps is my preferred tonic, although Canada Dry is fine. Don't go for Hansens (way too sweet), don't go for the 2 liter bottles of the generic stuff at the supermarkets. You can make a passable gin and tonic with cheap gin and good tonic, but nothing drinkable blossoms from crummy tonic.
If you're buying for a party get the liter bottles, if otherwise get the six packs of little glass bottles (even though they're twice as expensive). Nothing's worse than flat tonic, and flat tonic is inevitable unless you use it all right away.
LIME
You must use fresh limes.
Those fruit-shaped plastic bottles taste like perfumed gasoline.
For a party, make up a bowl of lime quarters. For personal use, just keep a couple in the fridge and cut up as needed.
GLASSES
I prefer squat, heavy crystal Old Fashion glasses. Appearance is left to your discretion.
Lately I use these lovely examples from Denby (in purple and green, not blue).
THE MIX
This is the simplest and most problematic element.
Unscientifically, use a lot of tonic and a little gin.
This is where nearly everyone goes wrong, with the perverse notion that a vast amount of alcohol somehow improves a cocktail.
Nonsense. If I wanted a shot, I'd order a shot.
Making a good cocktail is like baking bread, if you don't observe proportionality the result is indigestible.
I put about 1/4" of gin in the bottom of the glass then fill it up three quarters of the way with tonic.
Gently add the ice after you combine the gin and tonic, squeeze in the lime and mix the drink by carefully poking the ice cubes around- you want it mixed without bruising the gin.
And voila, you're done.
Making an ideal gin and tonic is a dirt simple but wildly misunderstood process. People think it's some mystical process, like turning lead into gold.
The end result is certainly an alchemical triumph- gin is pretty rough on its own, ditto tonic, it's the combination that makes magic.
But it's not something you need a well stocked laboratory and a library of ancient tomes bound in eerily familiar leather to make.
Start with quality ingredients.
GIN
Not necessarily the best available gin, but something solid. Gordons, Tanqueray, Beefeater, Segram's Extra Dry, all make an excellent drink, and all taste very different. Try out a couple of different gins to find your preference.
TONIC
The quality of your tonic is just as crucial.
Schwepps is my preferred tonic, although Canada Dry is fine. Don't go for Hansens (way too sweet), don't go for the 2 liter bottles of the generic stuff at the supermarkets. You can make a passable gin and tonic with cheap gin and good tonic, but nothing drinkable blossoms from crummy tonic.
If you're buying for a party get the liter bottles, if otherwise get the six packs of little glass bottles (even though they're twice as expensive). Nothing's worse than flat tonic, and flat tonic is inevitable unless you use it all right away.
LIME
You must use fresh limes.
Those fruit-shaped plastic bottles taste like perfumed gasoline.
For a party, make up a bowl of lime quarters. For personal use, just keep a couple in the fridge and cut up as needed.
GLASSES
I prefer squat, heavy crystal Old Fashion glasses. Appearance is left to your discretion.
Lately I use these lovely examples from Denby (in purple and green, not blue).
THE MIX
This is the simplest and most problematic element.
Unscientifically, use a lot of tonic and a little gin.
This is where nearly everyone goes wrong, with the perverse notion that a vast amount of alcohol somehow improves a cocktail.
Nonsense. If I wanted a shot, I'd order a shot.
Making a good cocktail is like baking bread, if you don't observe proportionality the result is indigestible.
I put about 1/4" of gin in the bottom of the glass then fill it up three quarters of the way with tonic.
Gently add the ice after you combine the gin and tonic, squeeze in the lime and mix the drink by carefully poking the ice cubes around- you want it mixed without bruising the gin.
And voila, you're done.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
ScatterChat
an encrypted, secure chat client based on the excellent Gaim.
neat, now I don't have to sweat the NSA listening in on top secret IM sessions.
ScatterChat is a HACKTIVIST WEAPON designed to allow non-technical human rights activists and political dissidents to communicate securely and anonymously while operating in hostile territory. It is also useful in corporate settings, or in other situations where privacy is desired.
neat, now I don't have to sweat the NSA listening in on top secret IM sessions.
Hot Links!
long overdue for a hot links post, don't you think?
creepy image of the day.
bizarre gaming nugget of the day: play Pac Man against live crickets.
dictionary of Scottish dialect.
any excuse to link Errol Morris.
some guidelines for writing a believable female comic lead.
Seems like it would also work for other art forms...
purported list of the 32 worst lyrics of all time.
Longtime readers will recognize a recurring theme here on the Baxblog where someone makes a list of "this and that of ALL TIME", which I link and eviscerate because the composers of the list define ALL TIME as "The Last Three Years, With 3 or 4 Older Entries To Make It Look Like We Tried".
This list is ridiculous on its face, since any discussion of ALL TIME worst lyrics must address Rock You Like A Hurricane by 80's krautmetal act The Scorpions.
C'mon now! That's crap lyric gold!
(I'm afraid to even mention Krokus...sigh, where have all the ESL metal bands gone?)
Exhaustive map of Springfield, home of The Simpsons.
creepy image of the day.
bizarre gaming nugget of the day: play Pac Man against live crickets.
dictionary of Scottish dialect.
any excuse to link Errol Morris.
some guidelines for writing a believable female comic lead.
Seems like it would also work for other art forms...
purported list of the 32 worst lyrics of all time.
Longtime readers will recognize a recurring theme here on the Baxblog where someone makes a list of "this and that of ALL TIME", which I link and eviscerate because the composers of the list define ALL TIME as "The Last Three Years, With 3 or 4 Older Entries To Make It Look Like We Tried".
This list is ridiculous on its face, since any discussion of ALL TIME worst lyrics must address Rock You Like A Hurricane by 80's krautmetal act The Scorpions.
The bitch is hungry
She needs to tell
So give her inches
And feed her well
C'mon now! That's crap lyric gold!
(I'm afraid to even mention Krokus...sigh, where have all the ESL metal bands gone?)
Exhaustive map of Springfield, home of The Simpsons.
Site Update
I axed that little scamp The Pelf because he forgot to pay his Newsguy hosting bill and I care too much about my beloved readers to allow a broken link to fester.
And just to keep your attention, MS is planning an 'ipod killer'.
It won't work because MS is terminally un-hip.
They were able to force the Xbox down people's throats because they could buy good game developers. Music is just out there, and unless MS is giving it away for free I don't see many people trading in the cool, assured embrace of iTunes for the sweaty, adolescent & slightly desperate fumblings of whatever front-end MS gins up in their corporate labs.
And just to keep your attention, MS is planning an 'ipod killer'.
It won't work because MS is terminally un-hip.
They were able to force the Xbox down people's throats because they could buy good game developers. Music is just out there, and unless MS is giving it away for free I don't see many people trading in the cool, assured embrace of iTunes for the sweaty, adolescent & slightly desperate fumblings of whatever front-end MS gins up in their corporate labs.
Friday, July 21, 2006
movie: Ghost in the Shell- Innocence
Sequel to one of my anime favorites.
It's visually stunning in sections and one more step along the road of a successful fusion of computer and hand animation. Parts of it are almost seamless and work wonderfully, other sections suffer from the grafted-on feel that's always bedeviled such hybrids.
And then, alas, there are the stretches where the computers take over, entirely gratuitous swaths of eye candy where story (and my attention) were jettisoned to make room for as many cool effects and filters as they could pack into a frame of celluloid.
But it ends strong, and I'd give it a qualified recommendation to those with a taste for anime. The highs are spectacular, but I'd have gladly sacrificed some of the peaks to even out the valleys.
It's visually stunning in sections and one more step along the road of a successful fusion of computer and hand animation. Parts of it are almost seamless and work wonderfully, other sections suffer from the grafted-on feel that's always bedeviled such hybrids.
And then, alas, there are the stretches where the computers take over, entirely gratuitous swaths of eye candy where story (and my attention) were jettisoned to make room for as many cool effects and filters as they could pack into a frame of celluloid.
But it ends strong, and I'd give it a qualified recommendation to those with a taste for anime. The highs are spectacular, but I'd have gladly sacrificed some of the peaks to even out the valleys.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
today's hot authors:
Dolfyn & Swimming Wolf.
And lest you think that Dolfyn is riding Swimming Wolf's coattails, he/she/it has many, many solo works.
And lest you think that Dolfyn is riding Swimming Wolf's coattails, he/she/it has many, many solo works.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Book of the Day
Lord Heath Boscastle’s attraction for Julia Hepworth begins with a bang. She shoots him at a hunting party–accidentally, of course. Though the shot grazes his shoulder, her beauty pierces his heart. Sparks fly soon after when they find themselves dangerously close to a compromising position. Too inexperienced to understand such overwhelming emotions, Heath and Julia part ways.
Yeah, baby!
Monday, July 17, 2006
boxing: action fights
(This post is mainly for James, since the rest of y'all are barbarians who don't appreciate the Sweet Science.)
First, one of those "grab a beer and miss it" fights from the SSM/Vargas card this Saturday.
Daniel Ponce De Leon vs Sod Looknongyangtoy
Not only does it have a spectacular finish, I can't recall a recent fight with a better, more evenly matched pair of kickass names.
Pelf's old man literally went to the fridge for a beer and missed it.
And next, one of the cats from my boxing forum was enerprising enough to upload a French bout that is the consensus Fight of the Year among hardcore internet fans, Mahyar Monshipour vs Somsak Sithchatchawal. A nonstop brawl- it's a criminal shame it wasn't broadcast in this country.
Don't worry Jamesy- I'm burning you a high quality copy.
This is just to whet your appetite.
First, one of those "grab a beer and miss it" fights from the SSM/Vargas card this Saturday.
Daniel Ponce De Leon vs Sod Looknongyangtoy
Not only does it have a spectacular finish, I can't recall a recent fight with a better, more evenly matched pair of kickass names.
Pelf's old man literally went to the fridge for a beer and missed it.
And next, one of the cats from my boxing forum was enerprising enough to upload a French bout that is the consensus Fight of the Year among hardcore internet fans, Mahyar Monshipour vs Somsak Sithchatchawal. A nonstop brawl- it's a criminal shame it wasn't broadcast in this country.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Don't worry Jamesy- I'm burning you a high quality copy.
This is just to whet your appetite.
music: bill frisell
returning to town, hallelujah!
His last show blew my mind and this looks like a great lineup...Jack DeJohnette is an atomic drummer.
His last show blew my mind and this looks like a great lineup...Jack DeJohnette is an atomic drummer.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
headbutt heaven
This cat has collected a large sample of the Zidane headbutt folk art generated by his world cup antics.
Some funny stuff.
Some funny stuff.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
cooking: quiche
The Bastille Day party was a grand success despite Army of Shadows being re-scheduled for the 28th.
I made a bunch of quiches and the experience impressed the wisdom of the ancients onto the wet clay of my brain: making quiche is so easy your cat could turn out a passable specimen. The crust is the only tricky bit, and that's only if you want it to be photogenic. The rest is just mixing eggs and cream together with whatever flavorings you prefer and baking it for a while.
As long as you don't wuss out and use milk or half and half you can't go wrong.
The hit of the night was the onion quiche. I'm usually critical of my cooking output (unfairly so, according to the Wife), but this was an exception. I added a couple of tablespoons of pureed roasted garlic along with the carmelized onions and the result was culinary heaven.
The Wife's French Flag tart was also a hit, I'll have pictures up tomorrow or the next day.
Hot on the heels of our big party of the year I'm off to peep Vargas/Mosley II...I'm hoping the massive infusion of pizza & fisticuffs will provide much needed ballast for my lingering hangover.
I made a bunch of quiches and the experience impressed the wisdom of the ancients onto the wet clay of my brain: making quiche is so easy your cat could turn out a passable specimen. The crust is the only tricky bit, and that's only if you want it to be photogenic. The rest is just mixing eggs and cream together with whatever flavorings you prefer and baking it for a while.
As long as you don't wuss out and use milk or half and half you can't go wrong.
The hit of the night was the onion quiche. I'm usually critical of my cooking output (unfairly so, according to the Wife), but this was an exception. I added a couple of tablespoons of pureed roasted garlic along with the carmelized onions and the result was culinary heaven.
The Wife's French Flag tart was also a hit, I'll have pictures up tomorrow or the next day.
Hot on the heels of our big party of the year I'm off to peep Vargas/Mosley II...I'm hoping the massive infusion of pizza & fisticuffs will provide much needed ballast for my lingering hangover.
customers: tantric
a balding, 40'ish fellow with a southern accent:
"two questions- one, do you have a bathroom, and two, where are your tantric sex books?
Friday, July 14, 2006
Viking Kittens
I remember this about once every six months, and every time it rocks just as hard.
GAY BAR by teh Viking Kittens.
Featuring the hardest rocking guitar solo ever by a winged puppy.
GAY BAR by teh Viking Kittens.
Featuring the hardest rocking guitar solo ever by a winged puppy.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Thanks for the shirt Bobo
I'm having a bit of a problem with it, I'm hoping it's nothing a good night's sleep won't cure...
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Rake Art, baby!
they're like crop circles, only not lame.
Faintly reminiscent of the eerie,cryptic & beautiful nature art of Andy Goldsworthy.
Ok, just a tiny bit...but any excuse to bring up Goldsworthy is a good one.
Faintly reminiscent of the eerie,cryptic & beautiful nature art of Andy Goldsworthy.
Ok, just a tiny bit...but any excuse to bring up Goldsworthy is a good one.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
day of the oddballs
I just got a hurt, accusing glare from a small developmentally disabled woman because my reply to her Special Olympics fundraising plea was "no soliciting in the store, sorry". Then I had to run her out when she started hitting up the customers. =/
Moments later a morbidly obese woman rolled up on one of those combination seat/walker things looking for books on Alaskan fur trappers.
Wheeeeee!
Moments later a morbidly obese woman rolled up on one of those combination seat/walker things looking for books on Alaskan fur trappers.
Wheeeeee!
yo bobo
nice of you to post more flickr pix, but why are you obsessed with preventing comments?
WHY WHY WHY!
Now the world will never know how much I think Ivan looks like a demonic imp from a Bosch painting.
WHY WHY WHY!
Now the world will never know how much I think Ivan looks like a demonic imp from a Bosch painting.
Monday, July 10, 2006
signs o' the times
so I live in a bucolic, conservative enclave best described as "a wannabe Santa Barbara", full of white people who aren't rich enough to live a few hundred miles south.
Yesterday was an interesting cultural core sample.
After the world cup, an event which in years past was so far off the radar it didn't even engender indifference, a large convoy of cars circled downtown honking, screaming and waving Italian flags in celebration of their side triumphing over France.
Strange, yes, but not as strange as the sight that greeted me on my walk home.
The local GALA chapter was having their annual shindig, which in the past occasioned a dispirited clump of booths, a few banners and some picketing fundies down at the plaza.
This year I walked smack into a huge, boisterous crowd rocking out to the musical stylings of Rupaul.
Well now!
Small signs of life, assuredly, but signs nonetheless.
Yesterday was an interesting cultural core sample.
After the world cup, an event which in years past was so far off the radar it didn't even engender indifference, a large convoy of cars circled downtown honking, screaming and waving Italian flags in celebration of their side triumphing over France.
Strange, yes, but not as strange as the sight that greeted me on my walk home.
The local GALA chapter was having their annual shindig, which in the past occasioned a dispirited clump of booths, a few banners and some picketing fundies down at the plaza.
This year I walked smack into a huge, boisterous crowd rocking out to the musical stylings of Rupaul.
Well now!
Small signs of life, assuredly, but signs nonetheless.
Sunday, July 9, 2006
better late than never
hey Bobo, next time you're tempted to strip the flesh off your arms try this instead.
Thursday, July 6, 2006
movie: Casanova
The wife is on a Heath Ledger kick, who she's had a crush on ever since screening A Knight's Tale
with one of her at-risk youth back in her mentor days with Americorps.
I was mostly cleaning house during this one, but I think the wife's comment about halfway through the run-time sums it up nicely:
I'm about to check out the Korean military/supernatural thriller R-Point.
Hopefully I won't find myself howling "more supernatural phenomenon, less poorly subtitled dialog!" during the third act...wish me luck.
with one of her at-risk youth back in her mentor days with Americorps.
I was mostly cleaning house during this one, but I think the wife's comment about halfway through the run-time sums it up nicely:
"More nudity, less shitty dialog!"
I'm about to check out the Korean military/supernatural thriller R-Point.
Hopefully I won't find myself howling "more supernatural phenomenon, less poorly subtitled dialog!" during the third act...wish me luck.
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
Music: Steely Dan
I'm at work (yes, on the 4th of July) listening to Steely Dan's Alive in America, track 7, their classic hit Peg.
Making my E-rounds I come across a youtube link on the making of Peg.
EERIE.
Off to a BBQ after work, wish me luck.
And nobody blow off their fingers or toes!
/edit
link fixed- thx dangs!
Making my E-rounds I come across a youtube link on the making of Peg.
EERIE.
Off to a BBQ after work, wish me luck.
And nobody blow off their fingers or toes!
/edit
link fixed- thx dangs!
Monday, July 3, 2006
Sunday, July 2, 2006
Theater News
The Pelf has some East Coast productions coming up:
fReAk sTorM is showing in NYC thanks to the fine folks at American Theater of Actors. It'll be running for a week at the end of August.
I think I make an apperance in this one as "childhood friend #2".
Biographical note- Pelf wrote this one after our batchelor party road-trip before Bobo's wedding.
Also in August the Revolution Theater Company will be putting on GORE HOUNDS.
I assure you dear reader, any similarities between the horrifying plot and our gloriously misspent youth are entirely coincidental.
For the sake of Pelf's few remaining hairs I hope they act better than they code HTML...
fReAk sTorM is showing in NYC thanks to the fine folks at American Theater of Actors. It'll be running for a week at the end of August.
I think I make an apperance in this one as "childhood friend #2".
Biographical note- Pelf wrote this one after our batchelor party road-trip before Bobo's wedding.
Also in August the Revolution Theater Company will be putting on GORE HOUNDS.
I assure you dear reader, any similarities between the horrifying plot and our gloriously misspent youth are entirely coincidental.
For the sake of Pelf's few remaining hairs I hope they act better than they code HTML...
Bastille Day
It's nearly upon us and we here at the Baxblog will be celebrating in fine style.
Anyone in the neighborhood is invited to attend the first annual Secret Garden Bastille Day Celebration & Sing-Along
click image for readable size
We begin with a screening of Jean Pierre Melville's last film Army of Shadows at the Palm. Rather pathetically, it is the film's first theatrical release in North America.
Then it's off to the Secret Garden for gastronomic delights in the Parisian tradition.
Baguettes, cheese, lyric sheets & snooty attitude will be provided by the hosts...guests are responsible for appropriate headgear, wine and witty repartee.
Anyone in the neighborhood is invited to attend the first annual Secret Garden Bastille Day Celebration & Sing-Along
click image for readable size
We begin with a screening of Jean Pierre Melville's last film Army of Shadows at the Palm. Rather pathetically, it is the film's first theatrical release in North America.
Then it's off to the Secret Garden for gastronomic delights in the Parisian tradition.
Baguettes, cheese, lyric sheets & snooty attitude will be provided by the hosts...guests are responsible for appropriate headgear, wine and witty repartee.
Saturday, July 1, 2006
Hirst's shark rotting
clicky clicky
Hey Damien...maybe you should have explained that to the sucker who paid 6.5 million dollars for your "art".
On the other hand, anyone stupid enough to pay 6.5 million for a dead shark gets whatever they deserve.
Speaking to critic Stuart Morgan in 1996, Hirst said: “I did an interview about conservation and they told me formaldehyde is not a perfect form of preservation... They actually thought I was using formaldehyde to preserve an artwork for posterity, when in reality I use it to communicate an idea.”
Hey Damien...maybe you should have explained that to the sucker who paid 6.5 million dollars for your "art".
On the other hand, anyone stupid enough to pay 6.5 million for a dead shark gets whatever they deserve.
movies: half of Predator 2
The wife came home with a guest halfway through Predator 2, necessitating a switch to Down By Law to protect my carefully cultivated image of omnicient hipness.
Predator 2 is a kid's coloring book of a movie, the pictures filled in with neon pens weilded by epileptics. It feels like it had a comic book instead of a script, creating a particular flavor of jokey over-the-topness it's hard not to embrace. Sword in the Moon could have used a transfusion of P2's happy juice.
I'd forgotten it had Rueben Blades in a supporting role- I always liked him.
It was impressively multiethnic and despite it's hyperventillation it caught the "feel" of LA better than a lot of other movies. LA actually looked like LA, for a start.
It was pretty fun, I think I'll finish watching it tonight.
Predator 2 is a kid's coloring book of a movie, the pictures filled in with neon pens weilded by epileptics. It feels like it had a comic book instead of a script, creating a particular flavor of jokey over-the-topness it's hard not to embrace. Sword in the Moon could have used a transfusion of P2's happy juice.
I'd forgotten it had Rueben Blades in a supporting role- I always liked him.
It was impressively multiethnic and despite it's hyperventillation it caught the "feel" of LA better than a lot of other movies. LA actually looked like LA, for a start.
It was pretty fun, I think I'll finish watching it tonight.
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