We hit LACMA before Pelf's play.
Bobo wanted to check out their Western exhibitions and I've always wanted to check out their collection of Netsuke
My fave:
kleek.
and the wife's fave:
kleek.
They're no bigger than a walnut, but you expect their breath to fog the glass when you see them in person.
The Western landscape exhibit was fab, although the wife found their overarching theme suspect (and who am I to argue with an art history major?) It mixed photography and painting to good effect. The thing that nailed me to the floor was a mesmerising photo by Edward Steichen, one of my absolute favorite photographers and one I'd only seen in books.
It was titled Black Canyon, and it seems immune to Google (although I now know that a print recently auctioned for 110k, and that photography publisher Aperture is also a non-profit organization). Maybe Anner can use her google-fu to track down a visual.
It's a brooding, misty shot of a canyon, combining surpassing natural beauty with layers of depth to generate an aura of ominous fascination. The 'look' is a bit like his famous picture of the Flatiron building, but it felt like a much more profound image.
Of course I haven't seen the Flatiron shot 'live', so it's actually a monstrously unfair comparison...but it'll have to do because I'm too lazy to come up with a better one. =P
Oh, and there was an amazing painting by Thomas Hart Benton (who I was also seeing 'live' for the first time) that would have stood out as a masterpiece even if it wasn't encased in an armored Lucite box. I love his style and it was a treat to see it up close. Great paintings vibrate with life when you get close enough to see the brush-strokes...they're very organic.
Anyone in the vicinity is urged to check it out.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Bad News for Humans
Devra has been co-opted by our would-be cuttlefish overlords.
Nova issued this dire warning in documentary form last month.
And lest you assume we're safe because we live on dry land....
MMM HMMMM.
So, whatchoo gonna do when dread Cthulhu comes for you?
If you're Devra you immediately begin currying favor with the tentacular tyrants intent on transforming the human race into bipedal veal calves!
Nova issued this dire warning in documentary form last month.
NARRATOR: Imagine an alien that can float through space, with a giant brain shaped like a doughnut, eight arms growing out of its head, and three hearts pumping blue blood. This alien lives right here on Earth. It's called the cuttlefish, a flesh-eating predator who's a master of illusion, changing its shape and color at will. It can hypnotize its prey or even become invisible.
And lest you assume we're safe because we live on dry land....
NARRATOR: This is a place of the weird and the wonderful, where standing out or blending in all depends on whether you are predator or prey. It's one of the few places you'll find the rare mimic octopus.
But the strangest of them all is a creature called the flamboyant cuttlefish. For a start, it's walking, not swimming.
MARK NORMAN: It's still really foreign for me to watch a cuttlefish walking around on the seafloor. They actually look like these prehistoric lumbering monsters, sort of walking through these ancient black deserts.
MMM HMMMM.
So, whatchoo gonna do when dread Cthulhu comes for you?
If you're Devra you immediately begin currying favor with the tentacular tyrants intent on transforming the human race into bipedal veal calves!
Southland Sojourn continued
As promised, The Best Gelato in the USA.
Anner spotted this note in the LA Weekly and made us venture into the foothills of Altadena to find it.
It was tucked away in the courtyard of a half empty, dilapidated mall that wouldn't have been out of place in Santa Maria, occupying the spot recently vacated by L337 Force PC Gaming (no really!).
The fellow in charge had gone to Italy to apprentice with one of the remaining ancients steeped in the wisdom of making gelato from scratch. He learned the lessons well, because all the flavors we tried tasted like distilled wonderful.
I went for Pistachio, the wife opted for basic chocolate, Anner e Bobo split a large cinnamon chocolate.
We all thought our choice was best.
The stuff had the texture of velvet and a startlingly clean flavor that couldn't have compared more favorably to the oversweetened, chemical taste of most frozen treats.
It's definitely on the itinerary for my next visit.
Anner spotted this note in the LA Weekly and made us venture into the foothills of Altadena to find it.
It was tucked away in the courtyard of a half empty, dilapidated mall that wouldn't have been out of place in Santa Maria, occupying the spot recently vacated by L337 Force PC Gaming (no really!).
The fellow in charge had gone to Italy to apprentice with one of the remaining ancients steeped in the wisdom of making gelato from scratch. He learned the lessons well, because all the flavors we tried tasted like distilled wonderful.
I went for Pistachio, the wife opted for basic chocolate, Anner e Bobo split a large cinnamon chocolate.
We all thought our choice was best.
The stuff had the texture of velvet and a startlingly clean flavor that couldn't have compared more favorably to the oversweetened, chemical taste of most frozen treats.
It's definitely on the itinerary for my next visit.
Dark Secrets
What isn't Bobo telling us?
Simultaneous raids carried out in four Alabama counties Thursday turned up truckloads of explosives and weapons, including 130 grenades, an improvised rocket launcher and 2,500 rounds of ammunition belonging to the small, but mightily armed, Alabama Free Militia.
----------------
Arrested and detained in federal custody were Dillard, also known as Jeff Osborne, 46, of Collinsville; Adam Lynn Cunningham, 41, of Collinsville; Bonnell Hughes, 57, of Crossville; Randall Garrett Cole, 22, of Gadsden; James Ray McElroy, 20, of Collinsville; and Michael Wayne Bobo, 30, of Trussville.
approved headstones
The recent approval of the Wiccan pentacle for use on military headstones dragged this list of approved symbols across my bow.
Greg Saunders over at This modern world is partial to the Atheist symbol.
After giving the list a once over (and being astonished at the inclusion of the profoundly wacky Eckankar) my favorite symbol has to be the marching lamb of the United Moravian Church.
A banner anyone could feel good about rallying 'round.
Greg Saunders over at This modern world is partial to the Atheist symbol.
After giving the list a once over (and being astonished at the inclusion of the profoundly wacky Eckankar) my favorite symbol has to be the marching lamb of the United Moravian Church.
A banner anyone could feel good about rallying 'round.
movies: Saw
I'm making a push to get caught up on recent relatively acclaimed horror films.
(And yes, anything after roughly 1989 counts as 'recent' to your increasingly senile narrator.)
First in line is Saw, the screenplay of which got a lot of hype before it was actually produced.
Pocket review, an essentially crummy movie with a couple of original ideas.
It's a poor man's (a very poor man's) Se7en.
A clever, game-playing killer dispatches victims via diabolical set piece murders featuring an overabundance of digital color filtering and enough pointless jump cutting for fifty normal films. The potentially interesting conceit of telling the story from the vantage of the killer's two latest potential victims, trapped in a dismal white-tiled bathroom of indeterminate location, is largely squandered.
And the twist shock ending was a big letdown- it wasn't telegraphed, but it fell apart like a cheap suit after about 10 seconds of scrutiny.
I'd rate it 'watchable' for fans of the genre, but the plot runs on the ridiculous stupidity and incompetence of the protagonists (just one example, it requires belief that a nebbishy hospital orderly can overcome grizzled veteran cop Danny Glover not once but twice).
Next up is Hostel, which should prove the mettle of my resolve to even the most sceptical observer given my legendary hostility to the director's first opus, the pustulent dungpile Cabin Fever.
Pelf sez it's good, and he despised Cabin Fever at least as fervently as myself, so I'll give it a shot despite the deafening clamor of my internal alarms.
(And yes, anything after roughly 1989 counts as 'recent' to your increasingly senile narrator.)
First in line is Saw, the screenplay of which got a lot of hype before it was actually produced.
Pocket review, an essentially crummy movie with a couple of original ideas.
It's a poor man's (a very poor man's) Se7en.
A clever, game-playing killer dispatches victims via diabolical set piece murders featuring an overabundance of digital color filtering and enough pointless jump cutting for fifty normal films. The potentially interesting conceit of telling the story from the vantage of the killer's two latest potential victims, trapped in a dismal white-tiled bathroom of indeterminate location, is largely squandered.
And the twist shock ending was a big letdown- it wasn't telegraphed, but it fell apart like a cheap suit after about 10 seconds of scrutiny.
I'd rate it 'watchable' for fans of the genre, but the plot runs on the ridiculous stupidity and incompetence of the protagonists (just one example, it requires belief that a nebbishy hospital orderly can overcome grizzled veteran cop Danny Glover not once but twice).
Next up is Hostel, which should prove the mettle of my resolve to even the most sceptical observer given my legendary hostility to the director's first opus, the pustulent dungpile Cabin Fever.
Pelf sez it's good, and he despised Cabin Fever at least as fervently as myself, so I'll give it a shot despite the deafening clamor of my internal alarms.
Friday, April 27, 2007
birthday gift
So, not only is the biggest boxing event since the heavyweight division still mattered happening just before my birthday, there's a new Elliott Smith release coming out the very day before.
Most of the stuff is already out there on various bootlegs, but having a studio quality 'official' release is much better.
Plus, SUSHI PARTY.
May is going to be a banner month.
Most of the stuff is already out there on various bootlegs, but having a studio quality 'official' release is much better.
Plus, SUSHI PARTY.
May is going to be a banner month.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Southland Tour pt 2
We landed in LA, our hosts were ravenous, Pasadena was nearby and we ended up at the All India Cafe.
Bobo took me out to lunch there a couple of years ago, and I've intended to go back ever since. But LA's restaurant scene is like one of those giant cancerous tumors that show up in the National Enquirer every so often, like the one the gal had to tote around in a wheelbarrow. It changes...it grows. And living in the middle of it encourages experimentation and demands evolution.
While I dip my toe in every few months and crave return visits, Bobo e Anner have squeezed those old haunts dry and gone questing for juicy new hangouts.
This time I lucked out- it had been so long my timid suggestion set their craving for garlic naan aflame, and off we went.
I don't know enough about Indian food to say much other than "it was really goddamn good!" The chai was the way the Wife likes it, spicy and not too sweet. The garlic naan was fresh and garlicky. Anner ordered this crazy potato thing wrapped in some kind of Indian tortilla that was spectacular. And we had some delicious tandoori chicken and Shahi Paneer, homemade cheese in a creamy nut sauce that the wife goes crazy for.
So, if you're in Pasadena and want good Indian, this joint delivers.
up next: the best gelato in the world!
Bobo took me out to lunch there a couple of years ago, and I've intended to go back ever since. But LA's restaurant scene is like one of those giant cancerous tumors that show up in the National Enquirer every so often, like the one the gal had to tote around in a wheelbarrow. It changes...it grows. And living in the middle of it encourages experimentation and demands evolution.
While I dip my toe in every few months and crave return visits, Bobo e Anner have squeezed those old haunts dry and gone questing for juicy new hangouts.
This time I lucked out- it had been so long my timid suggestion set their craving for garlic naan aflame, and off we went.
I don't know enough about Indian food to say much other than "it was really goddamn good!" The chai was the way the Wife likes it, spicy and not too sweet. The garlic naan was fresh and garlicky. Anner ordered this crazy potato thing wrapped in some kind of Indian tortilla that was spectacular. And we had some delicious tandoori chicken and Shahi Paneer, homemade cheese in a creamy nut sauce that the wife goes crazy for.
So, if you're in Pasadena and want good Indian, this joint delivers.
up next: the best gelato in the world!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Monday, April 23, 2007
Culinary Tour of the Southland part one
Requested by Anner in the comments.
First up, breakfast at Pie n' Burger!
More famous for their, uh, pies and burgers, our hosts are partial to their pre-11am menu.
The Wife went with the suggested short stack of thin pancakes- about halfway between a crepe & a normal pancake.
Her comment: "the pancakes were really, really, reallyreally good."
The highlight of my plate was the super excellent wheat toast, which they make themselves. The eggs, sausage & hash browns were all tasty, but the toast was epic.
Up next: dinner at the All India Cafe
First up, breakfast at Pie n' Burger!
More famous for their, uh, pies and burgers, our hosts are partial to their pre-11am menu.
The Wife went with the suggested short stack of thin pancakes- about halfway between a crepe & a normal pancake.
Her comment: "the pancakes were really, really, reallyreally good."
The highlight of my plate was the super excellent wheat toast, which they make themselves. The eggs, sausage & hash browns were all tasty, but the toast was epic.
Up next: dinner at the All India Cafe
attn IVAN
Pathfinder is out!
in case you lost track of it.
Alas, the prognosis isn't good.
Rental perhaps?
You go first, I'm scairt.
in case you lost track of it.
Alas, the prognosis isn't good.
Rental perhaps?
You go first, I'm scairt.
Decent profile of The Insomniac
Solid quickie profile of invaluable local resource Insomniac Video, home of all those exotic movies most people have to join Netflix to see.
My familiarity with the golden age of Hong Kong action cinema is entirely due to the beneficial influence of The Insomniac, and they've got the largest selection of Henry Jaglom & Russ Meyer films in captivity.
Bob & John are good friends and good people, it's nice to see them get some play from the local media even if it's from that execrable faux alternative fishwrap New Times.
The wife helped out at the original location part-time & we both lent a hand when they moved to the new store.
Has it really been ten years?
Jaysus!
My familiarity with the golden age of Hong Kong action cinema is entirely due to the beneficial influence of The Insomniac, and they've got the largest selection of Henry Jaglom & Russ Meyer films in captivity.
Bob & John are good friends and good people, it's nice to see them get some play from the local media even if it's from that execrable faux alternative fishwrap New Times.
The wife helped out at the original location part-time & we both lent a hand when they moved to the new store.
Has it really been ten years?
Jaysus!
One last Impending Rupture Review
from your truly.
Overall the production gets an A, the best staging so far of a Pelf masterwork.
The Pasadena Playhouse is top drawer venue, light years beyond the junior college multipurpose room where I caught Terminus Americana.
The cast was commensurately excellent, stocked with working actors enjoying the opportunity to flash their chops outside the constraints of sitcom walk-ons & toothpaste commercials. The lead bore an eerie resemblance to Pelf (a less grizzled version with more hair) which sharpened the impact of the autobiographical bits for the two rows of seats populated by family and friends.
As far as the script, it was an evolutionary leap forward. The full compliment of Pelf obsessions were on display but they were buoyed by an underlying humanity and fundamental optimism largely absent from earlier works. The foundation of his writing shifted from sympathizing with the destruction to questioning it, which I think helped fuel the wave of positive reviews.
And as always it was very, very funny, or as funny as a play about escalating paranoia & retaliation in Republican American could be.
Pocket review from his dad: "I never come off well in these things, do I?"
Overall the production gets an A, the best staging so far of a Pelf masterwork.
The Pasadena Playhouse is top drawer venue, light years beyond the junior college multipurpose room where I caught Terminus Americana.
The cast was commensurately excellent, stocked with working actors enjoying the opportunity to flash their chops outside the constraints of sitcom walk-ons & toothpaste commercials. The lead bore an eerie resemblance to Pelf (a less grizzled version with more hair) which sharpened the impact of the autobiographical bits for the two rows of seats populated by family and friends.
As far as the script, it was an evolutionary leap forward. The full compliment of Pelf obsessions were on display but they were buoyed by an underlying humanity and fundamental optimism largely absent from earlier works. The foundation of his writing shifted from sympathizing with the destruction to questioning it, which I think helped fuel the wave of positive reviews.
And as always it was very, very funny, or as funny as a play about escalating paranoia & retaliation in Republican American could be.
Pocket review from his dad: "I never come off well in these things, do I?"
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Kitty Carlisle, RIP
farewell to a game show icon of my youth.
Nice!
I knew her from What's My Line & To Tell the Truth, which were always on when I ditched school.
RIP
Kitty Carlisle married playwright Moss Hart in 1946, after turning down a proposal, as she repeatedly said, from George Gershwin.
Nice!
I knew her from What's My Line & To Tell the Truth, which were always on when I ditched school.
RIP
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
More Pelf
LA Weekly feature.
Pelf sez "actually, probably the best thing I've had written about my writing, since a) it compares me to Mamet (in a quasi-favorable way) and b) digs into the play's themes, etc."
Pelf sez "actually, probably the best thing I've had written about my writing, since a) it compares me to Mamet (in a quasi-favorable way) and b) digs into the play's themes, etc."
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Forgive me, lord
I just posted a flyer for an event titled Sapphire Moon Rising: A Celebration of Women.
They're kidding, right?
They're kidding, right?
By Popular Demand
More Goatse!
Anner can't get enough!
this one is of dubious work-safeness, click with care:
Regrettable Tattoo
worksafe goatse:
here's a collection of portraits of first exposures to Goatse.
the 8 Stages of Goatse
One for the gamers, an in-game Goatse tribute from Unreal 2004:
and an oldie but a goodie, iGoatse
Anner can't get enough!
this one is of dubious work-safeness, click with care:
Regrettable Tattoo
worksafe goatse:
here's a collection of portraits of first exposures to Goatse.
the 8 Stages of Goatse
One for the gamers, an in-game Goatse tribute from Unreal 2004:
and an oldie but a goodie, iGoatse
Monday, April 16, 2007
attn ADRIAN
true confessions of game store clerks
ok, it's video game stores....but some of the tales of woe are amazingly similar!
ok, it's video game stores....but some of the tales of woe are amazingly similar!
Revenge of Goatse
a cautionary tale about the karmic dangers of hotlinking.
Work safe, although there is a (clearly marked) link to goatse.
Work safe, although there is a (clearly marked) link to goatse.
In which I shatter my 24/7 Goatse Vow
What, you ask, could make me go back on my oath to provide nothing but the finest work-safe Goatse until I get a comment from an approved source?
Well, I'll tell ya.
A 50' tall robotic Michael Jackson roaming the wastes outside Las Vegas firing laser beams from it's eyes.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled Goatse.
Well, I'll tell ya.
A 50' tall robotic Michael Jackson roaming the wastes outside Las Vegas firing laser beams from it's eyes.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled Goatse.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
more Goatse
I'm going all GOATSE until someone besides Anner comments (or Adrian comments on something besides taxes).
The latest installment:
Lovecraftian Goatse!
(work safe)
The latest installment:
Lovecraftian Goatse!
(work safe)
mute readership
Ok, why is Anner the only one commenting?
Oh, and Adrian....but I mentioned taxes so it doesn't really count.
I ply you with tales of mentally ill customers, urban art guerrillas & MST3K and this is the thanks I get?
OH I SEE HOW IT IS!
>:
Oh, and Adrian....but I mentioned taxes so it doesn't really count.
I ply you with tales of mentally ill customers, urban art guerrillas & MST3K and this is the thanks I get?
OH I SEE HOW IT IS!
>:
Presto chango
video pollution becomes art
Pretty neat.
previously from the same gang.
A thought- advertising exists in the modern urban environment only to the extent that it is tolerated by the locals.
Pretty neat.
previously from the same gang.
A thought- advertising exists in the modern urban environment only to the extent that it is tolerated by the locals.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
crazy or drunk?
a smallish fellow wearing some sort of evangelical tee shirt (the way their graphic designers strain to look hip and contemporary is a dead giveaway) and positively reeking of cologne zoomed up to the counter and laid this rap on me:
"so yeah, I'm looking for this book, it's by Brian Weiss, it's called Same Soul, Many Bodies, and I just want to buy it and get over that shit."
I take him to the section- we've got Many Lives, Many Masters but not the one he's after.
"oh fucking shit...well, give me that one. I just want to read it and curl up in a corner and die, you know what I mean. Fuck."
as I lead him back to the counter he considers imparting further wisdom, but refrains.
"Y'know what, never mind....I could tell you, but you'd just shake your head."
The story did have a happy ending- I dinged him for $7 plus tax.
"so yeah, I'm looking for this book, it's by Brian Weiss, it's called Same Soul, Many Bodies, and I just want to buy it and get over that shit."
I take him to the section- we've got Many Lives, Many Masters but not the one he's after.
"oh fucking shit...well, give me that one. I just want to read it and curl up in a corner and die, you know what I mean. Fuck."
as I lead him back to the counter he considers imparting further wisdom, but refrains.
"Y'know what, never mind....I could tell you, but you'd just shake your head."
The story did have a happy ending- I dinged him for $7 plus tax.
Triumph of the Pelf
positive comments from the LAT.
"Pelfrey's gripping, funny play is mounted with hilarious ferocity by director Dámaso Rodriguez..."
Hallelujah!
"Pelfrey's gripping, funny play is mounted with hilarious ferocity by director Dámaso Rodriguez..."
Hallelujah!
only in china
thankfully!
And some background.
favorite quote:
"None of the animals sought out a custom tattoo on their own."
And some background.
favorite quote:
"None of the animals sought out a custom tattoo on their own."
Thursday, April 12, 2007
boffo reviews for Pelf's latest
I'll be trundling down LA way the weekend after next to pass my own judgment, but so far so good on the critic front.
Critic's Pick from Backstage.
short writeup via LA Weekly, with a threat to do an expanded feature at some later date.
Citybeat sounds off.
Up next is the LA Times, who's theater critic has been notoriously hostile to past Pelf masterworks. Everyone cross your fingers and visualize two thumbs up.
Critic's Pick from Backstage.
short writeup via LA Weekly, with a threat to do an expanded feature at some later date.
Citybeat sounds off.
Up next is the LA Times, who's theater critic has been notoriously hostile to past Pelf masterworks. Everyone cross your fingers and visualize two thumbs up.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Cover Blurb of the Day
Not one, but two winners courtesy of Brian Callison's novel Trapp's War:
on the front cover under the title:
on the back cover above the fluff text:
randomly selected paragraph:
on the front cover under the title:
He Sailed by No Man's Compass and Fought by No Man's Rules
on the back cover above the fluff text:
He Ruled the Oceans Like a Ragged Sea God...he was a pirate...a patriot....a magnificent rogue who fought his own war by his own rules!
randomly selected paragraph:
I said tightly, "East. Bring her due east.
Fubar Priorities
So there was a local tax hike voted in and it just went into effect.
Which has thrown me off my stride more than I'd like to admit.
Years of retail have branded the old 7.25% tax rate into my cortex.
A four dollar pocket book is $4.29 goddammit, not $4.31.
But not anymore, so I'm doing double-takes every time I ring up a sale.
I voted against it.
Not because I'm a red-blooded, every man for himself individualist in the current Republican mode. If I had an Eagle clutching a banner in its talons tattooed on my hairy bicep it would read Tax 'em til They Bleed.
I prefer honest, straightforward taxation to our current system, where tax revenue has to be disguised as fees, tickets & fines because people need to be tricked into paying for a livable society.
Thus our "beautification" tax hike.
What would really 'beautify' the town is funding for the basically non-existent public mental health program, which would help with the 20 odd completely fucking deranged homeless people who live in the creek and roam downtown like piss-soaked zombies. Or funding more foot patrols on "bar nights" to wrangle the college kids who celebrate their independence by crashing through store windows & accosting passers-by. Or even fund the library, currently open four days a week and staffed mainly by volunteers.
That I would gladly vote for.
But God forbid they ask citizens to pay for anything substantive.
Which has thrown me off my stride more than I'd like to admit.
Years of retail have branded the old 7.25% tax rate into my cortex.
A four dollar pocket book is $4.29 goddammit, not $4.31.
But not anymore, so I'm doing double-takes every time I ring up a sale.
I voted against it.
Not because I'm a red-blooded, every man for himself individualist in the current Republican mode. If I had an Eagle clutching a banner in its talons tattooed on my hairy bicep it would read Tax 'em til They Bleed.
I prefer honest, straightforward taxation to our current system, where tax revenue has to be disguised as fees, tickets & fines because people need to be tricked into paying for a livable society.
Thus our "beautification" tax hike.
What would really 'beautify' the town is funding for the basically non-existent public mental health program, which would help with the 20 odd completely fucking deranged homeless people who live in the creek and roam downtown like piss-soaked zombies. Or funding more foot patrols on "bar nights" to wrangle the college kids who celebrate their independence by crashing through store windows & accosting passers-by. Or even fund the library, currently open four days a week and staffed mainly by volunteers.
That I would gladly vote for.
But God forbid they ask citizens to pay for anything substantive.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
MST3K
For one summer in my young adulthood, this show was the centerpiece of my life and Pod People was the apex of it's particular art form.
Former Local Company News
Jamba Juice in non-dairy dairy flap.
Started locally by a business school dropout.
The original name was Juice Club, and their mascot was a happy anthropomorphic orange straight out of Better Off Dead.*
They changed it when they went corporate and the company moved to San Francisco.
* it's unsettling how much John Cusack reminds me of Bernard Black in that scene.
Started locally by a business school dropout.
The original name was Juice Club, and their mascot was a happy anthropomorphic orange straight out of Better Off Dead.*
They changed it when they went corporate and the company moved to San Francisco.
* it's unsettling how much John Cusack reminds me of Bernard Black in that scene.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
music: LCD Soundsystem
File their latest under 'best new releases'.
The dude channels styles in an eerie pitch-perfect way that can be downright creepy, and his production is so polished and tight it can feel hermetic. Two reasons why I haven't really cottoned to previous releases- he has a couple of songs that I think are brilliant, but I'd never think of listening to a whole disc.
Not the case with his new one. The genre channeling and the spotless production are still in place, but it feels like they've been yoked to the service of some greater good, like an ox pulling a wagon full of rice up the hill to an orphanage.
The best songs sound like a happy collision of 70's Fripp & Eno and the stripped-down Prince of the early 80's by way of the electronic branch of the new wave. And the mix is reversed- most of the stuff here is noteably good, a few tracks are instant classics and there's only one comparative 'dud', which only looks weak next to the majesty of the rest of the disc.
My favorite track so far is North American Scum, a fantastically minimal cocktail of chicken-scratch guitar, muted cowbell & fat bass that periodically explodes in a grand bouquet of a chorus.
But it only has a slim lead over killer tracks like Someone Great, All my Friends, Us vs Them & New York I Love You.
Someone Great is a great New Wave classic lost in a vault for 25 years. It would fit seamlessly on one of those decade-spanning Rhino compilations, sandwiched between ABC & Haircut 100. Us vs Them is actually kind of thin, but its fantastic use of cowbell covers a multitude of sins. All My Friends is absolutely relentless and builds momentum like an avalanche, sweeping you away.
Actually, I think that one's my favorite.
It's got that magic spark, it expands beyond itself into that 4th dimension only great music can access.
Anyway, there are a bunch of great songs here, and a couple of really good ones.
I can see it getting heavy rotation at future Secret Garden dance parties.
The dude channels styles in an eerie pitch-perfect way that can be downright creepy, and his production is so polished and tight it can feel hermetic. Two reasons why I haven't really cottoned to previous releases- he has a couple of songs that I think are brilliant, but I'd never think of listening to a whole disc.
Not the case with his new one. The genre channeling and the spotless production are still in place, but it feels like they've been yoked to the service of some greater good, like an ox pulling a wagon full of rice up the hill to an orphanage.
The best songs sound like a happy collision of 70's Fripp & Eno and the stripped-down Prince of the early 80's by way of the electronic branch of the new wave. And the mix is reversed- most of the stuff here is noteably good, a few tracks are instant classics and there's only one comparative 'dud', which only looks weak next to the majesty of the rest of the disc.
My favorite track so far is North American Scum, a fantastically minimal cocktail of chicken-scratch guitar, muted cowbell & fat bass that periodically explodes in a grand bouquet of a chorus.
But it only has a slim lead over killer tracks like Someone Great, All my Friends, Us vs Them & New York I Love You.
Someone Great is a great New Wave classic lost in a vault for 25 years. It would fit seamlessly on one of those decade-spanning Rhino compilations, sandwiched between ABC & Haircut 100. Us vs Them is actually kind of thin, but its fantastic use of cowbell covers a multitude of sins. All My Friends is absolutely relentless and builds momentum like an avalanche, sweeping you away.
Actually, I think that one's my favorite.
It's got that magic spark, it expands beyond itself into that 4th dimension only great music can access.
Anyway, there are a bunch of great songs here, and a couple of really good ones.
I can see it getting heavy rotation at future Secret Garden dance parties.
film: The Host
Excellent cinema, recommended to all.
Even my horror & monster-phobic wife liked it, with qualifications...which counts as a ringing endorsement.
Dysfunctional modern family takes on nature run amok while society fails them on all sides. Works as social critique, satire of modern life, family drama and balls-out monster film all at the same time...a neat trick.
Also has a kickass monster and really good direction. I can see adding it to the permanent collection, it's got plenty of replay value.
Even my horror & monster-phobic wife liked it, with qualifications...which counts as a ringing endorsement.
Dysfunctional modern family takes on nature run amok while society fails them on all sides. Works as social critique, satire of modern life, family drama and balls-out monster film all at the same time...a neat trick.
Also has a kickass monster and really good direction. I can see adding it to the permanent collection, it's got plenty of replay value.
Finally Great Mexican Food
that doesn't require a 45 minute drive.
La Palapa opened recently and I finally checked it out.
Homemade tortillas, excellent salsa, fantastic carnitas and enchiladas & delicious tamales. It is an excellent balance of traditional and 'americanized' Mexican food (meaning they use chilis instead of tomatoes in their enchilada sauce, but don't turn up their nose at serving sour cream).
This is the first new resturant I've been excited about in years.
La Palapa opened recently and I finally checked it out.
Homemade tortillas, excellent salsa, fantastic carnitas and enchiladas & delicious tamales. It is an excellent balance of traditional and 'americanized' Mexican food (meaning they use chilis instead of tomatoes in their enchilada sauce, but don't turn up their nose at serving sour cream).
This is the first new resturant I've been excited about in years.
The Fiend
It's been a while since I reported on the antics of my niece, so here you go.
I'll have some pics up on flickr soon-ish.
She was over for dinner last week, and as is our custom enlisted my help picking lemons for her famous 'pretend lemonaide'.
We've been doing this since she was about half her current size, and the ritual has evolved a list of specialized tools & complicated proceedures rivalling the traditional Japanese tea service.
Just outside the door we spied a large Crane Fly, aka 'Mosquito Hawk'.
After a few moments of intense scrutiny the Fiend turned to me.
"Too many legs," she said, shaking her head sadly.
We resumed our journey to the lemon tree.
I'll have some pics up on flickr soon-ish.
She was over for dinner last week, and as is our custom enlisted my help picking lemons for her famous 'pretend lemonaide'.
We've been doing this since she was about half her current size, and the ritual has evolved a list of specialized tools & complicated proceedures rivalling the traditional Japanese tea service.
Just outside the door we spied a large Crane Fly, aka 'Mosquito Hawk'.
After a few moments of intense scrutiny the Fiend turned to me.
"Too many legs," she said, shaking her head sadly.
We resumed our journey to the lemon tree.
movie: Blades of Glory
A fun time.
Shows flashes of brilliance while falling short of the sustained surreal magnificence of Anchorman.
If you like Will Farrel or Jon Heder, you'll dig it.
Tonight I'll probably see The Host, just to shut Bobo up.
Shows flashes of brilliance while falling short of the sustained surreal magnificence of Anchorman.
If you like Will Farrel or Jon Heder, you'll dig it.
Tonight I'll probably see The Host, just to shut Bobo up.
I Am Not Patric
In spite of Ivan's shrill accusations.
Witness:
1: Rather than keeping everyone except the bride and the best man in the dark until months after the fact I actually invited people to my wedding.
2: Ivan's demands for updates do not fall on deaf ears, even though 90% of his updates are video clips scavenged from his friend's blogs.
3: I don't use Linux.
So there!
Witness:
1: Rather than keeping everyone except the bride and the best man in the dark until months after the fact I actually invited people to my wedding.
2: Ivan's demands for updates do not fall on deaf ears, even though 90% of his updates are video clips scavenged from his friend's blogs.
3: I don't use Linux.
So there!
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