Date: 2009-07-10 20:43 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

Just been working a lot. That's all. And working through the weekend too. I come out of this hole on Wednesday. Really, it's okay. It breaks up the routine.

Then L.A. Wow, I'm starting to get fired up.

Date: 2009-07-08 13:45 Subject: Properly Sauced Security: Public

Ladies and gentlemen: The Zombie.

Date: 2009-07-07 13:43 Subject: riddle Security: Public

How is that Soderbergh can make Che, which is really two films in one, for $58 million and it looks terrific while Michael Mann needs over $100 million to make Public Enemies and it looks so crummy?

Date: 2009-07-07 12:56 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Starting Out in the Evening [2007]

1. "If we get in an accident and die, I won't be able to tip you well!"
2. She kisses his hand and he drops her coat.
3. The slap.

Date: 2009-07-05 11:26 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public Music: Brian Eno With Daniel Lanois And Roger Eno - An Ending (Ascent) | Powered by Last.fm

Hail the Conquering Hero [1944]

1. "Oh, I get it, you're Daffy-dill from Dopeyville." "No I'm not. I'm as sane as a Dane."
2. "Those aren't lies, they're campaign promises. People expect 'em."
3. "I'm not running on a platform of correct grammar."

Date: 2009-07-05 11:19 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public Music: Brian Eno - Deep Blue Day | Powered by Last.fm

Che: Part One, The Argentine [2008]

1. He thanks Senator McCarthy for the Bay of Pigs invasion.
2. "Take out your math notebook."
3. He changes his mind about the makeup and says, "Perhaps a little powder."

Che: Part Two, Guerrilla [2008]

1. He knows the man is about to die. He rubs his chest and tells him, "The worse is over."
2. Pig carcass hanging upside down from the tree.
3. The blanket covering his corpse is tied down with white rope.

Date: 2009-07-04 09:47 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Octopussy [1983]

1. His feet, clad in black loafers, skitter across the gravel at the side of the tracks as he hangs from the outside of the moving train.
2. "Damn it man, there's a bomb in there!" 007 in a clown outfit, complete with whiteface makeup and a red nose. Would you believe him?
3. Louis Jourdan purrs, sadly, "Octopussy. Octopussy."

Date: 2009-07-02 13:39 Subject: Johnny, Johnny, Christian ... Security: Public

My review of Public Enemies.

Bottom line? Stay home and rent The Untouchables instead.

Date: 2009-06-28 22:06 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Seven Days in May [1964]

1. "You wanna dance?" "No thank ya, honey, I just had a hernia operation."
2. John Houseman sits alone at a round table, covered with a white tablecloth, upon which is a bottle of wine, a wine glass, the remains of a sumptuous dinner, and a telephone.
3. He opens the drawer, partially removes the sheaf of letters. Pauses. Puts the letters back into the drawer without showing them to General Scott. Shuts the drawer.

Date: 2009-06-28 09:12 Subject: Billie Jean Security: Public

In tribute to the King of Pop, I'd like to share a track with you, recorded circa 1988 by my friend Scot Livingston at a karaoke booth at Westminster Mall.

Enjoy.

Date: 2009-06-28 08:17 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Whatever Works [2009]

1. "Melodie was telling me about your theory that life is meaningless." "Well, don't let it spoil your evening."
2. Patricia Clarkson seems to be channeling Diane Ladd in Wild at Heart. Her name is even the same: Marietta.
3. They kiss. "Entropy!" she exclaims.

Date: 2009-06-27 06:54 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public Music: Bobby Hutcherson - 'Til Then | Powered by Last.fm

The Great Moment [1944]

1. He's in a dazed bliss. He looks down at his hand, which is impaled on the paper spike.
2. The ether-soaked cloth lies on his face. "Pears," he says; then, a moment later, "Peaches." His hand goes slack and he drops the broken fiddle.
3. Dr. Jackson sits at the bar drinking absinthe. Dr. Morton joins him, orders a rum punch.

Date: 2009-06-26 17:38 Subject: 3 Things Security: Public

Henry Fool [1997]

1. On the kitchen counter, tupperware stacked on top of a green plastic Jell-o mold.
2. She plops a toy truck in front of the child. "Play," she says, and walks away. He kicks it over gently.
3. "Your poem brought on my period a week and a half early."

Date: 2009-06-26 08:24 Subject: oh. Security: Public

I was listening to NPR's coverage of Michael Jackson this morning and there was one story about the large crowd of fans assembled outside the hospital. One woman was holding up some sort of homemade sign and shouting, "We love you! We love you Michael Jackson! We love what you stood for!"

Which begs the question: what did Michael Jackson stand for? The power of obscene wealth to destroy a man, to turn him into a perpetual tabloid cover? The ability of the hit parade to cheapen and banalize the music behind it?

Michael Jackson made some great music. But I do not love what he stood for.

Date: 2009-06-24 14:55 Subject: !!! Security: Public

Sometimes Roger Ebert really nails it:

If you want to save yourself the ticket price, go into the kitchen, cue up a male choir singing the music of hell, and get a kid to start banging pots and pans together. Then close your eyes and use your imagination.

Date: 2009-06-23 08:38 Subject: show at Pritzker Pavillion Security: Public

Last night's free concert with Dirty Projectors and The Sea And Cake was pretty cool. The sun was brutal and I was worried that I got a sunburn, but it doesn't seem to be the case. I got to Millennium Park about an hour early and just sat there on the grass, eating my impromptu Trader Joe's picnic and drinking some rosé I had. It was a well-attended show, total Pitchfork crowd, plenty of shirtless boys and bandanas and dredlocks and pasty white thighs. DP came on. Very eccentric music, almost no steady pulse all, couldn't make out the lyrics. But really intriguing. Sounded like everything stuck in a musical blender. They ended with a short version of "Knotty Pine," the song they wrote using some old lyrics that David Byrne gave them.

Then TSAC came on, and I picked up my stuff and relocated to the seating near the stage. It was in the shade and I could actually feel a breeze. Very comfortable. Their songs were cool too, a bit more aggressive than some of the older material that I've heard. The sound, of course, was excellent. I stayed for about half an hour and then decided to call it a day; I wanted to leave before the mass exodus. Bought the DP album from a kiosk at the edge of the lawn.

It's sort of a shame that no one went with me, but you know what? It was also fun to go by myself.

Date: 2009-06-22 14:47 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

Move Over Rocky Horror, Here Comes The Room

Date: 2009-06-20 12:57 Subject: Feed Security: Public

My WordPress feed

I might switch over to WP altogether. I haven't decided yet.

Date: 2009-06-20 08:37 Subject: (no subject) Security: Public

I had the famous, original Don the Beachcomber's Zombie last night. Which was awesome. But then I had another. Uh oh.