Friday, June 30, 2006

Justice Served

Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito were convicted in April of involvement in eight murders on behalf of the Mafia between 1986 and 1990.
Relevant Links:
Indictment
NYT Article"
BBC (where I read it first)

That is real life.
They charges have been dropped.

Public "trust" shattered, the image of the police tarnished.
8 murders, 4 years, committed by police detectives.

The charges have been dropped.
A clear message has been sent: The Mafia can do whatever they want.
When are the Sopranos on again?

MONEY TALKS.

How many times do you have to see Serpico to get it?

Let me make it personal: here in Kansas they caught the guy who stole my stereo, holding my stereo. I got a letter: we are not going to prosecute, but I was free to hire a lawyer and seek damages.

A clear message was sent: violate my property, steal my things, we do not care.

Fsck the World, We are the Children of God

This is our planet, given to us, right? Do what we want.. "let them have dominion over the fish of the sea" is the quote I believe, which is interpreted as carte blanche to
strip mine, pave, drop and test "soul killers", for all eternity.
More sport fishing "fun".


Great hammerhead shark sets litter record from PhysOrg.com

A great hammerhead shark caught off the Gulf Coast of Florida last month was reportedly pregnant with 55 "pups" -- setting a record.
[...]


Do click the link(s).

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Superman Returns


(image by Trevor)
Review coming soon..
[09:04:47] no blog on superman, how was it?
[09:06:30] check blog again
[09:06:37] hit refresh
[09:07:24] ok
[09:08:22] but to answer: i felt funny. good, bad, derivative, bloated, polished, plotless, silly, serious, Superman as Christ raising the dead father
[09:08:37] so not quite finished digesting.
[09:08:44] ok
[09:08:55] (sounds like another viewing will be in order)
[09:09:02] it was no Batman Begins
[09:09:03] yeah
[09:09:13] It was no King Kong
[09:10:18] but King Kong had the closest feeling..you know the character and the story and this is a more polished amped up version who's message has been dated: we know it was not beauty that killed the beast.
[09:10:37] wow..there is my review!
[09:10:44] lol

Monday, June 26, 2006

Stevie Wonder - Superstition Sesame St

Sesame Street, Muppet Show, Zoom, the Electric Company--all great TV..

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Terror Tractor


PJ's Pub in Aggieville June 23rd
Terror Tractor
Dryline
Unmerciful
Torn Apart
A good music night, bad picture taking night.
Missed the first band, Torn Apart, I was drinking some at the T-Star..
Unmerciful had a nice wall of sound to warm up my ears..
By the time Dryline started I realized that my funny shiny black rubber disco shirt was not the post modern hoot I thought it would be..
Place was full of serious tattoos, piercings and black. The lighting was dim, camera was saying things like "focus it yourself" and "how about some flash?"

My subject, Terror Tractor had the benefit of playing last. I had dropped my camera (damn scotch) and exhausted the batteries before they played their first track. I did capture them setting up...Those shots are even weaker than these hottie shots..
I left when the moshing got rough during the Tractor set, the boys were rockin' the house down.

This last pic is a hardbody who should have felt as out of place as I did, but she didn't care..
Less scotch next show will net y'all some good shots. Stay tuned.

Saturday, June 24, 2006

Little Fish


A wonderful, independent Australian film. Cate Blanchett, Sam Neill and Hugo Weaving are the names we know, rounded out by a talented bunch o' aussies.
When I saw Jackie Chan Supercop, one of the best parts of that movie was the glimpses of rural China, not on a movie set. This movie caught some terrific everyday Australian vibe in a similar fashion. Subtle influences from the Pacific Rim, different foods, drink, and, dare I say it?Sport.
Heroin is the same all over.As much as I might dream of a society that accepts the Pursuit of Oblivion, the cold facts today, yesterday and tomorrow do not bode well for those caught in the dope web. This drug becomes the center of the world, a black hole with deep, personal gravity.
The neat part is that by the time the survival reflex/humanity/"will to live" kicks in one's life has spiraled so far down the climb out becomes the sentence.
Cate has nearly done her time in a video store and wants to put her life back together.
Her history, and her family's history are revealed slowly, while the tension mounts and forces circle. Sam Neill is terrific as a minor--but still Lord--druglord. He gets little screentime, but the sketches of the Sopranos trope twisted are remarkable.
This is not your geek friend's Agent Smith either.
This is no "New World", or "Requiem", but it is a fine film, highly recommended for the set that does not need a car crash or fart joke to enjoy a movie.

Conjure Bad Mouth


Conjure is the name of the band Kip Hanrahan put together for the texts of the Writer/Poet Ishmael Reed. This is the third record with Reed and Hanrahan remaining as the constants--oh wait--the other constant is the absolute genius on display!
I saw Ishmael speak at a library in Cambridge when his book "Japanese By Spring" (yes, read it!) was published. During the Q & A afterwards, I had the task of rescuing him from earnest white college students asking about how he could possibly understand the black perspective of--well you get the picture--so I asked when he was going to do another Conjure record.
It was great to see him smile, apparently he likes the project(s), but at that time there were no plans. Well, it has been a decade and it is here.
Smokin' funk/Latin/gospel/rock it hit the landscape and disappeared.
The iPod Generation apparently can't be bothered with modern adult music.
The topical tracks are killer...Literally. My Republican friends (I know, right?) will not be spinning this record more than once. Who would have guessed Bruce Springsteen and Ishmael Reed would have so much in common?
Regardless of political themes, the music here is absolutely the finest avant world jazz funk poetry being made today. That being said, if I hadn't been waiting for this record I would have missed it. The music world is insular, jazz music moreso, and that is a shame. Everyone has a soundtrack to their life--iPod, Muzak, streaming game themes and ringtones--and yet the music we here is like poetry--outside of our daily experience.
Nate (grad student) once said to me, "who reads poetry?" My reply? "academics, until they get a job".
Find this CD, it may change your life...

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift


This is not your older brother's "Grease".
Some similarities:
Fast cars
Hot women
Good soundtrack
High school setting <--played by people too old to pass as college students
Improbable story
Some differences:
Cars skid to win
The hot women are Asian
Not a musical, no singing along, even in the land of Karaoke.
Well. The skidding was cool. The women were hot.
Really hot. Is that reason enough to go to the movies?
Probably. I didn't even mind the audience cell phone usage, it fit the movie and the demographic: "american idiot".

Nacho Libre


Masks. Beans. Nun. Comedy. You pick up the pieces, you connect the dots. I will be hanging up my Star Trek uniform this Halloween...
More Jack than any of us may care to see in a movie without a single explosion. I wish I could say there weren't any fart jokes but...Well, you know what they say about wishes.
This movie had a small, gentle feel to it, and a foreshortened training montage. Probably not one to see more than once, but it does has some intricate flourishes--a trayful of delightful food art salads--mixed in with the barest of plots.
I picture the room where they pitch the idea..."Friar is closet wrestler, good looking Nun catalyzes the dream, hilarity ensues". Studio greenlights, then the fleshing out of scenes starts. Various scenes are designed and fleshed out in detail then assembled. Jack Black comes in and his energy suffuses the piece.
The bigger than life humble friar feels constrained by this good natured movie, even if his flatulence is not.
Enjoy the tidy corners and gentle spirit...
Recommended (even though I don't much like comedy)

Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang


Research turned up this cool project under the same name.
Here is a another, this one apparently a comic book!
A movie for movie buffs that appreciate a little fun. I'd call it unsophisticated fun but let's face it--the megaplexii are replete with "films" that fit that description, and this does not have even one fart joke. Which is not to say there is no slapstick, physical comedy..Entwined with a Byzantine plot they (fourth wall style) dare you to figure out while cautioning you not to blurt.
This film stars a couple of fine actors, and a bevy of fine fillies in supporting roles. Kilmer and Downey chew the screen as a team, affected and effective, taking turns with snappy and smarmy pseudo noir dialogue.
Not without misstep--and a certain period indie fee--this kinder(Lock Stock) gentler(Snatch, Limey) action comedy deserves better than it did at the Box. I may be expecting too much from an audience in a country that thinks eating KFC is forced on 'em.
So...How will I make it...Lottery tickets, lawsuit, or patenting that last fine dump?
recommended.

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Perplexed

Excerpted from Florida Today article:

"Those men's names were removed from the information released to FLORIDA TODAY under the Freedom of Information Act. Patrick spokeswoman Lt. Col. Maria Carl said the other men were not part of the inspection team."

My first reading told my brain that the "men's names were removed...Under FIA guidelines". So much for freedom of information!

Of course the subject shift in the sentence, from the "men's names" to the "information released" caused my confusion...

Gist of the article was sex was used to improve inspection results. A shorter route to good results might have been to follow the "Star Wars Space Laser Defense Shield" initiative and not require oversight or inspection.

Most terrorists are using guided missiles(sure), but we will have it ready(sure) for China once we have paid for China's ascension(money well spent!) through Wal-Mart dollars.

Speaking of money well spent how about that war? I think the "War on Drugs" is still ahead in total waste of lives and dollars and resources, but the War on Terror aka the Invasion of Iraq is catching up fast!

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

666

Review in 3 Hours...
Here we go, quickly: trailer spoiled 2 scenes, thanks! Cell phone lights? Well, let's say I discussed luminosity with 3 fellow theatregoers. Success rate on mentioning that their screens were "distracting"...0%. Rude is as rude does.
"The Omen" was pretty darn good. Modern day politics and CGI thrown in the mix of dread. A proper reviewer would compare and contrast the new and the old..Like comparing "Doom" to "Doom 3" I suppose..
Worth seeing for the "Manchurian Candidate", "Damien" and of course Mia Farrow was superb. Less apocalyptic in scale than I had imagined. A few good scares, most of the imagery worked...And the audience was nervous. Might have been the soundtrack atmospheric. I do think much of the audience was too young for this film, it is a mature intellectual piece, not a "Texas Chainsaw" nubiles in tank tops and daisy's facing peril gorefest..
Recommended.

New Music


Zavoloka-AGF Nature Never Produces the Same Beat Twice Serendipity struck. AGF + Co where just hittin' the "pound my woofers" section of this treat when Gabe called about <"The Omen" screening tonight. Gabe is a man that appreciates bass. Even through his phone. Yes, I held the phone to the room. What's wrong with me, right?
This record is terrific alinear techno. Beat driven (natch) sans 4 x 4 dance beat. Spastic, quirky, sample based...Liberal use of 'roll' and stutter. More analysis as the record reveals itself over time. Follow a couple links if you want..
Artist Site
Use this in a Sentence
Buy It