No matter how many times I've seen it (going on maybe 28 or so?) the Charlie Brown holiday specials never get old. Actually, the Rankin/Bass don't either (come back in six weeks and I'll go on and on about Heat and Snow Meiser.) I called my nephew, Corbin, last night to wish him an early Halloween since I'll be working and my brother, Chris, and I got to talking about holiday specials. His wife, Dana, and I had discussed whether or not she thought Corbin was ready for Nightmare this year. I found out last night my brother never watched the whole thing. I assume it's because it's the new Goth kid bible (took the place of Anne Rice books), and he's so hates that scene that he'd dismiss it. I remember going to see it at the theater in 1993; my mom bought it on VHS for me as soon as it was released. My old roommate Smoothie and I watched it so many times that year between Halloween and Christmas, that his jock ass was running all over the house asking "What's This?" I was never and will never be Goth, I think Tim Burton is a genius (have seen everything he's released) and as for Danny Elfman, I can sing Oingo Bingo songs until you have a headache (doesn't take very long). Needless to say, I never miss the holiday specials, own most of them on dvd now, and find delight in sitting in front of the tv with a snack every year (the past three, I've worn my matching tshirts.)
Journey to the End of the Night. I'm almost ashamed to talk about it and one of my childhood favorites... There was just too much going on, felt like swiss cheese. I can't tell if Mos Def pulled this one off or just completely embarrased himself. Brendan Fraser, hell, I think he gets draws the short straw too often. Although, somehow, I felt he tapped into the same wife-stealing vibe from The Quiet American in Journey, the guy's got chops. Yeah, he rakes in the box office on action stuff, plays complete idiots in cartoon rehashings, but he can act. Haven't seen Gods & Monsters? Netflix it now; not only do you see a fabulous Ian McKellen, but BF shows he's not just a cave/jungle man. I know I may lose some of my kool points, but I do like watching Brendan Fraser, even in Monkeybone.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
DT
Today marks the birth of Dylan Thomas. I could pontificate about his creative streak, but I would rather leave you with some of my favorite quotes. Quite frankly, I feel he and I would have been smashing friends...
"A born writer is born scrofulous; his career is an accident dictated by physical or circumstantial disabilities."
"Somebody's boring me. I think it's me."
"He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest."
"I hold a beast, an angel and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their subjugation and victory, downthrow and upheaval, and my effort is their self-expression."
"When one burns one's bridges, what a very nice fire it makes."
"An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do."
"A born writer is born scrofulous; his career is an accident dictated by physical or circumstantial disabilities."
"Somebody's boring me. I think it's me."
"He who seeks rest finds boredom. He who seeks work finds rest."
"I hold a beast, an angel and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their subjugation and victory, downthrow and upheaval, and my effort is their self-expression."
"When one burns one's bridges, what a very nice fire it makes."
"An alcoholic is someone you don't like who drinks as much as you do."
sunday nights
I love sunday nights...and monday nights. Good tv. I always switch it up - can't miss True Blood, Dexter and Californication. There are different time combos you can do...but the 11:37pm cable test always fucks me up. Whether I choose to watch sex with vampires or a serial killer, there's a 45 second blank and I end up screaming at the tv. How many weeks does this have to happen before I just break down and watch one of the shows via On Demand later in the week? NOOO!
Not me, I can never just wait. I was eating dinner, waiting to watch the PSU v OSU game last night and saw a commercial for the new Nightmare Before Christmas deluxe dvd set. It's 7:06pm; I do the math. How long it will take me to clean up, get in the car, head to Target (wait, grab milk and snack there, too!) and make sure I'm going to be home with at least ten minutes to spare before the broadcast so I can pour a milk stout and give it time to breathe before kick off?I had to watch it last night once the game was over. Didn't make a difference that I was super tired - I practically tore the shrink wrap off with my teeth - I was going to watch it before I went to bed...and whatever bonus features were on disc one. Thank god I passed on the commentary.
I always wonder how I look at the clock at 10pm the wonder how the hell I'm not in bed until after 1am. Somehow, if you tell me that you have a surprise for me, I have the patience of a saint. A new book comes out that I've got to have, there goes $17 at Barnes and Noble, whether I stay up all night reading it or it gets planted on the "new book shelf" which is now a total of three surfaces and four stacks on my coffee table.
How the hell is it 1am!?
Not me, I can never just wait. I was eating dinner, waiting to watch the PSU v OSU game last night and saw a commercial for the new Nightmare Before Christmas deluxe dvd set. It's 7:06pm; I do the math. How long it will take me to clean up, get in the car, head to Target (wait, grab milk and snack there, too!) and make sure I'm going to be home with at least ten minutes to spare before the broadcast so I can pour a milk stout and give it time to breathe before kick off?I had to watch it last night once the game was over. Didn't make a difference that I was super tired - I practically tore the shrink wrap off with my teeth - I was going to watch it before I went to bed...and whatever bonus features were on disc one. Thank god I passed on the commentary.
I always wonder how I look at the clock at 10pm the wonder how the hell I'm not in bed until after 1am. Somehow, if you tell me that you have a surprise for me, I have the patience of a saint. A new book comes out that I've got to have, there goes $17 at Barnes and Noble, whether I stay up all night reading it or it gets planted on the "new book shelf" which is now a total of three surfaces and four stacks on my coffee table.
How the hell is it 1am!?
Saturday, October 25, 2008
WK-W
I love and hate Wong Kar-Wai, simultaneously. His films, they are art at its truest level. But the guy drives me bat shit crazy. He's a train wreck: he's insanely interesting and you've got to hear what he has to say and in the same breath, you realise he's the worst kind of artiste: self-absorbed, neurotic, knows just how talented he is and appears to be the biggest asshole on the planet. Granted, those are all attributes of great artists.
His style is very much his own - once you start watching his films, you get his repertoire of shots, music, color, the same actors, etc. Couldn't be further from Hollywood: his filming process is near legend. He has an idea he'd like to convey, but not a script. He writes as they film: extemporary is being polite. The idea he may have had when they picked a location and set up camp is generally very far from what you actually see. He'll shoot ten story lines for each character, which you don't realise until you've had the chance to watch one of the "making of" docs which are the length of a normal feature film. Happy Together is clearly a great example (which I finally watched this afternoon.) It's a great piece, but when you watch the making of, you feel like this guy doesn't have his shit together at all and wonder how in the hell he's able to find financing. He often works on more than one film at a time, even taking parts of a film he couldn't "finish" making them into another piece. The Hong Kong film industry is very different from Hollywood..and WKW is way out there even for them...My Blueberry Nights shifted production for him. He filmed it here in the states - the concept of breaks and meal penalties blew his mind. I really enjoyed it, but I have a hard time NOT enjoying time spend oogling over Jude Law on the screen (I didn't say he's superbly talented, he's incredibly hot.)
Watching him speak is nearly unbearable. Everytime there is footage of him speaking at a festival, I cringe, but ultimately force myself to watch it. I want to turn it off a hundred times and somehow still manage to read the credits. Part of me would love to work for him, although, I might find myself wanting to pick up a blunt object, a very heavy one. Oxymoron by definition. In fact, open Merriam-Webster and you'll see his crooked half assed smile (and great glasses.)
If you dig film not as pure entertainment but as art, do yourself a favor and watch his films. Sometimes the plot doesn't follow a straight line (I charge you to find one that does), but always worth the time. You can skip the extras if you'd like to just put him on a pedestal. In The Mood for Love and 2046 are amongst my favorite films.
On a side note, the best things to come from WKW are his collaborators: Christopher Doyle (DP/cinematography), Tony Leung Chiu Wai (little Tony), Maggie Cheung, Chen Chang and so many others.
I cannot walk past a tree with a visible hole; I simply must put my hands on the bark, lean in and share a secret...
His style is very much his own - once you start watching his films, you get his repertoire of shots, music, color, the same actors, etc. Couldn't be further from Hollywood: his filming process is near legend. He has an idea he'd like to convey, but not a script. He writes as they film: extemporary is being polite. The idea he may have had when they picked a location and set up camp is generally very far from what you actually see. He'll shoot ten story lines for each character, which you don't realise until you've had the chance to watch one of the "making of" docs which are the length of a normal feature film. Happy Together is clearly a great example (which I finally watched this afternoon.) It's a great piece, but when you watch the making of, you feel like this guy doesn't have his shit together at all and wonder how in the hell he's able to find financing. He often works on more than one film at a time, even taking parts of a film he couldn't "finish" making them into another piece. The Hong Kong film industry is very different from Hollywood..and WKW is way out there even for them...My Blueberry Nights shifted production for him. He filmed it here in the states - the concept of breaks and meal penalties blew his mind. I really enjoyed it, but I have a hard time NOT enjoying time spend oogling over Jude Law on the screen (I didn't say he's superbly talented, he's incredibly hot.)
Watching him speak is nearly unbearable. Everytime there is footage of him speaking at a festival, I cringe, but ultimately force myself to watch it. I want to turn it off a hundred times and somehow still manage to read the credits. Part of me would love to work for him, although, I might find myself wanting to pick up a blunt object, a very heavy one. Oxymoron by definition. In fact, open Merriam-Webster and you'll see his crooked half assed smile (and great glasses.)
If you dig film not as pure entertainment but as art, do yourself a favor and watch his films. Sometimes the plot doesn't follow a straight line (I charge you to find one that does), but always worth the time. You can skip the extras if you'd like to just put him on a pedestal. In The Mood for Love and 2046 are amongst my favorite films.
On a side note, the best things to come from WKW are his collaborators: Christopher Doyle (DP/cinematography), Tony Leung Chiu Wai (little Tony), Maggie Cheung, Chen Chang and so many others.
I cannot walk past a tree with a visible hole; I simply must put my hands on the bark, lean in and share a secret...
Friday, October 24, 2008
got milk stout?
This is a Greaze delite! Maggie & Drew are running behind giving me the perfect opportunity to enjoy a few handcrafted beers. I first became enamoured with Lancaster Brewing Co when I was at Penn State. I had already started ordering two Guinness pints at a time so that the second was my preferred temp (or Yuengling Porter is it was on tap.) Milk Stout was on tap at Cafe and I think I might have been the only one drinking it. That summer, I produced a beer fest at Tussey and became intimately aware of the LBC. I went home with multiple cases and a dumbfounded love for the coffee and chocolate blessed creation (along with what became a well worn tshirt). Fast forward to me moving back to PA a decade plus. I couldn't be happier to go home with a growler of the JUST completed (today!) seasonal and eat a beautiful piece of salmon wrapped in proscutio, broiled to perfection and garnished with sage butter with a side of red skinned mashed potatoes.
Bless the brewers in Lancaster Co! So much for the A-mish and shoo-fly-pie!
Bless the brewers in Lancaster Co! So much for the A-mish and shoo-fly-pie!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
slim pickins...
Johnny Cash's America on Biography: If there was one musician that I wish I would have met, it would be the Man in Black; my celebrity repertoire mourns that Johnny was not a memorized verse. I came down stairs to finish up some work, decided to listen to the shades of black...and DUDE, something is wrong with iTunes. Hall & Oates, Lou Reed, Spoon, MGMT, The Raconteurs, Depeche Mode have all taken his place. Something is afoot at the Circle K and I'm not diggin it.
Washington Irving - Phillip of Pokanoket from The Sketch-Book of Geoffery Crayon, Gent: Sleepy Hollow is next. I'm afraid it's not going to live up to my recollections. There's nothing more degrading to your existence when a cherished memory is nothing but a pot of wet noodles.
Tuna Salad a la dnale: Solid white albacore, freshly grated colby jack, sweet relish, just enough mayo to hold it together. Chill. Best eaten with Wegman's Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.
You really have to wonder what's wrong with this country when Laura Ingalls is brought into a law suit.
Washington Irving - Phillip of Pokanoket from The Sketch-Book of Geoffery Crayon, Gent: Sleepy Hollow is next. I'm afraid it's not going to live up to my recollections. There's nothing more degrading to your existence when a cherished memory is nothing but a pot of wet noodles.
Tuna Salad a la dnale: Solid white albacore, freshly grated colby jack, sweet relish, just enough mayo to hold it together. Chill. Best eaten with Wegman's Blue Corn Tortilla Chips.
You really have to wonder what's wrong with this country when Laura Ingalls is brought into a law suit.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
today's consumption...
Kathleen Edwards Asking for Flowers
The Ting Tings We Started Nothing
The Killers Hot Fuss
Be Kind, Rewind: Not nearly as bad as the reviews claimed, it's just not the feel-good movie of the norm. Do yourself a favor and watch the (only) extra "Passaic Mosaic" and see how the community was impacted by the film.
I'm Not There: I'm not a Dylan fan. That doesn't mean I don't like Dylan; I've only listened to about 1/7 of Dylan's recordings. I'd be a big poser if I claimed to be. But I know ABOUT Dylan, his story, the ups, downs, relationships, accidents. The film perfectly wove the whole multiple persona of Robert Zimmerman, trickster, poet, rocker, isolated hermit. Beautifully filmed.
Various Entertainment Weekly reviews.
Ginger Gold apples and peanutbutter.
McCain Hopes He Has Friends In Pennsylvania :)
The Ting Tings We Started Nothing
The Killers Hot Fuss
Be Kind, Rewind: Not nearly as bad as the reviews claimed, it's just not the feel-good movie of the norm. Do yourself a favor and watch the (only) extra "Passaic Mosaic" and see how the community was impacted by the film.
I'm Not There: I'm not a Dylan fan. That doesn't mean I don't like Dylan; I've only listened to about 1/7 of Dylan's recordings. I'd be a big poser if I claimed to be. But I know ABOUT Dylan, his story, the ups, downs, relationships, accidents. The film perfectly wove the whole multiple persona of Robert Zimmerman, trickster, poet, rocker, isolated hermit. Beautifully filmed.
Various Entertainment Weekly reviews.
Ginger Gold apples and peanutbutter.
McCain Hopes He Has Friends In Pennsylvania :)
From the farm...
First day to really wear a real coat. Pulled the $8.74 tag off as I lifted it off the jacket hook - it has been there since I moved into the house in May. Guess it should have been in a closet because it's sunbleached, but not in a good way. In the car, pulling out at the light by the house...and a stink bug crawls out of the sleeve and into my palm. Chalk a big save down for me; I only slightly freaked out and managed to miss the SUV who thought a yield sign didn't apply to him and didn't smash the nasty trilobite lookin critter.
Cloyd, the old guy that cuts my two acres of grass, finally trimmed the branches of the HUGE maple that hang on the back porch. Didn't realize that it's now a much clearer view of the shower. Guess I'll have to hang a blind here, anyhow. Then again, what peeping tom is going to hang out on the vast wasteland hoping to see my nakedness?
The frost killed the great orange and yellow happy flowers that graced the front of the house. What's crazy is the fancy marigolds I planted - the ones that lost their petals in the first week from the wind - decided to bloom last week. THEY have managed to make it through the frost. What kind of punishment is that? These big green blotches that I refused to dig up (flowers are expensive) were a blight all summer only to pop out in October. Maybe it's just the climate crisis.
Oh yeah! I got all the heat working properly. Granted, I think I will perpetually live in wool sweaters and clogs all winter so that I don't have to pay for the expensive black sludge needed to fire up the boiler. Sixty degrees isn't so bad, is it?
Cloyd, the old guy that cuts my two acres of grass, finally trimmed the branches of the HUGE maple that hang on the back porch. Didn't realize that it's now a much clearer view of the shower. Guess I'll have to hang a blind here, anyhow. Then again, what peeping tom is going to hang out on the vast wasteland hoping to see my nakedness?
The frost killed the great orange and yellow happy flowers that graced the front of the house. What's crazy is the fancy marigolds I planted - the ones that lost their petals in the first week from the wind - decided to bloom last week. THEY have managed to make it through the frost. What kind of punishment is that? These big green blotches that I refused to dig up (flowers are expensive) were a blight all summer only to pop out in October. Maybe it's just the climate crisis.
Oh yeah! I got all the heat working properly. Granted, I think I will perpetually live in wool sweaters and clogs all winter so that I don't have to pay for the expensive black sludge needed to fire up the boiler. Sixty degrees isn't so bad, is it?
"Christ died for our sins. Dare we make his martyrdom meaningless by not committing them?"
- Jules Feiffer
- Jules Feiffer
like a lemming...
It’s Oct 2008 and I am just starting a blog. A little behind the times, eh? Come on, now. I don’t have kids, I’m single, live alone, no pets. That means I have few photos to share and no cute stories. I live in an old farm house and stay at home. I don’t tour anymore, so I don’t have crazy stories (then again, define crazy…)
Expect daily musings on what I'm watching, reading, listening, eating; see if I have anything interesting to say. Then again, I seem to think everything I say is interesting.
Expect daily musings on what I'm watching, reading, listening, eating; see if I have anything interesting to say. Then again, I seem to think everything I say is interesting.
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