Anxiously Awaiting...

Favorite Albums of the Year - Honorable Mentions

"Need You Know"
Zonoscope - Cut Copy







"Sante Fe"
The Rip Tide - Beirut



"Midnight City"
Hurry Up, We're Dreaming - M83



"Polish Girl"
Era Extraña - Neon Indian



"All and Everyone"
Let England Shake - PJ Harvey



"Holocene"
Bon Iver - Bon Iver



"Glosoli"
Inni -Sigur Ros

"Bedroom Eyes"
Only In Dreams - Dum Dum Girls

"We Bros"
Go Tell Fire to the Mountain - WU LYF

"Phantoms"
Shapeshifting - Young Galaxy

"Montana"
The Year of Hibernation - Youth Lagoon


Others - Pl3dge - Killer Mike, Father, Son, Holy Ghost - Girls, Tomboy - Panda Bear, Cherish the Light Years - Cold Cave, Cults - Cults, Radioactive - YelaWolf, Twist Again - Bodies of Water, Strange Mercy - St. Vincent, Days - Real Estate, You Are All I See - Active Child, tUnE-yArDs - WHOKILL

Favorite Album of the Year

Washed Out's Within and Without was the one album this year that for me got better with each listen.

Hitchcock + BOCA = Street art

This is what happens when one combines three of my favorite things, Hitchcock, BOCA (Club Atletico Boca Juniors), and Street art. I wish I could get a print of this.

A Tribute To Parra

It was announced last week that Nicanor Parra, arguably Chile's greatest living poet, was the winner of the prestigious Cervantes Prize. When I heard the news I immediately asked myself what Parra would think and how would he react to being bestowed such an honor. Incidentally, at the same time of announcement I was reading the latest anthology on Parra's poetry, Parranda larga. There was a poem that came to mind that I think may explain his thoughts on such honors.


PERSONAJE DIFÍCIL DE ENCASILLARSE EL HUIDOBRO (from Discursos de sobremesa)

Recuerda a ese caballo

Que se agranda a medida que se aleja

No respeta la ley de la perspectiva

Cómo se explica Sr. Alcalde

Que no se le haya erigido una estatua!

Aunque él se reía de las estatuas

Una calle

              un museo

                            cualquier cosa...

Hasta cuándo vamos a seguir ninguniándolo!

Por qué no se reeditan a sus Obras Completas!

Ediciones Populares no hay!

Cómo se explica

Sr Presidente de la Sociedad de Escritores de Chile

Que no le den el Premio Nacional

So pretexto de que está muerto!

Ojala los amigos sepultureros

Estuvieran tan vivos como el

Qué vergüenza + grande

Ni Nacional

                  Ni Nobel

                                 Ni siquiera Municipal

Y todavía hay gente que cree en los premios!

Crazy Weekend

This past weekend was quite an adventure. I've been to Atlanta and back twice, presented a paper at the SAMLA conference and had some time left over to spend with the family and watch some movies.

1. SAMLA Conference: A professor here at UGA organized a panel entitled "Digital Poetry and Poetics:  Definitions and Explorations". Being that I was in his class last fall that dealt with the topic, he asked me to present. Me, along with three colleagues presented on such things as technopoetry, machine poetry and flash poetry. We were happy that about six people showed up to listen. I was less nervous than expected and the panel was a success.

2. My Laptop: After driving home from Atlanta along with the family (1 1/2 hour ride each way) I realized that I had forgotten my laptop at the hotel. I was forced to drive back the next morning to pick it up.

3. Vision Video: One thing I really enjoy about Athens is that here the independent video store still exists. Hollywood video and Blockbuster are long gone but Vision Video, a local favorite is still going strong. True, most things are now available either through Netflix or your local public library but the experience of a traditional video store is something I really enjoy. What makes this store especially good is that you can tell they put a lot of care in choosing their inventory. Their selection of foreign films and documentaries is top-notch and their "director spotlight" highlights 'auteur' cinema. And of course, like all traditional video stores they have their employee picks. The prices are pretty good as well. Here's what we picked up last week: Emma (BBC), Community (Season 1 Disc 3), Que he hecho yo para merecer esto? (Almodovar - for class), The Sleep Dealer (Alex Rivera)

Touchdown!

Yes, our little guy is a big football fan. He wears his Georgia red with pride and loves to raise his arms for touchdowns. Now, we just got to get him to like the real 'futbol'. 

They Don't Make Movies Like They Used To

I don't consider myself "old" but I have come to the point where I think I can say that "things aren't what they used to be" or "In my day this or that was so much better than it was now". Sometimes I feel this way when watching movies that are way before my time. When I watch certain films they create a certain displaced nostalghia for things I never lived or things never seen. I felt this way a few weeks ago while watching Alexander Mackendrick's Sweet Smell of Success. 

A noirish inspired film that deals with a columnist's desire to break up the relationship between his sister and a jazz musician. The columnist (Lancaster) hires a press agent (Curtis) to smear the reputation of his sister's love. It is a simple plot accompanied by excellent acting by Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. As I watched I kept thinking to myself "Could a movie with such a simple plot be made today?" I concluded that it's definitely possible but not likely. Nowadays we are bombarded with convoluted plots and over-the top special effects that lack the simplicity of their predecessors. This is the case not only with Hollywood cinema but also with so-called Art Cinema that praises ambiguity in plot and form. Of course there are examples of taking a simple plot and action and creating something special, but these are few and far between. Can anybody think of any? I certainly struggle to think of any.

Should we expect more from movies today? I believe so. And if we continue being presented with these types of movies then we need to look back and experience cinema when it was at its most simple and at its best.

Adriana Lestido

I'm not an expert on photography, but I do know what I like. At times I believe that I am a good judge of what is good and what isn't. But, of course art is subjective and tastes differ. Adriana Lestido is an Argentine photographer who I really enjoy. In my class on Gender and Violence in Southern Cone Literature we spent this last week focusing on the relationship between mother and daughter. Two of Lestido's collections were especially pertinent to this discussion: Madres e hijas and Mujeres presas. Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

The Best Show on TV?

I recently finished watching season 3 of AMC's Breaking Bad. Once I started the first season about a month ago I couldn't stop. A dark and violent yet funny and moving program, the show quickly became my favorite. It's combination of top-notch writing and incredible performances by Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul makes it, in my opinion, the best drama on tv. I'm not alone in this assesment. Chuck Klosterman, a contributor to Bill Simmons' Grantland.com and the author of such books as Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs: A Low Culture Manifesto agrees and adds that it is better than Mad Men, The Sopranos, and The Wire. Read his article here. So, if you think you can trust either mine or Chuck's recommendations check out Breaking Bad on Netflix streaming (Seasons 1-3). Enjoy!

It's been awhile

After I month and a half hiatus I am returning to the blogosphere. I thought I would catch the people who read this blog (the select few of you) up on what's been going on here and what I'm following and liking at the moment.

The semester is about a month and a half through (this coincides with my lack of blogging) and it's going well so far. I'm taking two film classes, one, a theory of film through the department of film studies and two, a Spanish film class entitled "From Landismo to Post Modernity: Cinema during the Transition Years." It's been interesting so far as we've watched a diverse selection of good and bad films (Below are two of the ones we've watched recently. Can you guess which one is the bad one?). I was also reminded last week why Spirit of the Beehive is such a beautiful film.

As for music, this year has been exceptional and the past few weeks have produced some excellent tunes. At the moment, the two albums I'm listening to most are Active Child's You Are All I See and the latest from Girls, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Both are quite good, especially the latter.

Playing House Feat. How To Dress Well [Official Video] from Active Child

And finally, a few works from Space Invader (in Brazil) and Stinkfish (in London).

Night of the Hunter

I have a confession. I love to buy movies. A simple declaration; something that those that know me well are acutely aware of. But, unfortunately, I've been unable to catch up with my purchases and have an amazing collection of films I haven't seen yet. One of these, a dvd I got for Christmas, is Charles Loughton's The Night of the Hunter. A dark movie about a preacher/serial killer (Robert Mitchum) who learns from his cell mate about a heist he pulled previous to being incarcerated. Harry Powell (Mitchum) is released from prison and proceeds to meet the wife of the other prisoner, marries her, and continues his quest for the cash. Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) has two children who are keeping the secret of the hidden money and Powell will do anything in order to recover it.

A suspenseful, dark, hybrid noir, Night of the Hunter combines the dark cinematography (this is what really stands out. Maybe the best I've seen from an American director.) of traditioinal noir with a religious vernacular and certain themes pertaining to it. There is no femme fatale here. Rather, the man inverts the traditional paradigm and leads the woman to her doom.

Final Verdict: An amazing film that combines spectacular cinematography and brilliant performances with horror and suspense to create a one-of-kind noir. I highly recommend this to anyone who might read this entry.

Random Thoughts

1. Just finished a course entitled "Disaster and Discourse in Latin America" where we got to read various texts about the representations of droughts, volcanoes, hurricanes, and earthquakes. The professor who taught it is a "mexicanista" so I was able to read several Mexican authors that I've never read before including: Carlos Monsivais, Humberto Musacchio, Jose Emilio Pacheco and Marco Antonio Campos. It was a good time.

2. As a result of my class being over, I teach for the next month without taking any courses. I plan on taking a big chunk out of the reading list and taking full advantage of our netflix membership.

3. I've been looking for some new graphic novels to read and here are a couple of the ones I think have promise.

DMZ

Read about it here.

Fables. Read about it here.

4. The Copa America has been dissapointing so far. Argentina has looked pretty bad. Many blame Messi, but the blame should go to Batista. He needs to replace Banega and Cambiasso with Di Maria and Pastore and Lavezzi with Higuain. Plus, the fact that he is trying to play like Barcelona is an insult. Play like Argentina!

5. The Barnes and Noble criterion sale starts this coming week. I'm usually really excited but this time around I can't think of anything to get right away. Maybe The Thin Red Line (blu-ray) or Charade.

6. Beckie is hosting a Harry Potter party tonight celebrating the release of the last film. She's prepared all types of decorations and activities. I kid with her about how nerdy it is but truthfully I think it will be fun. It's cool to see how creative she can get.

7. Little H* has changed quite a bit in the last couple of months. He finally has more than just two teeth and is visibly growing. He won't sit in a shopping cart anymore and instead insists on helping push it. He also loves the Nursery which we are happy about.

What I'm Listening To

Here are a videos from a few of the artists I've been enjoying recently. The new Bon Iver is a standout and a strong candidate for best album of the first 6 months of 2011. The Cults are as good as advertised and both Braids and Gang Gang Dance have put forth some excellent efforts. Also, Adele's strong 2011 has been recognized by indie and mainstream alike. If the second half of 2011 is anything like the first we are in for a great year of music.

Other albums that I've been digging this year include:

1. Panda Bear - Tomboy

2. Cut Copy - Zonoscope

3. Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!

4. PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

5. Young Galaxy - Shapeshifting

6. Toro y Moi - Underneath the Pine

Bon Iver - Bon Iver ("Holocene" on The Jimmy Fallon Show)

Braids - Native Speaker ("Plath Heart")

Cults - Cults ("Abducted")

Gang Gang Dance - Eye Contact ("MindKilla")

Adele - 21 ("Lovesong" on Letterman)

Pinterest

Beckie recently got me hooked on pinterest, a website where one can, similar to a bulletin board, "pin" things they like or that inspire them. You organize your pins onto boards that serve as categories or themes. It's a fun way to find new things whatever your interests are.

In order to register you need to be invited, similar to gmail when it first started. I have 5 invites to give out, so if anyone is interested let me know and I'll send an invite your way.

Michael Bay and Jacques Derrida?

Last week I read this snipet from Entertainment Weekly about Michael Bay's upcoming third transformers movie, Transformers: Dark of the Moon:

"Michael Bay deconstructs the perils of an institutionally binary electoral system in this astute...or, you know, robots blow each other up as Shia LaBeouf runs for his life." (85, Entertainment Weekly June 3/10 Double Issue)

So, I ask myself, does Derrida penetrate even the most non-academic writing or is it that this was written by a humanities grad school dropout?

One more reason to buy a blu-ray player

I saw this and thought of my friend and fellow blogger Ben. Blu ray Citizen Kane + The Magnificent Amberson (which has never been released on dvd or blu ray) = another reason to upgrade.

Film Noir and Criterion

Up until this year, criterion's selection of film noir has been scant. The film noir I refer to here is the traditional Hollywood kind; born and bred in the US of A . With the exception of Siodmak's The Killers and a few titles from Samuel Fuller and Jules Dassin the collection is mostly made up Japanese and French noir along with some selections of neonoir. Don't get me wrong, I love Melville's noir style and Godard is a genius, but, I would love to see more Hollywood noir.

It looks like they've gotten my mental memo and have announced some great noir releases for later this year. These include: Stanley Kubrick's The Killing, Robert Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly, and the already released Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick).

Here are ten more noir greats that I would love to see on Criterion.

1. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder)

2. Asphalt Jungle (John Huston)

3. Detour (Edgar G. Ulmer)

4. Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur)

5. The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks)

6. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston)

7. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles)

8. Laura (Otto Preminger)

9. The Postman Always Rings Twice (Tay Garnett)

10. Dark Passage (Delmer Daves)

Napolean Dynamite the Cartoon

Heck yes! I'm excited about this. I'm not going to lie.

I'm your favorite daydream, I'm your famous nightmare

Twin Shadow's TV debut on Fallon. Good stuff.

Charleston

Spring semester ended last Monday when I submitted my grades and turned in my last two papers. No more school for the rest of the summer, right? Well, not exactly. I accepted a teaching offer for summer term and in order to take it I needed to be registered for two courses. We thought it was good opportunity and decided it was the best thing to do. I'll be taking a class about "La literatura fantastica" during "maymester" (a short 3-week term with 3 hour, daily classes). I'll then take another ecocriticism course, this one focusing on natural disasters, starting in June.

Before maymester, Beckie was nice enough to plan a small getaway to Charleston, SC for the three of us. We had a great time. Charleston is beautiful city, full of gorgeous antebellum architecture. We walked around the city, enjoying the homes and streets and it was clear that a long, important history had embedded itself into every block. Originally, we planned on visiting Fort Sumpter but decided that the aquarium was more child-friendly. The decision worked for the best as our little guy had a great time.

We ended our trip with a short detour to the Angel Oak, the oldest tree east of the Missippi. The little one loved the ground covered in leaves.

Rise of...

...The Planet of the Apes. I saw this trailer a couple of weeks ago and my reaction was definitely positive. It looks really good regardless of the fact that James Franco is playing a scientist (I'm not a fan. In my opinion, overrated as an actor). Unfortunately, it doesn't come out until August. In the meantime enjoy the trailer.

*For some reason this version of the trailer has two trailers in one. The actual trailer is not 3 and half minutes, rather just half of that.

What I'm Loving This Week

D*Face's show that opened in LA last weekend. It's showing at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City. I wish I wasn't on the other side of the country so I could go see it. See more pics here.

The last novel we're reading this semester in my ecocriticism course. I've enjoyed what I've read from Aridjis so far. I'm excited for this one.

The latest video from The Soft Moon. A dark, hypnotic ride through a Godard/Lang inspired dreamscape. The video matches the song.

I've had this song stuck in my head for the past couple of weeks. Catchy, fun, and unforgettable.

Tomboy

Panda Bear's new album comes out next week. You can listen to it now at npr. I've been listening to it for the past couple days and it's great. But, don't take my word for it, check it out here.

Homero Aridjis - Perro espectral

Lo vi corriendo por el aire

en respuesta a la voz que lo llamaba en vida.

Todo era luz en las praderas de la tarde.

Todo era ausencia en los cuerpos presentes en la calle.

Su pelambre amarillo estaba descolorido;

sus orejas negras, transparentes.

A mi lado ya no emitía los ruidos

con que celebraba mi retorno después de las separaciones,

ni corría de un lado a otro para festejarme.

Jadeó su afecto y me extendió la pata.

Yo atravesé su pecho con la mano,

yo acaricié su hocico inconsistente;

sus mandíbulas estaban desencajadas

y sus ojos abiertos ciegos.

No se adonde se había ido desde aquella noche

en que lo dejé dormido a la puerta de mi cuarto

y al amanecer no lo encontré esperándome.

Venía de un lugar donde no hay comida

y para beber solo hay luz oscura.

Como a una sobra nadie

lo había llamado por su nombre.

Rápidamente nos reconocimos.

Le puse la correa roja en el cuello

y con la pata impalpable abrió la puerta.

Era hora de su paseo y salimos a la calle.

Pero en la esquina, nos desvanecimos.

(Los poemas solares, 2005)

A tribute to María Félix as Doña Bárbara

I finished reading Rómulo Gallegos' (no relation to my wife, Beckie) Doña Bárbara this week and was interested to find out that, besides having a telenovela named after it, there is also a movie with famed Mexican actress María Félix staring as the "Devorador de hombres". I haven't had time to watch it yet (it is available on youtube here in 15 parts) but I did find this short tribute to her role in the previously named film. No dialogue, just music, with lots of great images. An interesting find if you have either read the novel or are a fan of Félix.

Ludo - Nature and the City

Ludo is a street artist / public interventionist (is this a word?) from Paris who combines images of nature and city/urbanization/technology in order to create new hybridized works of art. He explains this a little bit in the video at the end of this post.

These works take on greater significance as one thinks about the relationship between nature and city. Is city part of nature or is it an entirely separate entity? What impact does the city have on nature or vice versa? What is our role as humans in this relationship? Enjoy!