Terry Porter fired

It's about time.
Next: Steve Kerr. Thanks for ruining our team. But what do you except from a former Spurs player?

Alphaville

I watched Alphaville yesterday. The film by Jean Luc Godard, not the 80's band seen below. The truth is that I can't say much. Science fiction mixed with noir and a semi-love story. Nothing like I've ever seen before. I'll definitely need to see it again so I can grasp some meaning from it. Read about it here, here and read a review here.

Banksy

Pickup on South Street = Noir?

For awhile now, I've really wanted to watch one of Samuel Fuller's movies. Unfortunately, not until this weekend, I had the opportunity to do so. I chose Pickup on South Street because I was in the mood for a noir and heard that this was one of his best. I was optimistic. Most of the components of classic noir where there, the black and white contrasts within the cinematography, morally ambiguous characters, murder, etc. But, in the end the story became unfullfilling and truthfully, barely a noir. Yes, the movie took advantage of several key ingredients of the genre but overall it lacked the grittyness and darkness that noir usually portrays.

The key scenes where Fuller failed to grasp noir in its totality where when Moe (Thelma Riter - Rear Window) was shot in her bed, and the final two scenes (the fight and the resolution). The scene with Moe was too generous. The man who came to kill her let her go ahead and give her last will and testament before shooting her. The traditional noir would have showed its true brutality by not letting her finish and instead ending her life before she could end her plead. The final scenes were dissapointing as well. The "femme fatale", Candy (Jean Peters - Niagra), introduced at the beginning of the film turns out to be the victimized instead of the victimizer. She's too good. The "hero", Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark - Kiss of Death) is the morally ambiguous character at the center of this film. But contrary to noir, he does not end up falling for some "femme fatale" who leads him on to a path of destruction. Instead he falls in love with a woman, who despite her participation in passing along government secrets to the communists, is quite innocent. This whole paradigm of hero/femme fatale that is basic to classic noir is non-existent in Fuller's classic.

Despite all of this, it was still a pretty good movie. Not being a classic noir only impedes it from being just that, a noir. If you want to a see a romance mixed with noir elements and tendencies, then go pick up this movie sometime and enjoy.

To read more on the movie click here and here. Oh, and here as well.

La Policia Mexicana

Latest DI finds

So, those who know me well know that I love going to thrift stores and finding books. It's become kind of an obsession. I go almost weekly. But, being the veteran thrift store shopper that I am, I have patience and know that I'm not going to find something every time. But, despite this, I've had some good luck in my quests. My latest find, an excellent copy of Mario Vargas Llosa's La Casa Verde. It cost me 3$ and since then I haven't been able to find it online for cheaper than 25$. The "unfortunate" side of all of this is that we are running out of room on our bookcases.
Latest DI finds:

1. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby
2. The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
3. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
4. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
5. La Casa Verde by Mario Vargas Llosa

Best Albums of 2008 Part 2

5. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

4. David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything that Happens will Happen

3. TV on the Radio - Dear Science

Golden Age @ Yahoo! Video

2. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal @ Yahoo! Video

1. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.

Best Albums of 2008 Part 1

10. Plants and Animals - Parc Avenue

9. Wale - The Mixtape about Nothing

8. Shearwater - Rook
7. No Age - Nouns

Eraser @ Yahoo! Video

6. Silver Jews - Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea

We're going to Peru!

Beckie and I really wanted to go international on our next trip. We thought about Europe, Spain being the main destination, and about Buenos Aires. One day I'll return to that country I love so much and see things I haven't seen. But in the end, and for the best, we are going to Peru. Machu Picchu has always been a dream of mine and now it is a reality. We are heading out a few days after my last final and spending a week in Cusco and Machu Picchu. I haven't been out of the country since I was in Argentina, nearly 6 years ago. This is going to be an unforgettable experience. Oh, and yes, I will be reading Neruda's Las Alturas de Machu Picchu (The Heights of Machu Picchu) while on Machu Picchu. Cheesy but awesome.

Nephtali de Leon

Charlie Chaplin or Harold Lloyd?

So, as I watched City Lights in film theory class this afternoon I couldn't help but think not only of Chaplin but also of the other king of silent era comedy, Harold Lloyd. Dad introduced me to Lloyd's Safety Last a few years ago and I pushed it aside as just another ridiculous old movie from his extensive collection that includes Lloyd, Chaplin, and many others. Soon after, I saw it in a philosophy of film course and it slowly grew on me. The ability to dominate a camera like Lloyd without the help of sound and the many risks and stunts that he pulled off were truly amazing. As I looked back at my dad's forced screenings of the film, I appreciate his vision. If you've never seen a Harold Lloyd film, go and get Safety Last and enjoy. You may never see an actor take such risks for film again. Oh, and if you have time, rent something by Chaplin like City Lights or Modern Times.

The Killers (the movie)

So, I finally got around to watching Robert Siodmak's classic noir, the Killers. Overall, it was pretty good. It was dark, the acting was excellent (Burt Lancaster, Eva Gardner) and of course, there was a lot of double-crossing and death, staples of the genre. If you like film noir, this is definitely a must-see.

Tarkovsky's Art

If you ever doubted that film is an art then Andrei Tarkovsky will be able to persuade you otherwise. Takovsky's ability to create art through film is masterful. Long shots that let the viewer contemplate the image that is presented them, and the careful cinematography are what give Tarkovsky this ability to present his art. Here are a few of my favorite images from Tarkovsky's films.

I recommend all of his films, but here are my top 4.
1. Nostalghia
2. Stalker
3. Ivan's Childhood (probably the most approachable of his films)
4. The Mirror

Francis Bacon

A couple of Bacon's self-portaits. Bacon's dark, sometimes grotesque paintings show us the divided, introspective self of the painter. I really enjoy when a painting is able to tell a story and introduce us to the painter himself. That's one of the reasons I like Bacon.

To look at more of his work check out these two sites, www.artchive.com or www.artcycylopedia.com.

Enough Said

I wish it was this simple. One day, in an ideal world, party lines will be dissolved and politics will not be divisive. As for now, let's just pray that government can work together and accomplish something.

Favorite Albums of the Moment

Deerhunter's latest album, Microcastle, came out this week and I am totally entranced by it. Actually, I only have a few of the songs but the few that I have are playing round-the-clock. I desperately searched for the whole album this week and could not find it anywhere in Utah or Salt Lake counties. In the end, I had to order it online from the label. I can't wait to hear the entire thing.

I've had this album from the Lightning Seeds for awhile and for some reason, I'm not sure why, I've been listening to constantly for the past few days. "Pure" is one my favorite songs. Nice, simple, catchy pop.

The Big Sleep

Last Friday, the long week finally took its tole and because I was so exhausted, I fell asleep at 9:30. So, Saturday morning I woke up at 5:00AM. I'm not sure why, but I decided to stay up, not go to bed and watch a movie. I had recorded The Big Sleep the previous week and hadn't been able to watch it up to that point. This was the perfect opportunity. Plus, being dark outside helped with the ambiance.

If you enjoy film noir and haven't seen this movie, you should definitely check it out. The acting is superb and the cinematography is excellent as well. Even William Faulkner helped write the screenplay.

Other film noir movies I recommend:
The Third Man - Welles
The Maltese Falcon - Huston
Sunset Boulevard - Wilder
Double Indemnity - Wilder
Out of the Past - Torneur
and Many others

No, I'm not running for the Utah House of Representatives. Just thought it was funny to see my name on a political sign.

Boca 1 - River 0

Boca 1 - River 0
playing with 10 men (for the expulsion of Ibarra)
in the Monumental
putting River in last place in the table and watching them fall apart

= PRICELESS

the only thing better would have to been there

Poem of the Week

As I was reading Pedro Páramo last night I couldn't get away from the images of the fall and of death. It reminded me of one of my favorite poems of Pablo Neruda "Entrada a la Madera" - The Way Into Wood. So, I thought I would share it with anybody, if anybody, who reads this blog. I would rather have put it in Spanish but because of potential readers of the blog I thought English was appropriate for the occasion.

The Way Into Wood (The Selected Poems of Pablo Neruda. ed. Nathaniel Tarn p.114-115)

By the skin of my reason, with my fingers
with slow waters indolently swamped,
I fall to the imperium of the forget-me-nots,
an unforgiving air of mournfulness,
a decayed, forgotten hall
and a cluster of bitter clovers.

I fall into the shadows, to the core
of shattered things,
and I see spiders, and pastures coppices
of secret, inconclusive timbers,
pacing through soaked, uprooted fibres
at the living heart of matter and silence.

Oh lovely matter, dry-winged rose,
as I drown I climb your petals,
my feet are burning with fatigue,
I kneel down in your hard cathedral
thrashing my lips with an angel.

It is because I am myself faced with your colour of world,
with your pale dead shoulders,
your gathered hearts,
your silent multitude.

It is dying under your wave of odours
wrapped in autumn and resistance:
about to take a funeral journey
along the ridges of yellow scars:

I with my lamentations that have no genesis,
hungry, sleepless, alone,
threading darkened corridors,
arriving at your mysterious essence.

I see the course of your petrified currents,
the growth of frozen, interrupted hands,
I hear your oceanic vegetations,
rustling by night, engraved, intractable,
and I feel the leaves dying to the very core,
fusing their green materials
with your abandoned immobility.

Pores, veins, rings of sweetness,
weight, silent temperature,
arrows struck into your fallen soul,
beings asleep in your thick mouth,
shreds of sweet pulp devoured entirely,
ashes full of extinguished souls,
gather to me, to my limitless dream,
fall into my bed where the night falls
and fall without an end like broken water,
clasp me to your life, to your death,
to your submissive materials,
to your dead, neutralized doves,
and let us make fire, and silence, and sound,
and let us burn, and be hushed among bells.

Lost Coastlines

I saw this new video from Okkervil River a few weeks ago and am just now sharing it.  Their new album, The Stand-Ins, is definitely not as dark as their previous albums.  Will Sheff shows that he can incorporate his storytelling style to more pop-style songs.  If you haven't heard Okkervil River before, do yourself a favor and listen to this album.  It's never too late to start.

Who is Jacques Derrida?

So, for the past two weeks I've been trying to figure out Derrida and deconstruction. We read selections of his works for our Literary Theory course and had our discussion last night. Still, I can't quite grasp these ideas and the man behind them. Who is this man and what is trying to tell us? I guess that's what's interesting about it, he isn't trying to give us any type of theory or structured investigation but instead projecting deconstruction as a concept already in action within language and meaning. At least, that's how I understand it. And who knows if I even approach an accurate definition or understanding.

But, I guess I shouldn't worry concerning that the writings of Derrida are never understood after a first reading. Maybe after the second or even the third reading. Anyway, onto Foucault and The Origin of Things: The Archaeology of Human Sciences. Hopefully, his writings aren't as complex as those of Derrida.

These videos made my day!

So, Beckie and I were watching The Soup a couple of days ago and just about died laughing at these two videos. One of a ridiculous product called the Snuggie and the other one a video of, well, you'll just have to see it yourself.