Tuesday, May 31, 2011

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?

Saturday, May 21, 2011

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.



Thursday, May 19, 2011

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)




Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Napolean Dynamite the Cartoon

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


Sunday, May 15, 2011

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

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

Saturday, May 14, 2011

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.





Saturday, April 23, 2011

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.





Thursday, April 14, 2011

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.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

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.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

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)

Saturday, March 12, 2011

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.

Friday, March 11, 2011

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!








Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Missing


I came across this movie while at the public library last week. I'm a big fan of Costa-Gavras' work (The film Z in particular) and somehow missed this one. Missing (1982) is a film about an American reporter in Chile during the coup who goes missing and the subsequent search by his father (Jack Lemmon) and wife (Sissy Spacek). A promising premise but what carries the film is the acting. Great performances all around, especially by Lemmon and Spacek. Costa-Gavras isn't afraid of using political thrillers as a platform to address head-on, issues of corruption and dictatorships. He is successful because he is director first and activist second. He knows how to make a great film.

*Z and Missing are both available through the Criterion Collection.

Friday, February 11, 2011

What I'm Loving This Week (Week ending February 19, 2011)

1. Estrella Distante - I read my first Bolaño novel this week. I’ve been meaning to read something of his for some time now, and although 2666 was at the top of my list, I didn’t have time for such a monstrous novel.

2. Criterion Re-releases - Criterion announced the re-releases of both Solaris (Tarkovsky) and Diabolique (Clouzet). The latter being one of my favorite thrillers.


3. Hip Hop on Fallon - This was the week of Hip Hop on the Jimmy Fallon show. He brought in underground rappers Tyler, the creator and Hodgy Beats (Odd Future), who delivered with a crazy, punk-like performance, and followed them with Raekwon and Ghostface. Having the Roots as your in-house band certainly helps.




4. "Circo" Trailer - Just saw this today. A documentary about a traveling Mexican circus. What's not to love?

Saturday, February 5, 2011

What I'm Loving This Week

Here are a few things that I've really been into this week with music, literature, and movies. This is something I'll try to do every week.

James Blake



Toro y Moi




Tu, la oscuridad by Mayra Montero -

This is the first novel we're reading in my eco-criticism class. Dangerous jungle treks, voodoo, and endangered frogs; what else could one ask for?



The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore -

A fascinating graphic novel that deals with human relationships within the context of the zombie genre. Although the savage brutality is present it is only secondary to character studies of the text. Very cool stuff!


Even the Rain (Tambien la lluvia) Dir. by Iciar Bollain-

Saw this trailer this week and became really excited. A film that's premise is the making of a film about the conquest within the context of present-day Bolivian society. Can't wait for this one to come out.




Saturday, January 29, 2011

A Little Bit of Nostalgia


It's always fun to go back home and see family and create new memories in the same places where you had some of your first. Although it's been years since I lived at home there are still traces of my youth in my old bedroom and in the garage. One of things I found this time around were a collection of basketball posters that I had inherited from my brother in the late 80s, early 90s; Posters of Jordan, 'Nique, and the occasional Phoenix Sun (Larry Nance). My favorite poster out all them was from the Jordan/Mars Blackmon (aka Spike Lee) advertising campaign. In it, Jordan is palming Lee's head with the caption "The Best on Earth, The Best on Mars". Jordan was the best and always will be. The commercials were always fun as well. Below are a couple of my favorites.



Friday, January 7, 2011

Favorite Music of 2010 (Part 2)

Like I said in my previous post, this year I haven't been as dilligent as years past in exploring new music. So, while on break in AZ, I decided to try to get caught up as much as I could in a few weeks. I looked at several end-of-year lists and listened to a lot of music. What I discovered during this short time was that great music was more abundant in 2010 than I first realized. Here are a few of the artists I really enjoyed over the past few weeks and that I am excited to listen to more.

Wild Nothing - Live in Dreams (album: Gemini)




Emeralds - Candy Shoppe (album: Does it Look Like I'm Here?)



Zola Jesus - Night (Stridilum EP)



Tamaryn - Love Fade (album: The Waves)



Warpaint - Undertow (album: The Fool)



Lower Dens - I Get Nervous (album: Twin Hand Movement)



The Fresh & Onlys - Waterfall (album: Play it Strange)

Favorite Music of 2010 (Part 1)

Since 2010 is now over I thought I would try to share some of my favorite music from the past year. Honestly, this year has been different from past ones in that I have not dedicated myself as much to exploring new music. Yes, I have been finding things here and there but I haven't been as consistent as previous years. Nevertheless, 2010 has proved to be a great year in music. New stuff from familiar names, an array of good hip hop, and an abundance of new artists to enjoy. Here is some of what I listened to this year.


The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio (album: High Violet) - Possibly my favorite band right now. Everything they put out is amazing and this is no exception.


Yeasayer - Madder Red (album: Odd Blood) - This wasn't high on a lot of lists this year. It was dismissed as being contrived and overproduced. Yes, a couple of the songs bordered on cheesy but the rest was great. I couldn't stop listening to it.


Big Boi - Aint no Dj (album: Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty) - First of all, this gets my vote for album title of the year. Second of all, it's a great album. Enough said.


Kanye - Runaway(part) - album (My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy) - On the top of a lot of end-of-year lists, Kanye proved that he is still at the top of his game. I thought this was a great album but I found myself enjoying peoples reactions to it almost as much as the music itself. Hailed as brilliante and genius by some and shallow and beyond arrogant by others, for me it was somewhere in the middle. I loved a lot of it, but not all of it. Maybe not even the best hip hop album of the year.


Janelle Monae - Cold War (album: The ArchAndroid) - A revelation. One of my favorites of the year. I'm excited to see what she does next.




Crystal Castles - Not in Love (feat. Robert Smith) - The Crystal Castles are one of my guilty pleasures. Their second album definitely improved on their previous work.


The Morning Benders -Excuses (album: Big Echo) - I saw the Morning Benders live in Provo when they toured with fellow San Franciscan John Vanderslice. I thought they were good but not terribly memorable. Big Echo has put them on the map. Great album.


Arcade Fire - The Suburbs (album: The Suburbs) - Another great album from these indie mainstays. Solid work all around.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Neguin

The Red Bull BC One was in Tokyo on Saturday and a new winner was crowned. Neguin beat out Just Do It to become the first Brazilian and Latin American to win the event. He came back from a loss in last year's semi-finals to Cloud (my personal favorite) and showed great improvement. If you're not really into breaking maybe this will change your mind.

Final Battle: Neguin vs. Just Do It (Netherlands)


Semi-Final: Neguin vs. Lil G (Venezuela)



Cloud vs. Neguin (Semi-Final 2009)

Monday, November 15, 2010

A poem by Nicanor Parra


I was in class several weeks ago when Nicanor Parra's came up in our digital poetry course (obviously unrelated to dp). I thought I would give him a try and so I picked up Poemas y Antipoemas. My professor had hyped him up a little bit so I think I was expecting more. Overall, it was still quite good. Here is one of my favorite poems (and one that was short enough for a blog post).

"Madrigal"

Yo me haré millonario una noche
gracias a un truco que me permitirá fijar las imágenes
en un espejo cóncavo. O convexo.

Me parece que el éxito será completo
cuando logre inventar un ataúd de doble fondo
que permita al cadáver asomarse a otro mundo.

Ya me he quemado bastante las pestañas
en esta absurda carrera de caballos
en que los jinetes son arrojados de sus cabalgaduras
y van a caer entre los espectadores.

Justo es, entonces, que trate de crear algo
que me permita vivir holgadamente
o que por lo menos me permita morir.

Estoy seguro de que mis piernas tiemblan,
sueño que se me caen los dientes
y que llego tarde a unos funerales.