Kindergarten Cop now on Criterion

I saw this this morning on the criterion website and was immediately fooled. My initial reaction was excitement mixed with disbelief. After a few moments I realized it was for April Fool's Day. I especially enjoyed the Disc-Features. One in particular that said the following: "Archival video of Schwarzenegger's acceptance speeches for Favorite Movie Actor award at the 1989 and 1991 Kid's Choice Awards". 

The Two Escobars

I've been really thinking a lot about the documentary in Latin America recently. At the moment I'm researching the documentaries of Patricio Guzman for my border cinema course (La battala de Chile; Salvador Allende; Nostalgia de la luz). As far as documentaries go, The Two Escobars is exceptional. It tells the story about the relationship between the Colombian drug lords of the 80's and Colombian soccer; or Narco-soccer as it was called. It masterfully seems together Colombian politics, soccer, and history of crime into one grand narrative. It's really well made. A couple of things that I really enjoyed were the interviews with those involved (family of both Pablo and Andres Escobar; the politicians, the encarcerated) and the footage of Pablo Escobar (it was fascinating to see so much footage of the drug king pin). I've included a trailer below, but her's a link to the full video if you have the time.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKAevl6hrQk

You know you're in Georgia when...

...the local gas station sells the three following things: Cheerwine on tap, Gucci Mane mixtapes, and newspapers with mugshots.

I first tried Cheerwine at Pop the Soda Shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. I was introduced by a friend to this place that sold gourmet and imported sodas of all kinds. Already having loved soda (Circle K 64oz's were a staple) this hole-in-the-wall became a type of Mecca for the both of us. I loved the idea that we could go almost weekly and try something different every time. Not having lived in AZ for a long time Pops receded into the back of my mind. That was until I came upon a gas station here that sold Cheerwine from the fountain. Thank you Georgia!

Georgia is known for its brilliant musicians, Ray Charles, Gladys Knight, Outkast, Neutral Milk Hotel, R.E.M., Otis Redding, Little Richard, and the list goes on. Georgia is also known for large quantity of hip-hop artists from the area: Goodie Mob, Lucacris, T.I., Young Jeezy, Waka Flocka Flame, and of course Gucci Mane, whose mixtapes are sold at the local gas station. I'm not sure if this says more about the state I live in or the neighborhood. Gotta love it.

Last but not least there is Bad & Busted, a local newspaper that publishes Clarke (our county) and surrounding counties' mugshots on a weekly basis. There's a weird part of me that hopes one day to see someone I recognize.

A Tribute to Jeremy Lin

Jimmy Fallon's musical impersonations are always spot-on. Along with Neil Young and Jim Morrisson, the host also makes a great Eddie Vedder imitation. Judge for yourself.

Haroshi

I'm a big fan of artists who use recycled materials or even trash to create sculptures and paintings or to facilitate the process. Artists such as Nick Gentry who uses old computer disks as a canvas, Julian Schnabel and his pottery paintings and Vik Muniz who brings to life the garbage from the dumps of Rio and NYC. And then there is Haroshi, who I learned of recently, belongs to this group, using as his material, broken and discarded skateboards. Here are a few of his creations.

Tucano's

Is there anything more depressing than getting a free birthday meal from Tucano's knowing that you now live nearly 2,000 miles from said restaurant? Sometimes I really miss Provo.

Lately

Batman: Black Mirror by Scott Snyder. The best Batman comic I've read in some time. Snyder has given the Dark Knight the writing that it deserves.

It was a sad day when I found out Borders was going out of business. It was the one place where I could go and find just about any graphic novel I was looking for. Beckie and I would go on our date-nights (sans the little guy) and spend a couple hours browsing and reading. Athens still has Barnes & Noble but their selection pales in comparison to the once-great Borders. But, recently I found that the former had the most recent copy of my favorite graphic novel The Walking Dead. The past few volumes haven't been as good as previous ones but after reading this one I'm optimistic about the future of the comic. 

Found this book the other day on Amazon while looking at Maximiliano Ruiz's latest, Walls and Frames: Fine Art from the Streets. Street art in Latin America is huge, and just like most things from our southern neighbor, it is underrated. There seems to be obvious links between the classic muralists (Rivera, Orozco) and the new wave of graffiti artists. It's really something I want to explore going forward in my studies.  

The best album so far in 2012. Going against such recent indie trends as chill-wave,  and "weepy-rock" ala Bon Iver and The Antlers. An album that, for a lack of a better term, rocks. Loud, abrasive, fun and strangely moving. 

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.