Death Wears Jockey Shorts

We saw "Master and Commander", the Peter Weir film based on the Patrick O'Brian books and it is REALLY beautiful. It is thoughtful, action-packed, and heartening. How amazing it is to see a film dealing with friendship and leadership as opposed to car-crashes and Russian thugs. Also, it was the first time I have seen a digitally projected movie. To call it "film" anymore is a misnomer, given the process. The image is so clear, the blacks so black that the experience is really arresting. No tiny fibers or scratches, and no deterioration as it is shown over and over again. Wow. Here's a website that explains how it works. Happy Thanksgiving to us all. Back from overeating with the family on Sunday.

http://www.dlp.com/dlp_cinema/dlp_cinema_digital_cinema_101.asp#digita

Now they say it is going to snow and be very cold here this weekend. We are driving the 737 miles to Iowa for Thanksgiving next Wednesday, and talk of snow makes me nervous. 20 years ago we took a flip attitude toward a forecast storm and ended up marooned in a God-forsaken motel in Roggen or Wiggins or someplace like that, only an hour east of Denver, but snowbound none the less. I was moved to say "Beastly hole, this" at the time, and we laughed until we cried, floundering in a snow bank. The "beastly" was a quote from a really old comedy sketch I got in the mail when I was 12 or so, and a budding comedian. I sent away for material in response to an ad in Variety, and received reams of mimeographed bits from the 40's and earlier. There were many lewd references to Harry James' sex life, which I didn't then understand (and don't now). But there were some 3 Stooge-like explorers stranded in the desert and one of them said "Beastly hole this, nothing but sand..." . Funny what things stick in one's head, and what flies away.
If you are not familiar with "United States of Whatever",here's a link:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/video/whatever.php

If you think it is as brilliant as I do, I feel sorry for you, but encourage you to follow this URL to the creator's homepage. Quite a kid...

http://www.111productions.com/home.html

We have gotten into the habit of watching DVDs in segments. We'll watch say, the first hour one evening until one of us falls asleep, then watch a few minutes with breakfast, and so on, until we realize that we don't care and return it to Netflix, or finally finish it and then return it. If you are not using Netflix (Netflix.com) you should be. We just finished The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T., an old (1956) and beautiful fantasy written by Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss), and starring Hans Conried, Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, and Tommy Rettig. If you remember any of these people, you ARE old. Tommy Rettig was Lassie's young master on television so very long ago, and Hans Conried had an illustrious career which included some wondrous voice-acting as Captain Hook in the Disney version of Peter Pan. 5000 Fingers has a stunning musical score and dream-like dance sequences that defy desciption. Rent it, buy it, but see it. It is a singular entertainment, and that is worth something. If you are a Googlehead like me, you can amuse yourself practically until the world ends following up the careers of everyone involved in making 5000 Fingers, and being amazed at the time and effort that fans and devotees of everything and everyone spend documenting their obsessions on the internet. Here, I leave you to your own Googly devices, as in the Zen koan which has a final verse in which the student must make up the last line , to the satisfaction of the always-hard-to-please teacher.

I don't have much to say right now. All is well hereabouts and Old Man Winter is putting on his scratchy wool underwear. Our fomerly naked cat, Eddy G. is sporting an increasingly luxuriant coat, and if Devon Rex cats are anything like caterpillars, its going to be one rip-snorter of a winter. Here's a link that should get you in the mood for holiday over-eating. This one is worth exploring. Bon Apetit! Buen Probecho!

http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/index.html

So someone (you know who you are) asked Jane if I had lost interest in blogging. Well, now, it has only been a week, and maybe I have. But my thanks go out to "you know who you are". You made me realize that someone is reading! On to the rant of the day:
I buy a lot of music, and am buying more these days because some racially neutral folks broke into my ride and took my CDs. I hope they enjoy Spike Jones, George Clinton, and some very tasty Algerian rock and roll. So, since there is never ANYTHING musical in which I am interested at Target, etc., I've been haunting Virgin and Tower, which we are fortunate to have here in the Queen City of the Plains. We also have a couple of independent record stores, and I fell by one of them, "Twist and Shout", today. Its been around forever (since wax cylinders) and I though it might be just the place to replace my favorite Bootsy Collins CD, now in use as a beer coaster(notice the politically correct absence of brand-name). I suppose as a result of the general growth of our population, there seems to be an industry around the "alternative". This store had CDs by every band that ever played in a garage, and some that only had access to carports, or off-street parking, as well as whole sections devoted to deservedly obscure artistes of all genres, including "psychedelic", where I was proud (but modest) to find the latest re-re-re-issue of Lothar and the Hand People, the aggregation in which I toiled away the last (and best) half of the 1960s. There were books on hopelessly tedious topics:"Puke On My Shirt-The Whole Story of Punk Album-Cover Art","Keep the Buddha-shapped Mug- Tiki Bars and Their Place in 50's Culture", and more. Amazingly there were Johnny Rotten action figures, and as homage to the real head shop, I suppose, the cheapest incense India manufactures (for export only). Also, there were the modern-day attempts to be alternative: Emily The Strange calendars, datebooks, mousepads, etc. and much, much more. Lots of Simpsons and Osbourne Family goods, which really make you see that "alternative" is just another word for nothin' left to lose, in the retail game, at least.
I found myself flinching enough to attract attention, so I moved on.
Here's a link from Michael Hawaii which will fill you in on how many blogs are active and how many have been left to die in the cellar. Feel lucky you have me....

http://cyberatlas.internet.com/big_picture/applications/article/0,,1301_3088661,00.html

Uh, oh. A week between postings. I'm slipping. So we saw Jane Campion's "In The Cut". I tell, you, you give these art-film directors a fur coat and they think they own the world. This is one of those "psychological thrillers". Now, that brings to mind films like "Play Misty for Me", "Wait Until Dark", or Nicholas Roeg's "Don't Look Now". "In The Cut" has also been cited as being about "sexual obsession", a subject I usually avoid in my entertainment choices. "In the Cut" certainly is in the running for the most unattractive bunch of characters in a script award. How anyone could care about anyone in this movie is beyond me. Oh, no, a serial killer who leaves a signature: a wedding ring on a severed limb! This device is as tired as the "The Colombian Drug Lord" or "The Corrupt Mayor/Senator/President". Happily, in this film, the killer doesn't actually turn out to be the Mayor. In the mens' room after the picture, the consensus was a resounding "What the fuck was THAT?", while, I am told, in the ladies' room, there was a warmer reception. Perhaps this is some really dark "chick flick". "Gidget Gets Sweaty, Goes Out With Men Who Could All be Serial Killers, And Ends Up Covered in Blood, But Still Perky" A must to avoid. I did, however, enjoy "The Rundown", featuring "The Rock", just so you know where I'm coming from.
Here is one of William Gibson's last links before he stopped blogging. I think you'll like it!

http://www.talentdevelop.com/acquired.html