It seemed at the time like one of those super-ambitious, globe trotting sophomore projects that filmmakers often undertake to prove themselves after having a successful first film. So going into it I had pretty low expectations. It felt like sort of a mash-up of several cultural tolerance themed episodes of 30 Days and Farenheight 9/11 with its efforts to point out the hypocrisy of the past 50 years of US foreign policy especially where the Middle East is concerned. All in all it was pretty good albeit spending a lot of time to get to the pretty obvious message that terrorists are extremists and do not represent all Afghanis/Muslims/Arabs/etc. Similarly the distinction was made by many of the men-on-the-street interviewed that the people of the USA are fine folks despite the actions of the US government. This is pretty much the theme of every episode of 30 Days and its a message that needs to be hammered home these days - people are all basically the same and have similar goals: to live a peaceful life, take care of their kids and hope they have a better life than their parents.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
more than a warlock
Sam and I are both very excited about tonight's presentation by Super Size Me filmmaker Morgan Spurlock at UNT. I like Spurlock and his Michael Moore-esque style of Direct Cinema and also his sweet biker mustache. I really enjoyed Super Size Me and 30 Days, the doc/reality show he produced for FX (canceled after its third season as of this month), and so when we found out some organization was screening his newest documentary, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden, we decided to check it out. I had heard some interviews with Spurlock on NPR about this project and honestly it sounded pretty crappy.
It seemed at the time like one of those super-ambitious, globe trotting sophomore projects that filmmakers often undertake to prove themselves after having a successful first film. So going into it I had pretty low expectations. It felt like sort of a mash-up of several cultural tolerance themed episodes of 30 Days and Farenheight 9/11 with its efforts to point out the hypocrisy of the past 50 years of US foreign policy especially where the Middle East is concerned. All in all it was pretty good albeit spending a lot of time to get to the pretty obvious message that terrorists are extremists and do not represent all Afghanis/Muslims/Arabs/etc. Similarly the distinction was made by many of the men-on-the-street interviewed that the people of the USA are fine folks despite the actions of the US government. This is pretty much the theme of every episode of 30 Days and its a message that needs to be hammered home these days - people are all basically the same and have similar goals: to live a peaceful life, take care of their kids and hope they have a better life than their parents.
It seemed at the time like one of those super-ambitious, globe trotting sophomore projects that filmmakers often undertake to prove themselves after having a successful first film. So going into it I had pretty low expectations. It felt like sort of a mash-up of several cultural tolerance themed episodes of 30 Days and Farenheight 9/11 with its efforts to point out the hypocrisy of the past 50 years of US foreign policy especially where the Middle East is concerned. All in all it was pretty good albeit spending a lot of time to get to the pretty obvious message that terrorists are extremists and do not represent all Afghanis/Muslims/Arabs/etc. Similarly the distinction was made by many of the men-on-the-street interviewed that the people of the USA are fine folks despite the actions of the US government. This is pretty much the theme of every episode of 30 Days and its a message that needs to be hammered home these days - people are all basically the same and have similar goals: to live a peaceful life, take care of their kids and hope they have a better life than their parents.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
plunderphonic party music
I am so old now. Keeping up with new music often feels like chore. Goddamn it I know what genres I like and what bands I like and I only want to hear more of that. I frequently catch myself settling into the comfortable zone of music I listened to either in high school (grunge and indie hip hop mostly) or the stuff I would spin during my brief tenure as a college radio DJ (instrumental hip hop, indie rock, downtempo beats). Finding new stuff for me lately has mostly consisted of realizing a favorite released a new album (usually a few months after it hits the street). I only mention this because I used to spend hours and hours researching music, finding new artists, investigating their influences and oh lord, the downloading! Now I can rarely find the patience for such efforts. Which is why when I find something new and interesting, I feel the need to TELL EVERYONE and listen to it until I'm so tired of it I want to puke.
Today's find is GIRLTALK (which as a further illustration of my elderlyhood, I first heard about this guy on NPR yesterday). Girltalk is a one-man mash-up machine. Mash-ups are nothing new. DJs have been playing Metal guitar solos on top of whatever gut-twisting shout-rap of the moment for what seems like ages. GirlTalk refines the mash-up into an esoteric orgy of musical excess spanning four decades. I want to develop a smug sample naming drinking game and get drunk on my own self satisfaction. The component parts are so well-layered and linked and the juxtaposed bits, especially the 80's pop and 90's hip hop shit makes my little short attention span heart flutter with refreshed Adderall beats. Oh Girltalk you know what white males, aged 18-28 really want.
Check out GirlTalk's myspace and listen to the whole album for zero dollars.
Today's find is GIRLTALK (which as a further illustration of my elderlyhood, I first heard about this guy on NPR yesterday). Girltalk is a one-man mash-up machine. Mash-ups are nothing new. DJs have been playing Metal guitar solos on top of whatever gut-twisting shout-rap of the moment for what seems like ages. GirlTalk refines the mash-up into an esoteric orgy of musical excess spanning four decades. I want to develop a smug sample naming drinking game and get drunk on my own self satisfaction. The component parts are so well-layered and linked and the juxtaposed bits, especially the 80's pop and 90's hip hop shit makes my little short attention span heart flutter with refreshed Adderall beats. Oh Girltalk you know what white males, aged 18-28 really want.
Check out GirlTalk's myspace and listen to the whole album for zero dollars.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
the pacific northwest gains another mark in its column
Sam's graduation is in sight and my head is swimming with the possibilities ahead of us. Soon we'll be a young married couple looking to enter into a serious and possibly long-term relationship with a city other than Denton. I love Austin, but I feel like if we move straight back to Austin, we'll never want to leave again and I think it would be really great to live somewhere else for a little while. I am basically looking for a cool, mid-sized metropolitan, liberal-leaning, eco-conscious city near some water with great public services, parks and libraries and a killer film, music, and art scene where the summertime high temperatures are well under triple digits. So basically I'm looking for Austin in some other bio-region. Which is why I keep coming back to cities like Portland and Seattle.
At the same time, I haven't been to all the cool places in the US so I'm trying not to be biased and am gradually investigating other cities. I've been working at launching our Nashville destination at work lately and it looks pretty cool, I've got to say. It definitely requires some first-hand investigation. In my online research though I discovered this list of Allergy Capitols which is pretty disheartening and also somewhat confusing. Sam suffers from terrible allergy problems and so too does The Baron whose red allergy eyes make him look even more hangdog. When we visit Austin, Sam and I both have to bulk up on allergy medication several days in advance to prepare for the pollen and mold spore onslaught that inevitably befalls us. Since moving to North Texas, I've noticed a marked improvement in my allergy-related ailments. Austin ranks 41 in the list (where the most pollen-dense city is #1) but DFW ranks #27 which seems counterintuitive to me given my aforementioned decreased allergy difficulties in our current locale. Then again Denton is a solid hour away from Dallas and its possible that air quality plays into the ranking as well. Nashville is ranked #26 and I have no idea what that means given the other data. What I do know is that at the very bottom, #100 is Portland, OR - by no means perfect, but it certainly adds to my enthusiasm for that much touted hipster paradise.
At the same time, I haven't been to all the cool places in the US so I'm trying not to be biased and am gradually investigating other cities. I've been working at launching our Nashville destination at work lately and it looks pretty cool, I've got to say. It definitely requires some first-hand investigation. In my online research though I discovered this list of Allergy Capitols which is pretty disheartening and also somewhat confusing. Sam suffers from terrible allergy problems and so too does The Baron whose red allergy eyes make him look even more hangdog. When we visit Austin, Sam and I both have to bulk up on allergy medication several days in advance to prepare for the pollen and mold spore onslaught that inevitably befalls us. Since moving to North Texas, I've noticed a marked improvement in my allergy-related ailments. Austin ranks 41 in the list (where the most pollen-dense city is #1) but DFW ranks #27 which seems counterintuitive to me given my aforementioned decreased allergy difficulties in our current locale. Then again Denton is a solid hour away from Dallas and its possible that air quality plays into the ranking as well. Nashville is ranked #26 and I have no idea what that means given the other data. What I do know is that at the very bottom, #100 is Portland, OR - by no means perfect, but it certainly adds to my enthusiasm for that much touted hipster paradise.
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