|
SubscriptionsSites I Read
|
|
|
|
| Ok, I'm serious this time. I'm moving on. This will be my final post on Xanga. I will be blogging on Wordpress from now on, which I signed up for back in February but neglected. I made a header for it and everything, so I have to use it now. Since hearing Bobby's little blurb about the Scream's new album (see previous post), I haven't been able to get it out of my head. I thought it would make such a wonderful title to something. So naturally, I stole it. I'll let my Xanga remain active for a little while longer for redirecting purposes. See you on the other side.
[UPDATE 8-6-08: I've changed blogs yet again. A couple of months in and I am done with Wordpress. On to Blogger! Next thing you know I'm right back where I started. Just watch. My "current" blog is here.]
[Update 12-17-08: My new blog is now here, non sequitur (ad nauseam). | | |
| Amidst the excitement in the last few months over new musical endeavors by all of my favorite bands - The Verve, My Bloody Valentine, Portishead, and Spiritualized - I don't know how Primal Scream managed to slip under my radar. Their new album is out in late July! I couldn't possibly imagine it disappointing me as much as the new Spiritualized has. The new Scream album, titled Beautiful Future, is described inscrutably by Bobby as "bubblegum and razorblades." The first single is "Can't Go Back" and as far as I can tell, Bobby's description seems pretty apt. Check out that synth action!
| | |
| Hope everyone is having a splendid Memorial Day weekend. I made no plans for it except to just sleep in and be a couch potato for the three days off.
So I watched Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night and despite mixed reactions, I actually quite liked it. Nobody I knew seemed to like the whole alien/sci-fi angle the film took with the plot, but I enjoyed it. It seemed to follow the tradition of pulpy comic book heroes that get into grand adventures fighting anyone from communists to martians. Indiana Jones has always been that type of fictional figure since Raiders of the Lost Ark. I think people that are turned off by the whole aliens thing is because they haven't familiarized themselves with the tradition that Indiana Jones comes from. From that angle, the film totally works for me. The sci-fi angle never dominates the film. Indy doesn't fight martians. He's still the same archaeological hero he's always been in the whole franchise, only this time he finds himself in a much grander adventure. If this is the start of a new trilogy of Indiana Jones movies (think of the last three as the first), then I think it started in fine fashion. The only thing that really bothered me about the film was the ending. I don't want to spoil anything, but to me the ending reminded me too much of the ending to the first X-Files movie. If you've seen both, then you know what I mean. But I recommend the film.
Attached to Indiana Jones was the first trailer and first glimpse of David Fincher's film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Brad Pitt plays the titular character, and I have to say I found myself getting goosebumps over it when I saw it. It looks whimsical and kind of Tim Burton-esque. The story is about Benjamin Button who ages backwards. It's one of Fitzgerald's more fantasy-driven stories and I remember only reading a chapter of the novella once, which I will definitely resume reading. Sucks that we'll have to wait until December to watch the film.  I will post the trailer once it's official online.
| | |
| I consider this a real concentrated effort on my part to design a nice looking website. I would never have done so if my friend hadn't asked me, not even one for myself. I suppose I might do one for myself one day, which would more or less be just a glorified blog. My friend's site, however, is actually more than that. She's taking off as a writer now while I'm still a slacker hack wannabe. That's okay. If I ever get just one piece published, even if it's in Reader's Digest, I'd die a grateful person. But until then, I gotta get back to writing essays for friends for money.
Tell me what you think of the website. And while you're there, check out some of my friend's excerpts from her book and tell her what you think as well.
| | |
|
I know there's a socio-economical message in there somewhere, but my feeble little mind won't let me process anything but wondering where the hell I can get one of those jackets.  Amidst all the many crappy music videos that still get made today (even though music videos nowadays practically have one foot in the grave), it's nice to see something really great. Reminds me of The Warriors. I imagine whoever dumb enough to remake that film should take a nice long look at this video. It would be insulting to call this merely a music video as it clearly aspires to be something more akin to a short film. At once urgent and a call-to-arms for expressive artists everywhere. Oh, and then there's Justice! Love the part when they steal the car and turn on the radio. Yeah, I get sick of it too! 
Grand Theft Auto IV tidbit: Justice's "Waters of Nazareth" is featured in the game on the electro-choc radio station. Pretty cool.
| | |
|
