Klat GuyViking Eggeling's "Symphonie Diagonale" (Video)
from Movie Center
At just around eight minutes, Viking Eggeling's film shouldn't be a trial to watch - even at work. But there's not a great wealth of variety being put on display here. Surely, the fact that "Symphonie Diagonale" counts as one of, if not, the earliest experimental film on the books, explains its limits. All of this was just getting sussed out. And it was 1925. That's crazy. Read More
veExperimental Film and the Weirdoes that Make Them
from Movie Center
Sometimes school is kinda awesome. My first day of class – one based on the influence Dada and Futurism have had on subsequent art movements – we got into a discussion about Viking Eggeling, who I’d never heard of, Rene Clair, who I had heard of, and Harry Smith, who I interjected into the conversation. These folks, by no means, constitute all of the early and notable experimental film makers, but each is pretty cool. Viktor Eggeling Read More
hamsterTell Colorado Serum Company to Stop Torturing Hamsters
from Pet in the Pocket
Have you ever tortured a hamster? I am ashamed to admit that as a young pet owner, I once did. I was about four, maybe five years old. My friend and I put my hamster in the middle of a bed sheet we stretched out between us, and we jostled it around, lifting it up and down, catching the poor thing as it went up and down. She was okay and did not get sick, thankfully, but it was a super stupid thing to do. The thing is, I was a little kid who didn’t know better. Cruelty was certainly not my... Read More
samsung“PG” Does Not Equal “Free Violence Pass”
from Working and Parenting
I’ve written before about how much I don’t approve of violence in films, and how G-rated films (such as Ratatouille, The Princess and the Frog, and many others) contain violence—even guns!—while a single curse word can give a film a PG-rating. I’d much rather my child hear the word “damn” or even see a glimpse of a breast rather than guns and violence, but for some reason filmmakers (and many parents) believe otherwise. Read More
Tony BlairMr. Blair, Ducking Rotten Eggs?
from Politics Report
From an account in the Associated Press, I learned that about 200 protesters in Dublin, Ireland, gave the ex-British prime minister Tony Blair an energetic greeting, yesterday, Saturday, as he arrived for a book club signing of his memoirs. These good people of Ireland hurled shouts of "War criminal." A few also hurled shoes and eggs, their earnest response to his book of fantasy, in which he justifies his role in the invasion of Iraq. Mr. Blair was the junior, but an important key player, in... Read More
hgHal Galper: Well Wrought Fusion
from Jazz Music Club
Fusion can either be some of the most exciting music ever tossed onto a turntable (ie Miles, half of Mahvishnu Orchestra’s output) or the most God awful, ludicrous nonsense issued on a proper album (the other half of Mahvishnu Orchestra’s output). Either way, it’s usually well composed and at least temporarily intriguing, even if it’s kinda like catching a glimpse of a car wreck. Read More
Klat GuyEdan: Beats Galore
from Rap Talk
The marriage of hip hop and psychedelic musics has been pushed forward primarily by the Stones Throw imprint. But apart from the left coast stalwart, there are innumerable producers out there working to define a music which might come off as equally appealing in any number of markets. Yeah, it’s kind of a race thing. But Edan attempts to transcend that. Beginning his second album, the 2005 Beauty and the Beat, with a spate of samples from the Beatles sets forth something of a template for which... Read More
sopraThe Sopranos and Why It Stunk...The End At Least
from TV World
I grew up in Mayfield Heights, Oh. Go check the demographics on that place and then continue reading this… If anyone attempted to count how many times any single person was called gumba in that city, it would have been difficult to keep track of. Maybe there were Mafia folks around. Maybe not. It doesn’t really matter seeing as the culture was relatively revered, if only by kids running around with gold chains on their neck and throwing pennies at Jews. Yeah, that happened. Either way, all of... Read More
gladeIf You Want to Smell Trees, Go Outside!
from Healthy and Hale
The latest Glade candle commercial reminds me of a hilarious—yet wrong, on sooo many levels—incident between my husband and me the other morning. I was preparing my daughter and the toddler I babysit for playing outside, and I called from my daughter’s room and asked him to check on the weather for me. Lately, you can’t be sure if it will be cool or warm—welcome, September!—so I wanted to know if they were okay in shorts. Instead of walking outside to see how hot or cold it was—out the front... Read More
lincolnAbraham Lincoln—Finally Proven to Have Been Gay?
from History Talk
A comment from a reader of Change.org’s article, “Growing Number of Historians Believe Abraham Lincoln Was Gay,” pretty much sums up how I feel about the idea of President Lincoln being gay: “Honest Abe has long been one of my favorite American presidents and if he was gay, well, then bless his little rainbow heart.” I would alter the comment only to say “big rainbow heart,” since it seems like the man likely had one. Read More
tideTide Commercial Fail
from Craptastics
Tide, I think we get that you’re trying to be hip and cool with your newest commercial about a mother borrowing her daughter’s lime green shirt to go out on the town with her friends. Read More
k2Leo Kottke Weighs in On Life, Literature and Guitar (Part Two)
from Folk Music Talk
You just mentioned your first major label record deal. And it sounded like you said that smaller labels were gone. Oh, no. I was saying that the major labels are gone. And if they aren’t gone, they’re all scrambling for the changes that they need to make. They just don’t exist, not in the way they did in 1970. Is that good or bad? Read More
wed17Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 9/1/10 Pt 2
from Trusty Henchmen
  Taskmaster #1- Thank god for Fred Van Lente. Someone who can actually tell a fun, humorous, action packed story and actually make you feel like you got your $3.99 worth? Very few of those guys in the industry right now. If you’re a Taskmaster fan, then you’ll be happy with the treatment here. It’s a good concept and a great execution. If you’re unfamiliar with the character, then this is a great jumping on point as well. Seriously, worth checking out. A- Nancy In Hell #2- Man, Emo... Read More
mmBreaks: Mystic Minds and the Magical Brass Orchestra Cabinet
from Rap Talk
On the train, during a commute downtown, I was listening to Mike Rep and the Quotas. If that name doesn’t resonate with meaning, that’s alright. The group is/was something of a local and acquired taste. Either way, the group, which specialized in moving between a Kinks conception of rock and out noise, worked during the seventies. And as any good Midwesterner, Rep had an opinion on Watergate, albeit distanced by freeway miles. “I Resign” takes on a first person narrative for the chorus while... Read More
Wendy's chiliIs Wendy's chili fast food?
from The Thinner Me
Fast food???Have you ever been on the run all day and not packed healthy food with you to eat.  What happens when you get hungry?  We all stop for fast, convenient, and sometimes cheap food.  Do we stop for fast, convenient, cheap, and HEALTHY food?  It's so easy to grab a burger, until we weigh the consequences.  The secret to sticking to our health plan is remembering where we came from (over-weight and unhealthy) and where we're going (healthy and vibrant!). Read More
The average american voterDo Americans comprise the dumbest electorate in the world?
from Politics Report
Click Image to Enlarge As the election season nears and we are once again forced to pick the better between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich one thing is certain, we'll get the government we deserve. Read More
wed12Weekly Reading Pile: Week of 9/1/10
from Trusty Henchmen
  Heroic Age: 1 Month To Live #1- Because only in comics could someone swallow biowaste and gain superpowers, even if it means they die in a month. As a whole the concept is ok and the talents involved put out a decent story, but there wasn’t much else going on for this series. It doesn’t blow you away and while it’s a fine read it has a lot to compete against this week and it just doesn’t bring much else to the table. Never mind that IDW also released 5 Days To Die this week, so we’ll... Read More
American workersWorkers Blowout -- Overworked, Underpaid.
from Politics Report
PBS did a report tonight on how the economy is effecting employment and American workers, and on "the rising number of employees who are being asked to do more and more for less money, "and on how this trend  is leading to an increased number of "so-called burned out" workers. See the video. Companies are not hiring workers and expanding the workforce, but are insisting that employed workers do more. Juliet Schor of Boston College says in the report, "We do know that we had massive layoffs... Read More
gr2Gerhard Richter's Two Candles (Part One)
from Artista Blog
Influencing not just visual art, but music, Gerhardt Richter has worked through decades which have birthed various insular movements and perspectives on painting. Yet, he retains a unique outlook on not just the medium, but what images are portrayed and how. Richter’s varied approaches focus on different objects, human and otherwise, but still toy with the viewer and refuse to reveal any specific meaning. Obfuscating intent, though, is mirrored in his work. In 1982 he began a series of works... Read More
NZ EarthquakeBig Quake Strikes New Zealand
from Earth Talk
It seems that it was earthquake prone New Zealand's turn to get hit by a major quake. Early Saturday morning, just before dawn local time, a powerful 7.0 magnitude quake struck, causing heavy and widespread damage in Christchurch, that country's second largest city, with a population of about 400,000 people. But, there have so far been few reports of injuries. The Guardian newspaper reports -- "Christchurch mayor Bob Parker declared a state of emergency four hours after tremors rocked the... Read More

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