Back on the Figurative Horse

As mentioned here, I have a bit of a camera collecting habit even though any serious photographic pursuits I once had fell off long ago. But my recent interest in this little number

made me realize that many of the cameras in my collection have yet to be tested, and while most of them require film that would be difficult to track down, a few of them are 35mm cameras.
Test subject #1

The Kodak Retinette 1A. 24 shots to go until I find out if it actually works...

At the Top of My Reading List

I'd generally describe myself as a "to each their own" kind of vegetarian but lately I feel like I'm one step away from throwing red paint on Anna Wintour...

BACK IN BLACK (and white)

Polaroid cameras and film (both black-and-white and color) are slated to be relaunched in 2010. Read about it here.

#1 Death Song

I'm fairly certain a secret meeting of television executives was held in which they debated the go-to song to be played anytime anyone dies on a tv show and they all voted for Jeff Buckley's cover of Hallelujah.

SX-70

Made for Polaroid Corporation by the office of Charles & Ray Eames.

When I Die I Hope I Remember to Say, "Julian, Take Off the Red Shoes"

After a week and a half of starring at the Orange Library's Criterion copy of The Red Shoes lying inert beside my TV, I finally watched the film. I now understand Martin Scorsese's fervor for Powell and Pressburger's creation and I can also appreciate what it means to be truly fascinated and bored by something simultaneously (see: ballet).

And also, is it just me or would The Red Shoes viewed without sound resemble a horror film?

The New Face of Blue-Eyed Soul

I'm into it. Too bad the phrase jew-eyed soul sounds kind of racist and is therefore unusable.

I Might Someday Decide to Read This

My love runs deep for David Cross, but lately he's been breaking my heart. Add to these damning facts his Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants girlfriend, the impending doom of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, and relatively dismal book reviews and it all makes me I mourn the David Cross of my youth.

Things to See

Despite the fact that I'm not even halfway through The State boxset sitting next to my DVD player and I still need to finish watching borrowed copies of Spider Baby, Proof (1991) & a 2-disc Serge Gainsbourg collection, here's a short list of movies I want to watch right now.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a I'vebeenwantingtowatchthesefilmsforsolong kind of list, it's more of a I'vehadthesefilmsonthebrain list:

Jeanne Dielman 23, Quai Du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles
Man on Wire

The Red Shoes
World's Greatest Dad
Andrei Rublev

Made in U.S.A. (which I've seen only in french without subtitles)

I Guess I Just Wasn't Made For These Times....

Perhaps now is a bad time to out myself as a fan of Mad Men since MadMenYourself.com has pervaded the interwebs and this image has been papering bus stops and billboards everywhere for weeks. But I have to confess, more so than the soap opera-esque storylines of secret identities and infidelities galore, I'm taken in by the relentlessly appealing mise-en-scène: the eye candy of early 1960's costumes, furniture, hairstyles and, admittedly, the constant drinking and smoking that never fails to look artful or charming. Because, once --just once, I'd like to stroll into work and pour myself some whiskey from a fancy decantor.



Update: More awesome nerdiness can be found at The Footnotes of Mad Men

Proof There is No God

Exhibit A: A sequel to White Chicks is currently in the works

Why?

Exhibit B: Because White Chicks grossed over $70 million in 2004

I WENT TO LAS VEGAS AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS SIMULACRA

The Paris Hotel, like nearly everything else is Las Vegas, is a Baudrillardian landscape of half-cocked simulation and middle American escapism. Add to this any music relating to France (Edith Piaf? check. Serge Gainsbourg? check. "Lady Marmelade" as performed in 2001 by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, and Pink? check.) along with copious amounts of tourists buying crepes! Arc de Triomphe snow globes! boisson alcoolisée! and you've got yourself the ultimate postmodern getaway.

In conclusion, I've decided I need not visit Paris (the city) unless I wish to be disappointed by its lack of painted skies and novelty booze.

Baked Failure

Cake Wrecks is my new favorite ultra-time-wasting website

FAIL!

FAIL!

FAIL!

I Could Watch This All Day Part ll

I've never seen the Neil LaBute's 2006 remake of The Wicker Man, and thanks to this clip reel, I don't need to.

I Could Watch This All Day Part l

Just Like Honey

There are a few interesting facts you should know about Victor Erice's The Spirit of the Beehive ---for example, that Luis Cuadrado's cinematography can only be described as nothing short of amazing, despite the fact that Cuadrado was going blind during filming. And that of the 1000 total shots in the film, exactly 500 are shot inside and 500 are shot outside.

The Spirit of the Beehive is also #1 on James Franco's Criterion Top 10 list. And really, if anyone should dictate your viewing selections, it's Daniel Desario.

Dear Zachary

The documentary Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father chronicles filmmaker Kurt Kuenne's cross-country quest to capture memories of his childhood friend, Andrew Bagby, brutally slain at age 28 by his ex-girlfriend. What ensues is a frustrating and devastating account not only of Bagby's life, but also of the life of his son Zachary (born after Andrew's death) and the fight Andrew's parents embarked on in order to gain custody of Zachary, who remained in the care of his mother/Andrew's murderer. Although the events in the documentary were widely reported when they happened, Dear Zachary is slow to reveal the complete tragedy surrounding Andrew and Zachary Bagby. The result is a crushing narrative of the father Zachary would never know and the legal system that failed them both.

Hiatus is Boring

It feels like ages since I've had the time to post anything on here. I've been crazily busy but I'll work on not being so boring. Below is Elvis Costello to sagely remind us, I can give you anything but time.

David Attended Public Schools and Confuses Hitler With Anne Frank

If comedy sketch shows were lovers, Mr. Show would be my mythical soulmate: the one I compared all others to, and inevitably, the one who ruined me forever for anyone else.

I'm a Sucker for Richard Kelly

Richard Kelly adapts and directs the 1970 Richard Matheson short story "Button, Button" ...what could go wrong? Well, a lot actually when you add Cameron Diaz and James Marsden into the mix as the film's leads. Regardless, I'm adding this to my ever increasing films-I-want-to-see-in-October list.

Also, someone got paid to design this horrible poster.

Proof That Modern Commercials Are Lacking

As Jim Henson himself explained, early Muppet bits often ended with an explosion or someone being eaten. Henson worked on commercials at the start of his career and, as you can see by watching the clips above, they tend to follow the timelessly comedic explosion/death formula.

Girl on a Motorcycle

A few months ago, I was at Amoeba trying to track down Jack Cardiff's 1968 film Girl on a Motorcycle starring Marianne Faithfull. I was told that the film was out of print and whenever they got a copy in, it usually sold for around $50. Imagine my surprise when I went back to Amoeba a few weeks later and saw this on the shelves for a mere $17:


The reissue is of the bare bones variety, with absolutely no special features --because really, there is nothing special about a stills gallery-- and the packaging is pretty terrible (unlike the photo above, my copy has "crazy, sexy, cool" printed on the right side of the cover for some inane reason) none the less, I'm glad this psychedelic (road) trip is back in print.

Confession of the Day: If Loving Ian Svenonius is Wrong, I Don't Want to be Right

There. I've said it.

Broken Cameras

I have a habit of collecting broken cameras. Generally, those who consider it a bad habit either A) live with me or B) understand that if you're short on space, a camera collection consisting primarily of large polaroid cameras isn't exactly ideal. But it's an awesome habit if you are C) interested in the aesthetics of various camera makes/models and D) into decorating all the bookcases in your small apartment with various cameras that no longer work.

My favorite is none other than the Polaroid Swinger (see above), not to be confused with the Polaroid Big Swinger (see below):


Aesthetically, the Swinger is amazing. But really, its name alone is reason enough for favoritism.

To My Lawyer, Saxonberg

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was/is one of my top ten all-time favorite kids books. E. L. Konigsburg's 1967 novel skillfully indulges the urge to run away and never come back, while omitting all possible consequences of committing such an act
(see: kidnappers, pedophiles, a subsequent extended stay in military school, etc.)

I reread the novel for a literature class in college and was amazed by how well it stood the test of time; unlike other children's books I had loved as a kid but considered relentlessly boring when I reread them as an adult (see: The Secret Garden, Island of the Blue Dolphins, etc.)

Basically, what I'm getting at is this: I'm nearly 26 and I still want to spend the night inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A Little Animal Collective on a Tuesday Afternoon

Requiem Pour Un Con

Look what I stumbled upon on IMDB:
Serge Gainsbourg, vie héroïque (2010)

Eric Elmosnino as Serge Gainsbourg:

We Love You So

Spike Jonze & Co. have set up a blog dedicated to all things wild

Moving Image Nerds, Rejoice

The 1999 documentary Keepers of the Frame is available to view for free free free on google videos. That is, until the powers that be callously take it down.

(wanted) paper cuts

"your record sleeves are better than your songs!"

I recently came across Jazzin' for Blue Jean which is a 20 minute David Bowie gem shot to promote his single "Blue Jean" in 1984. Picking up where Patty Duke and Hayley Mills left off, Bowie plays both Vic (the socially inept everyman and possible David Brent prototype) and Screaming Lord Byron (basically, David Bowie).
Magic ensues:

how strange it is to be anything at all

A documentary starring Slavoj Zizek, Judith Butler, Peter Singer and Cornel West? Astra Taylor has philosophy nerds pegged.

*side note: Taylor is married to Jeff Mangum, the man responsible for writing my favorite album haunted by the ghost of Anne Frank

Adaptations Gone Wrong: The Golden Compass

Reading the recent AV Club interview with a less-than-thrilled Bret Easton Ellis promoting (?) the latest adaptation of his work brought to mind all of the terrible ways novels adapted into films tend to go wrong. One of the first butcherings to come to mind: The Golden Compass.

Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is nothing short of amazing, so how did such a promising project go so terribly wrong? I think we have Chris Weitz to thank for that. Although he wasn't the original director linked to the project, the film ended up in Weitz's hands, and he is the one responsible for turning down a screenplay written by Tom Stoppard...maybe you've heard of him. Deciding he was better suited to adapt the novel than TomfuckingStoppard, Weitz wrote the screenplay himself.

What ensued can only be described as a weak, censored, cliff-notes-written-by-someone-who-maybe-didn't-even-read-the-book kind of film. I could rant about this for days. But I won't. Instead, I'll only say this: when a novel ends on the heartbreaking yet-suspense-filled note of a young protagonist realizing she has just inadvertently led her best friend to his death at the hands of her father and your film adaptation ends with said protagonist and said best friend floating off into the sunset before any of this even happens, you have failed.

between violence and rationality there is no incompatibility

To bastardize something Steven Shaviro once wrote about My Bloody Valentine, if you don't think their music is violent, then you're not listening to it loud enough.

A Nocturnal Vacation

The Sophie's Choice of Muppet Show guests:

or

Our Secrets Sleep in Winter Clothes

It's nearly summer. OBVIOUSLY, it's the perfect time to go out and impulsively buy overpriced jackets. Yesterday, that's exactly what we did. I can't speak for the other so-and-so involved in this venture, but I have an excuse: I'll be working in a 42 degree vault this summer. Reason enough for me.

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Why not try incorporating this phrase into your daily vernacular:

Oh I Do Believe

Maybe I'm projecting, and I should mention that I lack substantial proof, but I'm pretty sure that as Lou Reed was writing "I Found a Reason" he was envisioning a future with Tanqueray Rangpur. And not thinking about heroin. For once.

My Favorite Song, Age 3

My absolute favorite song when I was three years old was "Your Wildest Dreams" by The Moody Blues. The song came out in '86 and I remember singing it around a house in Lakewood where we once lived (we later moved when I was four).

Other than this anecdotal lapse in judgement, I would in no way consider myself a Moody Blues fan. In fact, the only other Moody Blues related memory I have is really liking this 45 my dad had. Not because it was a Moody Blues record, but solely because it was blue.

For some reason, the memory of really loving this song stayed with me. I still know some of the lyrics. The weird thing is, I distinctly remember someone slaying dragons in the "Your Wildest Dreams" music video. Recently, I looked up this up and was shocked/dismayed to find that there is not one dragon to be seen anywhere in the music video. I repeat, no dragons.
This is entirely disappointing:

Moody Blues Your Wildest Dreams
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