Ummm... so, yeah:
and when you thought it couldn't get better:
Monday, December 14, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Mr. Mom
Walking down the street one day, I happened upon a bag full of brand-new mostly deplorable dvds. Some movie called "Pale-Male," "Pirates of the Carribbean 2," "Face-Off," some show tunes, you get the picture. I did find myself tempted by a double feature of "Baby Boom" and "Mr. Mom." After selling the crappy ones to the record store for a measly $5, I had forgotten all about my one score, until unearthing it this past weekend. After watching Mr. Mom, I have to admit, it's pretty fucking fantastic. 
The plot: A Detroit car salesman loses his job at the plant, due to hard economic times, and his wife goes to work for a high-rolling PR firm, saddling him with three kids. And as we all know, men can't care for children... what a predicament! You can watch it yourself, and see the normative 1950s suburban family unit unravel before your very eyes--hilariously. A parent dressed up like ET during a trick or treat scene had me crying, especially because he creepily pops out from behind a tree, and just sort of lingers akwardly throughout the scene... A screen grab:
Additionally, MGM didn't do much with the transfer, creating a hybrid VHS-DVD, washed out tone that makes it all look like an early 90s cereal commercial. Or maybe that was, umm... err... part of the director's creative vision... Either way, I love the crappy picture quality. It doesn't say what the transfer method was, but my guess would be that it was processed by either optical wet-gate printing, or contact printing.
This trailer pales in comparison to the real thing, but alas:
The plot: A Detroit car salesman loses his job at the plant, due to hard economic times, and his wife goes to work for a high-rolling PR firm, saddling him with three kids. And as we all know, men can't care for children... what a predicament! You can watch it yourself, and see the normative 1950s suburban family unit unravel before your very eyes--hilariously. A parent dressed up like ET during a trick or treat scene had me crying, especially because he creepily pops out from behind a tree, and just sort of lingers akwardly throughout the scene... A screen grab:
Additionally, MGM didn't do much with the transfer, creating a hybrid VHS-DVD, washed out tone that makes it all look like an early 90s cereal commercial. Or maybe that was, umm... err... part of the director's creative vision... Either way, I love the crappy picture quality. It doesn't say what the transfer method was, but my guess would be that it was processed by either optical wet-gate printing, or contact printing.
This trailer pales in comparison to the real thing, but alas:
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Sheer Ingenuity of "Shredding"
At first, I was hesitant about these videos, but there is something amazingly fulfilling about watching these douche-mops egos be completely emasculated through simple sound editing.
Wikipedia's definition of "Shredding":
Shred guitar or shred refers to lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast passages; the act of playing fast passages on an electric guitar is termed "shredding". While one critic argues that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep- picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and whammy bar abuse", several guitar writers argue that rather than being a musical definition, it is a fairly subjective cultural term used by guitarists and enthusiasts of guitar music. It is usually used with reference to hard rock and heavy metal guitar playing, where it is associated with rapid tapping solos and special effects such as whammy bar "dive-bombs". The term is sometimes used with reference to playing outside this idiom, particularly country, jazz fusion, blues, and some modern variants of bluegrass.
Wikipedia's going to have to add this to their definition, because Houston, we have a genre.
Wikipedia's definition of "Shredding":
Shred guitar or shred refers to lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast passages; the act of playing fast passages on an electric guitar is termed "shredding". While one critic argues that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep- picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and whammy bar abuse", several guitar writers argue that rather than being a musical definition, it is a fairly subjective cultural term used by guitarists and enthusiasts of guitar music. It is usually used with reference to hard rock and heavy metal guitar playing, where it is associated with rapid tapping solos and special effects such as whammy bar "dive-bombs". The term is sometimes used with reference to playing outside this idiom, particularly country, jazz fusion, blues, and some modern variants of bluegrass.
Wikipedia's going to have to add this to their definition, because Houston, we have a genre.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Len Lye: The Cosmic Archive
The Birth of the Robot, 1936If I had money to burn, the exhibition "LEN LYE: THE COSMIC ARCHIVE" at Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Aotearoa, New Zealand would be a serious priority. Us New York based folk, and NZ foreigners will have to settle for the forthcoming publication from Govett-Brewster Art Gallery instead, which is fantastic considering the major scarcity of scholarship on his body of work. "Len Lye" is co-published by the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery and the Len Lye Foundation with support from the Govett-Brewster Foundation, and distributed internationally by Random House
LEN LYE: THE COSMIC ARCHIVE
12 December 2009 – 15 March 2010
During his career, New Zealand-born artist Len Lye (1901–1980) witnessed a period of tremendous expansion in scientific inquiry. The Len Lye Collection and Archive at the Govett-Brewster contains hundreds of scientific articles the artist gleaned from the popular press, in fields ranging from psychology to astronomy, particle physics to palaeontology.
Featuring several of these news clippings, Len Lye: The Cosmic Archive explores the space age imagination and its impact on Lye’s work in a range of media. This exhibition presents the newly reconstructed kinetic sculpture, Moon Bead (1968/2009), the rarely seen Bones (1965), as well as the films The Birth of the Robot (1936) and Particles in Space (1957–1979).
Curated by Tyler Cann
Courtesy the Len Lye Foundation and The New Zealand Film Archive
(The Cover of the Publication)Best known for his vibrant 'direct' films painted on celluloid, New Zealand-born Len Lye (1901-1980) was a kinetic sculptor, poet, painter and writer as well as an experimental filmmaker. This new publication brings together the many facets of Lye's energetic mind, pioneering career and ebullient personality, throwing fresh light on a seminal figure in the history of the moving image.
Rainbow Dance, 1936
Trilogy (A Flip and Two Twisters) 1977, (still and in motion photos)
Universe, 1976
Universe, 1976The Exhibition Site
Art New Zealand
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