Sunday, November 22, 2009
Nothing doing
Physical State: achey
Mental State: anxious
Music: Yann Tiersen - L'Absente
Fashion sense: jeans, grey t-shirt
Ok so I've been back from Ottawa since Wednesday and still haven't found out whether I got this job or not and it is driving me crazy. I figure if you got it then they would call right away but then I think maybe they need to check references and that is why it is taking so long. Again Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the hardest part.
I was listening to my ipod on shuffle today and came across this song below by Yann Tiersen featuring Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and I'll be damned if these aren't some sweet lyrics to consider. I haven't kept up with Neil lately but he wrote a good tune now and then. This Tiersen album also has "À Quai" which as soon as I hear it I am magically transported into the classic French film Amelie.
Les Jours Tristes
It's hard,
hard, not to sit on your hands,
burrow your head in the sand,
hard, not to make other plans
and claim that you've done all you can,
all alone
and life
must go on.
It's hard,
hard, to stand up for what's right
and bring home the bacon each night,
hard, not to break down and cry,
when every idea that you tried
has been wrong.
But you must
carry on.
Chorus:
It's hard,
but you know it's worth the fight,
cause you know you've got the truth on your side,
when the accusations fly.
Hold tight!
Don't be afraid of what they'll say.
Who cares what cowards think anyway,
They will understand someday,
someday.
It's hard,
hard, when you're here all alone
and everyone else has gone home.
Harder to know right from wrong
when all objectivity's gone
and it's gone.
But you still
carry on.
Cause you,
you are the only one left
and you've got to clean up this mess.
You know you'll end up like the rest
Bitter and twisted - unless
you stay strong
And you
carry on.
Chorus:
It's hard,
but you know it's worth the fight,
cause you know you've got the truth on your side,
when the accusations fly.
Hold tight!
Don't be afraid of what they'll say.
Who cares what cowards think anyway,
They will understand someday,
someday.
Physical State: achey
Mental State: anxious
Music: Yann Tiersen - L'Absente
Fashion sense: jeans, grey t-shirt
Ok so I've been back from Ottawa since Wednesday and still haven't found out whether I got this job or not and it is driving me crazy. I figure if you got it then they would call right away but then I think maybe they need to check references and that is why it is taking so long. Again Tom Petty was right, the waiting is the hardest part.
I was listening to my ipod on shuffle today and came across this song below by Yann Tiersen featuring Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy, and I'll be damned if these aren't some sweet lyrics to consider. I haven't kept up with Neil lately but he wrote a good tune now and then. This Tiersen album also has "À Quai" which as soon as I hear it I am magically transported into the classic French film Amelie.
Les Jours Tristes
It's hard,
hard, not to sit on your hands,
burrow your head in the sand,
hard, not to make other plans
and claim that you've done all you can,
all alone
and life
must go on.
It's hard,
hard, to stand up for what's right
and bring home the bacon each night,
hard, not to break down and cry,
when every idea that you tried
has been wrong.
But you must
carry on.
Chorus:
It's hard,
but you know it's worth the fight,
cause you know you've got the truth on your side,
when the accusations fly.
Hold tight!
Don't be afraid of what they'll say.
Who cares what cowards think anyway,
They will understand someday,
someday.
It's hard,
hard, when you're here all alone
and everyone else has gone home.
Harder to know right from wrong
when all objectivity's gone
and it's gone.
But you still
carry on.
Cause you,
you are the only one left
and you've got to clean up this mess.
You know you'll end up like the rest
Bitter and twisted - unless
you stay strong
And you
carry on.
Chorus:
It's hard,
but you know it's worth the fight,
cause you know you've got the truth on your side,
when the accusations fly.
Hold tight!
Don't be afraid of what they'll say.
Who cares what cowards think anyway,
They will understand someday,
someday.
Friday, September 18, 2009
10 films in 10 Days: Day 2/3 - Synecdoche, New York and Vicky Christina Barcelona (coming)
Physical State: achey
Mental State: sleepy
Music: The Antlers - Hospice
Fashion sense: jeans, black t-shirt
Off to a great start with the reviews, ha ha. Day 2/3 and I'm already slipping, nice. I will post reviews of this film above and Vicky Christina Barcelona later today. Slight diversion to "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" which while entertaining might not fit in with these festival types I'm writing about. Stay tuned.
Physical State: achey
Mental State: sleepy
Music: The Antlers - Hospice
Fashion sense: jeans, black t-shirt
Off to a great start with the reviews, ha ha. Day 2/3 and I'm already slipping, nice. I will post reviews of this film above and Vicky Christina Barcelona later today. Slight diversion to "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" which while entertaining might not fit in with these festival types I'm writing about. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
10 films in 10 Days: Day 1 - Tokyo!
Ayako Fujitani & Ryo Kase in Michel Gondry's "Interior Design"
Physical State: slouchy
Mental State: bored
Music: Chihei Hatakeyama - Saunter
Fashion sense: jeans, grey t-shirt
Last week I had started thinking about how much I really wanted to go to this year's 2009 Toronto Film Festival but also realizing that I had left it too late and a lot of what I wanted to see was sold out already. I've just moved back to Toronto from Calgary and didn't consider ordering the tickets ahead of time, so I ended up SOL. But I managed to get a new library card and got to thinking, with all these great dvds perhaps I can still watch some cool films and have a bit of a taste of what TIFF would have been like. A chance to still satisfy my film nerd tendencies. So I decided this past weekend I'd watch 1 film everyday for 10 days and post about them as I go along. Traditionally in the 12 years I've been to TIFF I'd buy a book of 10 tickets (one year I bought the 30 ticket book and that was pretty intense). So in that spirit for all the film geeks (and the 3 people who might be reading this blog), I've decided to go ahead with my ambitious little project. Of course this comes almost a week after the TIFF has started but I'm going to do it anyway. One caveat though, I am no Pauline Kael but I will try my best.
The first of my 10 films is actually 3 short films collected into one called Tokyo! The producers selected three contemporary filmmakers to encapsulate their impressions of the Japanese city. Made up of 1. Michel Gondry's "Interior Design" 2. Leos Carax's "Merde" and 3. "Shaking Tokyo" by Bong Joon-Ho, Tokyo! is a delight for fans of each of these directors' works. The film compilation is accompanied on the dvd by some great director interviews and featurettes about how the films were made. In all cases Japanese was not the directors' native language and they worked with exclusively Japanese crews through an interpreter.
Gondry's effort Interior Design is a great addition to the portfolio of a director who consistently pushes the envelope when it comes to filmmaking. I think back to some of his great videos for Bjork or films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as two examples that seem to be akin to this short film. Based on the graphic novel "Cecil and Jordan Go To New York" by cartoonist Gabrielle Bell, Gondry transfers the story from Brooklyn to the Japanese metropolis expertly. He also worked side-by-side with Bell to develop the script and create the film. Hiroko and Akira have come to Tokyo to find work, an apartment and hopefully for Akira, a chance to debut his art film and get some exposure. In the process, his girlfriend Hiroko seems to take a back seat to his ambition and success. She feels that she is fading further and further into the background. The turns of the plot eventually finds Hiroko deciding that in effect she is nothing more than "furniture" and needs to be more useful. This seemingly tiny Tokyo story then takes a surreal Kafkaesque turn as Hiroko transforms from a quiet, forgettable girl into a wooden chair, as only Gondry could envision. At times lonely and darkly humourous, this was my favourite of the three stories in the collection.
The second effort in the series, Merde, is a play on the common film tradition of the monster movie, as imagined by the French filmmaker Leos Carax. Carax hasn't made anything in the past 9 years and is very selective of any projects he takes on, so this had a lot to answer for in my opinion. In Merde we find Denis Lavant playing a mischievous sewer-dwelling troll who terrorizes the people of Tokyo, cutting a swath of destruction throughout. As a typical monster in the tradition of Frankenstein's monster or Godzilla, Merde acts strictly on his impulses for survival and has no conscience or regard for his victims. When the repercussions of his actions prove fatal, he is captured and put on trial for mass murder. Only one French magistrate in the world speaks his language and comes from his race, he becomes Merde's defender in the trial. There is a polarization of the people of Tokyo taking sides either in support of Merde's human rights or demanding his execution. The film also at that point becomes Carax's blackly humourous comment on the celebrity of criminals. A huge scale work for Carax, I felt this story, while quite ambitious, was not as interesting as the other two.
The last film in the trilogy, Shaking Tokyo, comes from Korean director Boon Joon-Ho (The Host) who turns in an interesting vision of Tokyo as a city of lonely souls or hikikomori (shut-ins). We discover at the outset that our unnamed protagonist hasn't left his house in over a decade, relying on money from his father and pizza delivery to survive in his shut-in world. A world he has total control over where everything including toilet rolls, pizza boxes and books are meticulously stacked. It is only when he meets a fetching pizza delivery girl who faints during an earthquake, that his life changes. After falling in love with her he considers leaving the sanctity and security of his home for the first time spending days trying to muster up the courage to go outside and find her. Bong comments in the directors' interviews that he was struck by how people in Tokyo live individual parallel lives, buying takeout dinners for one and rarely connecting socially. This film was the result of that personal impression.
Overall this film is a great collection of three foreign directors' interpretations of the Japanese city, its scale, its loneliness, its people. I would find it really exciting to see this made into a series of compilations and hopefully that may be a possibility down the road. Definitely worth a rental.
Tomorrow, its my take on Charlie Kaufman's confusing and ambitious epic: Synecdoche, New York.
Ayako Fujitani & Ryo Kase in Michel Gondry's "Interior Design"
Physical State: slouchy
Mental State: bored
Music: Chihei Hatakeyama - Saunter
Fashion sense: jeans, grey t-shirt
Last week I had started thinking about how much I really wanted to go to this year's 2009 Toronto Film Festival but also realizing that I had left it too late and a lot of what I wanted to see was sold out already. I've just moved back to Toronto from Calgary and didn't consider ordering the tickets ahead of time, so I ended up SOL. But I managed to get a new library card and got to thinking, with all these great dvds perhaps I can still watch some cool films and have a bit of a taste of what TIFF would have been like. A chance to still satisfy my film nerd tendencies. So I decided this past weekend I'd watch 1 film everyday for 10 days and post about them as I go along. Traditionally in the 12 years I've been to TIFF I'd buy a book of 10 tickets (one year I bought the 30 ticket book and that was pretty intense). So in that spirit for all the film geeks (and the 3 people who might be reading this blog), I've decided to go ahead with my ambitious little project. Of course this comes almost a week after the TIFF has started but I'm going to do it anyway. One caveat though, I am no Pauline Kael but I will try my best.
The first of my 10 films is actually 3 short films collected into one called Tokyo! The producers selected three contemporary filmmakers to encapsulate their impressions of the Japanese city. Made up of 1. Michel Gondry's "Interior Design" 2. Leos Carax's "Merde" and 3. "Shaking Tokyo" by Bong Joon-Ho, Tokyo! is a delight for fans of each of these directors' works. The film compilation is accompanied on the dvd by some great director interviews and featurettes about how the films were made. In all cases Japanese was not the directors' native language and they worked with exclusively Japanese crews through an interpreter.
Gondry's effort Interior Design is a great addition to the portfolio of a director who consistently pushes the envelope when it comes to filmmaking. I think back to some of his great videos for Bjork or films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind as two examples that seem to be akin to this short film. Based on the graphic novel "Cecil and Jordan Go To New York" by cartoonist Gabrielle Bell, Gondry transfers the story from Brooklyn to the Japanese metropolis expertly. He also worked side-by-side with Bell to develop the script and create the film. Hiroko and Akira have come to Tokyo to find work, an apartment and hopefully for Akira, a chance to debut his art film and get some exposure. In the process, his girlfriend Hiroko seems to take a back seat to his ambition and success. She feels that she is fading further and further into the background. The turns of the plot eventually finds Hiroko deciding that in effect she is nothing more than "furniture" and needs to be more useful. This seemingly tiny Tokyo story then takes a surreal Kafkaesque turn as Hiroko transforms from a quiet, forgettable girl into a wooden chair, as only Gondry could envision. At times lonely and darkly humourous, this was my favourite of the three stories in the collection.
The second effort in the series, Merde, is a play on the common film tradition of the monster movie, as imagined by the French filmmaker Leos Carax. Carax hasn't made anything in the past 9 years and is very selective of any projects he takes on, so this had a lot to answer for in my opinion. In Merde we find Denis Lavant playing a mischievous sewer-dwelling troll who terrorizes the people of Tokyo, cutting a swath of destruction throughout. As a typical monster in the tradition of Frankenstein's monster or Godzilla, Merde acts strictly on his impulses for survival and has no conscience or regard for his victims. When the repercussions of his actions prove fatal, he is captured and put on trial for mass murder. Only one French magistrate in the world speaks his language and comes from his race, he becomes Merde's defender in the trial. There is a polarization of the people of Tokyo taking sides either in support of Merde's human rights or demanding his execution. The film also at that point becomes Carax's blackly humourous comment on the celebrity of criminals. A huge scale work for Carax, I felt this story, while quite ambitious, was not as interesting as the other two.
The last film in the trilogy, Shaking Tokyo, comes from Korean director Boon Joon-Ho (The Host) who turns in an interesting vision of Tokyo as a city of lonely souls or hikikomori (shut-ins). We discover at the outset that our unnamed protagonist hasn't left his house in over a decade, relying on money from his father and pizza delivery to survive in his shut-in world. A world he has total control over where everything including toilet rolls, pizza boxes and books are meticulously stacked. It is only when he meets a fetching pizza delivery girl who faints during an earthquake, that his life changes. After falling in love with her he considers leaving the sanctity and security of his home for the first time spending days trying to muster up the courage to go outside and find her. Bong comments in the directors' interviews that he was struck by how people in Tokyo live individual parallel lives, buying takeout dinners for one and rarely connecting socially. This film was the result of that personal impression.
Overall this film is a great collection of three foreign directors' interpretations of the Japanese city, its scale, its loneliness, its people. I would find it really exciting to see this made into a series of compilations and hopefully that may be a possibility down the road. Definitely worth a rental.
Tomorrow, its my take on Charlie Kaufman's confusing and ambitious epic: Synecdoche, New York.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Piana: English Translations
Physical State: achey
Mental State: stressed
Music:Point Juncture, WA - Heart To Elk
Fashion sense: jeans, brown shirt
Earlier this week I had mentioned about rediscovering music by Piana (Naoko Sasaki). Well after some poking around on her website I came across a selection of English translations of her album Ephemeral which the previous post had a video for. The translation for "Something's Lost" is below...beautiful poetry.
something is lost
rain showers color the town blue
we swim in the light
our tiny goodbye echoed
we might have to say goodbye
what are we starting to forget
we might have to be apart
we might not meet again
we might have to say goodbye
midnight sun in the sky
we might have to be apart
what are we starting to lose?
Physical State: achey
Mental State: stressed
Music:Point Juncture, WA - Heart To Elk
Fashion sense: jeans, brown shirt
Earlier this week I had mentioned about rediscovering music by Piana (Naoko Sasaki). Well after some poking around on her website I came across a selection of English translations of her album Ephemeral which the previous post had a video for. The translation for "Something's Lost" is below...beautiful poetry.
something is lost
rain showers color the town blue
we swim in the light
our tiny goodbye echoed
we might have to say goodbye
what are we starting to forget
we might have to be apart
we might not meet again
we might have to say goodbye
midnight sun in the sky
we might have to be apart
what are we starting to lose?
Monday, June 08, 2009
Piana: Something's Lost
Physical State: slouchy
Mental State: sleepy
Music: Piana - Ephemeral
Fashion sense: jeans, blue shirt
I was going through my itunes library and reordering some of my tracks when I came across this great song by Japanese electronic artist Piana (aka Naoko Sasaki). I thought the song is so relaxing and sure enough there's a beautiful video to accompany it. Her voice reminds me of Liz Frazer of The Cocteau Twins and sadly I don't know Japanese all that well so I can't tell what she is singing about but I bet it's something lovely. This lady reminds me of a Japanese Bjork in some ways (maybe it's the style of her songs and videos). Beautiful stuff.
Physical State: slouchy
Mental State: sleepy
Music: Piana - Ephemeral
Fashion sense: jeans, blue shirt
I was going through my itunes library and reordering some of my tracks when I came across this great song by Japanese electronic artist Piana (aka Naoko Sasaki). I thought the song is so relaxing and sure enough there's a beautiful video to accompany it. Her voice reminds me of Liz Frazer of The Cocteau Twins and sadly I don't know Japanese all that well so I can't tell what she is singing about but I bet it's something lovely. This lady reminds me of a Japanese Bjork in some ways (maybe it's the style of her songs and videos). Beautiful stuff.
Friday, June 05, 2009
I <3 Tokidoki!
Physical State: headachey
Mental State: slow
Music: Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
Fashion sense: jeans, black t-shirt
I just discovered the amazing graphic work of Simone Legno of Italy now living in the US. But you could swear that he is Japanese from his work with his company Tokidoki. He has designed everything from ipod skins to Onitsuka Tiger shoes to t-shirts. Beautiful and colourful stuff!
Physical State: headachey
Mental State: slow
Music: Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
Fashion sense: jeans, black t-shirt
I just discovered the amazing graphic work of Simone Legno of Italy now living in the US. But you could swear that he is Japanese from his work with his company Tokidoki. He has designed everything from ipod skins to Onitsuka Tiger shoes to t-shirts. Beautiful and colourful stuff!
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Harley Hell, The Wire, Sled Island and Wire
Physical State: sunburned!
Mental State: lukewarm
Music: The Books - The Lemon of Pink
Fashion sense: jeans, grey t-shirt
Ok what is it about Beltline being ground zero for weekend Harley heads. I open the windows to finally get a nice summer breeze and all I can hear all day is the 3 block radius sound of "burruhhhhhhhh!" I guess Harley's are one of those things that if you're riding it, it probably feels pretty cool. But if you're witness to it reverberating off the sides of downtown Calgary buildings all afternoon it's not as much fun. I found this info online which I thought made a lot of sense:
Harley Davidsons run at about 85 decibels. Harleys with straight unmuffled pipes blare noise at around 120 decibels.
Yeah no wonder it's annoying. It's like the rednecks equivalent of the booming block-rocking beat of the trunk woofer, shaking back window and all. Too bad those jackholes always play the recent crap and not old school Run DMC. As for Harleys I would think that it would be a lot more fun to get out on the open road in farm country say up to Red Deer and back than drive it around city blocks. But I guess it's all about image (you're so badass when you blast the Ship and Anchor patio in your offensive way). In Beltline the sounds lately seem to be a combination of Harleys blasting and street bums yelling their asses off. Who knew that the f word had so many permuations and was a way to express yourself simply. Actually come to think of it, there was that episode of
The Wire.
Signed up for Sled Island as a volunteer to work the merch tables, work in the office for a few hours here and there and even drive bands around. Colin Newman of Wire is this year's curator. Should be a lot of fun and looking forward to seeing lots of great bands here in town. It would be really cool to be the one who drives Colin around town and get all the stories of Wire on the road. Keeping my fingers crossed.
About The Books. This album Lemon of Pink ends with one of the most charming non-songs ever, appropriately titled "PS." It's the sounds of an interview The Books did with Patti Schmidt from Brave New Waves, her ums and ahs and chuckles between questions. I miss Brave New Waves.
Physical State: sunburned!
Mental State: lukewarm
Music: The Books - The Lemon of Pink
Fashion sense: jeans, grey t-shirt
Ok what is it about Beltline being ground zero for weekend Harley heads. I open the windows to finally get a nice summer breeze and all I can hear all day is the 3 block radius sound of "burruhhhhhhhh!" I guess Harley's are one of those things that if you're riding it, it probably feels pretty cool. But if you're witness to it reverberating off the sides of downtown Calgary buildings all afternoon it's not as much fun. I found this info online which I thought made a lot of sense:
Harley Davidsons run at about 85 decibels. Harleys with straight unmuffled pipes blare noise at around 120 decibels.
Yeah no wonder it's annoying. It's like the rednecks equivalent of the booming block-rocking beat of the trunk woofer, shaking back window and all. Too bad those jackholes always play the recent crap and not old school Run DMC. As for Harleys I would think that it would be a lot more fun to get out on the open road in farm country say up to Red Deer and back than drive it around city blocks. But I guess it's all about image (you're so badass when you blast the Ship and Anchor patio in your offensive way). In Beltline the sounds lately seem to be a combination of Harleys blasting and street bums yelling their asses off. Who knew that the f word had so many permuations and was a way to express yourself simply. Actually come to think of it, there was that episode of
The Wire.
Signed up for Sled Island as a volunteer to work the merch tables, work in the office for a few hours here and there and even drive bands around. Colin Newman of Wire is this year's curator. Should be a lot of fun and looking forward to seeing lots of great bands here in town. It would be really cool to be the one who drives Colin around town and get all the stories of Wire on the road. Keeping my fingers crossed.
About The Books. This album Lemon of Pink ends with one of the most charming non-songs ever, appropriately titled "PS." It's the sounds of an interview The Books did with Patti Schmidt from Brave New Waves, her ums and ahs and chuckles between questions. I miss Brave New Waves.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Chris Ware, graphic novel genius
Physical State: achey
Mental State: reflective
Music: Colleen - Golden Morning Breaks
Fashion sense: pajama pants, black t-shirt
After seeing a recent Quimby The Mouse cartoon that Chris Ware did as part of the This American Life "live" performance (I didn't see it because the show wasn't beamed into Calgary), I have recently revisited his classic debut, the substantial 380 page, "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth." Here is a quick description blatantly stolen off the Pantheon Books website to outline what this book is all about:
This first book from Chicago author Chris Ware is a pleasantly-decorated view at a lonely and emotionally-impaired "everyman" (Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth), who is provided, at age 36, the opportunity to meet his father for the first time. An improvisatory romance which gingerly deports itself between 1890's Chicago and 1980's small town Michigan, the reader is helped along by thousands of colored illustrations and diagrams, which, when read rapidly in sequence, provide a convincing illusion of life and movement. The bulk of the work is supported by fold-out instructions, an index, paper cut-outs, and a brief apology, all of which concrete to form a rich portrait of a man stunted by a paralyzing fear of being disliked.
After reading every inch of the book from cover to cover again (and believe me if you skim over an inch you miss a lot) I can't help but be amazed by the intricacy and design of this graphic novel. It sets a high bar for the medium which so far you'd be hard-pressed to see matched (except perhaps by Art Spiegelman). If anyone tells you graphic novels are just "comic books and boring kid's stuff," they haven't spent time with this work (and you have to be extremely patient to spend time with it to get the full effect). Ware is by far one of the masters of the graphic novel medium (while at the same time being an insane genius in the tradition of all great masters in art). His personality, creativity and self-effacing sense of humour are all found in this amazing project (and also in his incredible work with The Acme Novelty Library series). I like the feeling that you can always pick it up and be inspired by the dedication and intricacy of it. Well worth checking out again and again. You can also watch this quite detailed French television documentary (in three parts) about Chris Ware here on youtube, it is mostly in English after the awards/Chicago intro. Sorry for the picture quality.
Physical State: achey
Mental State: reflective
Music: Colleen - Golden Morning Breaks
Fashion sense: pajama pants, black t-shirt
After seeing a recent Quimby The Mouse cartoon that Chris Ware did as part of the This American Life "live" performance (I didn't see it because the show wasn't beamed into Calgary), I have recently revisited his classic debut, the substantial 380 page, "Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid On Earth." Here is a quick description blatantly stolen off the Pantheon Books website to outline what this book is all about:
This first book from Chicago author Chris Ware is a pleasantly-decorated view at a lonely and emotionally-impaired "everyman" (Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth), who is provided, at age 36, the opportunity to meet his father for the first time. An improvisatory romance which gingerly deports itself between 1890's Chicago and 1980's small town Michigan, the reader is helped along by thousands of colored illustrations and diagrams, which, when read rapidly in sequence, provide a convincing illusion of life and movement. The bulk of the work is supported by fold-out instructions, an index, paper cut-outs, and a brief apology, all of which concrete to form a rich portrait of a man stunted by a paralyzing fear of being disliked.
After reading every inch of the book from cover to cover again (and believe me if you skim over an inch you miss a lot) I can't help but be amazed by the intricacy and design of this graphic novel. It sets a high bar for the medium which so far you'd be hard-pressed to see matched (except perhaps by Art Spiegelman). If anyone tells you graphic novels are just "comic books and boring kid's stuff," they haven't spent time with this work (and you have to be extremely patient to spend time with it to get the full effect). Ware is by far one of the masters of the graphic novel medium (while at the same time being an insane genius in the tradition of all great masters in art). His personality, creativity and self-effacing sense of humour are all found in this amazing project (and also in his incredible work with The Acme Novelty Library series). I like the feeling that you can always pick it up and be inspired by the dedication and intricacy of it. Well worth checking out again and again. You can also watch this quite detailed French television documentary (in three parts) about Chris Ware here on youtube, it is mostly in English after the awards/Chicago intro. Sorry for the picture quality.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Zone Out, StumbleUpon and Pixies box set
Physical State: creaky
Mental State: neutral
Music: Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
Fashion sense: blue t-shirt, jeans
Lately I've been noticing that when I get on the computer and do some web-surfing that a lot of time has passed and I don't know how it went by. Case in point, this morning I looked at the clock, 9am...seems fine. Get on the computer, check my email, etc, chat to a friend for a little bit on MSN...boom 10am! As Pixies asked (we'll get to that rant in a second)..."Where is my mind?" Sometimes the times just flies but when you are waiting for things that you need (hmmm i dunno like a tax return) it creeps. Strange thing that. I wonder if this post will take some bizarre amount of time too that has me coming to at 10:20 going "WTF?"
Perhaps the time lapse is due to my newest distraction StumbleUpon. It's a great tool that helps you TO WASTE A LOT OF TIME! Ha ha. It takes down all your interests and then directs you randomly to sites that you would be keen on based on those interests. I've found some great websites this way and it starts to really make you think about how some of the things you love (in my case graphic novels, design and other things) you have gotten out of touch with. There are a lot of amazing websites out there that I wouldn't have been able to find out about unless I read like a 100 magazines a day. It's funny about the need for randomness when using computers. Nora Young also talked about that on her great show Spark last week briefly. In a world where we have computers and so much information to sort through and organize we almost appreciate the surprise or the random a lot more. We have no control over it or when it happens. I think that is the appeal of things like StumbleUpon. Something comes right out of left field and by god isn't it interesting too. Depending on your perspective it can be a lot of fun and very informative or an incredible waste of time. John Lennon said that "Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." Interesting. The older I get, the more sense his words make to me.
Ok Pixies...yes the amazing band from Boston who are still one of my favourite bands and unlike anyone else. Well Pixies had a great surprise for everyone recently on facebook (sometimes you can smell the hype a mile away). A lot of people posted that it would be great to see a reformed Pixies bring out a new album and tour. That could still be a reality one day. Nope it was a surprise that 4AD is bringing out a new Pixies box set, Minotaur, of all their albums with new artwork. So for those of us who have all their albums...boo, for fans of Vaughan Oliver...NEW ARTWORK! I wished that this secret might mean something incredible and while I am a fan of Oliver, the cds aren't remastered or anything, they are just the same ones you already own. Now if this gets new people interested in Pixies then that's cool but I can't help but feel like the record companies are capitalizing on early 90s music nostalgia or something. A new Pixies record, now that would be cool.
Physical State: creaky
Mental State: neutral
Music: Radio Dept. - Pet Grief
Fashion sense: blue t-shirt, jeans
Lately I've been noticing that when I get on the computer and do some web-surfing that a lot of time has passed and I don't know how it went by. Case in point, this morning I looked at the clock, 9am...seems fine. Get on the computer, check my email, etc, chat to a friend for a little bit on MSN...boom 10am! As Pixies asked (we'll get to that rant in a second)..."Where is my mind?" Sometimes the times just flies but when you are waiting for things that you need (hmmm i dunno like a tax return) it creeps. Strange thing that. I wonder if this post will take some bizarre amount of time too that has me coming to at 10:20 going "WTF?"
Perhaps the time lapse is due to my newest distraction StumbleUpon. It's a great tool that helps you TO WASTE A LOT OF TIME! Ha ha. It takes down all your interests and then directs you randomly to sites that you would be keen on based on those interests. I've found some great websites this way and it starts to really make you think about how some of the things you love (in my case graphic novels, design and other things) you have gotten out of touch with. There are a lot of amazing websites out there that I wouldn't have been able to find out about unless I read like a 100 magazines a day. It's funny about the need for randomness when using computers. Nora Young also talked about that on her great show Spark last week briefly. In a world where we have computers and so much information to sort through and organize we almost appreciate the surprise or the random a lot more. We have no control over it or when it happens. I think that is the appeal of things like StumbleUpon. Something comes right out of left field and by god isn't it interesting too. Depending on your perspective it can be a lot of fun and very informative or an incredible waste of time. John Lennon said that "Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." Interesting. The older I get, the more sense his words make to me.
Ok Pixies...yes the amazing band from Boston who are still one of my favourite bands and unlike anyone else. Well Pixies had a great surprise for everyone recently on facebook (sometimes you can smell the hype a mile away). A lot of people posted that it would be great to see a reformed Pixies bring out a new album and tour. That could still be a reality one day. Nope it was a surprise that 4AD is bringing out a new Pixies box set, Minotaur, of all their albums with new artwork. So for those of us who have all their albums...boo, for fans of Vaughan Oliver...NEW ARTWORK! I wished that this secret might mean something incredible and while I am a fan of Oliver, the cds aren't remastered or anything, they are just the same ones you already own. Now if this gets new people interested in Pixies then that's cool but I can't help but feel like the record companies are capitalizing on early 90s music nostalgia or something. A new Pixies record, now that would be cool.
Monday, April 20, 2009
New Bat For Lashes...new album sounds amazing
Physical State: sleepy
Mental State: spotty
Music: Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
Fashion sense: white t-shirt, jeans
This is going to be a runaway for the Mercury Prize this year. Really liking her new album. If you don't know Natasha, then you're missing out on something cool. Is it just me or do I hear a lot of Cat Power gene-spliced to Kate Bush in her voice?
Physical State: sleepy
Mental State: spotty
Music: Bat For Lashes - Two Suns
Fashion sense: white t-shirt, jeans
This is going to be a runaway for the Mercury Prize this year. Really liking her new album. If you don't know Natasha, then you're missing out on something cool. Is it just me or do I hear a lot of Cat Power gene-spliced to Kate Bush in her voice?
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Back once again: The blog name, Calgary Artists and Tatsumi
Physical State: achey muscles, gym
Mental State: encouraged
Music: Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t
Fashion sense: blue t-shirt, jeans
Ok after some consideration and a need to do more writing on a daily basis, I figure back to the blog is a good start. I mean I was doing this thing for a long time and the last two (count 'em) years I have slacked off. So here I am starting this up again. Let's hope it takes this time.
First off I met up today with a new meetup group for Calgary artists. Yes I am living in Calgary now in case you didn't know and freshly laid-off (or not that freshly about a month and a half). Anyways so I signed up with the meetup group to get inspired to draw again, to start thinking about art again and to frankly get out of the house as well and be more social. I thought it was a great first meeting and I am looking forward to more events in the future. I also found out pointers on some great comic stores around town which I am looking forward to checking out.
Secondly, Stranger Than Paradise. Why that name? Well it comes from the name of Jim Jarmusch's debut feature film and I always liked that movie for it's b/w and it's "smallness." The cast of Richard Edson, John Lurie and Ezter Balint are still great. This film watches like a small graphic novel reads. They are a bunch of broke goofballs who just hang out all day (and in Ezter's character's case listen to Screamin' Jay Hawkins all day). I still love this film and it's one of Jarmusch's early works that still rock.
The third thing I wanted to draw attention to is the great work of Japanese master graphic novelist Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Tatsumi has quickly become a favourite of mine after reading about his work in one of Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve editions. Tatsumi is the originator of the realistic "Gekiga" style. Tomine ushered in Tatsumi's work to North America in the past decade, graphic novels that were created in the late 60s! The new editions are lovingly hardbound by the fine folks at Drawn and Quarterly. These four volumes of Tatsumi's work are timeless. I just read that he is going to be at the Toronto comics fest in May and I wish I could go. This recent article in the NY Times pays tribute to this lesser-known artist and reviews his most recent work at a hefty 855 pages, the graphic novel A Drifting Life. This fascination with all things Tatsumi comes at the same time as I am reading Murakami novels. I would love to see the two of them collaborate on something together. One can dream.
Physical State: achey muscles, gym
Mental State: encouraged
Music: Pains of Being Pure at Heart - s/t
Fashion sense: blue t-shirt, jeans
Ok after some consideration and a need to do more writing on a daily basis, I figure back to the blog is a good start. I mean I was doing this thing for a long time and the last two (count 'em) years I have slacked off. So here I am starting this up again. Let's hope it takes this time.
First off I met up today with a new meetup group for Calgary artists. Yes I am living in Calgary now in case you didn't know and freshly laid-off (or not that freshly about a month and a half). Anyways so I signed up with the meetup group to get inspired to draw again, to start thinking about art again and to frankly get out of the house as well and be more social. I thought it was a great first meeting and I am looking forward to more events in the future. I also found out pointers on some great comic stores around town which I am looking forward to checking out.
Secondly, Stranger Than Paradise. Why that name? Well it comes from the name of Jim Jarmusch's debut feature film and I always liked that movie for it's b/w and it's "smallness." The cast of Richard Edson, John Lurie and Ezter Balint are still great. This film watches like a small graphic novel reads. They are a bunch of broke goofballs who just hang out all day (and in Ezter's character's case listen to Screamin' Jay Hawkins all day). I still love this film and it's one of Jarmusch's early works that still rock.
The third thing I wanted to draw attention to is the great work of Japanese master graphic novelist Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Tatsumi has quickly become a favourite of mine after reading about his work in one of Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve editions. Tatsumi is the originator of the realistic "Gekiga" style. Tomine ushered in Tatsumi's work to North America in the past decade, graphic novels that were created in the late 60s! The new editions are lovingly hardbound by the fine folks at Drawn and Quarterly. These four volumes of Tatsumi's work are timeless. I just read that he is going to be at the Toronto comics fest in May and I wish I could go. This recent article in the NY Times pays tribute to this lesser-known artist and reviews his most recent work at a hefty 855 pages, the graphic novel A Drifting Life. This fascination with all things Tatsumi comes at the same time as I am reading Murakami novels. I would love to see the two of them collaborate on something together. One can dream.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Soundtrack To Your Life
Physical State: slouchy
Mental State: inspired
Music: Spoon - Kill The Moonlight
Fashion sense: black t-shirt, pajama pants
Okay after a long hiatus, and some prodding from a friend, I am starting this blog back up again. Going to be baby steps at first, but after doing it for 5 years I think I owe it more respect than the past year has yielded, so we shall see.
This is something that I came across that is yet another Ipod shuffle game, Soundtrack Of Your Life. Like most ipod shuffle games it reveals some very interesting results. Not sure about the Young and Sexy one, but here it goes:
IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend your cool...
My results:
Opening Credits: Dirty Epic - Underworld
Waking Up: Lipostudio...And So On - Matmos
First Day At School: A Groovy Place - Mike Flowers Pops
Falling In Love: Herculean Bellboy – Young and Sexy
Fight Song: No Good Man – The SubDebs
Breaking Up: Headstream - Cities
Prom: Apologies – James Figurine
Life: Warrior – Public Image Ltd.
Mental Breakdown: Evacuation – Huevos Rancheros
Driving: Cometa - Murcof
Flashback: Rainbow - Slowblow
Getting back together: Polly Waltz – Richard Buckner
Wedding: Grand Kaleidoscope – Galerie Stratique
Birth of Child: There's Someone - Tarnation
Funeral Song: Melt Your Heart – Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins
Final Battle: Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today is OK – Múm
End Credits: Alicia Ross – Kathleen Edwards
Ok kinda lame first entry for this blog in such a long time but as I said baby steps.
Physical State: slouchy
Mental State: inspired
Music: Spoon - Kill The Moonlight
Fashion sense: black t-shirt, pajama pants
Okay after a long hiatus, and some prodding from a friend, I am starting this blog back up again. Going to be baby steps at first, but after doing it for 5 years I think I owe it more respect than the past year has yielded, so we shall see.
This is something that I came across that is yet another Ipod shuffle game, Soundtrack Of Your Life. Like most ipod shuffle games it reveals some very interesting results. Not sure about the Young and Sexy one, but here it goes:
IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend your cool...
My results:
Opening Credits: Dirty Epic - Underworld
Waking Up: Lipostudio...And So On - Matmos
First Day At School: A Groovy Place - Mike Flowers Pops
Falling In Love: Herculean Bellboy – Young and Sexy
Fight Song: No Good Man – The SubDebs
Breaking Up: Headstream - Cities
Prom: Apologies – James Figurine
Life: Warrior – Public Image Ltd.
Mental Breakdown: Evacuation – Huevos Rancheros
Driving: Cometa - Murcof
Flashback: Rainbow - Slowblow
Getting back together: Polly Waltz – Richard Buckner
Wedding: Grand Kaleidoscope – Galerie Stratique
Birth of Child: There's Someone - Tarnation
Funeral Song: Melt Your Heart – Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins
Final Battle: Yesterday Was Dramatic, Today is OK – Múm
End Credits: Alicia Ross – Kathleen Edwards
Ok kinda lame first entry for this blog in such a long time but as I said baby steps.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Watch This Space
Physical State: achey
Mental State: neutral
Music: Cat Power - Jukebox
Fashion sense: brown t-shirt, jeans
It's been a long time but I will be back soon. this will be year
5 for this blog so it feels like I owe it more attention than it's
been getting. So keep watching this space.
Physical State: achey
Mental State: neutral
Music: Cat Power - Jukebox
Fashion sense: brown t-shirt, jeans
It's been a long time but I will be back soon. this will be year
5 for this blog so it feels like I owe it more attention than it's
been getting. So keep watching this space.
Sunday, July 08, 2007
Yellowknife City Where The Grass Ain't Green But The Girls Are Pretty
Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers)
Physical State: tired
Mental State: dozey
Music: Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara
Fashion sense: green t-shirt, pajama pants
Ok yes it's been months since I wrote anything on this blog. A lot has happened as you may recall from April. I moved to Yellowknife, NWT to work at a radio station and I have been very busy (sometimes too busy) for the past month and a half. But the station gives me lots of opportunities to do things in radio that I might not be able to do in Toronto. Right now I do remotes and production in addition to my regular afternoon shift on the station. I am also being trained to work as a music director. So lots on the go. Yellowknife is a lot different from Toronto, like a small town big town. Also the sun rarely disappears up here, i walked home from a bar at 2 am and the light looked like about 6 pm back home. Weird.
We also have a huge music fest up here, Folk On The Rocks which I have been doing interviews for. In the past week I have talked to Dallas Good of The Sadies, Kytami a violinist and electronic artist from Vancouver, The Bebop Cowboys as well as my friend Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers, seen above). That is a still from his new video done by Roncesvalles Village indie director Scott Cudmore. Great to see both Tony and Scott getting so much exposure. I can't wait to hang out for a beer with Tony up here at Folk On The Rocks.
The title of this post alludes to a great hip hop song by local rapper Godson (who I also interviewed for the station). He's got some great songs that we play on the station.
I've met a lot of cool people up here in a very short time and it feels like a big family up here. There are many talented and interesting people in this town. I have to start looking for a new place to live though which has got me a bit anxious. We shall see what happens.
Well that is it for my first attempt to keep this blog up in north of 60 here.
Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers)
Physical State: tired
Mental State: dozey
Music: Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara
Fashion sense: green t-shirt, pajama pants
Ok yes it's been months since I wrote anything on this blog. A lot has happened as you may recall from April. I moved to Yellowknife, NWT to work at a radio station and I have been very busy (sometimes too busy) for the past month and a half. But the station gives me lots of opportunities to do things in radio that I might not be able to do in Toronto. Right now I do remotes and production in addition to my regular afternoon shift on the station. I am also being trained to work as a music director. So lots on the go. Yellowknife is a lot different from Toronto, like a small town big town. Also the sun rarely disappears up here, i walked home from a bar at 2 am and the light looked like about 6 pm back home. Weird.
We also have a huge music fest up here, Folk On The Rocks which I have been doing interviews for. In the past week I have talked to Dallas Good of The Sadies, Kytami a violinist and electronic artist from Vancouver, The Bebop Cowboys as well as my friend Tony Dekker (Great Lake Swimmers, seen above). That is a still from his new video done by Roncesvalles Village indie director Scott Cudmore. Great to see both Tony and Scott getting so much exposure. I can't wait to hang out for a beer with Tony up here at Folk On The Rocks.
The title of this post alludes to a great hip hop song by local rapper Godson (who I also interviewed for the station). He's got some great songs that we play on the station.
I've met a lot of cool people up here in a very short time and it feels like a big family up here. There are many talented and interesting people in this town. I have to start looking for a new place to live though which has got me a bit anxious. We shall see what happens.
Well that is it for my first attempt to keep this blog up in north of 60 here.
