Sunday, November 30, 2008

Stan the Man

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Here is a complete interview with Stanley Kubrick circa early 1970s. It's probably one of the last interviews he did before he got all St. Herman on us.

The highlight is his spiel on 'problem-solving', which seems to him, tantamount to anything, which it is.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Cynic or Realist?

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When you have the opportunity, listen to this interview with artist Kerry James Marshall. It's pretty interesting in that he seems to have this hard-boiled realistic attitude towards the art-world, which entails knowing who your audience is, finding a flaw in the system, and exposing this flaw somehow in your work.
Some might call this cynical because it seems so strategic and counter-active to the so-called innate, primal impetus that impels any person to make things. Does this 'innocent' impetus get smothered upon being professionalized (or individualized?), or is it an immature, yet necessary force that starts the process of becoming?
Sorry I'm being so wordy-blurdy here, it comes down to this: is cynical and realist the same thing under different costumes? Please chime in.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Elephant Crackup

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If you have some time to burn and you want to burn it in a meaningful way,
read this article about Elephant-human relations. It's a really awesome article and an amazing "exposé" on what is appearing to be an elephantine revolt against humans

Friday, November 14, 2008

Carrie (1976)

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In my recent Brian DePalma binge, I watched Carrie all the way through for the first time. I used to say I had 'seen' it, but almost always in its edited for TV versions or in snippets elsewhere. Have you seen Carrie lately? It's (arguably) DePalma's most popular film for good reason.
Aside from its creepiness, DePalma, having a lot of time in pre-production for this film, got quite lyrical. The slow-mo sequences, the weird split-biopter lense shots, the complicated crane shots, etc all tickled me immensely.
Not to mention that it's to the point! It's a pretty short film compared to the usual fare offered today. My ass feels like it's whacked by a paddle after I go to the theater these days. But don't get me started about my ass, that's another story altogether.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Shudder to Think, literally

I'm post-phoning my Halloween pics in favor of talking about a moment I had tonight while enjoying the first song by the recently reunited Shudder to Think. They were a band I listened to a lot in high school and much of college. Their stuff still
holds up.

When the band started playing, I looked around the ballroom and saw it full of wide-smiling, thirty somethings. We were all feeling 10 years younger. Nostalgia was in the red. I entered the worm hole to the 90s! The days of Clinton. A pre-email-centric society that was more obsessed with politician's penises than fear of the bottom falling out. It was a glorious and insouciant time space. I don't what kind of circle was closed that night, but a biggish one.

It was very heart-warming, butthen heart-leadening. I was seeing things in the rear view mirror. Suddenly that Red Bull I drank shortly beforehand began to give me heart palpitations. My hands got kind of sweaty. I thought about death. But then Shudder started to play "Pebbles" and I forgot about death. Then death came back. I flittered between the two throughout the set. I realized, like being 32 wasn't enough, that I was headed FULL-SPEED into the prime of life. It kind of felt like a cheap version of the rapture with a 90s rock soundtrack.

On top of this, my old buddy Jesse Krakow was playing base for them, the very same friend who listened to this band with me in highschool. La dee frickin da you might say. But this overall experience hits everyone eventually.

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Please note 5 year old girl at the bottom.

**Incidentally, Shudder to Think RULE!