The Travails of the Astounding!

This morning I went downstairs to discover the beloved tropical fish Ive tended for months, are dead. A sacrifice in flesh to my trip to New York. I'll be damned if I clean up their skeletal carcasses. That's what roommates are for. Good news, the second tank of smaller unimpressive fish is still in good shape, dont think we suffered any casualties there.
SIGH
I'll miss them. Especially the Kissing Fish who would wait for people to leave the room before they would embrace. They would spend hours kissing each other. It was something to see. Y'know, a year ago I fucking hated the limb-less, ugly, fucks. These damned emotions...

Personality Crisis from the album "New York Dolls" by New York Dolls 4 Stars

Watching the end of the Sopranos fifth season, I feel a strong desire to experiment with motion photgraphy again. I've been so in love with stills I nearly forgot how titillating good shots are in the right place and time.

Reading Sim City, I was enthralled with the images Frank Miller uses to tell his sordid tale. I'm not sure how it was for Robert Rodriguez, but I definitely feel like my love for films is directly linked with a young appreciation for comics as a respectable art form. Guess I was just raised right.

The final sequence of the episode, it dawns on me, is much like a metaphor for the black bear in the back yard scenes earlier this season. Finally with Tony banging on the glass doors, wet disheveled and looking for shelter.

There's talk of a special appearance, more on that as developments, develop.

I'm in love with Stereolab. So sue me. Or love me. Make up your mind.

In case I havent mentioned it yet. The Return of the Kings extended cut is excellent. Nay, fucking amazing.

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction from the album "Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!" by Devo 5 Stars

Who Killed Bambi? from the album "Cash From Chaos" by Tempole Tudor 4 Stars

Ssssssstaying in Pittsburgh for the holiday.
Jeez, that was hard to say.



Bury Me with it from the album "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" by Modest Mouse 4 Stars

With Christmas less than a fortnight away, I'm alarmed at my lack of holiday spirit. Such a thing usually comes quite easily to me. I like the holidays, for all theyre worth. The winter holidays are great ways to celebrate life during the coldest most lifeless period of the year. Such an irony greatly appeals to my sense of humor and aesthetic. So why do I feel so nonplussed? I think I shall try to do more holiday things... See if I can scare up some Christmas lights and decorations. Perhaps someones doing the Nutcracker in Pittsburgh. Yeah, as a matter of fact, all you Burghers, if theres anything doing that reeks of Holiday cheese, let me know.
Meanwhile, life goes on, as it always has, with no special heed to temperament or lackluster celebration, Chanaka is almost over with Christmas fast approaching....
(5 minutes later)
At this point I had decided to look up the history of Chanukah, as I know very little about it. I learned how to spell it and then 2/3 into the article I noticed something that I find quite curious. The practice of referring to God as G-d baffles me. See, I understand the concept of respectfully avoiding the utterance of the true name of your creator. And assuming for the moment that a glib name as "God' is anything more than our own little way of referring to the impossibly infinite, isnt 'G-d' the same thing? Are you not referring to the same entity? Arent you using the majority of the letters? Hell a dash and an O have nothing in common EXCEPT when you stick them in the middle of a G and a D. Then theres no difference between em. I say Sh!t, I say F#ck. You know what I mean, and for all practical purposes I have just cursed. Sure, I didnt use the precise letter configuration, but words arent about letters, theyre about ideas. If you intentionally convey an idea through the use of language, it really doesnt matter how you chose to get there, youre there. God is G-d, and it makes no sense... of course, it can be said that faith in general isnt about making sense... it's about finding abstractions that have value and devoting yourself to them. I just hate little logical inconsistencies like that, but oh well, at least the trailer for CHARLIE and THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY is out!!!!!!
Non sequitur?
Perhaps.
Totally G-d D@mn awesome?
Most definitely.

I WILL eventually get used to Johnny Depp smiling so much.

The Perry Bible Fellowship by Nicholas Gurewitch


The Love Gang from the album "Chain Gang of Love " by The Raveonettes
then I was listening to
I'm Blue from the album "Teenage Mojo Workout" by The 5.6.7.8's
wish is also pretty darn tootin.

A zoologist who observed gorillas in their native habitat was amazed by the uniformity of their life and their vast idleness. Hours and hours without doing anything. Was boredom unknown to them? This is indeed a question raised by a human, a busy ape. Far from fleeing monotony, animals crave it, and what they most dread is to see it end. For it ends, only to be replaced by fear, the cause of all activity. Inaction is divine; yet it is against inaction that man has rebelled. Man alone, in nature, is incapable of enduring monotony, man alone wants something to happen at all costs-something, anything.... Thereby he shows himself unworthy of his ancestor: the need for novelty is the characteristic of an alienated gorilla.

French philosopher E.M. Cioran
The Trouble with Being Born

Something That I Said by The Ruts
from the album "Cash From Chaos"

Oliver Stone Slams Dvd's
Although Oliver Stone's 19-year-old son Sean has shot the behind-the-scenes documentary for Alexander and while the video package is likely to include an examination of the actual life of the Greek conqueror and other informative material, Stone himself has indicated that he is not at all enthusiastic about the coming of age of DVDs. Video Store magazine quotes him as saying during a recent press event, "It's the end of movie-movies the way we know them. ... If you walk into a room with 5,000 DVDs, how are you going to respect movies? How do you know the good ones?," Stone asked. "It's going to the LCD -- the lowest common denominator. It's making movies into supermarket-shelf items, which is probably the best you can get at Wal-Mart. ... It's hopeless."
-Forgot the Source

What Stone doesnt grasp is that movies have always been a business, Sidney Lumet has called being a director the best job in the world, and he's right. It is a job, which is part of an industry. Which releases a product which you pay to experience. DVDs, distribute said product. The integrity of filmmaking is lost somewhere in between, but that's not the fault of a plastic disc! That people seem more and more interested in collecting movies, and building their own librarys of films, is not an indication of a declinational pattern in the quality of product being released, it's the symptom of a fucked system that gets people to want continuosly. Desire is mandatory.
But really that's besides the point, isn't it? DVD's are smaller, more manageable, cheaper to ship, easier to make, and longer lasting than the aged VHS standard. What does this REALLY mean? It means that smaller, independent projects suddenly have the ability to ship 'round the world. Entire productions can be planned, produced and printed from your Mac. Spread throughout the world, in ways that were IMPOSSIBLE 10 years ago. In a way, DVDs breathe new life into the movie industry because they allow for a level of competition not seen since porn went from film to video.
Some other considerations. DVD-extras offer a deeper understanding of the fundamental nature of a film production. These behind the scenes, and commentary tracks are windows for the trained and untrained alike to witness the decisions, the trials, the tribulations and the fun of making a film. I feel this is the most valuable aspect of the DVD phenomenon. There is also the possibility of resurrecting 'cult' films, that would have otherwised slipped into the abyss of forgotten screen gems. How many people, were turned on to the Big Lebowski, after it was released on DVD? Oh, then there is of course the issue of vastly superior sound and image quality.. but do I really even need to go there?
I feel as if DVDs allow for a greater appreciation of movies than ever before. Oliver Stone is an idiot. But he can make a mean film every now and then. So respect. Befuddlement....and respect.

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Scientists said on Monday they have come up with a cell phone cover that will grow into a sunflower when thrown away.

Materials company Pvaxx Research & Development, at the request of U.S.-based mobile phone maker Motorola (MOT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) , has come up with a polymer that looks like any other plastic, but which degrades into soil when discarded.

Researchers at the University of Warwick in Britain then helped to develop a phone cover that contains a sunflower seed, which will feed on the nitrates that are formed when the polyvinylalcohol polymer cover turns to waste.

"It's a totally biodegradable and non-toxic plastic," said Pvaxx spokesman Peter Morris.

"This is the first product that we've made public. We're working with blue chip companies and will introduce several products next year," he said, adding it would be used in electronics, horticulture, ammunition and household cleaning.

The company's new plastic, which was created over the past five years but was in development for longer, can be rigid or flexible in shape.

Some 650 million mobile phones will be sold this year, and most of them will be thrown away within two years, burdening the environment with plastics, heavy metals and chemicals. A biodegradable cover can offer some relief for nature, Warwick University said.

Motorola said it had not yet decided if it would introduce a model built with the new plastic, and that it would take until at least the second quarter of 2005 to get a commercial product.

"(To improve) the quality (of the plastic) is something we're working on," said Motorola project manager Peter Shead, adding the new plastic may be used in snap-on covers first.

Many young consumers buy cheap and interchangeable plastic covers to personalize their standard phone.
Remarkable. Astonishing.

Marilyn Manson has a best of album out?!
HUH?
It's got a new cover of Personal Jesus?
What the-?
Why didnt someone tell me he had one of those............things?!
Bob, gun.

The album, neatly entitled, Lest We Forget. Couldn't hope to be as smartly titled as Type O Negatives compilation, The Least Worst Of. Not enough of a review you say? How does this stack up against other Manson albums? It doesn't. Cause on a whole Best Of's arent worth the plastic it takes to wrap a babys ass. It DOES however showcase a self portrait by the artist on its cover, which I MUST say looks rather striking. That talented bastard. I hope to see him blazing new trails and such. It's been far too long since Ive really marveled at he who is Manson.

Day 4 of Shitty Cold Two Double Ought Four
On being sick:

• Let's hope this is the only cold of the season.
• I remember when I took Cold-Eeze, and didnt get sick for nearly 3 years.
• Tylenol Cold NT will knock your fucking lights out.
• Thelonious Monk is the perfect Soundtrack for dreary days of convalescence.

After seeing this, I suddenly feel MUCH less sick. I'm a fan of movie posters that effectively convey the pathos of a character. If a single image can express to you what the protagonist is all about and subsequently what the movie will be like, then it's a great success. Quite often, movies are afraid not to show the stars face or sex-appeal of some sort, and various other elements that a studio feels will make the poster shiny and exciting. It's a good sign that this is the first poster to come out for the upcoming Batman. June 17th cant come fast enough.

Nutty from the album "Misterioso" by Thelonious Monk