I wouldn't recommend these if they were lame, so watch them all. Straight up.
Kurt Cobain: About a Son (R) A rare audio interview with Cobain juxtaposed with related film and photos.
Kurt and Courtney (R) While interesting, just take it for what it's worth. It was canceled before it's complete so the final message is unclear. About the bizarre relationship between Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.
My Kid Could Paint That (PG-13) About a toddler artist who makes paintings that rival the masters of abstract art.
This Film is Not Yet Rated (NC-17) Warning: Very graphic sexual content and language. About censorship in America and the control of ideas through film by anonymous people.
Hype! (R) Notes on the Punk and Grunge Scene in Seattle and the business of selling out. The "Beautiful Loosers" of music.
The Botany of Desire (G) Who's really in control? Us or them?And possibly more important, who's them?
Between the Folds (G) A look at the obscure masters of Oragami and how it has changed the world in Art, Science, Logic, and Wonder.
Art 21 (Episodes range from G-R) People pushing the borders of art.
This American Life (PG) America, meet America, your cooler cousin.
This Emotional Life (PG) An areal view of how relationships, romantic, family, and friend, work and how they affect our lives.
X-Games: The Movie (PG-13) This one and 'Kurt and Courtney' are the weakest as far as message, but both are still worth watching, because of their remarkable content. This one profiles some of extreme sport's most unexplainable figures. People who do something impossible, until they break themselves, then get up and do it again.
This list is shorter because a lot of the docs I've watched lately have been real duds. Still, these are top notch.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Untitled Poem #1
I wake up in the morning
I open up the blinds
I stair into the sun's eyes
An he stairs into mine
I cannot
Explain
The expression on his face
But even when he's smiling
I feel I'm in disgrace
Sunday, July 18, 2010
On Shoes and Afairs
I was out walking with Ace today and the day was queer. I felt an enormous unrest all around and through me. It was a loud unrest, a forceful one i could not shrug off, or explain away. The sun simmered on the verge of boiling and the clouds charged across the sky, intent on speed and in my speculation, escape, because you cannot know the why in clouds. The leaves where on the verge of riot in the wind and the birds cawed instead of chirping and the grass was conspiratorial amongst it's members.
No room for misunderstanding. The day was disturbed. So, I had been walking for maybe thirty minuets, if you judge a walk by time, and was beginning to feel genuinely distressed, so I pulled my irritable mind out of it's bed and dipped it into my surroundings. With the immediacy of a meal to a starving man, and about as overwhelming, the rush of voices that filled my head astounded me.
Whisper-lings, and thought tendrils pleaded for my attention. It was a moment of weight, of complex logistics and simple wordless emotion that sparked and snapped like oil and water in a hot pan. And it was hot. The day was a hot one. I hadn't noticed. But the pavement was burning my feet. I walked on.
The clouds had the most to say. They and the bushes had the loudest voices. But all the earth, as far as i could hear with this seeming new sense, they where all, and it took all of them for the complete idea, saying the same thing. This is an enduring day. A waiting for darkness so I can close my eyes and not have to see, day. A day for the beautiful to feel ugly, for the desirable to feel worthless, and to be treated worthless, and in so doing become worthless.
It was worse then i had initially thought. A jogger passed me. Three joggers passed me. Two boys on bikes and then another. A man was teaching his child soccer. And they were laughing. My tone might lead you to believe i became angry at these people for ignoring the day, but i wasn't, i was more stunned and baffled.
How could no one feel the immensity of such a day? Despite the state of the world, they do not come often, at least not my finite interpretation of often. The earth is a powerful she, and her children the days are reckless and crave to revel in their short life span, despite having such dull playmates in us.
So why when Pan stops playing his flute and dancing do these people not ask why? But it was not a difficult question to answer after all. They didn't ask because they had no question. They couldn't hear, didn't even know someone was talking and thus weren't even attempting to glean from the echos.
So why couldn't they hear in the least, and i couldn't even muffle the noise? A dull flicker of pain answered my question. My feet where burning almost beyond bearing now. They were burning on the hot asphalt of the pathway that wound through the hills like an old scar. No one else was stupid enough to be barefoot on such a day. And it was through my feet, though dulled by the path, that the day's voice was reaching me. As I walked over it's rises and falls, and stubbed my toes where it's roots had tried to heal the scar I received it's heart in a rhythm not at all unlike morse code, or like a blues rock song.
And it was then that I realized, two people cannot have a successful romantic relationship without physical contact. It would seem that we want to treat each day like a business partner, or perhaps more of a secretary here in America, then a lover. But that's all wrong. This is why we die before we knew we were alive. This is why we are unhappy, and almost wait for each day to be over with, so we can finally get whatever we're waiting for. We are adulterers, one and all.
We have stuffed our ears with our shoes and minds with cheap laughter and pleasure. Our noses we have filled with the smell of sizzle and sparkle and our eyes are weak from the billboards and nearly blind from the flashing white teeth of our idols. Our overworked hands shake and our hearts are repressed. Put simply, the dark enemies of humanity's closets may have been filled with skeletons and secrets, but each of ours, possibly more frighteningly, is filled with 10-15 pairs of shoes.
I have identified a symptom, nothing more, and through that seen a clearer ultrasound of the issue, and the issue is mindset. And worldview. This is was day of perspective, one i felt was too valuable not to share.
No room for misunderstanding. The day was disturbed. So, I had been walking for maybe thirty minuets, if you judge a walk by time, and was beginning to feel genuinely distressed, so I pulled my irritable mind out of it's bed and dipped it into my surroundings. With the immediacy of a meal to a starving man, and about as overwhelming, the rush of voices that filled my head astounded me.
Whisper-lings, and thought tendrils pleaded for my attention. It was a moment of weight, of complex logistics and simple wordless emotion that sparked and snapped like oil and water in a hot pan. And it was hot. The day was a hot one. I hadn't noticed. But the pavement was burning my feet. I walked on.
The clouds had the most to say. They and the bushes had the loudest voices. But all the earth, as far as i could hear with this seeming new sense, they where all, and it took all of them for the complete idea, saying the same thing. This is an enduring day. A waiting for darkness so I can close my eyes and not have to see, day. A day for the beautiful to feel ugly, for the desirable to feel worthless, and to be treated worthless, and in so doing become worthless.
It was worse then i had initially thought. A jogger passed me. Three joggers passed me. Two boys on bikes and then another. A man was teaching his child soccer. And they were laughing. My tone might lead you to believe i became angry at these people for ignoring the day, but i wasn't, i was more stunned and baffled.
How could no one feel the immensity of such a day? Despite the state of the world, they do not come often, at least not my finite interpretation of often. The earth is a powerful she, and her children the days are reckless and crave to revel in their short life span, despite having such dull playmates in us.
So why when Pan stops playing his flute and dancing do these people not ask why? But it was not a difficult question to answer after all. They didn't ask because they had no question. They couldn't hear, didn't even know someone was talking and thus weren't even attempting to glean from the echos.
So why couldn't they hear in the least, and i couldn't even muffle the noise? A dull flicker of pain answered my question. My feet where burning almost beyond bearing now. They were burning on the hot asphalt of the pathway that wound through the hills like an old scar. No one else was stupid enough to be barefoot on such a day. And it was through my feet, though dulled by the path, that the day's voice was reaching me. As I walked over it's rises and falls, and stubbed my toes where it's roots had tried to heal the scar I received it's heart in a rhythm not at all unlike morse code, or like a blues rock song.
And it was then that I realized, two people cannot have a successful romantic relationship without physical contact. It would seem that we want to treat each day like a business partner, or perhaps more of a secretary here in America, then a lover. But that's all wrong. This is why we die before we knew we were alive. This is why we are unhappy, and almost wait for each day to be over with, so we can finally get whatever we're waiting for. We are adulterers, one and all.
We have stuffed our ears with our shoes and minds with cheap laughter and pleasure. Our noses we have filled with the smell of sizzle and sparkle and our eyes are weak from the billboards and nearly blind from the flashing white teeth of our idols. Our overworked hands shake and our hearts are repressed. Put simply, the dark enemies of humanity's closets may have been filled with skeletons and secrets, but each of ours, possibly more frighteningly, is filled with 10-15 pairs of shoes.
I have identified a symptom, nothing more, and through that seen a clearer ultrasound of the issue, and the issue is mindset. And worldview. This is was day of perspective, one i felt was too valuable not to share.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Great Documentaries
The Beautiful Loosers (R) Indie Street Art
Dear Zachary (R) A Letter to a Boy About His Murdered Father
Religulous (R) Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, Jewish Religion
Jesus Camp (PG) Christianity
Hell House (R) Radical Christianity
Who the $#%& is Jackson Pollock (PG-13) A Woman Takes on The Man
Dreams With Sharp Teeth (R) A Biopic on Author Harlan Ellison
Jackson Pollock: Love and Death (PG) Biopic on Artist Jackson Pollock
Food Inc. (PG-13) The Truth Behind The American Kitchen
Super Size Me (R) Oh, McDonalds...
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride (R) Biopic on Author Hunter S. Tomson
It Might Get Loud (PG) The Electric Guitar as Seen Through the Eyes of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White
New York Doll (PG-13) A Look at Arthur Kane from the New York Dolls
Dog Town and The Z-Boys (PG-13) A Look At the Birth of Skateboarding
Very Young Girls (R) Prostitution and The Sex Trade in America
Dear Zachary (R) A Letter to a Boy About His Murdered Father
Religulous (R) Christianity, Islam, Mormonism, Jewish Religion
Jesus Camp (PG) Christianity
Hell House (R) Radical Christianity
Who the $#%& is Jackson Pollock (PG-13) A Woman Takes on The Man
Dreams With Sharp Teeth (R) A Biopic on Author Harlan Ellison
Jackson Pollock: Love and Death (PG) Biopic on Artist Jackson Pollock
Food Inc. (PG-13) The Truth Behind The American Kitchen
Super Size Me (R) Oh, McDonalds...
Buy The Ticket, Take The Ride (R) Biopic on Author Hunter S. Tomson
It Might Get Loud (PG) The Electric Guitar as Seen Through the Eyes of Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White
New York Doll (PG-13) A Look at Arthur Kane from the New York Dolls
Dog Town and The Z-Boys (PG-13) A Look At the Birth of Skateboarding
Very Young Girls (R) Prostitution and The Sex Trade in America
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Love Bach
Dear Crystal,
First of all, I love you. I guess i feel that just needs to be said out front, and hopefully, by the end of this letter, some remnant of those words and their meaning will have stayed with you. You're great and i wish i could have stayed.
You know how you're in the park and everyone's all around, and it's summer and it's warm and balls are flying and the smell of steak on the grill, and it feels like it's been going forever and it's so great it'll never stop? And then, it's over and you leave and the car is quiet. And you go home and it's even quieter. And when you crawl into bed alone, it's quieter still. So quiet it feels like someone's howling.
Well, that's how i feel right now. But there was no way i could stay. Not with what i had left behind back home. It's like, my whole life i've been just moving and harvesting life and moving and leaving behind the 'dull parts'. Like i think i'm in a movie or something. Like i'm a stray.
But you, man, your so stable, so honest, you give back and, oh, man, you're so beautiful. But i could see you where starting to have some feelings for me, and, i couldn't do that to you. I've got stuff I have to deal with back home. My brother, he's, well, he's sick. He's fourteen and defendant reaching the end of his health. They're actually surprised he lived this long. But I need to make things right with him.
I hope some day we'll meat again. I'll never forget your beautiful brown eyes. On the back of this letter is a map, follow it, you'll find i left a small treasure buried in the garden.
Love, Bach
PS. I knew the reason you wouldn't talk to me that first was because of my name, and you can blame Tom for that. He tells everyone that when he first saw he thought i looked smart enough to write an opera. And you know, all that noise does grow on you. Sometimes i sit under a tree and chew a bone in time.
First of all, I love you. I guess i feel that just needs to be said out front, and hopefully, by the end of this letter, some remnant of those words and their meaning will have stayed with you. You're great and i wish i could have stayed.
You know how you're in the park and everyone's all around, and it's summer and it's warm and balls are flying and the smell of steak on the grill, and it feels like it's been going forever and it's so great it'll never stop? And then, it's over and you leave and the car is quiet. And you go home and it's even quieter. And when you crawl into bed alone, it's quieter still. So quiet it feels like someone's howling.
Well, that's how i feel right now. But there was no way i could stay. Not with what i had left behind back home. It's like, my whole life i've been just moving and harvesting life and moving and leaving behind the 'dull parts'. Like i think i'm in a movie or something. Like i'm a stray.
But you, man, your so stable, so honest, you give back and, oh, man, you're so beautiful. But i could see you where starting to have some feelings for me, and, i couldn't do that to you. I've got stuff I have to deal with back home. My brother, he's, well, he's sick. He's fourteen and defendant reaching the end of his health. They're actually surprised he lived this long. But I need to make things right with him.
I hope some day we'll meat again. I'll never forget your beautiful brown eyes. On the back of this letter is a map, follow it, you'll find i left a small treasure buried in the garden.
Love, Bach
PS. I knew the reason you wouldn't talk to me that first was because of my name, and you can blame Tom for that. He tells everyone that when he first saw he thought i looked smart enough to write an opera. And you know, all that noise does grow on you. Sometimes i sit under a tree and chew a bone in time.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
DA: Old Movies
Now, if you're anything like me, you see 1956 or 76, or 86, or 96, or, shoot, even 06, and you go "They made movies back then?! Probably silent." Haha, oh, fickle youth.
For some reason, it's often hard to psych up for an old movie. You think, aww man, do i want to use up two hours of my short life that i'll never get back on black and white? Give me a movie my friends like, give me a movie that's now.
But truth is, these old movies cost just as much as the ones now, they were the rage, they won awards, people feinted over those movie stars too.
My point is, there is a reason movies are still around. They've always been good. I honestly haven't gotten into a movie this much in a long time.
You might whine, "But don't all the battles look really cheesy cuz they didn't, like, have CG or whatever?" Actually the lawsuit hadn't really blossomed into the stunning rose it is today, those filmmakers could get away with murder. Or nearly. You watch some of those old battle scenes and you go... Oh. Wow.
Sure, people did have slightly longer attention spans back then so, these might be a little longer. And sure, their not all good. It's getting the same with old books. Dude, they didn't even know about ipods back then (90's) I don't want to read that.
Do you have any idea how sickeningly much that sounds like communism in Vietnam? They set up a whole regime where history starts now, forget your past, families aren't important. North Korea is currently on year 56 (i think) and screw the rest of history.
I'm not saying forgeting old movies is quite as crimminal as forgeting WWII, but it demonstrates a similar attitude. Future, future, future. The atmosphere is becoming worse still, now it's forget the present too.
Americans spend their whole lives saving up for their futures as old people. Nothing wrong with being old, but what about childhood? Adolescence? Youth? Midlife? I half think if offered to skip ahead to a nice juicy retirement people actually would.
Something to think about. Anyway, you don't have to get all psychological to get into some really great vintage movies. Everyone and their dog knows that the older the wine, the better, and i present the same for movies.
Here is a short list of incredible classics.
Ben Hur - 1959
Sure, everyone's heard of it, and possibly seen it at some point, but pull it out again. This isn't a kids movie. Amazing film makeing, and you really can't beet old Charlton Heston's utterly likable weirdness. Currently holds spot #139 on imdb's top 250 films of all time. Should be rated PG-13 for graphic violence.
The Bridge on the River Kwai - 1957
You will really get into this one if you like characters. As far as I'm concerned, precious few have ever captured my interest like Alec Guinness's Colonel Nicholson. It really twists your stomach and has an utterly unexpected and dynamic ending, leaving you with a lot to chew on. Holds spot #70 on imdb's top 250 films of all time. It is a spic and span movie so it hardly deserves more then a PG, but it's very intense and i doubt children would find it interesting. Are you a child?
Seven Samurai - 1954
I know many people will instantly say no when they learn this, but, "Yes, it is in Japanese". Non the less, WOW! this movie blows my mind. It has been remade once (Magnificent Seven, with Steve McQueen) and a new version is currently in the works, but man, it hardly needs it. This movie provides a rare look into feudal Japan, and if you got any kind of kick out of The Last Samurai, then you MUST see this movie. Kikuchiyo is the craziest character i've ever seen. Hold the prestigious spot of #15 on imdb's top 250. Warning: it would defiantly garner a current rating of PG-13 as it has quite a bit of language. (No F's)
A few other good one's (Just to getcha started):
Rebeca - 1940 (#97)
The Great Escape - 1963 (#101)
To Kill A Mockingbird - 1962 (#52)
Psycho - 1960 (#22)
The Godfather - 1972 (#2)
12 Angry Men - 1957 (#7)
Rear Window - 1954 (#20)
It's a Wonderful Life - 1946 (#28)
Alien - 1979 (#43)
Stand By Me - 1986 (#155)
Planet of The Apes - 1968 (#228)
I'll probably list more in a few months, to keep you well fed on stuff that shouldn't be forgotten. Stuff that's still good.
For some reason, it's often hard to psych up for an old movie. You think, aww man, do i want to use up two hours of my short life that i'll never get back on black and white? Give me a movie my friends like, give me a movie that's now.
But truth is, these old movies cost just as much as the ones now, they were the rage, they won awards, people feinted over those movie stars too.
My point is, there is a reason movies are still around. They've always been good. I honestly haven't gotten into a movie this much in a long time.
You might whine, "But don't all the battles look really cheesy cuz they didn't, like, have CG or whatever?" Actually the lawsuit hadn't really blossomed into the stunning rose it is today, those filmmakers could get away with murder. Or nearly. You watch some of those old battle scenes and you go... Oh. Wow.
Sure, people did have slightly longer attention spans back then so, these might be a little longer. And sure, their not all good. It's getting the same with old books. Dude, they didn't even know about ipods back then (90's) I don't want to read that.
Do you have any idea how sickeningly much that sounds like communism in Vietnam? They set up a whole regime where history starts now, forget your past, families aren't important. North Korea is currently on year 56 (i think) and screw the rest of history.
I'm not saying forgeting old movies is quite as crimminal as forgeting WWII, but it demonstrates a similar attitude. Future, future, future. The atmosphere is becoming worse still, now it's forget the present too.
Americans spend their whole lives saving up for their futures as old people. Nothing wrong with being old, but what about childhood? Adolescence? Youth? Midlife? I half think if offered to skip ahead to a nice juicy retirement people actually would.
Something to think about. Anyway, you don't have to get all psychological to get into some really great vintage movies. Everyone and their dog knows that the older the wine, the better, and i present the same for movies.
Here is a short list of incredible classics.
Sure, everyone's heard of it, and possibly seen it at some point, but pull it out again. This isn't a kids movie. Amazing film makeing, and you really can't beet old Charlton Heston's utterly likable weirdness. Currently holds spot #139 on imdb's top 250 films of all time. Should be rated PG-13 for graphic violence.
You will really get into this one if you like characters. As far as I'm concerned, precious few have ever captured my interest like Alec Guinness's Colonel Nicholson. It really twists your stomach and has an utterly unexpected and dynamic ending, leaving you with a lot to chew on. Holds spot #70 on imdb's top 250 films of all time. It is a spic and span movie so it hardly deserves more then a PG, but it's very intense and i doubt children would find it interesting. Are you a child?
I know many people will instantly say no when they learn this, but, "Yes, it is in Japanese". Non the less, WOW! this movie blows my mind. It has been remade once (Magnificent Seven, with Steve McQueen) and a new version is currently in the works, but man, it hardly needs it. This movie provides a rare look into feudal Japan, and if you got any kind of kick out of The Last Samurai, then you MUST see this movie. Kikuchiyo is the craziest character i've ever seen. Hold the prestigious spot of #15 on imdb's top 250. Warning: it would defiantly garner a current rating of PG-13 as it has quite a bit of language. (No F's)
A few other good one's (Just to getcha started):
Rebeca - 1940 (#97)
The Great Escape - 1963 (#101)
To Kill A Mockingbird - 1962 (#52)
Psycho - 1960 (#22)
The Godfather - 1972 (#2)
12 Angry Men - 1957 (#7)
Rear Window - 1954 (#20)
It's a Wonderful Life - 1946 (#28)
Alien - 1979 (#43)
Stand By Me - 1986 (#155)
Planet of The Apes - 1968 (#228)
I'll probably list more in a few months, to keep you well fed on stuff that shouldn't be forgotten. Stuff that's still good.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
This Horrible Paradox
DIRECTOR: Okay, take four hundred and eighteen, scene twenty nine. Please... Three, two...
MOVIE STAR: Yeah, okay. You got me. I took some greased chicken under the bar. Fine. Look, I'm sorry. I'm sorry i ever stuck my nose into this rats nest, and i'm sorry i cared enough to bother saving your life. Oh, and I'm sorry about Gavin too. Ooh boy, big whooper.
CO STAR: Come on, man. You know you mean the world to me, and, and i really respect ya too, but, awe man. It's just ya done what ya done. We're adults. You took a bribe and it costing Mikey. He's taking a fall right now. Right NOW. Just tell him what happened.
M: ... You know you can't live in scum and stay clean, Lindle. Oooohhhh.
D: CUUTTTT!!!!
D: What the bean soups that matter with you?! This is the last frickin scene!! The last one. Ya said his name right every other time, man. You know what i did? I had Megan count. Yeah, i had her count. You know how many times you've said that name in the script alone? 89!! Yes. 89.
M: Look man, it's like there's this bad vibe here or somethin. You know? It's just been one thing after another today. First, no green tea....!!!! They forgot to buy more, and since we're stuck in the middle of this forsaken rain forest, filming another B grade zombie movie, i didn't get any!! I don't even know how i'm still alive.
D: This is ridiculous.
M: Tell me about it! You know how much I-
D: Not that. Defiantly. Not. That. Sixteen hours. We have been out here, for sixteen hours. Forget about light. Forget about the crew. All that left about five hours ago. No, no, but we have to stay. You and I, and your co-star, because we only have access to this spot for today.
M: I feel you man. It's like this horrible paradox. There's no winning. No green tea=No name.
C: Hey director, what if we over dubbed?
D: It's a close up of his face, and i think at least a few people are bound to notice him mouth Lindle, instead of Harvey Jay. I mean. Right?
C: Yeah. Sorta.
M: I'm sorry guys. I am personalty going to punch that assistant, whats-his-name. What a dirt bag.
D: Just try saying it to me, right now. That last line. Take a breath, and just say it.
M: You know you can't live in scum and stay clean, Harvey Jay.
D: Exactly. Now, let's try this once more, to the camera. Three, two...
M: Yeah, okay. You got me. I took some greased-
C: AAHHHHGGG!!!!!!!
M: Oh heaven, what!!??
C: It's, it's, aaww...
D: What?
M: Co Star, speak to me!
D: Is he unconscious?
M: You know, actually i think he's dead. I'm not sure, but, like, that's how they looked when I filmed Entrees II: Rise of The Hysterical Cannibals.
D: WHAT??!! STOP!
M: No man, I'm telling you. They looked that way in part III: Remember to Tip The Waiter, too.
D: WHY NOW?
M: What? What do you mean.
...
M: Director- ? Dude, Why wont you talk to me?
D: Who said I'm not talking.
C: Yeah. Who said he's not talking?
Due to health conditions of some of the actors... The End.
Thanks to www.worldisround.com and healingmethods.com for photos.
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