Friday, May 09, 2003
Thursday, May 08, 2003
anthrax cancels toronto in-store appearance because of sars
i know, i know - this is a very serious subject. but you can't help chuckle a bit, can you?
i know, i know - this is a very serious subject. but you can't help chuckle a bit, can you?
i can think of absolutely nothing to write about.
the part of me influenced by zen and miles davis says the solutuion is easy: don't write about anything (of course one could argue that's what i've been doing since 4/8/2002)
the part of me influenced by lance armstrong says to suck it up and work your way thru it.
i've thought of a blog sabbatical, but that doesn't seem my style - for a number of reasons.
blogging about blogging is very close to navel gazing.
what do you folks do when you feel this way?
the part of me influenced by zen and miles davis says the solutuion is easy: don't write about anything (of course one could argue that's what i've been doing since 4/8/2002)
the part of me influenced by lance armstrong says to suck it up and work your way thru it.
i've thought of a blog sabbatical, but that doesn't seem my style - for a number of reasons.
blogging about blogging is very close to navel gazing.
what do you folks do when you feel this way?
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
until bbc6 just played it - i forgot all about the great song Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand by primitive radio gods - which contains a great bb king sample - one of the most effective samples i've heard...
Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth
With Money In My Hand
by Chris O'Connor
Jan lays down and wrestles in her sleep
Moonlight spills on comic books
And superstars in magazines
An old friend calls and tells us where to meet
Her plane takes off from Baltimore
And touches down on Bourbon Street
We sit outside and argue all night long
About a god we've never seen
But never fails to side with me
Sunday comes and all the papers say
Ma Theresa's joined the mob
And happy with her full time job
Am I alive or thoughts that drift away?
Does summer come for everyone?
Can humans do what prophets say?
And if I die before I learn to speak
Can money pay for all the days I lived awake
But half asleep?
A life is time, they teach you growing up
The seconds ticking killed us all
A million years before the fall
You ride the waves but don't ask where they go
You swim like lions through the crest
And bathe yourself in zebra flesh
I've been downhearted baby
Ever since the day we met
i have been watching the ecochallenge adventure race on the usa network. i enjoy watching these sorts of things - kind of inspiring for me to get out and be active. although i doubt i would ever participate in a full blown adventure race, i have heard of urban adventure races that might be fun...
in this years ecochallenge there is a team of playboy playmates, a team of reality show alumni, a team which includes the actor who plays anakin skywalker in the latest star wars, etc as well as teams of hardcore adventure racers. they get lost in the jungle just as i would. last night's episode showed a guy who on a training run, got a chunk taken out of the ball in his foot. one of the grossest things i've ever seen. i cringe now thinking about it.
anyhow, the ecochallenge is produced by survivor producer mark burnett, who balances the show between the athletics and the human drama. some hardcore adventure racers complain about his dramatic approach, but he has brought events like this into the mainstream and the shows are very entertaining. it is narrated btw by david duchovny - took me an episode in a half to finally recognize his deadpan voice...
in this years ecochallenge there is a team of playboy playmates, a team of reality show alumni, a team which includes the actor who plays anakin skywalker in the latest star wars, etc as well as teams of hardcore adventure racers. they get lost in the jungle just as i would. last night's episode showed a guy who on a training run, got a chunk taken out of the ball in his foot. one of the grossest things i've ever seen. i cringe now thinking about it.
anyhow, the ecochallenge is produced by survivor producer mark burnett, who balances the show between the athletics and the human drama. some hardcore adventure racers complain about his dramatic approach, but he has brought events like this into the mainstream and the shows are very entertaining. it is narrated btw by david duchovny - took me an episode in a half to finally recognize his deadpan voice...
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
this or that
the media edition
1. TV or radio?
tv - unless you want to count bbc6
esp. w/digital cable you can cheat and listen to music stations - as well as actual stations that play videos (as opposed to mtv)
2. On the radio: talk or music station?
music - talk radio is evil - humanity at it's worst - actual talk radio that is - not the movie. the movie and eric bogosian rock. i saw bogosian deliver a monologue in person and never laughed harder.
3. Actual books or books-on-tape (or e-books)?
book books
4. Actual newspaper, or web version?
web
5. Wall Street Journal or National Enquirer?
none of the above - world weekly news
6. TV news...news channel such as CNN, or your local broadcast news?
cnn
7. A movie you've been looking forward to seeing gets bad reviews all around. See it anyway, or pass?
go see it. duh. critics are just folks with opinions, like anyone else. often quasi-intellectual, out of touch with reality opinions. critics panned ornette coleman when he came out - dizzy gillespie, monk, stravinsky as well. so what do they know. it always cracks me up when i like something that reviewers pan - what's the implicit message - if i was as smart as them i wouldn't have enjoyed myself?
note to younger readers: one thing i've learned - trust yourself...
8. See movies when they first come out, or wait a few weeks for the lines at the theater to get shorter?
uh - usually wait for video - if there is a rare movie i really want to see, i'll generally go see it right away.
9. TV: cable, satellite dish, or just plain old antenna?
digital cable - haven't you've been reading?
:-D
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: If you had to choose only one form of media to come into your home, which would you choose...print (newspapers, magazines) or electronic (TV, internet)? Why?
electronic.
duh.
why not include "town crier" and "scrolls" in the options?
the media edition
1. TV or radio?
tv - unless you want to count bbc6
esp. w/digital cable you can cheat and listen to music stations - as well as actual stations that play videos (as opposed to mtv)
2. On the radio: talk or music station?
music - talk radio is evil - humanity at it's worst - actual talk radio that is - not the movie. the movie and eric bogosian rock. i saw bogosian deliver a monologue in person and never laughed harder.
3. Actual books or books-on-tape (or e-books)?
book books
4. Actual newspaper, or web version?
web
5. Wall Street Journal or National Enquirer?
none of the above - world weekly news
6. TV news...news channel such as CNN, or your local broadcast news?
cnn
7. A movie you've been looking forward to seeing gets bad reviews all around. See it anyway, or pass?
go see it. duh. critics are just folks with opinions, like anyone else. often quasi-intellectual, out of touch with reality opinions. critics panned ornette coleman when he came out - dizzy gillespie, monk, stravinsky as well. so what do they know. it always cracks me up when i like something that reviewers pan - what's the implicit message - if i was as smart as them i wouldn't have enjoyed myself?
note to younger readers: one thing i've learned - trust yourself...
8. See movies when they first come out, or wait a few weeks for the lines at the theater to get shorter?
uh - usually wait for video - if there is a rare movie i really want to see, i'll generally go see it right away.
9. TV: cable, satellite dish, or just plain old antenna?
digital cable - haven't you've been reading?
:-D
10. Thought-provoking question of the week: If you had to choose only one form of media to come into your home, which would you choose...print (newspapers, magazines) or electronic (TV, internet)? Why?
electronic.
duh.
why not include "town crier" and "scrolls" in the options?
masked wrestler elected to political office in japan
how ridiculous. something like that would NEVER happen in the good old USA.
we would never elect a MASKED wrestler...
how ridiculous. something like that would NEVER happen in the good old USA.
we would never elect a MASKED wrestler...
Sunday, May 04, 2003
In honor of kelly's tenative plans to see ted nugent next weekend, the lyrics to Wally Pleasant's "The Day Ted Nugent Killed All the Animals"
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
He did it so he could bond with his male friends
He did so they could broadcast it on ESPN
And when the news hit the wire Green peace activist were crying in they're hankies
They hadn't heard anything so awful since the first record by Damn Yankees
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
Imagine that, the motor city mad man in your backyard stalking your cat; scratch fever.
And Bob Barker cried
And Ricki Lake tried to save them
Noah turned right around in his grave
And they were all dead
But he was still Ted
He did it with his bow in hand
Sitting up North in the open air
He did it for the Michigan Militia
He did it for Fred Bear
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
Cause he had so much respect for wildlife
He started tipping over goldfish bowls and chasing Bambi's mom with a knife
Which is the equivalent to having so much admiration for an art museum
That you burn all the paintings as soon as you see them
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
Raccoons get in the Garbage
(Kill 'em)
Baby seals are too cute
(Kill 'em)
Squirrels, yum
(Kill 'em)
Orangutans, wang dang that Orangutan
(Kill 'em)
He killed them all, big and small
So he could put their heads up on his wall
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
He did it so he could bond with his male friends
He did so they could broadcast it on ESPN
And when the news hit the wire Green peace activist were crying in they're hankies
They hadn't heard anything so awful since the first record by Damn Yankees
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
Imagine that, the motor city mad man in your backyard stalking your cat; scratch fever.
And Bob Barker cried
And Ricki Lake tried to save them
Noah turned right around in his grave
And they were all dead
But he was still Ted
He did it with his bow in hand
Sitting up North in the open air
He did it for the Michigan Militia
He did it for Fred Bear
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
Cause he had so much respect for wildlife
He started tipping over goldfish bowls and chasing Bambi's mom with a knife
Which is the equivalent to having so much admiration for an art museum
That you burn all the paintings as soon as you see them
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
The day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
Raccoons get in the Garbage
(Kill 'em)
Baby seals are too cute
(Kill 'em)
Squirrels, yum
(Kill 'em)
Orangutans, wang dang that Orangutan
(Kill 'em)
He killed them all, big and small
So he could put their heads up on his wall
It was the day Ted Nugent killed all the animals
i took my kids to see the lizzie mcguire movie yesterday. if you aren't around kids approximately the age of mine, you probably don't know of the disney channel show or it's star, hillary duff - but trust me - to my kids ms. duff is michelle pfeiffer, avril lavigne and madame curie rolled into one. and, as role models go, i'm ok with that. the show is cute, funny and kind hearted - and revenge of the nerd, robert carradine plays the dad. judging by the turnout yesterday, i have a feeling a lot of kids look at the show the same was as my kids do. and of course my kids loved it, but to be frank, it would have really had to have been bad for my kids to not have liked it. i thought it was kind of fun too...
normally i wouldn't have even posted about it, but friday before taking my kids i read a number of somewhat negative reviews of it (though, i believe all of them said that kids would like it). panning a movie like this reminds me of when adults bash barney - they are forgetting the first rule of any kind of communication "know your audience" - the lizzie mcguire movie was made with its audience in mind, not 30 yr old, hip film critics. the criticism against it was ill-advised too. unrealistic - hmmm, when did THAT become a criteria for a good movie - in fact, my 3 favorite movies ever - the wizard of oz, dr. strangelove and crouching tiger, hidden dragon were decidedly and intentionally UNrealistic. the other things said about the movie was that it went against the point of the show, which i felt was wrong as well. even kids want the movie version of their favorite show to be special, different than the tv show...
not sure why this stuck in my craw like this - perhaps to see quasi-intellectuals bashing a movie made for young kids just pushed the wrong buttons...
normally i wouldn't have even posted about it, but friday before taking my kids i read a number of somewhat negative reviews of it (though, i believe all of them said that kids would like it). panning a movie like this reminds me of when adults bash barney - they are forgetting the first rule of any kind of communication "know your audience" - the lizzie mcguire movie was made with its audience in mind, not 30 yr old, hip film critics. the criticism against it was ill-advised too. unrealistic - hmmm, when did THAT become a criteria for a good movie - in fact, my 3 favorite movies ever - the wizard of oz, dr. strangelove and crouching tiger, hidden dragon were decidedly and intentionally UNrealistic. the other things said about the movie was that it went against the point of the show, which i felt was wrong as well. even kids want the movie version of their favorite show to be special, different than the tv show...
not sure why this stuck in my craw like this - perhaps to see quasi-intellectuals bashing a movie made for young kids just pushed the wrong buttons...
