Notes on music, arts, drinks, culture, and San Francisco
Written by mikl-em (writer, technologist, theater artist, event producer, & social cacophonist)
What joy that not both Coraline and Watchmen are coming out in the theaters in the next couple months. Here's the trailer for Neil Gaiman'sCoraline:
Gaiman is a master storyteller, famous for his series The Sandman, made a wonderful and little seen feature filmed named Mirror Mask and numerous novels, comics, film and television creativity in his native England and adopted America.
The film has an incredible cast including Dakota Fanning, a Desperate Housewife, Ian McShane (Deadwood), both Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders (creators of Absolutely Fabulous and French & Saunders) and John Hodgman (noted author and A PC). There's a good page on Yahoo! Movies that summarizes details and links to trailers and photos and stuff.
It's just an arbitrary day of course, January 1, not tied to the sun or moon, named for a Roman god who has long gone out of style. But it's a marker, and that's useful. It's been a year (365 "days") since we last had this conversation, right?
I don't go in for resolutions, I don't think betting with yourself in front of everyone is a good or healthy way to motivate or change behavior. But your mileage may vary. But I do think that we tend to be more aware at this time, for obvious reasons (read: hungover). So it's useful to take a look at things (like this desk covered with all manner of crap? no, not that, okay?) and see where that observance takes you. But no dramatic pledges, per se, just run the old problem-solving and optimization scripts against it, and see where you end up. Again, that's me. I should just talk to myself, I suppose.
I want this to be a great year, with focus on the right things--remembering that healthy and pleasurable are not strictly expensive and that they can often be derived by very simple means: taking a walk accomplishes so much. That will be my one Zen outburst. I promise. I have no idea where it came from. But that wish is for all of you as well: a healthy, happy new year.
Also, my advice: find some optimism, which likewise is its own reward, and use it to fuel pragmatic thinking. We need to be practical and somewhat conservative as we proceed into a year that will be difficult. But make sure you know who your friends are, and remember how much that means, and make sure you have their numbers on you. That means write them down, back them up, and probably also get their zip code.
A programming note, as it were, you will tend to find fresher post-dates from me on Laughing Squid (where I guest-blog) than this blog, typically. I think I'll be writing a bit more here, certainly more than I did last year, but in general more and more interesting stuff will tend to pop up there.
Incredible, must see. Robert F Kennedy, Jr lays out in detail how voter surpression has and is being systemically done in Colorado and many other states. Steal Back Your Vote is Kennedy & Greg Palast's site to spread the word and help empower voters to defend their rights.
It was written by the guy who wrote "Sleuth", who also adapted most of Agatha Christie's plays into films (Evil Under the Sun, etc).
It's about pagans and a christian cop. And a lotta sex. And masks. And did I mention it was 1973?
It's a better than your standard B-movie, with a psychological horror aspect that is a step above Lee's vampire portrayals of that era. It is definitely a 60's free love hangover that could spend quite a while on the analyst's couch gloriously recounting its many much enjoyed transgressions against the Nixon, stadium rock & bell bottoms.
There is an obvious comparability to that desert festival out there in Nevada, though we don't overtly touch on it in our play. From what I hear this flick was a favorite amongst the cacophonists who started Burning Man way back when.
Here's the trailer for the original film:
And an interview with the great Christopher Lee talking about the film's rather star-crossed past (missing footage, a studio that didn't believe in it):
A few years back they slandered this noble savage piece of film history with a redressed, toned-down and Nick-Caged remake. That film is so awful, by numerous accounts including the At The Movies guys, that it deserves no linkage or further mention.
Our 'umble repurposing of the story adds "Rock Opera" with an INCREDIBLE score of new tunes by Jim Fourniadis of the Dark Room in collaboration with the band Live Evil. This show follows in the fine tradition of other Dark Room musicals like Lovesick and Emperor Norton. Great original music and a fine cast (I say, even notwithstanding my own membership in said cast, you know).
In fact I get my own Tom Waitsian solo tune, as the Gravedigger--one of three parts I play in the show.
The cast is incredibly strong including my pal Steffanos, the incredible Flynn De Marco in the starring role of x-tian cop, and a great ensemble who you've seen in various other Dark Room shows like Ten Commandments, Emperor Norton, Clue, Duck Soup & Twilight Zone.
