Look at me, I'm ramblin' again!

Decisions

2009-08-09T19:39:00.003-04:00

I am torn between various things that I can be doing right now:

1- I can go to sleep: It's way past midnight, but that never really stopped me from sharing some awake-time with the vampires. Having said that, I know that I need some quality sleep in my own bed after a couple of months of family reunions.

2- I can think about the stuff that keeps me awake: This mainly corresponds to the phone conversation that woke me up from blissful sleep in the first place. And what that conversation meant. A huge change might be coming and I'm not looking forward to it.

3- I could be watching an episode of "Deadwood" or Labyrinth of Passions: both intriguing propositions, but I may be too tired or distracted to watch anything.

4- I could write: Actually I am doing that already. What I specifically mean is to finish up the novel that I am yet to start. I have a feeling, though, that it would be intensely autobiographical and I hate biographies in general.

5- I could surf the net: It's easy, fun (well, sort of) and it can lead me to some uncharted territories.

6- Porn: Always a good option, but I'm not sure I'm in the mood for that either.

I'm screwed.

Peace.

Because I Can

2009-07-11T19:51:00.106-04:00

Because I can, I compiled a list of my top 100 favourite bands. Because I am "between jobs", I can carry out tasks as fruitless as this without jeopardizing my so-called life. Because I can be a prick sometimes, this took me two days of intense internal debates whether Primus or Starsailor should make the top 100. Because there are so many bands that I like (I'm a whore like that), I decided to make a second list: the other top 100 favourite bands. Because I like a good spoiler, Primus ended up at the lesser list.

Because I started all the previous sentences thus, I will explain my method in a similar fashion. Because my computer is still being held hostage in the States, I used MyPod to compile the list of the bands that I like, a la Facebook thumbs up button thingy. Because the original was exhausting, I trimmed it down to about 174. Because I needed 100 bands, I took out 74 bands that sadly couldn't make it. Because I had a surplus of 74 rather very good bands, I added 26 to make a second list.

Because you have been reading thus far, I present you with my top 100 favourite bands, followed by the second 100. Because I still need to do other things in life, I only have an alphabetical list. Because I would want to perfect this fruitless exercise, I might actually put them in an order in the days to come. Because you can, watch this space.

Top 100 (because they are awesome)

AC/DC - Melbourne, Australia
AEROSMITH - Boston, MA
AGALLOCH - Portland, OR
ALICE IN CHAINS - Seattle, WA
AMORPHIS - Helsinki, Finland
ANTHRAX - New York, NY
AUDIOSLAVE - Los Angeles, CA
BAD RELIGION - Woodland Hills, CA
THE BLACK CROWES - Atlanta, GA
BLACK LABEL SOCIETY - Los Angeles, CA
BLACK SABBATH - Birmingham, England
BLUE OYSTER CULT - New York, NY
CAT STEVENS - London, England
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS - Melbourne, Australia
CLUTCH - Germantown, MD
COHEED & CAMBRIA - Woodstock, NY
CHRIS CORNELL - Seattle, WA
COUNTING CROWS - San Francisco, CA
DEEP PURPLE - London, England
BRUCE DICKINSON - Worksop, England
DREAM THEATER - New York, NY
EUROPE - Upplands Vasby, Sweden
EXODUS - San Francisco, CA
FAITH NO MORE - San Francisco, CA
FLEETWOOD MAC - London, England
GREEN DAY - East Bay, CA
GUNS N'ROSES - Hollywood, CA
HEART - Seattle, WA
IN FLAMES - Gothenburg, Sweden
IRON MAIDEN - London, England
ISIS - Boston, MA
THE JAYHAWKS - Minneapolis, MN
JETHRO TULL - Blackpool, England
JUDAS PRIEST - Birmingham, England
KING CRIMSON - London, England
KING'S X - Springfield, MO
KITARO - Toyohashi, Japan
KYUSS - Palm Desert, CA
LED ZEPPELIN - London, England
HALUK LEVENT - Adana, Turkey
LINKIN PARK - Aguora Hills, CA
ZULFU LIVANELI - Ilgin, Turkey
LIVE - York, PA
LYNYRD SKYNYRD - Jacksonville, FL
BARIS MANCO - Turkey
MANIC STREET PREACHERS - Blackwood, Wales
MANOWAR - Auburn, NY
THE MARS VOLTA - Albuquerque, NM
MASTODON - Atlanta, GA
LOREENA MCKENNITT - Morden, Canada
MEGADETH - San Francisco, CA
METAL CHURCH - Seattle, WA
METALLICA - Los Angeles, CA
MEZARKABUL - Istanbul, Turkey
MFO - Turkey
MOTHER LOVE BONE - Seattle, WA
MOTORHEAD - London, England
MUSE - Teignmouth, England
NIGHTWISH - Kitee, Finland
NIRVANA - Seattle, WA
THE OFFSPRING - Huntington Beach, CA
OPETH - Stockholm, Sweden
OZZY OSBOURNE - Aston, England
PANTERA - Arlinton, TX
PARADISE LOST - Halifax, England
PEARL JAM - Seattle, WA
PINK FLOYD - Cambridge, England
PORCUPINE TREE - Hemel Hempstead, England
PURE REASON REVOLUTION - Reading, England
QUEEN - London, England
QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE - Palm Desert, CA
QUEENSRYCHE - Seattle, WA
R.E.M. - Athens, GA
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - Los Angeles, CA
RAINBOW - London, England
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - Los Angeles, CA
ROXETTE - Halmstad, Sweden
SCORPIONS - Hanover, Germany
SEPULTURA - Belo Horizonte, Brazil
SIMON & GARFUNKEL - New York, NY
SKID ROW - Toms River, NJ
SLAYER - Huntington Beach, CA
SMASHING PUMPKINS - Chicago, IL
SOUNDGARDEN - Seattle, WA
STARSAILOR - Chorley, England
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS - San Diego, CA
STRATOVARIUS - Helsinki, Finland
SYSTEM OF A DOWN - Glendale, CA
TEMPLE OF THE DOG - Seattle, WA
TESTAMENT - Oakland, CA
THERAPY? - Belfast, Northern Ireland
THR3E - Woodstock, NY
TOOL - Los Angeles, CA
URIAH HEEP - London, England
W.A.S.P. - Los Angeles, CA
WARRIOR SOUL - New York, NY
WEEZER - Los Angeles, CA
WHITESNAKE - London, England
YOUNG HEART ATTACK - Austin, TX
NEIL YOUNG - Toronto, Canada

The Other Top 100 (because They aren't that awesome)

3 HUREL - Trabzon, Turkey
ALCHEMIST - Canberra, Australia
THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND - Macon, GA
ALTER BRIDGE - Orlando, FL
AMON AMARTH - Tumba, Sweden
ANGEL WITCH - London, England
THE ANSWER - Belfast, Northern Ireland
ASTRA - San Diego, CA
AUDREY HORNE - Oslo, Norway
BAD BRAINS - Washington DC
BAYSIDE - Long Island, NY
BLACK STONE CHERRY - Edmonton, KY
BLIND GUARDIAN - Krefeld, Germany
BLUR - London, England
JOE BONAMASSA - Utica, NY
BRAND NEW - Long Island, NY
CAPTAIN BEYOND - Los Angeles, CA
CHILDREN OF BODOM - Espoo, Finland
CHIMAIRA - Cleveland, OH
CKY - West Chester, PA
ERIC CLAPTON - Ripley, England
CREAM - London, England
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL - El Cerrito, CA
CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX - England
PACO DE LUCIA - Cadiz, Spain
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE - Bellingham, WA
DEF LEPPARD - Sheffield, England
DEMOLITION HAMMER - New York, NY
DINOSAUR, JR. - Amherst, MA
DIO - New York, NY
DISTURBED - Chicago, IL
THE DOORS - Los Angeles, CA
DOWN - New Orleans, LA
EAGLE EYE CHERRY - Stockholm, Sweden
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL - Palm Desert, CA
FATES WARNING - Hartford, CT
FLOTSAM & JETSAM - Phoenix, AZ
FOO FIGHTERS - Seattle, WA
JOHN FRUSCIANTE - New York, NY
GIRLSCHOOL - London, England
HARDCORE SUPERSTAR - Gothenburg, Sweden
HAZY MALAZE - New Jersey
HEAD CONTROL SYSTEM - Norway & Portugal
JIMI HENDRIX - Seattle, WA
GLENN HUGHES - Cannock, England
MICHAEL JACKSON - Gary, IN
JET - Melbourne, Australia
GARY JULES - Fresno, CA
CEM KARACA - Turkey
KASABIAN - Bloby, England
KATATONIA - Stockholm, Sweden
THE KILLERS - Las Vegas, NV
KINGS OF LEON - Nashville, TN
KISS - New York, NY
KORN - Bakersfield, CA
LAMB OF GOD - Richmond, VA
LOVE - Los Angeles, CA
MAGNUM - Birmingham, England
MARILLION - Aylesbury, England
BOB MARLEY - Saint Ann, Jamaica
MEAT LOAF - Dallas, TX
MESHUGGAH - Umea, Sweden
THE MISFITS - Lodi, NJ
MOGOLLAR - Ankara, Turkey
MOONSORROW - Helsinki, Finland
MOSTLY AUTUMN -York, England
MOTLEY CRUE - Los Angeles, CA
NEKROPSI - Istanbul, Turkey
OASIS - Manchester, England
MIKE OLDFIELD - Reading, England
ONSLAUGHT - Bristol, England
ORDINARY PSYCHO - England
P.O.D. - San Diego, CA
PAIN OF SALVATION - Eskilstuna, Sweden
TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Gainesville, FL
PIXIES - Boston, MA
ROBERT PLANT - West Bromwich, England
PRIESTESS - Montreal, Canada
PRIMUS - El Cobrante, CA
PRINCE - Minneapolis, MN
THE PRODIGY - Braintree, England
PULP - Sheffield, England
RADIOHEAD - Oxford, England
RATT - San Diego, CA
RIGOR MORTIS - Texas
RISE AGAINST - Chicago, IL
RUSH - Toronto, Canada
SAVATAGE - Tarpon Springs, FL
SAXON - Barnsley, England
SKYCLAD - England
SOULFLY - Phoenix, AZ
STEVE MILLER BAND - San Francisco, CA
TESLA - Sacramento, CA
THE SWORD - Austin, TX
THERION - Upplands Vasby, Sweden
TRIVIUM - Orlando, FL
WILCO - Chicago, IL
WITHIN TEMPTATION - The Netherlands
WOLFMOTHER - Sydney, Australia

Because I just did.

IMAX - Is It Worth It?

2009-05-14T17:46:00.000-04:00

After reading about Aziz Ansari's rant regarding the discrepancies between the real IMAX theaters and the fake ones, I couldn't help but agree with his comments. In recent months I have watched two feature films in IMAX format: Watchmen and Star Trek in two different theaters in two different countries. The Watchmen experience was actually pretty good - the screen was bigger than any of the regular theater screens I had seen until then. And the sound was immaculate as expected from the format. However, the experience wasn't the same with Star Trek.

Now, I've had some issues with the new Star Trek in general and the size of the screen had nothing to do with that. Nevertheless, seeing the screen not being that big was a bit of a disappointment. I guess I wasn't paying too much attention, but it looks like the chains can actually be ripping us off when they overcharge us for IMAX tickets.

A solution to this problem could be if the chains actually promote their theaters to be digital IMAX rather than film-based IMAX (the latter has the giant screens, while the former has only slighly larger screens). I would then be a very happy customer indeed.

Still, it wouldn't have helped Star Trek. Just saying.

Peace.

The Series of a Lifetime

2009-05-01T06:09:00.000-04:00

We were expecting the amazing and amazing is what happened. We throw away the word around for a lot of things, but this is one of those things that truly and well deserves the "amazing" tag.

As a Celtics fan, of course I want the Green to prevail, but I feel priviliged to actually be a witness for this series of a lifetime. It is even suggested that the series should be extended. I want to go one further - let this series be independent of the NBA Championship. Let them play on and on until there are no more flagrant fouls to give or energy to spare.

I cannot wait for Game 7 - it is going to be a classic. However, I have a feeling - and I'm completely impartial here (!) - it's either going to be a repeat of what we have seen so far, or a repeat of Game 3. Actually, come to think of it, I think I would like the Championship more.

Peace.

What I've Been Drawn

2009-04-09T15:01:00.000-04:00

As some of you might have already picked it up, I'm not much of a believer myself. The idea that a cosmic regulator never really sat well with me. Especially when you consider that once you give in to the notion of a creator, you take away your free will to a pre-destined life that you have no control of.

Life is strange, though. No matter how you seem to be incontrol of it, there are always things that happen beyond your control. I actually think failing is a much better option than accepting your "fate". When you fail, you learn from your mistakes and you make sure that the same thing never happens again. However, when life puts before you an undesirable circumstance, you have no choice but to wallow in misery.

That happened to me recently. Things progressed beyond my abilities to prevent them and I am feeling the consequences of that situation. More of that will sure to come my way. And here's my point: are these unforeseen circumstances pre-destined, or do they just happen?

It is very easy to succumb to the ignorant bliss of assigning all these to a cosmic saga, but I'm still not convinced. If this is my fate, and if my creator would rather have me go through these dire circumstances, what is the point? Why do I have to suffer to appreciate what I am assuming to be positive things that would come out of this? Can we all just live in peace and harmony?

If it's not destiny, or fate, then what is it? It is pure coincidence. There can be no other explanation. I would rather fail at something, but if I am destined to fail, then I don't want that. In that case I would rather have cosmic coincidence dictating my life than someone deciding for me.

Peace.

Something to Do

2009-01-31T21:09:00.006-05:00

I am bored. It is Saturday night and I can't think of one thing to do. Yes, I am new in Portland and my social circle isn't as large as I hope it would have been by now. Regardless, I have always prided myself not to always depend on a social circle to enjoy life (read loner). The problem isn't the lack of people to do stuff with, or the lack of actual stuff to do - Portland offers both in abundance.

I think the main issue is that I am at a point in my life when my routine has become mundane. It is a sad state of affairs. I feel like there is a lot missing in my life and I can't seem to find the things to fill that void. I have no idea how this can be remedied in the near future, but bleak few weeks seems like the order of the day.

Well, I don't usually do introspective blogs such as this, but it is 6:12 pm PT, Saturday evening, the skies are clear ... and I need something to do. I am itching.

Peace.

Another Playlist

2009-01-24T12:54:00.003-05:00

It's time for another Awesome Playlist - it was long overdue ...

(alphabetical by artist)

Walk This Way by Aerosmith: Because it's a classic.

A Celebration for the Death of Man ... by Agalloch: Because I like to support local music.

Evolution 1 - The Bio Approach by Alchemist: Because I still haven't heard anybody like them.

In the Beginning by Amorphis: Because it takes me back.

S.S.C / Stand Or Fall by Anthrax: Because I love thrash.

Afterglow by Audrey Horne: Because I still find gems on this album.

Master of Confusion by Blood Ceremony: Because the '60s are, like, back ... man.

Inertias Cave by Cathedral: Because heavy-ass riffin' is awesome.

The Soapmakers by Clutch: Because they are simply brilliant.

Wasted Years by Damone: Because I never realized that this song had this much depth before.

Steal the Crown by Death Angel: Because old school thrash can re-invent itself.

Let Me out by Electric Mary: Because it has a great groove.

Guardian by Fates Warning: Because I appreciate musicianship.

Lost in Confusion by Graveyard: Because I feel like I am lost in the space-time continuum.

We Are Finding Who We Are by King's X: Because they keep surprising me.

Hold Me up by Live: Because it reminds me how amazing they were once.

Bridge of Death by Manowar: Because they are here to blow our speakers.

Seabeast by Mastodon: Because I need to clean my ear cavity before their new album is out.

Watch the Children Pray by Metal Church: Because they defy all expectations.

Destroyer of Worlds by Onslaught: Because Brits can do thrash too.

Would? by Opeth: Because they do covers better than anyone else.

Enchantment by Paradise Lost: Because I can't stop playing it over and over and over and over again.

Shake Your Blood by Probot: Because Lemmy is singing.

Disco 2000 by Pulp: Because it is possible to write good pop songs.

Wizard of Gore by Rigor Mortis: Because thrash can be a versatile genre ... really.

Slaughter for the Sacrifice God by Skeletonwitch: Because this band deserves to get bigger.

She's Gone by Steelheart: Because he can sing, man.

The Frost-Giant's Daughter by The Sword: Because the riff ain't dead yet.

Swiss Grid by Turing Machine: Because music sometimes speaks louder than words.

Munki by Young Heart Attack: Because I still think these guys are the best band out there.

Globes of the Golden Conviction

2009-01-11T15:34:00.000-05:00

The first big awards ceremony of the season is upon us and it's time for Yours Truly to make his predictions. The same rules apply like last year: predictions are only made in categories where I have seen at least three of the nominees. There are two predictions for each category: those who, in my opinion, should win and those who probably will win tonight.

BEST MOTION PICTURE DRAMA
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: An award-worthy film in every sense of the term. After seeing this film, I am convinced that it will be a one-horse race.
- Frost / Nixon: This also smells of awards - and deservedly so - but it doesn't go that much beyond a filmed play, which could be its downfall.
- The Reader: Holocaust-themed movies always do well in awards, but this one left me a bit short-changed with its early climax.
- Revolutionary Road: A flawless film with flawless performances, but it's not an experience I would like to repeat again - it is too dark to be a winner, unfortunately.
- Slumdog Millionaire: This year's pseudo-Indie hit is the definitive feelgood film with great performances and directing.

My heart says ... Slumdog Millionaire
My brain says ...The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
- Burn After Reading: Coens' are back to their prime and with a big-name cast they delivered a very solid effort.
- Happy-Go-Lucky: You argue whether this film could have been as good without Sally Hawkins, but either way it was a brilliantly written and directed film.
- In Bruges: This refreshingly un-PC comedy ticked all the boxes and was also emotionally satisfying too.
- Mamma Mia!: I haven't seen it and, frankly, I have no intention to see it in the near future.
- Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Sadly, I missed this in the theaters.

My heart says ... Happy-Go-Lucky
My brain says ... Mamma Mia!

BEST ACTOR MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
- Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road: Another solid performance from Leo, where the intensity we have got used to lately is up to 11.
- Frank Langella for Frost / Nixon: It's to Langella's credit that he doesn't succumb to parody, but we are often reminded ourselves that he is playing a real-life character rather than "being" one.
- Sean Penn for Milk: Penn manages to make the role his and hides successfully behind the real person.
- Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Perhaps Pitt's most award-worthy performance that sees him play the different ages of the titular character note-perfect.
- Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler: This isn't out yet in Portland.

My heart says ... Leonardo DiCaprio
My brain says ... Mickey Rourke

BEST ACTRESS MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
- Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married: I haven't seen this yet.
- Angelina Joley for Changeling: This is the first time I was impressed with Jolie's acting, but she is trying WAY too hard here.
- Meryl Streep for Doubt: Streep, once again, proves that she can nail any role she tackles.
- Kristin Scott Thomas for I've Loved You So Long: A brilliant performance from the ever-so-reliable Thomas, she reaches an emotional intensity unlike anyone I've seen this year. A sublime performance.
- Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road: Kate Winslet is set to be the most-nominated actress ever if she keeps this up. Another great turn by her.

My heart says ... Kristin Scott Thomas
My brain says ... Kate Winslet

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- Tom Cruise for Tropic Thunder: The Cruiser re-iterates what a good actor he can be when given good material. Hilarious.
- Robert Downey, Jr. for Tropic Thunder: The year of the Downey comes to a close and "you people" embraces him with both arms open wide.
- Ralph Fiennes for The Duchess: I haven't seen it, but knowing that Fiennes is always brilliant gives me an idea.
- Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt: "The Greatest Actor of His Generation" is at it again - his Father Flynn is as enigmatic a character as can be.
- Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight: It's hard to gauge this role with hindsight, but a fantastic performance regardless of what happened.

My heart ... Heath Ledger
My brain says ... Heath Ledger

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- Amy Adams for Doubt: Perhaps the best casting decision of the year sees Adams' innocence clash with the unthinkable.
- Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Now I really regret not seeing this!
- Viola Davis for Doubt: More a cameo than an actual part, Davis comes thumbs up in the most powerful scene in the film.
- Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler: Tomei as a stripper ... I say "Hell, yeah!!"
- Kate Winslet for The Reader: Winslet is the shining star of this dull drama and she nails the accent too.

My heart says ... Kate Winslet
My brain says ... Viola Davis

BEST DIRECTOR
- Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire: Boyle is the master of every genre and he comes up victorious from this one too.
- Stephen Daldry for The Reader: Daldry's third feature had everything going for it, except for a more consistent script.
- David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: This is a very conventional story in an unconventional director's hand he does a fantastic job of it.
- Ron Howard for Frost / Nixon: Howard is always nominated for his "safe" directorial style and this is no different.
- Sam Mendes for Revolutionary Road: Mendes is at his best once again, he carves out a film out of an unfilmable story.

My heart says ... David Fincher
My brain says ... David Fincher

BEST SCREENPLAY
- Eric Roth and Robin Swicord for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: They took a lot from Roth's own Forest Gump, so the credit should go to F. Scott Fitzgerald for the idea.
- John Patrick Shanley for Doubt: As far as dialog goes, it has no peers.
- Peter Morgan for Frost / Nixon: Morgan's latest shines when the titular characters aren't facing off each other.
- David Hare for The Reader: I am a little disappointed, considering what Hare can be capable of.
- Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire: Kudos to Beaufoy for not falling into a trap by making this an episodic drama.

My heart says ... John Patrick Shanley
My brain says ...John Patrick Shanley

I'm not predicting any television categories, because I don't religiously watch any TV shows while they are on.

Peace.

The New Year

2009-01-01T20:24:00.002-05:00

To say that 2008 has been a frustrating one for me is a huge understatement. It has been stressful, full of compromises, and huge life decisions whose results haven't been confirmed as the right ones just yet. If I am grateful about one thing about 2008 is that it was a healthy year.

There is nothing I can do but be hopeful about the new year. I strongly believe that it will be a better year all in all. The dire financial situation obviously affected Yours Truly as well and the effects have hit home a lot harder than I thought imaginable.

I am not a spiritualist person and I have a sincere disdain against religious dogma. There have been moments when I thought maybe my beliefs, or lack thereof, was responsible for the unfortunate situations I had to face this year. This is not a piece of repentance, but an honest confession, if you will, about how I felt. I feel somebody has been punishing me for what I don't know. I don't necessarily believe in karma - I think it is nothing but glorified coincidence.

"Hope is a good thing. Maybe the best of things." These words were uttered by Red in The Shawshank Redemption (1994) - a film that many hold close to heart. I am no different. Perhaps, that's what makes us humans go forward, because when facing everything that life throws at them, it is surprising that an infinitesimal proportion of human population resort to suicide. I want to take this chance to be selfish and wish a better year in every way for myself and my loved ones. Then I would like to extend that wish to everyone else. I already feel bad about this statement, but you need a little bit of that selfish gene to really survive.

It is a futile attempt to expect things to improve after an astronomical event that is the beginning of a new cycle of the Earth rotating around the Sun. If things really do improve without any sort of interference on my part, then the result is again coincidence. So, I am aware that I need to make a lot of changes in myself to make things improve.

I present you - in no particular order or importance - my New Year's Resolutions:

- be more pro-active in life: there is so much more this world has to offer and I need to learn to pry them out of wherever they are hiding. If things need to get done, they need a catalyst. And who is a better catalyst than me?

- be more understanding: I have always prided myself to be person that values tolerance above all other human virtues, but this year I have seen that concept dwindling. In order to have a positive attitude about things, I need that tolerance level back up to speed.

- take more responsibilities: I have grown immensely over the last few years and that brings a lot more responsibilities that are a little more serious in their level of importance than the ones back in college. I need to tackle those responsibilities head-on and make sure to carry them out accordingly.

- be more creative: this is something that has been lacking in 2008. The main reason, I believe, was my preoccupation with a lot of other external conflicts I needed to resolve. I believe this particular resolution can only be feasible with the proper application of the preceding resolutions. Hence, I'll get back to you on this one.

- lose more weight: it is a time-honored cliche to have this resolution on your list. I have shed 30 pounds this year, but over the last couple of months I seem to have put some of them back on. In order to be realistically healthy, I need to get back on the treadmill and shed those fatty tissues once again.

I pledge, with my hand on my conscience and mind, that I will carry out these resolutions. Because, if not, then this year will be a very, very bad one indeed.

Peace.

Christmas and the Blizzard

2008-12-29T22:15:00.001-05:00

It's great news that the Holiday season is over. I don't want to give you an impression that I detest the festivities that are associated with the end of the year, but I am glad that the irritating TV commercials and the excruciating Xmas songs are about a year away from us. I do like, however, the camaraderie and the familial occasions the Holiday seasons bring. This year I spent the Christmas with my girlfriend's family in Alabama and it was great fun - good food, good beer, fantastic weather, and a chance to spend some quality time with my girlfriend. Sadly, I won't be able to see my parents this year for the New Year's because I have to work.

I had been waiting for this vacation for quite some time and I was very excited the last few days preceding the trip. However, the Mother Nature played a nasty part in the proceedings and made sure that my outbound trip was as difficult as can be. As you know, the Northwest suffered its worst winter storm in over a hundred years. About ten days prior to my departure, the storm came and the city shut down immediately. These kind of storms are a rare occasion, apparently, and the city is not prepared for it. The temperatures remained low and it continued to snow on and off for a week. Needless to say, the roads were covered in ice and with drivers unable to manouever their Subarus.

Then I found out that there was another big system expected in the area for the weekend of the Sunday I was to leave. The storm came and everything shut down once again - flights were cancelled, roads were closed ... utter chaos. My flight was cancelled - no surprise there - but I managed to find a seat on a flight leaving on Monday. All in all I was to lose only way day. Not too bad, right?

Well, it continued to snow on Sunday night and there was a foot of snow on the roads around the Portland area. A friend I am staying with was going to give me a ride, but the car didn't even make it out of the driveway. So, I picked up my bag and started walking to the bus stop. I had a good 4-5 hours before my flight. Severely underdressed, I walked on the road covered with snow almost up to my knees with my luggage. I was waiting at the bus stop when a lady told me that the buses were taking the snow route. We walked together to the main road. In about 10-15 minutes the bus arrived. I was actually relieved.

The bus was going about 10 mph, passing by cars and other buses stuck on side streets of this part of Portland, which is very hilly. As we were halfway to downtown, the chains broke. Great. Luckily, though, there was another bus behind us. This new bus dropped me off at the intersection with the lightrail that would take me to the airport. When I got there, a representative from the transportation authority of the city told me that the line going to the airport wasn't working. I was to take the only train that's working up to a certain point, then take the shuttle. So far, so good.

I waited in the cold, with tens of other people, for an hour and a half for the packed train to come. We all squeezed in like sardines. As the train stopped at various stops, you could see the disappointed faces of the passengers waiting on the platform when they saw the packed train. All in all, it took about 30-45 minutes to the station where the shuttle buses were waiting.

I got off - with the majority of the passengers - and proceeded to the rather long line for the bus. It was colder in this part of town. I estimated that I would get on the second bus. Two buses came and stopped about 10 yards from us. A lady from the City got on and started talking to the driver. Here we are, freezing our backsides numb, and they are talking away. that wasn't the worst part though. When their little chit-chat was over, the bus started moving and drove to the end of the line thinking it was the front. You can only imagine what happened then - people shouting, obscenities flying about, Yours Truly running across the tracks, snow up to his knees ... I can't really describe how I felt, but it wasn't pretty. Besides, by this point, I had lost feeling in my feet.

Anyway, after another hour or so, two more buses came and I managed to climb my way over people to get on the second one. I was running late - only half an hour before departure - but I knew my flight was delayed. When I got to the airport, I learned that my flight was cancelled. Great. As the check-in lady was trying to put me on another flight, news came that they reinstated my original flight. Good news. However, there was no timeline. I didn't care. I just wanted to get out of Portland. I was going to miss my connection to Mobile. She told me that all the other flights to Mobile and surrounding airports were fully booked - I might get stuck in Houston for a couple of days. I still wanted to go.

There were two more delayed flights to Houston before mine and the first one departed a few minutes after I got through security. Then they started boarding the second flight. On the departures boards, my flight was listed as "delayed indefinitely". So, I went to the Powell's bookstore at the airport - very poor - and when I came back with Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" - horrible - I saw that the line by the gate was small but the flight was still there. I decided to try my luck again for my connecting flight. When I approached the gate I saw that it was the same lady from before. She took a look at my boarding pass and told me to get on this flight and sit wherever I wanted. What?! Lo and behold, I got on the plane and picked a random seat - they wouldn't let me sit in First Class - and off we went. I couldn't believe my luck, especially when I found out next day that all the flights out of Portland after ours were cancelled.

We arrived at Houston and went straight to the customer service desk. There was a long line and I waited a good two hours before talking to an agent. Actually, things went very smoothly and he confirmed for the first flight to Mobile next morning. He also told me that, because my flight out of Portland was cancelled, my return flight was automatically cancelled too. I had no idea. He sorted that out too. I went to a very dirty and dilapidated hotel at the airport and slept for five hours before waking up next morning for my flight. Needless to say, that flight was delayed too.

I got in to Mobile around noon. My drama wasn't over though ... they lost my bag. Luckily, it was coming on the next flight.

It was a bad flying experience, though I am aware that mine wasn't as bad as some other people's. It was worth it, though - when I saw my girl, everything vanished.

Peace.

In the Secret World of Neal Stephenson

2008-12-15T23:18:00.004-05:00

For the last couple of weeks or so, I have been traversing the truly science-fiction world of Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon. Describing the plot of this mammoth book is a futile attempt for a meager blogger like Yours Truly ... but I'll try anyway. It is set in two different periods: World War II and the late '90s. In the WW2 parts, which occupy the bulk of the narrative, we have three main threads of stories: a Math genius, is drafted into the military, and is assigned to break the secret codes of the Germans and then the Japanese; a Midwestern marine sergeant is sent all over the globe for stupefyingly mysterious missions; and a Japanese Judo fighter given the task to dig a vault in the jungles of Philippines. In the present-day story a start-up IT company is about to strike a deal that would enable them to build a data haven in the fictional kingdom of Kinakuta and control the data transactions in the South East Asia.

It is an audacious book and more often than not you begin to wonder if it is at all going anywhere. I have roughly a hundred pages left to go and I continue asking myself the same question, even though a lot of the connections have been made between the storylines. This was also evident in Stephenson's latest book, Anathem, but I have a feeling that Cryptonomicon will not leave me with a sense of void once I'm done with it. In fact, this rather chaotic undertaking is mystifyingly beautiful and elegant. It is a laudable achievement of Stephenson that at no point in this 1100-plus-pages novel I found myself bored or distracted. In fact, I sort of wish it wouldn't end. Oh, well. I think I will go and finish it off tonight ...

Back to the Lists

2008-12-07T14:26:00.030-05:00

The end is nigh, my brethren, because we are back with the Top 10 albums of the year. This year I will skip the movie list, because I haven't been doing so well on my current movies - and neither have the filmmakers. So, without further ado, I present you with the following list of my Top 10 albums of 2008.

1- Watershed by Opeth

Oh, yeah, after multiple listens I can safely declare without any hesitation that the latest by the Swedish band is the best album released in 2008. Like its predecessor, this album has a million brilliant ideas, yet it manages to be anything but convoluted. It will take a few more months to see if this is actually even better than Ghost Reveries (2006). Best song: "Hessian Peel"

2- Death Magnetic by Metallica

I was considering making this the album of the year, but I realized that there was a little bit of a hype on my part that got me a little carried away. However, if Opeth had released their album in another year, Death Magnetic would have been a shoo-in. Best song: "Broken, Beat & Scarred"

3- A Sense of Purpose by In Flames

Despite the fanboy backlash against their new sound, the second best Swedish album of the year is a collection of ferocious, infectious, and brilliant tracks. Yes, it sounds even more polished than Come Clarity (2006), but after giving it a couple of spins, it is endlessly rewarding. Best song: "Alias"

4- The Formation of Damnation by Testament

Let's get this statement out of the way first: Testament were/are the most underrated thrash metal band of all time. Fact. This is a comeback album unlike Death Magnetic in the sense that this is definitely a back-to-roots effort - it could have easily come out in mid-80s. Best song: "More Than Meets the Eye"

5- Nil Recurring by Porcupine Tree

More of a companion piece to last year's Fear of a Blank Planet, this 4-song mini-album manages to be more cohesive and affecting than the said album. With "Normal" - itself a companion to the song "Sentimental" - Steve Wilson and his company released, in my opinion, the best song of the year. Listen and weep. Best song: "Normal"

6- Rock and Awe by Young Heart Attack

Here comes my fanboy attack: it is a lot slower and more polished than their debut. However, there is no denying the quality of the songwriting on offer here. The vocals are somewhat subdued, but now in a world without Wolfmother, we desperately need this band. Best song: "Munki"

7- Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth

Continuing with my Swedish obsession, this true-to-blood Viking metal band is coming up with a better album every other year. Could it be another Opeth incident? How they manage to be catchy and this heavy without resorting to DragonForce cheese is an amazing feat in itself. Best song: "Twilight of the Thunder God"

8- Bedlam in Goliath by The Mars Volta

Perhaps their most down-to-Earth album. This time the infusion of rock and jazz is not as traditionally progressive sounding as before, but the album is still a rocking good listen overall. However it lacks a killer tune. Hence its lower position. Best song: "Ilyena"

9- Folklore & Superstition by Black Stone Cherry

Another solid effort by the Kentucky rockers. It has the energy and production value to be comparable to any great Rock'n'Roll album of the last decade. What lacks, though, is a song that defines the album. Best song: "Reverend Wrinkle"

10- ObZen by Meshuggah

What's with all the Swedes? I can assure you that the Swedish Recording Artists Industry (if such a thing exists) is not paying me for this list! If you're looking for insanely talented musicians with a sick sense of song arrangements, look no further. Also, if you really like your drumming, then this is definitely for you too. Best song: "Bleed"

And the rest:

Inflikted by Cavalera Conspiracy

Slania by Eluveitie

Hymns in the Key of 666 by Hellsongs

XV by King's X

Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace by The Offspring

Peace.

"Color of Magic" by Terry Pratchett

2008-11-12T16:46:00.001-05:00

The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
Discworld is a truly "magical" setting and Pratchett created one of the most intense and wacky worlds. However, the episodic structure belittles the premise and the characters roam from one perilous conflict to another rather easily. The sense of danger / doom is relegated to a mere nothing.

View all my reviews.

Hold on a sec!

2008-11-11T17:44:00.002-05:00

I just realized this: "Times of Trouble" from Temple of the Dog and "Rotten Apple" of Alice In Chains share the same riff. A little bit of research revealed that Alice In Chains' song came a good three years after. I am not insinuating that Jerry Cantrell and co. nicked the riff, but it is a little uncanny.

Peace.

Yet Another Awesome Playlist

2008-11-10T18:17:00.002-05:00

"Austral Spectrum" by Alchemist
"We Die Young" by Alice In Chains
"Twilight of the Thunder God" by Amon Amarth
"Sweet Emotion" by The Answer
"Blind Man" by Black Stone Cherry
"Joan Crawford" by Blue Oyster Cult
"Riot Act" by Exodus
"King for a Day" by Faith No More
"Guardian" by Fates Warning
"Seasons in the Abyss" by Hellsongs
"Psycho" by Kosmos
"Get It on" by T-Rex
"Inertiatic Esp" by The Mars Volta
"Seabeast" by Mastodon
"Broken, Beat & Scarred" by Metallica
"A-Hole" by Mother Superior
"Nutbush City Limits" by Nashville Pussy
"Mota" by The Offspring
"Face of Melinda" by Opeth
"Prelude to Descent" by Paradise Lost
"Sentimental" by Porcupine Tree
"My Enemy" by Skid Row
"Jesus Christ Pose" by Soundgarden
"Serenade" by Steve Miller Band
"Cold Winter Nights" by Stratovarius
"Times of Trouble" by Temple Of The Dog
"More Than Meets the Eye" by Testament
"Teaser" by Tommy Bolin
"Schism" by Tool
"The Answer" by Warrior Soul

Peace.

Reverse Sacrifice

2008-11-09T18:58:00.001-05:00

Last night I attended the second night of the Northwest Film Festival, organized at the Northwest Film Center in Portland, Oregon. The night's screenings involved a collection of shorts handpicked by the judges from local filmmakers (Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, BC). Needless to say it was a mixed bag of oddities, impenetrable tosh, and run-of-the-mill squares.

Two films, however, grabbed my attention: Jamie Marie Waelchli's excruciating Little Pleasures and Vincent Caldoni's brilliant The Rifle Workbook. The former consists of Waelchli stuffing as many gums as possible into her mouth until she pukes (multiple times) and her cheeks enlarge to contain the elastic sugary mass. It is a heavy-handed metaphor for a society where we subject ourselves an overload of puny pleasures, instead of experiences that are rewarding for a longer period of time. The film - experiment, if you will - reaches a point where it ceases to be funny (as was evidenced by the ending laughter from the audience three quarters of the way) and becomes painful to watch. A ridiculously simple premise and execution, but very effective.

The Rifle Workbook, on the other hand, showcases the talents of Caldoni as a future superstar movie director. Using a soundtrack by Explosions in the Sky, the film takes place in a wooded area where an angel oversees a strange ritual where the locals place their most precious belongings (mirror, knife, hair, whiskey, etc.) in a case. The angel then burns the case and from the ashes comes out ... It is a fantastic little film - music video, if you will.

Both films were shown in the middle of the schedule, so they overshadowed everything that came before and/or after them. Interestingly, though, both films were satisfyingly unconventional, yet accessible. Just like short films should be.

"Anathem" by Neal Stephenson

2008-11-07T17:53:00.002-05:00

Here is my review of Stephenson's latest book, Anathem as posted goodreads.com.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
Despite its grand ambitions and occasional bursts of genius, it falls short of its promise. Stephenson's linguistic prowess is undeniable, but his prose is far from poetic or emotionally gratifying. However, it is one of the more interesting and challenging science fiction, or "speculative fiction", books I have read and would recommend to anybody searching for something slightly out of the ordinary. Prior knowledge of the Long Now Project isn't essential - the book is only marginally connected to it - but adds to the experience.

View all my reviews.

Goodbye to Massachusetts

2008-11-03T17:45:00.001-05:00

I posted this blog somewhere else by mistake. Oops...

It has been a little over three and a half years since I arrived in Beantown with no definite game plan for the long run. I had signed up for the summer school to get some film classes in order to find out if the whole scene was right for me. My original plan was to travel around the world for a year with the money I had in the bank (a few years' worth of savings and what I got for my 2001 Ford Fiesta 1.6L 5-speed manual). However, after a couple of weeks in Boston, I decided to stay here. I enrolled - miraculously - in graduate school and the rest is history (I can't escape cliches nowadays).

My three and a half years (with 3 months break in the City of Angels) has been full of ups and downs. Here's the lowdown:

Ups:
- Regan - love of my life and the most gorgeous girl in the world.
- Friends - mostly through BU I met some amazing people that are now my lifelong friends.
- Accent - my new British-American-Turkish hybrid of an accent is apparently a hit.
- US of A - there are so many places to see and things to do here, I love it.

Downs:
- My car - how can a car break down this frequently?
- Personal issues that I don't want to divulge - those close to me know what they are.
- Job situation - unless you're an accountant or have a medical training, Boston is devoid of job opportunities.

Now I'm heading out to Oregon - a place I fell in love with two St. Patrick's Days ago. A new beginning. I'm sad to say goodbye to Boston, but at the same time I am very relieved to be out of this place. Who knows when I will be here next - not for a long time. I hope life treats me a little better out there, because I'm running out of options.

Anyway, this is getting pretty morbid. This is my last blog from the East Coast. Next blog will be written in Pacific time.

Peace.

NFL Logos Going Right

2008-09-16T09:13:00.002-04:00

I may not be the first one, but the other day I notices something as I was trying to look for a worthy addition to my otherwise abysmal fantasy football team. With the exception of one team, all the NFL team logos face or point to the right - excluding, of course, the "stationary" ones - letters and symmetrical symbols. Here's a list of the ones "charging", if you will, to the right:

- Ravens' raven
- Browns' helmet
- Texans' bull
- Jaguars' jaguar
- Titans' fireball
- Bills' buffalo
- Free Willy on Dolphins'
- Patriots' minuteman
- Broncos' bronco
- Chiefs' arrow
- Lions' lion
- Vikings' James Hetfield
- Falcons' falcon
- Panthers' panther
- Buccaeneers' flag
- Redskins' Native American
- Cardinals' cardinal
- Seahawks' ... seahawk
- And, last but not least (pun totally intended), Rams' ram

Only Eagles' eagle is facing left.

I don't know if it was a deliberate attempt by Philly to come up with a logo that defies the "Western logic" or the rest of the NFL. What I mean by "Western logic" is that languages written with a Latin-based alphabet are written from left to right (duh...), so it is natural for children growing up learning these languages as mother tongue to "think" from left to right too (Lacan's language-based psychoanalysis). Let's give a cinematic example: in Kubrick's film The Killing (1955), all the characters enter the scene from left to right. Kubrick later said that it was deliberate. I might be completely off the mark here, but I remember reading a quote by David Lean along the same lines.

Anyway, back to football. What is strange about the NFL logos isn't the fact that they face right, but that one team - by pure coincidence or pure rebellion - has a logo facing the other way.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Peace.

Goodbye, Mr. Wright...

2008-09-15T12:50:00.003-04:00

The music world has lost one of its most talented and elusive players. Rick Wright, Pink Floyd's legendary keyboard player, has passed away after battling with cancer. It is sad news indeed, as not only was he immensely gifted as a songwriter, but he was also a master of his instrument. Players such as Jon Lord, Keith Emerson, and Rick Wakeman are "superstars" in terms of rock keyboards for their showmanship and technical expertise. Wright, on the other hand, was more subtle. Take a listen to Floyd's "Echoes" or any song from Dark Side of the Moon (1973).

It's a shame that we will never get to see Pink Floyd in all its glory anymore - Syd Barrett, the founding member, also recently passed away. But, they left us a catalogue that deserves the epithet "unique" more than any other.

P.S. "Echoes" is playing in the background right now and it's killing me. What a song.

Peace.

And another Awesome Playlist!

2008-09-08T15:28:00.003-04:00

There are some overlaps from the previous one, but also some new additions and long-forgotten gems:

Coming Home by Alter Bridge
Threshold by Audrey Horne
What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse by The Black Dahlia Murder
Falling off the Edge of the World by Black Sabbath
Reverend Wrinkle by Black Stone Cherry
Porno Star by Buckcherry
The Doom of All Fires by Cavalera Conspiracy
I Don't Want to Know (If You Don't Want Me) by The Donnas
Piranha by Exodus
Doomsday for the Deceiver by Flotsam & Jetsam
Executioner's Day by Heaven's Basement
The Mirror's Truth by In Flames
Rocket Ship by King's X
Ilyena by The Mars Volta
Bladecatcher by Mastodon
Bleed by Meshuggah
Bleeding Me by Metallica
Issizligin Ortasinda by Mogollar
While Your Lips Are Still Red by Nightwish
Stuff Is Messed up by The Offspring
Hessian Peel by Opeth
Shesmovedon by Porcupine Tree
My Global Mind by Queensryche
Morphine Child by Savatage
Sepulnation by Sepultura
Sacrifice for the Slaughter God by Skeletonwitch
Practice What You Preach by Testament
Jump for Joy by Warrior Soul
Living for the Weekend by Willie Stradlin
Alien Angel by 3

Peace

No More Perfection!!!

2008-09-08T15:15:00.002-04:00

Great. You wait for six months to prove everyone that Patriots may not have been the perfect team, but the best team in the country and what happens? Tom Brady - they should have cast him instead of Brandon Routh in Superman Returns (2006) - gets injured within the first five minutes after tossing a awesome pass. He's out for the season and a return to glory for the Pats looks a lot harder now. The pass was intercepted, by the way.

Losing Brady should not be wholly detrimental to Patriots, because (read the first paragraph again) they want to prove themselves to be the best team. Unfortunately, Brady's input is so huge that his loss undermines any title hope the team, the pundits, the fans, and the players had. They are now a strong contender for a play-off spot - quite probably seeded - but I can't see them progressing any further. Matt Cassell should be an able replacement, but he won't reach the numbers Brady put on board last season. I hope he does and I end up eating my words. But, he won't. Brady's loss also means lesser numbers from Moss and Welker (and there goes my fantasy team). All in all, Patriots will finish the season with a handful of less games won than last year.

On the bright side, it was a stellar first week: Favre vs. Pennington (I wish they had mics inside the helmets of both); Panthers' last second touchdown (thank you San Diego defence); Falcons finally winning a game. And tonight we'll see if Rodgers can shut the Packers' fans boos as he sizes up Petersen and the Vikings. It's going to be good...

Peace.

SFTD: "Fire" by Bruce Dickinson

2008-07-28T08:31:00.002-04:00

Today I am starting a new thread of blogs in which I will write briefly about a random song on my iTunes.

"Fire" by Bruce Dickinson

Taken from the album that the Siren released during his time away from Iron Maiden, "Fire" is one of the more surprising songs from the much-maligned Balls to Picasso (1994). It is a mid-tempo slow-burner that has a riff reminiscent of a Judas Priest song circa British Steel (1980). The chorus has a slightly funky hook to it that makes it sound a little more "American". Roy Z comes up with a very Steve Morse-inspired solo in the middle, before the song fades away in a rather unsatisfactory fashion. Not a highlight from a patchy album, but not a stinker either.

The New Awesome Playlist

2008-07-22T22:26:00.004-04:00

What follows is my new Awesome Playlist (30 songs that I find myself listening to most these days):

(in alphabetical order)

- Coming Home by Alter Bridge
- Indians by Anthrax
- Ain't Enough by Army Of Anyone
- Wide Awake by Audioslave
- Threshold by Audrey Horne
- Sailin' on by Bad Brains
- Wanderlust by Baroness
- Remedy by The Black Crowes
- Sinful Love by Blue Oyster Cult
- The Doom of All Fires by Cavalera Conspiracy
- Mercury by Clutch
- Elembivos by Eluveitie
- Bonded by Blood by Exodus
- Executioner's Day by Heaven's Basement
- The Mirror's Truth by In Flames
- Revelations by Judas Priest
- Rocket Ship by King's X
- The Spirit by Magnum
- Trust by Megadeth
- Ronnie by Metallica
- Double Nature by Mustasch
- Stuff Is Messed up by The Offspring
- Burden by Opeth
- First It Giveth by Queens Of The Stone Age
- Morphine Child by Savatage
- Practice What You Preach by Testament
- Alien Angel by 3
- Wings of Time by Tyr
- Wild Child by W.A.S.P.
- Jump for Joy by Warrior Soul

Shaking the hands of the Truth

2008-07-22T22:13:00.004-04:00

It has been a long time since I graced this pages with utterances that are utterly useless. Needless to say it has been a fruitless few weeks with nothing much to write home (or on this blog, for that matter) about. However, today's chance spotting and immediate handshaking deserve a little mention.

As I was innocently trying to figure out whether the new James Patterson book is even worth putting up on the shelf, I pass by this dude who was much taller than me, wearing an Oakland Athletics cap. Then a very supporting-character-in-a-romantic-comedy happened and I stopped in my tracks and literally retraced my steps. Holy fucking shit. Could he be? No way, right? But he is. It's Paul Pierce. The MVP of the Finals. The Man. The Truth.

Throwing away the shit that was in my hands and pushing away little children trying to grab the newly-arrived Horse webkinz, I made my way towards the man I have admired all these years, from late night rebroadcast games on Sky Sports in England to Channel 52 here in Boston. But, I had to be sure.

Gurur: "Dude. You're Paul Pierce, right?"
The Truth: "Call me Champ"

He walks away, I stand there wide-eyed... Awesome.

Last but not least, a moment of Zen. I have mentioned this to none other than Mr. Wheeler Maidrand Crowley today: 3 months in L.A. and the most famous person I've seen is Tony Shalhoub (great actor, by the way) and 3 weeks working at a bookstore at Logan Airport and I have already spotted Counting Crows and Paul Pierce. Go figure.

Peace.

Top Directors...according to me

2008-06-09T09:56:00.004-04:00

Hello Brethren,

Some of my friends know about my film database (a list of all the films I have ever seen, with cast information, "star review", etc.) and about a year ago I added a new feature to the database, which has seen more versions than Windows. The said new feature is a countdown of my favourite directors. Here's how I compiled it:

I used the Bayesian estimate - the system used for imdb ratings - whereby I assigned the following minimums: I must have seen at least 3 films by any given director and the arithmetic mean of those films has to be at least 3 (based on a star review system out of 5).

Needless to say, the list ended up having more surprises than I can handle (one of which is that, apparently, I think Kevin Costner is a better director than Steven Spielberg). However, I always find it interesting to browse through the list and be in awe of my stupefying ratings. Hindsight is the worst enemy of a review, so sometimes I look back on some films and begin wondering what I was on (probably Diet Coke at the time). But I made sure that I don't change the ratings - that would be cheating. Another disclaimer would be that having at least 3 films means some directors, such as the aforementioned Speilberg and one Martin Scorsese, end up having low weighted scores, because - let's face it - there is always a The Lost World - Jurassic Park for every Schindler's List, or The Aviator for every Taxi Driver.

Before I dabble on even longer, I shall give you the top 30 and the weighted averages next to them. Enjoy:

For the tie scores the arithmetic mean has the priority. In the case of all parameters being equal, alphabetical order has the priority.

1- Joel & Ethan Coen - 4.07
- Stanley Kubrick
3- Akira Kurosawa - 4.05
4- Billy Wilder - 4.02
5- Pedro Almodovar - 3.97
6- Darren Aronofsky - 3.92
7- Krzysztow Kieslowski - 3.91
- Sergio Leone
- Lars Von Trier
10- Alfred Hitchcock - 3.84
11- David Lynch - 3.81
12- Francis Ford Coppola - 3.8
- David Lean
- Sam Peckinpah
- Charlie Chaplin
- Michael Haneke
- Rob Reiner
18- Alfonso Cuaron - 3.72
- Frank Darabont
- Lasse Hallstrom
- John Schlesinger
- Zhang Yimou
23- James Cameron - 3.71
- Hayao Miyazaki
25- Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - 3.67
- Robert Altman
- Michael Mann
28- Alejandro Amenabar - 3.63
- Spike Lee
- Richard Linklater
- Sidney Lumet
- Roman Polanski
- Peter Weir

Another interesting tidbit would be the number of films I have seen by the directors. This explains - to a certain extent - the ommission of some of the "big" names from this Top 30 (the more the number of films, the more of a chance to have stinkers). Here's the list of the directors with the most number of films I have seen:

This list is drawn from the pool of directors that fulfill the above requirements for minimum number of films and the minimum arithmetic score of 3.

1- Steven Spielberg - 20
2- Martin Scorsese - 13
3- Joel & Ethan Coen - 12
- Stanley Kubrick
5- Pedro Almodovar - 11
6- Woody Allen - 10
- Robert Zemeckis
8- Tim Burton - 9
- Mike Nichols
10- Akira Kurosawa - 8
- David Cronenberg

What this shows is that, in my humble opinion and filmic experience, the Coens, Kubrick, Almodovar, and Kurosawa have always been consistently good (considering their placements in the first chart). Yet, I want to stress that these lists mean nothing, as the pool of films contain under 1300 titles. In the coming years, once I marathon my way through Bergman, Antonioni, Herzog, Lang, Bunuel, or numerous other "greats", then the list will have some meaning. I can safely assume, though, that the Coens will overtake Kubrick (until No Country, Kubrick was number one, with Coens second by only a tiny margin). Who knows? Maybe Burn After Reading will end up being another Coens masterpiece.

Peace.

Opeth's New Observation

2008-06-07T21:50:00.004-04:00

I will write a proper review for this album here and here later on, but I just want to say that the new album (or observation, as they like to call them) is absolutely, mind-numbingly, annoyingly good. Watershed will be remembered as a metal classic for years to come.

Rob Schneider is from the Dark Side...

2008-05-28T09:38:00.003-04:00

...according to imdbPRO STARmeter, he is number 666. Spooky, huh? Maybe he sold his soul to the devil and the Zohan movie will actually be funny.

Peace.

Cannes 2008

2008-05-22T09:21:00.003-04:00

The Cannes Festival is well and truly under way - actually it has been for a while. For a good coverage of the proceedings, I would urge you all to check out this. I, on the other hand, would like to tell you the films that I can't wait to see once they are released on this side of the pond:

Le Silence de Lorna: the new film from the Dardenne Brothers (winners from two years ago) sounds pretty interesting, especially the rising interest in the Balkan countries in the last couple of years.

Changeling: Clint is always reliable and this sounds like something juicy. Well, hoping that Angelina Jolie decides to act for once.

Waltz with Bashir: this Israeli animation looks like it could be this year's Persepolis with an edge.

Two Lovers: let's just hope that Joaquin Phoenix once again picks good films.

Synecdoche, New York: this smells of brilliant from the get-go - Kaufman, Keener, and PS Hoffman.

Blindness: just saw the trailer the other day and if the film is half as captivating as Saramago's book, then this could be a contender for the film of the year.

Linha de Passe: I'm hoping that Salles returns to the Central Station (1998) days and delivers another stunning film.

Che: I have been waiting for this for years and whatever it is, it should be amazing. Here is what Peter Bradshaw had to say about it.

Leonera: it has a similar theme to what I am working on right now and I'm curious as to how it will turn out.

Palermo Shooting: anything by WimWenders deserves my utmost attention and admiration.

It looks like we will have some great stuff on the way. I can't wait.

Peace

Recent Viewings

2008-05-07T21:20:00.003-04:00

I have been very lazy lately about the blogs, so I apologize to you, my modest number of somehow devoted readers, and I will give you a stupid list of the movies I watched recently. Why? Because I'm lazy. So, from the latest backwards, here are the last twenty films I saw:

- The Passenger (1975): Antonioni's thriller is a masterclass in filmmaking. Every frame and snippet of sound is a meticulous work of beauty.

- Charlie Wilson's War (2007): It is a decent effort, but somehow I was unsure about the tone and the slight ambiguity at the end seemed rather cowardly.

- The Savages (2007): Absolutely fantastic performances by the two leads, but this suffers from the same tonal issues.

- Reservation Road (2007): There is not much new here in terms of content - it is a glorified Lifetime movie.

- Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007): Lumet's slightly uncompromising street attitude is all evident here, but it is too aware of itself to be edgy.

- Bug (2007): Definitely an interesting film and the source material shows itself clearly - it is a play shot through a camera.

- In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Movie (2007): I couldn't resist and watched an Uwe Boll film and I regret every second of it.

- Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007): The first dud from the Apatow Laugh Factory, this is nothing but an SNL skit gone horribly long.

- Eat Drink Man Woman (1994): A deeply moving, palate-caressing, and poignant soap from Ang Lee, which also ticks many boxes on the humour level.

- Lions for Lambs (2007): Robert Redford's rather bland, but well-acted, Iraq-war-themed movie lacks focus and depth.

- Alexander: The Director's Cut (2004): There is so much potential wasted away in this epic that it is painful to watch without thinking what it could, and should, have been.

- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007): It is an impressive-looking horror-musical, but it doesn't give room for any of its characters to shine from the claret-colored gloss.

- Mean Creek (2004): A tense and gripping drama with great performances and characters. It hits a huge roadblock in the third act, but still ends with a satisfying finale.

- Wristcutters: A True Story (2007): A premise as goofy and genius as a Charlie Kaufman story, but unfortunately handled in a very complacent manner.

- House of Sand (2005): This Brazilian mini-epic boasts another magnificent turn from Fernanda Montenegro, but its episodic structure belittles its ambitions.

- Once (2007): One of the best movies from last year, it is honest, moving, uplifting, and has the best soundtrack this side of Garden State (2004).

- Sin City (2005): It looks amazing and has an incredible cast ... but it is irredeemably boring and hasn't got one convincing or memorable performance from its stars.

- Driving Lessons (2006): In this PC version of the brilliant Harold and Maude (1971) Julie Walters gives one of the best performances of her career ... and that's pretty amazing.

- The Kite Runner (2007): By cramming every little part of the book and thus exposing some of its limitations, it is hurried and awkward.

- The Legend of the Black Scorpion (2006): A great-looking version of Hamlet that lacks an actual story beyond the premise.

So, folks, here they are. As you can see I haven't paid a visit to the theaters for a long time, because there hasn't been anything that I was dying to see in the last couple of months or so. And, sadly, that is unlikely to change in the coming weeks. They spoiled us late last year and now we want more quality films. I'm curious how this year will compare to 2007.

Peace.

Peter Bradshaw's 'Funny Games" Review

2008-04-04T08:39:00.004-04:00

Here is what Peter Bradshaw had to say about Michael Haneke's own re-shoot of Funny Games (2008). For those who haven't seen the 1997 original, it is one of the single most horrifying filmic experiences of my life - and that's a compliment. I can safely claim that Funny Games (1997) is my favourite horror film I have seen yet. The re-shoot (it is a shot-by-shot replica, the only difference being a single line about a cell phone) has some issues with acting - though good they all are, it reminds you how important the acting was in the first place. I would recommend everybody to try to watch the 1997 one first and if you still have the stomach watch the 2008 film. Haneke is a genius in manipulating audience and this is further proof of that.

Peace.

A Small Rant: The Return

2008-03-29T16:13:00.002-04:00

A case in point for my previous blog. Feel free to vomit or smash something in rage.

Peace.

A Small Rant

2008-03-27T16:43:00.002-04:00

Is it me or is it completely inexcusable for the celebrities selling their baby pictures to gossip magazines? I personally would hate to find out that my parents used my pictures to make a couple of more millions. You can say that the money could be used for the kids' future, but come on...we're talking about people who have a few million stacked somewhere that they don't deserve. Their kids won't grow up to need that money. I think it is a travesty and it should be abolished altogether.

Peace.

P.S. While we're at it, why don't we get rid of Nancy Grace too?

A Little Bit of Everything

2008-03-19T09:28:00.003-04:00

There were three things that caught my attention in the last two days and I would like to share them with you:

1- Last night Boston Celtics snapped the 22-game winning streak (second longest in the NBA history) of Houston Rockets with a defensive display we have come to expect from Pierce and co. As a Celtics fan, I was jubilant and wanted to hug the imaginary person watching the game with me late last night. However, the more interesting news came after the game. As usual, the sideline reporter pulled aside a player from the winning team for a live interview. The TNT reporter picked the inimitable Kevin Garnett. After asking him tired old questions about how well Celtics played and Garnett's equally tired old replies, the reporter asked the player about his former employer's (Timberwolves owner...name I can't remember) comments that Garnett "tanked" at the end of last season. Garnett, first smiled, then said that he is Boston player now and that's all he cares about. Then he dropped the bomb: "I don't know why you bring this up right now". Thank you, Kevin, because seeing the reporter understanding that he has screwed up and making him eat his words on national TV was priceless. Who cares what the Timberwolves owner said? What is important is that Celtics managed to stop the streak and Garnett just wants to celebrate it. Do you have to bring that up? What were you expecting Garnett to say? "Fuck him" on national TV? Kevin Garnett proved himself that not only he is one of the best forwards the league has ever seen, but also one of the smartest.

2- This morning I caught the last minute of an interview with Dick Cheney (I think it was on GMA, but it could have been on CNN...doesn't matter). The chyron read that Cheney thought the war on Iraq was a success. No news there. Just then the interviewer mentioned the opinion polls and said that a certain proportion of the population (again I can't remember the exact number, but it was a rather sizable one) believes that it's not worth fighting there. What followed was unbelievable and I had to verify with my girlfriend if I heard him right. This is what Cheney said verbatim: "So what?". Insert your comments here...

3- Remember last year when the news that two of cinema's greatest masters died within a week of each other and how empty we all felt and ordered their back catalogues from Netflix? For the philistines out there I'm talking about Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni. This year, sad news from the same front came hours apart. Anthony Minghella and Arthur C. Clarke passed away yesterday. You can argue back and forth about Minghella's position in cinema history with respect to those of Bergman or Anotnioni, but the point is the film industry lost one of its most consistent and intelligent filmmakers. As for Clarke, he was the last great science fiction author. I can't wait to re-visit 2001: A Space Odyssey and Minghella's "trio": The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain again.

Peace.

I Smell Magic Dollars

2008-03-14T09:07:00.002-04:00

Read this and weep. Just when I thought we were done with the magical soap opera, we will have to endure the thing twice over...again...Are we trying to make J.k Rowling richer than Oprah?

Peace.

Peter Bradshaw on Zombie Flicks

2008-03-12T09:16:00.002-04:00

It's not a "Peter-Bradshaw-One-Star-Review", but it is up there with some of his better ones. Here is what he thought about George A. Romero's new zombie outing, Diary of the Dead (2008). I didn't really want to see it before the review, now I'm a little curious. I think it's time to stop making zombie flicks, just like we stopped making romantic comedies starring Hugh Grant.

Also, am I the only person who thinks Romero is one of the most overrated directors ever? I mean, just because his films have obvious political undertones doesn't mean he is a 'genius'. He single-handedly glorified and exploited a genre, that's all. Anyhoo, it's probably the only thing remotely worth watching in theaters right now.

Peace.

Best of the 21st Century

2008-03-10T13:52:00.004-04:00

It seems I have a knack for lists that are bound to change after I make them. The following is no exception. Inspired by a list that I frequently visit, I present you my favorite films from our very young century. Although technically speaking there is an ambiguity as to whether the year 2000 was the beginning of the century or not, but that should be a topic to be discussed perhaps later on these very pages. For simplicity's sake, the films that have been released in the 'noughties' are included here. And, as always, this list could change at any moment without due notice...

My Favorite Films of the 21st Century:

1- MULHOLLAND DR. (David Lynch, 2001): I don't think many people would argue with this one. It is the mind-fuck that can only come from the genius mind of David Lynch. I can never forget my experience of watching this in an old, large, and empty theater in Buenos Aires...by myself. Definitely the most frightening movie-going experience of my life.

2- NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2007): I stand by what I said before, this is the best movie of the last few years and the only reason why it doesn't hold the top spot is because the Coens' film is an excellence in convention despite some of the unconventional decisions they've made.

3- TALK TO HER (Pedro Almodovar, 2002): Viva Pedro! This is the film where the auteur really asserts himself and comes up with a mature film that is brimming with originality and energy - an energy that should come from a young director that has something to say to the wide world.

4- ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (Michel Gondry, 2004): Charlie Kaufman was the JJ Abrams of screenwriting (great premise and start, but gets bored and abandons the thing towards the end) until this oddity. Science fiction? Romantic comedy? Drama? Horror? All?

5- THE FOUNTAIN (Darren Aronofsky, 2006): A flop it might have been on various fronts, but the feeling it leaves me with every time I see it is the closest to a sweet melancholy than any film I can think of recently. And despite what Dr. Cox thinks, Hugh Jackman is amazing here.

6- CHILDREN OF MEN (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006): A captivating story? Check. Convincing performances? Check. Brilliant cinematography? Check. Music? Check. Cuts that last 15 minutes through mind-boggling action set-pieces? Check. Check, check...It ticks all the boxes, it is almost ridiculous...

7- SPIRITED AWAY (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001): It doesn't matter how much Disney tries to ruin Miyazaki's masterpieces by adding excruciatingly annoying voice-overs, his amazing hand-drawn animation manages to escape the manacles of Hollywood. Oh, and the story should be taught at Screenwriting 101.

8- CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Ang Lee, 2000): It was this wushu that made the genre famous in the mainstream - and deservedly so. By mixing ludicrously graceful martial arts and a western melodramatic storyline (add to that some of the most beautiful images ever captured on camera), Ang Lee, perhaps inadvertently, created his masterpiece.

9- THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Andrew Dominik, 2007): It was Javier Bardem and his hair that swept the awards (deservedly so), but it was Casey Affleck's performance that was the star of 2007 (at least for me). His awkward mannerisms, pale complexion, and that childish voice makes him a lot more terrifying than Anton Chigurh. Add to that Roger Deakins' best work behind the camera and a great score by the inimitable Nick Cave, and you have a bona fide Western. Brad Pitt ain't bad, either.

10- THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007): The truth is, without Daniel Day-Lewis, the film is not that amazing, but his performance makes it an irresistible watch. Johnny Greenwood (criminally overlooked at all the awards) comes up with an unorthodox soundtrack that stayed with me for a long time. And, yes, you can't take your eyes off of Day-Lewis.

11- Code Unknown (Michael Haneke, 2000)
12- Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearl (Gore Verbinski, 2003)
13- The Hours (Stephen Daldry, 2003)
14- Garden State (Zach Braff, 2004)
15- Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)
16- Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
17- The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles, 2004)
18- The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)
19- In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
20- Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)

Bubbling under:
- O Brother Where Art Thou? (Joel & Ethan Coen, 2000)
- Das Experiment (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2001)
- Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)

TV Ratings and Box-Office

2008-02-26T09:12:00.004-05:00

I have just read an article on BBC's website about the last weekend's Academy Awards ceremony and it's pretty darn interesting.

Apparently last Sunday's broadcast drew the lowest audience figures (32 million), even lower than the 2003 ceremony which came days after the Iraq invasion. What is also interesting is the fact that the fricking American Idol - otherwise known as the dumbest show on TV - draws 30 million every week. I mean, are we that stupid? I can't fathom how asinine our culture has become that we are obsessed with a program that thrives on insult and "reality"? We must be really cut off from our imaginative side here, because a "reality show" now takes over and becomes the symbol of our cultural psyche. Really scary...

On another note, the same article also points out the box-office numbers for the nominated films: only Juno broke the $100 million mark, whereas the Best Motion Picture of the Year, No Country for Old Men, only returned $64 million. The conclusion drawn by the article is that, because the nominated movies - critically acclaimed all may be - weren't popular enough to garner record-breaking ratings. The 1998 ceremony, where Titanic swept the board, had the highest rating - that is, since the ratings began.

Another shuffling of iTunes

2008-02-25T10:22:00.004-05:00

Well, I'm bored right now...so I will do another iTunes shuffling and let you glimpse into my musical reality:

One of These Days by Pink Floyd
Learning to Live by Dream Theater
Diadems by Megadeth
After Dark by Blue Oyster Cult
I Thought I Knew It All by Megadeth
Piedra y camino by Juan Carlos Baglietto
Go Let It out! by Oasis
Little Queen by Heart
Afraid by Motley Crue
Freedom by Stratovarius
Shame on the Night by Solitude Aeternus
Wheels of Fire by Manowar
Nectar by Opeth
I'll Wait by Van Halen
When the Levee Breaks by W.A.S.P.
The Siren by Nightwish
The Call of Ktulu by Metallica
Blessed Be the Dead by Megadeth
Behind My Camel by Primus
Tall Latte by Devin Townsend
Drawing Flies by Soundgarden
The Baying of the Hounds by Opeth
Gravel Road by Clutch (my favourite song right now)
Signs of Chaos by Testament
Fight Hate by Md.45
The Flowers of Guatemala by R.E.M.
Stupid Girl by Neil Young
Achilles, Agony, and Ecstasy in Eight Parts by Manowar
Breed by Nirvana
10's by Pantera

This is definitely a lot heavier than the previous shuffle...

Peace

How did I do?

2008-02-25T08:55:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, I posted my predictions for this year's Academy Awards. There have been some alterations here and there. I think I did pretty well this year - having said that this year has been quite interesting. We all knew it was going to be between No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, but up until the last handful of awards, neither film asserted its dominance. It was very open and despite the somewhat predictability of some of the categories, most of the awards were up for grabs. And that certainly made it a more interesting, if a little less glitzy, night compared to the last few years.

So, without further ado, here are my predictions and the winners:

BEST MOTION PICTURE:
Gurur: No Country for Old Men
Academy: No Country for Old Men

It was a two-horse race, but it seemed inevitable that the Coens would go home with the big prize.

BEST ACTOR:
Gurur: Daniel Day-Lewis
Academy: Daniel Day-Lewis

Like last year's Best Actress category, we all knew this as soon as we first got a glimpse of Daniel Plainview in that silver mine.

BEST ACTRESS:
Gurur: Marion Cotillard / Julie Christie
Academy: Marion Cotillard

A disclaimer here: on the ballot I filled out yesterday, I picked Julie Christie as opposed to what I posted here. I should have stuck to my guns.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Gurur: Javier Bardem
Academy: Javier Bardem

Another shoe-in, but it's great to see him finally getting the recognition he deserves.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Gurur: Cate Blanchett / Tilda Swinton
Academy: Tilda Swinton

Again on the ballot yesterday I had a change of hearts and this time it paid off!

DIRECTOR:
Gurur: The Coens
Academy: The Coens

Finally...and thank you all for "letting them play in [their] corner of the sandbox."

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Gurur: The Coens
Academy: The Coens

Come on, who else?

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Gurur: Diablo Cody
Academy: Diablo Cody

I think I speak for everybody else here...she should have taken her clothes off to make the night a little more interesting.

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Gurur: Roger Deakins for ...Jesse James...
Academy: Robert Elswit for There Will Be Blood

Roger Deakins is nominated for two and goes home empty-handed...again...Blood would have been my other pick, though...

EDITING:
Gurur: Bourne
Academy: Bourne

A movie that 'lives' on editing, it was a little obvious, don't you think?

ART DIRECTION:
Gurur: Atonement
Academy: Sweeney Todd...

I haven't seen the latest Burton / Depp oddity, so I can't make comments here...

ORIGINAL SCORE:
Gurur: Atonement
Academy: Atonement

It was simply brilliant and you know it.

So, it turns out I did pretty well. And barring some last minute adjustments, I could have been a contender, don't you think?

Peace

Excellent banter

2008-02-23T16:05:00.001-05:00

I have been reading (for a very long time, it seems) Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials Trilogy. I am stuck in the third installment - The Amber Spyglass (not because I feel intellectually challenged by it, nor because I'm not entertained by it, but solely because of a lack of time).

As I was looking up some information on the 'Net about the books and the author, I came across this interview between Pullman and a Canadian film-critic, Peter Chattaway. It is an excellent and honest interview between two people with fundamentally opposing views on religion.

The core of the discussion appears halfway through the exchange, where Pullman tells Chattaway that the biggest sin of them all is to attribute all the good deeds and virtues to a religious belief, and vice to everything else.

This is an issue that bothers me most concerning the religious doctrine - it appears that religion, or faith, has the monopoly over a fundamental goodness and that those that do not belong to or are not affiliated to a certain belief system possess evil. Belonging to a church or a sect does not beget virtue. At the same time, not having any religious and/or spiritual affiliation does not beget virtue either. Goodness and evil should not be under control of a belief system, but should be embedded in one's consciousness.

The end is nigh...

2008-02-23T12:58:00.001-05:00

The time to give away those dildo-shaped golden statuettes to people who mostly deserve them is upon us. I have dabbled in some precognition over the Oscar winners before. And there have been some changes as I got to see more of the nominated films. And then some more...So I won't go into a summary of my predictions- there are quite a few of them around. Just Google something and voila...

I want to dedicate this space for a couple of things that I stumbled on while perusing the cyber reality that I wish I was living in.

It turns out, Diablo Cody - the stripper-turned-the-next-big-screenwriter-in-Hollywood - will be wearing shoes that are worth - just wait - $1 million. I know that she doesn't own them, but it puts a lot into perspective when you think about how the writers went on strike for Internet returns...just mind-boggling. I think we might be living in a time where the writer is the new star (nothing wrong with that, by the way - but something is definitely wrong with $1 million shoes no matter who you are). Some more research also brings forth an interesting figure: the estimated budget for Juno (2007) was $7.5 million.

There are a gazillion film sites on the Internet - we all know the usual stuff. My favorite film site -not a database, but a features and reviews site - belongs to The Guardian newspaper. Not only you can find there my favorite film critic - Peter Bradshaw - but also a lot of features on anything and anyone around the world of cinema. They have an excellent retrospective on articles related to the upcoming Oscars. Worth checking out.

We will see whether his will be the year of No Country for Old Men or There Will Be Blood. You know which one I'm rooting for, but either way this has been a very good year for film.

Once again...

2008-02-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

It happened again. Another campaign for European glory ended in a defeat. And this time with a heavy one. It is law now that when Galatasaray are to lose in Europe, they lose heavily...against teams that they should beat. It's also interesting how we manage to lose all the important games with seemingly crushing defeats. How we'll come back up from this is beyond me - it was an abysmal performance. I think we cemented the notion, which we vehemently denied over the last five years or so, that we are no longer a potent team...we have become what we feared most: we are what Fenerbahce used to be all these years. Shame...

Peace

Strike is Over!!!!!

2008-02-12T17:13:00.000-05:00

Four months of painful negotiations, terrible TV listings, incessant honkings outside the studios, and a horde of (mostly) talented people looking for jobs...and finally the WGA vs. Producers feud is over.

We can only hope for better TV shows and better films for 2009.

Peace.

iPod kaput

2008-02-12T14:27:00.000-05:00

Yes, folks...it finally happened...again. My beloved iPod succumbed to its demise and now looks at me with that sad face icon with the exclamation mark plastered next to it...taunting me...

You know men have cars as their extensions, I had my iPod...and now I feel very inadequate indeed...

A sad day in my universe. What am I going to listen to in my car? Or when working out?

When my first iPod was broken, Deep Purple's "Stormbringer" was playing. I cringe every time that song comes on. This time it was "Skeletons of Society" by Slayer. And I like both songs!!!

Peace.

Changes for an Oscar Prediction

2008-02-05T11:38:00.000-05:00

Having just seen La Vie en Rose, I feel compelled to change my prediction for the Best Actress category from Ellen Page for Juno to Marion Cotillard. She is simply magnificent. The movie is just a one-woman-show with not much to say about Edith Piaf other than superficial and melodramatic periods of her life, but the center-piece of the movie is breathtaking. It restores your faith in great acting.

I will be watching Away From Her later today - Julie Christie (one of the most beautiful women in the world) is a heavy favourite to win the Academy Award. We'll see if my prediction will change, but even Christie might have difficulty in doing that. And if Cotillard is stripped from this award, it will be a terrible shame. But, then again, I love Julie Christie...

Peace.

Imperfection

2008-02-04T11:43:00.001-05:00

It finally came to be true and the invincible, perfect, awesome, amazing, incredible Patriots were brought down to their knees in a performance that was so mediocre, one wonders how this team managed to come all this way without losing a single game.

This is not a damning indictment on how bad the Patriots were, nor is it a counter-argument to the Perfection epithet. I believe that Patriots deserved all the accolades awarded to them for the whole season. They were (are) the perfect team and they have only played one bad game - and it happens to be the one that counts.

I personally dislike the play-off system that is employed in American sports. True, in world football there is also a play-off system, but that is due to time restrictions. Play-offs are good for the media - it generates more buzz and, in most cases, it is quite good fun. However, the 'fun' part isn't on the field. More often than not, every play-off situation benefits from the pre-game and post-game analysis. This is because the teams participating in the post-season are very similar in terms of quality, so you are more likely to get a 'dull' game. What is interesting is the drama surrounding the situation.

Now, can anybody say that Patriots were the second best team of the season? Or that the Colts just made it to Top 8? No. The league system rewards the better teams, play-offs reward the teams that play better on that very particular day. I don't want to take anything away from the Giants - they were the superior team last night and they have been on a very good run over the last few weeks. Kudos to them that they beat the best team in the country.

I think play-offs are a farce and unfair. Sports is played on the field and Patriots were outplayed by Giants, but the best team of the 2007-08 season were the Patriots. Unfortunately, the record-books won't ever show that.

As for the Patriots players, good job, lads. You played better than anybody and you deserved to win the championship, but your one mediocre game happened to be on the Super Bowl day...

'Lost' Season 4 Premiere

2008-02-01T08:44:00.000-05:00

After months of waiting, hypothesising, and endless speculation about its fate, the most amazing TV show on air is back...with a bang.

As with many aficionados, I bought the Season 3 on DVD and marathon my way through it. Although I had seen all the episodes before, it never hurts to re-experience them. When the third season was airing, I thought it was slower and, frankly, rather boring. How wrong was I?

Season Three is probably the most satisfying ever since the Pilot episode. Full of twists, Michael
Emerson, and the first sex between the castaways.

Expectations were high for this season and I have to admit I had my reservations. Would it be a repeat of last season, where the first few episodes were miles away in terms of pacing from the end of Season Two?

Well, folks, they start where they left off. The curveball they throw in the beginning is the best revelation they have come up with yet - I nearly fell off my chair! Then the events on the Island!

I don't want to give away too much, but I can say that the Others will play an important part, but it will be even more difficult to distinguish between the good guys and the bad guys now.

Lost is back. And our lives will once again have a meaning.

Peace

A Couple of Changes for the Oscar Nominations

2008-01-27T17:54:00.000-05:00

As with the Top 10 films of the year, I am compelled to make a few changes to my Oscar nominations, as There Will Be Blood was more impressive than I thought it would be.

So, here are the categories that PT Anderson's new film has been nominated, followed by my original prediction and if there is any change:

BEST ACTOR:
Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis
New Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis

It was evident from the teasers and trailers that this would be Day-Lewis' year again. And with all the commendations given to him so far, his win was sealed from the get-go.

BEST ART DIRECTION:
Prediction: Atonement
New Prediction: Atonement

I am sticking to my guns with this one, because Atonement was the best-looking film of the year by a mile.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Prediction: The Assassination of Jesse James...
New prediction: The Assassination of Jesse James...

If this year isn't the year of Roger Deakins, then the Academy needs a huge rehashing process to do.

BEST DIRECTOR:
Prediction: The Coens
New Prediction: The Coens

No comment necessary here.

EDITING:
Prediction: The Bourne Ultimatum
New prediction: There Will Be Blood

There Will Be Good Storytelling...for shizzle.

BEST MOTION PICTURE:
Prediction: No Country
New Prediction: No Country

There Will Be Blood suffers from outstanding acting to shine as a film on its own.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
Prediction: No Country
New Prediction: No Country

I'm sticking to my guns again for this one.

So, there has only been one change. I was absolutely sure that it would sweep the Original Score award, but to my chagrin it's not nominated. Surely, one of the biggest omissions in this category...perhaps the biggest. Shame.

Peace.

Rethinking the Top 10

2008-01-27T17:30:00.000-05:00

Perhaps I was too hasty when I submitted my Top 10 movies to the public (the modest crowd that they are), because this is the second time I am pushing a new movie into the list. If the move titles had any feelings, I would be the hate-mail recipient of some quite formidable titles. However, fortunately I am dealing with inanimate non-living and non-existing objects - I'm not going to go into a Barthesian discussion here about the significance and existence of names.

Here is a new Top 10 list for you, as Yours Truly finally saw There Will Be Blood yesterday:

1- No Country for Old Men
2- The Lives of Others
3- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
4- There Will Be Blood
5- Gone Baby Gone
6- Knocked up
7- Feast of Love
8- Sunshine
9- Atonement
10- Eastern Promises

If you want to compare the previous lists, you can check here and here.

There will be a review soon up on my other blog (cinewise.blogspot.com). Make sure you check it out within the next few days.

Peace.

Pure Reason Revolution

2008-01-26T15:28:00.000-05:00

I am constantly reminded by my iPod that I possess an incredible album by a British band called Pure Reason Revolution. Their debut album, The Dark Third is full of LSD-inspired, haze-inducing, catchy-as-fuck prog epics unheard of ever since Roger Waters decided to run Pink Floyd like Robert Mugabe runs Zimbabwe.

Their sound is also reminiscent of The Beach Boys, but fortunately they try to do something different in each song instead of not fixing the-thing-that-ain't-broke.

I can't wait for their new album and I hope to see them out here on the East Coast very soon, because they are, right now, occupying the coveted spot of the-band-I-have-to-see-that-still-exists-today. And, I think they will be there until Zeppelin decides to tour, or something.

Peace.

Top 10 Albums re-vamp

2008-01-24T17:58:00.000-05:00

Like I said, those Top 10 lists are flexible. In fact, this has just come to my attention. While doing some research, as you do, I found out that the one Moonsorrow album I have, Viides Luku - Havietty was actually released in 2007.

For those of you not familiar with Moonsorrow, they are a Finnish metal band that incorporate black metal with extreme prog doodling. As a result, you have an album with two songs. The shorter one is just over 26 minutes long. It is an insane album - no crazy prog stuff I have comes even close to these songs. They are absolutely amazing. Hence, without further ado, I present you my revised Top 10 Albums of 2007:

1- Raising Sand by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
2- The End Is Begun by 3
3- Black Stone Cherry by Black Stone Cherry
4- Hello Master by Priestess
5- From Beale Street to Oblivion by Clutch
6- Dark Passion Play by Nightwish
7- Viides Luku - Havietty by Moonsorrow
8- III: Over the Under by Down
9- United Abominations by Megadeth
10- Send Away the Tigers by Manic Street Preachers

I feel sorry for Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Dark Planet, but a late run by these Finns is unavoidable. Also for statistical reasons, there are two bands from Finland on this list. The other is NIghtwish. Those crazy Finns...they are pretty good drivers, too. What's up with that?

Peace

80th Academy Award Nominees

2008-01-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

And here it is...quite probably the most exciting time in moviedom is nigh. This morning, the Academy (whoever they are) announced the nominees for the upcoming ceremony. Now, there is a key question here: will there be a ceremony?

I'm not a fan of the red carpet shenanigans of the celebrities and their new hot dresses. However, the Golden Globes showed that without the ceremony, the awards are useless. Absolutely obsolete. The only use for them is to print them on the DVD covers to pump up the sales for the "critically acclaimed fare".

Without further ado, let me give you my humble analysis of this year's nominees:

BEST ACTOR:
- George Clooney for Michael Clayton - a shoe-in nomination, but I don't think the movie, or the performance actually, was memorable enough to win.

- Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood - whenever he is nominated, he is the favourite - deservedly. The Academy still owes him for Gangs of New York. Regardless, he is a god among acting talent.

- Johnny Depp for Sweeney Todd - Oh, Johnny...who doesn't love you? But, I still feel he had a better chance for Pirates.

- Tommy Lee Jones for In the Valley of Elah - I haven't seen the film, but I'm pretty sure he did a great job. However...who saw the movie in the first place?

- Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promises - the fight scene in the bathhouse is deserving the nomination alone, but it feels like a caricature role.

And the winner is...Daniel Day-Lewis

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

- Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James - for me this was the performance of the year. And any other year, it would have been the clear favourite. But...

- Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men- ...as usual, Mr. Bardem steals the show. One of the scariest characters ever put on film.

- Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War - perhaps the movie is too light for Oscar, but Hoffman always delivers.

- Hal Holbrook for Into the Wild - just hoping that the Academy gives the award to the person who deserved it this year and not make amends to clear up old omissions...

- Tom Wilkinson for Michael Clayton - good performance, but again, not that memorable.

And the winner is...Javier Bardem

BEST ACTRESS

- Cate Blanchett for Elizabeth II - she should have won for the first one. This feels a little bit of a stretch to me.

- Julie Christie for Away From Her - the momentum from the Globes should carry her to the finish line.

- Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose - a role tailor-made for Academy, but her downfall could be that the Academy might favor an American, or better-said, an English-speaker.

- Laura Linney for The Savages - has she been not good at anything?

- Ellen Page for Juno - the best thing in the movie. She might be too young to win, but I wouldn't be surprised.

And the winner is...Ellen Page

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

- Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There- a woman playing a guy? An icon? The only thing against her is that she won this award before.

- Ruby Dee for American Gangster - a filler nomination.

- Saoirse Ronan for Atonement - I thought Keira Knightley's performance was far more moving, but she did a good job.

- Amy Ryan for Gone Baby Gone - one of the two revelations from the movie (the other is Ben).

- Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton - another amazing performance. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't have enough buzz.

And the winner is...Cate Blanchett

BEST ART DIRECTION

- American Gangster - it was Harlem, all right. But it wasn't anything special,

- Atonement - looked and felt amazing. Without extreme theatricality, it replicates the time perfectly.

- The Golden Compass - Pullman's world is hard to bring onto the screen, but they did a good job of it.

- Sweeney Todd - haven't seen it yet, but Burton's films always looked stunning.

- There Will Be Blood - a strange choice, maybe, but a very strong contender.

And the winner is...Atonement

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

- The Assassination of Jesse James... - the sepia colors, the scenery, the look...absolutely fantastic.

- Atonement - some very clever camerawork and the interior shots are great too.

- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - haven't seen it yet, but if the trailers are anything to go by, then this could be the dark horse.

- No Country for Old Men - when was the last time a Coens movie didn't look great? Can't remember? Because there isn't one.

- There Will Be Blood - I think Day-Lewis' performance takes all the attention away from the camera.

And the winner is...The Assassination of Jesse James

BEST DIRECTING

- Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - perhaps a surprise win in the Globes, but it looks like a real contender.

- Jason Reitman for Juno - well, clearly the thing that struck with this was Ellen Page. Not a director's movie. I'm sure Ang Lee is cringing somewhere...

- Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton - it looks good but a tad too slow and pretentious.

- Joel & Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men - it's their year, for sure.

- P.T. Anderson for There Will Be Blood - every film student's favourite film director, but will the Academy like him as much.

And the winner is...are...the Coens

EDITING

- The Bourne Ultimatum - the only thing going for it was the editing, but it might be a little too hectic for the older members.

- The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - again, judging from the trailer, it might just go home with the trophy.

- Into the Wild - haven't seen this one too, so I have no comments...

- No Country for Old Men - the Coens have always been very meticulous, and this is no exception.

- There Will Be Blood - again, too strong a performance for the movie to shine elsewhere.

And the winner is...The Bourne Ultimatum

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Unfortunately for me, I haven't seen any of these films yet. I blame the time I spent in Los Angeles.

ORIGINAL SCORE

- Atonement - the use of typewriters as percussion was genius and it added another layer of tension to the film.

- The Kite Runner - haven't seen this one either, but I read a lot about how good it is.

- Michael Clayton - I can't even remember the music...

- Ratatouille - too much Pixar brass gives me a headache.

- 3:10 to Yuma - westerns always do well in music, so this could be a contender.

And the winner is...Atonement

BEST MOTION PICTURE

- Atonement - the inconsistency in the second half will be the downfall of this otherwise shoe-in-genre film.

- Juno - too light and indie to win, but even the nomination is as good as a win. And the cliche...this year's Little Miss Sunshine

- Michael Clayton - it was too long ago for the members to even remember it. It wasn't that good anyway.

- No Country for Old Men - if this doesn't win...well...I will do something else with my life.

- There Will Be Blood - perhaps too dark to win.

And the winner is...No Country for Old Men

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

- Christopher Hampton for Atonement - a beautiful script with sharp dialogue, but the shift in second half is a little awkward.

- Sarah Polley fort Away From Her - a filler nomination.

- Ronald Harwood for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - when it comes to scripts, the Academy has a soft spot for the foreign films, so it wouldn't be a huge surprise.

- Joel & Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men - it might be a little too faithful to the novel, but the Coens use some of their magic too.

- Paul Thomas Anderson for There Will Be Blood - not a screenwriting movie.

And the winner is...are..the Coens.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

- Diablo Cody for Juno - this will win, but it doesn't take enough risks. Then again, that's perfect for the Academy.

- Nancy Oliver for Lars and the Real Girl - I'm pretty sure the premise is a lot more interesting than the end result.

- Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton - serious subject matter could be working in its favour.

- Brad Bird, Ian Pinkava, Jim Capobianco for Ratatouille - the animated scripts are, unfortunately, bound to the animation...so, I'm not sure this is good enough

- Tamara Jenkins for The Savages - I'm not sure if anybody has seen this yet...

And the winner is...Juno

So here it is folks. These are only some of the nominees...the ones I care about anyway. So, we'll see in four weeks whether I did good or not. Then again, my picks might change as I watch the other nominated films.

So until then...

Peace

Assorted Top 10s on the 'Net

2008-01-21T15:44:00.000-05:00

Like I said before, there's no way escaping the Top 10s and this will be no exception. While I was measuring the waves of the Internet, I came across a few Top 10 films of the year. And I thought I might share them with you.

First off, let's start with the World's Most Respected Film Critique...me:
1- No Country for Old Men
2- The Lives of Others
3- The Assassination of Jesse James...
4- Gone Baby Gone
5- Knocked up
6- Feast of Love
7- Sunshine
8- Atonement
9- Eastern Promises
10- Hot Fuzz

Rotten Tomatoes gives an interesting list, where Ratatouille comes up as number one. Although I'm not a huge Pixar fan, I can't say I enjoyed it too much. That said, it's better than a couple of the films they put on Top 10: Hairspray and Zodiac. I have nothing against the latter, but...come on...Cute doesn't mean good. Then again, I had Feast of Love on my list...

Top Ten Reviews features a more-or-less consensus list, as it is compiled from various reviews across the board. Ratatouille once again comes up as the leader. The one rather interesting entry is the Korean monster flick, The Host. I had some issues with the tone of the film. In fact, I am stuck with writing a review for it. Watch this space.

Richard Corliss (Time), meanwhile, compiles this list, where the top two slots are the same as Yours Truly. However, he puts a reissue, Charles Burnett's classic Killer of Sheep. I'm not sure if it should be eligible. As far as a naturalist approach goes, the film has few peers, but its merits end there. Oh, and his list also features Beowulf...

Roger Ebert compiled a very unremarkable list (very much like mine, actually...). He puts Juno in number one. Even though I enjoyed watching it, one thing stuck with me throughout: could it have been less predictable had it taken some risks?

On that note, I will give the list of one of my friends. Here's the Top 10 list of Wheeler Maidrand Crowley:
1- Juno
2- Gone Baby Gone
3- No Country for Old Men
4- Superbad
5- The Bourne Ultimatum
6- The Lookout
7- The Assassination of Jesse James...
8- Knocked up
9- Southland Tales
10- Grindhouse

I have seen nearly half of these films with him, so I'm not surprised at their inclusion. But, dude...The Lookout? Really?

And finally, a little bit of research on my part from the imdb. From their list of films between the years 2000 and 2009, these are the Top 10 of the year:

1- There Will Be Blood
2- No Country for Old Men
3- Juno
4- Ratatouille
5- The Bourne Ultimatum
6- Sweeney Todd...
7- American Gangster (What?! - ed.)
8- 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
9- The Man from Earth
10-3:10 to Yuma

The people spoke.

Peace.

Top 10 Films Re-Boot

2008-01-17T17:00:00.001-05:00

You might remember my Top 10 films of the year blog about a week ago. There I mentioned that any 2007 film that I would see is likely to creep up into the list.

Today I was flabbergasted by "The Lives of Others" and I wanted to put it in its deserving spot of No. 2 (sorry, "No Country..." still rocks). However, some Internet searching reveals that (actually imdb) the said film was first released in 2006. The catch is it was released in festivals and what-not. It entered the American and British markets in 2007. In other words, even though it was originally released in 2006, there was no way for me to legally watch it then.

So, here is the updated Top 10 films of 2007:

1- No Country for Old Men (Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen)

2- The Lives of Others (Dir: Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck)

3- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dir: Andrew Dominik)

4- Gone Baby Gone (Dir: Ben Affleck)

5- Knocked up (Dir: Judd Apatow)

6- Feast of Love (Dir: Robert Benton)

7- Sunshine (Dir: Danny Boyle)

8- Atonement (Dir: Joe Wright)

9- Eastern Promises (Dir: David Cronenberg)

10- Hot Fuzz (Dir: Edgar Wright)

W.A.S.P.

2008-01-16T08:59:00.001-05:00

As per usual, I was perusing the Holy Land of cyberspace with my iTunes on (don't worry, this is not another iTunes-related blog) and a song that I haven't played for a long time came on: Chainsaw Charlie (Murders in the Rue Morgue) by the almost-inimitable monsters of shock-rock W.A.S.P..

There seems to be a reason why this band never got the notoriety they deserved. Yes, they were following in the footsteps of Alice Cooper; they were not as campy and catchy as Twisted Sister (but, my God, they are so much better); and they weren't as controversial as the God of Fuck, Mr. Marilyn 'look-I'm-so-clever-I should-be-a-philosopher' Manson.

W.A.S.P. had the chops to compete the best of them and for some unknown reason they are not mentioned when there is a stupid thing that a teenager does somewhere. Where are you, people? I mean we are talking about a band whose lead singer (with the awesome name of Blackie Lawless) sharpening the knife he attaches to his crotch on stage! He climbs on to his microphone, which is essentially a motorcycle handlebar with a myriad of skulls and chains! And, with the exception of Mr. Furnier, he can write songs. Take a listen to Animal (Fuck Like a Beast), L.O.V.E. Machine, The Idol, The Headless Children, or the absolutely amazing I Wanna Be Somebody. In fact I dare anybody not to feel pumped up and ready to smash something after listening to the latter song.

Actually, and I am contradicting myself wildly here, I was very surprised at the number of people that showed up to their gig in Nottingham Rock City a few years back. But then again, a lot of people show up for any band that comes to Rock City.

I dedicate this day to W.A.S.P. and their amazing repertoire. What was I going to say? Oh yeah, and I am going to be somebody today!

Peace.

iTunes Survey

2008-01-15T09:45:00.001-05:00

It seems like I can't get enough of this. But I promise this is the last one of its kind. This is by false45th. Here were my results:

How many songs: 7063

Sort by Song:
First song: "A Tout le Monde" by Megadeth
Last song: "10001110101" by Clutch

Sort by Time:
Shortest song: "Interlude #1" by Warrant (0:10)
Longest song: "Jddstd Syntynyt" by Moonsorrow (30:10)
[technically speaking it should be "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" by Dream Theater (41:17), but iTunes somehow divides the song into 8 parts]

Sort by Artist:
First artist: AC/DC
Last artist: 311

Sort by Album:
First album: "Abandon" by Deep Purple
Last album: "5150" by Van Halen

Top 3 Most Played Songs:
1- "Jolene" by The White Stripes (53 times)
2- "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse (40 times)
3- "Stand by Me" by Ben E. King (37 times)
"Redneck" by Lamb Of God (37 times)

First Song that Comes up on Shuffle:
"Halo of Flies" by Alice Cooper

Search...:
"sex" - 23
"death" - 93
"love" - 393
"you" - 620

Number of Songs Starting with "I", "I'm", "I'll", "I've", "I'd" - 153

Songs with the Most Different Versions:
I don't have more than two versions of any song and there are too many to name here.

Peace

More iTunes Shuffle Stuff

2008-01-14T14:22:00.000-05:00

I have made some googling in the last few hours and I came across several journal / blog entries for iTunes shuffling the like of which I was trying to make. So here are some of the surveys that I found. The rules are as follows. Open you mp3 player on your computer and put it on shuffle. As you answer a question, skip to the next one. And no cheating! So here are a few surveys that I found:

This one is on http://www.last.fm/user/its8fas/journal/2006/08/22/211661/

It starts off in an interesting way, but then takes a speedy decline towards adolescent doubts...still pretty interesting answers that came up for me.

How am I feeling today?
Let's Get It on by Marvin Gaye

Will I get far in life?
Thank You in Advance by Hazy Malaze

How do my friends see me?
You Look So Young by The Jayhawks

Where will I get married?
Orion by Metallica

What is my best friend's theme song?
Was I Right or Wrong? by Lynyrd Skynyrd

What is the story of my life?
Buying My Way into Heaven by Sammy Hagar

What was high school like?
Dostum ['my friend' in Turkish] by Haluk Levent

How can I get ahead in life?
Weakness by Opeth

What is the best thing about me?
Shadow Play by 3

What is today going to be like?
Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden

What is in store for this weekend?
Janie's Got a Gun by Aerosmith

To describe my grandparents?
Magic Man by Rattlesnake Remedy

What song will they play at my funeral?
Desire by Zwan

How does the world see me?
The End Complete IV: The Road and the Damned by Coheed & Cambria

Will I have a happy life?
Dr. Octavia by Black Label Society

Do people secretly lust after me?
I Bleed by Pixies

How can I make myself happy?
Love, Hate, Love by Alice In Chains

What should I do with my life?
Stream of Consciousness by Dream Theater

Will I ever have children?
The Rocker by Thin Lizzy

What is some good advice for me?
White, Discussion by Live

How will I be remembered?
Inside by Jethro Tull

What is my signature dancing song?
A Dios le pido ['I ask God for you' in Spanish] by Juanes

What is my current theme song?
I Choose by the Offspring

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Strangeways by Deep Purple

What type of women do I like?
Thunderhead by W.A.S.P.

This next one can be found on this website: http://clb04.livejournal.com/36909.html
It's actually pretty interesting: Your life as a movie soundtrack...

Opening Credits: Child in Time by Deep Purple
Waking up: Thankfully by Bayside
First Day at School: I Scream by Down
Falling in Love: Low Desert by R.E.M.
Shower Scene: Lack of Communication by Ratt
Fight Song: Red, White, & Blue by Judas Priest
Breaking up: Mutant Rock by The Meteors
Prom: Pass the Clock Part 1 by Mostly Autumn
Life's OK: Oasis by Kitaro
Mental Breakdown: Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day
Driving: Back to Back by Deep Purple
Sex Scene: Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition by Serj Tankian
Flashback: Ready An' Willing by Whitesnake
Getting Back Together: Little Bombs by Aimee Mann
Wedding: Still Life by Iron Maiden
Birth of Child: Hardening of the Arteries by Slayer
Final Battle: Angel Witch by Angel Witch
End Credits: The Idol by W.A.S.P.

There are more of these, but I'm getting a little bored. So, this will do.

Peace

iTunes Shuffle

2008-01-14T09:02:00.000-05:00

Well, since I am unemployed and bored, I thought I'd play my iTunes library in shuffle and see what comes up. Here are the 30 (why? I don't know) songs that come up:

Ghosts by Chris Cornell (Carry on): I'm not sure I like this song yet. Sometimes it feels like a filler and sometimes I get into it a lot.

Baby Hates Me by Danko Jones (sampler): It definitely has a groove, but not that remarkable.

Can't Live Without You by Scorpions (Blackout): You can't really go wrong with the Scorps. It feels a little too similar to Van Halen for comfort, though...

Nickelodeon by Marc Bolan & T-Rex (20th Century Super Star Disc 1): A mandolin-led song that is easy on the ears.

Not the One by the Offspring (Smash): Every song on this album is awesome. And this is no exception.

In Perfect Harmony by Within Temptation (Mother Earth): The problem with the female-led goth-metal bands is the ballad situation. This is a case in point.

I Am the One (live) by W.A.S.P. (The Crimson Idol Disc 2): It's W.A.S.P. for godsake! Of course it is amazing.

Beyond the Wheel by Soundgarden (Ultramaga OK): An early gem. They used to sound so menacing.

Sulk by Radiohead (The Bends): Back in the day Radiohead used to write songs...

Flight by Kitaro (The Best of Ten Years (1976-86): Kitaro makes every note his own. Brilliant.

Run Away by Live (Birds of Pray): A radio-friendly ballad that is not too corny.

The Sign of the Southern Cross by Black Sabbath (Mob Rules): One of Sab's best songs. The riff is heavier and headier than anything out there.

(Your Love Is) Drivin' Me Crazy by Y&T (In Rock We Trust): I haven't had a chance to listen to this yet...

River Town by Live (Birds of Pray): One my favourite Live songs. I would love to hear this live (geddit?).

The General by Dispatch (Bang Bang): I love the intro to this. Gets a little boring towards the end, though. Actually it gets boring when he starts singing.

Are You Ready? by AC/DC (The Razor's Edge): I mean, do they need any comments?

Overcome by Live (V): Another Live song? The only good song on that otherwise terrible album.

Comatose by Pearl Jam (Pearl Jam): Absolutely fucking fantastic. But, aren't they always?

April Come She Will by Simon & Garfunkel (Tales From New York - The Very Best of): Sitting on a beach, playing guitar while my girl is lying next to me...

Stoned in the Temple by Glenn Hughes (The Way It Is): The Voice of Rock...'nuff said.

Ride a Black Swan by Zwan (Mary Star of the Sea): A shame they didn't follow this up.

The Frayed Ends of Sanity by Metallica (...And Justice for All): Is it me or have NKOTB sampled the intro for Step by Step?

Warm Tape by Red Hot Chili Peppers (By the Way): The only hiccup in an otherwise perfect album.

Enter Sandman by Metallica (Black album): I don't think it's that good. They have far superior songs on this album.

Broken Face by Pixies (Surfer Rosa): Well, it's the Pixies...

Nobody's Fault but Mine by Led Zeppelin (Presence): Dave Mustaine claims this as the best Zeppelin album. I'm beginning to agree with him.

Lazy Days, Crazy Nights by Tesla (The Great Radio Controversy): There is something different about Tesla that I can't put my finger on...

Endless Summer by Zwan (Mary Star of the Sea): Please, bring Zwan back!

So Far Away by Dire Straits (Sultans of Swing - The Very Best of): Not their best one, but a very very underrated band.

O Death by Ralph Stanley (O Brother, Where Art Thou?): One of the amazing tracks on the best soundtrack ever. Period.

Well, with the exception of The Sign of the Southern Cross and River Town I don't love any of these songs. But I can assure you, I have far better songs in my library...Yes, I do...

Peace

Back From Vacation Part 2: The Epic Journey

2008-01-10T14:01:00.001-05:00

If I remember correctly (well, I could just open a new window and read it, but you know...) I left off last time with my first day in Switzerland, with grocery shopping in Germany (I just can't get over it...).

My parents arrived the following day and in the next couple of days were spent hanging out and eating lots of awesome food. When the day arrived for my parents to leave, I went to the airport with them as my flight was a few hours after theirs. After they checked in and I bade them goodbye, only to see them later that night in Istanbul, I started waiting for Regan (my beautiful girlfriend).

However, things were actually getting pretty interesting by this point. I was going to meet Regan (my beautiful girlfriend) at Zurich airport. To save some money, we found the cheapest ticket we could muster up on the so-called cheap airfare sites on the net. She was going to fly from Boston to Zurich with two stop-overs. One at Philly, the other at Munich. The catch was that she had about 35 minutes of lay-over at Munich. Yes, we were pushing a little bit. But, as always, I was being overly optimistic. I was checking her flight status with my BlackBerry at the airport and everything seemed fine. As I was making my way through Cormac McCarthy's can-you-be-any-more-pessimistic masterpiece The Road, my phone rang and it said "unknown number" - the dread of everyone in the cellphone universe. I knew it was her and about twenty-five different scenarios passed through my mind after I pressed the answer key and lifted the phone up to my ear. Yes, her flight in was late and she missed her connection. Well...

We had another problem. Our next flight was in four hours. And the next flight from Munich to Zurich was in an hour, but the line was way too long, she said. So, somehow she managed to pull some strings and found a place in the next flight. She also managed to have her bags checked in all the way to Istanbul. God, I wish I was blonde and beautiful...

Anyway, she came to Zurich. Kisses, hugs, etc. We made our way to our next flight to Istanbul...via Paris. For those of you who have no idea about European geography, it's like going from Boston to New York via Chicago. We made it to the flight and sat down waiting for take-off. Then we saw our bags wheeled in on a cart. After a couple of minutes, Regan's (my beautiful girlfriend) two bags were waiting on the tarmac. Surely, something must be wrong. I called the stewardess and told her the situation. She came back to me by saying that those weren't our bags. Like, how? I can see them outside. They are our bags. No, sir. How do you know they are your bags? Well, how do you know they aren't? Surely, I can recognize my bags when I see them.

While this...I don't know...ludicrous discussion was going on, the plane started to move...we were left with staring at our bags...

After landing in Paris we cracked another one for the Supervisor / Stewardess (I wanted to punch her, because she was constantly smiling). We tried to tell our predicament to ground staff, but French being the French(sorry, I don't believe in stereotypes, but this incident sort of persuaded me that stereotypes might actually be accurate when it comes to Air France staff) we received no help. After landing in Istanbul, the Turks being the Turks (when it comes to my own people, stereotypes are an understatement), they couldn't find our bags on the system. Which means that they were lost...

You have to wait for the next instalment to find out what happened next.

Peace

Golden Globe Nomiations

2008-01-09T14:43:00.000-05:00

I believe the cancellation of the upcoming 65th Golden Globe Awards ceremony will be the biggest effect of the WGA strike on the regular viewers. Love 'em, or hate' em, the awards season is the most exciting time of the movie calendar. The pundits who hate ceremonies as such LOVE writing about how much they despise them. They are not absolutely necessary, but they are damn good fun! It is especially annoying to know that the SAG asked its members not to cross the picket lines to attend the ceremony, yet they were all present at the Critics' Choice Awards last night (1/8/07). Talking about hypocrisy...

Anyway, there won't be a red carpet and Isaac Mizrahi (thank Zeus for that), nor will there be tears from the Best Actress winners. But, it's also sad that we won't be able to see the people we all wish to be (come on, admit it) all in one room, sipping campaign that cost more than the money I have in my bank account and patting each other in the back for making $20 million more last year.

I want to see what the press conference will be like this weekend (apparently the cancellation of the ceremony will cost NBC an estimated $15-20 million!). And, as always, I am curious as to who would win. So here are my picks for some of the categories. The only disclaimer is that I haven't seen any of the mini-series or made-for-TV movies, so they don't appear here. Also for some of the categories I haven't seen each film. So I made a rule that I will pick the categories where I have seen at least three films / shows. These are, by the way, my dream winners. Not who will win, but rather who should.

Without further ado, here are my picks for the Golden Globes:

Best Picture - Drama: No Country for Old Men
Best Actor - Drama: James McAvoy for Atonement
Best Supporting Actor: Casey Affleck for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton
Best Director: Joel and Ethan Coen for No Country for Old Men
Best TV Series - Drama: House M.D.
Best TV Series - Comedy: 30 Rock
Best Actor for TV Series - Musical or Comedy: Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock

Not a huge list of picks, but I had to be objective...

Anyway, this list will expand as I watch the remaining candidates...but, by that time it will be too late...

Top 10s of the Year

2008-01-07T08:46:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's that time of the year, when people with absolutely no authority declare their favourites for the year. And Yours Truly is no exception. But, let's face it - it's fun to make them and it's also fun to read them and damn their author.

So, without further ado, I give you my Top 10 albums and films of 2007. Note, however, that this list might change any day, since I will be watching films and buying albums from 2007 in the future too. And with all likelihood, some of them will creep up into the following lists.

Enjoy:

ALBUMS

1- Raising Sand by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
And absolute gem of an album from two very distinctive and talented singers. There isn't a filler here as one song transcends to another seamlessly. Perfect.
Recommended download: Nothin'

2- The End Is Begun by Three
Each and every one of these unpretentious prog songs are incredibly memorable for their hooks and intricate arrangements.
Recommended download: All That Remains

3- Black Stone Cherry by Black Stone Cherry
The newcomers of the year, the Kentucky band showed the world that you don't need to lead a hedonist's lifestyle to come up with grooves and hooks.
Recommended download: Rain Wizard

4- Hello Master by Priestess
What is fantastic about this album is how each song sounds unique, yet make up a whole cohesive unit.
Recommended download: Blood

5- From Beale Street to Oblivion by Clutch
Great songwriting and musicianship all around. Like all other Clutch albums, it is full of gems and oddities.
Recommended download: Electric Worry

6- Dark Passion Play by Nightwish
Defying all the expectations, Nightwish came up with a fantastic album that reminds everyone what an amazing band they are once again.
Recommended download: 7 Days to the Wolves

7- III: Over the Under by Down
The sludge-masters are back...with a vengeance. It is mature and full of interesting ideas. Their best work to date.
Recommended download: Nothing in Return

8- United Abominations by Megadeth
Yes, they're back. May not be a classic 'Deth album, but whets my appetite for what is next to come.
Recommended download: Never Walk Alone...A Call to Arms

9- Send Away the Tigers by Manic Street Preachers
Manics? Cheerful? No way...yes way, sir. It's chock-full of hook-laden gems and masterful songwriting.
Recommended download: Your Love Is Not Enough

10- Fear of a Blank Planet by Porcupine Tree
An album that requires MULTIPLE listens. However, the rewards you get from it are worth the time it requires of you.
Recommended download: Way out of Here

Also worth mentioning (in alphabetical order):
Blackbird by Alter Bridge
Carry on by Chris Cornell
Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World for Tomorrow by Coheed & Cambria
Devin Townsend Presents Ziltoid the Omniscient by Devin Townsend
The Butcher's Ballroom by Diablo Swing Orchestra
Systematic Chaos by Dream Theater
Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace by Foo Fighters
Latest Version of the Truth by Mustasch
In Requiem by Paradise Lost
Elect the Dead by Serj Tankian
The Varangian Way by Turisas

And now the films...

1- No Country for Old Men (Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen)
The Coens are back. Bleak is the word that comes to mind. Another word that comes to mind is perfection. It may be the best film of the last five years.

2- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dir: Andrew Dominik)
It's a beautiful canvas on which a great story is painted. Casey Affleck comes up with the performance of the year. Worth the admission for the dinner scene.

3- Gone Baby Gone (Dir: Ben Affleck)
A gripping thriller with genuine performances and a good script. The Affleck brothers did their homework and delivered a fantastic film.

4- Knocked up (Dir: Seth Rogen)
I am still laughing at the jokes months after...that's what makes it an unforgettable comedy experience.

5- Feast of Love (Dir: Robert Benton)
My guilty pleasure of the year. A warm and genuine film.

6- Sunshine (Dir: Danny Boyle)
It makes you hate Danny Boyle for being this talented. Is there a genre he can't tackle? I heard that he is now making a musical.

7- Atonement (Dir: Joe Wright)
Despite slowing down and going to a completely different direction in the second half, it is a very elegant movie with great performances. Special mention for James McAvoy.

8- Eastern Promises (Dir: David Cronenberg)
Aside from an annoying and unnecessary voiceover and a weak ending, Cronenberg again comes up with the smartest movie of the year.

9- Hot Fuzz (Dir: Edgar Wright)
Better structured than Shaun, this is a movie where belly-aching laughter never ends.

10- The Mist (Dir: Frank Darabont)
How about ending the list with another bleak one? Most people hated it, I was hooked the moment Thomas Jane entered the frame.

And those that just couldn't make it:

The Bourne Ultimatum (Dir: Paul Greengrass)
Grindhouse (Dir: Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino)
Lust, Caution (Dir: Ang Lee)
The Simpsons Movie (Dir: David Silverman)
Superbad (Greg Mottola)
Zodiac (Dir: David Fincher)

So, here it is folks. My favourites for 2007. Like I said, these lists will eventually change, but for now they will do.

Peace.

Back from Vacation

2008-01-04T13:49:00.000-05:00

Hello Earthlings,

I haven't been able to communicate with my brethren for about three weeks now and It gives me great pleasure to finally spread the word about Yours Truly's vacation across continents and cultures.

Having spent three days in Boston after my second road trip (this time a return trip) across the US of A, I ventured out over the pond named the Atlantic and arrived at the magnificent city of London. Coming out of the plane and seeing the familiar black-on-yellow signs of Heathrow airport was a welcome I was looking forward to for over two and a half years. Nothing seemed to have changed until I saw the new 20 pound notes. Frankly, they look like monopoly money and it looks like the British Sterling is no longer the coolest-looking currency anymore. The staggering price of the train ticket to Central London was another reminder for me. London IS expensive. This thought stayed with me for the duration of my stay there.

My hotel (so to speak) was near Paddington station and the room was slightly bigger than my car, with the added bonus of a TV with no signal. Great. I walked around London, visited the old sites and met my friend Hattie and her boyfriend Andrew that night. I enjoyed drinking outside of a pub (something definitely missing in the US). I went to Richmond - the old neighborhood - the following day. Sitting on the Tide Tables by the Thames alone and reminiscing about good-old-days was one of the highlights of my trip. That night I watched "The Golden Compass" in Odeon Leicester Square. A little bit of more walking around and I went back to the hotel.

My flight to Zurich was from the City Airport. For those of you not in the know, it is situated in a place where no airport should ever be situated - far away from any discernible tourist or residential areas. I took the night bus at 3 in the morning, along with the drunken brethren of London who were taking the same bus back home. Anyhoo, I arrived at the airport without much hassle. The only significant thing about the airport was the sight of a teenage girl 1) throwing a bag at her father, and 2) slapping her mother. Quite a sight to behold.

Onward to Zurich. My uncle Can and my two cousins picked me up from the airport. Apparently nobody told him what time I was coming, so he had been waiting for quite some time. We drove to his apartment, dropped my bags, and went to Germany for food shopping. Now, that sounds strange, but the goods are considerably cheaper in Germany, so a lot of the Swiss population near the border prefer shopping over there. It takes about 25 minutes from Zurich to the German border. Having finished shopping (which included showing the receipt at the border control instead of a passport), we met my other uncle Cuneyt in Reutofabrik - an old factory now serving as a cafe and meeting place for the young, the hip, and the weird. After coffee we drove to my aunt Canan's apartment. Then we went back to Can's.

This is getting too long, so I better give a break here and save you from utter boredom - if you're not bored already. The second instalment will follow very soon. And until then,

Peace

Back in New England

2007-12-12T10:54:00.000-05:00

It is time to turn a new page in life as my time in Los Angeles, CA is over. I am back in Boston. This sounds like a step down in my career, but I see it as a little detour to something greater.

It's good to be back in Boston, albeit a VERY cold Boston. Living in Los Angeles for four months, I forgot what Winter waq - I left Boston in August, which meant that I had a perpetual Summer for this year. That was repeated when I went to Argentina in 2002. Driving back through Pennsylvania, I saw my first snow. In fact, I witnessed the first sings of snow in Maryland, where I spent the last night on the road with my Dad. I haven't felt cold or worn anything remotely warm for such a long time.

Seeing signs for Dunkin Donuts was a welcome return - but the coffee from the said place wasn't. The fact that I am now in a city where they care about sports - and are pretty damn good at it - also helps. Los Angeles clearly lacked that sense of community.

But, most important of all, I came back to be with my girlfriend and my family once again. And that is the prize above all else...This next few months will be very important and I intend to use them wisely.

I am flying out tonight to various locations and will try to dedicate some time to writing...hopefully...

Peace

The Mist

2007-11-26T23:11:00.001-05:00

Today I've witnessed one of the most horrifying and bleak movie-going experiences of my life.

Frank Darabont's adaptation of Stephen King's "The Mist" is not for the faint-hearted. It requires a lot of endurance from its viewers - and it's a good thing.

Instead of depending on a oh-so-cute young cast, it revolves around a group of Maine townsfolk - characters and archetypes so common in King's oeuvre. Thomas Jane is very convincing as the middle-aged, handsome, very American, quarterback hero that King uses in pretty much in all of his stories: he is Vic Trenton, Bill Denbrough...His shortcomings and strengths are real, palpable, and minimalistic. That, in effect, makes it even more appealing.

Then there is Marcia Gay Harden...her portrayal of a religious fanatic is one of the best villains I have seen in recent memory.

The questions that are raised with regards to the role of God in our society and how unassuming people can turn to bloodthirsty fundamentalists by one good orator is scary and has to be viewed to comprehend.

As for the ending, I thought "No Country for Old Men" - my favorite film of the year so far - had a bleak ending that haunts the viewer long after the credits roll, but "The Mist" tops that. I can't even remember having a reaction of this magnitude to a film for a very long time.

It may not be perfect, but it is one hell of a ride and a welcome return for Frank Darabont.

England Crashing Out

2007-11-21T22:16:00.000-05:00

What a way to end a dismal qualifying campaign. Today, England crashed out of contention from the upcoming Euro 2008 afer losing 3-2 against a Croatia side that has already qualified.

Before the FIFA World Cup 2006, I predicted - with a hint of subjectivity - that England would come out as victors. My justification: they had the best midfield combination that our age has ever seen. I mean, with David Beckham, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, what you have is a team that scores, passes the ball well, and holds possession. How wrong was I - and countless other commentators - when England put on a desperate show of redemption. And the broken foot of David Beckham should not be an excuse.

Flash forward to the present, the same midfield is still here. And the result is exactly the same.

Unfortunately, England looks like a lost cause. In world football you have the heavy weights: Brazil, Italy, Germany; you have the also-rans: Spain, Czech Republic, Uruguay, Netherlands. I'm afraid England remains with the second group after struggling in the group of bubbling teams-in-betweens, namely France and Argentina. Shame...

Black Sheep

2007-11-13T01:30:00.000-05:00

The 2006 zombie-sheep flick from New Zealand could be the best movie Peter Jackson never made before the Rings trilogy. The reason for this comparison is not only the fact that the Kiwi was responsible for the most fun zombie movies ever - quite unlike his epic adventures of today - but it shares the blood and gore that we were so used to get from him before he plunged into the PG hell.

Black Sheep owes a lot of debt to "Braindead" and "Bad Taste", but it has its own modern twist to it. In these days of "Shaun of the Dead" and "Scream", mixing horror with comedy seems to be the norm. And there is nothing wrong with that. At least it's not the horror-porn of the Eli Roth crap.

What sets these aforementioned horror-comedies from the Jackson fare is that they all have a very tight script. "Black Sheep"'s structure remains intact until the very end without becoming utterly formulaic like the '80s movies all the screenwriting books are citing. The exposition given in the first ten minutes is very organic and informative. The characters are consistent throughout and the pace never falters. It actually feels like a blessing that this was a non-Hollywood project with completely unknown actors (at least for non-Kiwi audiences) and cheap yet "realistic" special effects. I could easily see the effects being handled with an iMac, but the animatronics work so much better - wasn't that the reason why "Jurassic Park" was so effective?

Running out of Space!

2007-11-12T20:03:00.000-05:00

To my surprise / shock / dread my iPod is running out of bits to hold my music. I never thought I would have 30GB worth of music, but now I do.

It puts a lot of things in perspective. I am a kind of person who saves all his belongings for an impending apocalypse of sorts - which means, what I possess, I shall possess in the future too. And this, of course, applies to music. However, over the years I have shed some albums from my collection. One thing that comes to mind is the Sting / The Police best of album. Not that I don't care for the blond siren or his white-raggea-punk style, but somehow I must have felt the urge to get rid of that album. Another victim was a Beatles tribute album. It is a wonder I had that in the first place - I have no inclination to hear another note from the so-called Fab-Four, or as I would like to call them, the Bottles.

Anyway, the whole point of this particular rambling is that I am running out of space and that I would have run out sooner had I not got rid of some stuff. But, then again, who needs an iPod that can hold 160GB...Yours Truly, for sure...

Man Your Battle Stations

2007-11-12T11:43:00.000-05:00

Coheed and Cambria rocked and rolled Los Angeles last night and Yours truly was present at the proceedings. I want to dedicate this space to the aforementioned band.

It used to be a dinosaur rock: over-indulgent, snobby, and out-and-out British. But, prog rock seems to be taking over the masses without the masses' knowledge. Coheed and Cambria are one of the few bands that are bridging the gap between the prog rock shenanigans with the ridiculously emotional emo. And they do a great job at that.

Personally, prog rock is one of my favourite sub-genres of rock. I love the musicianship, the intricate melodies, the absurd lyrics...it's just fantastic. Understandably, it shouldn't be the music of choice for the ADD-addled generation of ours. Yet, last night proved this wrong.

Kids screaming "man your battle stations"! And not to some German power metal band, but an American band made up of, yes, young players! That's just amazing. Only a handful of years ago a music like Coheed's would be deemed ludicrous, but it is now hip.

For once, I'm happy...now I can share my prog with other people!!

Johnny Rotten...rot...

Leaving the City of Angels

2007-11-10T19:01:00.000-05:00

It's almost time to bid farewell to Los Angeles and head back to Boston. But, before I leave, I want to take this moment to list the stuff I am going to miss here in L.A.:

1- My friends: Although they are not part of L.A., I think the only time I will come back here would be to visit them. I'm going to miss hanging out with them.

2- In'N'Out Burger: definitely the best fast-food burger I've had in my life. Animal style, baby. Animal style. On the same note, I'm going to miss guacamole in my burger too...

3- Rainbow Bar & Grill: Even though I didn't get to see Lemmy, dining across the booth where "November Rain" was filmed is pretty awesome, don't you think?

Unfortunately, these are the things I will miss. So, despite a future gastro-intestinal problem, the only thing I will miss from this city are my friends. And they better come and visit me wherever I end up.

P.S. I know, this blog sucked...

Nightwish

2007-11-05T12:08:00.000-05:00

When Nightwish announced that they fired their inimitable vocalist Tarja Turunen back in 2005, everybody - including Yours Truly - was convinced that it was career suicide. Forget the amazing musicianship and leadership of "Steve-Harris-of-symphonic-metal" Tuomas Holpainen, or the subtle chemistry between the band members (check out their live songs on YouTube and see how tight they are), or the formidable back catalogue, which serves as a blueprint for countless imitators around the world. Nightwish was famous for Tarja. The Siren almost was Nightwish.

Fast-forward to 2007 and the announcement of a new album and a World Tour. Hold on, who will sing? The charismatic Viking Marco Hietala? He is a good singer, as is evident on 2002's "Century Child" and 2004's multi-million selling "Once", but, surely, he can't sing those sweet ballads. Then they revealed Anette Olzon (again search YouTube and see when she is unveiled for the first time - it's hilarious!)

The first album with Anette, "Dark Passion Play", is marginally different from their excellent back catalogue, yet it is quint-essentially Nightwish. "Amaranth", "Cadence of Her Last Breath" and the absolutely amazing epic "The Poet and the Pendulum" would sit comfortably on any of their albums. But, the songs seemed to have been tweaked to accommodate Anette's less flashy vocal style. I had my reservations as to how the old songs would sound like. Don't get me wrong. Anette is a wonderful singer with an angelic voice, yet Tarja was a different angel, you know?

And last night in the House of Blues in Los Angeles I was once again blown away by Holopainen's genius. Anette's lungs are not only up to par with Tarja's in older tunes, but she sings them with a passion that was lacking in Tarja's more trained voice. "Wish I Had an Angel", "Dark Chest of Wonders", and "Nemo" never sounded better. She is a perfect fit for Nightwish. It is perhaps injustice just to praise Anette about last night - the whole band were at their peak. I am absolutely convinced that Nightwish is the best live band around.

Thank you, Nightwish, for making last night an unforgettable experience. You deserve to reach higher and I am sure you will.

One last note is about Tarja - her collaboration to the Nightwish wagon is carved in stone and they can't take it away from her. Maybe she will be Paul Di'Anno of Nightwish?

Patriots

2007-11-04T19:39:00.000-05:00

My roommate recently sent me an article that appeared on FOXSports.com about a comparison between the respective head coaches of today's highly-anticipated game between the Patriots and the Colts. The analogy he makes about the game is that it is not just a game between the two best teams in the NFL, but an age-old battle between the Good and the Evil. He thinks Bill Belichik is evil, and Tony Dungy is good.

Now I don't know much about the histories of these said coaches, but the reasons he gives for the evil nature of Belichik are ridiculous. First of all, the white elephant in the room is the cheating scandal. Belichik is found guilty and charged for it. He paid for it. Done. Gone. Diego Maradona, considered by many as the greatest footballer of all time, is responsible for one of the cheekiest moments in football history with his (in)famous "hand-of-God" goal. He was also caught for using illegal substances in the 1994 World Cup. Yet, could anybody question his talents and what he gave to the world of football? No, absolutely not.

The second reason the article gives is Belichik decision to go for a fourth down when his team was already a thousand points up. Belichik is the coach of the most exciting team in the NFL now. He plays to win games. What did Redskins do last week? Nothing. Nada. They had a whole game to come up with something and they didn't. And Patriots took advantage of that. There's nothing wrong with that. So what if "one of the greatest coaches in the history of NFL" was embarrassed on national TV. He was embarrassed because his team couldn't deliver. Don't blame the team that showed up. Blame the underachievers.

Today's game, by the way, was quite boring by Patriots and Colts standards, yet it delivered the goods in the last quarter as Patriots came back from 10 points behind to win the game by 4. Great end to a game. Patriots are the best team in the NFL right now and any team that fails to come up with the goods against them will face the same fate as the Redskins. Colts showed up, played well...but lost.

I guess the evil prevailed and the spawns of Satan shall rule the world, huh?

Murder Party

2007-11-03T17:00:00.000-04:00

This year's Sundance Audience Award winner "Murder Party" is a mess of a film and I am begging for information as to how the "audience" found anything remotely interesting about it.

There are films you need to watch under some sort of influence. Films such as "Super Troopers", "Starship Troopers", and other films with the word "Troopers" in them. And "Murder Party", from the wacky poster of our cardboard-suited hero surrounded by a handful of oddjobs wielding chainsaws, knives, etc., seemed like a good candidate for a film to be watched under influence.

My influence of choice was Sam Adams Light - one of the two light beers that actually taste remotely like beer and not a cat piss subjected to extreme solar exposure - and with the help of a dubious pepperoni and sausage pizza, "Murder Party" became the ideal choice of pastime for a Friday night.

And wrong was I...

This isn't a critique of the said film, but an indictment of the independent scene. Why can't they make films with a story? Independent films are what they are - independent. So, they should be independent of all the studio cliches, and deal with "indie" cliches. What is wrong with the writers? Oh yeah, they are going on strike...that's right.

What this strike will bring is an influx of independent films with minimalist approaches. There is nothing wrong with that. In fact, it will be a breath of afresh air to have something without a number in the title. However, if the tosh that will be put out looks anything remotely similar to this piss-fest, then I am ready to stop watching new films altogether and go back to my collection.

Please...let this strike not give a chance to films like this. Just because something is independent, that doesn't mean we need to support it whole-heartedly, with arms spread wide. I want to see another "L.I.E." or "Kids" or "Before Sunset", for crying out loud.

Peace...

Writers' strike

2007-11-02T17:26:00.000-04:00

Now, I'm not going to get into the whole politics of the impending strike (doom?) that will, presumably, take effect on Monday. One of the reasons is because I have no clue as to what they are arguing about. From what I gathered from the so-called trade papers is that it has something to do with the DVDs. Does that mean that once the studios come together and decide which new HD format we will be spending our hard-earned money on, there will be a threat of a new strike? The small print, my friends.

What am I rambling about again? I have no idea, but all I can wish for them is to sort the mess out so that I could have something to do at work. I'm bored to death! I mean, is it really that big of a deal? I would take a side (as a wannabe writer, I should side with the Guild, but it is nothing more than a country club for writers with zero-to-nothing talent). Think about it: in order to get into the Guild, you have to have a movie made. And now think about the movies they keep putting out there. And the TV shows. Yes, those are the people. They are striking.

Oh yes, and there is a flood in Mexico where 300,000 (latest tally as I am going to press) people are stranded. Oh, and there was a bomb near the Presidential Suite in Pakistan last week. And, Sarkozy (look up) and his wife just divorced. And an elitist country club of cliche-creators want an extra dollar for every DVD that we buy. Well, with the emergence of the new technology, they might just as well ask for another 50 cents for HD-DVD and 51 cents for BluRay. We'll see.

Robert Plant

2007-11-02T00:04:00.000-04:00

Yes, the Golden God is back...in style.

Robert Plant never really disappeared off the radar. He may not be packing stadia or attracting hundreds of thousands of fans in the summer festival circuit, but he is as relevant today as he was back when Led Zeppelin were the shit.

His post-Zeppelin albums in the '80s only managed to draw some attention to them mainly for his reputation, rather than the music itself - even though they had some memorable moments. When his one-time creative partner Jimmy Page was lending his chops to Mr. David Coverdale in an ill-fated project, Plant was keeping a low profile. This went on until he re-united with Page to form Page & Plant, to the dismay of John Paul Jones.

It was one of the most exciting moments of my teenage years seeing two rock gods on stage in Istanbul...and what a show it was. The power cut one hour before the show forced the support band, the excellent Nekropsi, to play their show with torchlights on their heads. But, no...he wouldn't sing "Stairway to Heaven".

When that project fell through, he embarked on another journey - again on his own. He now had a backing band: The Strange Sensation - a group of seasoned session players, all unknown. The two albums he recorded with the Sensation were...well...sensational. "Dreamland" and "Mighty Rearranger" are simply magnificent records. Plant's voice never sounded better. Despite the loose way they tried to look, there was a sense of meticulous detail to their work. "Darkness Darkness" and "Hey Joe" from the first album, and the title track from the second album are stand-outs.

Now we have another album - a duet album, actually: "Raising Sand". Alison Krauss is his partner, while T Bone Burnett is the producer - he also plays in some of the songs. Krauss and Burnett were both featured in the Coen Brothers' 2000 movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". Here the tone is similar to the film, but the atmosphere lends itself more to Plant's two previous albums. The songs feel like what "Dreamland" or "Mighty Rearranger" might have sounded like had they been recorded acoustically.

It is a great album and that is all thanks to the incredible chemistry between Plant and Krauss. In fact, Plant seems to be taking a more supporting role to the angelic voice of Krauss. She is exceptional in "Trampled Rose".

It is as far removed from Led Zeppelin as you can get, despite the acoustic tone. It ain't "III", nor does it try to be. Yes, Plant was right. Zeppelin reunion is not what we need, we need him to spend his energy and time to projects like this. I mean, can they actually pull off another "IV", or recapture what they did back in the '70s? No, unfortunately they can't. But, we have "Raising Sand" - an excellent album. A definite contender for the album of the year.

The Golden God is back...