Well, it's June. Time for the monthly mix to drop. Here you go.
Here's the tracklist:
01. Brian Eno - "Needles In The Camel's Eye" 02. Guided By Voices - "My Impression Now" 03. Talking Heads - "Paper" 04. Mercury Rev - "Coney Island Cyclone" 05. Grandaddy - "El Caminos In The West" 06. Pavement - "AT&T" 07. Sloan - "I Hate My Generation" 08. The Beta Band - "Al Sharp" 09. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Is This Love?" 10. Built Like Alaska - "Does Your Mother Feel Sick" 11. The Promise Ring - "A Broken Tenor" 12. Hot Chip - "Bendable Poseable" 13. Devo - "Red Eye" 14. Art Brut - "My Little Brother" 15. The Modern Lovers - "Modern World" 16. Enon - "Power Of Yawning" 17. Ratatat - "Kennedy" 18. Dungen - "Tyst Minut" 19. Sonic Youth - "White Cross" 20. Sebadoh - "Drama Mine"
This is very much the work of a grown-up version of 18-year-old Dylan. Very eclectic stuff. You have been warned.
Let me know how you like it, what works, what doesn't, what's new to you, etc. Thanks.
Okay, so Candace and the girls are in an airplane right now on the way to Las Vegas. I'll join them in a week. This is really weird. I'm not at all used to being alone.
Now I've been alone before. I moved myself out here for three weeks before I went back to Idaho while Candace had Claire and we packed up and moved out to the Cleve.
It was weird. Not necessarily bad, just weird. When I think back, I don't remember doing anything but going to work and talking to Candace on the phone. I know I did other stuff, like look for an apartment and do laundry, bu I'll be danged if I remember any of it. My life was in stasis.
This trip I'm going to try and be more productive. I made a list and everything. In fact, I made two lists, one is a "creative list" of things I need to work on and another more boring, basic, "to do" list. Now you can marvel at the sadness of my life from the comfort of your own home! Hooray technology! Here's my "to do" list. If you're easily excited, you may want to skip this one, as it's a pulse-pounding awesome-fest:
And here's the "creative list". The "Top Secret" stuff should be up here over the weekend. I'm already giggling thinking about it:
So there you go. That's my week. Do you think I can do all of that?
PS: Lost finale is on tonight. Are you ready for it? I'd love for the "Ask the Lost Guy" section tomorrow to be filled with reactions, crazy theories, questions (rhetorical and, uh, un-rhetorical), angry rants, etc. I know you have it in you, lovely Internets. Let's hear 'em! Let your Freak Flag fly!
PPS: I bought a bunch of comics today. I'll be posting a review/reviews of my haul, so expect that.
PPPS: I just wanted to point out that I am in love with Scott C.'s Double Fine Action Comics and would be remiss in my duties as Wanna-be Internets Impressario if I didn't point it out to you. His art blog's no slouch, either.
PPPPS: Haiku Friday is still on like unto Donkey Kong. Get out your calligraphy brushes and ink and get to writing! For serious!
PPPPPS: Hi there. I just wanted to type "PPPPPS". Which I now have. Twice.
I saw this over at Form Fifty-Five, a design blog I subscribe to. It's produced by Action Figure, a design and production house in Austin, Texas, (aka: "Coolest. City. Ever."). It's insane, this video. I had to share. The Internets commanded me:
Eight years ago today, I married by best friend in the whole world in a holy place. And though we're not those incredibly young-looking people anymore, I'm glad that I've spent the last 8 years next to her and look forward to spending the next ∞ years occupying the same place.
Candace, I love you. You're the best. Thanks for loving me.
* I had a pretty great Memorial Day weekend, all told. How was yours?
* Watched I'm Not There last night and loved it to bits. It's bold and messy and brilliant. The only story that I didn't cotton to was the more conventional biopic section starring Heath Ledger and Charlotte Gainsbourg, though even that was well put-together. I would love to watch two hours of the Billy the Kid/Riddle County/Basement Tapes story though. When the giraffe walks into the frame?! I gasped. Totally amazing. And Cate Blanchett, oh man, I loves her. It's a heckuva movie and highly recommended, though I would be interested what someone who isn't freaking named after the Man thought of it.
* I have nothing to read on the train tomorrow, as I finished up the second-to-last Invisibles trade I had tonight while Candace sewed. WTH?! What am I going to do?!
* We went out for our anniversary to La Dolce Vita in Cleveland's Little Italy over the weekend and had a lot of fun and delicious pasta. And this weird appetizer that Candace wanted to get but I didn't really like but it had prosciutto in it so I ate that. Prosciutto is yummy. Also got some pretty terrific cannolis at a bakery there. I love cannolis almost as much as I love my lady. And I love my lady like a lot.
* And I guess that's it. I know, exciting, right? Such is the life of a jet-setter like me...
Today's haiku comes from Shon Feller, who is seven feet tall and likes that Disney movie with the talking llama. Don't ask him to rap the theme to Elmo's World because he will never ever stop and it's just embarrassing for everyone involved:
*******
What is a haiku? It sounds like Japanese food. Seaweed, rice, and words.
*******
Lovely stuff, Feller. Well-played. See people? See what Shon did there? That's what I'm talking about. Why can't you be more like Shon?
Anyway, so that's the first week of Haiku Friday. Getcher haiku hats on and get crack-a-lacking. 5-7-5! 5-7-5-!!! I want some good stuff next week!
I know, I know "But didn't they just make this movie and didn't Ang-Brokeback Mountain-Lee direct it and wasn't it beautiful but boring and ha dthis cool comic book panel effect every now and then and wait, was there a giant killer poodle in it?" Yes and yes and yes and yes and, unfortunately, yes.
So yeah, this one has Ed Norton instead of Eric Bana (who I have to resist calling Eric Banana). I sort of like him as an actor, Norton, but man, he runs like a girl. And it looks like he runs a lot in this movie. And where has Tim Roth been? I freaking love him. And I really love William Hurt but that is a terrible fake mustache. And let's not get started on the dodgy FX, though I guess they're cleaning it up before it hits screens.
Still, I have a hard time believing that the Hulk can carry a movie franchise, especially in the way they're treating him in these films. Sure, part of the attraction of writing a Hulk story is to be found in exploring the neuroses surrounding having this violent other side. Basically writing a Jekkly & Hyde movie, wrestling with the psychology of having King Kong or a violent toddler inside you, ready to slip out at slightest provocation.
But part of the Hulk's appeal, at least to kids (and let's be honest, this is still kids stuff, no matter how you try and dress it up), is that he turns into a big green guy and tears junk up. He's the primal Id given form (uh, obviously, Dylan. Where'dja get that crackerjack theory from? Duh. Why not just tell them the sky is blue while you're at it?), he's the opportunity to get revenge, guilt-free, on people who have pushed you too far. He's that little ghost from The Family Circus ("'Not Me' did it!") only in little ripped purple shorts.
I've always liked the idea that somewhere, deep inside of him, Banner sort of likes Hulking out. He pretends to be and maybe even really is disgusted, but it has to feel good to let loose every once in a while, don't you think? It's a horrible thing to wake up in a pile of rubble and realize that somehow, some part of you made this happen, but it's also (maybe?) sort of cool and satisfying to some lizard part of our brains, to have caused armageddon.
Is it a curse? Because this film and the Ang Lee arthouse film in comic film's clothing both seem to be saying it is. And if this is just going to run over the same psychological territory that drove the other movie that this is a do-over for, only with a more action-movie exterior, then what's the point? Or are we waiting for the eventual sequels to flesh this out? Just thinking out loud.
Oh, and another problem with the Hulk: villains. We've got the Abomination here and we had the Army in the Ang Lee movie (in my opinion, which is worth, well, not a lot, part of the problem with the Lee movie, besides it being waaaay too meditative, was that the Hulk was the villain of the movie and it's hard to root for the villain when he's smashing up Army guys, especially in America circa 2003). I mean, name me another Hulk villain. The Leader? Okay, I'll give you that. Who else you got?
Exactly.
Okay, that was longer than I anticipated. Long story short: I'd definitely Rent this. I dunno about the theater. If I didn't go see Iron Man in the theater (and I still haven't seen it. Next week for sure.), I definitely won't make it out to this.
I'm no huge fan of Chris Ware. I think he's sort of boring and needlessly depressing and empty, but he has an amazing visual style. just top-notch. And while I am not fan of Ware, I am a fan of Ira Glass' Chicago Public Radio program This American Life. If you're not subscribed to the podcast, do yourself a favor and do so. It's always an amazing hour of radio.
So anyway, here's an animated clip from the This American Life TV program on Showtime, art directed by Ware. It's great stuff.:
