There must be a way to convey to a Japanese audience why Amélie was adequate but ultimately forgettable in its schlocky quirkiness and Paris (“the movie”): a derivative piece of tourism porn by an aging director, who used to do much better… that does not make one sound like a bitter jaded fuck or a strident Parisian film snob.
I just haven’t found it yet.
Music legend, proto-rapper1Even though he wasn’t crazy about the title. and black poet Gil Scott-Heron has passed yesterday at the age of 62.
His slam on 70s society was so powerful as to give us one of today’s most ubiquitous journalistic clichés. He was a sharp political analyst, tireless militant for civil rights and the inspiration to a surprisingly wide spectrum of artists.
I was rarely so disappointed as when I read of his arrest in 2001 and ensuing decade of drug problems. Having sung for most of his career about the ravage of widespread drug-abuse in inner-city communities, seeing him eventually fall into the ugly trap of crack-cocaine felt like a personal betrayal.
Despite (or perhaps because of) all that, his last album, released only a couple months ago, was one of his most powerful. It will probably be one of the best album released in 2011 by any artist, dead or alive.
RIP Gil Scott-Heron
The point where my enjoyment turns to visceral hatred along some of Coltrane’s tracks, could be measured down to the exact second.
Time to finally change topics a little…
As part of my grand OCD project to document every last tiny aspect of my activities (and possibly do something cool with the data one day), I have started compiling a List of Movies I watched, with ratings and mini-reviews.
At the moment, it is limited to recent viewings, plus the content of my permanent movie library and a couple random ones. Over time, I will try to commit more, as they come back to me.
Premiers Symptômes' album cover
DNA Microarray sample
Coincidence? Conspiracy? You decide…
I don’t usually embed YouTube videos, but a friend pointed me to this talk that features some of my absolute favourite things in life: travels stories, evolutionary biology, Douglas Adams and lemurs!!!
Ninety minutes of the funniest, wittiest and most insightful rant you will ever hear on Parrots the Universe and Everything:
These “volunteers” will teach you English (and the Word of Jesus Christ Savior) for free, at three convenient locations around Kyoto.
Obviously, Japan is not doing enough to discourage missionaries these days…
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.
No particular reason, just felt in a Rand-bashing mood tonight.
Cary Grant: The moment I meet an attractive woman, I have to start pretending I have no desire to make love to her.
Eva Marie Saint: What makes you think you have to conceal it?
Cary Grant: She might find the idea objectionable.
Eva Marie Saint: Then again, she might not.
North by Northwest
A small electro-ish mix, put together over the weekend, while playing with my brand new scs.3m digital mixer (an absolutely brilliant little tool)… Still getting used to the new controller: definitely room for improvement there, but I haven’t recorded or posted anything in ages, so here goes…
Goodbye Horses:
[download link]
As usual, all previous mixes are still there. If you like the style of this mix, you might also like this one. If you don’t: sod off there are a lot of other styles on the mix page.