This weekend

Yeah. I know, I haven't told you about the trip to SF, yet. Eat me. I'll get around to it. I've been wikkid hella krazee busy. Mostly with this

I swear I'll get around to the usual after this hectic time ends (four hours of sleep yesterday and probably four today).

Tuesdays with bloggy

I figure since realms are generally down on Tuesdays for patches, I can spend some time with ye olde blogge. Wow, between a Monday post about movies (who knows how long that will last) and a regular Tuesday post, you'd think I'd found some sort of routine or structure. Let me assure you, nothing could be farther from the truth. Nah, I think its just the spring time thing.

But enough about me, let's talk about me.

Last weekend was the debaucherous choir retreat. You can check out some pics here (WARNING: pics toward the end of the slideshow could be considered NSFW--but I assure you it was all harmless). Fort Worden was a great setting. I wish there had been more sunshine. It finally made an appearance on Sunday for the ferry ride home. Being out on the peninsula reminded me how much of this state I haven't seen and how I need to go on another outing with Earl and Bucko.

So, in other news, it is with a heavy heart that I relay news of Copacetique's going out of business sale. Janice is closing the doors and moving to New York to work at Fred Flare (check out how adorable she looks on their home page). I am very happy for her new job, but this is the end of an era in so many ways. It seems like just yesterday that she and Mike unpacked their belongings from the long move from Austin. We haven't seen each other a lot over the past year (I really haven't seen a lot of anyone), and I regret not spending more time with them.
Along with Copacetique, its zine-sister Copacetic, which was at one time in print and for which I was an on-again-off-again contributor, is also gone. I think the first issue came out in 1994. The first author Janice reviewed for it, Francesca Lia Block, later cited Copacetic in her non-fiction book Zine Scene.

I feel like I'm writing an obiutuary. I'll miss you Janice. Even though we should have spent much more time together, I really, really cherished each moment we had together. Whether it was walking down Market to Golden Gardens or going to shows like Ivy and Tahiti 80 and Belle & Sebastian (our first Seattle show together, then a year later with The Decemberists opening). It was nice knowing that you were close by. It was nice hearing your giggle behind Cheryl's show. I'll be in New York soon, I promise.

Next, though, I'm going to San Francisco. I'm going to see Booka Shade and hopefully an old friend.

After that is the choir concert. Phil's going on Sunday. When are you going?

Movies You Should See -- Songs from the Second Floor

Songs from the Second Floor - dir. Roy Andersson, 2000 (Sweden)

I didn't see this movie until about two years ago, but I'm glad it made its way into my Netflix queue. Based on the poetry of Cesar Vallejo, Andersson's film beautifully and precisely translates the language of poetry to the screen. Like Greenaway and Jarman, Andersson constructs tableaus to tackle the heady ideas of Vallejo. The static camera serves the material well. What is the film about, though?
Well, that's harder to pin down. "Blessed is he who sits down," is repeated throughout the film and the stillness implied by resting permeates nearly every scene. Annoyance at the trappings of modernity and the individual's sacrifice to them also plays a huge role. Of course, the military, religion and the creative process are addressed, as well. These are all ideas that good poets effortlessly reference, but until this film, filmmakers have never been able to capture. In one scene, a man clings to his boss' ankle as his boss drags him across the floor. In another, a salesman is throwing away crucifixes and talking about how he invested his life savings in a loser. The scene below borders the absurd, but absurdity follows no logic and holds no truth. This scene, in its dark (almost pitch) humor illuminates and condemns ritual. Its funny and surreal and, in its own peculiar way, poignant and moving.
Definitely make it a point to see this film. Its images will stay with you long after the movie ends.

Goes well with -
L'age D'or
Un Chien Andalou
Swedish Fish
Anderssons

Up and coming

Ahhhh, that's the sound of me letting out a sigh of relief that the musically sparse winter months are over. With spring comes the promise of some good shows. So get your pencils ready to mark some dates.

First and foremost is the Booka Shade show all the way down in San Francisco. Matt and I will be hitting up the city for a good ass-shaking, and while we're there, we'll catch up with my old bud Matty (who goes by Matthew now). The trip is to commemorate Matt's 28th birthday which was on February 20th. I know that it will be a better show than Sander Kleinenberg in Vancouver.

Anyway, you're not going to San Francisco, and you want to know where you can shake it 'round these parts.

March 27th - Ratatat @ Neumo's

March 30th - Mark Farina @ Neumo's (Mark's last 3 sets in Seattle have sucked huge donkey dick, but I'll still probably show)

April 7th - DJ Heather w/ The Lawnchair Generals @ Neumo's

April 13th - John Tejada w/ Lusine and Jerry Abstract @ Chop Suey

April 14th - Luke Vibert + Jacob London @ Re-Bar

April 21st - Junior Boys -- I'm not sure if they're at Neumo's or the Chop cuz they're listed on both

April 25th - SoulWax feat. 2 Many DJs

May 13th - Peter, Bjorn, & John @ Neumo's

The ones in bold are the ones I will not miss. (I'll even be rolling into work late & drunk on the night of the 25th.) As for the PB&J show on May 13th, I hope to make it, but I'm scheduled to be in Texas for my dad's 70th birthday. I'll be attempting to fly standby on that day, cuz I really want to see them.

Hope to see you out!

Humor me

While I found yesterday's NBC affiliate/Krispy Kreme debacle immensely amusing, what I've found even more amusinger is the thread that followed the post about the event at UWeekly.com--check it here.

And, in case you're not feeling extra clicky today, and you don't know what Krispy Kreme/NBC affiliate debacle to which I am referring, here ya go (hint: look at the copy at the lower right of the KK logo):

Movies You Should See -- Crazed Fruit

In an effort to give this blog some much need structure, I'm going to try to make my Monday posts about films. Not just any films, mind you, but FILMS. You know, the ones that have informed our sociopolitical discourse'n'shit. The ones that have inspired countless knock-offs and contributed to the language of cinema.

Yeah, that's right, important films.

The first film on my list is Crazed Fruit directed by Ko Nakahira and based on Shintaro Ishihara's novel. The film was released in 1956 and was shot in only 17 days. It tells the story of two brothers who fall in love with the same girl. Sure, the story seems age-old, but the way in which it is told somehow manages to be fresh, even by today's standards.

Natuhisa and Haruji are priveleged Japanese adolescents whose ennui leads them to the beach. There they meet the mysterious Eri. There's some really beautiful cinematography in this early section of the film. Most of it is shot on the beach, and this is perhaps how this film and others like it became known as taiyozoku ("sun tribe") films. These films are marked by youth, post-war disillusionment, and rebellion. Think of it as a Japanese Rebel without a Cause (it was released a year after Rebel).

Truffaut saw and loved the film. In fact, you can pull many, many references between Crazed Fruit and Jules and Jim. Pulling even further down through the annals of cinema, you can find nods to Crazed Fruit in Kids, The Doom Generation, Badlands, and a fistful of others. However, the film is not perfect--it is interesting but not perfect.

Criterion released this film last year and I got it for Matt for his birthday. We haven't sat down to watch it yet, but the bonus materials (commentary, at least) are supposed to be top-notch with some Japanese film scholar taking you through how the film came to be and what its lasting influence is.

There's some more history around the film regarding the author and the star (brothers). You can read more from the wikipedia link above. I guess the elder became a statesman and eventually penned a biography of his (now deceased) brother. Interesting.

Goes well with:

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Jules and Jim by Francois Truffaut

A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie

Sapporo

Boredom

Sorry.

Just not feeling it.

Even though I want to rail against the Seattle Sonics/Storm owners for contributing money to ridiculous causes.

Even though I want to tell you to watch The Sarah Silverman Program cuz A) its funny and B) the gay couple played by Brian Posehn and Steve Agee are perhaps the most fully formed gay dudes on TV--barely surpassing Satan on South Park.

Even though I could tell you about my amazing massage on Monday. No, it wasn't that kind of massage (although he did touch my balls, and I did sport a little wood).

Even though I could tell you about my upcoming plans: 300 on Friday, choir retreat next weekend, San Francisco the weekend after that, That 80's Concert the week after that, then off to see my dad for his 70th bday.

I'm just not feeling bloggish. Sorry.