Epson-Projection by Shane Acker

Here is a virally distributed clip re: 9 by Shane Acker.

9

So . . . usually I do NOT blog about movies. I leave that up to Jong. This movie, however, is going to be worth covering from all sides. This short film by Shane Acker spawned a full length feature film due out 9-9-09. The basic plot being humans are gone extinct in a war against evil machines and tiny sack punks are all that remain of life. Not only are they cute in a grotesque Scarecrow type of way which I love, but for small creatures, they have big personality. If only that Bai Ling could show the range of emotion of these burlap creatures. There's vengeance! There's genuine affection! There's self-sacrifice! All without saying a word in this original short.

As I was watching the Transformers 2 film, I realized that my favorite part of the Transformers 2 experience was watching the trailer for 9. Tim Burton (Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, and the upcoming Alice in Wonderland) produces, Timur Bekmambetov directs this film based on the digital artistry of Acker. Finally the music is by Danny Elfman (Nightmare Before Christmas, and numerous Oingo Boingo diddies)

The original is a fantastic post apocalyptic, dark and haunting film. You die a little inside to see 5 in the clutches of that robot.

Original:

And the trailer for the feature length:

Jordan Says

Jordan Says I . . ..

should update more often. Update complete.

Asobi Seksu

Last night I saw Asobi Seksu at the Troubador. 

 

Admittedly, I’ve only heard their tracks on KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic, the late Indie 103’s ethereal dream pop show, and recently on MPR (Montana public radio) song of the day which you can download as a podcast. 

 

To my great surprise, Asobi Seksu is  a lot more poppy and percussion driven  than I had anticipated.  This gives a lot more dance-ability and life to the music while played live.  However, LA crowds are too cool to dance.  It was also very crowded to our credit, so dancing may have been a slight impossibility. 

 

As a technical matter, I kinda felt that the sound was miscalibrated and the drums were too heavy and the vocals were too quiet.  My friends were complaining about not being able to hear. 

 

I say, it’s not the vocals substance that are important with shoegaze.  

Noone is really focusing on Lush’s Rupert the Bear’s lyrical content.  It’s really 

the nostalgic and contemplative feeling that you get

 while listening to shoegaze that you come to know and love- and that you come to the rock show for.   To add to the ethereal dreamy pop-ness, some of the songs are in Japanese, a language which lends itself to be romantic and avant garde.  

 

There are a number of good tracks on the new album entitled Hush.  Some of my favorites include “New Years” a song evoking an important Japanese holiday where you eat special osechi foods and celebrate new beginnings.  My language proficiency is not that great, but what I picked up was a nostalgic feeling that fills one’s heart with memories of childhood or being small- and thinking of them and listening for your memories now. 

I also enjoyed Me& Mary, the single released from the new album entitled "Hush."  

 

Having just thrown a shin nen kai, or new years celebration, man I have some good memories.    

 

 

http://www.myspace.com/asobiseksu  (Check out the CSS remix of "Thursday")  My favorite!

 

 

New Years

“chisai toki no koto
omoi dashite goran
sono me o sotto ake
natsukashii futari ga mieteta
candy says
chisai omoide mo
wasurenai de ite kureta
kokoro no oku kara
tsukuri dashita kino no memory
setsunai to sakende temo
anata wa kiete iku
dakedo, kakete iku
itsumade mo
omoide no ato o”

Am I Wearing Too Much Blue?

While watching an episode of Top Chef: New York, I noted one of Padma Lakshmi's outfits as being stylish. She was wearing blue pants and a loose fitting blue top of a different shade of blue. When up for debate, she was either wearing too much blue or very casual but stylish. Here is proof of the latter. Lucky Magazine.

Lucky says that a multi-tonal outfit can be incredibly chic when using different tones of the same color, a neutral belt, and/or a shoe of a completely different color family.   There you have it.  Confirmation from the experts.  It's a talent to translate runway looks to something approachable.  Thanks to BravoTV.com and LuckyMag.com for providing photos.

Loosers Unite!

Today I discovered a website called "they banned me.com" which is a self proclaimed home for those who have been banned from every other corner of the internet and share a hatred for web forum moderators and administrators who delete their offensive comments.

But isn't it by definition a website of their own with very loose moderation and administration? Anyway I felt that a number of the stories they had on the site were funny and offensive. This includes this graphic approach to sexism. I love these fake inspirational posters  Thankyou to theybanned me for providing it.  

one half of the smashing pumpkins

I also saw one half of my favorite band since the 8th grade, the Smashing Pumpkins. Now I hear you saying already "gee steph grow up already." But my reply is, "I've just always been very sophisticated. Not every 13 year old is attracted to 9 minute 70's style rock."

Having very restrictive parents, I was never really able to fulfill my middle school fantasy of seeing Mr.Corgan live with his original line up. I saw Zwan once, but it wasn't the same. In fact, the lights kind of cancelled out half my memories of that show. I think I had some type of seizure. But I digress, in 2008 I got to see Mr. Corgan and Mr. Chamberlain live.

I really enjoyed the cracks Billy C made at us for being old. I really did feel old. I stood for the majority of the concert, I was angry at the woman who was obviously on crystal who would periodically elbow my concert friend, and I was a little bit peeved at the couple who was making out in front of us.

I loved the opening where Billy came out wearing a big theatrical headpiece and a foofy dress. At first I thought it was part of the set, but no it was our personal, our ultimate, our court appointed heavy metal machine- Billy Corgan.

A Set List:

tarantula,
glow,
i am one,
mayonaise,
eye
the end is the begining is the end (watchmen trailer style, not batman and robbin)
a 10 min version of heavy metal machines
today
rosemart
stand inside your love
tonight tonight

and we only come out at night

Once upon a time:



We are all slaves to rock and roll.

New Year New You

You might have heard of the massive recession going on. This undoubtedly cuts into one's funds for the occasional spa excursion. I don't often go to the spa. But it's not out of the question to have the experience even in this economic climate. See the below "recipes" for masks etc that I plagiarized.

Coffee Body Scrub
What you need:
2 cups of coarsely ground coffee
½ cup raw sugar or sea salt
2 to 3 tablespoons of massage oil
Mix all of the ingredients together. Take a hot shower to moisten your skin and to open your pores. While in the shower, use wide circular motions to rub the coffee body scrub on your skin, making sure you use strong, even pressure. Shower off, pat your skin dry and apply a thin layer of your favorite body lotion.

Avocado Carrot Cream Mask: This mask helps rebuild skin collagen, improve tone and texture and fade age spots, thanks to vitamin E (found in avocados), the beta-carotene and antioxidants of carrots and the high calcium and protein of the cream.
What you need:
1 avocado, mashed
1 carrot, cooked and mashed
½ cup of heavy cream
1 egg, beaten
3 tablespoons of honey
Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl until smooth. Spread the mask gently over your face and neck and leave on for 10 to 15 minutes. Rinse off with cool water.

Strawberry Hand and Foot Exfoliant: Get softer, smoother hands and feet, thanks to natural fruit acids that aid exfoliation.
What you need:
8 to 10 strawberries
2 tablespoons of apricot oil (or olive oil)
1 teaspoon of coarse salt (kosher salt or sea salt)
Mix together all the ingredients into a paste, massage into hands and feet, rinse off and pat dry.

Fruit Salad Body Mask: It sounds like a healthy smoothie for your skin – and it is! The pineapple contains bromelain, a protein-digestive enzyme, which helps rid skin of dead cells and dirt and acts as a mild astringent. Grapes are rich in procyanidolic oligomers (PCOs) that provide protection against harmful UV rays, and bananas are loaded with vitamins, calcium and nutrients that keep your skin smooth and soft. Kiwi is high in vitamin C, and honeydew is soothing and hydrating.
What you need:
2 slices of pineapple (rind removed)
½ medium honeydew melon (rind removed)
1 dozen green grapes
1 medium banana (peeled)
1 medium kiwi fruit (peeled)
Puree all the ingredients in a food processor (the mixture will be slightly lumpy). Refrigerate for one hour. Smooth onto your body and face, leaving it on for 30 minutes. Rinse off with warm water.

Find these and more great recipes at www.spaindex.com

Also check out BellaSugar's DIY section.

the hold steady

This month I went to the Hold Steady show with a friend from law school. I felt very angelino while going to a show on a weeknight and running around in/from the torrential downpour that occurred at the end of the show. Those of you who are familiar with the phenomenon, those in California can't drive or deal with the rain. It's one of the reasons why no one walks in L.A. it's the rain (or fear of the rain.)

I'd been very curious about the Hold Steady for some time now and I have to say I wasn't disappointed. RRS now stands for "Rebel Rock Steph" as friend from law school says. The Hold Steady is a band which gives you a healthy dose of rock rock rock. Our energetic front man, Craig Finn is like an ultra excited Elvis Costello.

I often do a little research before going to the show and this guy catches a little flack for being a little chubby. "Who really cares?" is my immediate reply. We've been loving that bald Billy Corgan and also chubby Frank Black for years. Get over it fourteen year olds.

One of my favorite songs, and a crowd favorite as well was called "Chips Ahoy"

911

In light of the recent Metrolink tragedy in Chatsworth California- I feel that an issue must be brought to light in the Bloggosphere. This issue is the hearing impaired, incompetent 911 operator.

Tonight on the Channel 4 11 o'clock news, they played a series of 911 calls from the trainwreck. In all instances, the 911 operator treated the call like a prank or had conversations that went something like this:

Caller: "It was a train versus train accident."
Operator: "Train?"
Caller: "Yes it was a train. The train hit another train. Oh my God people are bleeding and dying here"

or

Caller: "We are on a train in Northridge."
Operator: "Train?"
Caller: "Yes, a train in Northridge."
Operator: "Train?"

Does this seem insane to you? Are they hearing impaired? Are they really insensitive?

I once made a 911 call about a fire I saw by the side of the freeway next to some homes. The operator asked me 3 times which freeway I was traveling on and then didn't believe the direction that I was driving. 911 operator is an important job. I feel like there should be some minimum competency test. I mean there is one for document reviewers. . .