If Only Someone Would Invent A Time Machine...

This is pure eighties gold!!!

In 1985 the Regan administration commissioned a music video to tackle the youth drug problem. Ahhh the eighties. Do you remember the grim reaper campaign? They loved those cheesy arse scare tactics back then.



It is wonderful to see so many talented and influencial artists throwing their weight behind such an important issue. It is just a pity that she shovelled all of the earnings that she made straight up her nose.

Boing Boing has a the names of a few other participants who have not heeded their own words as well as a link to a short history of the clip and how it came to the world wide web.

Tags: Whitney Houston, drug education

When Primary School Games Attack!!!

Click me to see what I grew up to become!

Ange just forwarded me an email from Bonnie, one of her friends we met the other night at King Gong at The Comedy Store. It reads:

I got a call early Tuesday morning from Campbell & Briony (two friends 21 & 22 year old artists from Perth) asking if I knew what the 'Metro' was as someone had emailed them saying they had seen an article on them over here.

Somehow a journalist at the metro had found a blog started by Briony and Campbell in December which turned doodles & random shapes into awesome pictures. It was loosely based on 'Mr Squiggle' (the kids show have you heard of it?) where kids sent in random shapes and doodles and 'Mr Squiggle' made it into a picture. Except it was Briony & Campbell giving each other challenges & inviting viewers to submit doodles as well..

Since discovering they were featured in the Metro they put a counter on their website and found over 40,000 hits on just ONE of the pictures...this was something they originally thought mainly their friends and a few others were seeing so it came as quite a shock..

Within days of the article going to print they have found links to them from all over the world.

If you would like to see the blog that made it to the London papers go to www.squigglepage.blogspot.com

Hooray for perth ppl!!!!

Christ, we used to play that game at school. The teacher would draw two squiggles on the board and the competetors would have to make something of them. I was a little skeptical when I popped over to the blog but some of the art works are quite sublime and heads and shoulders above anything we managed to squiggle on the blackboard in grade 3.


And for art lurvers in Perth they have an exhibition coming up in Northbridge (and if you don't go they'll kick you in the shins, apparently). You can get the details here or here

Tags: art, Perth, Australia

There is a time and a place

I know I have probably been boring you a good deal with the movies I have been blathering on about recently so I will make this short. I saw Rent just before I went away to Brighton over the long weekend and last week I saw Tootsie for the first time. I've wanted to write a little about the experience but it has been falling onto the backburner of late.

How could these two films possibly have anything in common? Let me enlighten you... they don't, well they don't really, okay, in some respects they do. Let me draw my long bow (beware ramblings ensue)...

"Rent", released just this year is based on the musical, "Rent", released just last decade. Just last week the original cast reunited to stage a tenth anniversary production. Therein lies the problem. The original cast was already whingy and whiny but they could pretty much get away with it on stage because they were musical theatre performers. On film they didn't; they were whingy, whiny musical theatre performers and celluloid is less forgiving.

Already burdened with the conceit of having the characters sing, having them noticablely act as well just sunk this film like James Earl Jones' voice. The only actors that really succeeded were Taye Diggs and Rosario Dawson (who was the only new cast member since the role required a 19 year old and she's still only 28, go figure). Everyone else may as well have had their jazz hands out.

Now, I am a huge fan of movie musicals but, as I have said before, there has to be some film artistry involved otherwise we may as well just watch a video of the original production. Hell, Baz Luhrmann's "La boheme" fared better and that was just a slap up job by the ABC. What we get in "Rent: The Movie" is a butchered score, some meaningless alterations to the timeline (seemingly to add some daylight to the film) and a screwy logic brought on by some unneccessary changes in the settings.

It is unfortunate that they missed the boat on this. So many good directors were interested at different times and to settle on Chris Columbus, the man who ruined the first two Potter films because he was too literate, was a huge mistake. Dawson managed to show what could have been and unfortunately never will. This film should have been made with a more relevant cast in a more relevant time with a more relevant director.

Which brings us to "Tootsie", made with a great cast, a great director, dealing with relevant issues at a relevant time. But my god it has aged.

In my slow chipping away at the enormous monolith that is the gap in my cinema going we visited this little gem. I loved it. Dustin Hoffman's performance is incredible as is Jessica Lange's but as the film wore on I realised how much it has dated. Not so much because of the music or the costumes but because of the politics.

It is obvious that "Tootsie" set out to make a statement about gender politics and male/female relations, and it does, but it is such a patriachal take on the issues. By the end of the film it is obvious that the only reason "Dorothy" is able to take control as a woman is because she is really a man. Yes all of the women look up to "her" and become empowered by her but that doesn't change the fact that before Michael leads the way these women are depicted as spineless, weak-willed individuals, slavishly obeying their expansive, over-wrought emotions.

What I found even more interesting though is the scene between Dustin Hoffman and Charles Durning after the whole revelation has been broadcast. Given that there is an obvious attempt made at a liberal message for gender I would have assumed at least a sympathetic view on homo-love. Instead the scene plays like it could have been set in the middle of the bible belt. It is certainly a million miles from Jack Lemmon's revelation scene in "Some Like It Hot".

Overall the film is most interesting as a record of how ideas enter our consciousness. The path that women took (and are still taking) is the path homosexualists are walking now. We are stepping into a world that is not so much based on acceptance as expectence. I think "Brokeback" is going to bring out a few more heavily hetero-produced homo-flicks. I am interested to see what will come of it. Will we get our gay "Tootsie".

I've finished rambling now and I can't be bothered stitching it all together... you can if you want.

Tags: movies, gay, cinema

A Spoonful of Shit

I have fallen in love with a show over in "Pommyland", unfortunately it is an American show, though it has an English bent.

It is called Nanny 911 and it basically consists of one of the nannies from Nanny HQ (a quaint little English cottage with swivelling paintings/video screens) moving into an American household to fix up their domestic mess.

It is crappy reality television but it makes for great viewing because these American families are so way out there.

After the first day, the nanny makes a set of rules for the family's improvement. For a sneak peak of how ace this show is check out the rules for this week:

1. Food is eaten at the table.
2. Everyone sleeps in their own beds.
3. Pee and poo go in the loo.
4. Kids inside, pigs outside.

It is so ace. Let me know if they are showing this shit in Oz.

Tags: reality television

Vision Impossible

This is a little video I took for you of what bad parenting looks like.



Yes, we popped down to see J.J. Abrams premiere his new film in London. It was a lot of fun and I am now thinner and taller thanks to the adoring crowds.

Once we got away from the whole Tom Cruise throng it was a calmer affair and the more interesting figures popped up. Unfortunately Ving Rhames and Philip Seymour Hoffman were no shows but Jonathan Rhys Meyers was there and Keri Russell. I caught some of them on camera.



Tell you what, those celebrities do take it seriously. Tom stayed out signing autographs and chatting to fans for a good two hours. We went and had dinner and he was still at it when we finished.

If only he cared for Suri as much as he does his fans.

Just jokes Tom, Xenu made me say it!

Tags: London, movies, Tom Cruise

Whatever Happened...

When we nattered about Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? a while back Don mentioned the French & Saunders parody. I thought I'd check it out again and allow you to do the same.

Enjoy!



If you want more Dawn you can check out her take on Björk as well. Good times!

Tags: comedy, movies, French and Saunders

How Do You Solve A Problem Like Reality TV?

Ooooh, this is going to be great!

Graham Norton is going to be the host of a new reality television show on the BBC called: "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?"

What on God's hill covered Earth could that show be about?

You guessed it, the winner of this Idol-esque show will go on to play the lead in a new Lloyd-Weber produced "The Sound of Music".

Apparently the actors unions are up in arms saying that a newbie won't be able to take on such a demanding role. I am sure that is true but since when did that stop the public from seeing a show. Gameshow contestants are the new superstars and Lloyd Weber is fond of superstar casting. He cast Glenn Close in "Sunset Boulevard" and he for "Aspects Of Love" he almost got Roger Moore, who eventually declined reasoning that he couldn't sing.

It is all about bums on seats. Ahhhh reality.

Tags: bbc, gay, reality television

Monday Mixes

I know, it's been a while. It only goes to show how little time I will spend on blogging when I eventually find employment.

This week I have some remixes for you.

What makes a good remix? How the fuck should I know? All I know is that if a mix or a cover adds something new or reinvents a song then it has my stamp of dancing approval.

Listen to these beefed up numbers:

Death From Above 1979: Black History Month (Alan Braxe & Fred Falke Remix) - Love this remix so much more than the original track.

Silverchair: Freak (Remix For Us Rejects) - Everyone has there guilty pleasures and this is mine, well one of them. A remix from the "Head On" soundtrack, don't know who did it but I luuuuurve it. Rock on!.

Bjork: Who Is It (Vitalic Remix) -It sounds like Björk but it doesn't sound like her original version. Vitalic's album "O.K.Cowboy" was the best Daft Punk sounding album released last year, even better than Daft Punk's own release, and he works his magic on Björk with spectacular results.

Royksopp & Erlend Øye: Poor Leno (Silicon Soul Rmx) & There is A Light that Never Goes Out (Acapella) - The Smiths' seminally depressive anthem reinterpreted as an electro vocal. Interesting.

Off you run, lift those spirit fingers and dance!

Remember you can order all these albums and more at Amazon UK.

Tags: music

Sublimely Heartwrenching... Hell, It's Sigur Ros

This has got to be one of the most beautiful film clips ever. Slow motion does wonders for mood, doesn't it. Then, I think you could put Sigur Ros' music to a cartoon of a grandmother wielding a chainsaw and it would be beautiful.



Tags: Sigur Ros, video, music

Is this a festival I see before me?

Theatre heaven!

Could you ask for anything more? Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare and a cast of well known thesps.

Over the next year the RSC, with the help of some overseas companies, is going to perform each and every one of Shakespeare's plays, sonnets and long poems.

It all opens today and we already have our sights set on Patrick Stewart as Prospero in the Tempest, Judi Dench in The Merry Wives Of Windsor (The Musical?) and Ian McKellen as King Lear.

Tags: Shakespeare, England, theatre

This is just an excuse to show Jordan singing pregnant in pink vinyl so don't foget to click on the link at the end (this one goes out to you JP)

Eurovision 2006 is less than a month away so I can finally reveal my true reasons for moving to the United Kingdom.

Finally I can watch the broadcast live!!!

Finally I can vote!!!

The best thing about Eurovision is that you can always rest assured that the UK will have by far and away the most abyssmal song in the entire competition. This year is gearing up to be no exception.



What is it with this guy? He is like Mike Skinnard only 40 years old and crap!

Honestly, who votes for this dross? Could it be another year of NIL POINT for Ol' Blighty? At this rate they will be out of the competition next year. The best we can hope for is that all the other songs are equally shithouse. At the very least it will make for some good T.V.

Sorry, I'll stop whining now. I think, maybe, I am still upset that the UK's real potential never got to shine last year ATTENTION: THIS IS WHERE YOU NEED TO CLICK JP!!!! If you don't click here you miss out on JORDAN and her pink vinyl pant suit... Could you live with yourself???.

Tags: Eurovision, Jordan

Gig: Jaberwok/27 Groove @ The Troubadour 20/4/06

Paul and I caught up the other night to check out some psychadelic funk at The Troubadour in Earl's Court. Neither of us had any idea what either of the bands would be like; Paul just wanted to check out the venue and I was just tagging along. Luckily we were both presently surprised.

We walked in to find the headlining band being chastised for turning up too late to the venue and putting the other band out of whack. The "other" band didn't seem too miffed if you ask me. They played really well but the lead singer managed to bland everything down to the unmemorable so I cannot really describe their sound to you except to say they sound like a poor man's Catatonia.


Luckily she comes up a lot better on their recordings, which you can check out over at their My Space (Their Space?)

Jaberwok weren't lumbered with a colourless lead singer; they didn't even have one. Two saxophones took pride of place centre stage (honestly, one sax is a fancy, two are an extravagance) and a crazy attention-seeking keyboardist did he best to swallow the limelight.


The flyer on the table described the group as early Chilli Peppers meet Pink Floyd. I would agree with that, except for the Chilli Peppers part. All I know is they were tighter than a duck's arsehole and they were enjoying what they were doing. That is enough for me. They reminded me a little of the first time I saw The Cat Empire at the Prince Of Wales.

You can check their sound out at their website or their My Space. You decide.

P.S. Is it just me or is My Space quickly becoming as ubiquitous as Samuel L. Jackson?

Here is a bonus photo of me.


Tags: music, London, nightlife

Super Uber Diva-licious

Who is the ultimate gay diva?

I know many a gay man who has spent the night tossing, his mind in torment, trying to find the elusive answer to this perplexing conundrum. To whom should we give that sublime place at the top of the pantheon of man-womanishness?



Cher? Celine? Anastascia? P.J.? Madonna? That chick from Roxette?



No!

Ladies and ladies, I present to you: MONICA NARANJO, the superstyled and multi-faceted gay diva extraordinaire. And she knows it, works it, takes it home and ties it to her bed. Rrrrrowl!

She is like Mecha-Diva... All the best bits rolled into one (I am sure you've guessed by now that all of those pics above are all the one and only Monica Naranjo).

Why am I going on about all this? Well, when I was in Spain the song, Sobreviviré, which ironically means I Will Survive, was one of the biggest dance hits playing in the pfft pfft clubs. I bumped into the film clip online and the memories flooded back.

YOU MUST CHECK IT OUT!!! (you have to scroll down the page to find her screaming away at #12).

Once you have done that, check out this piss take cos it is a fucking hoot!

Super special thanks to Per & Urban who not only provide Monica's clip but have been a brilliant sideroad on the superhighway of gay cinema.

Tags: gay, music, Spain

The Three Burials Of Melquiades Estrada (or, Chop Off Your Penis and Come To Texas)

“The Three Burials Of Melquiaqdes Estrada” is known around the blocks as Tommy-Lee Jones’ directorial debut, and an impressive debut it is. More notable though “Three Burials…” marks another notch in the belt of Mexican screenwriter, Guillermo Arriaga, who crashed onto the international film scene with his script for “Amores Perros” and “21 Grams”. Arriagas mainstay is gutted, emotionally-drained characters and Three Burials delivers in spades.

Set in modern day Texas, the film opens with the discovery of the body of Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cedillo) who, as the title suggests, will receive three burials before the gritty saga has run its course. Finding the county sheriff unresponsive, old school cowboy, Pete (Tommy-Lee Jones) takes it upon himself to uncover the circumstances of his friend’s death and to make good on his promise to return him to his village in Mexico. To this end Pete forcibly enlists the help of border patrolman, Mike Norton (Barry Pepper) who, as the plot unravels, is inextricably linked to the fates of Pete and Mequiades.

There has been a minor resurgence of westerns on our screens in recent months and all of them have sought on some level to dissect the idea of masculinity. “Brokeback Mountain” pitted men against their inner desires and “The Proposition” set them against their inner savage, now “Three Burials” finds masculinity itself in crisis. Here, in the heart of “Marlboro country”, the police, the border patrol, even the cowboys are bureaucratically neutered, impotent or sexually incompetent leaving their women to scavenge for gratification.

It is a well-worn adage but landscape is most definitely the main character of this film. Not because of the way it has been shot, though Chris Menges’ camera does desperately makes love to the dusty grandeur of Texas, but because the inhabitants have been so indelibly marked by its overbearing immensity. Against the vastness of the west, all human endeavours seem futile.

That Tommy Lee Jones is able to find dramatic tension in such an inert personal landscape is impressive. Where the film could have easily wallowed listlessly in obliqueness Jones musters the energy to drive it forwards by heading south. Arriga is obviously less critical of life below of the border. The Mexican characters are the least layered of the film, though they do stand as an effective contrast to the American way of life so, despite the increasingly idyllic surroundings, the tone of the film grows decidedly more menacing the further south the men travel.

Like the best westerns Tommy Lee Jones takes the men on an inward journey as well as an outward one. Barry Pepper comes into his element after he crosses the Rio Grande and Tommy Lee Jones expertly teeters on the edge of insanity. And with in Melquiades’ cadaverous presence in tow Arringa ensures that that this descent into hell has clear metaphysical undertones.

Ultimately, “Three Burials” is an arresting look at life on the modern day frontier from both sides of the border. Its pessimistic view of modern day Texas is played out by impressive performances and understated directorial flair. Highly recommended.

Tags: movie review

How Many Types Of Wrong?

Found this over at Dlisted. I think I counted exactly 23 different types of wrong. You can double check if you wanna!



Tags: advertisement, humour, wrong

Tacky Easter Weekend

So we visited Britain's premier seaside town over Easter. What was it like? Well it was like a British holiday town in Spain only without the Spanish. There were a lot of grumpy old Brits and a lot of tackiness (Brighton Pier is nothing but a glorified travelling amusement park that has taken root in the sea) but there was also some great food and good theatre.




We stayed in an hotel smack bang in the middle of the gay village. Surprise! (wave hands flagrantly) Not that Brighton needs a gay village; the whole place is a huge fag-fest. But it is so many other fests as well so all the festiness just blends in together and makes for a nice mix.

I could blather on about what we did but there isn't much to tell because the weather was a little inclement. Instead you can see all the photos here.

Highlights included catching "Festen", a play based on the Dogme film of the same name, which was excellent, the interiors of the Royal Pavilion, which were as gaudy and austentacious as one would expect from the son of an inbred madman, and the delightfully downbeat nightlife, which was gay-tastic.

Oh, and the waiter at the Thai restaurant we ate at on Sunday night. He was really sweet but quite inexperienced. Inexperienced enough to place our old covered soup bowl on our table claiming it was our jasmine rice. His face when we called him over and opened it up was priceless.

Tags: Brighton, photos

Food Spastics Of The World Unite!

Hi there, I'm back. I have so much to fill you all in on but I am putting it off because it is a little too daunting at the moment. Too much like work.

In the meantime, here is a site that I ran into on BoingBoing: It is www.ihatecilantro.com and it is basically a collection of people who hate the taste of coriander (in America coriander leaves are called cilantro).

While I don't agree with their sentiments, it is quite amusing. Besides, I thought Samara might want to join up.

Tags: food, funny

Miss Me?

Sorry I haven't been writing all that much recently. I was at the cinema yesterday and today I was working. What did you say? Working? Yes, WORKING.

Last week it was stuffing envelopes, this week it is data entry. Foot's peeking through now but damn is this work mind numbing. At least it is money while I find something better. I have another day tomorrow and then four days of it next week. After that it is back to the drawing board.

Even if they wanted me to stay on I don't think I could.

Tags: London, job search

Morning Milk Run

Morning Milk Run
Originally uploaded by No-necked Monsters.

Don't you hate it when you get half dressed and then you find out that you have no milk for breakfast!

Grrr!

Nice morning though.

Sevice With A Smile

This is a little snap we took at our local ASDA. Check out the customer service charter.

CAN I PACK YOUR BAGS FOR YOU?

That is certainly something that we've never been asked over here. London seems to have a strict: Pack 'em yerself, guv'! policy. I can't imagine it makes supermarket checkouts more efficient and to my mind it is just as easy to place the groceries in a bag as it is to pass 'em on down to us.

One of life's little mysteries...

P.S. To his credit, Nash was a lovely chap (though he was very strict with his plastic bag rationing).

Tags: London, shopping

Music To Gaze Navels By

Yessss, I am bringing you more Monday afternoon sing-a-longs, which of course means I am still gainfully unemployed (and yes is is getting upsetting now!).

So here are some tracks to make you forget my sorrows:

The Wrens: She Sends Kisses - I absolutely love this track. The slow build, the foreshadowing echoes and the emotional climax. It is a long journey (hence only four tracks this week) but it is well worth it.

Andrew Bird: Measuring Cups - Quiet and folksy. I don't know why but this track has always struck a chord with me. Maybe I am just a sucker for strings.

Neko Case: Hold On, Hold On -Another alumnus of The New Pornographers off on a little side trip. I haven't given "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood", Neko's new solo album, a good listen yet but I do like the vibe of this track.

Morrissey: The Youngest Was The Most Loved - It seems Mozza has had those kiddies from "Panic" chained up in his basement since the days of The Smiths. And he hasn't eaten them. Now he has scrubbed them up and put them back to work as his personal chorus. Now, instead of choiring "Hang the D.J." they sing along to "There is no such thing in life as normal". A worthy sentiment, indeed!

Now run along and play...

Remember you can order all these albums and more at Amazon UK.

UPDATE: Having problems with the FTP site so you may have to wait a while before you can sing along. Do some vocal warm-up exercises!

UPDATED UPDATE: All fixed. Hope you like. X

Tags: music

Okonomi-yaki? No... Okonomi-yummy!

Nerida got me hooked a couple of years ago on the Japanese taste sensation, okonomiyaki. We tried it at Melbourne's Peko Peko but Nerida was adamant that it wasn't the best. Ever since I have been on a quest to find an authentic okonomiyaki restaurant, complete with real Japanese mayo!

Today that search came to an end when we lunched at Abeno near Covent Garden.

For the uninitiated (of which I am no longer a member), okonomiyaki is Japan's answer to the omlette but filled with pickled ginger, cabbage, spring onion and countless other delights. Today Rog added prawns, pork and squid and I added pork and kimch'i (just for JP).

Once you order the waiters come out and cook the okonomiyaki on the hotplate that is inset into the table. It is great, you get a meal and a show.

Once it is cooked they swirl on the mayonaise and the special okonomiyaki sauce, sprinkle on some seaweed flakes and finally dump on a generous serve of fish flakes.

To savour this special occasion (and the fact that I've been wearing a t-shirt around London today) Rog tried to take a photo for you all. Lucky for you the camera was set to video so you get more me for your money! Check out the finished okonomiyaki at the end of the vid and you can see the wierd little dance that the fish flakes do atop the omlette.



Tags: London, dining

Take your seats...

The reasons for me to update my computer are starting to stack up! Becks brought over her new MacBook Pro the other night and I was impressed. The profile is super sleek and the screen is crisp and bright. One thing she didn't bring over was the remote control so we didn't get to play with Front Row.

Basically, Front Row is a digital media centre for Mac and is controlled by a little remote (or as this vid shows, by your phone).



Sweeeeet!

Oh, we popped in and listened to the iPod HiFi today and the sound is easily three of four sonic leaps ahead of any of the other portable speakers around. Pity about the price tag!

Tags: Apple, Mac

What's Your Star Sign?

Over at Apple they have just posted a trailer for "The Zodiac" based on San Francisco's Zodiac Killer of the 60s and 70s.

This film of course should not be confused with "Zodiac", David Fincher's latest project starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr and Mark rrrRUFFalo, which is also based on San Francisco's Zodiac Killer of the 60s and 70s.

Nor should it be confused with "Dirty Harry", Clint Eastwoods hit flick based on San Francisco's Zodiac Killer of the 60s and 70s.

Believe me there are many more to choose from. Zodiac makes for good film fodder. Apparently he is famous for saying to police, "One day a good film will be made about me!". Creepy considering he has never been caught. Can you imagine him sitting in a cinema watching a Zodiac film fest?

The San Francisco Police Department closed the case in 2004 citing that the police involved were buying into the "cult" that had grown around the case. I've always found these unsolved mysteries intriguing.

Tom Voight runs an excellent site at www.zodiackiller.com", which documents EVERYTHING about the case including all of the letters that Zodiac wrote to the police.

Tags: history, serial killer, movies

C.R.A.Z.Y. (or, W.H.Y. A.R.E. W.E. W.R.I.T.I.N.G. L.I.K.E. T.H.I.S?)

On December 25th 1960, in a hospital in Quebec, Zac Beaulieu is born into a family of three brothers. His brothers label him “the fairy”, his mother labels him as “sensitive”, and his father pegs him as “the musician”, the favourite son who shares his great love of music. Eventually though, Zac is given the role of faith healer by the local Tupperware lady after his mother notices his uncanny ability to calm his newborn brother, Yves.

As is the nature of youth, Zac rails against all of these identities and seeks only to be himself. This brings him into conflict with his father and it is this relationship that forms the beating heart of Jean-Marc Vallée’s film. “C.R.A.Z.Y.” manages to capture the awe Zac holds for his father and the heartbreak that follows when he cannot live up to his father’s ideal. Zac’s battle for his father’s acceptance is a journey of self discovery and leads us through Dusty Springfield, Bruce Lee, The Stones, Pink Floyd, Bowie and The Cure, through girls and drugs and boys, a veritable smorgasbord of cultural zeitgeists.

The religious overtones are sure to draw parallels to Ken Russell’s film version of The Who’s “Tommy” but, with its emotions worn so heavily on its sleeve and its sense of childhood wonder and imagination, I would have to say that a better messiah flick hasn’t been filmed since “E.T.” (note the propensity for abbreviated titles!).

All round the performances are heartfelt and genuinely moving. Vallée brings true affection and sly comedy to the Beaulieu family’s lives but it is the little things that make father/son relationships tick are most beautifully rendered. The film’s biggest downfall is that it overreaches. Amidst the comments on parents and brothers, drug abuse, sexuality and divinity, the film never finds the time to conclusively say anything; these issues are simply treated as regular facets of the Beaulieu household. Yes, it is refreshing to see a film tackle a “coming out” story without the serious pointedness of an “issues” film but when the film is concluded by convenient circumstance rather than satisfying character growth the audience may feel cheated.

Quebecois films are a relatively unknown quantity on the international film market but “C.R.A.Z.Y.”, which has already garnered an impressive number of local awards and an extremely loyal fan base, should change that. Yes, it a little unfocussed and it can tend towards self-conscious camera trickery at times but the characters are so engaging that it is hard to imagine anyone not finding something to like here. “C.R.A.Z.Y.” will undoubtedly strike a chord with the fathers, sons, mothers, girlfriends, gay boys and perhaps even the messiahs of this world. Recommended.

Tags: movie review, queer film, gay

Hush, Hush Sweet Henry

Henry Farrell, author of "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" and "Whatever Happened To Cousin Charlotte?" died today died today age 85.

He must have read my review.

(via towelroad)

The Waiting Game

The weather is picking up here. I spent some of the afternoon today falling asleep under the upstairs window. It was nice to feel the heat of the sun on my face. Of course it was only warm because the window was keeping out the nasty cold air but that will change soon.

The buds are forming on all of the trees now, they are almost as green as the moss that grows up their trunks.

I have been getting up everymorning and adorning myself in my suit (which I love) and going to sit in the foyer of the temporary employment agency to wait for work to come in while I read Middlesex. It is actually good to set that time aside for reading. I don't tend to read quite as much as I would like because I always end up getting drawn into fiddling around on the web whenever I have a few minutes spare. I feel like I am doing something at least, I have a reason to get up in the morning but I still feel foolish sitting there waiting. Waiting for a job that I am going to be over qualified for. Waiting to get some relevant experience on my C.V.

I am waiting on two agencies to get back to me about two interviews. Just waiting. Calling, harrassing and waiting. Grrr!

Tags: London, job seeking

Gig: Art Of Fighting @ Luminaire 04/04/06

img_2564
Originally uploaded by acb.

We quickly dropped back into Melbourne last night to catch Art Of Fighting play at the Luminaire. Well, that is what it felt like anyway. The luminaire is a concert venue akin to the Corner Hotel in Richmond or the late Punters Club on Brunswick Street. Small, intimate and tastefully decorated with candles and lampshades. Okay, neither the Corner or the Punners was tastefully decorated but hey they are still perfecting Melbourne grunge chic over here.

Alcoholic, Claire Bowditch was first support and she did a good job of warming the crowd up with her take on the one-(wo)man-band. I don't know Claire that well but I know that her music is well liked. Her last few numbers really hit a chord so I may check out her recordings. Her banter was certainly the highlight of her set. She admitted to being quite tipsy and stopped often to ask the time of the audience. Half-jokingly she said she would love to play more and that her music was better than the upcoming Dutch act. Note to self don't ever try to play a half baked cover of Boys Don't Cry onstage whilst drunk.

Onstage banter was also the highlight of the Flemmish post-rock instrumentals of "We Vs. Death" only theirs was funnier because they couldn't really speak that much of the English. They missed their boat that morning and their friend said to them how could you miss that boat, you knew what time it was, so they had to drive all the way and they are very tired. Apparently it is funnier in Dutch. Their music was actually quite cool. Grunge-jazz, if you will.

Finally Art Of Fighting were up. I waxed lyrical to you all the other day about how much I love these guys. They didn't seem at their peak last night though. Ollie's voice sounded a little weak and not quite so transcendent as when I saw them last. Of course I was confused as to who Ollie actually was for the first few songs, convinced as I was that Miles was supposed to be singing. Damn my un-photographic memory! Ridiculous considering Richard introduced me to them once, I suppose I was too busy thanking them for the music (the songs they're singing) to remember who was who.

That said, they warmed up and by the time they got around to Two Rivers I was sold all over again and had stopped trying to convince myself that the "real" Ollie just had a sore throat and they'd swapped roles for the night. I love the way Art Of Fighting manage to find the quiet moments in the noise and the noise in the emotion. They closed with one of their finest moments, Just Say I'm Right off off of their first LP, "Wires", which was probably the song that sold me on them in the first place. It is live that this track really shines and plays out the obsessiveness and anger that fuel its core. Priceless.

Unfortunately there were some vocal people in the crowd so their encore ended up being Reasons Are All I Have Left instead of Something New or Busted, Broken, Forgotten. Great song but not a great closer for the evening (there was one last track but we had to rush for the last train).

All in all it was a good night (Angela loved it too, good to bring people into the fold) but not a patch on the Speigeltent gig of '04 (or was it '05?)

Mac Tiplet

I know a few of you out there are sporting newly purchased MacBook Pros and many more of you are sharing the MAC lurve. Here is an interesting little tiplet that you probably already know (but that I just discovered).

OS X (Tiger) has a built-in dictionary and thesaurus. Big deal, you say. Well it is! You can check your spelling in any program by highlighting a word and ctrl-clicking it. You can even highlight whole passages and check them too. Even better, if you are reading a text that is using highfaluting language, you can just look it up in the dictionary right then and there.

Here, practise with these words: horological, bullate, equerries.

Tags: Apple, OS X

Harry And Max (or Barry and Crocker Shit)

One of my biggest gripes about queer cinema is its relative lack of production values, good writing or character development. I can only postulate that this comes about because there is a definite niche market that will always see these films at queer film festivals or buy them on Amazon no matter what their quality (or, rather, as long as they have hot guys in them). Even when attempting to tackle weighty and important themes these films are generally pallid and devoid of artistic merit.

Hary And Max is most definitely the exception that proves that there are hardly ever any exceptions. Harry (Bryce Johnson), the "cute" member of a famous but dissolving boy band, comes home to visit his brother, Max (Cole WIlliams) whose pop idol star is starting to ascend. The brothers go on a camping trip together. That is pretty much all the introduction we get to the characters before we also find out that there is some quasi-sexual co-dependence between them. Pretty soon, actually almost immediately, this snowballs into revelations of Harry's liaisons with his 40 year old yoga teacher, of which Max is disturbed and jealous.

What follows is a stilted, under-developed, structureless exploration of the relationship of the brothers, their respective partners and their overbearing manager/mother. It is movies like these that encourage me to write. These characters interact like dolls being manipulated by five year old, or worse, like porn stars. Their actions are entirely unmotivated and when one character acts in a wildly inappropriate manner other characters react as if it was completely understandable.

Case in point: Max visits Harry's older lover. For some reason he undoes his pants, turns his back on the guy and says, "I want you to do to me what you did to Harry." To which the older guy says... "O.K." and they go for it. End of sub-plot. And this guy was a yoga teacher? He was about as spiritual as my ASS!

This film was one of the big controversies at Sundance becasue of its frank take on incest. What the promoters call "frank", I call unexplored. The issue was basically treated as if it were a non-issue. The harshest any character spoke out against the relationship between the brothers was to say, "What you are doing is wrong!" That is about as deep as this film delved into the brothers' attraction.

I am all for exploring homosexual incest. I am sure there are many interesting, involving and possibly even moving stories that could be told but this isn't one of them. We never found out how the incest originated or how the characters felt about doing it or the stigma that was attached to it.

All I can say is, at least this union won't be producing any two headed love child because I really couldn't sit through a sequel.

Thoroughly not recommended!

Tags: movie review, gay, queer film

I've Just Got Back From "Work"

Well I finally got some work. I was sitting in Office Angels waiting for a posting when Reed (the other agency who hasn't as much as sneezed at me for the last month) called. They backed me into a corner and asked if I was available for work and I, of course, answered that I was. Basically I accepted without even knowing what the job was. In the end it wasn't much at all, only two hours. And only stuffing envelopes.

At least it was something. I feel like I am really starting at the bottom again. Below the bottom if that is at all possible. Everyone around me today was younger than me. They were all going about their busy office routines. It was interesting to watch and it gave me a glimpse of how different office work is to teaching.

For a start it is a good deal more social. There is a constant chatter and, at least in this office, a jovial manner. A lot of people seemed to be doing not much at all. I was being given tasks by the boss' son, which was quite amusing considering he as about twelve. There is a whole different dynamic here. It is actually quite exciting.

Look at me. I'm getting excited over stuffing envelopes and coallating papers.

Sing with me: "The only way is UP, baby, for you and me now!"

Tags: London, job search

Evil Political Rhetoric

Can someone fill me in on whether this is causing a shit storm back in Australia.

I fucking hope so!

No wait, it is okay. Howard is being pro-marriage, not anti-gay.

I'd hate for my relationship to be recognised in the eyes of national policy if it meant that our understanding of marriage as a hetrosexual practice was challenged.

He has such a way with words.

Don't hate me, I'm not anti-Howard, I am just pro-human-decency.

Tags: Australia, gay, politics

Fuel Your "Mondayitis"

I told y'all I would be boring you with my penchant for morbid and depressing music. Well, I have decided that Monday will be the day I will play swapsies and change the music over. Actually, it will more than likely be Sunday but for most of you my Sunday is your Monday anyway so that is not a huge drama. Actually, you know me, it will probably end up being any time I can be bothered but don't worry, even if you don't get to hear it, it will be Monday that I will be beating myself up for not getting it done.

Aaaaaanyway, this week you have the chance to frolic gaily in these musical soundscapes:

Art Of Fighting: Come Around & Show Me - One of my favourite home grown acts. Not as raucous as their name might suggest, this four piece from Melbourne manages to pull together heart-felt and emotional themes and cram them into claustrophobic, obsessive rock songs. Ollie has the voice of an angel and I am left gob-smacked every time I see them live. I am sure I will be tomorrow night, I'll let you know.

Band Of Horses: Our Swords - I mentioned these guys a little while back. A masterful first release. They have managed to find an interesting sound and while it may not be unique, it certainly stands out from the indie-rock rabble.

Animal Collective: Grass - I don't like to blow my own horn about how crazy I am and with these guys I don't need to; I can let them blow their horns. All I have to do is recommend their music to people and I am crazy by association. Kerching!

The Reindeer Section: Cold Water - The superest of super groups. These guys are comprised of members of Snow Patrol, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, Arab Strap. If they make music and they live anywhere near Glasgow they are probably in this side project of side projects. I can't get enough of Gary Lightbody's voice and I think that he gets to shine here even more than he does at home in Snow Patrol.

The Books: Venice - I am really into these guys at the moment. Ecclectic and atmostpheric, The Books use old recordings and electronic beats to create some of the most irreverently textured soundscapes around.

I haven't put as many songs on as I did last week because I have upped the quality so you can actually listen to them.

If you like them, check out their whole albums at Amazon UK.

Tags: music

I'm Ready Mr. DeMille

I'm Ready Mr. DeMille
Originally uploaded by No-necked Monsters.

Just another shot from last night.

Miss you all like a crazy fuck!

X

Circle Of Friends

We had a brief housewarming/birthday party last night.

It was great that so many of our friends trekked all the way out to Zone 3 to say hello. It was a quiet affair but fun nonetheless.

It was wonderful to meet some of James and Ange's friends, even better it was great to meet Kellie, friend of Samara's from Bendigo. It is strange that meeting a friend of a friend, it can be just like catching up with the shared friend in person. I hope to catch up Kellie again so that we can conspire to kidnap Sam and get her skanky ho' ass over here.

Snaps to everyone who came and managed to make it home to the other side of London after the tube had shut down. Yes, we will have to save the Redback for another night!

Tags: London, friends