Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Just when I think I'm out

I have to do draft #14 on this circumcision piece for Jail Babes magazine. So my evening plans are going to revolve around more research and maybe some Angel Dust. Who knew it would take so much work? Otherwise, I'm doing all right, I'm thinking about catching War of the Worlds soon, but I just can't work up much enthusiasm after some of the tepid reviews from reviewers I trust. I'm taking a little break now to both calm down and rev up, but then it's back into the warzone. SEXY. Larry Flynt today told me after reading my piece that I'd have a future in his company, and that maybe next issue I could write the captions. I've been working on it:

"...But Jessica wasn't prepared for this kind of cavity search!"

"'I've hid the drugs where I think you can find them.'"

"...At this prison, you had to eat three times a day to keep Big Desiree happy..."

"...It looks like she's going to need to be restrained..."

"...Wow, that's her whole foot..."

"...her life was worth half a pack of Kools, a toothbrush, and a vibrator..."

"... It gave 'Lights out' a whole new meaning for Shauna..."

"...She had a quiet way about her..."

"... She preferred syrup..."

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Way of the Future

Wow, I actually got to watch some movies this weekend and RELAX. I watched Face/Off, which I still love, The Aviator, Bringing Out the Dead (right now, cause I've had it and haven't watched it in five years), the highlight reel of Hard Target Theatrical cut (I have a muddy boot of a workprint that infinitely better but only barely watchable), Land of the Dead, and Day of the Dead, which are the Dead films I love to watch most these days. The Aviator is still a problematic movie (due to its episodic nature, and its shallowness), but it has a certain heft, while Face/Off is just the most perfect piece of American Woo. I'm actually digging on the zone out of Bringing Out the Dead, but it may not hold up. The week promises to be busy enough.

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Ain't nobody dope as me, I smell so fresh and clean (so fresh and so clean, clean)

And I'm watching Collateral, and it strikes me that I live in Los Angeles now. And that yesterday I was driving down Sunset talking on my cellphone with someone about moviestuff, going to see a movie with people who have directed films, and worked on major motion pictures. I have been corrupted.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Notes from my life

I think one of the things I wish to store here, if this place has any permanence, which it probably doesn't are notes and observations from my life. Moments. Moments I might forget otherwise. Here are two:

1) Last night I was chatting up some ladies. I was not particularly impressed with them, though they were cute. I was flirting to flirt, a pastime honorable, if not admirable. As the girls left one said to me "You don't have any tattoos do you?" I was shocked and immediately impressed. "No, and you?" "Of course not." In response, my voice lowered (dare I say hushed) and conspiratorial. I have to admit... It excited me.

2) Tonight I said to some friends I had "Princess parking." They were baffled, for me, perhaps as a former Portland resident, it was old hat, a common euphemism. I guess not in LA.

BTW, I saw Land of the Dead tonight and I thought it kicked major ass. It's Romero's western Zombie opus, and though it suffers from a lower budget, which plays more in its locations than anything else, I fucking loved it, Big Daddy notwithstanding. I guess if I'm going to make exceptions for a movie (and I guess there are certain caveats to make) I'd rather do it for someone with a vision and an idea than someone with a budget and no imagination.

A semi-sequel to Wet Hot American Summer?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401244/

Hrm.

It's not finished.... It's finished.

I've given birth to a telephone book. It was a messy two week procedure, and like most pregnancies it started with a couple of drinks, and some shoving, and then became all about vomiting, sleepless nights, and a lot of research. Like most artistic endeavors, all I can see now are the faults, due partly to the things I couldn't help. But because I have a rampant and untameable ego, I know that I did good work under the conditions. How the world will look at it is another matter entirely.

I'm, of course, talking about an article I wrote for Jail Babes Magazine about circumcision.

Have you ever been sniffed by two women at the same time?

Well... have you? It's not so bad.

Thursday, June 23, 2005

How escapist do you like your escapism?

Last night I was thinking about the film Amelie because of something I read on Twitch films. In France the new Audrey Tattou film outgrossed Batman Begins. I find the character Amelie repellent , a sexless pixie who interferes with people's lives as romantic comedy. I think the root of my problems, thinking about the film having only seen it once, stem from the fact that Amelie's mindset is that of a twelve year old girl. Though the film shows her having sex, she's not particularly fond of it (and one gets the sense that scene was included to at least show that she was an adult, but even still, the filmmakers can't betray the character by having her actually like sex), while the only other fucking in the movie is enacted by the two ugliest characters in the film. All the while, the film takes places in a hyperreal setting. As is my question after many films I see: Who's fantasy is this? I guess if one is picking apart my criticism of the film, maybe you could argue I'm flummoxed because for me to enjoy a romantic comedy, I want to want to fuck the female lead. Or if I don't want to on a physical level, then I want her to find love that is both physically and mentally fulfilling.

And now I'm really opening doors, but my point is this: if the main character acts like a pre-adolescent - someone pre-sexual - then how can it be a love story I can relate or be drawn into? I'm not arguing that sex is the be all end all of relationships, that's the door I want closed, but the film seems intent on denying real sexual chemistry.

What does it say about me that I prefer an Eternal Sunshine, or a Shop Around the Corner? Is that the equivalent of wanting to put salt on my ice cream? It's why John Hughes starts losing his appeal the further his career went on, the characters became less grounded and more archtypal to something I couldn't relate to. And when you talk about these sorts fantasy movies, like The Breakfast Club and Pretty Woman, there's a lot of audience projection with those films, the audiences inuits what they relate to it, and how to appreciate the movie. Both those films present a fake real to allow for the fantasy. And for me it's this attempt at realism that's so dizzying, I might like these films more if they took place in a setting that made it 100% fantasy, moreso than trying to blend. Yet I can see why the work because of this. Oh well, this train of thought... has derailed.

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Another scene from an elevator

INT. ELEVATOR

DAMON (29) enters and hits the button for the first floor. He's playing with the badge he got the day before, which is on a retractable string. He lowers the badge to the floor, and then lets it zip back up

ELEVATOR
Ding!

Damon looks up. It's the third floor. The doors open, a cute girl of foreign origin enters (mid 20's). Damon continues to fiddle with his badge. Because he's a huge dork and she's cute, he insists on starting a conversation.

Damon
Going down?
Girl
Yeah

Damon continues to fidget with his badge

Damon
I just got the badge, so I can't stop
playing with it. I guess I'm still
eight that way.
Girl
(politely laughs)
So, where do you work?
Damon
Oh, I'm on the fourth floor,
working on (expletive deleted)
Girl
Oh, I'm on the third
in (expletive deleted)
Damon
Cool.

They hit the first floor, the girl exits first.

Damon
See you around.
Girl
See you.

Damon watches her walk away, and knows he'll be thinking about it for a day or two.

Monday, June 20, 2005

My life is like falling out of a tree to land perfectly in hammock, only for it's occupant to have taken some Viagra a half hour previous...

So it turns out I'm a superhero. When I get really angry I turn bright green, grow in size, and have incredible strength. I found this out the other day when I couldn't get the table I wanted at the 101. Well, not only is the city suing for damages... I have to face litigation from both Marvel and Universal for libel and copyright infringment. And if I let it get to me, then I'll face another fucking lawsuit. To cope, I've been writing a lot of poetry. And I'm working on writing another bodice ripper under my psuedonym, Alfonso Lasteele. Calgon, take me away.

On the more good news bad news tip, I've started dating Jessica Biel... But the bad news that she's a lesbian, and I've been hired to be her cover. This is part of my reperations with Universal, which also includes pitching ideas for the third film in the Parents/Focker series, which is tenatively titled "Mother Focker." My best pitch involves Mrs. Focker (Babs) opening her own private detection agency. It's like Beautyshop meets Out of the Past, with a little bit of The World According to Garp thrown in for good measure.

Did you know that the latin word for vagina is scabbard, or sheath? well now you know, and don't you forget it.

Quotes that stick in my head for minutes... Hours... Days...

"Hard part's over..."

What the fuck's that from, and why do I only think it when I'm away from the computer. Oh yeah, it's Kill Bill Vol.1.

JACKASS.

"Now let's get these other piggies wiggling."

It's better than a couple days ago, when I was trying to figure out who said "Convenient." Harrison Ford, Return of the Jedi.

But... they're great cause they sound like fucking.

I can't think of any other way of selling the appeal of good funk. Stevie Wonder, James Brown, The Jackson Five (And the best of Michael Jackson, specifically Off the Wall), Marvin Gaye, Prince, Rick James, etc. It makes your body want to move rhythmically. Someone I know told me she didn't like this sort of music, and I couldn't find the polite way of saying the above to her, though admittedly, I'm crude enough to have said as much.

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Big Ass project

I'm working on something big right now, and I don't know if I can write about it, but it's a huge undertaking which will or should be wrapped up in a week's time. It involves a lot of writing, and will consume my energies for next couple. It's very exciting, but it involves me doing a lot of research on stuff I knew little about beforehand, and a lot of frustrated google searches. As such, this blog will more than likely take the hit. My loyal readers, all six of you, Puffy Daddy, your worship, the ghost of Al Jolson, and those three internet cops who I IMed Krispy Kremes to, know that I have not abandoned my post.

I went to the LA library on Sunset yesterday. A very interesting experience. A lot of Russian specific literature, because - I'm guessing - the area is heavily populated by Russians. As a library it seems the equal of the one at West Sylvan Middle School, though I was able to rent The Decalogue. When I'll have time to watch it is heretofore undertermined.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

This is a true story

Tonight, I played poker with Joseph Kahn. As the evening drew to a close, one of the people there said "Hey say what you said earlier." I thought I was being teased, but I told Mr. Kahn that I was a huge fan of his film Torque (I in fact gave it a three and a half beer review: here). He was honestly touched that I got the film, which he said was straight Corman, because the film has long haunted the bottom 100 of the IMDb. I was gratified and he was gratified, and it was good. Yay!

Something I knew back in 1985 when I was nine, that has become all the more apparent now

Mickey Rourke is cooler than Tom Cruise, and Prince is way cooler than Michael Jackson.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Taking out the garbage...

I come back in and hear John Williams-esque music. I stop outside the door, and wait long enough to figure out what it is. It was the latest Harry Potter film. It was the big storm scene where Harry falls off his broom. It took me about a minute. I used to be better at this.

Yes, I used the word "rollicking"

And I meant it, too:

Danger: Daibolik
Dark Victory
Humoresque

Looks like I'm going to spent the next week involved in a heavy duty project that's gonna take some time as the blueprint I have been given is looking more and more useless. Maybe I'll catch Batman Begins this week.

Saturday, June 11, 2005

The guiltiest part of watching old movies...

I was watching Dark Victory last night, cause I'm reviewing it this week, and man, did I want to jump Geraldine Fitzgerald's bones in that. Of course, Geraldine's old enough to be my great grandmother now. But there's all the older women in these movies that drive me fucking nuts, some still alive , others long since gone. Jane Russell, Colleen Gray, Ann-Margret, Jennifer Jones, Joan Fontaine (oh, my god, I would have... Never had the chance to talk to her, but that's that), Joan Blondell, Franacoise Dorleac, etc. etc.

And I guess this is marginally better than lusting over my contemporaries, but only marginally. But after you hit 25 you realize that most playmates of the month are younger than you now, and that reading Playboy is really for adolescent boys anyway.

It seems that in your overacting, you killed her.

http://ter.air0day.com/?script=revengeofthesith

Nail hit on head.

Friday, June 10, 2005

Twice in one week? A miracle

Damon: Hey God.
God: Who is it?
Damon: It's me. Damon?
God: I don't know this number.
Damon: I'm calling from my land line.
God: Fuck. I can't believe I didn't spot it. I expect you to call on your cell phone.
Damon: Well, I got home and I'm hanging out.
God: What have you been up to?
Damon: Eh. I had to run errands after work, payday and all. Got a new shower curtain, assorted toiletries, and some cat supplies. Oh, and I swung by Amoeba and grabbed Paris, Texas, The Driver, and Forty Guns.
God: Which you'll have no time for this weekend.
Damon: Fucking tell me about it.
God: So, what are your plans for the weekend?
Damon: I'm going to finally catch Kingdom of Heaven over the weekend, I got a pass to see it, so I feel like I should.
God: Good deal.
Damon: I may catch Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Howl's Moving Castle if I can.
God: When?
Damon: Dunno, why you down?
God: More for the Miyazaki, depends if it's dubbed or not.
Damon: Yeah, I'm gonna call, I hear some of the prints are subbed.
God: That would be sweet. Though Arclight's got Smith.
Damon: I know, tempting, summer trash. I haven't been to the theater since fucking RotS.
God: Are you going to drop it?
Damon: That's its official title now, Fucking RotS.
God: Yeah.
Damon: Did I interrupt anything?
God: Nah, we were just hanging before we go out tonight.
Damon: What's the game plan?
God: Jesus is organizing it. Lot's got a new girl so... dunno.
Damon: I don't know when he's worse, when he's in one or out.
God: You know I've been bumping some Rick James lately.
Damon: Sweet. Don't go all Chappelle on me now, I reviewed the set, and I'm RJB'd out.
God: No, I know, but... c'mon. Buh do boo boo boop, Buh do boo boo boop boop de doop.
Damon: Whan I came home last night....
God: You wouldn't make love to me!
Damon: You went fast asleep, You wouldn't even talk to me!
God: You say I'm so crazy... Coming home intoxicated!
Damon: I say just want to love you!
God: I just wanna love you, baby.
Damon: Guess that's why I'm so elated! Come on, girl! Give it to me, baby!
God: Give it to me, baby!
Damon: Give it to me, baby!
God: Give it to me, baby!
Damon I betcha I'll make you holler you've had enough! Give it to me, baby!
God: Give it to me, baby!
Damon: Just give it to me, baby! Give it to me, baby!
God: Give it to me, baby!
Damon: I betcha I'll make you holler you've had enough! Give it to me!
God: Give me that stuff, that sweet, that funky stuff
Damon: Say what?
God: Give it to me! Give me that stuff, that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff!
Damon Say what?
God: Give it to me, give it to me! Give it to me, give it to me! Give me your stuff, that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff!
Damon: Yo-ho, ow! BREAK!
God: Give it to me, baby!
(Damon dances, has no idea what God is doing)
Damon: When I was high as the sky! Out all night just dancin'!
God: You say, 'Let's go home!'
Damon: : Come on, Rick, I'm tired, let's go home!
God: That's the time I start romancin'! You say how can I love you?
Damon: How can I love you, baby?
God: When your body keeps on movin'! I say wait till I squeeze you, oh! Maybe then you'll start to groovin'!
Damon: Come on, girl!
God: Give it to me, baby
Damon: Give it to me, baby!
God: Give it to me, baby!
Damon: Give it to me, baby!
God: I betcha I'll make you holler you've had enough! Give it to me, baby!
Damon: Give it to me, baby!
God: Just give it to me, baby! Give it to me, baby!
Damon: Give it to me, baby!
God: I betcha I'll make you holler you've had enough! Give it to me!
Damon: Give me that stuff, that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff
God: Say what?
Damon: Give it to me! Give me that stuff, that funk, that sweet, that funky stuff!
God: Say what?
Damon: Give it to me, give it to me! Give it to me, give it to me!
God: Give me your stuff, that sweet, that funky stuff!
Damon: Yo-ho, ow!
God: JAM!
Damon: Hey, girl!
God: Give it to me what you say? Give it to me what you say!
Damon:Give it to me!
God: What you say?
Damon: Give it to me!
God: What you say?
Damon: Hey, girl!
God: Give it to me, what you say? Give it to me what you say?
Damon: Give it to me, give it to me!
God: Hey, girl!
Damon: Give it to me what you say? Give it to me what you say? Give it to me, give it to me!
God: Give it to me what you say? Give it to me right away!
Damon: Give it to me, give it to me!
God: Give it to me what you say!
Damon: AWESOME!
God: I think we're ready for some off key karaoke.
Damon: For sure.
God: Rock on. I'll call you in morning, see what's up.
Damon: Fair enough.
God: Give it to me, what you say?
Damon: Give it to me right away!
God: Give it to me. Give it to me.
Damon: PEACE.
God: And I'm OUT!

Old Zombie Bastard for President in 08!

"I don't have no trouble with you fuckin me, but I have a little problem with you not fuckin me."

RIP, ODB, AKA BBJ. I know it's been a while, but I've been bumping his shit in my car. And the soundtrack to Office Space. And no I don't look like Michael Bolton while doing it, though I have mock-lowered the volume during one song in homage.

Thursday, June 09, 2005

Q:Q?

Peeps have been asking me what's going on with my script for Q. And I guess I haven't talked about it much because there have been some curious developments.

Originally I waS set to write a romantic comedy as a vehicle for my buddy the Winged Serpent, and we went through about ten drafts. He kept giving me notes, and I had to fight him every step of the way. Here's a parody of our conversations:

Q: Can't you make me romantic in this scene?
Damon: I could, but we don't want to overdo it.
Q: The audience has to fall in love with me, though.
Damon: I know, but you can't force that in scene one, and having you in bed with five hot eighteen year olds isn't gonna make your case.
Q: But it's funny.
Damon: How is it funny?
Q:...
Damon: ....
Q: What if they're dead?

And on and on. We finally got a working draft, and then Q sent it out to a bunch of people. It got to Kirsten Dunst, I guess, and her people got really excited about it. But, of course, they wanted someone else for the lead. And guess who told me I couldn't sell it without him attached?

Regardless of that, Dunst's people are now setting it up without Q to star her and Ashton Kutcher in shitty makeup. As I type Thomas Lennon and Ben Garrant are rewriting it so I won't be able to fight in arbitration. And I was told by their people if I do fight it, then my career will be kaputz. And guess who gets the story by credit? Not me. Q. It's an endless cycle of disappointments, but it feels good writing it down. I did meet Leia (no relation to anyone famous) and I found that we had some chemistry. I could tell she felt sorry for me when they had to escort me out. I gave her my number, though. So I have that going for me.

My day in a nutshell (True Story)

As I approach the elevator to leave work, I don't even have to press the button. I hear a ding, and out stolls a cutie who smiles at me. As I walk into the elevator, I understand the meaning of her smile.

She farted, and the elevator reeks of ass.

On the third floor someone enters the elevator with me, and at that point there is nothing you can say or do to not seem culpable. A minute earlier I thought I was flirting.

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Here come the Warm Jets

God: Damon!
Damon: Oh, hey.
God: What's up?
Damon: Not much, G, how you doing?
God: Well you know, always busy. What's up, I haven't heard from you in like forever.
Damon: Well, I'm still having the Sith conversations, so I figured I'd stay away.
God: What you don't want to talk about how Tom Cruise has gone nuts ad infinitum?
Damon: Maybe a little.
God: He's nuts.
Damon: Park a cow outside his house nuts.
God: Assault with a stapler gun nuts.
Damon: Dressing up as Ruth Buzzi for Christmas nuts.
God: Digitally reduced bosom nuts.
Damon: Anakin's Turn nuts.
God: Hey....
Damon: Sorry, changing your name to Aluminum nuts.
God: Good one. Telling strangers about your butt plug nuts.
Damon Signing Brett Ratner to direct X3 nuts.
God: Marrying Margot Kidder nuts.
Damon: Tara Reid nuts.
God: Thinking Paris Hilton minds that her sex tape leaked nuts.
Damon: Speaking of, is it just me or have all celebrities gone crazy? Russell with the phone, Alba with her see through top, Lindsay Lohan...
God: Don't get me started on that trollop. I gave her so many gifts, and look at her, she looks like a used condom.
Damon: Yeah. Yeah, I've been busy lately, writing, people, poker.
God: Me and Jesus have been thinking of getting a table going, but after we staged that intervention with Mordecai, things have been slow on that front.
Damon: The best part of that was that you guys did it the same week as the OC did it.
God: I know, I felt so bad. It was like "Hey, The O.C.'s over, and we're doing the same to you!
Damon: Yeah.
God: And the problem is, me and the boys LOVE to drink, we go out every weekend. So when M gets back it'll be like... Can he come along? How do we work this?
Damon: I dunno, it's difficult.
God: You wanna do Batman Begins opening night?
Damon: Totally, though is it at the Chinese?
God: We can always do the Grove if worse comes to it.
Damon: Fair enough.
God: Don't be a stranger now. And quit being so fucking whiny on your blogs. "Meow, meow meow, I'm not meeting girls." Hang out with us more, bitch!
Damon: I tried that, and it's like I'm your roadie. I can't compete with your shit.
God: Work you mojo, bitch.
Damon: "Hey, I'm not really much of anything yet, but I've been told I'm a good investment."
God: Told it by God.
Damon: urgh.
God: Ciao.
Damon: Ciao, God.

Monday, June 06, 2005

No Offense, Brett Ratner

But here's the thing. What summer superhero movies have worked? The Spidey Films, The X-men films. What hasn't? Pretty much everything else (Hulk notwithstanding). What has worked is passionate directors with a strong take on the material. If Batman Begins works, and The Fantastic Four doesn't, more evidence. Hollywood is running out of blockbusters and franchises, and giving the keys to a director who's well known for talking on his phone before during and after a take is a sign that Fox is more worried about hitting a release date (like they did with Alien3 and Fantastic Four) then nuturing a viable franchise, especially with the shoot set to begin in two months. It's one thing to bag on a company for making crass business deicisions based on greed, but it feels worse to try and advise them in making obviously business decisions. The one caveat is if Ratner has a real take. Prove me wrong, Brett Ratner. Prove me wrong.

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Saturday, June 04, 2005

Off the cuff top ten for the last ten years

1) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2) In The Mood for Love
3) Kikujiro
4) The Mission (1999)
5) Sympathy for Mr. Vengence
6) Jackie Brown
7) The Thin Red Line
8) Spirited Away
9) Fight Club
10) The Insider (edging out Knock Off)

I will probably rethink this and change my mind, considering I edited this moments after posting.

"I'll see you in Vegas"

Ummm, I just threw on Over the Top, and this is one of the funniest movies ever made. Dramatic arm wrestling contests taken seriously, I mean Dodgeball was funny for a reason, it's FUCKING DODGEBALL. With a Gorgio Moroder score, this is a masterpiece of camp. Only Canon could make Over the Top, and for that I salute you, Menahem Golan. I salute you.

Friday, June 03, 2005

State of the Union Undressed

- Home again, Home Again Jiggedy Jig: My drive to work is broken into four parts, with those four parts emphasized on the way home. The first is the leg from work to Olive, the second on Olive to the end of the Warner Brothers lot, the next from WB to the 101, and the last leg from 101 to home. Usually the first two parts are the quickest. Sometimes I get lucky and it's only a 20-25 minute drive (as it is on the way in) other days it's 40, though generally not much longer. Of late the soundtrack to my driving has been You Forgot it in People, but this week has seen some Nick Cave, Radiohead, Explosions in the Sky and The Stooges in the mix.

- I'm Dirt: Speaking of The Stooges , I've been listening to a lot of Fun House lately. It's such a sexy album. It should be noted that Iggy Pop (aka James Osterberg) came from Michigan, and he was inspired by the industrial noises around him at the time. It's interesting to think that the two of the most influential sounds of all time (Iggy and the Motown sound) were born in of all places Michigan. On some level I see a parallel between the two. Listening to Fun House, the paramount of Iggy's career, is like listening to hard passionate sex. "Ooh, I've been hurt / And I don't care / Ooh, I've been hurt /And I don't care / Cause I'm burning inside/ I'm just a dreaming this life / And do you feel it? Said do you feel it when you touch me? Said do you feel it when you touch me?"

- "The undefined ennui" Life is weird right now. As I guess it should be. I've been working steady for over two months now, and I've been in Los Angeles for seven months (a little over the day). The thing I had to accept about the move is that, unlike Portland, it would take a long while to be in the position I was in in Portland: Surrounded by friends, and well connected. Here I have friends, but they're spread out, and not as oft brought together. In Portland I was well liked, here I'm forced to make new friends, and have to essentially audition more. That's the fun of it, though. But, in the move, I had to admit certain things to myself and one of them was that it would probably be a while before I met someone that might be worth considering dating. Though there have been brief flickers here and there, momentary chemistries, the move proved me right, and as I have spent some time struggling to know the city and its locales, I have yet to get to a place that has put me in the right sort of contact. Added to that is that this town is big on money and power, two things I have in relative short supply (I hope to move to a town where one's knowledge of Howard Hawks makes you a God among men), and yet anyone I meet I'd hope wouldn't find me attractive for those things. Though things are looking way up, my circle of friends doesn't include a lot of those opportunities, and even though I'm an incredibly picky dater, it's nice to even have the illusion of an almost relationship to draw upon. As I look back, there's usually someone that if I'm not dating, that I'm circling. Mixed in with it is that my schedule is usually ass backwards, Monday through Thursday night I generally either don't get home until 9 or 10, or get home briefly and get back by 10 or later, whereas my weekends tend to be more open (which has been good as it gives me the time to write, which I always have things to write about).

The big thing is, as I realized while conceptualizing this blog entree, was that life is filled with contradictions, and it's best to just shut up. When you're in a relationship you want to be single. When you're single, you want to be with someone. When you're out sometimes you want to be home, when you're home, you want to be out. As Renton said, I guess the best cure is heroin.

Michael Mann's favorite film is Apocalypse Now?

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/film/features/story.jsp?story=643558

Who knew?

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Zizek on Sith

http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/2122/

"And--back to the Revenge of the Sith--the price for the film's sticking to these same New Age motifs is not only its ideological confusion, but, simultaneously, its inferior narrative quality. These motifs are why Anakin's transformation into Darth Vader--the series' pivotal moment--lacks the proper tragic grandeur. Instead of focusing on Anakin's hubris as an overwhelming desire to intervene, to do Good, to go to the end for those he loves and thus fall to the Dark Side, Anakin is simply shown as an indecisive warrior who is gradually sliding into Evil by giving way to the temptation of Power, by falling under the spell of the evil Emperor. In other words, Lucas lacked the nerve to really apply his parallel between the shift of the Republic to Empire and of Anakin to Darth Vader. Anakin should have become a monster out his very excessive attachment with seeing Evil everywhere and fighting it."

You sweet sexy bitch, you.