Wednesday, January 28, 2009

And now to No One, with a weather update




Why do newspeople have to go to work on days like this?  Couldn't they give weather reports in front of a webcam and broadcast that once an hour, and the rest of the time play entertaining reruns instead of cutting to 8 different reporters who are all simply "outside"?  What could be so important that everyone has to still work today... emergency personnel, electric, police, plough trucks.  That's it.  The statement that it's snowing is hardly news, if you have a window you can figure that out.  They certainly don't need multiple people to brave the roads and wait around outside to tell us this.

Now I'm not complaining, all my stuff was cancelled.  Apparently I run in reasonable circles.  But why would any typical business person have to suffer through obviously impossible transportation... our culture needs to learn to work hard when we're working, and take breaks when we need them.

On the flip side, why do cities think that they can just not plough most streets?  All day?  The snow has now completely stopped for at least 5 hours, and we've not been ploughed even once.  The economy is no excuse... they're are plenty of things that should be cut well before street maintenance.  No one's parked on our street so that's no excuse either.  Slackers.

In short, let the reporters stay home, not the ploughmen (and women?)

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Anyway, they don't know you like I do


What is it that makes Kanye's new cd so polarizing?  It seems like everyone is intent on destroying this man because... he dared venture into pop?  his "heavy use of autotone"? (really? get over yourself) we like to see our heroes fall?

Honestly I'm gonna have to go with the last one.  I must say, I like Kanye's newest set.  I LIKE his heavy use of autotone.  I like that he occasionally sings about something real, say, his feelings.  Or the cliched but ever reassuring notion that money cannot, after all, buy happiness.  And I love the track "Paranoid" so much that it's been my alarm clock song now since I bought the cd a month and a half ago.  I never, EVER keep a song longer than a week and a half.  Ever.  Think about it, if it's the first thing you hear every morning, sometimes you're hearing it in your sleep before you actually wake up, you end up singing it all day.  And who can take two full weeks of any one song?  I can.  I can take six weeks of Paranoid, and counting.

PS - If everyone hates it so bad, why is it selling so well?  




Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Philosophy of the Documentary


Photography has had the most peculiar effect on us: by simply, "objectively" recording reality, we are forced to reconsider exactly what truth is.  Documentaries take this concept further.  Can we really hope to ever accurately pinpoint some aspect of the world around us?

"You are a noose around the neck of this realm!"
DARKON trailer:
http://www.poetv.com/video.php?vid=11773


"Without him, we'd just be at home doing puzzles like everyone else"
Wordplay trailer:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/339985/Wordplay/trailers

*I particularly liked how they handled showing you the person and a digitized puzzle simultaneously when needed


"When you want your name to go down in history, you have to pay the price"
Haven't seen this yet, unfortunately
Fist Full of Quarters trailer:
http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/384804/The-King-of-Kong-A-Fist-Full-of-Quarters/trailers


The very first documentary I really remember paying attention to was a short clip about these people that worshipped colors.  Like, a rainbow.  This lady sitting in an overstuffed chair going on and on about wavelengths and energies, and her kept little husband on the armrest agreeing every time she paused for breath.  It was incredible.  It was a mocumentary, I latter came to find out, but I don't know what it's called and can't find it anymore... 

This is going to be an interesting semester.