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Monthly Archives: April 2004
Kill Bill: Volume 2
You either like Quintin Tarantino movies or you don’t. I’m a fan. Especially the dialogue. His characters say things that sound perfectly natural within the context of the movie but would never be heard in real life (whatever that is). I thought the same thing when I first saw David Mamet’s House of Games. Tarantino would seem to be a fan of David Carradine but was only 9 years old when Kung Fu was on TV. Same for Michael Parks, who is wonderful in Volume 2. Tarantino would have been six years old in 1969 when Jim Bronson rode his motorcycle across the country in Then Came Bronson. And while I know less than zero about cinematography, there was a wonderful, surreal quality to the second Kill Bill. I won’t even try to describe it. Finally, if for no other reason, see the movie for the yummy Uma Thurman.
KBOA characters
“Steve, if my memory serves me correctly, you and tom colvin use to play characters when you both were at KBOA. what were they? I just remember when I was little going to a picnic of some sort on the front lawn of the radio station and one or both of you being dressed in drag? Have I lost my mind? thanks, Eric Raspberry, former Kenneth resident”
No, Eric, you haven’t lost your mind. During the Early Days I made many sacrifices for my art, including dressing in drag. I don’t recall Tom Colvin stooping so low but that was due, in part, to the challenge of finding nice things in his size.
Mellon Farmers
I watched Mississippi Burning (for the 5th or 6th time) on A&E last week. The movie has the appropriate amount of profanity for that time and place. As is the custom of network censors, they replaced offending words with “safe” ones. “Fucking” became “freaking,” and so forth. This never works and merely forces the viewer to do an on-the-fly translation and makes the profanity stand out where it would normally flow in context. In Die Hard with A Vengeance, we hear Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis frequently call the bad guys “mellon farmers.” Mellon farmer? Oh, motherfucker! Okay, you know what I’m talking about.
How do they accomplish this? It sure sounds like Gene Hackman, Samuel L. Jackson and Bruce Willis saying the sanitized naughty word. At the end of shooting the movie, did they go into a studio with a list of replacement words and phrases. I know they get paid a lot of money but I have a hard time picturing Gene Hackman doing this. Do they find unknown actors to mimic the star voices? Or, do they grab safe words/phrases from other parts of the movie and insert them as needed? That sounds like a tall order. I’m hoping that one of you knows somebody that knows somebody that knows the answer to this mystery. stevemays@hotmail.com
There are only two industries
There are only two industries. This has always been true. There is the industry of things, and the industry of entertainmnet. The industry of things comes first. It keeps us alive. But making things is easy now. This is not a very interesting business anymore.
— The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (pg 338)
Clyde’s 60th
Friends, family and employees helped Clyde Lear celebrate his 60th birthday this week. Clyde used those years to make the world a better place (and continues to do so). A wonderful video clearly showed how much Clyde is loved and loves. I found myself wondering if such a video could be cobbled together for my 60th year (just four short years away). Might be tough. Note to self: try to make each day a highlight clip for the Final Video. I reminded Clyde that, in ancient times, Kings would grant pardons and make proclamations on their birthdays and asked if he cared to do so.
Godchecker’s Mythology Encyclopedia
More Gods than you can shake a stick at. Godchecker’s Mythology Encyclopedia currently features over 1,600 deities. Browse the pantheons of the world, explore ancient myths, and discover Gods of everything from Fertility to Fluff with the fully searchable Holy Database Of All Known Gods.
Gmail
I’m trying out the new, free email service from Google, Gmail. The big draw –in addition to “free”– is storage. A gigabyte. Which is a shit-load of email. The idea is you save ALL your email and use Googles great search tools to find stuff later. I’m not one of those that likes to save everything but I’ll reserve judgement.
Broadband Internet growing
The number of Americans with access to high-speed Internet connections either at home or work is growing. As of March 1, the Pew Internet & American Life Project finds that 68 million adult Americans log on via broadband either at home or work. Fully 48 million adult Americans have broadband connections at home. For the first time, more than half (52%) of a key demographic group college educated people age 35 and younger has broadband connections at home. But this trend will have absolutely no impact on time spent listening to your local radio station. Everything is fine. Go back to your homes.
Pet owners
According to a survey by the American Animal Hosptial Association, 73% of pet owners would go into debt in order to provide for their pet’s well being. Other findings:
20% include their pet in their will
62% celebrate their pet’s birthday. (Of that 62%, 51% sang “Happy Birthday.”)
52% include news about their pet or a photo of their pet in a holiday card
67% said they felt guilty leaving their pet home alone
47% said that when they leave their pet alone they leave on a TV or radio
–Source: AKC Family Dog Magazine