Constant Watcher

Announcing our "Go Ahead, Make Our Watching Hour" contest!

2010-05-26T17:01:00.004-06:00

Attention Constant Watchers! We’re announcing an amazing and creative contest for you to show just how much you love The Watching Hour and its cornucopia of genre film goodness. From horror to cult classics, grindhouse to zombie, musical to foreign mind warps, our program has style and we want to see how you interpret that style on film by creating a commercial that exemplifies the spirit of our Award Winning series. The winner will be announced at The Watching Hour’s screening of PSYCHO BEACH PARTY on July 2 and will have their world premiere in front of 8,500 people at Red Rocks Amphitheater on July 6th during Film on the Rocks: RAISING ARIZONA. The ad will also be used year round by the Denver Film Society to help spread the word about The Watching Hour, getting us closer and closer to world domination!

The rules are simple:
-The commercial must be 30 seconds to 1 minute in length
-No footage from a licensed or copywritten film or character though a fresh “homage” is fine.
-You must use The Watching Hour logo in a prominent way
- Mention that The Watching Hour is every Friday & Saturday at 10pm at the Starz FilmCenter
- Mention that The Watching Hour is hosted and programmed by Keith Garcia
- Try to keep nudity and adult language to a bare minimum or feel free to playfully ‘bleep’ and ‘black bar’.
- Please submit in a USA-Region playable DVD (DVD-R, DVD+R) at XP (Highest) quality (Full screen Hi-resolution) for the public screening in Denver. No other media formats (VHS tape, etc.) will be accepted.
- Send your film or drop it off in-person no later than June 26 to:
The Watching Hour
Starz FilmCenter
900 Auraria Parkway
Denver, CO 80204

Below are four ready-to-go scenarios but feel free to create one of your own:

Scenario One (created by Jason Heller)
A spoof of Un Chien Andalou, filmed in fluttery black and white. A man sharpens a straight razor, goes out on his balcony, gazes at the moon, then picks up an old TV set that's sitting there. He then "slices open" the TV screen to reveal the Watching Hour logo.

Scenario Two (created by Cory Casciato)
Open on a regular person at a bus stop, reading a newspaper's Now Showing page, shaking head in disgust. Suddenly, a mass of zombies appear, wearing shirts representative of crappy modern film (white shirts reading things like "Michael Bay movie" "Unnecessary remake" "Sparkly Vampires" "Will Smith Vehicle" "Generic Romantic Comedy"). They run away from the zombies who, naturally, give chase (lumbering, shambling chase, but chase nonetheless). They stop several times to look back in near-panic as they maintain their relentless pursuit. Finally they round a corner – to reveal the Starz FilmCenter (with the Watching Hour poster prominently displayed!). They rush to the door and are pulled inside by welcoming "survivors" (i.e. the staff, maybe even Mr. Keith Garcia himself!) as the zombies gather outside and futilely attempt to get in. They’re smiling as the scene fades to black and the words "Escape Hollywood's mindless hordes at the Watching Hour, Fri & Sat 10 p.m." appear.

Scenario Three (created by Ben Martin)
Hambo – a muscle clad soldier of fortune – is in third-act, full flex, machine guns blazing mode. The poor men up against him are dying by the dozens, but Hambo doesn't care, his fury is so great. (Add additional carnage and mayhem to taste.) A Colonel comes up behind him: “Hambo! Hambo, it's your ol' buddy the Colonel. You saved my life back in 'Nam! You've gotta stop this madness, Hambo! The killing has to end! What's wrong, Hambo?” Hambo turns into a blubbering, crying mess in the Colonel's arms, muttering between sobs about how all he wanted to do was go to The Watching Hour, but then things all went crazy, and look at him now, etc. Cut to the Watching Hour logo (and necessary info) and the audible sobs of Hambo crying and talking about how he just wants to see a movie.

Scenario Four (also created by Ben Martin)
A young man bows before an incredibly old kung-fu master. He wants to be the best movie watcher there is. The Master laughs: “You know nothing of cinema! To become a true master, you must complete the 36 chambers of the Watching Hour!” Cut to montage of X-TREME movie watching. You could include inter-titles with the names of the different chambers, i.e. Slasher Chamber, 80s Nostalgia Chamber, Asian Horror Mindf*ck Chamber, Nunsploitation Chamber, etc. Throughout the montage, cut occasionally to Kung Fu master nodding in approval. Cut to: The student kneels before the master again. Master: “No one has ever mastered the 36 chambers of The Watching Hour so quickly! You truly are a master of cinema! What will you do now?” Student: “I want to bring The Watching Hour to the people! Everyone deserves such a rich and eclectic moviegoing experience.” Master: “What? No!” The student exclaims that all you have to do is go to The Watching Hour at the Starz FilmCenter every Friday & Saturday at 10pm and you too will be a true master of the 36 chambers of cinema!

Email the following information to keith@denverfilm.org and we will email you a hi-res version of the Watching Hour logo to use in your film.

Name:

Email address

Phone number:

Favorite film:

Watching Hour film suggestion?

Start Your Engines! RuPaul's Drag Race is a winner!

2009-02-06T16:33:00.003-07:00

Those of you reality TV lovers who've been feeling hunger pains of late without your America's Next Top Model and Project Runway, get ready for a hearty meal because Rupaul's Drag Race is on the scene! Promising to bring "Realness back to reality television" Ru doesn't disappoint. The basic conceit: Nine drag superstars come together to battle it out for $20,000, the cover and a spread in Paper Magazine, an exclusive global ad for EyeOptics and taken on a tour of every gay pride event this summer as Absolut Vodka's spokesface. Not bad considering that most of these queens have just been hoofing around their local drag revue in musty clubs working hard for a few dollar bills and some love.
RuPaul knows who his audience is and spends the first portion of every show out of drag doing his best Tim Gunn 'making it work' in a suit and glasses then switches back to Drag for the judging and manages to outbitch (and dress) Tyra Banks herself. The challenges are fun and exciting: photoshoots, making a complete outfit out of thrift and dollar store items, pairing up the ladies to work together as a girl group (hard for such individual talents) and overall, be fierce (a word I thought I'd gotten tired of but am more excited about when used in its proper context).
The real stars of the show are, of course, the girls and they are a hot little bunch. I'm sticking my neck out by claiming favorite for Denver's own drag baby contestant Nina Flowers and if you don't know this sassy bitch who performs every Sunday at Charlie's as part of their VIVID revue you need some education via this link right HERE. I say she'll take the crown of Ru's show but with such awesome judges as ANTM stylist Santino and even Bob Mackie (for God's sake!) it's hard to handicap the vote.
I'm more excited by this show over the next cycle of Top Model because whereas Tyra's show is just looking for a pretty face and girls that can "smile with their eyes", Ru is finding the cream of the crop of MEN that have learned to run in stilettos AND pull together tight make-up, outfits, and performance into one sassy package. Something that actually takes talent, not just being in the right place at the right time. One episode down and eight more to go. You can catch RuPaul's Drag Race Mondays at 9pm on the Logo channel. If you don't get Logo you can watch each week's episode in full via this link right HERE. I give the show two snaps up and a "You BETTER work!".

My Adventures In YouTube week of 12/08

2008-12-08T01:00:00.001-07:00

Best. Movie. Trailer. EVER.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 11/10

2008-11-10T00:20:00.000-07:00

Some Feist. Oh...just because. Enjoy.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 10/13

2008-10-13T00:20:00.002-06:00

I consider myself to be quite versed in the world of pop music, Madonna and Prince were the king and queen of my aural universe growing up, and I've been on the lookout for someone to pick up their mantle ever since. Britney and the others have been interesting but always seem to disappoint. So imagine my joy in getting a hot tip about a young lady from NYC named Lady GaGa that seems to have that hunger to make it that I haven't seen since Madonna proclaimed to us that she had found her Lucky Star. YouTube one of her many recent live performances to see that GaGa doesn't lip-sync, actually performs and creates something that's been missing from pop in a long time: a personality.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 9/13

2008-09-13T00:18:00.000-06:00

Belgian artist Milow has gone and done quite a bit of help in reworking 50 Cent and JTs version of "Ayo (Technology)" and even made a sweet video for it. Why couldn't this have been a slam dunk on the first try? Some artists really need to think outside the box.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 9/2

2008-09-02T00:17:00.000-06:00

Though the video isn't as cool as the one I directed in my head for it (picture french fries, bowling, Estelle in a high fashion Lady Liberty-esque frock and something involving an update of a scene from GREASE 2...for starters) I can't get Estelle's AMERICAN BOY out of my head these days. Chances are that when I drive by you on the street I'll be blasting this number. Now, this also begs the question, who wants to be MY American boy? Picture it: French fries, bowling, a Lady Liberty-esque suit for me, updates of scenes from GREASE 2, and that's just the first date.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 8/25

2008-08-25T00:16:00.000-06:00

It has been said that John Waters/drag paramour/80s disco icon DIVINE borrowed her persona from actress Isabel Sarli in FUEGO and I say that may have been one of the most incredible decisions of the 20th century.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 7/11

2008-07-11T00:15:00.000-06:00

My favorite new music video. Oh, just because...
Te quiero, Goldfrapp. Te quiero mucho.

Strawberry Letter 35

2008-07-08T00:14:00.001-06:00

Hello my love,

I return, a little worse for the wear, from the past to let you know that time traveling is not all that it's cracked up to be. After receiving your last letter I found myself consumed with waiting for your return. I looked around every corner, studied every face. None of them were you. A friend imparted that old nugget of wisdom "If you keep looking, it's not going to happen". My spine spikes at that idea. Sure, I've found lost baubles and such weeks after ceasing a focused attempt (in an overstuffed drawer, behind a heavy couch, in a jacket pocket) but the things that really matter have only been found when I put my mind to it, retrace my steps and realize how fucked I am without what I'm looking for. Like losing my house keys I just can't get anywhere without you. This search, my love, is how I came to find that I had traveled all the way back to 1994.
Like Alice chasing the white rabbit I thought I saw you one night, that familiar scent of pine needles and honey stung me like a swarm of bees, and I took flight after the source. He looked like you from behind, your shape, a faint puff of breath, that sweet smell that I remember when I washed your hair, kissing your neck as the freshwater filled my senses with such an aroma! The shape of the small hairs just six inches from your shoulder moving in the drops the way that moss dances on a submerged rock with the flow of the river. I heard a crunch of twigs underfoot and came to. I was outside of a house, a bright light illuminating the yard full of teens, drinking and laughing. I thought I would feel older than them but catching my style of dress in a window's reflection I realized that I had Quantum Leaped into a scene I had so often experienced at 16 or 17. The wind shifted and I caught the scent again coming up behind me. My heart swelled to think that it would be you to quell my disorientation but as I turned I sputtered at the sight of someone who was most certainly from my present. Someone who has become a master of time travel himself, skipping across years and memories to reside in small moments of joy that had nothing to do with the here and now. I felt a little violated that he had brought me to a time and place that was of some comfort to me but just enough pain to make me turn and run. I'd had enough confrontations with the objects of my affection at these parties to make me know what this fellow wanted from me and it wasn't what I wanted to bring back to 2008. I had been on your trail (so close!) and getting stuck in this slip of time was only going to knock me further and further away from you. I could see words coming from his mouth in my direction and so I pulled a pair of headphones (94 style) from the pocket of my windbreaker and hit play on the Walkman they were attached to. A familiar bouncing beat wrapped in devastating longing filled my ears and the words racing towards me popped like bubbles on my fingertips. I turned and ran, turning onto a long dark road lit only by the yellow stripes that ran down its middle. The song moved faster in my head and I matched the beat to your heart and aimed my thoughts on the notion that I had not lost you in 1994 but knew that I could only find you in 2008. I watched the fresh paint on the road slowly fade and crack with each step as I shot forward in time, the young man from 08 that I left in the lurch back in 94 whizzed by around 07 where he seemed content in resting. I felt bad leaving him there but I knew that if I was going to find you I had to get back to the here and now. The air rose in temperature and the thick lines that had once run under my shoes had crackled into faint reminders of themselves. I had made it back. As I caught my breath I hoped that I would smell your scent again moving on the air. Sadly, I only caught the smell of rain.
Wanna hear something odd? It turns out that the song I played on the Walkman had been from 2008. Even weirder? It was made by someone that I knew in 1994. I listen to it now and can't believe how much that song moves my calender back 14 years. Like it has taken its own journey through time to remind me of the things I left behind and of the span of that time that stands ahead of me just waiting to be reached into. I play that song everyday now, sometimes just for a moment, I like to think that you slipped that tape in when I wasn't looking while I actually lived in 94 and that you've been there with me every step of the way. Maybe you needed to go back for something yourself, a memory that had shifted and fallen back behind some heavy boxes, and it was indeed you that I had caught on the wind. The tape in my player was your postcard saying that you missed me. Well my love, I'm sending you back a paper kiss from 2008. I wish you were here, where you belong.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 06/09

2008-06-09T00:09:00.002-06:00

Miranda July is a genius. Whether writing/directing/starring in the amazing film ME YOU AND EVERYONE WE KNOW or just writing period, she is smart, funny and a little off her nut. She recently released a collection of short stories which you can learn more about via her awesome website HERE. I just came to discover a couple of videos she made to publicize the release of the stories in paperback. Enjoy. There are three but note that one is a link. Seriously, enjoy.

THIS IS A LINK TO TAKE YOU TO THE SECOND VIDEO

My Adventures In YouTube week of 6/01

2008-06-01T00:05:00.000-06:00

I went to high school with the musical mastermind of the new wall of sound that is HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR and I can't believe how great the songs are. Not that I didn't think Mr. Butler was capable of creating such well crafted booty shakers but that 13 years was how long it took to get a peek into his heart and hear the sweet sounds just waiting to bust out. Featured here is a video for "Blind" featuring the incomparable Antony on vocals.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 5/4

2008-05-04T00:02:00.000-06:00

Often my favorite music videos are for songs that have little to no words in them. It's like watching a blank canvas come to life. Recently French electro-duo Justice have been pretty smart in selecting some top notch folk to direct videos based on their songs. Their latest video for their song "STRESS" is pretty great. Full of nail biting tension and visual discomfort. You want to turn it off but just can't. I've attached it below, followed by the cheerier graphic design-a-palooza vid to their song "DVNO". That one rocks too.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 3/17

2008-03-17T00:20:00.001-06:00

I’m a big lover of the music duo known as Goldfrapp. The sweet honey of Alison Goldfrapp’s voice and the electrifying heat of Will Gregory’s music make for a lovely remedy to the most broken ear. Their last two albums have been of the fast paced, sex-kitten variety (which I adore) but I’ve heard a lot of folks complaining of their new album, Seventh Tree, being a big, quiet downer. I choose not to listen to that rattle and just let the album, which is a great bridge back to their debut Felt Mountain, cover me like a pile of cool leaves. To that, I offer exhibit A&E.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 3/03

2008-03-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

Imagine one of those urban legends about a star-crossed couple from the late 50's that ends up driving off of a cliff on a dark and windy road near Lover's Lane. When the police find the car with their bodies inside the radio is still on and playing a song. I'd like to think that The Raveonettes are the music that's stuck on that radio station for eternity. I like these guys, even more since it's apparent that they have a sense of humor to go along with their spooky licks. Enjoy their new video.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 2/10

2008-02-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

I watch a lot of television and I've always been intrigued by what it takes to deliver a product and message in 30 seconds AND make me pee my pants laughing. The following Orbitz Gum commercial has been out for at least a year but it makes me smile everytime I see it. What the french, toast?!

Strawberry Letter 33

2008-02-09T00:17:00.001-07:00

As I woke up this morning through a lucidity that was the silky red of a cup of pomegranate tea I was reminded of the fact that you weren't lying next to me. I was also reminded of my sweet imagination lulling me to sleep with the make-believe that seemed so real of your beautiful arm around me. The warm sensation of your chest against my back and your light breath slowly blowing like a metal brush on a cymbal around my ear.
From your last short letter I culled some optimism that you may be making a visit soon. Even my close friends thought good of your notion. I hoped you were finally ready for things to happen the way we'd both once dreamt that they could. Yet this morning's rising left me with a hollow feeling in my gut and a crack in my heart. I've begun to feel lately that I'm like the ancient giant squid. Floating around deep in the cold recesses of the ocean, patient for your appearance. Should you come swimming by please don't mistake my arm's reach for an attack. I've merely got ten arms to hold you and I don't plan on letting you go, just return the embrace as a sign for "Yes."

My Adventures In YouTube week of 1/24/08

2008-01-24T00:14:00.000-07:00

Feist is simply wonderful. Like sharing a milkshake with someone you love, her music is indescribable. Sure, everyone got tired of her "1,2,3,4" after Apple stretched it thin but her new single "I Feel It All" and its accompanying visuals bust the gate wide open for great new videos in 2008. Enjoy a few minutes of bliss.

Keith's Favorite Music Videos of 2007

2008-01-01T00:22:00.002-07:00

I'm a rather visually stimulated guy so I thought I'd give some kudos to a few music videos (and it really is a few, the art of the music video has taken a giant downfall in the last two years) that got me watching them over and over again in 2007. In no particular order:

BAT FOR LASHES - What's A Girl To Do?
Call her Donna Darko but this clip took all of the mood and dread of Richard Kelly's cult film and whisked it in a bowl with a little dark chocolate and champagne. The result is delicious.

KANYE WEST - Good Life
The rap video has evoloved into a very boring formula as of late. Gather your crew. Call up some hot chicks. Gather some bling and shiny cars. Get in real tight to the camera and just rap. Rinse. Repeat. Mr. West not only avoids those cliches (especially for a song about success) but he makes a point to keep things nice and colorful. Amid his penchant for Cosby sweaters and Sesame Street fun he's made the rap video vibrant again.

M.I.A. - Jimmy
Going low tech in a video can sometimes look like you're trying too hard but M.I.A.'s disco/ Bollywood cover just screams for a little eye candy. Some felt she was exploiting Indian culture with her vision I say she was giving it a tweak and a kiss at the same time.

PETER, BJORN & JOHN - Young Folks
There's nothing worse than hearing a catchy tune over and over again and then finding that the video lands with a dull thud. Thankfully this little animated gem gives the song even more of a bubble-gum pop sheen than it already had.

SIMIAN MOBILE DISCO - Hustler
I love when a video has two versions because one was a little more "out there". This was the more disturbing but far more brilliant version. I always enjoy a video for a dance song that makes me uncomfortable in ways that I haven't felt since Chris Cunningham and Aphex Twin were making nightmares come true.

CHARLOTTE HATHERLEY - Behave
I've already praised this video this week but for good reason. The video just succeeds in being more than an illustration (literally) for a tune but ends up becoming a complete short film, with a vison, story and characters, which the best music videos of yesterday were so successful in doing.

RIHANNA - Umbrella
Not just the single of the year but also one of the best videos too. It's got singing, dancing, sex appeal and visual power. If "Singing In The Rain" were ever to get a worthy update, this would be it.

KID SISTER - ProNails
Truthfully, I'm a sucker for a cute gimmick. Walking, dancing fingers just does it for me. What should have been a throwaway video for a throwaway style song ends up being fun and enjoyable. Oh look, and there's Kanye again...

SNOOP DOGG - Sensual Seduction
Is it retro? Is it from the future? Is it over the top? Is it sincere? This love letter to sex, Prince, George Clinton and blaxploitation hits all the right notes.

FEIST - 1234
All those Apple commercials might pull some of the joy out of this piece but if ever a video were to showcase what the artist was all about this would be it. One magazine called it a clash of the hula dance from the Dirty Dancing talent show and Spike Jones' bizarre dance troupe. Either way, it's delightful.

NINE INCH NAILS - Survivalism
Funny how the videos that get censored always involve voyeurism. Like Madonna's "Justify My Love" this one has been tweaked with over its visuals of gay sex and nudity. Despite the hangup it pulls you in just the way it wants you to and delivers its social message by making you do what its talking about.

GWEN STEFANI - Four In The Morning
There's a moment about 2 minutes into this video that the camera stays with Gwen's face for about 30 seconds (which is long for a video) and we can see see all of the obsession, worry and frustration that Ms. Stefani is singing about. It's a testament to director Sophie Mueller longtime collaboration with Gwen that makes her videos seem like an honest confession. Oh yeah, and she has REALLY good hair in this video too.

JUSTICE - D.A.N.C.E.
I love when simple concepts come out looking great. Just like a simple icon on a tee shirt. It only asks that you look for a second.

CIARA - Promise
I like my R&B videos a certain way. Sexy, smoky and H-O-T-T (the second T is very important) Ciara's got all of that here and in ways that don't make her seem like a helpless doll. Her masculinity, evidenced in her dance sequence, is something she's obviously at peace with alongside her femininity.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 12/31

2007-12-31T00:14:00.000-07:00

This was one of my favorite videos of the year that I'm pretty sure hasn't gotten much play on the ol' MTV. It's from a little artist named Charlotte Hatherley (for her song "Behave")and this video is just a perfect mix of animation, live action, music and theme. Actually, it actually transcends the word of music video to become more of a great short film...

Emotionally Charged Towel #14

2007-11-27T00:12:00.001-07:00

To a singleton, there's no worse feeling than sitting down at a restaurant by yourself and having the host quickly pull all of the additional silverware, etc. off of the table before you have a chance to slide your lonesome self into a suddenly cavernous booth. I can almost hear them say "Well, you won't be needing all this will you? I've got a very large party of happily coupled folks that can certainly use these utensils more than you. In fact, I'll seat them right next to you so you can hear and see them nuzzle and laugh together all night. Now can I get you something to drink or did you want to get started on that game of Tetris on your phone before you place your order?".
Sometimes I want to lie and tell them to keep one extra setting around because someone "might" be joining me, but then they would just keep circling around waiting for that imaginary other to appear and thus keep them from processing my order in any quick amount of time. Then when no one eventually came I would become "stood up" chatter for the staff and they would resort to putting little smiley faces on the bill with an extra mint as if to say "No worries, luv. You'll be gangbusters next time and you'll have to fight off additional diners at your table. Now freshen your breath and skulk out the back if you don't mind."
Who's to say that while I dine alone some other solo flyer wouldn't become hypnotized by the sight of me forking lettuce and ranch dressing into my maw and feel a pressing need to forgo all social barriers and invite himself over to join me? Or at least ask me to quiet it down because he can hear me chewing over his tense game of phone Tetris.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 11/22

2007-11-22T00:04:00.001-07:00

When I think of the 1990's I automatically think of the video work of David Fincher (director of ALIEN3, SEVEN, FIGHT CLUB, ZODIAC and other moody greats). He brought a style and creativity to music videos that is surely missing today. I've rounded up some of my favorites (sorry, but YouTube won't let me embed George Michael's FREEDOM) of his for you to reaquaint or be introduced. Be sure to check out Madonna's BAD GIRL. That video is particularly stellar.

Paula Abdul: COLD HEARTED SNAKE

Aerosmith: JANIE'S GOT A GUN

Billy Idol: CRADLE OF LOVE

Madonna: BAD GIRL

My Adventures In YouTube week of 10/18

2007-10-18T00:02:00.000-06:00

Though only featuring 21 words sung over and over again over a mixed Chaka Khan track, Stardust's "The Music Sounds Better With You" is a song that fails to leave my CD collection. The group (which featured Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk) is simple, steady and surprisingly not annoying for a dance track. Early in his great career Michel Gondry directed the video which reminds me of my own summer days as a kid watching the MTV Top Video Countdown and drawing pictures. Man, I'm getting old.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 10/02

2007-10-02T00:00:00.001-06:00

I was reminded the other day about the old TV show SOLID GOLD that used to play when I was growing up. For those unfamiliar a cache of dancers wearing skimpy outfits and nude pantyhose shimmied and shook their own dance routines to that week's Top 10 music hits. It really was something. Pop music and a little skin for the heteros, dance routines and spangles for the homos and all flash flash and jazz hands. This was truly one of those shows that you look at and think "Wow. That really would never work today would it?". Well, Darcel and all you crazy dancers, thanks for the memories.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 9/21

2007-09-21T23:59:00.000-06:00

Picture it. Sicily. 1986. A young Keith Garcia (about 9) is hanging out watching HBO. Suddenly a movie starts and right out of the gate a song comes on and Keith is enthralled. The movie: Walter Hill's Streets Of Fire. Why: the Music, the Music, lone wolf Michael Pare, baby-faced Diane Lane belting out rock tunes and sweet cheeked Willam Dafoe. The movie looks and sounds unlike anything I had ever witnessed at the time(and most things I see nowadays). I want everyone to see this little rock fable and pump their fist in the air with joy. Here's the original trailer. Be sure to turn your volume up nice and loud.

Emotionally Charged Towel #13

2007-09-16T23:56:00.001-06:00

I've recently likened my luck with men to my luck with playing the powerball. When I lay down my money on a ticket (usually only when the jackpot equals a number that I'm enticed by) I do it on the day of the drawing so that I have a few hours to fantasize about winning the money. I figure out what my lump sum would be and begin spending backwards from there. To be without debt, to see my family and friends content with things I could finally help them out with, to own a house, to actually be able to get my own film projects off the ground, to have some security for the future. Oh, the ways that an ass load of money can make the world go round. I smile for my few hours until the drawing, positive that I actually stand a chance in being awarded a giant novelty check with a whole lotta zeroes on it. Then I check the numbers and I'm not even close to having one of the numbers. Ce la vie. Into the shredder with the ticket and back to fastidiously balancing my checkbook.
When I become interested in someone, be it over the course of months, days, even seconds across a room, I hear the ticket printing out of the machine. I then know it's only a matter of time to the big reveal so I begin filling the slots in my life with the winnings of a rich relationship. Waking up with someone next to me. Sharing a movie with someone who wants to hold my hand. Meeting their friends and family. Being inspired by their own ambitions. Fighting when things wrong. Making up when things go right again. Tasting foods that they've made that no one else can make like them. Adding their playlists to mine. Having someone to scratch my back when I can't reach it. Knowing the intimate details of their touch. Crying because he knows how to get to me. Losing my breath because he knows how to make me laugh. Having a guy to know who wants to know me. There's a lot riding on this type of lottery.
Usually though, the drawing ends up a bust. Either they're straight, they've got more issues than a comic book shop, or something just didn't fit. Ce la vie. I gave it a shot.
I fuss with the love lotto though everyday because I see that the potential payout is greater than any chunk of change could ever be. I know that I'll keep trying because I actually have a shot at a reward that I deserve and so I'll dream of the day that I can accept that giant novelty check with some great guy's name written in the 'dollars' slot and a whole bunch of hearts where the zeroes would have been.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 9/10

2007-09-10T23:53:00.001-06:00

Ahh. Camp. Eighties. Really gay.
That's all I need to describe this gem, former soap star Brenda Dickson's personal video homage "Welcome To My Home". What could be better? How about a recent spoof by my new favorite funny ladies at JulieandJackie.com
Why would Ms. Dickson have done such a thing? Lord knows, but I'm glad no one ever questioned her. Original followed by the remake.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 9/1

2007-09-01T23:47:00.000-06:00

I love love LOVE cover songs! Even more when the song covered is very obscure like M.I.A.'s decision to cover a song from a 1983 Bollywood film called Disco Dancer. I remember watching that movie when I was a kid on a UHF station we had out here that often played Bollywood films with no subtitles. Oh, M.I.A. you have my heart now. Below is the new version followed by the original:

My Adventures In YouTube week of 8/27

2007-08-27T23:46:00.000-06:00

I'll admit. I'm kind of in love with the Angry Nintendo Nerd. Sure...we'd burn fast and hot and then I'd have to wrangle my way out of the relationship due to his 'issues'. I've really got to stop liking guys with more issues than a comic book shop.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 8/20

2007-08-20T23:44:00.000-06:00

CHUNGKING EXPRESS. If you've never watched the film, you really should. I'm a firm believer in the idea that if you pay attention, all of life's answers can be found in this one movie.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 8/12

2007-08-12T23:38:00.002-06:00

Nothing brings me joy quite like Sparks. The brothers Mael are the perfect mix: 5% weird, 10% haunting, 15% queer and all the rest is just awesome.

My Adventures In YouTube week of 8/6

2007-08-06T23:36:00.000-06:00

This video always reminds me of the freewheeling reckless days I always thought were waiting around the corner... but never were.

Strawberry Letter 31

2007-07-07T23:34:00.000-06:00

(photo from Matthew Porterfield's HAMILTON)
Dearest,

You've never had the pleasure of doing so but I was recently noticing that my bedroom is a wonderful place to wake up. Perhaps I've always taken it for granted, my mornings are usually a time when I grudgingly awake just to jump in the shower and speed off to work, but just today things caught me by surprise. For starters, the light is just perfect. A five dollar purchase of some thin red curtains has turned the sunlight to honey. You realize that it's morning without having to be blasted awake with a forced recognition. This creates a nice cobble stone pathway from dreams to lucidity that's just long enough to carry a lemon tinged dream or two into reality with you. The walls alongside my bed feature a few posters of Pedro Almodovar films that carry his signature mixed colors and textured lettering, opening your eyes to this kaleidoscope works well with the painting on the back of your eyelids, filled as they are with a map of the cosmos that glows and sparkles with the power of REM. Lately the temperature of the morning has been just right. If you catch a chill the cat will probably wrap your feet in his fur and purr to a slight massage.
Without you here I'm been sleeping diagonally: head North-East, feet South-West. With you I'd be sure to give you pick of your favorite side and latitudinal preference. I imagine that with you on my side waking up every morning would take on an even greater pleasure. I'd welcome the slight change in temperature and scent of your shampoo on the pillowcase. The beating of your heart and the wisps of your breath a lovely mix to the chirps of birds outside who, though they can fly, will never be lucky enough to experience what I would every day. Though I'm sure branches and leaves would feel like cotton candy with you there at eight o'clock every morning.

Strawberry Letter 29

2007-05-27T23:32:00.003-06:00

Dearest,

Some amputees deal with an ailment known as "phantom limb". They're so used to living with all of their parts that when one is taken away from them they continue to operate and act as if the piece was never gone, until they try to use the limb and find nothing. It can cause great shock and dispair and often delays the recovery of the patient as they continually have a hard time getting used to the absence over and over again.
I suppose I've been used to you being gone for some time now, that I live each day assuming that you are there with me. I feel just like everyone else and go about my daily tasks. Then I reach for you beside me at night and find nothing were I expected to feel your warm and familiar body. I think I'm over the initial shock of this occurance but hate to think that I'll ever fully recover to the notion of your absence. That I'm different from all of the others that have full use of all their parts, some of whom take it for granted. I could seek out a prosthetic but know that my body would reject something that didn't have you coursing through it. I'll continue to nurse this wound and hope that you're keeping yourself on ice until the time is just right for reattachment.

Love,
Me

Strawberry Letter 27

2007-05-07T23:31:00.002-06:00

Hello my love,

I thought about you this weekend on a sky like mushroom soup. I reminded a pair I know that umbrellas work better for two if you link arms. It's the only way that you can keep pace in the rain. I wondered where such a golden nugget of knowledge had come from. I finally settled on the paper pink notion that you had given me that tip long ago as a way of keeping your smile in my thoughts on rainy days. It's like how I keep your favorite drink around for a nip and your brand of smokes hidden in my cupboard. It seems silly but I just want you to know that a vanilla sight comes to mind every time I open a drawer looking for a hammer and see those cigarettes with the cellophane keeping them fresh until you come over, wet like a cat in the drink with no umbrella, and find that in your panic to outrun the heavens you dropped your last two sticks in a quickly racing mini stream. Though we both know you should quit, you really needed one especially after all that is bursting from your head to tell me. And I'll listen with a sweet ear while I turn the heat up just a notch to dry out your shoes by the vent. I'm clueless as to how many cigarettes are in a pack but I look forward to stretching out their lifetime across those days that may seem insignificant as they go by but are expensive to cash in later when they're gone.
I sat through a late show of the film AMELIE wishing that I could turn to you at all the right moments and appreciate that I had found you like the heroine finds her nerdy hero after years of not knowing he was always there. I wish that the theater had invested in those fancy seats where the arms come up so that I could lay in the nook of your arm as our faces flickered romantic reflections like a a slide show spun forward to catastrophic speeds. Your heart sounds like a projector sprocket running and it lulls me to calm. I imagine the film being shown from your gigantic eyes. In Cinemascope, of course.
I continue to look for you in the faces I see everyday and wish that you would hurry up and figure things out already so that I could wind these clocks again. Their blue faces would light up like a lightning bolt caught in gooey molasses and quietly tick away our time together again. Until that day I just continue to tell time by the warm sun and fall asleep in the night when the waiting for you turns me to a million drops of water cascading down to clean the slate and start over anew.

Until the next drop,
Keith

Emotionally Charged Towel #12

2007-05-04T23:30:00.001-06:00

Another trip down memory lane, courtesy of 18 year old Keith and some spring cleaning. I think I like this poem more than the last story I put up. Maybe I'm just being a hopeless romantico...

You want to call him PRETTY
But you just know that he'd laugh
At your uncreative choice of adjectives
But there's just no other way to describe him

CUTE doesn't do him justice
He's way past that level of playground good looks
Tether balls and cootie tag spring to mind before his flawless face does

You could call him HANDSOME assuming
That fashion catalog male models wouldn't take offense
At your gall for comparing their stylish Armani tastes
To his penchant for clothes that don't always have to fit him snug

You could easily call him SEXY but
There's just much more to him than that
Though he gives you those thoughts
That shake around your insides

You want to call him PRETTY
But you know he'll laugh again
With visions of poofy hostesses
All dressed to the nines
And tens and twenties too

You'll understand his not understanding
Your need to find a word to explain
All of the ways he makes you feel
When it's just the two of you together
And that PRETTY doesn't quite cut it
So you want to call him PRETTY
And you probably will
But when he's not around
And you keep writing dumb poetry about him
You know you'll want to call him PRETTY
But you should just call him BEAUTIFUL

Emotionally Charged Towel #11

2007-05-02T23:28:00.001-06:00

I was looking through some old writings of mine from my younger years and I found this sad little tale. A few months away from my 30th birthday, I couldn't help but remember how I felt when at wrote it at 18, and if I'd changed any since then. Forgive the dramatics it was high school baby...

Once upon a time there was a boy. This boy was the happiest most doggone, whipsmart little boy that ever walked this planet. One day, without expecting to, the boy fell in love. He fell in love so deep that he thought he'd never get out, and he was right. He'd built himself a pit so far into the ground that the strongest ropes in the world couldn't pull him out. So he climbed for months and months until, miraculously, he finally emerged out of the hole he'd been stuck in for so long. When he got out, he ran away, promising never to fall in love ever again. So he kept his eyes cautiously to the ground but he couldn't help looking for love and always falling into places that were way too deep for him. It wasn't that he minded the fall, he just didn't like getting in over his head and perhaps looking was the problem. So he decided to stop looking and just go about his business and maybe, when he wasn't looking, he'd accidentally fall somewhere that he actually fit comfortably in and felt protected.
But everyday he continued to fall, and fall hard, Never quite landing on his feet so that his body felt sore all over. One day he plunged head first into another deep hole and landed with a familiar thud. He didn't know why he had stepped into this hole but it almost felt like he had to. There was almost a safety, a comfort, inside this new place but it went against the boy's better judgement and he tried not to linger too long but couldn't help it. The typical climbs out of all of his previous falls was always tough and harder than he liked. But this fall was different. He didn't feel like he did after getting out of all the other places. He didn't feel alone like he usually did, he felt a steady peace. So instead of heading up the rocky wall towards the light he'd seen so often he merely settled into a corner of this new and inviting space and went right to sleep.

Strawberry Letter 25

2007-04-16T23:26:00.000-06:00

Dearest,

I hope this reaches you in time, I have so much to tell you.
I thought I saw you tonight in a sea of bobbing pink heads. The music wafting away swayed the landscape into a unique design. To be honest, I picked up your faint aroma at first. Like the sun burning through an orange grove already a day lost in its own fire, it shocked my senses just in time to calm them. Just when I thought we would be reunited there was a clash of cymbal and a flash of the strings. It wasn't you but one of the many sent here in your place to confuse and strengthen me. It's not fair. I'm tired of flexing this muscle.
I remember your eyes that day that we separated, the iris was an island that I'd have to be lost in a storm to find. Why its been this long I'll never know, or someday I will and that's when you'll come back. Bright as a light and with that protective layer like you never left, I promise never to doubt myself or why you were there. The piece you took is yours. I've never taken my eyes of the piece I took from you. Perhaps I thought I could burn a new you out of it if I just held my gaze. LIke a diamond from the coal you'd be there.
I'm not sure if this will get to you this time but I'll keep trying like I do. Your last note was nice but full of questions that smelled like licorice. I couldn't help but turn them into a list like groceries and keep it with me always. Years we've been apart but this apricot abscence is serving my heart full with fondness.

Take care.
Keith

Emotionally Charged Towel #10

2007-01-02T23:18:00.000-07:00

I first laid ears upon The The's song LOVE IS STRONGER THAN DEATH during the end credits of Gregg Araki's film NOWHERE. I was alarmed to find that the soundtrack CD did not contain the song so I had to hunt it down.
Everytime I get cold and feel the sting of snow in my hand this song comes in around the edges. A YouTube of the song is above for added wintertime exposure. Ps- Don't worry, I'm not turning all Goth and Saddoe on y'all. In fact here's a video below to turn your frown upside down again!

Emotionally Charged Towel #9

2006-12-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Oh there is nothing like the tingle in your head when you come across a song that seems to want you to discover it. It wafts into your ears and eventually your spine, finally settling into your bloodstream. It clicks like a series of gears and pulleys and just seems to start a hum in your head that feels like it was always supposed to be there. The latest song to give me this feeling is from former Canadian folkie turned hot popular singer Nelly Furtado and her Timbaland produced song SAY IT RIGHT.
On the surface, Timbaland constructed a fanatastic beat and flow that turns the song into a kind of urban dream complimented by Ms. Furtado's simple and sweet lyrics. Deep down I see that the song works for me by coming at an introspective time in my life.
As I close 2006 and step towards 2007 (and what will be my 30th year moving around this planet) I look at what directions I am trying to grow towards as a person and have especially found myself focused on over the last two months. 90% of my mind is often aimed at adventures of a romantic nature and this year had a couple of incidents that did a number on me. I'm proud to say that I'm actually learning to let go of situations that only serve to complicate my life and mind and move towards relationships that will actually work for me. I can clearly see the things that I actually want in a companion and not just the things that I don't want. That's one gigantic checker hop across the board. King me.
SAY IT RIGHT moved through my mind as a song with lyrics I've heard myself say in my own head. I too have tried to steer people into certain directions while trying to show that I myself am flawed and looking to change. I try hard because I want a companion who will come along with me so we can support each other on our endeavours. I end up, however, singing this song to someone who doesn't want me to sing to them. Someone who's happy not hearing anything at all. They think that I don't care about them or how they feel when, ultimately, I want to care about them more than they've ever imagined. There's my problem. I push forward and waste my voice because I can't say correctly what I'm feeling and would like to happen. The time has arrived to change that behaviour. I have a lot to offer, and a lot to sing about so maybe I'll just save my song for someone who wants to hear it. I'm hoping to be able to see that person a lot easier soon.
Anyhoo, here's the lyrics to the aforementioned song with a bonus You Tube of the video so that you can follow along. Ps- If Timbaland produced at least one song for every recording artist in the world I think he could very well save the music industry.

Hungry Hungry Haikus #49

2006-10-27T23:16:00.001-06:00

All of these new things
With fresh paint to hide the cracks
Feel like the old things

This Is Why I Love My Job...

2006-08-25T23:14:00.001-06:00

Today I had the sincere pleasure of checking out the new Pedro Almodovar movie, VOLVER ,before it comes out in a few months, and I'm still on cloud 9. I nearly had a heart palpitation when Carmen Maura came on screen (it's been way too long since she inhabited an Almodovar character) and Penelope Cruz was fantastic as well (those willing to dismiss her should really check out her Spanish work first). I think it will be coming to Denver sometime in late November so mark your calendars!

Hungry Hungry Haikus #44 - 47

2006-08-19T23:12:00.001-06:00

And so I took the bait
I wanted so badly to see you
And talk about your problems

It is what we know
And what we trusted each other with
That makes it so hard

As a friend I help
I listen and look for ways out
When the world seems cavernous

As my friend you failed
You chose to evade than stay
When my problem was you

Hungry Hungry Haikus #43

2006-08-15T23:11:00.001-06:00

Despite retaining my wisdom teeth
I don't seem to have the smarts
This foolish heart keeps beating

Hungry Hungry Haikus #42

2006-08-11T23:09:00.001-06:00

Rather than fight for me
You put your feelings in a bottle
And me inside a box

Emotionally Charged Towel #8

2006-07-24T23:07:00.001-06:00

As I look back on the piece of music we were working on, I'm amazed that it actually made it as far it did before it fell apart. Sure, I was the one to make the sudden changes in tone and measure, but I thought that it would make the overall piece stronger. Something to set it apart from from the tunes we grew up on, something that rang fresh and true to the ear. Something... we could be remembered for. The beat and the tempo were there all along, but maybe my notes were too sharp and yours too quiet. Trustingly, I gave it back over to you. You will know what to do. This is your thing, something you're good at, and it just needs some fleshing out. I wasn't prepared for the fact that when you returned it, there was not one remnant of anything I had brought to the piece. The notes I'd added had been erased and written over. Out of sight out of mind, right? Did my notes not make sense? Did they turn your stomach with their treble or send your heart beating too fast with their pace? I don't admit to knowing everything about music but I thought they sounded fine. I thought that they added a sweet touch to the overall melody. I've since grown weary of jumping back into the song that resembles nothing of what I envisioned we could both do together. It has all of you in it but I don't see, and I can't hear, where I'm needed in the tune now. I had picked you as my partner because I was your biggest fan. I believed in the things in your head and the direction you could go. Your music was a revelation to me, so full of heart and passion. I even hung your poster on my wall like a star-struck teen. Now I look at the poster hanging there and I wonder how I ever thought I could be a part of your world. You are well on your own journey with plenty of tour stops along the way and, though not stuck by any means, the touring life is not in my schedule. I had my jaunt a long time ago.

Film: Park Chan-Wook's LADY VENGEANCE

2006-06-16T23:01:00.001-06:00

Just Desserts: LADY VENGEANCE Is Worth Saving Room For

Looking back at the previous films in Korean director Park Chan-Wook's 'Vengeance' Trilogy, kicked off with SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE then OLDBOY, one has cause to not be so keen on taking in the third film, LADY VENGEANCE, without your hands half parted over your eyes. Both of those films toiled in such dark waters of the human revenge mechanism - complete with decapitations, battery operated torture, bloody hammers and sloppily eaten live octopi - that it was a wonder anyone made it to the other end safely. But there was a gradual build in Chan-Wook's storytelling (one we Americans missed out on as part 2 was released here before part 1) of the lengths people can go when they've been wronged. MR. VENGEANCE was a hot and sweaty mass of blood and bad choices that gave way to OLDBOY's shine and dark swagger. The latter tied the hero to a horrible secret that made it hard for the viewer to accept that things could ever be 'okay' in the end. That chapter, however, concluded with the visual of a beautiful snowstorm large enough to clear the air and cleanse the pallet enough for its sumptuous and filling conclusion LADY VENGEANCE.
As the film begins we meet Guem-Ja (Lee Yeong-Ae), the 'lady' in question, as she is released from prison after serving a 13 year stint for her involvement in the killing of a little boy. She harshly turns down the tradition of eating tofu upon release, to signify the beginning of "living a sin free life", because she knows that with the revenge plan she has cooking in her mind her sin free days are a long ways off . It seems that Guem-Ja took the fall for her boss and didn't have to lose 13 years of her life AND 13 years of knowing the newborn daughter she had to give up. So she sets out calling on favors from women she helped in prison, where she quietly earned the nickname 'Kind Hearted Ms. Guem-Ja', and by working in a cake shop to earn money for the endeavor. Her networking and cake baking skills picked up in prison combine to deliver a dish to her former boss that is best served moist and sweet.
It is in this giant mixing bowl filled with 1 cup vengeance, 1 cup femininity, a spoonful of motherhood, a pinch of sass and a cube of style for taste, that the film really takes its form. Unlike its lead-ins, LADY VENGEANCE is not intense but is instead wistful and patient in its examination of the powerful fury that can erupt in even the softest of people. Its mood is bouncy and the visuals are swathed in the soft colors of a romantic comedy. Working as a classic 'woman's' film like MILDRED PIERCE but dipping its pen in the bloody ink of 'revenge' titles like MS.45 and KILL BILL, the film plays its heavy themes with a light laugh and a gentle touch. Lee Yeong-Ae plays the lead with a soft focus behind the fiery red brushed on her eyelids. Her Guem-Ja is a quiet woman who can hardly believe the position that she is in, or how she got there, but what is done must be done. The drowsiness of her face shows a woman who has lay awake for 13 years with a worry that must be taken care of if she is to ever sleep soundly again.
While building the plan Guem-Ja reunites with her daughter and realizes that inciting payback is a horrible thing to teach a child (who unbeknownst to her has own daggers out for Mommy). Will committing such a finite wrong EVER make things right? When it appears that the film is going to let Guem-Ja fulfill her wishes cold it delivers a delicious twist that invites the idea of selfish revenge as a way of making things right, for the better of the world, but with even more consequences. Perhaps that is the film, and the trilogy's, ultimate purpose. Revenge is a weed that will grow threefold and blanket the lives of all those involved. The lesson in this trilogy seems to be: cut the weed and it will just come back, do nothing and it takes over everything. Can redemption and peace ever come out of having to balance the scales? LADY VENGEANCE provides an answer that is thankfully buried in layers of blood red icing and dark cake sweet enough to help us swallow it.

Hungry Hungry Haikus #41

2006-06-08T23:01:00.000-06:00

The thinnest of cracks
Before I knew twas too late
I was full no more

Emotionally Charged Towel #7

2006-05-31T22:55:00.001-06:00

Someone asked me today, "Geez Keith, where's your head at?". I'd have to say that this song describes me these days. Now I just need Cher to smack me in the head and yell "Snap out of it!"
It's Imogene Heap's HEADLOCK. Now everyone sing along!

Distant flickering, greener scenery.
This weather's bringing it all back again.
Great adventures, faces and condensation.
I'm going outside to take it all in.

You say too late to start, got your heart in a headlock,
I don't believe any of it.
You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock,
You know you're better than this.

Wear a different pair, do something out of step.
Throw a stranger an unexpected smile.
With big intention still posted at your station.
Always on about the day it should have flied.

You say too late to start, got your heart in a headlock,
I don't believe any of it.
You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock,
You know you're better than this.

Afraid to start, got your heart in a headlock,
I don't believe any of it.
You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock,
You know you're better than this.

You've been working, you've been hiding,
And you look half dead half the time.
Monitoring you, like machines do,
You've still got it, I'm just keeping an eye

You've been working, you've been hiding,
(so what)
And you look half dead half the time.
(don't care)
Monitoring you, like machines do,
(will not)
You've still got it, I'm just keeping an eye
(the end)

You know you're better than this

Can't make a start, got your heart in a headlock,
I don't believe any of it.
You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock,
You know you're better than this.

(what can you lose?)
Afraid to start, got your heart in a headlock,
I don't believe any of it.
You say too late to start, with your heart in a headlock,
You know you're better than this.

Emotionally Charged Towel #6

2006-05-22T22:52:00.002-06:00

Driving home late tonight this song came out of my Shuffle and surprised me with a tear. I must be going through some things...
By the way, it's Goldfrapp, TIME OUT FROM THE WORLD. Just thought I'd share.

Breathing in your sip of gold
I follow all your little lines
I like to watch a thousand times
I want to feel you here
I like to watch a thousand times
I make a shrine for you

Time out from the world
Leaving it all
Just for a day
You like there's a down
Hold me and around
Take us a day?

Here I go, I'm going back
On every word you ever said
I'm dreaming of another time
Yesterday my alibi
We changed the world, just you and I
I make a shrine for you

God Save The Next TOP MODEL

2006-05-18T22:48:00.003-06:00

My favorite Top Model contestant, Danielle, took home the $100,000 modeling contract. All this despite annoying the judges with her sweet Arkansas accent. But that's cool, I like my Covergirls with a little sass anyways.

Contact your local congressman to see how you can get our new Top Model to work for your community!

Ruminations on America's Next Top Model 5.13.06

2006-05-13T22:42:00.001-06:00

Well folks, this Wednesday is the season finale of Cycle 6 of America's Next Top Model, which means that Thursday whomever is crowned can begin her duties: fixing the deficit, ending poverty, getting New Orleans back on its feet, and taking fierce-ass photos. Here's how things look:

My wishes for ANTM:Danielle, Danielle, DANIELLE! But I will be just as excited if Joanie takes it, just as long as Jade gets gone in the first half hour (It's kind of an "anyone but Bush" situation, Jade you were fun as an adversary but your job is done)

How it will really go for ANTM:Joanie will win, deservedly so, she takes good photos, has a good walk and friggin' went through 12 straight hours of Dental surgery to get rid of that snaggle tooth. That's commitment.Danielle will place second due to the fact that Tyra and the gang are hellbent on making her lose her Southern accent. Sure, that's important for a Top Model, because one day she'll want to have a crappy talk show just like Tyra and you can't do that with a country twang (Tyra does it every day... without talent even!!)Jade will finally get her come-uppance and piss off Twiggy who will finally snap under pressure and bludgeon her to death with a clunky shoe.

Some parting words to the girls who had to immediately pack their bags and go home:
Sara: Nice try. Really! But your karma for stealing Joanie's poses is kinda steep. You're going to go back to that mall you were discovered in... and work there.
Furonda: I hope something comes of your experience because you had the best exit of any eliminated Top Model ever. And I kinda miss your tiara.
Nnenna: You're kind of an emotional mess and hiding a bitch persona. Lose it, work with your smile (warmth is great!!) and find the cure for cancer with your chemistry degree (seriously!! Modeling?)
Brooke: If only you could figure out how to mine that whole "so wrong you're right" look you have going on. Contact J Lo though, I think she needs models for her clothing line and you're a dead ringer.
Leslie: I can't believe it took that long for you to go, I must've dozed off. Fix that walk, MAMA'S FAMILY was funny but shouldn't be idolized as a posture.
Mollie Sue: I will light a candle every day until you get rediscovered. Smile a little more and come back little Sheba. At least as a special guest model next season, mmmkay?

6 Weird Things

2006-04-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

So here's my list of "weird things/habits":

1: At 28, I have only recently learned how to ride a bicycle.

2: When eating french fries I very much prefer mustard over any other condiment.

3: I have an almost unhealthy love of Stovetop Stuffing. I'm sure that it's comfortably tied to family Thanksgivings of yore.

4: I don't eat seafood (tastes fishy) but I don't mind a tuna sandwich or fish sticks every now and then. (Why are these all about food??!!)

5: I own the movie TROOP BEVERLY HILLS starring Shelley Long. Seriously.

6: My bottom ear lobes are kinda long and when I'm nervous or pensive I tend to tug on them (thus making them longer I suppose)

BONUS #7: I collect photographs of people on the phone (old clunky phones with cords, not cell). It's mostly stills from movies but I like them from real life too just the same.

Hungry Hungry Haikus #40

2006-03-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

Tis the simple things
All free of complication
That makes life sweeter

Ruminations on America's Next Top Model 3.21.06

2006-03-21T22:37:00.002-07:00

Since this is a decison that concerns ALL of America, I thought I'd help national diplomacy with some of my thoughts and concerns regarding this season's crop of future runway and print personalities.

THE GIRLS STILL IN THE RUNNING:

BROOKE - The judges keep labeling her "so wrong she's right". That's bound to backfire somewhere around episode 7 I predict.

DANIELLE - Beautiful and boojee. She's the type that gets Tyra to break face and stand and say "Girlfriend! You got a boootay! Wha Wha!

FURONDA - Say it with me, Fur-on-da. Did a smart thing by passing out a list of rules to the girls on how to act around her (my favorite, "The best person to discuss ME with is MYSELF"). Needs to stop wearing her fake tiara around the house before someone feeds it to her.

MOLLIE SUE - Like a baby Annie Lennox and I think it's high time that a double-name entered the fray.

GINA - Proof that Asian girls can't hold their liquor... wait, make that Asian girls with low self esteem.

LESLIE - Two episodes and I always forget that she's a contestant. Needs to blow out that Latin spice or just go home.

JADE - Every cycle has the girl that has to tell everyone "this is a competition and I came to win". This is that bitch. Pretty, yes. Humble, no. She wants a million, kitten and she's a soldier sistah... you better recognize. Take a good picture Jade or shut up.

JOANIE - Like a reverse Monet, she's weird from afar but nice up close. A plus.

NNENNA - No disrespect, but she has the best sob story of the bunch. Sent away from a father in Kenya she actually is humble (take a note Jade) and exudes real beauty thusly. And she got a bald make-over and can still work it.

KARI - Like a baby Brigette Bardot but she has the craziest lips I've ever seen. Seriously, like bat shit crazy not just crazy crazy.

SARA - Like a tall Scarlett Johanssen this found beauty (she was pulled out of a mall) actually has a the most potential to become the most important American of 2006 (not counting 36 Mafia or that cheerleader who fell on her head and still kept cheering).

GIRLS WHO HAD TO PACK THEIR BAGS AND LEAVE IMMEDIATELY:

KATHY - When the judges of America's Next Top Model keep focusing on your Southern twang and tell you to try hard to change it, they're being nice. They had no intention of ever making you America's Next Top Model.

WENDY - Girl, I feel for you. You escaped Hurricane Katrina to audition for ANTM. But at filming you still hadn't heard from your parents. Obviously you were going to be distracted. Go home, spend some time with your family and try again next season.

KEITH'S PREDICTIONS OF WHO WILL BE IN THE TOP THREE:

SARA
DANIELLE
MOLLIE SUE

wild card - NNENNA

Ooookaaaay, I've spent far too much time on this one. But you know, you can't put a price on being an informed person when it comes to such delicate American positions. I hope I have been helpful.

Hungry Hungry Haikus #39

2006-02-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

With the winter's chill
Come some harsh realities
And frosty affections

What Watching Movies Taught Me This Week: Feb 12, 2006

2006-02-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

- Amusement parks, tanning salons, fast food drive- thrus, Home Depots, and tricentennial celebrations should see a drop in attendance this year. (FINAL DESTINATION 3)
- Death has a sense of humor and LOVES head trauma! (FINAL DESTINATION 3)
- When chasing down people who may suddenly die in horrific ways because you all cheated death... bring a change of clothes. (FD3)
- All those dumb photos you take of your friends with your cell phone may come back to haunt you later. (FD3)
- Death must of really liked playing Mouse Trap as a kid. (FD3)
- If a cool breeze mysteriously blows in, RUN LIKE HELL. (FD3)
- If you're minding your business and any song referencing 'death', 'behind you', 'the reaper', or 'murder' starts playing somewhere just kindly excuse yourself and RUN LIKE HELL. (FD3)
- No matter the cheesiness, plotholes, acting, preposterousness of the entire story, the third film in a horror series will always, ALWAYS benefit from being in 3-D. But throw in inventive deaths and you'll be okay without it. (FD3)

Hungry Hungry Haikus #38

2006-02-12T22:34:00.000-07:00

I will pull it out
This hook that I drove through you
You are free to go

Emotionally Charged Towel #4

2006-02-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

So after writing my previous blog on lost sentiment in today's world I looked around for a modern song equivilant of the type I listed (Dusty Springfield, Connie Francis, The Ronettes, et al) wherein the singer simply told someone the facts: that they really liked someone, no joke. I was hoping to find something that sounded less like pleading and more relaxed. I looked first at the genius songs of PJ Harvey and Bjork but found that they still had too hard (read: "crazy") of an edge to their confessions. Then my Ipod Shuffle landed on a song I had fallen in love with back in November from the European group Goldfrapp entitled "Number 1". The song goes a little something like this...

"Walk out into velvet
Nothing more to say
You're my favourite moment
You're my Saturday

Cos you're my Number 1
I'm like a dog to get you
I want it up and on
I'm like a dog to get you

Sunset only seconds
Just ripe then it's gone
Got no new intentions
Just right then it's gone

I'll be there to meet you
Getting down to greet you"

Wonderful!! Alison Goldfrapp makes no bones about it. She tells the object of her song's affections that they are not just one of the best things about her day but that they help paint the pleasant description of the world around her. Though a mite submissive in its dog reference, the conclusion can still be drawn that like an animal she just instinctively knows what she wants and would go after it as she would a juicy steak or favorite toy. No drama, no need to worry that this girl is in over her head, no begging. Just pure unadulturated attention and joy. All this in three minutes, twenty-six seconds AND you can dance to it...

Emotionally Charged Towel #3

2006-01-31T22:32:00.000-07:00

While listening to some Dusty Springfield, Connie Francis and Ronettes tonight I began to wonder why no one responds to the simple gesture of just saying "be my baby" and "I only want to be with you". With any young man I've ever attempted anything romantic with (starting with this doozy of a past year but spanning the last 12) I've only ever been heartfelt and have truly come from a good place. So why the freaked reactions and defensive driving? I'm not carrying around a wedding ring but like Dusty sings, I just want you to "stay awhile/ let me hold you/ stay awhile/ till I've told you/ of the love I feel tonight" and she did that in one minute and fifty seven seconds. That's 6 months, 2 weeks, 2 days and 1 minute sooner than I got to say it and have my words land with a thud. Perhaps I should look at the fact that most of these classic songs have titles like, "Stay Awhile", "I Fall To Pieces", "Crying", "I Only Want To Be With You", "Dream Lover", "I've Told Every Little Star" and "Be My Baby". All of them desperate pleads and fantasy wishes. Everyone wants love or at least a little "tenderness", liquor sales wouldn't make the world go 'round if everyone HAD what they wanted. So someone comes around that has an interest in you, has things in common with you, a smile, a heart and a willingness to share and you ignore it? Used to be that folks had to write letters back and forth across cities to communicate to each other and now that everyone has a phone in their pocket you can't pull it out and have a conversation that isn't about "What are you doin? Nothing? Yea. Me too. Having a few drinks. Go to sleep I guess. See ya later" but instead is about " So I was thinking about that thing you told me last week. You know about the movie. Of course I remembered. I thought it was funny. Me? I'm ok. Well, better than 'ok'...". I suppose I just want to affect people in a day and age where people are afraid of being affected. No one wants someone who may challenge them and make their heart get off the couch. Not that I'm not guilty of not setting my standards higher. I'm looking for a delicious meal but keep stopping at the vending machines and you can't build a solid relationship out of Cheetos and bubblegum (well, MacGuyver, maybe). Dusty sang once of a man who, in darkness, came along and stood beside her. His reward? She had "So Much Love" to give him. I suppose I need to remind myself that my love has value that should only be exchanged for something valuable in return.

Emotionally Charged Towel #2

2006-01-26T22:31:00.000-07:00

To live life intensely is all that we can ask for. To love someone intensely is all that we can ask for. Intensity and passion share a body. To have passion is to not be passive and let things just slip by. Thanks, I'll take it as a compliment...

Emotionally Charged Towel #1

2006-01-26T22:30:00.000-07:00

The Cars may not mind you coming here and wasting all their time time but I worry that when the cigarettes run out you will too. Nicotine tinged upholstery is a sad reward for sharing all of myself.

Hungry Hungry Haikus #37

2006-01-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

All those defenses
Better be a diamond
Hidden in those walls

Hungry Hungry Haikus #36

2005-12-31T22:27:00.000-07:00

So I found that book
And I read from it some more
Starts good, goes nowhere

Hungry Hungry Haikus #35

2005-12-30T22:26:00.001-07:00

Like a creme brulee
Thought under the shell was sweet
Looks like I was wrong

Hungry Hungry Haikus #34

2005-12-30T22:26:00.000-07:00

Careless and clueless
Not ways to handle my heart
Just put it down now

Hungry Hungry Haikus #33

2005-12-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

If it could be sweet
When you suck out the poison
All I want for X-mas

Hungry Hungry Haikus #32

2005-12-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

Aggression is good
It can shake loose all the rust
Move things that are stuck

Hungry Hungry Haikus #31

2005-12-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

Suppression is bad
The deeper you hold it down
Sooner it slips away

What Watching Movies Taught Me This Week: Dec 12, 2005

2005-12-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

-All of the penises in the galaxy won't fill a heart hole up. (JESUS IS MAGIC)
- I love you more than Gary Busey, and I love you more than dykes love pussy. (JESUS IS MAGIC)
-Sarah Silverman can get away with murder if she really wanted to. (JESUS IS MAGIC)
- There is a difference between British nipples and those from other countries. (MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS)
- 'Sexy' makes the world go 'round. (MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS)
- Bob Hoskins' penis looks just like I thought it would, you know you thought about it too... (MRS HENDERSON PRESENTS)
- Forget about it Jake, it's Chinatown. (CHINATOWN)
- Roman Polanksi can be a sadistic little fuck. (CHINATOWN)
- Sister/ mother relationships are just gonna end in tragedy. (CHINATOWN)
- You know what will really drives the ladies wild? A scabby nose wound! (CHINATOWN)

What Watching Movies Taught Me This Week: Dec 5, 2005

2005-12-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

- It has to be you. (KAMIKAZE GIRLS)
- Don't give up your friends just to become a master embroiderer, you'll soon find yourself lonely beyond belief. (KAMIKAZE GIRLS)
- If hipster girls know what's good for them they will adopt the Japanese Lolita and Yanki look tout-suite! (KAMIKAZE GIRLS)
- Though the film noir genre has been re-invented a gajillion times, it excites me everytime someone tries their hand at it. (BRICK)
- Lucas Haas... where have you been? (BRICK)
- Joseph Gordon Levitt has done enough good work post 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN (MYSTERIOUS SKIN, BRICK)to prompt the removal of that credit from his resume. John Lithgow however... (BRICK)
- Peter Saarsgard, why oh why are you not my boyfriend? (THE DYING GAUL)
- I forgot to add Patricia Clarkson to my holy trinity of good actresses (joining Toni Collette, Catherine Keener and Tilda Swinton) making it now a Holy Quadrangle (THE DYING GAUL)
- Someday someone will film a play and make it not FEEL stilted like a play, or just give up altogether. (THE DYING GAUL)
- Peter Saarsgard, my phone number is 303.947.8634 (THE DYING GAUL)
- Good hair is a REALLY important feature in a futuristic assassin (AEON FLUX)
- Charlize Theron can do a better post oscar win action/comedy movie than Halle Barry, Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman (AEON FLUX)
- Though it still has many, many flaws (aside from good hair and costumes) (AEON FLUX)
- Oh yeah! It has Johnny Lee Miller! Johhny, please see phone number listed above... (AEON FLUX)
- Oh! And Frances Macdormand! She can join the Holy Quadrangle and make it a Holy Fist! (AEON FLUX)
- Oh! Oh! And plotholes big enough to drive a car filled with Halle Barry, Renee Zellweger and Nicole Kidman into. Let's test that out before they unite for STEPFORD WIVES 2: WIFESWAP. (AEON FLUX)

Hungry Hungry Haikus #30

2005-12-04T22:21:00.000-07:00

If I talk bout it
It unravels all the work
You have yet to do

Hungry Hungry Haikus #29

2005-12-04T22:20:00.000-07:00

The bed called me back
On my pillow you can dream
I have things to do

Hungry Hungry Haikus #27

2005-11-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

To climb the mountain
Seemed what I was meant to do
But the bridge was out

Hungry Hungry Haikus #26 Side A

2005-11-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

Twas over pencils up
Final question I'd not seen
Worth most points of all

Hungry Hungry Haikus #26 Side B

2005-11-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

If you store the tears
Like the dust that time gathers
Hurts more when released

Hungry Hungry Haikus #25 Part C

2005-11-24T22:14:00.001-07:00

Afraid of greatness
I latched onto the same thing
Took me down before

Hungry Hungry Haikus #25 Part B

2005-11-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

The need for a touch
Took me back a dozen years
On my fingertips

Hungry Hungry Haikus #25 Part A

2005-11-24T22:10:00.001-07:00

I just can't help it
These important things I want
Big enough to share

Hungry Hungry Haikus #24

2005-11-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

It wasn't to annoy
It wasn't to burden even though
It was just because

Hungry Hungry Haikus #23

2005-11-14T00:00:00.000-07:00

You're safe from the sun
Smoke settles in the dark places
I'm quiet when unsure

Hungry Hungry Haikus #21

2005-11-11T23:59:00.001-07:00

A big slice of cake
You got the best of my love
Oh whoa ooh whoa

Hungry Hungry Haikus #21

2005-11-11T23:59:00.000-07:00

In just one fail swoop
Awkwardness overpowered
My heart on my sleeve

Hungry Hungry Haikus #20

2005-11-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

To cut off my hands
Would remove all memory
Erase what matters

Hungry Hungry Haikus #19

2005-11-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

ME chills bass tears time
snap against fuel heart sound film
coat smoke smile YOU

Hungry Hungry Haikus #18

2005-11-05T23:57:00.000-07:00

A smile a day
Laughter every hour too
Let's give it a go

Hungry Hungry Haikus #17

2005-11-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't be so bad
If it just made you happy
Who am I to say?

What Watching Movies Taught Me This Week: Nov 4, 2005

2005-11-04T23:55:00.000-07:00

- My holy trinity of good actresses (ones that I know I will always enjoy no matter the flick) are: Toni Colette, Tilda Swinton, and Catherine Keener. (CAPOTE)
- You can have a film be about gay folks and still be pretty gay without turning it into a dreaded "gay film". (CAPOTE)
- Hollywood still hasn't learned how to effectively present the whole "butt sex" issue to straight people (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN)
- Anne Hathaway (PRINCESS DIARIES) and her boobs are no longer under contract with Disney (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN)
- Love, love, love the people you want to no matter what the consequence (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN)
- I'm still not convinced that Elijah Wood has any hair below his eyebrows. That goes for pubes too (EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED)
- Kangol hats are the premium! (EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED)
- Ziploc is the preferred storage method of obsessive compulsive collectors (EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED)

Hungry Hungry Haikus #16

2005-11-04T23:54:00.000-07:00

The air at 3 AM
Rain on my face tenderness
sounds sweet in my ears

Hungry Hungry Haikus #15

2005-11-02T23:53:00.000-07:00

Just like a lifeguard
I'll do what's in my power
You won't just slip away

Hungry Hungry Haikus #14

2005-10-31T23:53:00.000-07:00

May be odd to say
Miserable sounds so good
When it comes from you

Hungry Hungry Haikus #13

2005-10-23T23:51:00.000-06:00

Insecurity
Like a blanket like a weed
Will cover it all

What Watching Movies Taught Me This Week: Oct 14, 2005

2005-10-14T23:50:00.000-06:00

- There is a difference between "influential" Anime and "good" Anime. (AKIRA)
- Dubbing. When will people learn? (AKIRA)
- Never forget where you came from. It can help keep from being lost like a cow without a cowbell. (THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET)
- Always shred your writing documents, especially if you keep multiple drafts. One man's trash... (THE FLOWER OF MY SECRET)
- Joss Whedon should be given his own ticket to do WHATEVER HE FUCKING WANTS TO. (SERENITY)
- "Betwixt", "Nethers" and "Sundries". Three words I don't know how I've lived without using in everday speech. (SERENITY)
- If you are moving into an orphnage bring cool things (toys, comics) and an ability to swim if you want to fit in. (THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE)
- If a room full of gasoline is on fire, GET THE FUCK OUT. (THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE)
- Ghosts will never hurt you unless you are the target of their rage. Bring them that target and you got it made baby!(THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE)
- Even in a gay slasher movie, my personailty type would still be the first one offed (type being: nerdy, fool-for-love, but hopeful) (HELLBENT)
- Get yourself a glass eye. It just might save your life if you ever get attacked by a scythe wielding madman. (HELLBENT)

What Watching Movies Taught Me This Week: Oct 7, 2005

2005-10-07T23:48:00.000-06:00

- Remember what your mother told you. (MIRRORMASK)
- Neil Gaiman can be a horribly boring writer (MIRRORMASK)
- If you throw someone SHADE you better be prepared to be READ, and if you want to fight it out show up at the BALL and be as REAL as you can be. (PARIS IS BURNING)
- My "family" name would most likely be Tito Target (pronounced Tar-jay) (PARIS IS BURNING)
- Whether as a math nerd or a gay rodeo cowboy, a Desert Storm soldier or a doomed nut case I just really really really want Jake Gyllenhaal to be my boyfriend. (PROOF)

A Million MIles of Celluloid

2005-10-02T23:45:00.001-06:00

The sunshowers that fall on my troubles are over you my baby
these sunshowers I'll be aiming at you cuz I'm watching you my baby
- M.I.A. -Sunshowers

Freaking hell, there you are. There has to be like a thousand people here at this show. From up on the balcony they all look the same anyways. Bobbing heads, swaying shoulders, arms waving. The regular lights are down and the colored ones up, throwing reds and yellows and blues. Everyone's mixing together like a living Matisse. Of course, you're the one who sticks out by not moving at all. That's probably what drew my eye right to you like a quarter shining on the street. At first I turned away. I was the one who got mad and told you what I felt about the whole situation. My disappointment has been wrapped around me like a scarf since then. I didn't want you to see me looking at you and think I was pining away like a stupid teenager. But goddamit here I am still catching glances at you.

"It can't come quickly enough and now you spend your life
waiting for this moment and when you find it's already come and passed you by it left you so defeated" - Scissor Sisters - It Can't Come Quickly Enough

I literally felt better after telling you what was on my mind. I'd been waking up with the most horrible lower back pain ever since you were last at my place. I passed it off as too much time spent at work, tossing film cans around with no regard to my body, staying up till 4 in the morning...doing absolutely nothing. But the morning after we talked, after I left the party because you seemed to have better things to do than pay attention to my feelings, after I finally shed a tear for never standing up for myself, after I wrote that letter because I knew that you still didn't get it, well I woke up the next morning feeling better than I ever have. But seeing you again, just looking at you from across a room, I have no idea why I still have a question in my head. Ever since that night that you finally looked me in the eye, a free man, and your attention was on me, not the wall behind me or some other distraction in your gaze, I felt like I had won the lottery. Hours later when I kissed you I meant it, and though I know better than to let my guard down I did, and believed every word you said. I've been in plenty of ingenuous situations and that night wasn't like that. Your body language was excited, your lips were sweet, your hands slow. After all of that, things changed. I disappeared in a vacuum of your own design. It was as if that night had never existed and when you came over again a few weeks later, there was no trace of what there was before. There were a few odd placed sentences that pointed to some struggle in your own mind. A direction you wanted to go with me but couldn't, or wouldn't, and it bothered me to no end.

"I don't know where I am but I know I don't like it/ I open my mouth and out pops something spiteful/ Words are cheap but they can turn out expensive/ words like conviction can turn into a sentence" General Public - Tenderness

Now here I stand, looking at you again. All of your actions have caused me to see that you are hardly a candidate for a healthy connection. Yet I always look ahead at the future, one exemplified by the movies, but a future nonetheless. In the movies these things usually go in two directions.
One, the reaction causes an epiphany in the confused party and after a few nights of drinking, a musical montage to awkward sightings of the other person and then a climactic "bottom of the barrel" moment, that person's eyes light up and they race across town, broken car be damned, to tell the other, in the rain, that they're sorry and that they've never been so clear about anything in their whole stupid life. Pull back shot as they kiss over a yet to be picked future hit song.
Two, the rift causes the two to veer wildly away from each other, across the country even, and years go by. The two bump into each other in a bizarre fit of circumstance having to do with something teasingly pointed to between them in the first reel. Chit chat leads to the inevitable "Have you met my husband ___?" Awkward congrats as the knowledge seeps in that that person was better off not messing with the fool and that the fool missed his chance years before.
It's no use continuing that explanation as it's always the way a bummer movie ends and I don't like those ones. But I feel like I'm in a bummer movie but the less interesting part that never gets shown in the actual film. The part where the non-fool tries to quit the other person like smoking. Where they still ask "I wonder what ___ is doing tonight?" when they have so many other things to do. When I walk down Broadway late at night, my ears filled with a playlist of comforting songs, I enjoy the cool air, the music, my feet stepping on the sidewalk. But in the back of my head I always expect to run into you. I don't know what I'd say anymore if I did. Part of me is hoping that you're okay and aware of how much you complicated things, and just on the verge of an official "I'm sorry" for your actions. The other part is wishing that you had always remained that person of mystery who I would never in a million years be entagled with. You weren't careless and confused in that version of the story.
I hate any missed opportunity where things could turn out like I've always imagined them to. Only the problem is I have to imagine it. After the show that night, after I saw you move to another area, after I walked by acting unaware that you were even there, after I stood 20 feet closer to you in the lobby and the people you and I both know interacted with the both of us but we never acknowledged the other, I stood alone and imagined that second ending of the movie I've seen a thousand times. And it's still a bummer.

"But the thoughts we try to deny take a toll upon our lives
We struggle on in depths of pride tangled up in single minds"
Portishead - It Could Be Sweet

Hungry Hungry Haikus #12

2005-09-19T23:44:00.000-06:00

Patsy Cline walkin'
After midnight, crazy too
Guess we feel the same

Film: Wong Kar-Wai's 2046

2005-09-06T23:37:00.000-06:00

Ahhh memories. Those misty, water colored boxes that we stack endlessly in the warehouse of our mind. Rows upon rows, each labeled and cross catalogued: '1995- Summer- Love- First Kiss- Joy', '1998- Winter- Love- Break-up letter- Sadness'. We take the time to store these elements everyday.The fresh smell of rain, the sweet taste of a peach, the wonderful touch of silk. Countless memories end up used and dumped; not relevant enough to make it to the archives. Others get the full treatment. Labled in big letters and put on a low shelf for easy access later; these are the ones that we return to like a novel we keep re-reading. Opening up these boxes produces more than just a faint image. These boxes have sight, sound and smell. Colors, a wafty song heard on the radio, cigarette smoke on the curtains. These memories transport us back in time for however long we want. Be careful or you might just want to stay there forever.
No filmmaker can visualize (and even fetishize) the power of memory like Wong Kar Wai. From Days Of Being Wild to Chungking Express, Fallen Angels to Happy Together, his vision (and to be fair that of his celebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle) is one of people stuck living in a year that no longer exists. These folks float around like bored fish in an aquarium, content on being stuck forever in the world they used to inhabit, afraid of living in a world they know nothing about.
In his new film 2046, Wong Kar Wai reaquaints us with dapper journalist-cum-socialite Chow Mo Wan (played again with stark Clark Gable coolness by Tony Leung) who we first met in Wong's In The Mood For Love. Still smarting from the rejection of Su Li Zhen (played by Maggie Cheung) Chow now passes the time doing pulp fiction work and living in a flophouse called the Oriental Hotel. It is here that the vast majority of 2046's story unfolds.When moving into the flophouse Chow requests room 2046 only to have it not finished. He takes room 2047 and gets used to it. He then watches as a series of beautiful women (a virtual who's who of Asia's finest actresses) all move into and inhabit room 2046 over time. Chow meets Lulu (Carina Lau) an aging callgirl stuck loving the memory of a deceased man. Chow woos Bai Ling (Ziyi Zhang proving herself again as a fine new actress) a callgirl herself but one looking ahead and directly at Chow himself. Chow talks to Wang Jing Wen (Faye Wong), the daughter of the flophouse manager, who is carrying on an affair with a man in Japan despite her father's wishes. Finally, Chow reminisces about another Su Li Zhen (Gong Li) a mysterious gambler who reveals next to nothing about herself but fills him with familiarity . Chow's relationships to these women is tinged like a perfume by the haunting memory of the first Su Li Zhen. But where most memories pull us back into the past like anchors, Chow's does something interesting for him; it creates a past, present and future all revolving around the number 2046.
That number was the hotel room that Chow and Su carried on their clandestine meetings years before. While spending time with Wang he begins to work on a sci-fi pulp novel with her. The novel's time period? The year 2046, of course. More than just a clever plot device the presence of 2046 creates a bizarre quandry: Chow's actions in the present are affected by the memories of his past which has given birth to the future where everyone goes to forget the past and never returns (wrap your head around that one!). Every one of the women in Chow's life has a role in the future as designed- for- pleasure androids that cross the path of CC1966 (Chang Chen) a character devised after Chow himself who is trying to leave 2046 and everything it encapsulates. Through this character Chow can take a step back and view his relationship to all of the women around him, past and present.
It is within this vision of the future that we truly meet the character of Chow. As a writer his work asks that he plug into his past experiences to create new ones. We see that he is not just haunted by the memory of Su but of every woman that crosses his path. Will this opportunity to move ahead change his pattern of behaviour or will Chow choose to live in the world of 2046; past, present and future? The joy in the film is coming along for Wong Kar Wai's vivid ride.
Wong creates a simple canvas out of his vision of the future that doesn't distract from the stunning visuals that fill the central time period (late 1960's to be exact) but is instead a companion piece to all of the romantic action and a home for us all to imagine our problems and wishes ending up later. The film stays with you because Wong shows us aspects of our own memories, different as they are, that we rarely admit to others we noticed ourselves. The devil is in the details and Wong doesn't mind reminding us that obsession can stunt and diminish our own ability to enter the future awaiting us. We all have someone to get over. We all have someone we don't want to forget. 2046 reminds us that memories only have as much power as we give them but that that same power can be enough to take us into amazing uncharted territory but only if we can be brave enough to take the first step out of the past.

Directed by Wong Kar-Wai
(China/Hong Kong, 2005, 127min)
English Subtitles

Hungry Hungry Haikus #11

2005-08-19T23:36:00.000-06:00

!!!!!
...!!!.
!!...

Hungry Hungry Haikus #10

2005-08-12T23:36:00.000-06:00

Red Vines NOT Twizzlers
Sweet as a meteor's dust
Soft as the night sky

Hungry Hungry Haikus #9

2005-08-11T23:35:00.000-06:00

Can't stop this feeling
Putting my pillow to head
Wish I didn't care